What I Like About Hero and Villain (Part 2)

Today is Part 2 of me talking about what I like about my two characters from the Dolphin Princess series.

This time, we'll be doing a Top 5 list for Ivor, our villain in the series. OMG!

What I Like about the Villain, Ivor (Top 5)
5. Ivor is a sea creature who has magical powers. So making him into a giant eel, and giving him a menacing character, was a lot of fun (well, author-wise, since this isn't going to be fun for Princess Silhouette).
4. Ivor has a secret lair in the depths of the ocean. No villain is complete without a secret lair, obviously! His secret lair (an underwater cavern) is where he lures his prey, and is busy scheming on what he's going to do to our heroine.
3. Ivor has a thing for soliloquies. In the story, you'll find him thinking out loud, because that's what villains do, is talk and scheme. At these times, this is where the villain shines, because we're going into the thought process, and why he's doing what he's doing. I guarantee you, that you'll see that in the book series. I wanted my villain to stand out with his words and actions.
2. Like most baddies, Ivor has an origin story. In other words, how did he come to be this heartless villain? Well, I won't get into spoiler territory, because I want you guys to read Book 1 to find out... and perhaps Ivor can get a book of his own in the future...? But anyway, what I can tell you is that he and Silhouette's father go way back... A feud, perhaps?

AND...
1. Ivor is not done yet with Silhouette. (It's pretty self-explanatory, when you think about it, because this a series.) He'll try anything and everything to get what he wants. That's how many villains operate. You know, that's just it.

Whoa! That was a lot to cover in one blog post!

TO BUY BOOK 1: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

TO PRE-ORDER BOOK 2: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1130458196?ean=9781987021233

Veronica Gonzalez

What I Like about Hero and Villain (Part 1)

In the spirit of Valentine's Week, I decided to write about what I like about both my protagonist (Princess Silhouette) and my antagonist (Ivor).

Perhaps a Top 5 list for each character? We can do that! Now mind you, this will be a two-parter. So, with that said… it's lady's first!

What I Like about Silhouette (Top 5)
5. We get to meet Silhouette during the Roaring Twenties (or Jazz Age, or the 1920s). Setting the first book in the series in the 1920s had stemmed from an interest in the time period. I remember reading books like The Great Gatsby, and I remember learning about the time period back in my undergraduate years at the University of the Incarnate Word. So, when I was creating Silhouette, I was wondering how she would react to an environment where everyone was partying and having a great time (In other words, how would Silhouette react to the insane, materialistic world of The Great Gatsby?)?
4. Silhouette knows what she wants in life. She doesn't want to be, or be molded into, a vain person. She's always curious about what's outside the confines of her adopted parents' mansion. Eventually, she would dare to venture out, and discover who she truly is.
3. Silhouette is (omg) a dolphin! Ever since my Corpus Christi trip to the Texas State Aquarium, where I got to see dolphins up close, I love love LOVE dolphins.
2. A destiny awaits Silhouette... and I can't wait to write about it. (That's as far as I'm going to go on this point.)

AND...
1. Silhouette's personality is separate from mine. I remember writing in a past blog post that I wanted to create a character that was different from me, one that wasn't a carbon copy of me. I wanted to create a character that was so different, that no one could say, "Oh, it's just Veronica talking through that character's mouth" or "Veronica, why do you put yourself in your stories?" That's one writing mistake that many writers make, is have copies of themselves as characters. In my book series, I wanted to create characters that were different from me--I wanted to have that sense of originality, because there's only one me, and... that's pretty much it--No imitations. Also, I wanted my heroine to stand out, to have that personality that differed from mine, and expanded from the ordinary. Thus, Silhouette was created: a fighter, and not afraid to swim; while I'm the spectator and... well, not the best swimmer.

Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow!

TO BUY BOOK 1: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

TO PRE-ORDER BOOK 2: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1130458196?ean=9781987021233

Veronica Gonzalez

The Artsy Side of "Dolphin Princess"

I'm brainstorming for Book 3 right now, and I couldn't help but do a little storyboarding here and there. Now, I already had a journal filled with ideas, but I wanted to take it to the next level and add some drawings to my thought process.

Though, drawing has already been something that I know and love. I've been drawing since I was a kid. No matter what it was, whether it was doodling in a journal, or doing so on a piece of paper, I couldn't help but get lost in my creativity. And, all this was accompanied by my love for reading.

So, when I was writing Dolphin Princess, I was able to draw concept sketches among my notes in my journal. Scrapbooking also helped out, because I'm seeing my ideas come to life (somewhat), along with the drawings.

And then there's the cover art: both covers that I've done so far in this series... I'm really proud of, because those took time and effort to do with the collage and retouching on the computer. And besides, the covers are what you'll see first when you think of Dolphin Princess or Dolphin Princess: The Crown of Valeria.

Now, the big question that you probably have is: "Will there be an art book companion to the Dolphin Princess series in the future?"
I don't see why not. With this book series, anything is possible. I was thinking maybe... just maybe... I would put together a book that would showcase the artwork that was put in to make this series possible--the cover art, the concept sketches, and I could write about the inspirations and thought process behind the art, because again, anything is possible.
So, yes, I can totally see an artwork companion in the future, but the series has to come full-circle before that can happen.

TO PRE-ORDER BOOK 2: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1130458196?ean=9781987021233

TO BUY BOOK 1: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez

Pre-ordering Book 2 is Going on Now!

I'm happy to report that Dolphin Princess: The Crown of Valeria is now available to pre-order! The book is expected to be released on June 26, 2019.

TO PRE-ORDER: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1130458196?ean=9781987021233

Or, if you want to start reading Book 1 of the Dolphin Princess series, then you can buy Book 1 here: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183?ean=9781538091609

Veronica Gonzalez

Inspiration for Book 2

I wanted to take the time to talk about what inspired me to write Book 2 of the Dolphin Princess series.

First of all, I had already had the idea of making this into a book series. So, having a sequel was warranted, because I wanted to see Princess Silhouette move towards her destiny of destroying evil and becoming the face of her kingdom, Dolphin Grotto.

Another reason why I wrote a sequel was because I wanted to develop my characters more. For example, how does Silhouette live her new life without her adopted parents, the Lofts? In fact, what happens to the Lofts after they send her on her way?

But then, as I was writing the rough draft of the story, I was beginning to notice a motherly theme in it. Princess Silhouette wants to get back a tiara that once belonged to her late mother, the queen of Dolphin Grotto. She wants to get back the tiara, but she then finds herself looking after a girl who had been living on the streets for some time. She would come to have a relationship with this child, but then the time will come when Silhouette must choose what's more important--becoming the next queen of Dolphin Grotto, or being a mother to a child that has never known how to love (or trust) people.
This idea came about, because that was I wanted to be someday--a mom. So, this story meant a lot to me, when I was writing it. I even put a dedication in Book 2, saying that my mom was "the Queen Valeria in my life," because it meant so much to me.

And then, on December 26, 2018, my grandfather passed away at 102. And during his funeral (at visitation), my dad asked me to dedicate my next book to my grandpa. I go home, and I was already set on submitting my final draft of Book 2 to my publisher; and that was when I immediately added the dedication to my grandpa who passed away. So, in Book 2, I'm honoring my mom and my late grandpa.
It was sad to see my grandpa go, but I was glad that he got to hear about me writing Dolphin Princess. Dad told me: "Yes, Veronica. He got to hear about you seeing your dream come true." Coincidentally, my character Silhouette goes through the same thing with grief (By coincidental, I mean that I had already had my story thought out. I was hoping that I could show my grandpa a copy of Books 1 & 2, and tell him, "See, Grandpa? I wrote two books already!"), and honestly, I never thought that my grandpa's time would come, but it did. So he passed, and it made the grieving part of Book 2 even more emotional.

And this goes back to what I was saying about wanting to be a mother someday. My grandpa, as old as he was when he died, will never get to see my son or daughter, because... Well, you guys get the idea. It's sad, but that's the way things are.

Now, I just want to say thank you for sticking around, and reading my blog. Book 2 should be available to pre-order real soon.

In the meantime, if you'd like to support the series by buying Book 1, here's a link to purchase it through Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

And God bless!

Veronica Gonzalez

Using Collage in "Dolphin Princess"

You may be wondering how the front covers to both books were possible to do...

Well, the answer is collage.

Both covers were done in collage, and then they were touched up on the computer.

I remember learning how to do collage in an art course during my undergraduate years at the University of the Incarnate Word. The teacher had us make renditions of artwork in collage--in other words, recreate the work with anything, from paper to scrapings to whatever else can go on a canvas. I had a lot of fun with the collage, but I didn't pick it back up until this past summer (2018), when I was designing the front cover of Book 1.

What I did was sketch out what I wanted the cover to have. The first thing that popped into my head was the villain Ivor. 

Next, I envisioned Ivor curling, twisting all snake-like, while grabbing onto his crystal ball to keep his eyes on the prize--Princess Silhouette. And then, I figured: "Hey! Maybe he's watching his crystal ball from his underwater cave. That makes sense!"

So, I had the outline drawn. Then, there was the task of what type of medium this was going to be. A simple drawing, in this case, wouldn't suffice, because I wanted to stand out--This was my front cover, so I had to let it stand out.

Ultimately, I thought back at how I had enjoyed doing collage from my art class. So, I had that chance of reviving my collage skills.

What I did was gather up my Vogue and Allure magazines, tear out any page that had any colors I could use, cut it up into "puzzle" pieces, and glue them onto my drawing. That was how I gave my picture, was use collage instead of paint, markers, crayons, or even construction paper!

(the cover before the touch-up)

As soon as I had my collage done, I touched it up on my computer using the Microsoft Paint app.

And that was where I added the text for both the title and the author name (a.k.a. my name).

And yes, I did the same with my second book, 

was create a collage for the front cover, 

and touched it up on the computer. 

Now, I was especially surprised how I was able to pull off Book 2's front cover, because, as you can totally see here, this was a daring front cover. 

(before the touch-up)

Even my little sister was like: "I had a dream like that." It's weird though; for Book 2, I had this vision of Silhouette and her Mary Beth swimming to escape the jaws of Ivor, as they make off with Queen Valeria's crown (hence Book 2's title).

Long-story short: I was able to use my creative collage skills to pull off both covers. Who would've thought that collage would be so useful when designing a cover!

Anyways, when the pre-ordering for Book 2 goes live, I'll let you guys know. In the meantime...

TO BUY BOOK 1: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT on Book 2!

Well! The box is open!

As promised, I'm here today to tell you guys about what was in the box...
It's Book 2 of the Dolphin Princess series!

Book 2 is called Dolphin Princess: The Crown of Valeria, and I had this self-published just like its predecessor. Now, I had this book on the back-burner, during the time that I was trying to find a publisher for my first book.
You see, I was done writing Book 1 back in 2017, and I had started brainstorming for Book 2 at that time. I remember struggling to find a reputable publisher back then (this was WAY BEFORE I found out about Barnes and Noble Press). So what else was I to do, but keep writing. Therefore, I was already working on the sequel.
Then, come August 2018, Book 1 was published, and I was left to finish writing Book 2.

And the good news is, I will soon take pre-orders for Book 2, while I continue to sell Book 1. When will pre-orders for Book 2 start? I'll leave a link for that, as soon as it becomes available. Book 2 is expected to be released this June (2019). (More about the significance of the release date in a later blog post.)

Anyways, I'm so glad to have another book to add to my author resume (or CV, if you want to talk professional).

And, what do you know! It's the first day of February 2019! This month, I'll be talking more about Book 2; and I'll also be talking more about the artsy side of the Dolphin Princess series (i.e. how I had created the front cover of each book).

So please stay tuned! We're going to have a lot of fun this month!

TO BUY BOOK 1: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolphin-princess-veronica-gonzalez/1129202183

Veronica Gonzalez