Echoes from a Time Passage Book 4

 

Echoes from a Time Passage Book 3 February 3 2023

 

                                                   ‘Echoes from a Time Passage’ Book 2

Susannah MacDonald

 

Engaged in the task of sorting his father Markas’ documents after his sudden death, Rieyniz Xanders uncovers something curious in Markas’ journal entries; ‘The Eternal Darkness still prevails. This is the greatest shock.’ He then has a disturbing dream: A strange face appears with a voice, ‘Your sister…your sister…in England.’ Ships’ pastor, Rieyniz resolves to sail through a spoken of, but unknown Plane Divide at sea to find this mysterious woman.  Assisted by the woman he loves, Vessel-Master Deshka, and supported by the leader of their faith, Renoulf, who is also haunted by a vision, Rieyniz braves the vortex of churning elements to reach the Earth plane, the vortex delivering them not off the coast of England, but Scotland.

 

May, incarcerated in a psychiatric institution from babyhood, knows she is not ‘mental’. Sharp-minded and intelligent, she adopts a strategy of pretending to be simple-minded, but her caregiver and educator Sheila, knows otherwise.  While still a young child, a face appears in her mind; ‘His name was Anubis… But this face was not an Egyptian god but someone else.’ Throughout her childhood his mysterious presence is with her.  Now a young adult, May watches a political dictatorship arise in England, and when the institution’s caregivers suddenly disappear, she knows she has to get out. Following voice of ‘Anubis’, May is reunited with Sheila who helps her escape to Scotland. There, she receives another vision – a beautiful, unusual man, who May calls her ‘Selkie’ stepping out of the waves, shedding his sealskin…

 

Echoes from a Time Passage Book 2'

 

Cover design for 'Echoes from a Time Passage Book 2'

Watercolour on paper.

July 30 2021

Of Time and Planes - Final illustrations for Echoes from a Time Passage

Each piece is executed in pencil -  water soluble graphite and a range of standard graphite pencils with white gouache paint highlights.  The production team at Austin Macauley Publishers suggested that each drawing be placed at the beginning of each chapter to which I happily agreed.

For the most part, I used my own studies of life drawing models except for the ballet dancer pose which is a combination of studies from various images - I only know one ballet dancer!  The woman below is as close as I could get for my inspiration for April, Markas' partner-in-art. My initial inspiration was a wonderful and beautiful ballet dancer I met on a Baroque dance course many years ago.

For the background - more volcanic cones and also NZ mountain ranges.

The final illustration. The seascape - volcanic plugs of course for the coast.  Ginkgo leaves formed the basis of the Fan Trees.  For the sequel I'm digging around for the oddest Earth plants I can find for the illustrations - sorry no red roses and buttercups and daisies!

Of Time and Planes - the characters in Echoes from a Time Passage

I made many sketches and water colour studies and out of these emerged the final illustrations for the book.  I could have made more finished pieces but had to consider whether I was making studies for the final result or a picture book. But the process was interesting in itself - what on Earth did these folks look like.  I was able to depict protagonist Markas' friend somewhat better than Markas himself, shown here with his lute. I took the body of one of my models for the life drawing class I used to run and put another head on him. I was rather pleased with the result.

My students insist on calling them 'horsemen' - well I suppose there is something equine in the appearance of Axzis.

This is a depiction from a chapter in the book - Markas with his poet sister Rieyna on a picnic with the clan.

A sketch in inks of Markas.