Posts Tagged ‘courtship’

Alexander Nigel Frankfurt Benedict IV

Tuesday, February 13th, 2018

Alex Benedict, a flower fairy, and some ridiculous coattails, by Amy Crook

Alex Benedict, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper

In my first self-published novel, The Courtship of Julian St. Albans, the main character Alex whistles up some magic butterflies to impress the young man he’s courting. He also manages to acquire a flower fairy, though that comes much later. At no point would he actually put up with the coattails, though he is awfully fond of black with black and a side of black as his palette.

I drew this for Inktober in 2015, and colored it the other day as a warm-up to commissions. Because if I don’t do my own characters for FANbruary, who will?

Categories: People, Figures and Faces, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
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Vine Ring

Wednesday, August 2nd, 2017

Vine Ring by Amy Crook

Vine Ring, 5″x7″ pen & ink and Copic marker on paper

The third book in my Consulting Magic series is imminent! This beautiful vine ring will be part of the cover, the same way that the mechanical bird graced the first one, and magical flowers the second.

Gold and platinum vines twine around each other, thick and thin, in a graceful and organic pattern. Bright emeralds dot the design here and there, cradled in little curls of metal so their placement looks natural.

It could almost be a circlet or crown rather than a ring, whatever your imagination desires.

Vine Ring, detail, by Amy Crook

Vine Ring, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the tiny green emeralds shining out of the curls of metal vinework. Below, the ring sits in a frame, waiting to decorate your home.

Vine Ring, framed art by Amy Crook

Vine Ring, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Flowers, Trees and Landscapes, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
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Horace’s Feather

Saturday, November 7th, 2015

Horace's Feather by Amy Crook

Horace’s Feather by Amy Crook

If you’ve read my novels, you probably remember Horace, the bronze sparrow created by the magical main character. He carries letters inside his hollow chest, and flies on the strength of spells written into every feather.

There’s just one color of ink in this bronze feather, covered in runes and imbued with magic — in the world of the book, anyway.

Before you hurt your brain trying to google the runes, they’re mostly made up, and a couple of them are even stolen from my fake Cthulhu alphabet. Why make new fake runes when old fake runes will do?

Horace’s Feather, 4″x6″ ink wash on Fluid watercolor paper.

Horace's Feather, detail, by Amy Crook

Horace’s Feather, detail, by Amy Crook

Above, you can see the ink-painted runes and bronze details of Horace’s feather. Below, it’s safely in a frame, waiting to float to a new home.

Horace's Feather, framed art by Amy Crook

Horace’s Feather, framed art by Amy Crook

Categories: Floating Gallery, Series and Books, Whimsical and Strange
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Consulting Magic short stories

Monday, October 26th, 2015

Untrue Love by Amy CrookUntrue Love is a short story about murder, magic, and our very own Alex Benedict as a 20-year-old university student.

If you’ve read and enjoyed my other Consulting Magic books, you’ll be delighted to see Alex meeting Lapointe for the first time and trying not to drive her off with his personality before they can solve a murder. There’s magic and food and mystery, all wrapped up in one little bite.

If you’ve not read them, this is a good place to start! You can figure out if you’re interested in the world and the people, long before the romance starts in The Courtship of Julian St. Albans.

Alex Benedict is a student of magic in his third year at Hartbridge University with no clear direction for his studies. That is, until he puts himself in the middle of a criminal investigation by literally stepping in it.

This is the story of Alex’s first case with Agent Murielle Lapointe, and while it’s lacking in romance, it’s a delightful look into grumpy young Alex and what he got up to before he was a professional consultant.

Rosemary for the Holidays by Amy CrookAfter you’ve read The Apprenticeship of Julian St. Albans, you can get a little taste of the holidays that follow! This cheerful little story shows Alex and Julian holding an actual holiday part, where friends and family drop by, and they end up filling their home with magic, love, and wonder.

Rosemary for the Holidays is definitely a sequel to the first two books, a quick treat if you’ve finished both books and still want another taste of our boys. Not to mention a visit with Horace, the flower fairy, the brownies, and the rest!

Julian St. Albans and Alex Benedict celebrate the Solstice with a visit to the wish tree, and a holiday party at their flat. A little holiday gift to the readers of my Consulting Magic series!

This story comes after the events in the second book, The Apprenticeship of Julian St. Albans.

I’ll be writing away on the third book during NaNoWriMo, so enjoy these little nibbles while I’m figuring out what’s next for Alex, Julian, Horace, and the rest of them!

Categories: Words Words Words
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Julian’s sequel is finally out!

Friday, August 29th, 2014

Finally!

After wrestling in June & July with copy edits, and in August with weird tech problems (Createspace was finding their own cover template a tad confusing), I’ve finally published my second book! The Apprenticeship of Julian St. Albans is a sequel to my first book, where we follow Julian this time as he settles into his new life in the city with Alex.

Also, there’s a Kindle Matchbook thing.

If for some reason you want both versions of the book, you have to buy the physical book first. Then after you’ve paid for that order, you can go back to the ebook page and Amazon will offer you a discount. It’s cool, but tedious.

Either way, it’s done it’s done it’s done omg!

Two books, yay!

PS – If you haven’t read the first one yet, it’ll be free for a few days on Kindle. It’s the perfect chance!

Categories: Words Words Words
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Soon, Very Soon

Monday, June 30th, 2014

Swag for my new book release!

Swag for my new book release!

I’ve finally (omgfinally) finished the sequel to The Courtship of Julian St. Albans! Huzzah! I’ve sent off for a proof copy from Amazon, and once I’ve red-penned that for last-minute typos, the book will be ready! I figure mid-July, depending on the whims of the postal owls and pollen trees, but I’ve already started making up swag for a giveaway once it’s out!

The Apprenticeship of Julian St. Albans takes us into Julian & Alex’s life almost a year after the Courtship that brought them together. Read a sample chapter here.

Categories: Words Words Words
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My book is on sale!

Tuesday, February 11th, 2014

It's my book, and my book cover art, together forever.

Horace with The Courtship of Julian St. Albans, both by Amy Crook

I finished my first draft of the sequel, The Apprenticeship of Julian St. Albans, and to celebrate I’m putting The Courtship of Julian St. Albans on sale for a week! Assuming all the Amazon Kindle magic has worked properly, the ebook version should be $1.99 for a week — and it’ll show a countdown so you know how long it’s on sale.

I’ve also set it up so that if you buy the physical book, you can get the ebook for only a dollar more through more Amazon magic. Right now that’s the only place the book is available, I think, though I tickied some boxes the other day that might make physical copies available to your local bookstore, which is a little bit awesome.

Categories: Words Words Words
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