Nothing… I seem to be stuck for an N in my A to Z Challenge of illustrations, in my Princelings books and in response to an art group challenge. But Wednesday is a good day for a bit of Flashback Fiction, so here’s one I did earlier.
Feel free to comment below!
I’m Jemima Pett, author, blogger, illustrator and guinea pig wrangler. My interests are in fantasy, environment, science (inc. fiction) and thrillers, to name a few things. This is my nth AtoZ Challenge. Mostly I talk about books. This time I’m talking about something I do without much thinking about… my illustrations.
And … the A to Z is a blog hop, so do go to other people who are doing it. You can find the links here.
This bit of Flashback fiction dates from 2016, and is one of 100 words. I see in the comments at the time that Rebecca thought it was a five sentence challenge. Then we realised it was supposed to be five sentences AND under 100 words. She did one, I did the other! But rather than nothing at all, it gives me something beginning with N today… and a NEW illustration as well.
Not a Bad Egg?
The bidding rose to £7,800; she wavered. She had to have it.
She nodded.
“Online bid, £8,300.”
She twitched her catalogue. What if she was wrong?
“£8,800, against you, madam.” His eyes knew the doubt, the excitement, the dread. The pause lengthened. “£8,800, asking once.”
She nodded. The audience gasped.
“£9,000, in the room.”
The assistant at the laptop shook his head.
“Asking once… twice… three times. Yours, madam.”
Applause covered the murmurs; what was this pretty cardboard egg estimated at £50-£80?
She hoped to God it had a secret compartment hiding the Hardwicke Emerald, lost for 150 years.
© J M Pett 2016
Nothing New Illustrations
Here are some N’s you’ve seen earlier, for other letters… Neville leads Roscoe out of the house through a tunnel he’s found; Willoughby the Narrator doing a Narrathon, and Nimrod’s Chair at Castle Buckmore.
I start by using pencil (Derwent Cassell HB or 2B) on paper. Then I use an inkpen over to create the line drawing (I have a set of three Pilot Drawing pens, nos 01, 03, and 05). After that, I usually erase the pencil. By book 9 I was doing all my illustrations on the iPad, and I could take a JPEG copy of a hand-drawn castle, and amend it, or change it about a bit, rather than start from scratch.
These come from my books The Cavies of Flexford Common, and my Princelings books 5. The Talent Seekers, and 7. Willoughby the Narrator.
Your artwork is always charming Jemima and complements all of your books. i wish I had half your skills as a graphic artist or as a Storyteller. Huge Hugs
Great short short!
Now I want to know if she found the secret compartment in that cardboard egg!