A Brief Excerpt Of The Main Character In My Upcoming Novel COLOR OF A MIRROR.

Night Sky

Have you ever seen the Milky Way...

The Milky Way with naked eye?

Where all these other Earthly lights

Don't push and pull to cloud the sky?

The dusty trail

Like speckled paint...

In barren places

All but faint.

From nothing--Life.

From life--Nothing.

“Low-Earth Diadem.”

UI.

When I did this one, I had been seeing a lot of pictures posted from Ash Thorp’s LearnSquared “UI and Data Design” class... recreating a UI look with pen feels difficult (kind of a cool challenge) but anyway, some of the design elements I’ve seen in his work are the inspiration behind this one. Hopefully I’ll take his class one day.

@ashthorp

"Lower the window shade, James."

About a year ago now is when Josh McCausland and I first wrapped production of the Color of a Mirror soundtrack, and sent it off for pressing! (The above photo is an abstract shot of the first test pressing sleeve.)

After the post the other day about the Full Moon Bundle (containing the limited vinyl release) I wanted to take a moment of special mention for this soundtrack and what it means to me.

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One of my biggest loves (and frustrations) of a show or video game is the music. When it’s done right, it’s one of those things that gives you chills, and you can’t wait to return to that universe, can’t wait to hear that title card music at the start of the next episode. (Like launching the original Mass Effect and hearing that menu music.) On the flip side, it can derail the whole experience for me… or at least make it far less memorable, because music often sets the scene for me.

This extends to when I’m writing, as well. Depending on the mood or the emotion, I’ll find different songs that fit that character or scene. And then lots of times, I’ll have that selection on repeat for a few days. Haha.

So being able to collaborate with a composer on the sound of this dark cyberpunk universe I’d been writing for a handful of years, trying to pull on all those ambient/sci-fi/industrial influences but also create something that felt new, something that could be listened to while you’re reading or on its own… it was really an amazing experience, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we came up with!

It all started with just two images that I sent to Josh; I said, “This is the vibe.” (He hadn’t read the book at that point, and I was thinking he was just going to make a single promo song for me.) When he came back to me with about ten different options, making it super difficult to choose, I knew the project had to be a full album. Iterating back and forth with him and seeing his process, taking some of those initial hooks and tying them together… so much fun!

The title track “Color of a Mirror” was one of those original concepts that I just couldn’t get enough of. The sound for the rest of the album was really born there, I think.

All in all, it’s such an honor to see my vision of this novel through someone else’s skill and expertise in an entirely different discipline. Such a pleasure, and I cannot wait to work on Vol. 2 together!

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Check out the soundtrack on Bandcamp to give Josh some love:

(Also available on major streaming platforms.)

And if you want to check out the book as well, head over to my website.

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Thanks for reading!

-Daniel

Radial Fatigue

Trying out an ultra-minimal style.

O/– (Neutronium Reactor)

Winter Cabin in the Dark of Night.

A bit darker in tone, a bit more minimalist, and not using any marker for text over top. Utilizing only two colors, other than the white of the paper, this one is called "Seep," sort of a play on the melting of one's character, worn down by the world, the darkness latching on and making one's true colors bleed.

It's not all bad though. If you're observant, you'll find a simple, more lighthearted message embedded within.

Thanks for looking!