The Truth About Shaney (or When Fanart Gets Ugly!) By Raine O'Tierney...w/ a Rebuttal by JC

Happy New Year everyone! Today I welcome fellow author and one of my best friends Raine O’Tierney, who is about to cut me down a peg or two! Yes, I am allowing this because seriously I love to look bad. Not really, however I will give a short rebuttal at the end to defend myself. And by the way not only is she a great author she is a great artist as well. Take it away Raine…

Shaney (Curiosity Killed Shaney) by Raine

Awesome confession: I started my career in FANDOM. I still consider myself a HUGE fangirl! I used to write fanfiction with my mother when I was in middle school, I would draw fanart when I should have been paying attention in class (total Rocketshipper right here!), and there was even a time when I was the SFX translator for a group of yaoi fan scanlators! Hecks yeah. :) Fans ROCK. Fans keep the world turning.

It's always been my dream to receive fanart for my own stories. And as such, I like to draw fanart for other people! I'm not amazing at it, I admit—but I'm passionate so I keep on trying!

It seemed perfectly natural as a *~*~MASSIVE FANGIRL OF ALL THINGS JC WALLACE~*~* that I would create a bit of fanart for this incredibly talented (and lovely!) author.

Little did I know that my whole concept of fanart was about to be turned upside down.

Now, I've drawn a lot of fanart for a lot of things. Things you'd be like... huh? Lots of Team Rocket kissy pictures, Mishima Kazuhiko and Sanami Matoh fanart, Toe Jam and Earl fanart (hecks yeah!), Nightmare Before Christmas, I even drew Jolene from Dolly Parton's Jolene! And the one thing all these works had in common: the original creator never came back at my young self and said, "Um, Raine... that doesn't quite look right."

And then I drew Shaney.

Shaney is the oft-curious MC of JC Wallace's forthcoming title Curiosity Killed Shaney—a fun, sexy story about a man whose curiosity gets him into hot water...a lot. I love the story, so why wouldn't I draw the characters?

BECAUSE JC WALLACE IS THE MOST DEMANDING RECIPIENT OF FAN ART ON THE PLANET.

I had to redraw the picture five times. FIVE. TIMES. FIVE! TIMES!

Dolly Parton never made me redraw Jolene!

I'll admit though, once I FINALLY got the work to JC's demanding specifications (*coughs* TYRANT! *coughs*) it did feel like I'd accomplished something real and right and good. So let it be a warning to all who would tread this path: if you love Mr. Wallace's books enough to draw for him? Do it in secret. In a bunker. Underground. Unless you have a high tolerance for pain! ^_~

*MWAH!*

Raine O'Tierney
http://www.raineotierney.com/

Curiosity Killed Shaney is coming out Mar 2014 from Rooster and Pig Publishing.

 

JC’s Rebuttal (or saving face…whatever you want to call it)

Okay. First off, Fanart. I had no clue what the heck that term meant. Although from the words fan art I should have been able to figure that one out. I am pretty smart, sometimes. Fanart definition (provided by Raine of course): Art drawn by fans depicting how THEY see a character. Oops! Apparently, not how I see the character. Okay, I am now up to speed. Promise.  Really.

Now, while Raine freely throws out words like “tyrant” and “demanding” and the causer of “pain”, most people save those words for use behind my back (I’m sure my staff have more harsher terms to add to that list as well). To my face, I tend to be called “picky” and “bossy” and a “perfectionist” by those near and dear to me in my life (i.e., my mother and sister, hmph!). This is a cross I must bear because, damn it, I’ve earned these titles! So what is my point?

I LOVE my fans and anything they do for me, be it, nice comments, constructive feedback, or (ahem!) fan art. No need to hide in a bunker or underground or anything drastic because I know Raine means nothing but good old fun with our blogging today because she calls me “The Demanding Overlord of Awesome!”  Hey, all I see there is “awesome.”

And her fan art is totally rockin’! I mean look at that awesome pic of Shaney!! Nailed it!

Thanks for stopping by and may you stay warm if it’s cold and cool if it’s hot and have a great day!

JC