The CreativeLife week 38 in review

 Hi there,

What a week! As anticipated my workload was huge and there is little chance of it letting up soon. The pains and pleasures of being self-employed, so I am not complaining. The bills are not waiting and the current situation is getting worse on an almost monthly basis. Load-shedding every day between 6 and 12 hours? Yup, it is not fun at all and then our electricity provider keeps on raising the costs of a service that they are clearly not delivering.

Maybe it is time for us to go off-grid too. If only it wasn't so expensive we might have done so already. Not an easy decision to make, I can tell you.

I bought these sunflowers to use as
reference in a future painting.
Hubs took the photo for me.

Work and life challenges aside, I managed to finish three more chapters of Keeper of the Dragon Key. I will send the third to my editor tomorrow morning. The end is not yet in sight, so I need to continue working on it as much as I can to stand a chance of making the publishing deadline in December. Holding thumbs!

With Inktober coming soon, I have to start preparing for that on top of everything else. I really like the challenge so it is a good time to pull our my planner for the upcoming month. Oh, and Stoic Week is coming in October too. Fortunately, later in the month but still another thing that I want to spend time doing. Definitely time to do some serious planning.

With everything on my plate for October and November (NaNoWriMo) the art group will not have new projects to tackle. I need to finish a small painting I started during the week, and then I am free to use my time to draw. If you want to see my upcoming Inktober drawings, and all the Inktober52 drawings I have done so far, check out my Insta @LinzeBrandon. If I remember, the drawings are also shared on Twitter, but the challenge mainly runs on Instagram where you can see the awesome drawings made by some many other artists.

Since it is Sunday afternoon, and I still have a few things to do for the week ahead, I will say goodbye until next time.

Have a productive and creative week!

🇿🇦💜 Linzé

The CreativeLife week 37 in review

 Hello there!

  Just a short post this week because work was again taking up most of my time. But I am happy to report progress on my editing of the Keeper of the Dragon Key.

  I also got all the cover graphics I want, and spoke to my husband about doing the Photoshop edits of the design I want. I have no idea how to use Photoshop and to be honest have little motivation to learn, but he is brilliant with it. As a photographer it is not even an option, so for me it is a benefit that he does.

  I can explain what I want, and then he creates the cover design I see in my mind. Perhaps I explain it well, or he is just that good. Trust me it is the latter. I have also used some of his photographs for previous covers, but this time I had to get the graphics online - from free sites of course. Infringing copyright is not something I am comfortable with at all.

  So here is the cover teaser 😋 and hopefully soon I can share what the real cover will look like.

 Since the editing is progressing a lot more smoothly than my last post, I better get back to it - while the iron is still hot, as they say.

All the best with your week ahead!

💜🇿🇦 Linzé

On my wishlist this week:

Couture Creations Alcohol Ink Blending Solution

Rosies Studio Celebrate You Paper Pack

Jackson's Ceramic Palette - 3.5 x 4" with Lid

The CreativeLife week 36 in review

 Hi there!

Like many of you I was shocked to hear about the passing of Queen Elizabeth II. One of the art group friend's mom was kind enough to let us know. She was a person for whom I had a lot of respect for. RIP Your Majesty. 🇬🇧

It's been another crazy busy week where I did two jobs which would normally take a week each. Long hours for sure, which made the weekend that much more welcome. I finished my page for our art group's monthly challenge and the image was inspired by Michelle the Painter. Check out her channel if you would like to learn how to paint some interesting subjects in acrylics.

I plan to bind a few sketchbooks, but with limited time and a lot of creative projects also on the go, it has not happened yet. I was looking for something in my studio when I found a stack of small papers that I had been saving, They were the obvious inspiration to make a tiny book. It is not finished yet, but once done I will share a few pictures to show you. It is 46mm high by 32mm wide with a 5mm thick text block. The pages are blank and a bit heavier than printer paper, which makes it suitable for drawing with dry mediums.

Editing my book is making slow progress but as promised you will find an excerpt from it this week. The cover is still a concept in my brain, but it is no longer a vague thought of maybes.

Enjoy the sneak preview of the book, and I will see you again soon!

💜🇿🇦  Linzé

As promised here is the Prologue of Keeper of the Dragon Key, coming (hopefully 🙄) in December. Enjoy!

The Dragon Masters: Keeper of the Dragon Key

by Linzé Brandon

Prologue

Daérini Crea sighed in satisfaction as her body relaxed after being pleasured by her mate. She dropped her head to his chest while his hands caressed her back.

“Hmm,” she purred deeply in her throat.

Adrian smiled at his mate's reaction. He still had a hard time believing how he happy he was with her in his life.

She closed her eyes and felt sleep claiming her mind under his stroking hands. He relaxed too and closed his eyes.

The couple had barely dozed off when another future being appeared.

“Li! What the hell?”

Adrian sat up as well and frowned at his brother-of-joining's rude entrance into their bedroom. He glanced at his mate, scowling at their visitor. At least she held the bedsheet up to her throat. Future beings had little concern about each other's natural state, but he appreciated that she respected his feelings on the subject.

Li bowed with a solemn face and Adrian got a bad feeling. “I am really sorry for barging in like this, but we have a serious problem.”

Before either could reply, Daérini's body shivered and slumped against her mate's chest. Adrian held her gently as they waited for the vision to pass. He glanced at Li and the bad feeling got worse when he spotted the way Li wrung his hands together. They waited in silence since he could only see her visions if they were touching before it started.

A few more seconds passed before Daérini opened her eyes. “You saw it too?” she asked in a horrified whisper.

Li nodded. “We need to go and talk to Dad. This is a disaster.”

Adrian's eyes widened, but Daérini just nodded. “Give us a few minutes please?”

Li obliged and left them alone, closing the bedroom door behind him.

Conscious of their earlier activities, the couple shared a shower and Daérini brought him up to speed at the same time.

They dried off, got dressed and tied their wet hair into ponytails – warrior style. No time to lose, not even to dry their manes with magic.

Five minutes after he left them alone, they appeared again. “Let's go,” Li said and they all jumped to the fourth dimension.

“Alu'Adr''Erinia,” they all said as they arrived in the fourth dimension to see the leader of the Order of the Future Beings – and Daérini and Li's father.

He bowed his head in acknowledgement. “Always good to see the children,” he replied with a smile, until he realised their sombre demeanours. “What have you seen?”

Daérini explained the vision and Alu's frown deepened.

“Mother,” the younger people said and smiled at the newcomer.

Alu turned to Eri'Adr''Erinia. “This is distressing news,” he replied taking her hand.

“What could have caused them to suddenly target the bridge again?” Alu asked to no one in particular.

“Or who?” Adrian added, and the faces around him got more worried.

Alu and Eri shared a look. “I will go and talk to the High Lords. I don't think it's Lucian, but it’s better to make sure,” Alu said.

Daérini nodded. The rogue High Lord was causing havoc in the third dimension, but as far as they knew, he wasn’t able to dimension jump. As Alu said, it would be better to find out.

Li looked at his sister. “We need the Future Warriors to help to restore the bridge.”

“Future Warriors?” Adrian asked looking down at his mate.

“They are our cousins,” she replied. “Three women, powerful warrior-magicians who have to protect the man with the Dragon Key.”

“The Dragon Key will choose to which future warrior to give the key. She uses this key to restore the link to the fourth dimension. They are the White Warrior for Peace, the Red Warrior for perfect Balance, and the Black Warrior for absolute Power,” Eri added quietly.

Adrian nodded. “So, what do we have to do?”

Li looked at his sister. “You need to activate their magic. I cannot help you.”

“Why?”

Daérini sighed at Adrian's question. He was not going to like this at all. “I will explain later, but now I know what we have to do.”

Adrian pressed his lips together, but did not argue as they said goodbye to their future family and returned to their own home in Sera on the planet of Xa'an.

* * *

Adrian scowled as Daérini explained to him that the future warriors' magic was activated by sharing pleasure with them and that they had to do it. “Like you did for me, when we shared pleasure the first time.”

“What?!” he exclaimed. “Daérini,” he sighed taking her hands, “I have no intention of pleasuring another woman. I love only you, and the thought of touching another woman is making me really uncomfortable.”

She stepped closer and put her arms around his waist. “I love you too, but there is no other way. We will help each other.”

“How?”

“The white warrior's magic is activated with a kiss from another woman,” she explained to his still frowning gaze. “The red and black warriors require both of us.”

She shrugged a little. “I will be with you and you with me. You are the one with the experience as I have not been with another man or woman before you.”

He wasn't happy. It was true that he was an experienced lover, but that was before Daérini and he never thought she would want him to break his joining vows to her. Looking into her aquamarine eyes with their silver rings he saw that she wasn't too thrilled about the prospect of sharing him with another woman. “Are you sure this is the only way?”

She nodded, biting her lip. “There is something else.”

He arched an eyebrow. “What?”

“You cannot tell anyone what kind of magic my cousins practice. Their magic is not like anyone else's in the third dimension. It may also create problems for other future beings if it becomes known that their magic is different.”

“Hmm,” he replied thoughtfully. “Do we need to speak to Grandmaster Géra about this?”

It was her turn to look thoughtful. “I don't know. There is nothing that he or anyone else from this dimension can do to help.”

Adrian's eyes widened. “And me? Us?”

Hugging him was no longer enough, and she pushed her body as tightly to his as she could. He tightened his arms in return.

“I don't know,” she whispered. “But I am going to pray that my cousins will be successful, because I don't want to think of the possibility of us—”

His kiss interrupted her words, because he didn't want to hear the words that would destroy the reason he had found the love he held in his arms.

********************************

The CreativeLife weeks 34 and 35 in review

Hi everyone, this week's blog is covering two weeks mostly because the first week was kind of boring with much of the same happening every day - you know: work, and more work. LOL!

I did manage to do my inktober52 drawing for the week, but other than than time for art was limited. This past week was a different story...I got myself into trouble.

As a member of Artkula.com (I suggest you check it out) I try to do the monthly challenge issued by Phil. I still need to finish two of the challenges (time, you know) but decided to use his Sketchtember challenge as preparation for Inktober coming next month. I also managed to twist the arms of my art group to pull out their pens and sketchbooks to join in the fun.

Sketchtember prompts 1 to 15

With little available time, I decided to sit down and see how many of the Sketchtember prompt I could do in about an hour and a half. That meant no pencil outline before adding ink. I Googled images for each prompt and practically drew the first one that caught my eye, directly with ink. Are they perfect? Far from it, but neither are any that bad that I feel like scratching them out. What did I learn? Draw without thinking and the end result will be good enough for a practice challenge.

Will I do the same for Inktober? The plan is to spend a bit more time on each prompt but on a day where I don't have a lot of time, I know I can get it done super quick and still get an acceptable result.

The next 15 prompts will have to wait until a bit later this month.

September is usually the month where I do my vision board for the next year, and this year is no exception. I am blessed with living the life I want, so my vision board is focused on my life goals of self-improvement and living a life of mindfulness and gratitude. Since these are not goals that can be “achieved”, continually striving towards perfection is what my vision board is about. Making a new vision board for every year reminds me to continue to strive towards being the best person I can be.

My vision board this year will be a small one, instead of the A2 size I did in the past, but that is okay. It does not have to fill up half a wall to do what I need it to.

In my next post I will share a few words from The Keeper of the Dragon Key. Another project that I have to stop procrastinating on. Will I make the publication date in December? At the moment it is touch and go, but there is nothing so motivational than a deadline, right? So I better get back to editing otherwise that deadline is going to bite me.

Stay creative, until next time!

💜🇿🇦Linzé

The CreativeLife Week 33 in review

Greetings from a chilly yet beautiful Sunday here in Pretoria! 🙋‍♀️

I recently discovered ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response) videos on YouTube. I have known about the concept for a while, but some of the things people do in these videos creep me out, so I wasn't a fan. Until I discovered a few bookbinding channels. I have found them to be useful (not silent because I prefer some noise), but still helpful when I am working and need to focus. Concentrating is difficult when I have to write test reports.

Making mistakes will cause problems, and getting distracted by things happening in the background is not a good thing at all. The same applies when I have to do calculations for the report. I never make the calculations during the tests themselves, since I often have multiple tests running at the same time. Often the tests are not for the same client or the same type of product. During testing I focus on capturing the measurements and the condition of the test samples so that I have detailed records for when I write the reports later.

My inspiration this week comes from exactly such an ASMR video ⬅️

I happened to glance up at my second screen (while writing a report) when I noticed the woman use a template for making the holes in the paper which she was going to bind into a sketchbook. Using a template for the position of the holes is nothing new, we all do that, but I have to say I rather like the way she made her template. Might use a similar idea for my templates. I like learning new things, and if they are practical to make my life or a creative project easier, even better. 😍

In our creative group we have been making a Lifebook. It is a monthly art journal entry with a theme. Unlike most of the art journaling you see on YouTube, this project (now going for almost 3 years) is a personal entry for each of us, where sharing in the group is entirely optional. I pick the themes, and sometimes also the medium or colour scheme, and we use that as part creative inspiration, part record of our lives in that month based on the chosen theme.

For August this year, I picked "sketch journaling" as the theme. The challenge is to pick any 7 days in August and then draw items or events of that day as a record. I prefer using ink and another medium to add colour to the drawing. I love urban sketching, and the idea is basically the same with the caveat of making it personal to me.

So far I have drawn three days with the third done at the lab where I work. I sketched a test setup that we don't often have to do and it was rather fun to draw all the test equipment and few details of the test sample. Since this is a reflection of my engineering work, it makes sense as a record of my life.

I am thinking about sketching a day in my studio where I am busy working on three small acrylic paintings of a bird, a cat and a hare. They are cute and fun and I was in the mood for something more playful to paint during the week.

Graphite pencil practice

We had a drawing lesson on Thursday during our usual session since we twisted the arm of one of the members in the group to start drawing again. It has been years since her last drawing, so we decided to draw with her. Drawing practice is always a good thing to keep your pencil sharp, in a manner of speaking. I picked a photo of a daisy from Unsplash.com, made it black and white, and then sent it to everyone with instructions on tools and a bit of prep to be done beforehand.

While I draw for inktober52 ⬅️ every week, it's been a while since I had done a graphite pencil drawing. It was a fun project.

I have also been testing some new watercolour paper I recently bought. I will share my thoughts in a separate post. I still have two more papers to play with, and I am rather excited to see how they perform. I will share links to where you can purchase the papers, the paints and brushes I used - if I can find links for the paper I bought in a local store. This brand is not unknown to me, but I have not seen it in one of our local online art stores.

Living a creative life is really satisfying, but also frustrating at times. I have loads of ideas for multiple projects, but finding time to do all of them remains my biggest challenge. Maybe when I am retired, I will have time to catch up on that ever growing ideas list. 😜

Thank you for reading.

Until next time!

💜🇿🇦 Linzé

The CreativeLife Week 32 in review

 Getting back into the groove today of writing a newsletter of sorts 🙋‍♀️ Hello again! I stopped the "official" newsletter because it was frustrating me once I couldn't add links of channels or websites of other people that inspire me. So it's back to my blog and here I can basically do whatever I want. Yay!

  So to start off here is the YouTuber that has been my most recent inspiration. Taria is a South African urban sketcher and the reason she has been inspiring me is that she shares her process raw - there is no hiding the difficulties she has with sketching. Check out her YouTube channel to see how she deals with the realities of sketching with a limited timeframe.

  My goal of editing the 5th novel in my Nations of Peace series, is making some progress. Editing is not my favourite activity, so the progress so far is surprising even to me. My editor, Carmen, is liking the story so far too, and that is always a bit of positive energy to keep me going. Cover ideas are brewing at the back of my mind, especially after our last art class.

  I poured two panels and one of them is telling me that it should be on the cover of a book. One of the ladies in the group spotted that potential almost immediately, and my brain liked that idea a lot. The painting is dry, but it needs a tweak here and there which is par for the course for poured paintings. I will do that this week and then it is ready to be digitised. Interested to see how it will work for a cover.

One of the corners of the book press I
made. Sorry about the busy background,
I had to do it on a table with painting stuff around.

  On Saturday I went out in the morning by myself, Hubs had something else going on, and while I was eating breakfast at a local shopping centre, a lady approached and asked me about my journal. The design of it interested her and it was fun telling her that I made it myself. I also showed her the tiny sketchbook that I carry in my bag which I also made myself. Bookbinding has been an interest for a while, and I finally made a book press (Hubs helped with the wood work) as the last tool for my kit. Excited about making more sketchbooks and journals with all the right tools now readily available.

  Lots of creative ideas on my plate for the rest of the year, and happy to share those with you as they come to life. 😀

August is a really busy month with all kinds of life stuff that needs to be done, but I will be back soon with more of my CreativeLife.

Thank you for reading!

Until next time,

💜🇿🇦 Linzé

Book Feature: Once Upon a Scandal by Shilpa Suraj

 

A moment of passion, a devastating scandal and a marriage between sworn enemies...

Aakash Thakkar knows his path. Family, duty, responsibility, tradition. His path does not lead to madness, chaos, wild passionate steamy nights, and her. Or so he tells himself.

Kanak Shourie lives for the present. Friends, fun, work, life. Her present does not include the weight of other people's judgement, stuffy societal mores, discovering desire with uptight businessmen, and him. She refuses to believe otherwise.

What happens when the one you hate is the only one you want? What happens when you try to right a wrong but end up in something that feels more right than anything ever has?

Can Aakash and Kanak bury a lifetime of distrust and forge a life together? Or will the reasons that had them battling each other for years bury their tentative new beginning?

Book Links:

Goodreads * Amazon.in * Amazon.com

Read an Excerpt from Once Upon a Scandal

Kanak gasped as his lips trailed a slow, sensual line of kisses down her neck. Her eyes closed and her head fell back giving him better access. 

He growled in approval, the sound thrumming through her. She fumbled with the buttons of his white shirt, her hand slipping through the gap and finding hard, firm, muscled skin. Her fingernails did a slow circle around his flat nipple making him nip her on her shoulder.

Her dazed eyes met his stormy ones, disbelieving, intense and confused. He lowered his head and took her lips in a kiss that solved her confusion, once and for all. 

She wanted this man, more than she’d ever wanted another. And she couldn’t deny it anymore. She fisted her hands in the thick, rough silk of his hair and pulled him impossibly closer. 

Their tongues met, dueled, and stroked making her moan, the breath of sound disappearing between his lips. He ground his hips against her, the movement making her legs fall apart, the better to cradle him with. 

The rough concrete behind her back scraped her skin but she couldn’t have cared less. But his hands slipped between the wall and her and flipped her over so his back was against it. She landed against the hard length of him, her hips doing an unconscious roll that had his head falling back.

She unzipped his pants, her fingers slipping in, searching and finding the hot silken steel of him. He cursed brokenly, his hips arching into her touch. She smiled, the heady rush of power over such a powerful man spooling through her. 

Until his hands cupped her breasts and her eyes rolled back in her head, pleasure swamping her and making it hard to focus. He dipped his head and took her breast in his mouth, the material of her flimsy dress damp in seconds from his attentions. His other hand pinched, fondled and stroked the other breast until her legs quivered. 

Kanak stroked harder, desperate for him to not stop what he was doing. He didn’t seem to want to anyway. He pulled her dress up, above her hips, the cool night breeze caressing her thighs and making her shiver. 

Kanak shoved frantically at his pants, pushing until she got what she wanted. It sprang free and she wrapped her hands around it, fisting it. 

The flash when it came lit up the darkness around them. Their small corner suddenly blindingly bright. He reacted with startling swiftness, spinning her so she was covered by the bulk of his body, unseen by whoever was out there. 

“Get the fuck out of here,” he growled over his shoulder, his furious laser like gaze sending a shiver down Kanak’s spine even though it wasn’t directed at her. 

Nervous laughter was the only answer. And then, another bright flash. 

“I am going to kill you,” he said conversationally to the person behind him.

In a matter of seconds, he tucked himself back into his pants and straightened Kanak’s dress with a deceptive calm. When he turned, still keeping Kanak hidden behind him, she heard the photographer squeak. 

“Give me your camera.” The words were soft, calm and deadly. The tone usually what you heard before you died. 

“No.” The man with the death wish giggled and moved back, out of his reach. “This is going to make me rich. And not just the photographs man. I got video too and it’s not on this camera. It’s with my friend who is already gone. You can’t catch him.” Another giggle. 

And before either of them could react, he disappeared into the dark. 

Ice slid through Kanak’s veins. What had she done? What had she allowed to happen? A sex tape of her on the internet, splashed across the tabloids, a sex tape with him…

“I will fix this,” he said, the same ice in his voice except his was directed at the mystery photographer. “I promise you.” 

She wanted to believe him. She almost did but Kanak knew that some things were out of even his control. 

A sex tape. Her head spun at the enormity of this fiasco. A sex tape with Aakash Thakkar, big shot industrialist, rising political power, and her number one enemy. 

She was screwed and she knew it. 

About the Author:

Shilpa Suraj wears many hats - corporate drone, homemaker, mother to a fabulous toddler and author.

An avid reader with an overactive imagination, Shilpa has weaved stories in her head since she was a child. Her previous stints at Google, in an ad agency and as an entrepreneur provide colour to her present day stories, both fiction and non-fiction.

Contact the Author:
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