Greetings Star Seekers,

Welcome to all the new backers! It's amazing to have you here! Today I wanted to talk to you about not only Phoenix's, but also another Booktopia campaign near and dear to me, Captivity--my partner's campaign.



I met Sarah two years ago in an author Kickstarter group. She has hired me for art for her Kickstarter campaigns ever since, and I have created over 20 illustrations for her through the years! She has become a close friend, and her comissions always pushes me as an artist. Like this landscape for example.

I definately feel my character art is my strength, but she often commissions art I didn't think I could do. And she trusts me enough to believe in me when even I feel skeptical about my ability. We often talk about campaigns and how we can make it better. We both love pretty books, and it comes as no surprise that both our campaigns focus on this. One new thing she added for her campaign this time around is full colour two page chapter headings!



This was such a fun commission as I got to draw two of my favourite fantastical creatures, a siren and a phoenix. Sarah also challenged me to try a new style of painting the art, with a more painterly approach versus my normal approach, which I will share in tomorrow's update.

I also designed the sprayed edges for her using the chapter heading illustrations of her characters and the feather from her dust jacket.

I think Sarah's book will be so gorgeous and I can't wait to have my own copy for my collection! Even I am not immune to stuffing my bookshelves with pretty books. 

Aside from these illustrations, I also designed her pins. Both her feather pin, as well as our combined collaboration pin. When we were discussing booktopia, we discovered that both of us had phoenix's in common, and so when I created our cross-collaboration pin, I used that as inspiration for the design.

A phoenix historically has a cyclical nature, from death to rebirth, and so I represented that with the cyclical design of the yin-yang. This cycle of death and rebirth is also present in my own book, just in a slightly different way. I filled these pins with a lot of symbolism. Both visually and as it relates to our books. And while Sarah's pin was inspired by her phoenix, it also carries a lot of symbolism for my own book. 

So, when you get a moment, definitely check out my partner's campaign! You won't be dissapointed. And be sure to back us both to get this pin set for FREE!

Today I plan to finish the illustration of Gabriel & Nisha so I can share it with you tomorrow. Until then, let me know which illustation you want me to focus on after that one is done!

And let me know if you are interested in a lifestream where I share my screen as I draw one of the illustrations!

Yours in art,
Therena

Back Star Awakened today & add this beautiful illustrated deluxe hardcover set to your collection!

If there is one thing I learned from my experience as a backer and a creator, it is that crowdfunding is about the journey, not unlike those of a character in a story. Sometimes these journeys start years, decades even, before the campaign is ever launched. Other times, it is actively happening during the campaign.

As with this campaign there are multiple journeys happening simultaneously. As far as progress on the book goes, I just submitted the newly edited and shiny manuscript for Star Awakened to my editor after I received very valuable feedback from a beta reader. He will be going over it over the next month and hopefully get it back by October so I can go through any needed revisions. I've actually come to love this part, as I have learned just how much I improve and grow during this stage, and that is one of my highest values. (Growth and learning)

But there is another journey happening, one of which you are very much a part of. And that is the funding journey, or in prettier words, Stretch goals! For what is a goal other than a quest you set out to do? With that in mind, I just designed this shiny new stretch goal graphic for the campaign. And, since much of these two books happen onboard the Black Maiden (sailing vessel), I thought I would create a map of your journey! The art is a very dark render of the map I made of the Great Sea, which is an interior illustration in Star Found ^_^

And what better way to celebrate the first official unlocked stretch goal?

🌟Next up, backer credit in the special thanks page in Star Awakened when we hit $11,000.

🌟Beyond that, I figured that a digital NSFW art PDF for all backers would be a good stretch goal. I usually only share NSFW content on my Patreon, but I think this would be a good reward for backers as well. And since spicy art is too hot to share here, it is the perfect compliment to your digital rewards! Some of the NSFW art will be in the book itself, but not all of them. 

Okay, so I really wanted to talk about music as it relates to my books and characters...yup, pretty much all of them have a theme song. Music is integral to my art and my writing. It powers my Muse, and it wouldn't be fair to my Muse to at least mention this very important part of my journey and process. When I write, I have to play music in the background. But something really bizarre happens as I fall deeper into focus--I stop hearing anything. For this reason I typically listen to epic soundtracks. Howard Shore, Two steps from hell, Jo Blankenburg, Midnight Syndicate, to name just a few, are my go-to artists for inspiration.

But, occasionally a song with lyrics will attach itself to a character. So, I thought it might be fun to share the songs which I put on repeat when I wrote certain characters or scenes! And perhaps you can enjoy these when you read the books!

💕EVIE & CAIN
Let's start with Evie & Cain, while writing them for the first time, I kept playing "Out of my life" by Omnimar. It put me in Evie's POV and build how she felt about Cain. For Cain's POV, I found myself inspired by Apocalyptica's "Not Strong Enough".

For the scene in the sacred grove, I discovered Says by Nils Frahm. And I highly recommend listening to it when you read that chapter! This song transcended my Muse as I wrote the scene. It carried me past my writers block at the time and into one of my favourite scenes in Star Found. I remember lying on the couch, feeling stuck, eyes closed when this song came on. (Thank you Google playlists for knowing what I like!) Anyway, I suddenly saw this scene with such clarity that I wrote it in a passionate frenzy to the beat of the music. I had the song on repeat, and this is the art inspired by that very scene. (SFW version - the NSFW version is in the novel)



🌟GABRIEL & NISHA

These two characters grow in importance in Star Awakened. With Gabriel being introduced in Star Found, you will discover more of his past in book two as well. In fact, one of the reasons book 2 took so long was because I needed to get to know these two better before I could write some of the major plot lines from the series!
Their relationship is... complicated, to say it nicely. And so their songs capture these emotions.
 
For Gabriel, I imagine the song Fire on Fire by Sam Smith perfectly captures his feelings for Nisha. While Nisha's song is Wicked Game by Lusaint. And between the two of them Last Dance by Covenant has inspired a large part of their story.

And since you guys voted to see them next, here is the sketch for the character art I will finish next and hopefully reveal by tomorrow! It will be in Star Awakened!

There's many more songs I'm sure. In fact, if you want to hear the totally absurd music which inspires me you can check out these playlists I made for myself.
 
My current favourite list. Warning, some songs are probably a bit emo... 😅Um, yeah...my Muse has a rather malencholy side to her, in case that wasn't clear in my art. 
And my epic fantasy lists: (Don't judge my naming 😅)
Haunted celestial dragons
Epic Cinematic Feels
And a go-to album for writing fight scenes: Battlecry

Music has been the greatest source of my inspiration for both my art and books. Often a single phrase would trigger an entire plotline or event, and in some cases even define a character!

So when you get to read Star Found & Star Awakened, turn on these playlists and let the music wash over you as you get to know the characters in a way only I have ever known them.

Does music inspire you? If so what is your favourite song?

Hope you loved today's reveal of my creative process. Somehow sharing my taste in music feels more vulnerable than sharing my art.

Hope you have a wonderful rest of your weekend! I'll be back to share more art with you again tomorrow!

Yours in art,
Therena

PS: I have extended the early bird tiers for one more day! So if you wanted to snag one of those, don't wait! Back today!

Greetings Star Travellers,

Every character has an origin story, one which starts long before an author ever pens their first words. So I thought I would share that origin story with you for how Star Found and the characters came to be. 

For decades I have written stories, I was 10 when I wrote my first 'story' in a tiny little journal. It was a military romance of all things as I was obsessed with the show "Tour of Duty" and the main character was the most beautiful man I had ever seen with his striking blue eyes. But I digress, through the years as I grew up I filled more and more journals with stories. In my early twenties I started my first romantasy novel, and in many ways the lore for the Tri-Realms.

But I had always only written for myself. I am an avid reader, and loved escaping into epic fantasy and romantasy books and art. But I never dreamed I could ever write one myself. My writing had always only been for me. Until about 5 years ago, when I mentioned to an editor who edited my photography magazines that I had several journals filled with a story and he challenged me to publish it.

I scoffed at the idea, but then Covid hit, and well, I had time. I figured why not? I could write a quick short story, just to say I did it. My existing epic was too big and intimidating by this time as it filled 14 journals. (I hand write my books). Around this same time, I started running a Dungeons and Dragons campaign for my family and since my kids were too young, I had to make a healer for their party. 

Enter Evie: I loved the backstory I made for her so much that she became the inspiration for the very books you see today. Born as a half-breed between an angel (aasimar) and a demon (tiefling) I asked myself how would these two opposing races even meet. And so, Star Found was born. 
 
I drew this sketch of her for the D&D campaign, but in my head she introduced to me to a much more fleshed out character. Her stories started filling my dreams, and I soon found myself writing day after day as her story came pouring out. 

And it wasn't long before she grew up and met Cain (because romance is one of my favourite elements in any fantasy book alongside the epic adventures and rich worlds, and romantasy is simply military romance in an epic fantasy setting 😅)

For 3 months I wrote Evie's story and filled 3.5 journals. My first draft was written, but then came the hard part. Transcribing took almost a year, followed by months of beta reading, crying because it was the first time I shared my writing with anyone and feedback felt like personal attacks (I have since gotten over that), editing (with more tears and a lot of learning) and finally creating my first Kickstarter campaign for Star Found. But something happened during that first year of transcribing, what was supposed to be a 'short story' was in fact much bigger than that. Each of those journals contained what translated into 100,000+ word epic novels!

At the same time as I wrote Evie's story, another fire was lit under a long lost dream. I had to pivot from my career as a professional photographer (because letting strangers into my home studio during covid was never going to happen). And I returned to my other first love, and something I had always intended to do but never pursued out off fear: illustration.

I bought a wacom mobile studio pro and started teaching myself digital art again (I had dabbled since 2009, but never really pursued it beyond that). This time with the goal of becoming good enough to have my art on book covers. But, imposter syndrome was real, and crippling. When I finished Star Found, I hired an illustrator to redraw my sketches into covers for me! Because to me, I wasn't good enough.

But something truly amazing happened in 2022 when I launched the Kickstarter for Star Found's debut release. People backed my campaign, and actually believed in my art. I was fueled by the support, and ended up creating 14 interior illustrations in one month! (3 were done before, and I drew 11 during the campaign!) 

Another miracle happened. For the campaign I made the cover for my special edition, because I figured that it wouldn't have to compete at a retail level for how good it was, and that perhaps the fact that the author drew it would mean one or two people might buy it. Turns out, that version was the most popular one. And it was just the confidence boost I needed to believe that I can make my own covers and that I was good enough. 

The campaign exceeded my expectations in so many ways. But the most valuable part was the gift of backers - people like you - believing in me and my art. That faith in me has only grown in the past two years as I started pushing myself to learn and grow as an artist and author. And I vowed to do all my own art for my covers from then on and make the most beautiful books I could, filled with not only the stories, but my art.

Star Awakened has taken two years to be where it is today as the characters has veered from that original script and first draft (Why can't characters just follow the plot you set out for it?). And because of the standard I had set out with beautiful art for the book, I needed more time to illustrate the art for it. But, I knew in my heart that I had to give these characters my all. Not only in the story itself, but the art. And it is finally almost there.

In fact, I went back and 'touched up' some of the illustrations from Star Found as well as added even more new ones to this deluxe edition. 

All of this brings us to this campaign. The culmination of a lifelong dream and four years of work and growth as an artist and author. And I couldn't be more proud of the books I am offering in this campaign.

Star Found was the dream I never dared voice or think possible; Star Awakened is the epic journey I set forth in following my dream no matter how long it takes or how hard it becomes. So thank you for being on this journey with me.
 
Without the love and support from backers like you, I wouldn't be here. Your belief in me is what sustains me and keeps me putting my art out there for the world to see and enjoy instead of hoarding it all to myself.

One of the things I love about both these books, and those yet to come, is that you will witness my journey as I grow as an artist alongside the growth of my characters as they fulfill their destiny and embrace their true selves. A journey of resilience and perseverance, mirroring my own. So, if you haven't backed the project yet, I want to invite you along for this journey. By supporting it, you are the fuel which powers the dream. You are a part of the journey, a keystone in my story as an artist. And I promise that I will pour my heart and soul into everything that I make so that you will have the best I have to offer. Even if it takes a little longer than I planned.

Which brings me to the stretch goals!


🔒💫✨At $11,000, I will add a special thanks page, where all backers's names will be credited inside Star Awakened. (You will choose how you want to be memorialized in the survey after the campaign).

🔒💫✨ At $10,000 - holographic commemorative sticker for all physical tiers

🔓💫✨$8500 - You guys have unlocked another character art reveal! So go vote in today's poll to see which one I should draw next for you!✨💫

Until tomorrow then. Remember to vote on which art you want me to finish next! And in the comments, I would love to know what journey you have embarked on?

Yours in art,
Therena

 

Before I get started, I wanted to thank each of you for being here! Yesterday blew me away with how well this campaign has funded, and we are only in day two! 

In yestersday's update, I had a poll where you guys could vote on which interior character art you wanted me to sketch first. And the winner was Miranda!

Below I will share a little bit about her character and why she is special to both me and the story! But one cannot talk about Miranda without also mentioning the love of her life, Ruthnor. So today's art reveal is a bit of a two-for-one ^_^. 

Now I will be honest with you. I can write epic stories, and I can draw character art to express my visions clearly, but I really struggle to talk about my characters and books >.< I will try my best, but I always joke that it is easier to write 100,000 words about a topic than 500... So, if what I say sounds fragmented and awkward, that's just me trying to fit 100,000 words into 200. 😅 (Also, my editor isn't here to correct my spelling or grammar. 🫣 You get just me.)

So without further adue, meet my fiery mentor and fearsome comic relief, I mean Miranda and Ruthnor!

These two couldn't be more different from each other, but somewhere in a time before the events of Star Found & Star Awakened, these two met and fell in love. One day I might write their own story, but for now they are two very important side-characters.

Without giving away too many spoilers, both of these characters play a key role in the choices my main character, Evie, makes throughout the books.

Miranda is one of my favourite characters, because I see in her the wisdom I wish I listened to in my own life. Whenever she teaches Evie, she is often speaking to me in whatever has happened in my own life at the time of writing. I also love that she is an older, curvy character, that is both confident and a skilled warrior. (Because strong warrior women are my favourite ~ You can thank Xena for that!) 😅⚔️

In Star Found, Miranda has a fairly minor-ish role, but that deepens as we venture into Star Awakened, and her mysterious past is finally revealed. She gets more page time as well as her own portrait in Star Awakened (This one!) She is a character which surprised me with her own story and growth. She was never meant to be such a major part of the story, but, as I wrote the first draft, she grew on me. Here is one of my favourite quotes by Miranda in Star Awakened ^_^

But Miranda doesn't join Evie alone. Her husband, Ruthnor was with her in Star Found. Ruthnor is the character which made me laugh the most. His mannerisms and sense of humor often had me giggling out loud and making my family look at me strangely. He is the lightness to Miranda's knowledge and wisdom.

One of the new art additions to Star Found is the illustration of Ruthnor. I've been told that he is most people's favourite character. And for those who have read Star Found, you have much to look forward to with him in coming books! 

So there you have it. My very poor attempt at describing my characters without spoilers. 😅 But what I lack in words, I hope I make up in portraying them in the art. And you will have to read the books to get to know these two more intimately.

The next thing I wanted to share was stretch goals for this campaign. Usually when I set these up, they are the special features from gold foil, sprayed edges, end papers etc. But I know that I wanted these books to be pretty no matter what. So I already added all those features to the books. Which kind of left me without ideas for stretch goals.

My biggest goal with this campaign is to do a print run, which means a high upfront cost for me to print the books so I can get all these shiny features. But, I still want to reward you guys for supporting my dream. So, as the days progress I will be making several polls to see what you all are most interested in. But in the meantime, I figured that I will use stretch goals as art reveals for the interior illustrations I am drawing for Star Awakened. 

But not all stretch goals are just reveals. 

Leatherbound books are more durable, and I love the way they feel and look with gold foiling.

Another stretch goal will be when we hit $10,000 or 100 backers. All backers will receive a themed sticker or some other small gift! (Physical tiers only*)

And in between art reveals, I will unlock digital art packages. From NSFW art, to wall papers. That way everyone wins! I will make a nice graphic today for the stretch goals and share it with you in the next update! 

Lots of exciting things coming your way! Throughout the campaign I will share all the art, or at least as much as I can (there are some NSFW ones I can't share here, but you can always check them out in my naughty Muse tiers on my Patreon, there is a FREE trial).

For today's poll, you get to vote on whether you prefer Miranda or Ruthnor. And tomorrow you will vote on the next art reveal ^-^

Most of Star Awakened's art is still in the concept phase, so I need a few days to finish illustrating them between sharing. 

So if you have been on the fence about backing, don't miss out! Back today!



Oh, and before I go, did you know you can read a sample of Star Found here?



Until tomorrow! Keep it epic.

Yours in art.

Therena

PS:

Don't forget to back both me and my partner for Booktopia to get these two pins! I have an entry level pin tier which qualifies, and I just added the eBook to that tier (I forgot to do so when I set up the campaign! Oops) But anyone who backs that tier will also get the eBook. So if you are international, or on a tight budget, that is the tier for you! 

Welcome and thank you for the overwhelming support so far! This project has been 2 years in the making (4 if you count when I wrote the first draft for Evie's story!)
It's been a labour of love, a wild dream I pursued with reckless abandon even when I had no proof I could write, let alone illustrate, a full novel.

You see, Star Found was supposed to be a "short story", something I could finish quickly and say I did it. (All my journals of stories I've written up till then were several volumes big already  and too intimidating) Well, after I transcribed the journals for Star Found, it became abundantly clear that my vision for a short story was nothing but a wishful thinking as short stories don't end with 300,000 word counts ...

Nevertheless, it simply meant bigger, better books. For at the same time I wrote Star Found, I started taking illustration more seriously as well. Though no journey is straightforward, and being an artist comes with a heavy dose of imposter syndrome. But those first backers ignited the fire under my dream. They gave me the confidence I needed to fuel my creativity. And as such, Star Found ended with 14 illustrations! And my confidence to create my own cover art!

And so the standard was set for beautiful art filled books. Now, I doubt that I will have that many illustrations for Star Awakened, my art has since become more complex and detailed. But I have every intention of adding at least half of that to the second book in the series! Not to mention all the new additions of illustrated end papers, etc.

I would like to invite you along as I create it over the next two months! 

Over the course of the campaign, you will have the opportunity to vote the order I draw in. If all goes well, I might even do a live drawing. (Though this has challenged my poor computer GPU in the past. But I'll still try 😅) I'll be stopping by with almost daily updates with polls, WIP art, and more. For the next few weeks I'll be fully immersed in the world of the Tri-Realms. Specifically creating art for your beautiful books!

As another way to reward you guys, I'll be sharing a question each update. When you participate and comment, or even voting on the polls, you will have a special treat added to your pledge after the campaign! (An exclusive holographic sticker!)

So to get things started, tell me your favourite romantasy series / author in the comments and let's gush together about this amazing genre!

How to choose just one ... Would it be cheating if I picked 3 or more?

My first love for dark romantasy started with Sara Douglass' Wayfarer Redemption series. As did my dream to become a fantasy cover artist! (Inspired by Lois Royo, who did her covers) In fact, I recently reread her series, and can see her influence on my own writing decades after the first time I read it! These books wrecked me. Especially book 4-6! Her character development is phenomenal, being able to take a character I reviled, to one I not only sympathized with, but became my favourite of all time!

Another author I discovered only recently is S.J. Maas. Specifically her Throne of Glass series. Long have I lusted over her hardcover books in the bookstore with those character covers. (Though I could never afford them) But it wasn't until after I wrote Star Found and had to research the genre more, that I bought the eBooks and read it. And not surprising, I loved it. 🤫Though I hated Celeana in the first book. But it's a gift to take a main character from annoying to loving and caring about them. And Sarah did this incredibly well.

With both these series', the authors masterfully wielded not only plot twists, but character growth. And they have both inspired me to do the same. I love writing flawed characters that are not only relatable, but which you will grow to love. They face not only the dangers of the fantasy world around them, but also have to overcome their own internal demons. Depression, fear of failure, low self esteem, loneliness, betrayal, and not belonging are just a few of their challenges they face. It's my hope that you will come to love these characters as much as I do. And enjoy their journey as they grow and become the best versions of themselves.

I leave you with an illustration from Star Found, featuring Cain & Evie. 


Until tomorrow!

I look forward to hearing about your favourite books! And don't forget to vote in the poll! You can also unlock more rewards by clicking on any of the achievements linked below!

Yours in art,
Therena

PS: If you haven't backed yet, you can still claim one of the early bird tiers! And early bird rewards!
The first 60 backers will get an oracle postcard, and everyone in the first 48 hours will get an exclusive early bird sticker!



And don't forget to check out my partner's campaign to claim your 2 FREE pins when you back both of us! (*physical tiers only)