FanFic Art for Me!!!

Look! It's a fanfic picture drawn by Julie Bell for me!!!

Okay, well, maybe not... but I could totally see that scene coming out of maybe a midgrade novel set in my ViS universe. I have the Pantros, a genetically altered line of humans that shift into a variety of panthers, pumas, leopards, and cougars. And I have the Fisher line, similarly altered, but they shift into much smaller cats. And, if you aren't very careful, I'll explain in detail how their shifting, weight changes (nominal at best), and everything else about them work.

I've been accused of not using my college degree. This is a lie. I use biology every day to make my shifters and aliens plausible. I don't know how many hours of mammal dissections I have under my belt but I'm guessing it's more than several days worth and possibly several hundred hours worth of dissection time. I can visualize the inside of a cat without even trying, and given a headsup I can probably still name all those pesky muscles, bones, and veins that keep your pet cat running. This may be why I don't actually have a pet cat, I see them as a walking experiment. This is also why I have over 20 pages (10,000 words) in a slush pile that I've cut from my WIP. I love to explain the genetics and medical feasibility of shape shifters.

Could I walk into a modern lab and create a shape-shifting human? No. That's why I'm writing fiction and not winning Nobel prizes. Can I explain to a curious fan why a 6'7" tall man weighs 800 pounds and does not look like a blob. He has very dense cells. Otherwise he would look like a pacman frog (carnivorous, octiploid, fat frogs).

Sigh....

I realize I'm rambling.

The point: tor.com has soe fabulous freebies: first chapters, cover art, and a blog. Go check it out.

And if you ever want to know how a human with wings could fly.... I have an answer for that too!