Book Review Dwelling in Darkness

It’s been a while since I read my third published book, “Dwelling in Darkness.”

I’ve called it a ‘loose sequel’ to “Kingdom of Bats.” But really, the two have different writing styles and characters, and take place on different worlds with different technology. They are in the same universe, and one character is in both, but that’s about it.

Rereading “Dwelling in Darkness” today, I’d say it’s one of my favourites. The threats to the heroes are introduced right from the start. And the story is fast-paced, but still allows time to get to know the characters involved.

One of my readers described this book as “nerdy,” and I think that’s a pretty accurate description! I wanted it to be more informative and fact-based than “Kingdom of Bats,” so I dived deeper into the animals represented.

I also wanted to stretch and challenge myself as a writer.

I took a swing at tapping into traditional stories, with references to Mayan and Malagasy (Madagascan) mythologies.

Chapter thirteen gave me an opportunity to dive into what it might be like to experience the world from the perspective of deep-sea fishes, creatures very unlike us. I enjoyed writing that chapter, challenging myself to think outside the box.

This is one of those books that someone like me may love, but someone else may find infuriating.

The mystery concerning how, why, and to what extent the dream-world is real never gets answered. I think it works fine that way, but I could see it frustrating certain readers.

The nerdiness was something I enjoyed, something I can appreciate in animal fantasy stories; though I know some may find it distracting.

And my dive into the weird world of cave and deep-sea creatures – especially the latter – really was designed to stretch the mind a little. I can see some people finding that a bog to get through.

The book has flaws, but I still had fun reading it, and I felt very passionately about it when it first got published. I find it sad it hasn’t succeeded as well as “Kingdom of Bats” and “Black Mists,” but I suppose it is more written for a niche audience than either of those.

If it sounds like your type of book, then give it a read! It’s available online, and in ebook form from various sellers!

2020 Art Contest Winners

Time to announce the winners of the Tales of the Diversity art contest!

First of all, thank you to everyone that participated! I enjoyed getting to see all the unique art pieces and takes on the characters in “The Quest.”

But I could only pick three winners… so here they are!

For Author’s Favourite:

An adorable take on Katia hanging out on the mast, by Daniel!

For Most Accurate to Book:

An incredible model of Reto from Josiah!

And for Most Unique Style:

A fun little craft of Black Night from Ethan!

Again, thank you to everyone who participated, and great job on your art pieces! I’ll aim to get prizes delivered within the next few weeks!

Looking Back: First Book

Back in 2013, I published my very first book, Kingdom of Bats. A lot can change - and has changed - in seven years. I got married, had kids, and my writing style has evolved.

I decided to revisit that first book: rereading it and seeing whether my perspective on the story has changed over these seven years.

And… I found Kingdom of Bats to be a good book! But for different reasons than I expected.

The themes of good versus evil, and how the past affects the present, were what stood out to me.

A variety of bat species are introduced, along with other animals, creating a colourful and diverse world.

And I found the climax exciting and well-paced… even if it was too early on in the book!

It’s evident that this was my first published work, with my writing and storytelling less polished and developed than future works. It’s interesting to see how far I’ve come since then, and how much better I feel about how I wrote my most recent books, The Quest and The Loss.

Thank you to those of you who’ve shown an interest in the art contest: it sounds like some artists are hard at work on their pieces! Remember, the contest is currently open for submissions, and will close at the end of January.

Looking Back: Art

I happened to be going through some old notebooks, and I discovered these: early concept art for the different races in “Tales of the Diversity”!

First of all, some context: the concepts, stories, and races now found in “Tales of the Diversity” have been on my mind for a long time, and therefore, been through many changes.

At one point, the stories were set in space, across multiple planets. I’ve had alternate races. And many of the creatures have changed over time.

This concept art, then, is a look at how I’ve imagined these races in the past… not necessarily how I picture them now.

Above is a few attempts I made at drawing Scavgans. That second image, labeled “MaiX,” was probably my inspiration for Jair’s current look (though I don’t imagine him quite like that).

I’ve never drawn a Scavgan that fully satisfied me. I’ve made lots of attempts over the years, but never really settled on a final look. I always knew I wanted them to look alien, but to what degree, I still haven’t decided.

I actually came up with the design for the Athai as part of a school project. For a later art assignment, I invented the Reea as their adversaries. In the books, I described the Athai as “lizard-squirrel people,” which is the best summary I could come up with for the design I’d chosen.

Above: this was an old concept for the Mocjoa… I certainly don’t imagine them this way anymore, though I do find this picture cute!

And finally, these are some Kamai sketches. The one on the left is mine. After giving some concept art to an artistic brother-in-law, he came up with the middle image. And the one on the right is one that I drew and he shaded.

All this to say… feel free to image and draw these races as you see fit for the art contest! You just might inspire me to reimagine the looks of the different characters once again!

My Moth

The secret has been revealed! My moth eclosed on July 21, completing its life cycle. I released it the day it emerged, after I finished snapping off many photos of it (and before I’d gotten it identified).

The moth I reared from older caterpillar to adult was…

A Mouse Moth (Amphipyra tragopoginis)!

Possibly introduced from Europe (oops), these moths eat a variety of plants as caterpillars (mine just wanted dandelions, and lots of them). They can be identified by the triangle of black spots on each forewing.

According to ukmoths.org.uk, they may be called Mouse Moths because, when startled, they tend to run away like little mice instead of flying. That would fit with my experience while trying to re-catch it after I accidentally let it escape during its photo shoot.

All in all, raising that little caterpillar was a fun experience! And now I have a souvenir pupa skin to remember it by!

Caterpillars

In addition to writing, I’ve been busy designing a brochure about butterflies and moths of Fort St John. During my research, I learned a little about rearing caterpillars, and thought it would be fun to try raising local caterpillars.

In a lot of cases, caterpillars aren’t as well-studied by scientists as the adults. That leaves room for fun discoveries! So I prayed the opportunity would come to rear a caterpillar, and kept my eyes open to the ground.

While walking up to Tim Horton’s during a rainstorm, I found a caterpillar crawling along the pavement. So I took it home. Believing it to be a cutworm of some kind (some of the adult moths are called ‘darts’), I gave it a home where it could dig, as cutworms spend a lot of time underground. It chewed off a ‘cutting’ of some clover, spent time underground and above, and seemed to be behaving like a cutworm should.

I did a little research, and learned that some cutworms in our area ‘estivate’ during mid-summer - essentially, this is the summer version of hibernation. It appeared to be doing that: hiding itself in the substrate and never coming up to eat.

Sadly, I don’t think I set up the conditions for estivation well; and the cutworm died and shriveled up. Caterpillars get their water from their food, so I’m guessing it dehydrated - maybe they estivate somewhere with a good amount of moisture to make up for their lack of eating during this period.

My disappointment over losing this caterpillar was mitigated by the fact I’d already found another in my yard by a dandelion. It ate well, devouring dandelion leafs, growing, and pooping a lot.

As you can see in the bottom photos, one day, I found it weaving itself a cocoon! It took about two days to finish the cocoon and then pupate. Now, I have a little pupa waiting to ‘eclose’ (emerge)!

I’m not sure what species it is… I had been assuming it was a sulphur butterfly, since I’ve seen those in our yard and they too have green caterpillars. But they don’t spin cocoons, and their pupa looks quite a bit different. I’ve researched, but still don’t know what it is… so I’ll get a fun surprise when it ecloses!

Assuming it does, of course. Things can still go wrong in the pupa stage, and the moth could die during transformation. But I’m hoping for the best.

From what I gather, the transformation usually takes a few weeks. If or when the moth ecloses, I’ll send it in to be identified by the professionals at BAMONA (Butterflies and Moths of North America), then let you know what kind of moth it is!

If you want to learn how to raise caterpillars, I’d recommend looking up “Bart Coppens butterflies.” He actually works mainly with moths, and rears both species that are exotic and ones that are native to his home in the Netherlands.

Moths 101

After lots of designing, photographing, and even some butterfly-catching, I’ve finished it: the newest version of my brochure, “Butterflies and Moths of Fort St John” - and I’m so excited, I had to post about it!

Moths are diverse, often overlooked critters that are about 400 species strong in British Columbia. Obviously, my one-page brochure can’t cover all the species in our area; but it gives a starting point to work with.

Scientists classify both butterflies and moths as Lepidoptera. Both have the same life cycle, wings with tiny scales, and a curling proboscis for sipping liquids (except the moths that don’t eat, which often don’t even have mouths!).

So: what is the difference between a butterfly and a moth, anyways?

After some mutterings about colour, time of wakefulness, antennae shape, and little apperati on the wings - all rules broken by some moth or butterfly somewhere - entomologists appear to throw up their hands and conclude, “It’s just a linguistic difference.” In other words, butterflies and moths are different in the way that locusts and grasshoppers are different. It’s just a fancy name change.

You can read more about my work with moths by clicking here!

I will be having the design professionally printed, hopefully before the month is over.