Farewell Post From Donelle

Sometimes a leg of a journey is long and sometimes it's short. It’s not the length of time that matters, but the quality of the experience. I expected my stint on Operation Awesome to be longer than this, but life has a way of throwing things into your path that you hadn’t planned for.  I learned a good deal while part of this team and I’m grateful for the experience. 

I’m not disappearing. You can still find me blogging (mostly sporadically) on my own blog A Little Dversion. You can find me on Twitter and Facebook, and on my illustration website. If I'm not posting or tweeting, I'm somewhere writing and drawing, pursuing publication.

It was great to have this opportunity to connect with you all, and great to be part of a writing blog. Here's a sketch of Mr. Bean to brighten your day.

Meet the Illustrator: Donelle Lacy

Hello, everyone!

I'm Donelle, newest member of Operation Awesome, and giddy first-timer to a group blog. (Yay!)

I'm an illustrator and sci-fi/fantasy author. I love connecting online and in person with readers, writers, and creators alike. My favorite creative partners include writers, gamers, artists, and imaginative people from pretty much anywhere.

Superpowers:
Armed with an MFA in Illustration, I draw images suitable for children's books (including YA and middle-grade covers), coloring books, and graphic novels. The project I'm currently shopping around is an ocean-themed fantasy coloring book entitled Dangerous Sea which depicts scenes of adventure, danger, and beauty of the deep in a graphic novel/comic book style.

I write historical fantasy YA and short stories. I've also fallen heavily in love with flash fiction, marrying it to a steampunk experiment I like to call The Adventures of Captain Trav. These Trav nuggets show up from time-to-time in the Flash Fiction Challenge on the Absolute Write forums. Once I spruce them up, I'm sure you'll see them other places too.

Mild-mannered alter ego: 
Most creative folk have a day job that brings in a steady paycheck while they do work on the side. I'm blessed that mine is being a library clerk. While in this job, I've fed on fantasy YA and any strange and unusual darlings hugging the shelf. A few of my favorite authors are Terry Pratchett, Frances Hardinge, and Catherynne Valente. I've been known to abuse the #amreading tag on twitter. If you do too, feel free to hit me up.

Backstory:
I'm a former PK (preacher's kid) of an Apostolic Pentecostal minister who was also a history teacher. I was born and now live in Ohio, but my family traveled many states during my father's ministry. Each of my siblings was born in a different state. Since my dad passed, my growing, tight-knit family now includes several nephews, one yappy, small dog, and a few longsuffering cats. I love different styles of music, starry skies, wintry nights, Lapsang Souchong tea, wintergreen Canada mints, and any means of stepping into a fictional world.

You can stop by my personal blog A Little Dversion
Find me on Twitter
on Instagram
Pinterest
and also my Illustration website