Nina Smith Author | Author
Nina Smith Author
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25.01.2022 Here are all the entries to the Song of the Serpent King colouring jam! They're all so beautiful!! Feel free to drop yours into the comments, or PM me, and I will add it to the album :) Like and comment on your favourites - someone gets a copy of Song of the Serpent King!
25.01.2022 This really speaks to me. I've spent a bit of time recently working on edits for the later books in the Shadow series. What really struck me in the process was that while I was writing, I was not particularly thinking about the world, I was just pursuing this 10-book story that has consumed me for years. Cue a few years of doing other things, and coming back to do this edit, and I've found elements of the story that reflect the craziness going on right now, as well as the oc...casional scene that reflected not-so-great moment of my younger life in a way that kind of felt like a punch in the gut, but which made for great dramatic material in this fantasy world of Shadow. What really struck me was how a specific character (you've met them briefly if you've read Shiny Things and Last Blasted Fairy, but I won't give out too many spoilers) evolves into a role where their upholding of the status quo causes disaster - something happening on so many levels in the real world. Neil is so right. It's hard to comprehend the real world, especially right now. But stories give us a softer landing, and insight, and imagination, and empathy, and vision for how things could be different.
25.01.2022 Song of the Serpent King will officially launch this Friday October 2! I would love for you to drop in and join me this Friday night, watch a cool video, have a chat, show off your art. You don't even have to leave the house!
23.01.2022 Hi. I don't normally get all serious up in here, but this chilled me.
22.01.2022 Hey Shadow fans... I've created six of ten covers for the Shadow series so far. I'll be re-releasing with new artwork from Book 1. Maybe there'll be a lot of artwork, I don't know, I used to love getting my hands on a book whose pages were overgrown with briars and full of hidden symbols. I'm currently dreaming up the cover image for Book 7, so I thought I'd share a little excerpt. ***... Post contains a scroll with three blue spiders and some ink splatters. Text reads: Anything else important? I have three baby spiders, Scathach offered from behind the coffee cauldron. Flower threw her a scowl. And an illegal coffee operation. An illegal delicious coffee operation. Scathach held out a brimming ladle. #amediting #darkcomicfantasy #ilovespiders #Shadow
21.01.2022 I'm so excited! The first print run of Song of the Serpent King is complete, and sitting cosily at a friend's house in Perth until tomorrow! Stay tuned for a cover reveal and something very pretty to watch this weekend #songoftheserpentking #colouringtales
20.01.2022 Happy World Goth Day! Hope you're all doing something spooky Photo by Vampyre Zen
18.01.2022 Who wants to do art with me??? I printed these out today in preparation for a very important art visit with my nieces this weekend HMU if you are in or around Bunbury and would like to get all arty on one of these, or check out this blog to download one and be part of the Song of the Serpent King art jam >> https://www.ninasmithauthor.com.au//song-of-the-serpent-ki
17.01.2022 Philanthropic werewolves for the win. I'm into it.
17.01.2022 Meet Tarquin! He bought a copy of Song of the Serpent King from my Mum at the Margaret River Markets today, and was kind enough to pose for a photo BTW Mum (Happy Mothers day Clare Smith. Photography.!) sells all sorts of awesome handmade creations - if you're ever at the Margaret River Markets, drop by and say hi!
12.01.2022 I was so thrilled to see today that the McGowan government in Western Australia is taking steps to phase out single-use plastic. This is such an important step forward for our environment and the future of our wildlife, land and oceans. I want to both celebrate this decision and support the people who have been doing important work in this area for years already. So, from today until Sunday November 15, I will donate $5 from every copy of Song of the Serpent King purchased t...o Tangaroa Blue, an Australian not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the removal and prevention of Marine Debris. They collect and track marine debris around the country, and actively work on solutions to stop the flow of litter at the source. The picture below is an adaptation of one of the illustrations in the book, inspired by learning about Tangaroa Blue's work. Get your copy here >> https://www.ninasmithauthor.com.au/colouringtales #songoftheserpentking #plasticfreeaustralia #colouringforadults
12.01.2022 Next challenge as I recreate Shadow covers old and new... I've never quite managed to draw Nikifor right. How do you capture explosive light and dark just barely contained in one bombastic dude?
12.01.2022 I was challenged to write a love story between an animal and an inanimate object. Here you go. It's called The Elephant and the Rock (Mood: Hey the universe is ooooold) ... ~~~ Text reads: Once upon a time, an elephant laid his head upon a rock. The rock was ancient and had seen stars fall from a vast darkness, and molten volcano born from the mantle, and even felt the footsteps of giants. The elephant, merely old and wise, dreamed with the rock a while, a peaceful, contented dream of endless time that chased away his own nightmares of poachers and lions and fire that came from the hands of men. Together, peaceful, an understanding blossomed between the elephant and the rock: nothing was so long it could not begin again. And there, love grew. ~~~
12.01.2022 Ready for the official launch of Song of the Serpent King? It all happens right here, Friday night at 7pm!
12.01.2022 When the moon puts on a spooky show
11.01.2022 Happy Sunday everyone! I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who participated in the Song of the Serpent King colouring jam - and also an apology that I've let it sit so long. My day job has been so busy in the last couple of weeks that I've put everything else on hold, but I hadn't forgotten. So anyway, I promised that I would give something away to someone, and that someone is Ashley Craig - Author! Ashley's colouring has blue crows and green trees and a purple sunset,... and I can't begin to tell you how happy this makes me. I am going to send Ashley a copy of Song of the Serpent King #songoftheserpentking #colouringjam
10.01.2022 When the beach is covered in tiny, iridescent sentient beings at sunset...
10.01.2022 Trying something new...perspective from above, which has been baffling me for years. If you're a Shadow fan, this is aiming to become Hippy and Ishtar jumping from the fortifications on their way to patrol for vampires.
09.01.2022 The first print run of Song of the Serpent King is in transit right now, in the care of my very capable son ... so I guess it's time to start showing you stuff! This is the book cover. I'm pretty in love with it. I spent so many weeks drawing snakes and trees, and thinking about how those shapes are layered and reflected through nature. I hope you like it too. #songoftheserpentking #CoverReveal
09.01.2022 Who wants to colour in?? If you're local to Bunbury and would like a paper copy to colour in, PM me, I'm going to print some this weekend. https://www.ninasmithauthor.com.au//song-of-the-serpent-ki
09.01.2022 Welcome to the official launch of Song of the Serpent King!!! Song of the Serpent king is both story and colouring book: the tale of a vision, of ancient spirits in the modern world, and of a world in peril. It is a tale that you can bring colour and life to. Song of the Serpent King is a project that I started while in lockdown, and finding ways to navigate the sudden isolation and intensity of a world in a pandemic. Drawing every night, bringing the verses of this story on...to the page, helped me to be calm and grounded, and to become part of something bigger than myself once more. I hope with all my heart that it can do the same for you - or at least, to give you a space of calm and contentment in creating art on these pages. If you would like a copy, please go to https://www.ninasmithauthor.com.au/colouringtales to purchase, or PM me if you are local to Bunbury WA and would like to catch up offline. #songoftheserpentking #colouringtales #colouringbook #story #mythsandlegends #newrelease #indieauthor #art #snakes #ancientspirit
08.01.2022 First Entry to the Song of the Serpent King colouring jam is in! I can't tell you how excited I was today to receive this, with all these beautiful vibrant colours. Big thank you to Sue McP. #songoftheserpentking #colouringjam
08.01.2022 VavaBeeb is chilling with my girl and checking out her new book
08.01.2022 So I have this overwhelming urge to create something that is an unholy hybrid of audio book, film noir, graphic novel and soundscape. I don't know what it will look like yet (what you see here is a half-asleep experiment ) but I'm stupidly excited. If you don't hear from me for a year, please send coffee...
05.01.2022 Hey hey! If anyone out there is planning on being part of the Song of the Serpent King Colouring Jam, I would love love love to see what you've done at the official Song of The Serpent King | Online Launch this Friday night - all you need to do is drop in at my author page and post a photo of your work. Picture for download and more info at the link below! https://www.ninasmithauthor.com.au//song-of-the-serpent-ki #colouringjam #songoftheserpentking
04.01.2022 So...what's your favourite deep sea creature? Fictional answers accepted. I kinda like that one with the light swinging off its head on a rope and the big teeth.
03.01.2022 Currently setting up with some colouring books at the Perth Oddities and Curiosities Market with the FangSmith crew. Come say hi if you're in the area, this is like goth heaven out here.
03.01.2022 Work in progress: Nikifor Meet Nikifor, hero of the Shadow series, except for this one time when **cough** **Spoilers** It's actually taken me years to draw something that looks like the character in my head, but this one is getting close. There's still plenty of work to do to it yet
02.01.2022 I had some important decision to make around printing Song of the Serpent King. One of those was around minimising my footprint - I didn't want to write this story about the environment, and then damage it further in using the precious resources needed to create paper. So, I want to give a big shout out to The Environmental Printing Company, who very patiently helped me to choose the right paper and get everything perfect. They use 100 per cent recycled paper and vegetable-based ink, and have printed a book for me that looks and feels amazing. Thanks guys!
02.01.2022 A big shout out to Kelvin Edward Whitwell, who is the very first person to own a copy of Song of the Serpent King! Can't wait to see what you create!
01.01.2022 Happy Monday! Are you colouring? Watcha using? Pencils, paint, the thick and luminous dust from the scales of a dragon? Let me know. Creative answers get silly gifs. Silly gifs get hearts. Light up my comments, beautiful people!
