A Pictorial Look at Black Tree - V.II, VI.II

Black Canyon City is a small town roughly twenty minutes above the Phoenix area. During drives between Phoenix and the Verde Valley, I always loved to look out at the changing landscape, so it was natural for Julia to describe this land in a couple of places, as well. Because she gives the names or at the least the general area of each place, it's easy to tell which location she is in. But did you catch all of the locations that Abigail described?

For instance, in V.II, Abigail reaches a place with "an obelisk of raw earth and rock that grew up from a sloping platform" (89). She gives no name to this place because Abigail isn't in our time, but the place that I was describing was Black Canyon City, a little spot along the highway that has always caught my eye. There are so many shapes and colors and textures to look at. Here you can see a couple of pictures I took from the car on a cloudy day this past December.

I have one more view to share with you today. In VI.II, Abigail gives a rather bloody description of the redness of a Central-to-Southern Arizona sunset. I guess you could say I took a beautiful thing and gave it a touch of the grotesque--but Abigail's description is thematic and by way of theme returns to beauty. Here we have a glimpse of a Phoenix sunset's notorious bright orange, taken a couple of weeks ago at the Desert Botanical Garden. It's a rather dark picture for a sunset shot, perhaps, but that goes well with the darkness of Abigail's description, don't you think?

Award Coin & New Merchandise

Remember the Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Competition, in which I was a runner-up with Black Tree? Well, the award coins have come in, and my coin is particularly excited to be home. I've set it up on top of my display copy of the book.

Once again, I'd like to say that it's nice to get outside acknowledgement that I created something worthwhile. It's a pleasure to have individuals say that they liked your book, but it's an even further honor to have any kind of recognition from a bigger group or organization.

I'm also taking this moment to make an announcement. I've opened up a store on Zazzle where you can buy Black Tree merchandise. Shirts, tote bags, stickers, mugs, that sort of thing. Definitely let me know if you have ideas for other products or designs, or if there is maybe a quote you'd like me to use in a design. The link to the store is www.zazzle.com/deannaskaggs.

A Pictorial Look at Black Tree - IV.I

As you'll know if you also read my blog, I've been busy moving down to the Phoenix area, hence my lack of attention toward such Internet things as this collection of pictures. But I am back now, and today I'm sharing what will pretty much be the only pictures representing the location of the first narrator in Black Tree.

I based her setting on the coast of California near Cambria, where I stayed back in 2009 while visiting the nearby Hearst Castle. The castle is a beautiful collection of artwork and architecture, yet I was as much taken by the tiny town of Cambria and the cold, rugged beach.

I intentionally never mentioned California in the book because at first I wasn't sure if I wanted these scenes to take place in California or to simply be inspired by the location. Now I simply prefer a more open-ended possibility. Maybe it's California; maybe it isn't. Maybe it's California during a time when there is no distinction between California and Arizona.

You might perhaps think, from the way that I wrote about this place, that I hated it. On the contrary, I loved it, and that's why I simply had to write about it in one way or another. 

I was used to the Southern California beaches with yellow sand, calmer and bluer waves, and sun behind the clouds. This beach was darker in all colors, with less sand and many rough, black rocks. 

The wind whipped about, and I walked around in knee-length shorts and a jacket, imagining myself a sailor on this rugged ocean. 

I took that idea of contrast from the familiar and I used that to describe such a cold and wet oceanside. From there, the contrast grew into straight shock and dislike; my narrator rejected the cold and the wet because it was different from what she knew. Ironic that it was my fascination that fueled her hatred. 

December Book Sale

Winter is upon us, and that means it's time to stock up on some wintertime reading.

For the rest of the month, you can get paperback and hardcover copies of my book, Black Tree, for 25% off at this link.

Enjoy reading and let me know what you think.

A Pictorial Look at Black Tree - II.III, III.III

II.III is a flashback to the time when Julia lived in the Tempe/Scottsdale, and III.III shows her move from there to Prescott. So here I have a few images from ASU, which is where she went to school and also worked. I took these pictures in May 2013 when I was graduating from there myself.

This is a structure on the grassy space above the library.

One of the buildings near there. While ASU has many buildings in the modern style, there are also several with these scholarly pillars. 

The entrance to Hayden Library, where Julia must have, as a student of history, spent plenty of time.

Right above the library again, you can see that same structure from the first picture centered in between the pillars here. It's a nice artistic effect, something to be viewed at the exact right angle as you walk down the stairs to get to the library's entrance.

A view of University Street emptier than you will ever see it:

Just above ASU is Tempe Town Lake, where you can go for a boat ride or walk along the paths beside the water. Here is one of the famous Phoenix sunsets, more yellow and less pink than usual.

A Pictorial Look at Black Tree - I.I, I.III

I have been meaning for a while to start showing pictures of some of the places I feature in Black Tree. Many of you are Arizonans, but for everyone else the landscape is perhaps less familiar. And even if you live in the state, there may be certain places that I wrote about that you haven't yet visited. 

I begin with the first chapter. For the general descriptions of desert landscape with saguaros, here are some views from around the Cave Creek area (that is, just slightly north of Phoenix). Note the variety of textures and plants. 

There are some teddy bear cholla in this view; they're one of my favorites. 

Moving on to I.III, Julia describes Montezuma Well. Here is a look at the ruins through the fence and another look without the fence. Notice how ground level is above the dwellings.

Here you can see that the cliff dwellings stand above the well.

And here is a closer look at the water, which is both wide and deep.

You can see here some of the steps along the path. They're made of stone and cement and they're not entirely consistent in structure or layout--but their neutral colors and even their curving placement do help to blend in with the environment. 

Shelf Unbound Competition

I am pleased to announce that Black Tree made it as a runner-up in the 2016 Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Competition.

To know that, out of all of the entries, my book received consideration is an honor. I am most happy to receive this news and to share it with you. If you haven't yet had the opportunity to buy my book, paperback and hardcover copies are currently 30% off at this link. Thank you so much for following me on this journey.