From the Artist

November is the month in which we celebrate Thanksgiving and give thanks for all of our blessings. I have many things to be thankful for! What about you? November is also a time to get together and enjoy the company of family and friends and partake of good food and drink. In this issue, I will share some recipes with you; you knew I would, didn´t you?! I will also share some of the things I am thankful for and tell you about a special offer especially for you-my subscribers! So, without further adieu, here are some of the things I am thankful for.

Thanks for allowing me these few moments of your time. As always, I appreciate your support and your belief in me!

If you would like to receive a regular copy, please go HERE to subscribe.

Table of Contents:

Family
Friends
Artist Helping Artists
Special Thank You Gift for Subscribers
Good Food and Drink
Chocolate Swizzle Nog
Online Art Shows
Monthly Give-Away

Webmaster Lair:
Short Story "Fairy Dust"

New Fantasy Art


Victorian Vampire (ACEO)


Vampire Slave (ACEO)

My current ebay auctions can be seen here: Ebay Auctions.

Be sure to add me as a favorite seller and continue to check back as I plan on adding new items often!

I Am Thankful For. . .

Family

To me, family is like my daily bread-I need them to survive. I have a large family and we are very close-knit. I am thankful for them every day of my life. Without the love and support and belief of my family, I would not have traveled the path that I have and I would not be where I am today.

I am blessed with a son, Todd, who is everything I could ever want him to be. He is my motivation to be a success with my art. One day I hope to be able to give him everything that I was too poor to have as a child. I want him to be able to walk in Hot Topic (which he calls the freak store), point out something and tell his friends, "My Mama did that".

I have also gained some new family members over the past year and a half -my boyfriend and his two children. My boyfriend Thomas has been unfailingly supportive of me in every way and he constantly pushes me to improve and strive beyond my comfort zone. He is the one who gave me the courage and the confidence to attempt to build a career out of my love of creating art. He built my website for me and takes care of the technical end of the business for me. Without his love and belief in me, I would not be writing this newsletter to you today! His children, Cameron and Ashley, are great kids and they provide the companionship that Todd never had as an only child. They act like they´re all three siblings, right down to the bickering! They do all have lots of fun together though and for that, I am grateful.

Friends

Friends are like dessert; they truly make life sweeter every day. I would be lost without all of my friends-real life and online friends. I have met so many great people over the past year online, so many wonderful artists that I admire and am inspired by. I feel very lucky to have become friends with so many of them! There´s nothing like always having like-minded individuals to discuss art with or just chat with. It´s nice to have friends that are walking down the same path I am. An easy way for me to stay in contact with my friends is through Live Journal. Look me up here: Kelly´s Live Journal.

Online Art Shows

Fellow Artist Maria van Bruggen has generously hosted the Arthurian Legends show for us! Go check out all the lovely Arthurian-themed art and be sure to leave comments!

"Give Thanks for Creative Minds" will be online November 17th as well! Be sure to check out the website of Christina Davis to see this Art Show featuring the favorite pieces of several talented artists, including yours truly!

Thank you to Maria, Etienne and Christina! You are all very generous and I thank you for all your time and efforts on the behalf of your fellow artists!

Artists Helping Artists

Fantasy Artists Emerging Forum

I have some very exciting news for you! A couple of my dear online artist friends (Carol Ochs and April Vansickle)and myself have created a forum especially for Emerging Artists! It is called Fantasy Artists Emerging or FAE for short. The forum focuses on the needs of new, emerging artists. We have a feature called the Artist Spotlight on our accompanying website which spotlights a new artist each month. This month our Artist Spotlight Debut was on Dawn Obrecht, a talented new artist on the fantasy scene and a dear friend of mine as well! The forum also features a biannual online Art Show and a monthly ACEO Swap! Come check us out; we have a wealth of information that we hope will help new artists on their path to success!

Special Thank You Gift for Subscribers

Thank you to everyone who supports me in my artistic endeavors! I appreciate all of you! To all of my newsletter subscribers, I have a special gift for you! From now until the end of November, with the purchase of any 8.5" x 11" print; you will receive another completely free print of the same size, your choice as to which one! That´s right-it´s a 2 for 1 deal! Hurry because this offer is only good through the end of November and only subscribers of this newsletter are eligible!

Good Food and Drink

There´s just nothing like a family Thanksgiving dinner! Lots of wonderful, great conversation and all your loved ones near! Here is a wonderful link to a favorite group of mine: Slowcooker . It is a group for those who love to cook with their Crock pots, which can certainly come in handy around the holidays! I love to cook macaroni and cheese in the crock pot, myself. Check it out, I´m sure you will love it! Here is a delicious and easy drink recipe to keep you warm. Enjoy!

Monthly Give-Away

This month my give away will be a set of 4 greeting cards featuring 4 of my handsome Fantasy Men! Good luck!

My lucky October winner was Jessica Börjesson of Sweden! I hope you liked the Pan print Jessica!

I hope you have enjoyed the November issue of my newsletter! Don´t forget to check my website as you do your holiday shopping, Christmas will be upon us before you know it. I have prints, greeting cards and a few editions of the Visions of Atlantis book left. Don´t forget that the book comes signed by me and with a free Atlantean Shaman print; this would make a great gift! I also have several other items available at my Café Press Stores which I will be updating to include my newest works! Enjoy your Thanksgiving everyone!

Webmaster´s Lair: Short Story

I apologize for the story's length this month, and hope to make it up to everyone next month. :o)

Fairy Dust: Chapter 3 Part 1
By Thomas Wood

Hex darted through the trees as nimble as a deer. Gossomer was amazed at how quickly she glided through the dense forest, her feet barely touching the tops of the stones and roots as she moved through the undergrowth without making a sound, a necessary ability for any fairy. However, it was in large areas where there were scarcely any rocks or roots to easily step between that demonstrated her agility. Like floating on air, her light frame almost defied gravity and she would easily bound over gaping distances of noisy leaves and twigs without effort. Gossomer simply flew, twisting her body left and right, up and down as she dodged one limb after another. She could have easily left Hex far behind, but thought it rude because Hex couldn´t fly, at least, not without magic. It was a mystery as to why Hex had never "sprouted her wings", as the fairies would call it. Fairies commonly developed their wings in their toddler years and on the rare occasion shortly there after. Most could fly before they could walk. Some thought she might have been a pixie instead of a fairy, but everyone really knew she was too tall to be a pixie. In fact, she was taller than any fairy Gossomer knew, and she knew everyone. It was her job to know everyone, or to be nosey, some would question.

They were getting closer to the village, and the smell of smoke was getting stronger. Smelling the smoky aroma´s from the chimney´s reminded Hex of living in the village when she was little. In the fall, when it was getting time for the fairies to burn the fallen debris from the trees, she would go out to smell the fragrant scents that danced and mingled with the cool air. The fairies would gather and burn the debris from the boundary zones, the areas where clans of trees would meet. Burning the fallen debris from the trees kept them from warring with each other and maintained the peace in the forest, the fairies primary responsibility. Trees are a very proud species, and to gain ground in the forest for their offspring, they use a form of chemical warfare. By producing chemical toxins in their leaves, they poison each other to make way for their saplings. Negotiating with the trees, the fairies had established these boundary zones to make sure the trees follow the treaties they had agreed to.

The village wasn´t far, as Hex had predicted. But it was soon realized the smoke they had smelled was not from the chimneys of sweet burning fires but the smoldering ashes of the beautiful homes that had once housed their friends on the outskirts of the village. The blackened remnants of a few frames still stood leaning against each other in mock defiance. A small number of fairies still scurried about collecting what they could from their homes. Ashy, smoke covered faces look up at them as they approached the devastation.

A lump grew in Hex´s throat. "How could this be?"

"Guess there wasn´t enough fairy dust to protect the entire village." Gossmor said with pain in her voice.

"Impossible the stone would have needed very little dust to protect this village and ten others like it," retorted Hex. "There is more going on here, and I intend to get to the bottom of it."

(To Be Continued . . .)