Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: RIDERS OF THE REALM:ACROSS THE DARK WATER by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

Once again, I'm over at my group blog, Project Mayhem, with a review of this first book in Jennifer Lynn Alvarez's Riders of the Realm series. The Don would be delighted if you went and visited us over there today!

Over at Project Mayhem for a Book Trailer Reveal for RIDERS OF THE REALM

I'm very excited to be writing on Project Mayhem (my middle grade group blog) about Jennifer Lynn Alvarez's new series, RIDERS OF THE REALM. Jennifer's Guardian Herd series was a smash hit, and I'm sure her legions of fans will be very excited for new adventures of the Pegasi.

Head on over to Project Mayhem. If you leave a comment there, you will be entered in the drawing for a signed copy of the new novel. Ciao!

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: Interview with Hazelwind from THE GUARDIAN HERD #4: WINDBORN.

Omigosh, people! I am so excited today. In February of this year, I met Jennifer Lynn Alvarez at Green Bean Books in Portland. (She was doing a reading with the equally excellent Anne Nesbet and Kristen Kittscher.) Jennifer's the author of the amazing The Guardian Herd series, and she agreed to share with the Middle Grade Mafioso some fantastic goodies from the series. First, an interview with the popular buckskin stallion Hazelwind of Sun Herd, taking a break from the intense action in Anok to answer a few questions for us. Hazelwind's also brought a never-before-seen sketch of himself that appears in The Guardian Herd #4 WINDBORN. (This book releases online and in bookstores on 09/20/2016.) Then, there's a video. Finally, there are PRIZES!!!! Jennifer will send one lucky commenter a Guardian Herd Windborn notebook, as well as a signed book plate and some character trading cards. Isn't that amazing?!

But first, I'd like to welcome Hazelwind, and thank him for joining us today at Middle Grade Mafioso.

Hazelwind: Glad to be here actually. Thanks for having me.

Middle Grade Mafioso: So book #3 LANDFALL ended in a huge cliffhanger. As a character in this series, what was that like for you?

Hazelwind: That’s a good question. The truth is that it’s as tough for the characters as it is for the readers. The author doesn’t allow us to read ahead, so none of us had a clue who would live, who would die, or what would happen next. Actually, I think it’s worse for us than it is for the readers. They’re safe in their Landwalker homes or schools, but we’re in Anok, in a forest called the Trap. It’s anything but safe.

MGM: Since you mention it, what are conditions like in the Trap?

Hazelwind: It was springtime when I was there, but still cold and foggy. Day after day went by without any of us seeing the sun. The Trap is located in Northern Anok, on the tundra. The predators are huge and the food is scarce. I much preferred the chapters that took place in Sun Herd’s lands. The weather there is almost always pleasant.

MGM: So if you’re no longer in the Trap, where are you?

Hazelwind: Well, that’s tricky. If I tell you, then I’ll give away some stuff that happens in book four, WINDBORN, and that’ s top secret.

MGM: But by now, you’ve finished the final chapters of WINDBORN, so you know how it ends, right?

Hazelwind: That’s right.

MGM: Can you tell readers anything that might ease their minds? Is Morningleaf alive? Does Star defeat Nightwing? Is Thundersky freed from the Beyond?

Hazelwind: (nickers) It wouldn’t be top secret if I told you now, would it? But honestly, a book is a journey that must be experienced. It wouldn’t be fair to readers for me to reveal anything.

MGM: All right, I tried. Now, let’s move on. Your character Hazelwind is often compared to his powerful sire, Thundersky. Can we assume from this that Hazelwind will one day become a great leader?

Hazelwind (snorts): I don’t know about that, but my character certainly has the potential. He’s honorable and tough, like his sire was, but I think Hazelwind is more thoughtful. You can’t be around Star for long without second-guessing everything you thought you knew to be true. And I think Hazelwind is a stallion that pegasi would follow, but he wouldn’t be a leader like Thundersky was. He’d probably employ a council of advisors, more like Star.

MGM: Yes, that makes sense and there are so many pegasi to choose from. Can you tell your fans what it’s like working with such a large cast of pegasi characters? Do you all get along? Any practical jokers in the book?

Hazelwind: [nickering] That would be Bumblewind—he’s a joker. There’s a scene in LANDFALL where Dewberry has to fling rocks at a pinecone, kind of like target practice. Each time she threw a rock, Bumblewind shook the tree. She got so mad!

MGM: [laughs] I wouldn’t mess with Dewberry. 

Hazelwind: That’s smart, she’s a tough mare, but to answer your question, we all get along really well. We’ve adventured through three books together and now a fourth. We’ve been through it all, you know, sadness and loss and triumphs too. It’s bonded us as a herd, which is exactly what the book series is about—uniting to solve problems instead of fighting to force solutions. I think we exemplify Star’s ideal guardian herd—most days.

MGM: I know you can’t reveal this, but readers want to know if Star and Morningleaf end up together. Can you comment on their relationship?

Hazelwind: She’s my sister, so no. I won’t comment other than to say, she’s very, very young. And so is Star.

MGM: Hmm, okay. Another thing readers want to know is what was it like training with the United Army and then battling against the Ice Warriors and Frostfire’s Black Army in book #3? Were those chapters tough on the characters? 

Hazelwind: Warrior training was awesome! I learned so much from the steeds in the other herds. Bringing all of our talents together made each of us stronger. I got in great shape too. But the battle scenes, those are never easy. They’re grueling and frightening, to be honest, but worth it because we were battling to preserve freedom for all pegasi. It was an honor to serve in those scenes.

MGM: But at the end of LANDFALL, Nightwing appears to prevail. How did that feel? 

Hazelwind: (pauses) I’m still sick about it.

MGM: I can see how much the series means to you, Hazelwind.

Hazelwind: Yeah, it’s not just a book series, you know. Not to me.

MGM: Perhaps now would be a good time for your announcement?

Hazelwind: Sure! I’m happy to say that the pegasi’s adventures will continue with a new trilogy called THE GUARDIAN HERD: DARK WATER TRIALS, beginning Fall of 2017. These three books will follow some existing characters across the sea to a foreign land. There they will encounter new creatures, new dangers, and new friends too.

MGM: Can you tell us who the existing characters are?

Hazelwind: Not yet, but a few of them will be very familiar to readers.

MGM: And what sort of new creatures will the pegasi encounter in this foreign land?

Hazelwind: Drooling dragons, fighting scarabs, hordes of giants, and Landwalkers, to name a few.

MGM: You mean humans?

Hazelwind: Yeah, if that’s what you want to call them. Some pegasi mysteries will also be revealed. We’re all super excited about the new trilogy. The first book is titled PROMISE KEEPER.

MGM: Sounds exciting! Well, thank you for joining us today at Middle Grade Mafioso, Hazelwind. We appreciate you taking some time out of the series to answer our questions.

Hazelwind: Anytime!

MGM: And here's the sketch!!! (By the marvelous illustrator, David McClellan.)

Here's the video... (N.b. Some sky-diving involved...)

About the Author:

Jennifer Lynn Alvarez draws on her lifelong love of horses  when writing her books. She lives in Northern California with her husband, children, and more than her fair share of pets. She's pictured here with her beloved mare, Maddie.

Visit the official website to play games, take quizzes, meet the pegasi, chat on the fan forum, enter to win prizes, subscribe to the newsletter! www.theguardianherd.com

AND... Don't forget to comment for a chance to win those fabulous prizes. Thank you Hazlewind (and Jennifer!) for visiting us today. Ciao!

Big Cover Reveal for LANDFALL by Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

Isn't this a great cover? It is Book One of Jennifer Lynn Alvarez's THE GUARDIAN HERD SERIES--and today I also have the pleasure of revealing the cover for Book 3: LANDFALL.

But before we get to that, Jennifer has given me permission to reprint the interview she did on her blog with the cover artist, David McClellan. Here it is:

Please enjoy my inspiring and informative interview with the Guardian Herd book series cover artist and illustrator, David McClellan. Not only will you get a "behind-the-scenes" peek at what goes into making a book cover, but you'll also learn tips for making your own amazing art!

1)      At what age did you know you wanted to be an artist?

I knew from a pretty early age. It was probably around 4th or 5th grade, when I realized that becoming a professional basketball player was out of the question. I guess it was really in college, when I chose to major in illustration, that I actually solidified the decision. 

2)      What is your favorite medium for expression and has it evolved over the years?

In high school it was Prismacolor pencils. Then, in college I did most of my illustration assignments in acrylic paint because the fast drying time meant I could get the assignments done on time. After college I got introduced to digital painting and never went back to the acrylics again. Everything that I was trying to achieve with the acrylics worked so much better with the digital media. So now all of my illustration work is done in Photoshop. But I do try to keep one foot in the door of traditional painting, so I do a lot of studies in oils to keep my skills up.


3)      How did you turn your passion for art into a career?

Basically, it’s been about getting an education and then continuing to learn my whole life. I studied illustration in college, so I learned some good fundamental principles about drawing and painting, as well as communicating ideas through images. And I learned about being a professional and meeting deadlines and keeping clients happy. After college, I knew that illustration jobs would be inconsistent so I got a job as an artist at Disney Interactive Studios, a video game developer, which has been great because that has meant working with many other talented artists as a team and learning from them. And of course, working with 3D software is a different animal than 2D art, but much of it overlaps in terms of what you need to know. I’ve basically had to learn how to be a landscape painter, except that the landscapes are virtual 3D worlds. So I think the knowledge and skills I’ve gained as a video game environment artist have helped my illustration career and vice versa.   

4)      How did you become the cover artist for The Guardian Herd series? 

The art director at Harper Collins had hired me before, but on a completely different kind of subject matter. As she considered me for this job, she asked if I was any good at painting animals and asked for some examples, and I told her that I was okay, but that I was probably weakest at horses. Of course, horses were exactly what she needed. And she agreed with me that my horses were not my best work, but for some reason she took a chance on me anyway. I immediately went and got some books on horse anatomy and started trying to figure it out. In hindsight, I think I was probably equally bad at drawing all animals. It’s just that horses are animals that humans are really familiar with, and have such specific proportions and musculature, that people can always tell when artists get them wrong. If you draw a dog wrong, you can just say it’s a different kind of dog.

5)      Please describe your process, from conception to delivery, for creating a Guardian Herd book cover. 

The art director gives me a description of what they want to see on the cover as far as characters and what kind of setting they want. Then I do several sketches to try and turn all those elements into a composition, taking into account where the title and author’s name will be. Those first sketches are usually so rough that no one else would understand them. Lately I have been doing those kind of sketches on my phone. I then pick out a few that have the most potential and make more finished sketches of those ideas to send to the art director.  She will then review the sketches with the editor and author (you!) and then either ask for changes or give the go ahead on the one that they like best. Then I will do color studies and work out the big picture before rendering any details.  I will have to do research and gather reference materials, in this case, lots of pictures of horses and wings. I have used toy horses for reference too since the photos usually don't have the right kind of lighting.  So sometimes I set up the toy horse with some makeshift paper wings to help me figure out what the shadows need to do. Then, from that point on, it’s just a lot of hours of painting time to refine and finish it off.


6)      Your perspectives on the covers are dramatic! Can you give readers any tips on how to draw interesting pictures?

As far as perspective goes, on both of these Guardian Herd covers so far I have dropped the horizon line lower so it feels like you are looking up at Star which makes him feel more heroic. There are so many potential answers to the question of how to make interesting pictures. Coming up with an interesting idea that is worth the time spent creating it is certainly crucial. Doing several rough sketches to get at the best possible idea helps. Making your image clear and legible helps. For example, it helps to have a clear focal point that is the most important thing in your picture and then have all the other elements complement rather than compete with that main focal point. I believe that contrast is a big key to making things interesting. Our brains naturally look for contrast to make sense of things. And not just contrast of light and dark but just about everything you can think of has an opposite that you can use to set it apart and make it stand out. Of course, not everything should stand out. Only the important things. But if you want something to feel light, surround it with some dark. If you want something to feel big, put something small next to it. Try to keep variety in your shapes and not make everything too similar or monotonous.

7)    Do you have any specific tips/advice on how to draw horses and feathers?

Well, start by getting the best reference materials you can get. You may not be able to see all that you need to understand in a photo of a horse, so a book on horse anatomy or a diagram of the muscles of the horse can be helpful. With feathers, it seems to be a little like drawing fingers or hair. If you are drawing a hand, it works best to mass in the fingers as a group first before trying to depict each individual finger. And with hair, it’s the same thing. You draw the mass of hair and then define only as many strands of hair as you need to in order to show that it’s hair and no more. With the feathers, start with the shape of the wing as a solid mass with the structure of the bones underneath in mind, and then add the feather detail on top of that foundation. And remember that you don’t have to define each feather with equal importance. Pick a few main ones to be the ones that tell the story.

8)      How important has the computer become in the world of art? 

It’s extremely important. And along with computers I would list smart phones and tablets and any electronic device that can be used to either create art, or view it. But the thing to remember is that the hardware and the software are just tools. The music is not in the violin. It has to come from the musician. So a software expert with no artistic training probably won’t create something as beautiful as a good artist with little software training might be able to. So I always tell people to use the software to express their designs rather than to let the software dictate the design.

9)      Can you recommend any software programs that budding artists might want to learn?

I really only work in Photoshop for my illustration work, although I sketch in the Sketchbook Pro app on my phone. I have messed around with the Brushes and Art Rage apps on my iPad. I think the kids probably know better than I do what the cool new painting apps are. I always recommend that kids get really good with real pencils and paints before getting into digital art because I think that foundation really helps.

10) Parting thoughts from David
I just want to say thanks Jennifer, and that I have really enjoyed doing the illustrations for the Guardian Herd series, and I’m excited for the next book! I hope that the fans of the books enjoy the illustrations and feel like they do justice to the characters. I look forward to seeing some cool fan art soon!

About the Artist
David McClellan grew up near Portland, Oregon and then studied illustration at Brigham Young University in Utah. In addition to illustrating books he works as an artist for Disney Interactive Studios, where they make the video game, Disney Infinity. He still lives in Utah with his wife and four boys. 
You can see more of his work at mcclellanart.com and @mcclellan_art on Instagram.

Please visit the author’s website to see the amazing fan art created by readers of the Guardian Herd book series.

Cover for Book 2: STORMBOUND

And now for the big reveal. Here's the official book blurb for LANDFALL:

It has been many moons since Star received his starfire power. He has gone from being born a dud—unable to fly and shunned by the five herds of Anok, including his own—to becoming a strong yearling, ready to lead his own herd as an over-stallion. But now he will face his toughest challenge yet. Nightwing the Destroyer, Star’s eternal rival, is amassing an army to destroy him and all of Anok. The only way for Star to defeat him is to learn how to fight like a warrior—without using his starfire. For if he uses his power, even to heal, Nightwing will know where to find him. As the threat of war looms over Star’s head, he can’t help but wonder if the current peace among the united pegasi is strong enough to defeat the powerful Destroyer once and for all.With increasingly difficult challenges and brand-new areas of Anok to explore, Jennifer Lynn Alvarez will thrill readers with this epic and exhilarating third installment of the Guardian Herd series.

I love the light in this one, and the way it melds with the green of the forest. Jennifer Lynn Alvarez has offered a prize package for one lucky winner. Here are the details: Guardian Herd Swag Prize Package—a Guardian Herd tote bag; a series poster for Book #3, LANDFALL; and a sheet of character trading cards. Leave a comment to be entered in the drawing. (US,UK, and Canada only, please.)

Guardian Herd Tote Bag for one lucky winner!

More Information about Jennifer:

You can find lots more information about Jennifer Lynn Alvarez on her WEBSITE. She's also on Twitter @JenniferDiaries

Her books can be found on IndieBound, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon.