Hey, everybody! How have you all been? I've been busy. Busy with friends, busy with family, busy with studying, busy with just life in general. I haven't had much time to respond to comments or actually write WOT, but I have had enough time to do a lot of planning and tweaking.
First off, I'm still in the process of changing names. Names of places, names of characters, even species names. I changed the original name for the Kenashi from "Switch-Claw" (like switch-blade but more stupid) to "Kenashi" (meaning "sword foot"). But I'm still not satisfied with the name "Kenashi," especially since it has "ashi" in it, which makes me sound a bit conceited, like I'm naming a creature after myself. (Even though the word really means "foot" in Japanese. Why does my name sound close to "foot"? I haven't the slightest idea.) So don't be surprised if I change that, soon. Or I might not. A definite change, however, will be Aregyle's name. I honestly have no memory of how I named him, other than the fact that I wanted his name to have seven letters in it. (I told one of my readers that Amber's future husband's name has seven letters in it, which means Charlie, Maxwell, this one other guy we haven't met yet, and Aregyle all have a chance.) But the name is starting to sound silly to me, and it doesn't even comply with the usual rules for Hecklefang names that I've set up. (Must be a word in Swahili, Zulu, or at least sounds like it.) So, yeah. I'll try to keep it in the ballpark of sounding like "Argyle." Also on the topic of Hecklefang names, Heckata's last name, Ukaidi, is getting the axe. I'll be changing it to something else in Swahili very soon.
In terms of music news, I have three announcements to make. Two good, one bad. Bad news first: I have hit a brick wall with Aziza's Theme. I can't convert the file well enough to an MP3 without several glitches at the moment. For now, I'm going to just post the sheet music, finish the picture of Aziza, and put the rest of the project on hold for a little while, since I'm sure you guys would rather read something than listen to a lyric-less three minute melody. And now the good news: I stumbled across a great song while watching an AMV (animated music video) on YouTube. It's called Already Over by Red. After listening to it a couple times, I have come to realize how perfectly it fits the climax of Book One, so, I'm adding it to the soundtrack! ^_^ Listen to it right here:
First off, I'm still in the process of changing names. Names of places, names of characters, even species names. I changed the original name for the Kenashi from "Switch-Claw" (like switch-blade but more stupid) to "Kenashi" (meaning "sword foot"). But I'm still not satisfied with the name "Kenashi," especially since it has "ashi" in it, which makes me sound a bit conceited, like I'm naming a creature after myself. (Even though the word really means "foot" in Japanese. Why does my name sound close to "foot"? I haven't the slightest idea.) So don't be surprised if I change that, soon. Or I might not. A definite change, however, will be Aregyle's name. I honestly have no memory of how I named him, other than the fact that I wanted his name to have seven letters in it. (I told one of my readers that Amber's future husband's name has seven letters in it, which means Charlie, Maxwell, this one other guy we haven't met yet, and Aregyle all have a chance.) But the name is starting to sound silly to me, and it doesn't even comply with the usual rules for Hecklefang names that I've set up. (Must be a word in Swahili, Zulu, or at least sounds like it.) So, yeah. I'll try to keep it in the ballpark of sounding like "Argyle." Also on the topic of Hecklefang names, Heckata's last name, Ukaidi, is getting the axe. I'll be changing it to something else in Swahili very soon.
In terms of music news, I have three announcements to make. Two good, one bad. Bad news first: I have hit a brick wall with Aziza's Theme. I can't convert the file well enough to an MP3 without several glitches at the moment. For now, I'm going to just post the sheet music, finish the picture of Aziza, and put the rest of the project on hold for a little while, since I'm sure you guys would rather read something than listen to a lyric-less three minute melody. And now the good news: I stumbled across a great song while watching an AMV (animated music video) on YouTube. It's called Already Over by Red. After listening to it a couple times, I have come to realize how perfectly it fits the climax of Book One, so, I'm adding it to the soundtrack! ^_^ Listen to it right here:
(It's perfectly accurate songs like this that make me wish I could animate, or that WOT was a movie, or that I could at least draw scenes decently. After I made that tribute to Vladimir's Mansion, and also this Lion King AMV I only showed one person, I discovered that I REALLY REALLY LIKE putting slideshows and videos to music. The most fun situation for me would be WOT as a movie, so I could splice scenes together and sync them to the lyrics of each song in the soundtrack. The next best thing would be the same thing, only animated by someone I know or myself. (Sadly, both of those are impossible.) I COULD try to at least make a picture slideshow of each scene and then sync it to music, and I might do that one day, but at the moment, I'm still improving and changing my art style. Anyway...)
Also, I'm adding a new song to the Book Three soundtrack and taking away a couple. This new song fits Aregyle's point of view as he tries to help Amber through her breakdown in Book Three. The song I'm adding is Heart's a Mess by Gotye. (Yes, the same guy who did Somebody Who I Used to Know.) Here it is:
Also, I'm adding a new song to the Book Three soundtrack and taking away a couple. This new song fits Aregyle's point of view as he tries to help Amber through her breakdown in Book Three. The song I'm adding is Heart's a Mess by Gotye. (Yes, the same guy who did Somebody Who I Used to Know.) Here it is:
In art news, I'll be continuing to revamp the pictures on the site, and eventually replace the photos of actual people with my own drawings. (That is, if I can ever learn to draw decent humans...heh-heh.) Also, I've FINALLY found a good enough picture for the Book One cover that I can edit and enhance. It will be up soon! ;) Last but not least, I'm adding a new picture to the By the Readers - Art page! Take a look at the book cover Kendra (bookworm1999) designed:
It's beautiful, isn't it? Hopefully I can do half as well as she did when I make the official cover. ^_^'
Oh, and the next chapter will be out...err, eventually? Next week, probably...sorry for the wait. x_x
Well, that's all I can think of in terms of updates at the moment. Leave a comment if you'd like--feedback is MUCH APPRECIATED! (Remember, you don't need to type in your email address or a website URL to comment. I have no idea why the comment box has those options; I can't seem to change them.)
Thanks for reading!
~Ashley Briarwolf