Hello, Readers!  You may remember that as part of the celebration of last year's In The Cards, I created and gave away a piece of artwork.  This year, I'm continuing the tradition!  The Proper Bearing contains many pivotal scenes, but the image which seemed a natural choice was one that another character creates:

 The original was done with Chameleon pens on 9x12 Bristol, and I will be mounting it on black mat board. In my art shop, Gifts of Awen, this would sell for $60 ... but you've got the chance to own it for FREE!  All you have to do is enter the giveaway over on Rafflecopter!  You even have chances to gain extra entries in the raffle by helping spread the news about The Proper Bearing on social media or following me ... and if you haven't bought my other two books yet, you'll get super extra entries by doing that.

The deadline for entries is September 17th.  

Good luck to everyone who enters!  I hope you'll join me next week for the second​ giveaway! 

Despite how busy and strange this month has been, I still managed to cross the Camp NaNoWriMo finish line for the fourth straight year in a row!  It's hard to believe I've been at this, in a constant and dedicated fashion, long enough for it to theoretically be a college degree.  This is, by no means, to say that I feel like I know everything about How To Be A Self-Published Author: that'd be impossible.  I will say that there are probably a few secrets lurking in the practice of surrounding yourself with people and experiences which make you happy and/or inspired.    (For the curious: those current experiences, for me, include watching the entirety of Twin Peaks, attending a community theatre performance of The Hound of the Baskervilles, helping a friend move, picking blueberries while there's still dew on them, and stepping up my artistic noodling away from the written word.)

Those of you with a sharp eye may notice that I've changed the Arts & Crafts section of my website and removed my link to my DeviantArt gallery, replacing it with an onsite one.  Not only does it make it easier for you all to see my art, but it helps pave the way for my secondary creative venture: an arts and crafts storefront called Gifts of Awen. Some of it is related to Aviario, but a good deal of it will be more inspirational and metaphysical in nature, focusing on the intent of creating magical and/or peaceful art for small spaces.  My first project for Gifts of Awen is a series of artist cards dedicated to the seven chakras.  Here's a peek at the first two, which I completed last night:

My goal is to also create postcards and other prints of these, along with other small art designed to help people find insight, inspiration, and a moment of peace in a busy, cluttered world.  Commisssions will also be available through the site: I have several slots currently open.   If you would like to see what else I have up at the moment, I'd be honored if you'd join me over at the storefront.   Those of you who follow me on Instagram will also see pictures of new pieces as they're completed and posted!   This may also mean the return of The Author's Oracle ... only time will tell.   For now, I'm headed back to my creative corner to chip away at The Proper Bearing and work on some more illustrations.   I hope you all have a lovely week!