Starting Your Dreams Later In Life and Embracing the Detour

Jenee Darden speaking at Creative Mornings I know it's been a while since I've posted anything but that's because of my job. I'm working as a reporter covering Oakland and I host an arts segment on the radio where I get to interview amazing artists from around the Bay Area. Plus I'm publicizing my book  and building my speaking career!  You know what's funny? I thought this would all happen by the time I was 27-30.  Nope. That wasn't God's plan for me. I'm finally beginning to do the things I've wanted to do and I'm almost 40 years old. Some people reading this who are 40 will say 40 is still young. But some younger people reading may think 40 is nearly ancient. But I'm writing this post for those who like me, thought their career and personal dreams would come true much early in life. I'm here to tell you not to give up.  You know, death inspires life. A number of my relatives and friends have passed away, ranging in
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FemTech: Alicia 'Kat' Dillman Blends Romance, Art and Technology for Her New Book

Entrepreneur, artist, techie and  writer
Alicia Dillman poses with
 an image from her novel.
Photo Credit: Michael Pleasent
Alicia “Kat” Dillman of KatGirl Studio describes herself as a “Do It Yourself” kind of girl. That’s my kind of girl. We met at WonderCon this year. Alicia is a freelance illustrator for children’s book covers, proficient with computer coding and has her eyes set on taking her art and tech skills to video gaming. But for now she’s pushing her book Daemons in the Mist. I haven't read the novel, but  the cover looks juicy, dramatic, and romantic. Alicia said the book is a young adult paranormal romance that is “spicier” Twilight. “Daemons is a word that existed pre-Hellenistic Greece. Their world exists within ours in a spectrum we can’t see,” said Alicia.  The story takes place in San Francisco where a teen named Patrick gets sucked in the paranormal world of a beautiful girl named Nualla.

The image of a woman doesn't usually come to mind when discussing technology. An engineer I spoke with at another event told me she mentors girls and they find computer technology boring. The mentor thinks the girls don't see a way to put their own stamp and identity into technology.  Alicia is an example of how you can combine feminine interests with technology. I asked her a few more questions about her craft. Aspiring writers and entrepreneurs should take note because the publishing and book marketing game has changed.

You have a trailer for your book. I’ve noticed authors are doing this now.
There are a lot of companies that offer either limited or zero-cost technology that allows you to be able to do it yourself or hire someone to do it for you. I made it myself using a software called Animoto. They take your images and your text and they time with a mathematic algorithm to the music that you select so that it looks like a movie trailer. It took me a day.

Are you self-published?
I am a partner in a publishing company. We’re going to be publishing a few other books. We’re partnered with a game company called CWS Software and they make kinetic visual novels which are popular in Japan but not really here yet. The only one I know of that’s an English one would be the Phoenix Wright for the Nintendo DS. It’s kind of like our old Indiana Jones games that we had back in the ‘90s, that kind of choose your own adventure [game]. This one is a singular storyline. My other books have more branching and video games.
I did the art and the writing. I do all of the printing and matting. I do everything.



CocoaFly interviewing Alicia Dillman at
WonderCon 2011 in San Francisco.
Photo Credit: Michael Pleasent

When you say drawing do you mean on the computer or with pencils and paper?

I used to do it on paper but I switched to 100 percent digital because it’s much better for the environment and a lot faster for my clients. I’m a freelance illustrator so the faster I can get things to people the better.

Go to Alicia's website to see the process of how she makes her work.


Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 31, 2011 at 5:27 PM

    They are actually called "kinetic visual novels"

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jenee DardenMay 31, 2011 at 5:54 PM

    Oops, thanks for bringing that to my attention.

    ReplyDelete

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