Recent character sketches

And some end-of-year updates...

Dec 19, 2024

Hello readers! To anyone who is new to The Inky Corner: welcome.

With the Advent season well underway and Christmas just around the corner, I hope you are feeling happy and contented in your corner of the world, wherever that may be. (Or perhaps you are, like me, dreading the inevitable Christmas rush and trying to catch a short breather!)

Some notes on recent life happenings:

A dear, kind lady gave me a bag of gilded books for my fore-edge painting. Such a generous gift, and completely unexpected. I am very excited to work on these in 2025.
I’ve been getting up at 6AM daily for two months now and it’s a game-changer. It’s really helping with productivity & creative energy, and just having that quiet time to reflect and pray before the day begins (instead of late at night when tired) is marvelous. On the downside, one does need to be in bed by 9:30pm, so you’re trading that lovely night-time quietness for some early morning stillness instead.
I hold the dubious honour of being the only person in 2024 on Goodreads to shelve and read ‘The Transformation of Phillip Jettan’ by Georgette Heyer, which is a pity because it’s a delightful Regency book, as delightful as raspberry jam tarts at a picnic.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST: a few months ago, I entered a story into an anthology competition. I’m now pleased as punch to announce that Inkwells & Anvils have published “There’ll Be Scary Ghost Stories”, an anthology featuring my short tale, ‘The Examination of Esther’. (The anthology title is taken, believe it or not, from the Christmas song ‘It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year’. Did you know that the song mentions ghost stories as an integral part of the Christmas festivities? Nope, I certainly didn’t.)

‘The Examination of Esther’ is set in 1913 and draws inspiration from the comedic style of authors like P.G. Wodehouse (of Jeeves & Wooster fame), John Kendrick Bangs, and Jerome K. Jerome. It also features this early recording of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen on a wax cylinder.

“Is it true?” Arabella at last dared to whisper.

“Upon my soul it is,” intoned Morris. “Other guests have also reported disturbances of that nature in this very room on Christmas Eve.”

— From ‘THE EXAMINATION OF ESTHER’ by Jessica McKendry

So, I’m officially a published author I guess! :D Get yourself a copy of “There’ll Be Scary Ghost Stories” and enjoy the thrill of these spooky tales. (Even if you don’t, I plan to post my entry later down the track, so you’ll still get to read it.)

Now, I also come bearing recent artwork. I had a couple of hours to kill, and I’m part of the Inkwells & Anvils writing server on Discord, so I asked the folks there if they had any characters I could draw for them. I received a bunch of responses with plenty of excellent character designs to spark my artistic muse! I drew furiously and managed to get several of these writers’ characters on paper. So, here they are: