Saturday, April 25, 2009

Closing In On The End of Draft 1

Sorry for a lack of updates. Things have definitely been moving forward on The Unknowns. It seems we're getting very close to going to publishers with a proposal, so I am leaving that in the hands of my agent and taking any notes he has happily. But on things I can control to one degree or another, I am nearing the end of my first draft of "The Unknowns" book one. Working title at this time is "The Alpha." :-) I like it. We'll see if it sticks.

All things considered I've learned a great deal working on this script. Primarily the value of having a good treatment in place. I have breezed through this first draft because the treatment gave me such a good guide along the way. I simply could pull up the document and work scene from scene. All of the heavy lifting was done.

I'm gonna be putting in heavy duty hours into this project this week to try and finish the first full draft. I'm also considering combining this blog into my personal website http://www.michaeleregina.com/ I need to consolidate information. I've got too many sites I'm updating around here.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Projects Coming To A Head

Many things are quietly going on in the background here with my art. Most of my bigger projects the moment are comics and book related. I wanted to get a short round off of the goings on. All of which are on their fast track to completion.

From Death Til Now:
This is my online graphic novel project that has been running on the web for nearly two years. I recently decided to take this project off the web for awhile so I can focus on finishing up the remaining 80 pages or so in a more streamlined manner. Hoping that within a year book 1 will be done. Read it online.

The Unknowns:
Currently this project has been getting the bulk of my efforts. Still in the writing phase, I am locking up the first draft here very soon. In the coming months, I am hoping we'll land a publisher. Check out the production blog.

Kevin and the Golden Temple:
A short story project for an upcoming anthology. Not much to say about this project at the moment. Stay tuned though as details emerge on the project.

The Adventures of Benjamin Franklin:
This is a children's book project my wife wrote some time back. She's been patiently waiting on me to finish up this project for her. I want to recommit myself to this effort. Samples are available in the illustration portion of the site.

Also, portrait commission projects continue to come my way. So the question really is. Will I sleep?

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

New Website Launches!


Well, it only took me three years, but finally a new site is launched. I've added new galleries for my illustration and comics work. A new store section is going to be up and running real soon. I plan to use this blog section to share events and news that happen in the world of my art. I hope you all enjoy the new site and check back in from time to time to get news! Thanks for visiting.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Synposisesesesessss


A big step has pretty much concluded in the process of getting The Unknowns out there to the world. The past few weeks I have been writing and rewriting the synopsis for the book, in an attempt to get my story across in a concise way. I've had to write many things before in my life, but this sort of project is the one that just really is a challenge to me. I don't do well communicating what I mean without rambling on and on about it. Even with my stories, I tend to think I'm more Jules Verne than say H. G. Wells. Josh Ulrich likes to pick on me saying that its nearly impossible for me to tell a short story because I will create an epic from the material. So, attempting to widdle down a book series into a matter of two pages or so, was the works.

I managed to get it done though and that marked the culmination of the journey in looking for an agent. I'm happy to say I am partnering up with Brendan Deneen of FinePrint Literary to try and take this book to the masses. He's been extremely supportive of the concept for the book and helpful in aiding me into these uncharted waters (for me anyway). I really appreciate his patience with helping this project be successful.

So what to do now that we're kind of on to the next phase? Well, I plan to keep writing. I'm finding that a major part of the overall story may need some reworking. Its more of a change to when and how I give information about the characters than a ultimate change in direction. It's still pretty major though and could warrant some extensive rewrites. That's what first drafts are for!

The next few weeks I expect I'll spend some time getting some other obligations off my table. I have some websites I am redesigning for myself and businesses (my parent's restaurant haha). My personal website has not been redesigned in almost three years. That's too long. This needs a remedy.

The Unknowns production won't slow down though really. I'm still working through a ton of material and I even got the idea today for exactly how book 2 could start off. Progress is being made.