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Miis in Nearspace – Part Three

  By A Veiled and Distant Sky, books, Dark Beneath the Moon, ebooks, just for fun, Nearspace, publishing

Although we did meet the alien Dr. Ndasa in the first book, Vilisians are not terribly different from humans in appearance (at least I didn’t have to try to recreate their scent-language for Miis). In Dark Beneath the Moon, we meet some new characters both human and alien.

Jahelia Sord

Jahelia Sord is a thorn in Luta’s side for much of this book, but she was such a fun character to write. It was also fun to turn her into a Mii, with her distinctive black-and-white hair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cerevare Brindlepaw

You want aliens? Here you go. Cerevare is a Lobor, a species with a lot of similarities to dogs or wolves. Cerevare was my first really big Mii challenge, but look at how gorgeous she turned out!

 

 

 

 

 

Fha

From dogs to crows— Fha belongs to a crow-like species the crew dubs “Corvids.” You can be sure it took me some time to figure out this one, but with this wig for her feathers and that pale “beak,” Fha’s Mii is exactly right.

Up next, characters from Beyond the Sentinel Stars, including our first look at the mysterious Chron.

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Miis in Nearspace – Part Two

  By A Veiled and Distant Sky, books, ebooks, just for fun, Nearspace, One's Aspect to the Sun, publishing

See the first post in this series here.

Along with the original crew of the Tane Ikai, there are a few other notable characters in One’s Aspect to the Sun. There are a few who turn up briefly in this book but make larger appearances in a later volume (Luta’s brother Lanar, for instance), so I’ll save them for now. Today you’ll meet Maja, Dr. Ndasa, and Luta’s mother, Emmage.

Maja Tacan
Although Maja and Luta are struggling with a lot of old resentments and are mostly estranged at the beginning of One’s Aspect to the Sun, Maja has a considerable presence across the series. Her Mii looks a lot more cheerful than her character does when we first meet her.

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Yalin Ndasa
The Vilisian doctor was my first “alien challenge” in making Nearspace Miis. I love how he turned out! You can’t see it in this picture, but he does have the single long braid that his character has in the book. Note the classic violet eyes so common in Vilisians.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Emmage Mahane
Well, yes, Emmage does look a lot like Luta. Which is in keeping with their character descriptions in the book, not a sign that I was getting lazy with my Miis. ;)

Next post we’re on to Dark Beneath the Moon and some pretty challenging aliens. (But you won’t believe how well they turned out!)

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Miis in Nearspace – Part One

  By A Veiled and Distant Sky, books, character development, just for fun, Nearspace, One's Aspect to the Sun, publishing

For my birthday last year, my daughters gifted me the game Miitopia for my Switch. Of course, one of the first fun things to do with this game is create characters, and I had the idea that it would be fun to try and re-create the people from my Nearspace universe as Miis.

I was right. :) It was fun, but I hadn’t really considered the challenge of faithfully reproducing some of the aliens the crew encounters. However, as I proceeded along, (and being inspired by some of the creative ways my daughters had created non-human characters for their own games) I realized how very versatile the creation system can be, with a little imaginative use of the tools offered.

So, to celebrate the release of the newest Nearspace title, A Veiled and Distant Sky, I’ll be sharing the results of this endeavour over the next few blog posts. It’s been really fun to do, and I especially love the way the various aliens turned out. But let’s start today with the original crew of the Tane Ikai.

Luta & Hirin Paixon
Although Luta and Hirin are about the same age, of course Luta has stayed very youthful because of (spoiler alert!) nanotechnology.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rei dam-Rowan

Like all Erian women, Rei wears pridattii, swirling facial tattoos around her eyes and over her cheeks. These were definitely a challenge to re-create, but I was happy with the way they turned out. Rei’s signature long, chestnut-coloured hair and golden eyes were a lot easier to incorporate!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baden Methyr
As the resident “tech-dog” on the Tane Ikai, I thought it only fitting to give Baden’s Mii an eye-implant gadget. He doesn’t actually have one in the books…at least, not one that we know about. Yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yuskeya Blue

If you’ve read any of the Nearspace books, you’ll recognize Yuskeya immediately. I loved that one of the wig options in the character creation interface let me recreate her gorgeous hair so beautifully.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Viss Feron
The Mii-version of Viss (the Tane Ikai’s engineer) looks just as affably cranky as I always imagine him. Buzz-cut and all!

Come back tomorrow to see some other characters from One’s Aspect to the Sun, including our first alien, the Vilisian Dr. Ndasa. Then stay tuned to see who else pops up!

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A Veiled and Distant Sky Releases Today!

  By A Veiled and Distant Sky, books, covers, ebooks, Nearspace, publishing

It’s a book birthday! The ebook of A Veiled and Distant Sky comes out today from Tyche Books, so if you’ve pre-ordered it, you should see it in your library. If you didn’t pre-order, what are you waiting for? Go get your copy! ;)

When Luta Paixon and the crew of the Tane Ikai discover a dying wormhole explorer who’s been missing for decades, it’s a mystery; but the bigger mystery lies in her only words: “Save Lillifleur.” Because the colony ship Lillifleur disappeared without a trace almost a century ago.

Meanwhile, a different mystery lies closer to home; Luta’s son Karro and his wife want no part of the life-extending nanobioscavengers that have kept Luta safe from harm and aging for over fifty years. Confused, worried for their future, and even a little angry, Luta struggles to understand why anyone would reject the gift of near-immortality, even as the debate over nanobioscavenger technology rages throughout Nearspace.

Stranded in an unknown system with Karro and Aliande aboard, Luta faces potentially dangerous drones, a mysterious virus, and a looming alien threat to a forgotten colony. She’ll have to contend with all of this and more before she can unravel secrets from her family’s past, and hope for a little luck to get everyone home to Nearspace safe and sound.

I’ll be posting more about the book and some fun things about it in the coming days, so stay tuned!

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July and August Releases

  By ebooks, new releases, short fiction

New short story releases for July and August!

August’s is “Beacon” (first published in Beacon and Other Stories, so if you have that collection, you already have this story!).

Paicia and her family live in a future of green rooftops, shared makerspaces, and community gardens. With the help of beacon technology, they’ve even managed to save bees from colony collapse and protect human food sources. But when a rogue drone kidnaps one of their family’s bee swarms, Paicia learns that not everyone has moved into a greener future. And the more she finds out about the “ashers,” the more determined she is to stop the abductions and bring her bees home.

Just .99 on your favourite digital platform!

And July’s story was “Unquiet Skies” (first published in Flights from the Rock from Engen Books, and also included in Beacon and Other Stories).

In 1919, racers are gathering on the rocky island of Newfoundland to attempt the first transatlantic flight. And while young Collie is excited to see the pilots arriving with their crates of airplane parts, he has larger concerns–like Awdwith and the other dragons who have taken refuge in Newfoundland’s wind-swept interior to escape the now too-busy skies over the British Isles. A successful race might mean the dragons will have to move again, and Collie can’t bear the thought of losing Awdwith’s friendship. But when the aviators Collie has befriended encounter danger, will he be forced to choose sides?

“Unquiet Skies” is also just .99 across platforms.