Author Archives: cblansdell

April 2024 – An Illustrator’s Retrospective

I started this blog as a way of documenting my journey to publishing my debut novel. Since Far Removed came out, the blog’s goal has been vague, and I have shared mostly reader feedback and promotions. However, I don’t want to dedicate this space to marketing. There’s enough of that on my social media channels. SoContinue reading “April 2024 – An Illustrator’s Retrospective”

March 2024 – Easter Weekend

This has been a month of new releases, reading, and some surprises (both good and bad). Group Promos The Narratess Indie Sale runs from April 13 – 15. This is a big event in the indie book community, hosted by author, Tessa Hastjarjanto. If you return here in April, you can also check the linksContinue reading “March 2024 – Easter Weekend”

February – Time for a Nap

Regular readers may recall that I work as a freelance illustrator (in the educational line). This month was the deadline for a contract I have been working on for several months. There were 400+ pictures in this series. I try to pace myself on these big jobs, breaking them into sections I can finish onContinue reading “February – Time for a Nap”

January 2024 – Reveals and Other Surprises

Welcome to my first blog post of 2024. Novelette Cover Reveal Narratess and FanFiAddict recently revealed the official cover for my prequel novelette, The Tidelings of Dras Sayve. Coming 21 March 2024 Maverick diplomat Emis Rindar travels to the northernmost clan in the Dras Channel, seeking the assistance of an old friend. After a lifetime ofContinue reading “January 2024 – Reveals and Other Surprises”

December 2023 – The Closing of My Debut Year

Today’s blog post starts the same as my newsletter (apologies for the repetition if you are subscribed to both). For extra news, scroll to the bottom of this page for “My 2023 in Review”.

November 2023 – Knights in Glazed Armour

My gallery may yet make a comeback; I recently appointed a noble defender for my illustrations. But more on that (and award nominations) later. Edit 29/11/23: My Kofi page is up! One of the strange things about having Christmas and New Year in summer, is that all the exciting events occur over 2-3 months. ThenContinue reading “November 2023 – Knights in Glazed Armour”

October 2023 – Q & A

As we approach the end of the year, I wanted to do something fun (I’ll get to this after a brief update). My day job will continue to take up lot of my mental capacity until December, so I am only writing on weekends. I hope to release the sequel for Far Removed in theContinue reading “October 2023 – Q & A”

Wake me up when September (2023) ends

Today I am sharing a short post. I’ve done a lot of writing and promoting this month with the release of my debut novel; it is fun, but also quite tiring! I have been fortunate to enjoy a week of leave before I go into a busy October (more client work, and a bit lessContinue reading “Wake me up when September (2023) ends”