Ambulatory Cadavers Art and Giveaway!

   The October Frights Blog Hop continues!
   Today we have art and a giveaway!
   I had a post on here about the drive to write and how it's like being a host for some alien intelligence that compels you to write (here it is, if you want to check it out). Writing isn't the only thing I'm a host for. I have an alien compulsion to draw, too. Often it seems to be another facet of the writing compulsion: I have to draw what I write. I like to be able to see my characters and how they dress, since I usually write stories set in another time period, and with Ambulatory Cadavers I had to see them especially clearly, because they would appear on my book cover.
   I've always loved the Regency period. I studied fashion plates and illustrations of the clothing of that period before designing the cover. It had to be authentic.
   Test was of course the most important character to design, being the zombie representative of the book. I think I was sketching ideas in April 2015 when I was writing the first draft. I wanted something decayed but cartoonish, like Plants vs. Zombies. But also somewhat classy and dignified. I think I found the right balance.

Katie M John is the wizard who framed my painting. Wonderful isn't it? And drippy. She is wearing a matching velvet bonnet and spencer: the short jacket popular during the Regency era.

Oil portrait of Test

   The compulsion never ends: I started out testing my new ink dip pens and before I knew it, I had the whole cast of Ambulatory Cadavers. These were really fun to paint: fast and furious.

Asa Crimpton--Artist and Medium. As a professional artist, it is perfectly acceptable for him to view naked women.

Charles von Hopenheim--Not much up in the skull, but lots in the heart, although most of it is futilely directed at his cousin, Lyra.

Creamey--A strange young man of questionable occupation. Is his nose broken or does it have naturally graceful curvature?

Lyra von Hopenheim--Avid scientist and social rebel. Sometimes a coup d'etat is the only answer.

Test--He's really very handsome actually...in a way. But he will eat your hydrangeas. They make a lovely garnish for brains.

Alice Crawft--Lyra's cousin. Doomed to an odious marriage. She enjoys edifying poetry, painting, and the pianoforte.

   If you like these ink dip pen and watercolor portraits, you're in luck, because I'm giving away a set of 5x7 prints! That's six altogether: Alice, Test, Lyra, Creamey, Charles, and Asa. Also, I'm giving away a print of the painting that was used in the book's cover.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Also, here is a preorder link for Ambulatory Cadavers

An InLinkz Link-up