I have to take a break from Necrons, this guy is perfect for this 
Daemonhunters Grey Knight Terminator Basecoat
Daemonhunters Grey Knight Terminator first leg finished
Daemonhunters Grey Knight Terminator on finished base (+ sword zoom)
Daemonhunters Grey Knight Terminator on finished base
Some Polish accent ;d
Polish banner
Body is almost done…
Daemonhunters Grey Knight Terminator gun
Tags: Grey, Knight, Terminator
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Carrie Vaughn is the author of the popular Kitty Norville series. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts degree in English Literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She currently lives in Boulder, Colorado. This is her first solo adult title. She’s also written a YA title which was released this year. The eight title in the Kitty Norville series was published recently & she’s contracted for a few more.
FORMAT/INFO: Page count is 299 pages divided over Seventeen chapters and seven unnamed-unnumbered interludes. Narration is in the third person and features four characters such as Evie Walker, Sinon/Alex and a couple of others. The plot is self contained and ends with this novel.
July 6, 2010 marked the North American hardcover publication of “Discord’s Apple” via Tor Books.
OVERVIEW/ANALYSIS: Carrie Vaughn is an author with whom I was unfamiliar with. While I had heard about her Kitty the Werewolf series, I haven’t had the chance to try them out. So when Discord’s Apple came out and had two very appealing qualities: being a solo book and the fact that the blurb mentioned it being associated with the Trojan War vis-à-vis Greek mythology, I thought it was an excellent opportunity to give Carrie Vaughn’s writing a try.
Discord’s apple is a fusion of Greek myths and apocalyptic thriller with a bit of mild comedic flavor.
The story begins with Evie Walker, a comic book writer who’s returning to her small town roots in Hope’s Fort, Colorado from Los Angeles. She isn’t returning because of a break up or some other reason, her prime reason for returning is that her dad Frank Walker seems to be dying and she must be at her dad’s side if this is true.
What she does not know is that her Dad shares a unique heritage. One which has decreed that their ancestors often had to sacrifice quite a bit of their lives either in the form of re-location or extreme hardships.
Evie also has another small query on her hands in the form of her comic book as she seems to be at a crossroads as to the direction of the main character in her comic, Tracker, the solo female in a special ops unit and who is as confused as her creator.
On returning back she finds that her town in an upheaval of sorts due to the current world events (the time frame seems to be a few years into the future from now). The US homeland has been attacked again and has lead to a tremendous increase of security measures. Upon her return her father decides to pass on a family mantle to her which comes in the form of a special room which houses certain very very special artifacts. There are several people who will be returning to collect them, some of them patiently, others rather crudely. She also meets a stranger named Alex who has met her dad and seems to be in the search of something which is beyond his means.
Inserted in this tale is also the story of a certain Greek warrior who caused the fall of Troy with his words. The Achaen warrior Sinon, who lied to the Trojans about the horse and caused the downfall of Troy is the focus of this thread. Since there’s nothing mentioned in further annals about Sinon as in this story it’s shown what happened to him and how he literally becomes a plaything for the gods. Sinon’s struggles to survive and retain his humanity then unfold in parallel chapters as those with Evie.
In the Central storyline, Evie and Alex have to face a nemesis of legend that even Hercules feared. This person wants the apple [Of Trojan fame] which is stored with Evie’s Dad and will do anything to get it. Thus begins the string of events which will lead to the world’s eventual conclusion however its up to Evie, Alex and their allies to prevent a total rout and shepherd humanity into a favorable outcome. We also are treated to what happened in Sinon’s timeline which also affects events in the present timeline.
Weaving Greek mythology within contemporary settings, Carrie Vaughn has written a very delectable story. Although the story appears to be very fast, at the same time it manages to slow the reader down with its intricacies. I had a chance to re-read this story and found several things that I had missed when I had read it the first time.
Although the story has a very light tone, it deals with a lot of very heavy subjects. Carrie Vaughn has to be appreciated for the way that she weaved certain heavy scenes within the narrative. These parts were so smooth the that reader rarely realizes the gravity of the situation until that particular scene is over.
The only downside to this tale is that the ending is a bit ambiguous as to what actually happened. Even though there are lines given to indicate Evie and Alex’s future, the tale is left open ended which might not be to every reader’s liking. After finishing this book I’m definitely tempted to check out Carrie Vaughn’s other titles and I’m sure she will find lots of new fans with this book. Whether you are a Carrie Vaughn fan or just trying her out for the first time, Discord’s Apple will give you a sample of her writing style, try it out for yourself and see what you think!
Tags: Apple, Carrie, Discord's, Mihir, Reviewed, Vaughn, Wanchoo
Matt is out this week, so Kyle goes it alone with an interview featuring Matt and Jenni Holm, the brother-sister team behind the Babymouse graphic novels. Come have fun and hear about the story behind Babymouse and what’s upcoming for the duo.
Cupcakes? Amoebas? Black and pink? How does it all fit together?! Tune in to find out.
Suvudu » Science Fiction and Fantasy Books, Movies, Comics, and Games
The Queen of the Damned is the third novel of Anne Rice’s The Vampire Chronicles series. The story follows the first two books, Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat. The film adaptation entitled, Queen of the Damned, was released by Warner Bros. in 2002. It starred Aaliyah, Stuart Townsend, Marguerite Moreau, Paul McGann, [...]
Vampire Music
Tags: Damned, Music, Queen, Soundtrack, Vampire
“We’ve been to a short, flat track already this year a few weeks ago in Martinsville. This week, it is another short(ish), flat track at Phoenix International Raceway.
The theory behind this chart is that there are similar tracks (aka sister tracks) within the NASCAR schedule in terms of banking, distance and shape that a driver may excel at.
I do like to see how a driver does at a track through his career. It points to his strengths as a racer. But, I like to base my fantasy picks on how a driver has done recently at a track. I just can’t look at Bobby Labonte’s or Sterling Marlin’s career stats because they are not in the same quality equipment they once were.
So, this table is sorted by 2008/2009 averages rather then over the length of the drivers career. That stat is still in the table though.
This week’s race is at Phoenix International Raceway. It is 1-mile long and has shallow 11° banking. I like to compile stats at this track with the other short and shallow tracks on the NASCAR circuit: New Hampshire. Martinsville and Richmond.
| Rank | Driver | Phoenix | N Hamp | Martinsville | Richmond | Starts | Avg | 08 & 09 Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jimmie Johnson | 4.0 | 9.0 | 3.0 | 16.0 | 54 | 8.0 | 5.8 |
| 2 | Mark Martin | 10.0 | 10.0 | 12.0 | 9.0 | 80 | 10.3 | 6.8 |
| 3 | Denny Hamlin | 5.0 | 7.0 | 4.0 | 4.5 | 27 | 5.1 | 7.0 |
| 4 | Carl Edwards | 6.0 | 13.0 | 16.5 | 13.0 | 37 | 12.1 | 8.3 |
| 5 | Dale Earnhardt Jr | 9.0 | 13.0 | 8.0 | 10.0 | 70 | 10.0 | 9.1 |
| 6 | Tony Stewart | 8.0 | 6.5 | 7.0 | 6.5 | 75 | 7.0 | 9.1 |
| 7 | Jeff Burton | 9.0 | 10.0 | 9.0 | 12.0 | 89 | 10.0 | 9.8 |
| 8 | Clint Bowyer | 12.0 | 23.0 | 10.0 | 11.0 | 26 | 14.0 | 9.9 |
| 9 | Kevin Harvick | 13.5 | 10.0 | 13.5 | 7.5 | 60 | 11.1 | 10.9 |
| 10 | Jeff Gordon | 7.0 | 6.5 | 4.0 | 9.5 | 89 | 6.8 | 13.0 |
| 11 | Greg Biffle | 14.0 | 14.0 | 20.0 | 14.0 | 49 | 15.5 | 13.8 |
| 12 | Martin Truex Jr | 16.0 | 6.0 | 21.0 | 22.0 | 25 | 16.3 | 15.6 |
| 13 | Marcos Ambrose | 18.0 | 0.0 | 14.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| 14 | Bobby Labonte | 12.0 | 13.5 | 12.0 | 15.0 | 89 | 13.1 | 17.3 |
| 15 | Kurt Busch | 11.0 | 13.0 | 23.0 | 18.5 | 62 | 16.4 | 18.8 |
| 16 | Casey Mears | 30.0 | 22.0 | 21.0 | 25.5 | 47 | 24.6 | 19.0 |
| 17 | Kyle Busch | 8.0 | 18.0 | 18.0 | 4.0 | 33 | 12.0 | 19.0 |
| 18 | David Reutimann | 25.0 | 22.5 | 24.0 | 17.5 | 16 | 22.3 | 19.5 |
| 19 | Kasey Kahne | 17.0 | 13.5 | 17.0 | 14.5 | 40 | 15.5 | 19.6 |
| 20 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 17.0 | 21.0 | 13.0 | 31.0 | 17 | 20.5 | 21.3 |
| 21 | Michael Waltrip | 24.0 | 24.5 | 23.5 | 28.0 | 80 | 25.0 | 22.0 |
| 22 | David Ragan | 29.5 | 23.5 | 20.0 | 18.5 | 18 | 22.9 | 22.5 |
| 23 | Jamie McMurray | 23.0 | 22.5 | 9.0 | 27.0 | 48 | 20.4 | 23.0 |
| 24 | Ryan Newman | 18.0 | 9.0 | 13.0 | 8.5 | 56 | 12.1 | 25.6 |
| 25 | Regan Smith | 29.0 | 29.5 | 26.0 | 22.0 | 11 | 26.6 | 26.0 |
| 26 | Reed Sorenson | 30.0 | 19.5 | 35.0 | 22.0 | 25 | 26.6 | 26.1 |
| 27 | Paul Menard | 23.5 | 26.5 | 24.5 | 28.5 | 16 | 25.8 | 26.5 |
| 28 | Elliott Sadler | 28.5 | 19.5 | 28.0 | 23.0 | 75 | 24.8 | 27.4 |
| 29 | AJ Allmendinger | 16.0 | 38.0 | 25.0 | 35.5 | 12 | 28.6 | 27.4 |
| 30 | Sterling Marlin | 26.5 | 22.0 | 13.5 | 19.5 | 77 | 20.4 | 28.5 |
| 31 | Brian Vickers | 18.0 | 17.0 | 23.0 | 32.0 | 36 | 22.5 | 28.5 |
| 32 | Matt Kenseth | 13.0 | 10.0 | 13.0 | 11.0 | 68 | 11.8 | 29.3 |
| 33 | Bill Elliott | 30.0 | 24.0 | 16.0 | 22.5 | 61 | 23.1 | 29.8 |
| 34 | Dave Blaney | 24.5 | 31.0 | 31.0 | 26.0 | 64 | 28.1 | 30.0 |
| 35 | David Gilliland | 28.0 | 36.0 | 30.0 | 36.0 | 21 | 32.5 | 30.3 |
| 36 | Sam Hornish Jr | 30.0 | 34.5 | 34.0 | 30.5 | 10 | 32.3 | 31.4 |
| 37 | Joey Logano | 0.0 | 32.0 | 32.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 32.0 | 32.0 |
| 38 | Robby Gordon | 28.5 | 24.5 | 37.5 | 32.0 | 65 | 30.6 | 32.1 |
| 39 | Joe Nemechek | 24.0 | 27.0 | 23.5 | 25.5 | 85 | 25.0 | 37.0 |
| 40 | Scott Speed | 40.0 | 0.0 | 34.5 | 0.0 | 3 | 37.3 | 37.3 |
Tags: Averages, International, Phoenix, Raceway, Similar, Track
Of course, we’re back. And this is what we’ve got. Oh dear.
0930 SUNG EUCHARIST [Order One]
NEH 188, 295, 182
Ps 52: 10-end,
Palestrina: Missa Assumpta est Maria
Mozart: Ave Verum
Preacher: The Dean
1100 MATTINS
Responses: Smith
Stanford in B flat
Pss. 112, 147
1530 EVENSONG
Responses: Clucas
NEH 180, 183, 185
Ps. 132
Howells: Gloucester Service
Grieg: Ave maris Stella
Tags: Reality, unfortunately
Sometimes I feel like I’ve been living under a rock. The whole world is probably familiar with the work of Bruce Colero but before tonight, I was not.
I figured I was overdue for a post and have been hunting around the past 45 minutes looking for some new fantasy art of women that I hadn’t seen before when I came across www.colero.ca.
Colero is a contemporary artist born in Toronto, Canada. Formally trained, he spent some time in illustration and while he landed some gigs with magazines his passion has always been pinup and the fantasy art of women.
The guy is a true modern day Renaissance man with a network of companies from construction to retail in the fitness, health, and beauty industries. And, he is an amazing artists with an incredible eye for form.
His site focuses on the fantasy art of women in classical fantasy art women, comic, and pinup motif.
I’m a fan of most of his work but the posting here is a favorite. What do you think? Is this someone you were familiar with or is this a new artist for you as well?
Use the comment area below to let me know your thoughts.
You can pick up his book at Amazon using the link here:
These series of posts are a fascinating picture into the production of women in fantasy art. It’s a great hint into how two great artists work together. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. The three posts focus on the production of the “John Carter of Mars” painting.
First, we see the original women in fantasy art sketches and some back story…
We did this drawing as a private commission. One of the most fun and exciting things about working on fantasy art is the FANTASY part! The story of John Carter of Mars is such a blast. To do our research for this piece, we borrowed a copy of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “The Gods of Mars & The Warlord of Mars” from our own Dave Palumbo who has an especially beautiful edition that has the cover art as well as interior illustrations by Frank Frazetta. What a story! If you haven’t read these stories yet, better get to it!
–Boris and Julie
(This posting is from Paint and Brush. Click the link to view the full article from its original source.)
…
Next Boris and Julie talk a little about how they complete a painting. I was aware that they collaborated before but never at such a level. I can’t imagine what it would be like to share a painting like that. For me, I have so many ideas of where I’m going with something that I would have a hard time just picking up where someone else left off (and worrying that they took my idea in a different direction). 
Here is Julie working on the last stages of a painting based on ERB’s John Carter, a private commission from a friend of ours. We are taking turns in our usual unplanned way, There is no “you do this and I do that”. One of us just takes over when the other is ready to stop. At the end of the day the only important thing is to divide the working time as evenly as we can and to have lots of fun!
The drawing below is the preliminary sketch for two of the white apes in the right half of the painting.
–Boris
(This posting is from Paint and Brush. Click the link to view the full article from its original source.)
…
Finally the finished work …
At long last, here is the finished painting of John Carter of Mars. During the holidays, due to various ice storms and cold viruses, we were able to get plenty of work done. Not a whole lot of partying, but lots of painting. Well, you know, the farmers say to make hay while the sun shines…artists say to make paintings while you’re housebound!
(This posting is from Paint and Brush. Click the link to view the full article from its original source.)
A big thank you goes out to Cinda Williams Chima for taking the time to visit with Fantasy Book Critic.
**************************************************************************
World Building 101 by Cinda Williams Chima
World-building is the business of all fiction writers—whether we write mainstream, literary, historical, romance or fantasy fiction. Writers build a world, lure readers into it, and endeavor to keep them there.
However, we tend to associate “world-building” with fantasy and science fiction, because those stories often take place in worlds vastly different from our own. Fantasy worlds include “supernatural” elements, inconsistent with the laws of nature as we know them.
High fantasy requires more world-building, because those stories are typically set in a long-ago-and-far-away quasi-medieval setting, which can require a lot of ‘splainin’ and scene blocking. That’s one reason that fantasy novels tend to be longer than mainstream fiction—it takes time and space to create fantastical landscapes and describe magical systems.
My first fantasy series, The Heir Chronicles, is set in a well-defined contemporary fantasy world. I called it “Ohio” (oh-hi-yo.) It turns out that Ohio is familiar to many people already. Except for people who live in LA and New York City who have flown over Ohio but have never actually landed there.
My new series is high fantasy, set in the mythical Seven Realms. I created this world for The Star-Marked Warder, an adult high-fantasy trilogy that I never finished. So when I began to write The Seven Realms quartet, much of the world-building was already done. I had a history, I had some smoldering conflicts, I had a magical system, characters, and a clash of cultures.
I even had a map.
Now, I am cartographically challenged. Drawing any kind of a map is a struggle for me. But I found I really needed one when writing the story so I wouldn’t get lost in the landscape. It helped to keep me oriented, and to prevent impossible things from happening, like people going south and ending up in the north.
Here is the map I drew.
And here is the map drawn by the cartographer my publisher hired.
For some people, a map represents a descent into the abyss of high fantasy. One of my Heir Chronicles fans was not happy when I admitted that my new series involved a princess and a thief. It seems she felt much more comfortable in the Midwest.
“I just know I’m going to open up the book, and there’ll be a map on the flyleaf.”
Well, yes.
Other people feel differently. One reviewer contacted me about The Demon King, which she’d just read in ARC form. “I need to know—will there be a map in the final book?”
“Yes,” I said, cautiously.
“Good,” she said. “Otherwise, it would have to be reflected in my review.”
Whew!
Magical Systems
Magical systems are part of the world-building in fantasy. There is a continuum in fantasy magic from the subtle (e.g., clairvoyance and charisma) to the extreme (transfiguration, for example, changing a prince into a frog.) I tend toward the more subtle forms of magic. Even though my wizards can conjure up magic powerful enough to destroy the world, no lamps are being turned into cats.
In my magical systems, magic is a kind of energy that changes the state of matter. This no doubt reflects the week I spent in high school physics.
One thing I’ve learned–in order to have story, you must have conflict. In order to have conflict, magic must have limits. If your viewpoint character is all-powerful, then he can solve any problem. And that’s not good for story.
Here are some common rules and limits on magic:
· Magic is costly: magic drains the practitioner or causes pain or damage or requires expensive materials
· Magic requires tools: performing magic requires an amulet, a wand, ring, a special cloak, or a spellbook that isn’t always available or can be taken away. For example, wizards in the Seven Realms series produce “flash”—magical energy, but they need to save it up in amulets in order to accumulate enough for use. Unfortunately for wizards, amulets are made by flash-crafters among the Clans, the upland tribes who have been squabbling with wizards for more than a thousand years.
· Magic is difficult: it requires considerable learning prior to use, with intricate spells, diagrams, etc. Small errors can have dire consequences
· Magical beings have weaknesses: vampires can’t go out in the daylight, or can’t cross water, and faeries can’t abide iron, and Superman is vulnerable to Kryptonite
· Time limits: magic can only be done at certain times of day, times of the year, in the full moon, etc.
Finally, in building fictional worlds, remember that they are always based on our own. Readers connect and relate to people and magical characters whose motivations, emotions, talents and flaws are understandable. When readers ask me if Trinity, OH or the city of Fellsmarch are based on real places, I say, “Of course.” But maybe not one particular place.
That’s the magic of it.
The Demon King is now available in paperback, and The Exiled Queen released September 28. There will be four books in the Seven Realms series, followed by two more Heir books.
Excerpts from each of my books are available on my website, www.cindachima.com. Help for writers can be found under Tips for Writers, including a document called, “Getting Started in Writing for Teens.”
I blog at http://cindachima.blogspot.com/, where you’ll find rants, posts on the craft of writing, and news about me and my books.
Tags: Author, Building, Chima, Cinda, Guest, Post, Williams, World
His incredible powers are legendary, his famous red-and-blue costume is unmistakable, and the S-shield emblazoned across his chest iconic. Born Kal-El on the doomed planet Krypton, he was rocketed to Earth and raised by the kindly Kents, destined to battle evil as Superman, the Man of Steel.
Del Rey and DC Comics present The Essential Superman [...]
Suvudu » Science Fiction and Fantasy Books, Movies, Comics, and Games
Tags: Days, SUPERMAN, WEAPONMASTER