I said the new cover for Missing Wings would be out the end of June, but thankfully something went better than expected and the new map came this morning. With all the interior updated, I could publish the new cover, with art by: Ryan Alexander Lee and title work by Artie Cabrera. This cover makes me happy. It’s totally worth the battle I had with the publishing distribution platforms today. It reminded me of the days when I was confident a briefing slide or a printed annex was ready to go, only to find that one typo that forced me to redo and upload everything again, then again, and then five or six more times. Thank you again to my writing buddy James (author & screenwriter: JE Mac), you saved my sanity getting the cover sized right. 

If all goes well with the edits this summer, I will get to have another publishing platform battle and the pleasure of revealing the cover for the new book, Wings Prophecy. 

Several exciting things have been in the works this spring. For those who have been waiting on the second book in the Chronicles of the Aranysargas, I am happy to let you know the draft is finished. It goes off to my editor, Shannon at the start of July 2021. 

I won’t lie, Shannon is a brutal crusher of dreams and irrelevant: words/characters/scenes/darlings. Based on this, I hesitate to give any publication date promises or predictions. I can say the end is in sight. I’m also asking my praying friends to add me to your prayer list. I’m praying this edit doesn’t result in any major rewrites.

In 2020 I received the promise of a new book cover from my husband as a birthday present. I have an August Birthday, and that fall I sent a formal request for the second cover. That’s when I learned my first cover artist no longer does private commissions. I did have a pity party and wine, and then I moved on.

This unexpected end created a dream come true opportunity for me. I made a list of artists and took a chance. I asked an illustrator whose Magic the Gathering card artwork I have been captivated by if he would take my private commission. The amazing Ryan Lee said yes. When he finished the art for the second cover he agreed to complete a new cover for Missing Wings. I now have not one, but two cover reveals coming!

I’m not doing either cover reveal today. I’m sorry, I really do want to show you, but I can’t yet. Instead let me just shamelessly go to brag camp about Ryan Lee and his art.

I returned to playing Magic the Gathering with the Shadows Over Innistrad release, which made the black Vampire Noble my first Ryan Lee card. To me, she totally stood out from the Innistrad Vampire crowd. The first deck I made with Innistrad was a vampire one. I mean, how could I not after getting the Planeswalker – Sorin. I have two Vampire Nobles in that deck.

I’m also partial to Tezzeret the Schemer, a blue black Planeswalker from Aether Revolt.

The art that made me a total fan of Ryan’s was his Mythic Rare Iridescent Angel from the Vault: Angels Set. I do own that set, and its collectible foil Iridescent Angel.

Ryan Lee has been a professional concept artist since 2009 and has worked with a variety of clients. He has been a card artist for Magic the Gathering for a decade after winning an illustration and fantasy art challenge online. He has been involved in concept art for various blocks including: Return to Zendikar and Amonkhet. If you follow him on instagram (ryan_alexander_lee) you’ll get to see teasers of his Magic Card Art and glimpses from his own comic, Hessyst a cosmic-horror story set in a fantasy universe. Ryan lives in California with his family, but grew up not far from me in Plymouth, Minnesota. You can view more of his work out on his website here: https://www.ryanleeart.com

I have some really cool news to share: one of my short stories is going to the moon. My friend, Samuel Peralta, announced he is sending every single one of his Chronicle Worlds in the payload he purchased as part of the Writers on the Moon project. This means my story, published in the thirteenth anthology from his series, Chronicle Worlds: Feyland, is included. I’m still in the “pinch me” phase from hearing the big news. Samuel has done a lot of projects with a wide range of artists, authors, and musicians. To be one of the authors whose work is being included in this project is exciting and very humbling. Samuel has two payloads on Astrobotic’s Peregrine Lunar Lander, set for launch on the United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur rocket platform on July 2021, headed for the Moon. Thank you again, Samuel. I am hopeful that everything goes well with the launch this July.

To learn more about Samuel Peralta’s work, his Chronicle Worlds series, and other projects head here: https://www.future-chronicles.net

> https://www.space.com/astrobotic-ula-centaur-moon-lander…