This book of poetry is luscious, rich with words and resplendent with photographs.It inspired me to draw.
Sister Songs
This was the first poem that I remembered when I finished reading the book. It’s not long, and Merril was kind enough to send us a recording of her reciting it. So, let’s listen to it, instead of reading it!
I sent a few photos of the drawing, to Merril. Photos of art are difficult to take. They never look exactly like they do in real life, they change with the light.
Merril – It’s gorgeous in any light! Thank you so much!
Merril -One thing–that you could not possibly know–for me, the poem has three figures. That’s just me, and of course, you wouldn’t know that. [My younger sister, my niece who is like my sister, and I spent a lot of time caring for and coordinating the care for my mom.]
Resa – That’s …. beautiful. Your mom was so loved.
Time – Passing, Cycling, Enduring
This next drawing is representative of many poems in the book. Merril depicts time through nature; its seasons changing, dying and renewal, family generations, birds, waves, clouds, storms coming… going.
In this regard, she speaks much of the beauty of life. To depict that, I have drawn a beautiful woman, in an earthy gown. The gown turns into an upside down tree. Its branches depict the changing seasons, time.
Question for everyone! I’d love to see some answers in comments.
Spontaneously – What is the colour that comes to your mind when I say TIME?
Think more about it! – Now what colours do you see?
Merril – Well, you’d probably guess that I said blue.
Resa – Yes…I did figure blue!
Merril – Then I see blue–various shades, ombre kind of thing– then darkening with shimmery stars and pops of red and yellow–like space. Like a movie of space.
Resa – I asked a good friend. He said blue. Then, a few moments later he blurted out, green. Later he said he saw time as a sandy colour… not quite gold, but earthy.
Merril – I get what he said, too. I like that his changes, too, because time moves.
Clasped and Cradled
(inspired by “French Lavender Head,” an art piece by Karen Pierce Gonzalez)
In her hands-jolts of electric blue-- The incense of ocean and earth, lavender and brine, seaweed and peat. A pop of red chilies, some saffron, spring greens, roses-- this is my world, she thinks, clutches it tighter.
Resa – To me, a fascination lies in “art inspiring art”. In the case of “French Lavender Head”, the art inspired a poem, then the poem inspired art. It’s cycling:Art to poetry to art.
Merril – I like the idea of circling inspiration–art to poetry to art. Isn’t that the way? We’re all inspired by what we see, hear, smell, taste, read about. . .and then each individual interprets these things, that then get reinterpreted, and on and on.
Stormy Spirit Conundrum
The first image I drew was this flying woman against an unknown mystery background. It’s inspired by a feel in the book, and of specific lines, but not any 1 poem.
but my ancestors spread wings that covered centuries to catch me, guide me,
You can, they said, as they showed me that I have my own wings- unfold them, fly. This, too, is part of the pattern.
I took the shot on a cloudy day and closed the aperture to get a mystery feel.
Crushed beneath an un-mooned sky black shapes drift inside of grey
who finally see the shadows like storm clouds-and the bitter rain, a tidal surge,
Then I thought, but it’s too dark. People will get the wrong impression. After all, there’s lots of light in this book.
There are days I want to remember I-we- are made of starry specks, stellar dust, and feel the light we carry within.
So, I opened the aperture on a sunny day, and took more pics. Nothing seemed like “stellar dust”, so I did editing until:
Then I thought, “that’s not it either.” Having taken shots in different light, then editing all the different shots… I ended up with a couple dozen different versions of the same drawing.
Then I realized why I couldn’t get a grip! Time slips through our fingers. Only time can hold time, within its folds.
CHANGING SPIRIT OF FLYING WOMAN SLIDESHOW
Psychedelic Spirit
Blue Spirit
Periwinkle spirit
Sun Spirit
Iced Spirit
Warm Spirit
In the Mood Spirit
Natural Spirit
Dark Spirit
Time moves on, and things keep changing, changing, changing…. That is why my flying woman kept changing. She’s flowing with the spirit of this book.
About Merril D. Smith
To learn more about this amazing writer & poet, just click on her pic below and go to her website.
As a huge fan of Shehanne Moore’s spirited, independent female characters in her period romance novels, this book has been long awaited.
“If it is worth having, it is worth waiting for.” –Oscar Wilde
The “Nicking Coat”
Oppressed & beaten by a beastly husband (Baronet Byron Jones), Lady Jones flees. To afford her vagabond lifestyle, she engages in petty thievery, lying, sleeping in forests and dealing with the less than savoury.
I now realize the hat is scripted black.
As she uses her coat like a tote bag for her nicked loot, I figured a man’s frock coat would have large pockets and the roominess required.
Shehanne – I just love the coat and hat. So her. I do love you calling her coat the ‘nicking coat.’ The woman lived rough for a bit.
Resa – Then one day, she haps upon a deserted cottage; where Gil Wryson haps upon her.
Shehanne – And that was it, but she had to like the wee life she’d set up for herself in Pencliff enough not to bolt and go back to the awfulness of life on the road. AND everything…even the way the mail worked and money worked with regard to banks in these days– all the things that made her life so difficult on the run– fitted..
The Ball& the Gown
In terms of defining what Eternity might wear, I looked at the out going Georgian era and the incomingRegency era.
Resa – I was tortured waiting! Was the ball in, or out? Why did you end up putting the Ball in, and how did it serve the story?
Shey – … Okay Resa, well the simple answer to why I put it in, having decided for her to leave beforehand, is YOU. Yeah, there you go. I thought about the fact that I’ve a ball or a dance/party, or a feast/dance in quite a few books and these are tied with pivotal moments in the plot.
I also thought if she leaves after saying she’s going, then he is going to find it hard to forgive her–they have somehow come together in the planning and prep for this ball. And she has a huge reason to quit while she’s ahead here in terms of news she gets that very day. But then I thought of you and the beautiful gowns you have designed for my ladies down the years and I thought what is a book without a ball and what is a ball without one of your gowns?
My first thought of the ball gown.
Shehanne -I also thought when it comes to Wryson ever forgiving her, when it comes to her thinking, she just might have got something in the bag, with regard to ‘the future?’ Him too. ’Well? That ball then sets up everything in terms of her state of mind as she goes to tackle what she must tackle. It paves the way for how she is only paying half attention to what she really needs to have her eyes fully on because she’s let something into her life she can’t let in.
Shehanne – It let me trowel on a bit of passion and anguish and quite a mess, shall we say, regarding what happens next? Things she feels responsible for, secrets she is going to have to keep, things about herself, she doesn’t know she can overcome. SO yeah, I think sticking to my original plan would have been wishy washy.
Resa – When her ball gown was first spotted in Gonetta’s, before I read on to any description of the gown, I immediately saw the green one in my mind.
Shehanne – OOOOHHHHHH… the one Wryson had to pay from Gonetta’s cos she’d have nicked it otherwise.
Resa – YES, the one Wryson pays for – BUT – it is the image I got in my mind (being a costume designer) before I got to the parts where you describe the gown – a backless cream gown. . Can you believe how different our visions are? What do you think about that?
Shehanne – I think it is great actually that the visions were different. It said to me that you were really picturing her–and green is a noted color she wears. I imagined she was drawn to the shop and it reminded her of past balls, even if the main one she remembers was the night she got pitched into a Turkey oak, after first chucking herself at the man she loved.
--this is backstory before Wryson lands on her doorstep--
It reminded her of not living hand to mouth on the road. So she wandered in and got herself a fitting with the intention of dancing on her own in Dark Falls--which we know she does-- in that gown.
Alas it defied her nicking abilities. But she probably told herself she could maybe nick the dosh. She’s very good at NOT getting things done too. But being her she probably got fitted for more than one.
So it was kind of deliberate on my part not to describe the gown at that point, because she is also capable of going there and nicking some other gown off a rail of made but not paid for gowns.
Resa – I honestly like your gown better. What do you think about that?
Shehanne – What can I say but awwww…. truly, and you know a description can always be changed in a book.
Resa – Well, I am thrilled you had a ball. It is a pivotal bit, and if it was a movie, the big money beauty scene. Of course the carriage bit is the big money stunt scene.
Shehanne – Alas, I always see book scenes as movies. One of my fav freelance regular writing gigs ever was for girl’s comics for DC Thomsons. YOU HAD TO WRITE IN STORYBOARDS. YES!! So many frames per episode, dialogue/thoughts and instructions to the artist only on each frame. Always end with a cliff hanger.
Back in London
Resa – Here are the drawings, for court & carriage! The full skirt outfit would have already been in her closet before she escaped. The other, would be a new dress, the latest Regency fashion.
Shehanne – Yes, I forgot she has a fancy new coat for the court scene, her ‘other’ fellah having had enough of her special one.
Shehanne – It is what I imagined… Fashionable, dressy because she would need to be both and not look like a ragbag.. There is the bit about Billy having taken her famous coat —obvi she left the cottage in that coat and he would have seen to it that she got some decent clothes in London. And yes the first would have been the kind of dress she’d have worn to balls before and during Byron.
Inspirations
Resa – So I was inspired to draw Eternity in a metaphoric sense. I had thought “Hair of flames” because what comes out of her mind and mouth is so fiery, literally, but this came out of me. Did I capture her in that metaphoric sense?
Shehanne – You have captured her perfectly. You always have the sense of my ladies but she’s off the scale in many ways.
She’s wild, she’s free, she’s guarded, she’s bruised, she’s moody, she’s mouthy. She walks tightropes when it comes to functioning. She is her own worst enemy, Above all else she is a survivor and it has been of some horrific things. She is really very difficult and you have amazingly captured all of that. Wryson is of course not in the best of places himself, but even if he was he’d still be emotionally confused by her.
Resa – You recently posted about Mary Eleanor Bowes, the great-great-great-great-grandmother of Queen Elizabeth the Second. At 11, she was left the richest heiress in England, between 80 and 120 million in today’s terms. Twice married, she was beaten, burned and more by her husbands.
Shehanne – I thought I’d blog a little of some of the inspirations cos I started as I aye do, with no plot just the idea of picking up the woman who makes a very fleeting, at a distance, appearance in “O’Roarke’s Destiny” and setting her in an abandoned house cos I love abandoned houses.
“Suppose she is sitting there and passing herself off as whatever and then Wryson turns up and says it’s his house,” I thought. Then I obvi had to suss it out from there and I also thought at that point of the dreadful hubby and the unhappy countess.
Shehanne – Despite a descendant marrying into royalty and giving birth to Elizabeth 2nd, the story is not THAT well known. But it is interesting on so many levels. I primarily used the violent hubby because I needed a reason for Lyon to have a hold on her.
Resa – You built a strong, feisty female character, in a time where women had no rights. It’s inspirational.
Shehanne– You are right re: the lack of rights. I gather that Mary was not sympathized with because of the lovers, because of a lot of things she did and it was something that she actually got a ruling in her favor.
About Shehanne Moore
“I christen all my characters with care. I actually love thinking of what their name is going to be.“
In America it was the Gilded Age, in the United Kingdom it was the Victorian era and in France it was La Belle Époque.
Dahlings, Welcome to the 1880’s
Inspired by Tissot’s fashion prints of the era, Art Gowns has designed its own gowns, and gone back in time to show them off. Made possible by Venus and the moon, we went through the the Tangle-Heart and moved backwards 137 years.
Rebecca, the first to land in 1888, went about setting up a fashion show at Le Chat Noir. Her palazzo pants, carefully hidden by the period’s draping fabrics, allowed her to move around without arousing suspicion.
The venue was a one night extravaganza at La Chat Noir in the Montmartre district of Paris.
Thought to be the first modern night club, it was opened on 18 November 1881 and closed in 1897.
NOW, Here’s Rebecca!
Thank you, Rene!We have a thrilling show tonight, so let me get right at it, and present les beaux modèles de la Belle Époque!
First out on the stage is Modèle de Robes d’Art, Shey.Shey is dressed for afternoon tea or “gouter” as known in Paris. Her fan’s print is inspired by the new Japanese aesthetics.
Next out is Gigi dressed for a night at the theare! Her asymetric ruffles play second fiddle only to her Statue of Liberty inspired diadème.
Now, back from her gown change is Mademoiselle Rene with a very Special announcement!
Thank you, Rebecca! Mes Chéris, all of us at Art Gowns put our design hats on and created a special La Belle Époque Super Hero outfit for Princess Blue Holly. Art Gowns presents:
Princess Blue Holly in la Belle ÉpoqueSuper Hero Outfit
What an honour! Thank you to all! This is a momentous outfit! I love the boots, and they only take a half hour each to button up.
It must have been very difficult to be a female Super Hero in the 1880’s. So much beautiful fabric would make flying a bit of a challenge. Snagging would be an issue and the corsetry is somewhat confining when delivering the martial arts moves.
Check out the Freedom difference between 2025 and 1888! ……. aaaand back to Rebecca!
Thank you Princess Blue Holly! You look simply marvellous. That is one special outfit.
Perfect for taking the carriage to the fashion shops, Dale wears a travelling jacket of pinstripe twill, with brocade fishtail skirt completed with a voile tail under a ruched and layered silk bussel. A dainty reticule is the perfect accessory.
It’s a sunny day and Rene is back in another costume change. This is a miracle considering all the buttons she had to do up, as the zipper was not invented until 1917. She is off to the museum with a rose detail parasol and rose reticule.
It’s “dinner at eight” and the opera forModèle de Robes d’Art, Marina. A rose print corset top with a panière effect from the waist to hips is a lovely accentuation to the fitted fishtail skirt.
Holly is off to a fancy party in white silk with red ruffle corset top and a skirt of silk Swiss dot. A lush red bow sets off the rose detailed bussel and tail with ruffles on the inside and out.
I’m sad to say the show has come to an end, buts let’s hear it for Mademoiselle Rene, who shall bid you adieu.
Mes Chéris, bon soir! We hate to leave, but it’s time to return to the future! Please enjoy Arabesque No.1 by Claude Debussy, while the beaux modèles de la Belle Époque make their departures.
No one saw when the AGM’s made their way back through the Tangle-Heart as contrails. All landed safely in the Bosque by Tim’s.
However, as Rene began her journey to the future she encountered a strange energy.
She landed back at Tim’s in Rebecca’s Black Bamboo, but she wasn’t herself, nor all there.
No one was worried! All were sure Princess Blue Holly would save her.
However and unfortunately, as you and I know, Rene IS Princess Blue Holly!
The plan was to read an advance copy of Detour on the Eternal Road, do some drawings of Sam and do a pre-release promo post. Well,I “took a wrong turn in Albuquerque“, hit a detour and missed the print release.
So the road trip, of a post lifetime, passes through Albuquerque? Well, no, but it does pass through 1881!
Resa – John, Detour on the Eternal Roadis set in the past, present and possible future of earth’s history and in the possible eternality of existence. You animate eternity’s goings on with non-haloed, wingless angels helping to guide souls to their eternal home. The adventures are informative, but mostly harrowing. Yet, through “it all”*, the message remains uprightly positive. I’m not talking about the ending, per se, but the body of your story. Is this purposeful, or unconscious?
John – I have always carried a positive attitude regarding life. It is no surprise to me that this comes through in my writing even in the most dire of circumstances. You mention the ending which I don’t want to spoil for folks is an example of this positivity. It does rain a question about how much responsibility each of us has to take for the existence of evil on this Earth.
Hello! I’m Sam. When not on the road guiding souls to their eternal home, I’m at home on my cloud.
CLOUD WEAR is a custom wardrobe designed especially for me by Resa, who at this point remains earthbound.
Resa – Do you, or did you ever have a crush on Sam?
John – Sam is an agglomeration of every woman for whom I have had the honor of having feelings. Of course, I love her.
PRESENTING – CLOUD WEAR
1. Windy Day (sun dial on wrist) - 2. Grecian Ode - 3. Rock'n'Roll Angel - 4. Fortune Teller - 5. Dream Away - 6. Honey7. Surprise! (all blue beads and earrings made from dew and raindrops)
Resa – Without preaching any religion, you metaphorize good and bad/evil with god and the devil. In the story our protagonists, Sam and James angels, are presented moral dilemmas. What say you to the idea that I think you are speaking to man’s “better angels”?
John – I think you have figured out the fact that I believe there are angels that walk among us. I also believe we all have inside of us the ability to behave as if we have been anointed with title ‘angel.’ On the corresponding side we all can be perfect devils at times. The control of the dominate characteristic is left up to how we were raised and our perception of what constitutes goodness.
Resa – So John, this is the third book in the Eternal Road series. I’ve read the first two and this one seems, in its fictional light, more politically predictive than the other books. It seems a pejorative on the future, on behalf of mankind’s progeny. Can you speak to that?
John – Since my books are written in the present tense it might appear as if there is a perjoritive view as the reader moves through the action. Quite the contrary the story attempts to provide human kind with a tool that can be used to continue the species forever. Yes we have to look at nuclear war as a possibility, but the essence of the story which is repeated is that all mayhem is preventable.
The one pejorative view that I will raise my hand to is the increasing dependence the average person has on Government. I believe in the government being representative of the people and not an entity that exists for itself.
“Lincoln’s Bedroom” in the White House.
What does this have to do withDetour on the Eternal Road? We go to the White House?
Yes, but which wing and what rooms ?
Below – A Made to Scale Replica of the East Wing
The replica is 60 feet long & 20 feet wide. The Artists, Historian John Zweifel and his wife Jan, took 25 years to complete it. It includes all furnishings. The clocks tick, flags wave, phone rings and TV’s work.
Looks fab when you enlarge it!
On Its 200th Birthday in 1992 –This to scale replica of the East Wing of the White House was presented in a special issue of LIFE magazine.
1 - First Lady's Dressing Room 2 - President's Bedroom 3 - Family Sitting Room 4 - Yellow Oval Room 5- Treaty Room 6 - Lincoln Bedroom 7 - Lincoln Sitting Room 8 - State Dining Room 9 - Red Room 10 - Blue Room 11. Green Room 12 - East Room 13- Library 14 - Map Room 15 - Diplomatic Reception Room 16 - China Room 17 - Vermeil Room
On the Left: Legend to all 17 rooms in the East Wing
I think you can enjoy this book without reading its predecessors. However, certain questions will come up, such as this question I asked John after I read the first book.
Resa – “Eyes are mentioned on almost every page, mostly due to travelling, but I could not find the colour of Sam’s eyes. I also searched brown, blue, hair…no luck. Thing is, I was thinking of drawing Sam as an angel, maybe no wings. This way I could do a gown.”
John – “You are not crazy. You won’t find a color of Sam’s eyes since I very seldom describe the characters in terms of physical attributes. My reason for doing this is I would rather the reader form an image in their mind of what the characters look like. So you can make her eye color whatever pleases you. She is more your character than mine since you invested your time reading the book. “
So, if you are thinking of jumping straight to book 3, you might want to read a few of the Amazon reviews on the first 2: Eternal Road &The Last Drive.OR read my Out-of-the box reviews.
Dahlings, we are loving it up in Miami, Tim’s Magic Tree Sanctuary and around the world. I’m one radiating Ms. R., reporting from Ocean Drive, as I present Art Gowns for peace and love.
It’s an all out love fest, with special guest star Boogapony Holly, who will pony on down in roller skates. It’s a go-go like you’ve never seen! And now, from her special stage of TMTS* black bamboo, let’s all get down with MC, Art Director and palazzo pantonista , Rebecca Budd!
Thank you Rene!
As beautiful as the bougainvillea she poses by, AGM Marina wears a strapless, fishtail gown made from a pink-tone ecru velvet & recycled Ribbons for Peace.
P PINK E EMERALD A AQUA C CLAIRVOYANT E ECRU
Boogapony relays her message of love ,with movement, as she glides through the bougainvilleas.
Let’s hear it for Boogapony!
That was fantastic and so is Gigi. AGM Gigi tied on BP’s extra pair of skates, tore a strip out of her strapless skin-tight turquoise gown and rolled on down to Wynwood Walls,
What’s a Love-Up without some fringe? AGM Dale shows in a red gown with heart shaped décolletage and asymmetric plunging v-bodice with fringe at its point. Watch out! With bougainvillea hearts, she’s going to “take you higher”!
Now, for an important message from Ms. R.!
Dahlings, there was a slight glitch trying to get AGM Shey over to Miami. DracGoth made yet another attempt to morph Shey into SheyGoth, and transport her to Otherworld.
While suspended in black between worlds, Tim's Roses of Love surrounded her. They gently guided her to Princess Blue Holly's Tangle-Heart. AGM Shey passed through the Heart in darkness, and surfaced by her golden tree in the light
Thank you Rene!
Wow, seems Shey’s tree sent her to Miami with some enchanted roses. As the roses change colour, so do the roses on her boho, sheer voile angel gown. This is Flower Power at its finest!
And now, from the Florida Room of her ocean view home: with the sand, ocean, sky and sea birds behind her and surrounded by one of Tim’s roses in many spellbound colours here’s RR with a parting message!
Dahlings, Sweet Dreams until Art Gowns & friends returns with another extravaganza! Until then, remember to Love-Up everyday, everywhere!
Here’s a FAB send-off featuring Boogapony skating a go-go through Ocean Drive! Check out those crazy high jumps
Is free will a reality, or a figment of our imaginations?
Diana says it’s “nefarious”. I agree! The masses are unconsciously being influenced by a powerful few, in “Catling’s Bane”.
Resa – “Influencers”- Did you make that up when you wrote the book? It’s a huge internet term now.
Diana – I used the term “influencers” in my book before it became so strongly identified with the internet. Sigh. If I were writing the story today, I would have found a different word.
I suppose my influencers are similar to internet influencers, except in my story the victims of influence don’t have a choice about their emotions being swayed. In both cases, the purpose of influence is to make someone feel a certain way and do what you want them to do.
Resa – I figured you came up with “influencers” before the term became a big deal. I can understand it ticks you off that it has become such an over used term, but in my mind it makes you somewhat prophetic. That is very cool.
Diana – Oh, the tattoo is gorgeous, and I love the photo with the slanted sunlight through your window. How artsy and gorgeous.
Resa – Yay! I believe it is correct to say no Luminescence tattoos means no power of Influence?
Diana – Yes, that’s correct, mostly. Tattooing is how luminescence enters the bodies of the influencers. and the tattoos are designed to precisely measure and inject the different colors/powers.
But that’s not the only way luminescence can enter a body. Catling’s initial strange power to block influence enters when her mother attempts to scrape the birthmark off her face and her pain is smoothed with river water. Raker gains his version of influence when an enforcer gouges out his eye and he falls in the river.
Resa – I drew Catling’s face at puberty, just before Vianne begins the transformation. She would still be living with Whitt and the family. I made her hair free, somewhat unkempt feeling.
Diana- It’s perfect! That’s just how I saw her, hair and all. I always saw her as a wispy little girl, and you captured that impression well. And fabulous job on the eye. A birthmark that looks like a rose (sort of) is a tough draw.
Because of her eye, I was never able to find a good image of her when I was writing. So she stayed mostly in my head. I like those pretty fairy lips. It’s lovely to see her come to life.
Resa – Catling has begun studying under Vianne. She is about 13 1/2. Taking bits from the book, this drawing happened. A pink jacket is mentioned earlier, boots later on. She is all prim and proper, pearl buttons and tatted lace on a white blouse.
However, some tendrils have escaped her braid, which is spread on top of her head. There is an incident with Kadan bullying Catling. Vianne comments on Catling looking disheveled.
Resa – This one is just before the tattooing. She is 15 going on 16. I grew her up. She’s been through a lot.
A red flared waist jacket is scripted around that time. Red is a good grow up from pink. This is just before her head gets shaved. Here she has taken her braid down. I wanted to show the passing of time by how much her locks had grown.
Diana -The drawings are wonderful. And I can see how you “grew Catling up.” I love the choices – the pink and red, and the braid up earlier and down later. It’s super fun to see how you interpret the character and her appearance (like a costume designer for a show!).
A major player in this book is Vianne. She is one of the most important “influencers”.
Resa – I drew Vianne’s face to start. For some reason I thought she was in her mid-late 30’s? Beautiful, but angular, sharp features, thin eyebrows are pretty, but unfriendly. She’s overly well kept, like her secrets.
Diana – Oh, Resa, that’s beautiful. Her face is just how I picture her, and her focused expression is perfect. She’s beautiful and meticulous about her appearance, but so driven by her purpose that beauty is more about power and status than femininity. Does that make sense? And you’re right – she’s around mid-thirties.
Resa – I keep seeing Vianne in longer skirts, regal, imposing. Her outfits are trimmed in her tatting.
Diana – Yes, she would be wearing her lace, and she’s very elegant and regal in bearing.
Lounging around her apartment
Resa – Why did you choose whites & pearls for Vianne’s palette?. I saw icy blue under her jacket mentioned, but it only serves to accentuate the whites.
Diana – Vianne wears a lot of white and off-white. Colors are important in this story, and Vianne prefers white for its purity and neutrality. Though she does terrible things (like torture), she believes her motivations are selfless and pure. The ends justify the means with Vianne right up to her end later in the series.
Evening attire
Resa – Could she have any Farlander blood in her ancestry?
Diana – No, she wouldn’t. The inhabitants of the cities are human, the descendants of colonists who came to this planet so long ago that they’ve forgotten most of their history, replacing it with a myth about the founders.
The original people of the planet, the Farlanders, are still around – relegated to the swamps and the far north. They are humanoid but taller and longer-limbed, and they have patterns of green spots on their skin related to the luminescence.
Business attire
There is a Princess, Lelaine, in the story. Introduced late in this first book of “The Rose Shield” series, not much is known. She is 17, and from what I took away has some royal smarts.
Resa – I began with an at home daytime outfit.
Diana- That’s perfect for Lelaine, Resa. I always pictured her as a fairytale princess without the fairytale life. It’s quite a tragic tale in the end. You captured her beauty, youth, and worldly poise.
Resa – Here’s Lelaine in a horse riding outfit. In the book, the king is in a blue robe, so I’ve made blue the royal colour.
Diana – And Lelaine in her riding attire is perfect. I’m looking forward to seeing her in her formal gown.
Resa – Here’s her all out princess ball gown.
Diana- And Lelaine looks like the princess she is, so … perfect!
As they are a key to the power, I’m most curious about the tattoos of the “Influencers”, and want to know more.
Resa – Are the tattoos are luminescent?
Diana – Oooh, good question. Though the colors used to create the Influencer tattoos are distilled from the world’s bioluminescence, I never pictured the tattoos as glowing. That said, they aren’t the flat colors of modern-day ink, and they don’t fade or become muted over time. I see them as quite vibrant.
Resa – Knives, needles and mallets are used to carve and etch the skin? Are the mallets for driving in the needles? Or is the mallet for pounding to soften lines?
Diana – Yes. I did some research into ancient/primitive tattoo methods, which are still in use in many parts of the world today. Knives, needles, and mallets are all part of the process. Aside from the pain of the cuts and punctures, she has to deal with the emotional impact of each color of luminescence.
The mallets are used for driving in multiple needles at a time. In these cases, the needles are set into various sizes of wooden blocks or paddles, sort of like a wire scrub brush. With one whack of the mallet, multiple needles penetrate the skin. It’s a lot faster than one stab at a time.
Resa – The colours are absorbed into the cuts and etchings by the coloured luminescent baths? (A sort of tie dye type of tattooing?)
Diana – Yes, exactly. One color is absorbed at a time and in a specific sequence.
Resa – Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Violet are the colours of the luminescence. These are the colours of the spectrum, minus indigo. Did you do this on purpose?
Diana – Well, I wanted to limit the colors to six! One had to go, and indigo was nixed. The six remaining colors represent the six motivators that in various combinations account for human behaviour: Love, fear, pain, pleasure, death, and life. So yes, in a way this was purposeful.
The tattoos are beautiful and fanciful, but they needn’t be. The design is based on the artistry of the needler. Since each color represents a base emotion and is part of the world’s power system, they’re distinct/separate when applied to an influencer’s body. When the tattoos are healed, the influencer can use each color/emotion individually to bend another person’s emotions, or they can blend them to get a unique emotional response. Blending is part of the influencer’s training, and Catling will learn those skills in Book 2.
Resa -“Woad” … Am I right in thinking you use this word for “Tattoo”?
Diana – Woad, the way I use it, is more based on the fantasy (quasi-Celtic) tradition of painting, drawing (or tattooing, in this case) magical symbols. Woads might be symbolic, but more often they were thought to carry a magical property, offering the wearer protection or making them indomitable in battle, or a woad painted on a door might prevent evil spirits from entering. Woads in Celtic tradition were indigo, but I used it more generically to mean a magical symbol. In Catling’s Bane, not all of the tattoos are symbols. Catling’s garden is simply a beautiful design. But the tattoos on the men may be more geometrical and may include woads aligned with the colors the symbol represents.
Resa – Why does Catling’s head have to be shaved when getting poisoned/tattooed? The design is described as part of her back, and falling over her shoulder. There is no mention of the tattoos going onto her scalp.
Diana – What a great question! I always saw Markum as the artist behind the tattoo designs. His canvas is the influencer’s skin, and he proceeds with his vision regardless of any suggestions he might receive. In fact, he may do the opposite of any request, just because he can! I imagined Catling’s tattoos might extend onto her scalp, but I may not have written that. Markum likely would have wanted the option – thus the shaved head.
Resa – Will her hair grow back for the next book?
Diana – Yes, it will. Once the influencers have their tattoos, they’re good to go.
Resa – Did Vianne pick the floral design? Or is it pre-prescribed?
Diana – I imagined that most of the female influencers received some version of flowers, but they wouldn’t have been free to pick the design.
Resa – Catling gets many tattoos at once, to get her caught up. Normally, at what age would a chosen child begin getting tattoos and training?
Diana – I didn’t specify a particular age, but it would coincide with training, so perhaps the first would occur around age 14. Normally, the colors would be added one at a time, with a break in between treatments to heal and recover from the trauma. Catling is forced to endure the whole thing at once for political reasons – the influencers want her oath of loyalty before she reports to Lelaine and begins blocking their control.
Resa – At the beginning of the story we observe Influence being used in an evil way. Later, we seem to learn that it can be used for good. Is it ever used for true honest good in any of the 4 books?
Diana – What a great question! Oh, all the blurry lines in this one. Influence is part of life. In our real world, we attempt to influence each other all the time. With money, sales pitches, beauty, logic, facts and lies, book covers and blurbs, gaslighting, rebates, and yes, emotion! That one is a big one. If you change how someone feels about something, you can influence them to buy a car, move to France, adopt a puppy, or get married! Emotion, emotion, emotion. Are those good or bad choices? Depends. In the book, influence is used primarily to control others. Sometimes that control is applied selfishly, but other times it’s applied for a higher good – like the good of the nation or to save someone’s life. I tried to add a lot of moral ambiguity and motivational complexity because that’s how people make choices. The difference in Catling’s Bane is that those on the receiving end of influence don’t have a choice about it.
Resa – I see 4 books in this “Rose Shield” series. Is the series done now?
Diana – Yes, the series is done. Phew.
Resa – I’m thinking I’m going to read them all, eventually, in my turtle reading way!
Diana – Thanks so much for the fun, and the beautiful work Resa! What an honor and a treat to see my characters come to life. Hugs. ♥️♥️♥️
Resa- Welcome Diana, and it’s fun for me, too! Hugs back to you.♥️♥️♥️
A long-time reader, best-selling author D. Wallace Peach started writing later in life after the kids were grown and a move left her with hours to fill. Years of working in business surrendered to a full-time indulgence in the imaginative world of books, and when she started writing, she was instantly hooked.
In addition to fantasy books, Peach’s publishing career includes participation in various anthologies featuring short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. She’s an avid supporter of the arts in her local community, organizing and publishing annual anthologies of Oregon prose, poetry, and photography.
Peach lives in a log cabin amongst the tall evergreens and emerald moss of Oregon’s rainforest with her husband, two owls, a horde of bats, and the occasional family of coyotes.
Art Gowns 
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