The Picture of Dorian Gray, but not as we know it. Our Gray is a violent criminal in NYC. She’s also an immortal creature of magic.
... is not being talked about...
So here are some folk talking about me. Enjoy. DG.
This weekend update, I wanted to tell you guys a little about our wonderful artist team. I'm in awe of all artists, because its a skill I absolutely don't have. I can paint pictures with words, but when it comes to actual drawing, my cats and my ducks are pretty interchangeable.
So the gift of having a team who can turn my words into images of beauty makes me very happy. The Gray team has given me much joy over the the past two years, and it's great that we now get to share that joy, and their wonderful work to you.
So, drum roll please, for:
Eugenia Koumaki on pencils in Greece
Diane Greenhaigh on inks in Canada
& Joana Lafuente on colors in Portugal
We have been working on GRAY in an international, multi-time-zone collaboration, run entirely on Slack and Dropbox. To give you an example of how we collaborate, here's a little WiP to walk through.
Designing Dorian - here are my notes and references and Eugenia's first drawings.
Then, once Eugenia had refined, Joana tried out some colors
To which she got these responses:
Which led us here:
Which of course led us inevitably to our finished version, which is brunnette, but with the purple taken up in her clothes and surroundings.
Finally for today, here's Diane at work inking.
Enjoy -- and enjoy your weekends. Please also, if you haven't already, let your social networks, friends and aunts know about GRAY. We would love to hit our first stretch goal by Monday.
Thanks! -- Arvind
My lords, ladies & lovers:
Now who was it who said "“It is better to have a permanent income than to be fascinating.”?
It was me. I said that. Look, just above these words, there it is, me, saying it.
And it's true.
So true.
But it's even better to be both.
Which is what I now have, my fascinating self, is fully funded, thanks to all of you. Magnificent, munificent, shaggable you. I could take all 287 of you back to my purple boudoir and show you my appreciation till we were all thoroughly dehydrated. &, subject to appropriate consent forms, I will.
(In fact, Michelle, you know who you are, you were the one who tipped us, as it were, over the edge. So you, you get special treatment. Bring some toys)
But not yet.
Because there is still work to do. Because if Dorian Gray (that's me) is one thing, it's this.
She's...
beautiful
debauched
charming
immortal
No, wait, that's four things.
If Dorian Gray is FIVE things...
If Dorian Gray is an infinity of wonderful things, one of them is definitely this:
I'm one ambitious boss bitch.
So keep it coming. We have stretch goals to hit. Details coming soon, but amongst other things: a cast of thousands, wall to wall fully composed score. Binaural, 360 sound design, and Kraft-services that only serve '98 Bollinger (1898, obviously) and the finest cucumber sandwiches. Come help us do that. Get your friends, cousins and ex-lovers to help. Also: Aunts; aunts are always good for some spare change, in my experience.
First, though, take a moment to give someone you love pleasure this morning. Life's never too short for that.
-- DG xoxo
This should be a chirpy little update about how we've hit 60% of our target on Kickstarter, and how tomorrow's the day...
But the past 48 hours in America have not been chirpy. That George Floyd's murderer has been convicted is a shallow comfort when a 16 year old black girl, Ma’Khia Bryant, is killed in a police shooting in the same moment. In such moments, I have two visceral reactions. One is to cry, the other is to write.
At the heart of GRAY is the debate between Dorian and Hank. When a system is broken, is it better to burn it down or attempt to fix it from within? I don't know the answer to that question, but I know its the most important debate to be having in America right now. Here's Dorian and Hank having that argument, in their first meeting from Chapter 3 of GRAY.
My Lords and Ladies:
As a member of the leisure class, I have to tell you, this CrowdFunding lark is rather too much work.
I mean, there I was, thinking that all I'd have to do is announce our little book and radio play on the internet and the money bags would come flying as I lounged in my bath of finest unicorn milk. Alas, the reality has proved somewhat more strenuous than that.
All the hard day long, I've been here, emailing, tweet-twittering, calling in favours from every cousin I've ever kissed, and shouting from the rooftops. Also: pacing nervously and hitting the refresh key nonchalantly. I've worked up quite an appetite.
But, by Lady Windemere's fine arse, it's been worth it. Because look at us now. 12 hours in and nearly 50% to our goal. That's exciting. I can't wait to see what the night will bring. Usually, it brings a lot of pleasure and intrigue. But tonight I might even be too nervous for that. I might have to make do with drinking myself into a stupor.
Before the green devil takes me, let me just say: thank you, you beautiful, gorgeous people. There will be lashings of champagne for all of you before this is done. Well, for some of you. For others, just lashings.
Toodles, DG.