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Greetings and salutations! I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you a little more about me, and also share some insight into my writing process. My plan is to create a new post at least every three months which will give you an update about my progress on new projects, reveal exclusive work in progress details, and provide some of my other thoughts too. While I've been writing for as long as I can recall, life really derailed my plans to get my words out into the world. I know my style, and the topics I write about, won't be for everyone, but I believe my voice is one that should be heard. I have lived in my imagination, I have danced to music alone, I have let my hands trace out the contours of people no-one else could see. I have watched events occur that were invisible to those around me. I have seen stars explode, galaxies stretch beyond the sky, and decay sour the air. This world I see, I want others to share. I want the way my skin chills to be felt by others. I want the way my heart races to pulse under your skin. The world is cruel, and kind. The world is welcoming, and barricaded. This conflict between light and dark, between life and death, is a cycle I have always been drawn to. I guess I have always been searching for the 'right' place to fit in. Some harmonious place where my unique self feels home. I found that in words, because life... not so much. One of the primary themes of my Pentology - which was released monthly from January to May this year after initially creating it over twenty years earlier - is that of contrast. Of how absolutes aren't actually absolute at all. And how the dark is absolutely needed for the light. I'm going to do a deeper dive into the bigger themes another time, but for now, let's talk monochrome and vectors... I have purposefully chosen a monochrome theme for my website, but also for my publications - the cover art, and internal art (in The Menagerie, due November 2024) is always predominantly black and white, and shades of grey. For me, the stark black and white adds emphasis to the themes within, and the division I have always felt within myself. The use of the alchemical symbols for each cover continued this theme of how a simple vector image can convey a wealth of detail - each elemental symbol a representation of so much more! A circle is not just a circle, but is Spirit, and the embodiment of life and death, of the complete cycle of divinity, of the strength of eternity. And likewise, the triangular icons for the other elements are enhanced with the colour image accompanying them to convey the theme. Of course, I had to use a little colour to ensure the element was also clarified - so Alabaster added grey, to suggest that maybe the 'bad guy' isn't the bad one... and maybe we're all morally grey. Water needs blue, fire needs orange, earth needs green, and we complete the cycle with more grey for air. At the core of it all, though, when viewed together and also on a bookcase (which still amazes me, that my words are there ... in a book... on a shelf!), is the monochrome stark black and white. For me black and white is a harmonious conflict, and it is a starting point for imagination to flourish. It is an evocative canvas my mind manipulates. I have more I would love to share with you... about why I chose the elements, why I chose five of them, why I chose the names I did, the themes, the arc... but, not yet. Not yet. Next time... I chose the name 'Ariadne's Web' for this for several reasons... one, my surname translates to the Russian word for spiderweb, but also because as you get to know more, you will see the stories I weave. You will understand a little more about me. And the threads will create a larger picture. Thank you for reading. To be the first to know when the next post is live, be sure to sign up for updates!