Art Uncovered 2.1.2

This is a pencil drawing I did to decorate my altar with. It is a representation of the green man, which for those of you who aren't familiar with this particular mythology is the embodiment of nature and the forest in man form, similar to the way people think of Gaia. Just looking at this image fills me with a sense of peace.

Art Uncovered 2.1.1

Welcome back to Art Uncovered. Year 2. Month 1. First Image

It's been a long time since I attempted to make a logo to represent Cinderella Tales as a whole. The last time was a complete and utter failure of some silhouette of a woman running down a staircase. It's so horrible I won't even show it to you. But that was quite some time ago, and way before I really began to get into digital art, digital painting, and digital photo manipulation. This image is actually all digitally painted. As you can see it's a representation of Cinderella holding her magical glass slipper. She is in awe of the magic as she stares at it magically forming in her hands. There's hope there too, hope that this moment will make a better future.

January Book Reviews

"Insight" by Jamie Magee - Part of the 'Insight Series' - Free - www.insightjamiemagee.com

3.5 out of 5 crowns

Features a beautiful evocative cover. Recommended audience young adults.






"Land of Shadows" by Jeff Gunzel - Part of 'The Legend of the Gatekeeper series' - Free

2.5 out of 5 crowns

There are several mature even grotesque scenes in this book, one of which within the first chapter that made me walk away from it for an entire week in disgust. Once you push through that you are faced with characters that make little sense, are continuously forced to jump back and forth through several views, which is most often badly done. Surprises are not surprising. Contradicting statements and skimpy world/character building round out the book. Not recommended to anyone but mature audiences who are not avid readers. It's only saving grace is the beautiful cover and the fact that its free.

"Ever Shade" by Alexia Purdy - Part of the 'A Dark Faerie Tale' series - Free -  www.alexiaepurdy.blogspot.com


3.5 out of 5 crowns

Recommended audience: young adults.
A relatively new spin on the fairy world. Has a few unique and very interesting spins that could make it a marvelous offering but fails in unbelievable character building and decision making by our heroine.



"Hidden" by M. Lathan - Part of the 'Hidden' series - Free - www.mlathan.com

4.5 out of 5 stars

The simplistic cover hides a sparkling gem of urban fantasy. Set in an alternate future after a world war between humans and magical kind, 'Hidden' follows the tale of orphan Leah/Christine. We follow along as she struggles with who she is, where she came from, and what she's truly capable off. The only downside to this rather unique new tale was the myriad proofreading errors. Recommended for adults and young adults. Caution some sexual situations but nothing too serious or graphic.

"Lost" by M. Lathan - Part of the 'Hidden' series - .99 cents - www.mlathan.com





4.5 out of 5 stars

I was excited for the second installation of the 'Hidden' series and was in no way disappointed with this can't put down addition. Christine and Nathan's relationship is deepening and heating up even as she explores the depths of her powers and reclaims her past. In this book she learns the grass isn't always greener on the other side.  Recommended for adults and young adults. Caution some sexual situations but nothing too serious. Again there are several areas where a little extra proofreading would have come in handy.

January Resolution Recap

Looking back at January I feel like I'm all talk and no action. Blah.
1. Weight Loss - I gained back .2 of a lb. I am sitting at 140.2 which is pretty much where I've been sitting for the past couple months. I will get under 140! I will. I plan on going back to the gym soon. I have held off this past month because my bad foot has been bothering me something awful. I don't know if it was from the extra strain at work, the cold weather/arthritis, or my shoes. But I do know that there was no way I was going to the gym when I could barely walk for the pain. It's feeling much better now.
2. My WIP DD. I wrote 2 and a half pages. While not much it is better than nothing. I vow to at least double this count for February.
3 and 4 no change
5. Huge step back. I was let go from my new job. They found something with alot more experience and they jumped on the opportunity. I can't blame them, it makes good business sense I guess, but it still hurt like hell. I am in the process of finding another job option. My account sets at $1000. 1/10 of my goal.
6. I reread an old book and still felt the resonance with it. I cleaned off the bookcase and set up a permanent altar space then proceeded to decorate it with drawings and odds and ends that mean a little something to me.

A few other relative things. I'm going to be doing 1 blog post with ratings for the books I have read each month instead of a full review for each. All the pertinent info will be included like Book title, Author, author webpage, current price, and crown rating. Also included with most an audience recommendation and a little snippet about the book. I hope that freeing myself up from the gotta post, gotta post, feeling will help me have more time for more meaningful writing.
Next I've started working on my digital art again. So Art Uncovered will be making an appearance again. This time however it will probably be once every two weeks instead of every week.
I think that's all for me at the moment. I'm curious how many have you have kept to your resolutions so far?