Meet the Editor~Elisabet Rhoden

 

 

1) Tell us a little bit about yourself.

My name has no 'h' in it, and that makes me unique.  Although I lost count how many times a teacher, coworker or friend has told me that I spelled my own name wrong. 

 

Otherwise, I'm in my late 20s, living next to Dubai.  By day, I work for a literary festival inviting authors and creating the program, but my true passion lies in the written word and making it blossom.

 

2) What are you hobbies?  What do you like to do for fun?

I really enjoy reading.  I know, it's an obvious hobby, but, hey, I have no 'h' in my name.  I'm allowed to be a little run-of-the-mill.

 

3) What do you look for when you are editing a story?

I don't often think of myself as an editor.  I like to think of myself like wax on a car.  A car can be nice and the engine may be awesome, but I clean it up and make it shine. It's like brining out the inner beauty of a piece of work. That being said, I try to get in the mind of the writer.  It makes editing both easier for me and the author.  When I can make my thoughts seem like their, I consider it a success and we both progress.  Although, sometimes I get caught up in the story and have to go back a few pages... 

 

4) What are the stories that reach you that are captivating in your opinion.

I've read and edited many short stories, essays and a novel in my life so far.  I really enjoyed editing the novel, The Sheepish Pirate, because it gave me the opportunity to edit a longer piece of literature and to really understand the writing style of the author.  Otherwise, I once edited a grant application for sustainable development in Somalia.  That was a pretty interesting read.

 

5) What was the first book that really resonated with you?

Slaughterhouse five.  I love love love how Vonnegut writes.  It's chaotic, expressive and yet, as a reader, so long as you flow with it, then he will take you to new places and you experience things like never before.

 

6) When did you realize that you wanted to pursue a career in literature/language?

I suppose, as one always does, that I've always known.  It was always somewhere, deep down inside.  Maybe it was that rainy night when I kept neurotically rerecording myself reciting Beowulf in Old English because it wasn't perfect enough, or perhaps it was the first time I felt genuinely proud of one of my students when they realized they understood the Present Perfect tense.  I'll probably never know exactly when I realized this was the direction my life should go, but I am happy it's moving.  

 

7) Who/what do you find inspiring in literature?

It's the raw talent of new writers. I love reading their work. Their pure, unadulterated insight makes one think about themselves in a whole new light... even if it's only for a few minutes. 

 

8) What draws you to a book/story?

Many things draw me to a book or story.  I like a story to be entertaining, yet a bit real. I like the history in it to be researched and like the story to be intelligent and make me interested in the ideas.  One summer, I read an action book called Meg, granted the story was all action and not too much plot, but it was so well researched that when I googled it, I was shocked to find that all the technology referenced in the novel actually existed!

 

9) What type of questions would you like to be asked?

 

That's an interesting question in itself.  I think, what I'd like to be asked are:

 

What is it like being an A culture, living in a B culture and dealing with C, D, and E cultures?

    -My answer.  It's impossible, but there are some incredibly entertaining moments. 

 

What is your favorite grammatical tense?

    -My answer: All of them. No, I'm lying.  My favorite is:  Future perfect- I will have gone to bed by the time you read this.  It's amazing that when one travels, they begin to use this tense far more than ever before.

 

What was your favorite class in university?

    -My answer:  It's a tie.  I loved my contemporary linguistics class (taught by prof. Jodi Novotony), but I also really enjoyed my Anti-Americanism course (taught by prof. Gregory Weeks).

 

Why do you travel so much?

    -My answer:  Because the world is big and exciting and needs to be explored and lived in!

Meet the sketch artist for The Sheepish Piarate~Andrea Genteman

1) Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I have been sketching and drawing as long as I can remember. More on the fashion side, but also landscapes and animals for more of a challenge. I was able to take that passion as a child and study design and art  at Stephens College and the Paris American Academy and turn it into a fashion design career.   I am currently working in the fashion industry in Los Angeles, CA as an associate designer at such places like BCBG, Guess and now currently at Secret Charm/Luxology. It’s a bit different from my childhood of living on a farm and growing up in a small town in Missouri, but my sisters and I were very lucky. Our parents always took us on trips to different locations around the country and always made it a learning adventure for new coulters and history. I was also very fortunate to be able to study with fashion designers in London, Jenny Packhem, and in Paris, Allan Lalou and be able to work from the very couture side of the field and in a very different European style.

 2) What are you hobbies?  What do you like to do for fun?

My main hobby currently is practicing Wing Chun Kung Fu, it’s been a very big passion of mine for over three years, though it’s very far from inside the box of hobbies. I think it’s good to throw a curve ball in a routine to keep a balance of life. I also keep up with drawing and a little bit of watercolor when I get the chance.

3) What is the first thing you think of when you start to design?

How the figure needs to look once completed. If it’s an outfit how do the pieces fit together and if it’s a painting are the colors complementary to each other, and are they unique.

4) What inspires you the most to draw?

Nature has always been a big factor in designing for me, for fashion and any art styles. Is it organic, is it natural and sometimes that creates a bigger challenge, but then it’s more rewarding when completed.

5) When starting a new character what do you think of first?

Who they are and why they are wearing what they are wearing from clothes, to hair to the expression on their face. The character drawings have proven to be a big challenging since my focus has been clothing and now it’s creating these characters that are animals, but have the human qualities and trying to balance between what you keep and what you give up as an animal for the story.

6) When did you decided to start your career with design?

I really decided when I was a senior in college and I had been inspired by a few fashion documentaries and realizing that I could take my love for sketching and turn it into something more.

7) What was the first thing you drew?

For fashion it was wedding dresses. I had started sketching like mad my senior year of high school I just could not get every idea out of my head fast enough and new ways of drawing details. I just loved the idea of nontraditional styles with vintage twists.

8) What do you prefer to design/draw?

I love fashion sketching, it’s a bit more on the creative side than technical drawings and a bit more liberal with proportions and details. It doesn’t have to be real, just pretty. I am also enjoying drawing the characters more and more. They used to be such a challenge, but now that I am finding ways of creating these new members of the story it’s getting to be more exciting.

9) What plans do you have for the future with design?

As of right now, I am really excited to see what new characters there are for the next books and exploring their style and background and developing them into the story. Until then fashion will have to do

Book Trailer

The Sheepish Pirate's first book trailer.  Special thanks to all the amazing voice actors, editor/director and the character drawing artist to help with making this amazing video.  I hope you all enjoy!

 

Character drawings by Andrea Genteman.

Voice talents:

Jay Stephenson

Chey Jezreel

Daniel Pierce - http://www.danielpiercevoiceartist.com/

Ace Marrero - http://www.acemarrero.com/

Erin Stegeman - http://www.erinstegeman.com/

Trailer edited and animated by Richard Diaz - http://richarddiaz.com/

Caliban & Bubbles

Here we have the two aquatic pirates for the Carnivorous Coral.  Caliban is the steadfast no nonsense navigator, always at the helm stirring the Coral into battle.  His wits are as keen as his sight, which is always on the horizon anticipating trouble.  Bubbles on the other hand is less than sharp, hence the hook for a fin.  He is easily fooled and turned around, but a bruteforce to be reckoned with.  When Bubbles gets you in his sights be prepared for the swim of your life, which is actually very seldom due to his hammerhead shape.  No one is 100% certain if he has perfect or terrible peripheral vision.

VLADISLAV

VLADISLAV is the weapons expert for the Carnivorous Coral.  Once a part of the famous Das Spectacular Reisen Circus (The Spectacular Traveling Circus) as a performer, he joined the crew after the circus abruptly dissolved.  Though he seems a bit slow witted, Vladislav is the best explosive and demolition expert in all of Europe.  Slightly disgruntled, you don’t want to get in the line of fire with this bear.

V. Xavier

 

Val Xavier is a white wolf and a vagabond gypsy who was roaming the European country side with his sister, Luvie. They were both recruited by the spy agency E’oliennes Combattant. V. Xavier was assigned to the Carnivorous Coral, while his sister was land bound to infiltrate the French and British military. Even though his sister went rouge after a few years, Xavier stayed with the agency and continued pirating on the Coral, reporting back when he could and to this day is still a trusted link to the agency and the sea.

Hotep

Hotep is one of the Carnivorous Coral original crew members when the ship was still under the command of the stallion Captain Roger Spearheart. Hotep was the voice in Horace’s ear telling him to challenge Spearheart and over throw the Coral for control.  Originally from Egypt, his favorite weapon is the khopesh swords and brings knowledge of the occult to the ship.