GZ needs YOU!

I've been a one man band on my brand for far too long. GZ needs people. It needs people of all kinds.  It needs readers, sharers, and people to spread the word that this is something to see. It needs more than a fanbase however. It needs a creative team willing to take it to the best it can be.  A creative team that can be counted on for artwork and graphic design. People interested in designing board games, card games, apps, book covers and graphic novels. People who want to be part of something.

No one likes the risks of failure and it can take a lot to believe in a project this size.  It can be daunting to know that, for a while, no one gets paid (myself included) until things make sales. Yet, anything that has become worth anything today started in a garage just like that. Now we can work online. There is so much that can be done.

Working with me won't be hard, but you do have to get to know the universe you are diving into. Read the books (I will provide) at the very least and tour the artwork.

I know what I have created has great potential. I know it can carry on for a long time after I am gone. If it can only get the support it needs. As I continue to fight MS (Multiple Sclerosis), I am losing my ability to do my artwork anymore but it was never about my drawing ability in the first place. I have never been what I would call a stellar artist. I've had far too many other creators tell me I'm not good enough (not that I listen to them).

I've written 5 books an developed a board game series so far. If you are looking for a potential project to belong to and are willing to share the risks with me, then talk to me. Let's see if we can work together and if your style fits what GZ needs.

Amazing Creators: Jem Zero!

I am pleased to say that this is the very first edition of my Amazing Creators segment that I will have up roughly once or twice a month. Short fictions and updates will be sprinkled in between. For the first interview I bring you the lovely and talented, Jem Zero. Ze is both a writer and artist much like myself. I found it really cool that we have even more than that in common being that we both fight disability to survive and forge forward in life. Jem has an active twitter and website (note the highlights as links). I had a few questions for zir and lets get to them.



1. Tell us about how you became a writer and artist. Age and ideals. Influences. That sort of stuff. I have been writing since I was the tiniest kid; I first learned to use a keyboard around 6. It was in my blood. I was a better writer than I was an artist for a long, long time. My art still isn’t really that good (in my opinion) though I do make a decent living from it. When I was in middle school I was angry at not being better at drawing, so I started lying about having been better in the past, which made no sense. I was really easily embarrassed as a kid, is all I can say.

2. Tell (what you can) about your current success about to be published? What do people get to know. The story is a romance that takes place in Canada and is about religion, growing up, and polyamory. This was actually my first novel after years of failures, aborted attempts, and focusing on a lot of fanfiction because I was too scared of my own ideas. It’s a double success since the first novel I ever finished is getting published.

(The story sounds really interesting. Be sure to watch Jem's twitter feed for updates on release)

3. Since you're an artist, will you be doing the cover? No, the press has their own artists. My style isn’t really what I’d want for the cover, anyway.

4. Galaxy Zento is big on disability and equal rights support. As I understand, you are an activist as well. What can you tell us about that? I’d like to get more involved in disability activism. At the moment, my main involvement is mostly on a local trans health board. I also write about accessibility and LGBTQ+ rights in my articles. I plan on reaching out to the Governor of my state about the ableism in some new healthcare legislation, so we’ll see how that goes. Other than that, I’ve done petitions, crowdfunding, and emails/phone calls to legislators where necessary.

5. Where do you hope to be in 5 years? I really hope to be in a position where my disability isn’t constantly putting roadblocks in front of me. I don’t wish to be “not disabled,” just that I’ll have found workarounds to a lot of the health problems that keep me down. I want to be published, and I want to be able to get advances to work on future books (that’s the dream, right?) and I want my art career to be solid enough that I can financially support myself and my fiancée (who I hope to be married to by then)! I’m getting a certificate in accounting to supplement my creative endeavors, so I’d like to be someplace with that, too.

6. And tell us about you and your family in general. I live with my mum, since I’m currently too sick to run my own life. Also present are my sibling and my fiancée. I try not to give myself shit about living with mum because I know plenty of cultures have much closer family units and children will stay with their parents their whole lives, with caregiver roles shifting as they age. I’d like that. My mum has always been very supportive of me. My sibling is also autistic and queer, so we have a lot in common, even though we argue a ton. They get along really well with my fiancée, which I like to see. I try to encourage them both to create more. I want to see them confident in their own abilities. My mum is a Celtic Monk and hand makes prayer necklaces, and is very crafty in general. I’m not crafty, so I always admire her creativity.

A bit more specific stuff about me: I’m a lesbian and nonbinary, and I use ze/zir pronouns. I have a physical disability and also cognitive/neurological disabilities. I have a lot of pets! I love creepy crawlies and don’t get why people find snakes, spiders, and rats to be scary or gross. My work is very queer-positive, with a lot of focus on body acceptance, sexual empowerment, and deconstructing norms. I make my living doing portraiture, which I find very soothing, but I’d like to get deeper into illustration and get better at other styles. My biggest barrier is finding the right photoshop brushes.

(Jem was kind enough to explain to this old man how ze and zir work. They are essentially used like 'she' and 'her' while be being considered neutral in their application. I found it very interesting as I never knew this. Galaxy Zento is inclusive and respecting of others world and personal views.)

7. What do you think is important for people to realize about a disabled creative like you or anyone? My biggest thing is deadlines and instructions. Many times, I don’t get clear instructions because the editors don’t think about it, or assume someone has more experience or familiarity than they actually do, or because they think it could be inferred. I try never to assume things, because if I assume wrong it’s the end of the world (in my head). Sometimes I need deadline flexibility, or advice, or a really specific explanation of what I need to do, what I could do, and what I should not do. Lack of communication is my biggest problem with editors.

Many don’t seem to understand neurodivergent people’s limitations or needs. A problem I ran into a while back was having a deadline that was too flexible. The client said “by January” and then insisted she meant “before January.” We had a big disagreement about it and she ended up dropping me, which was actually a blessing in disguise because she was seriously underpaying. But it made me realize that having a deadline to aim for is better than having indefinite openness, even if I need some wiggle room.

Excellent interview and I thank Jem for being a part of it. I would like to add it is important to remember that people are people before anything else. That includes skin color, sexuality, size, shape, religion or political view. If we could all remember that people are people first we could transcend so many barriers and be a much happier people. I think Jem is a shining example of this and a fantastic start to Amazing Creators! Thank you so much Jem! We'll see you online!

OH hey, as an added and super note, you should check out Jem's Patreon!

Iron Maiden founder dies of Multiple Sclerosis

Clive Burr, gone too soon

Let's say you have dreams you want to accomplish in life, like writing books, designing games, or heck, anything. Then lets add something to that, namely a life threatening disease that could take you out anytime it feels like it. Let's put this in perspective.

Do you understand how your body works? At the very end of everything your body does, responsible for everything your body is capable of, is your nervous system. Multiple sclerosis (at a laymen level of explanation) is a disease that eats your nervous system. Now pause and think about that for a second. Every single function of your body, your organs, your senses, requires your nervous system to function.  Without the electric charges of your nervous system, your heart will stop beating. UNDERSTAND? At any time, if you have MS, it could damage the nerve actions required for your lungs to work. It can screw up your swallowing reflex and choke you to death. Got it?

That is what I live with. People tell us to shut up about having MS; that we are just full of excuses. Oh if only that were true. You see, you can get therapy for being "full of excuses". And if I were full of excuses, guess what, you'd never see me complete a damn thing. And what brought all of this about today was this story:

Clive Burr, founding member and drummer for Iron Maiden has died of MS at only 56 years old. He was diagnosed in 2001. Treatment for MS made it hard for him to pay for his home and general life. Think about that. He had amassed something of a fortune by being one of the worlds greatest heavy metal drummers. MS took it all. Would you say his problems were just excuses? Really?

I take copaxone shots to stabilize my MS. They cost my insurance nearly 6000 dollars a month. And still, my legs randomly go out on me, I have strange gasping fits, cognitive fogs, dizziness, and severe fatigue for no discernible reason. I have hand tremors that ruin my artwork and make even general things difficult. My insurance, medicare, lists me as "catastrophic" in coverage. It's a twisted situation.

Now, let's set aside my personal dreams for a moment (namely my universe of Galaxy Zento and all that it has going for it with 4 published books and a board game). I'm also a disabled parent of a young man with autism. Without being able to go out and work a regular job to teach him about life, I have to do something. I can't have him thinking that a disability like mine (without letting him know how easily it could kill me) means giving up on lifelong dreams or even making an effort at life itself. I can't be the disabled Dad who stares at the walls all day. That is what Galaxy Zento is for. It's the job I do to show him how to live, in spite of what holds him back.

And every time someone tells me my artwork isn't good enough or my game isn't good enough to be given any consideration, they actually help me with him. Because when I don't give up, just because people hate on my work, it shows him something. And I can't just wait in life until I can afford to pay someone else to do the artwork. If you can't see why after all you just read, I don't know what to tell you.

I know my art isn't the best you can get. It's cartoony and not seriously "graphic". Its not like a Rembrandt painting. But it's also not like I don't work hard. I work very hard and beyond my capabilities at times. That means I hurt myself to get things done. Hard to avoid actually.

But every single day, I have to wonder if I am going to be able to function for the whole day, or just part of it. That's because MS can take me out at any given level of exhaustion at any given moment of time; no matter what I've actually been doing. I could totally just be sitting on my ass, doing nothing, and crash anyway.

Is it so terrible to want people to understand? I mean, I get it if someone just doesn't like my work and they turn their nose up at it. That's going to happen. But for those who tell me I'm full of excuses, that actually stings at times. Maybe it shouldn't. But over 400,000 people in the US alone have MS. And it totally depends on what area(s) of the nervous system are damaged for each person, but its capable of killing you outright.

Famous people who died of MS

Celebs with MS

Even bigger list

Just to be clear; I don't expect anyone to jump on a bandwagon and buy things from me just because I have MS. I do want people to realize that I'm not your average game designer, not your average artist, not your average author. I'm not even your average parent, husband, or human being. It's understanding and awareness that I'm after. What would you want in my situation or if you have MS. If you do have MS, what is important in awareness for you? Feel free to post in comments.

Homage to MORE guest artists!

Today I want to talk about artists, very particular artists who have agreed to jump in and lend their talent to GZ. Mind you, this is even if they don't have work that's in the set for any reason, they either offered or said yes when I approached them. These are artists you need to know. I'm writing this because I'm grateful beyond words either way.

Big Rob Beltran: This is the man who made my hat. A hat that has lasted for a good 3 years through hot sun and rain storms. It's as awesome as the day I paid 40 bucks for it. This guy will put anything you want on a shirt, hat, shoes and even a bicycle! Check out his Deviant Art page HERE. He's well known in his area conventions and heralds his own special artistic style. People know me better for my hat than without it. That's thanks to this guy.

Dave Bain: Keeping the hits rolling, you get the amazing styles of this artist who is also on his own convention routes. I got to meet him at Southern Geekfest and hope to do so again. He has a sharp line style that's hard to miss. Check out his work HERE. I can tell you he already picked what he wants to do from the card list, but I'm not going to reveal that today. You'll just have to be surprised.










Gavin Michelli: Another of my good friends with Southern Geek who I met at the convention and every bit as talented as anyone on this list. Check out his amazing TMNT work right HERE. The colors will blow you away.

Ken Davis: Rounding out a trio from Southern Geek (they are an awesome bunch of people check them out), is this man. He's already contributed and at both cards have been shown off online so far. If you missed them, just check past blog articles or visit the Facebook page via links upper right. Ken also has his own signature style and some bookwork under his belt that you can check out HERE.













Billy Barnette: He was the first to jump in and offer assistance in the art and he's been a great help. He also has his own distinct style and a few of the cards he's helped with have been posted! His work has been freelance of late, but I did do a guest artist spot on him some time ago and his work could be seen HERE.

Kevin Woolfork: Speaking of prior articles, I wrote on on this man too. He did the gridwork for the first game board and now he's back! Just look at what he did for my character, Major Xeroh! And of course you can see his work HERE.  What he's going to do for the game cards coming up; well, you'll see. Kevin is well versed in photoshop and great with his colors too.





Jay Morgan: I've mentioned my fellow local author before and I'll mention him again. Examples of his art will show strong colors. For now, I can only send you to his authors page HERE. But you can be sure he's going to fit on this list just as well as the rest.

Ali Lamkin: Last but not least and newest is this man. He's a great form artist with talents he hasn't shown us yet, but just look. The pic is drawn by him and colored by Kevin Woolfork.

Some people may wonder what I'm doing. Well, over half the art is still being done by yours truly with some new twists and tricks. I'm working hard to get this together so that Galaxy Zento the board game will be as truly customizable as it's meant to be. You can bet there is going to be so much more to show and very soon.

Galaxy Zento Universe Update!

Lots of amazing things are happening with the GZ universe and it's time to dish out the news! While building my universe and writing my stories, there's no doubt I want this to go as many places as possible! Lot's of ideas are on the drawing board, but these are the most prominent!

Chaos is rising! Yes, my next novel, Chaos Rising is planned for release around the holidays. You see the prospective cover right here! It's about 95,000 words packed with action from cover to cover. It's the first book of a series as the history of the GZ universe. Eventually, characters in all my books will meet and interact with each other. It's also my best written work to date (in my humble opinion). The mistakes that got missed in Chessmen still distress me and I will eventually review. But the going vote has been for me to move forward rather than back. I have a lot of stories to tell after all! So be on the lookout for Chaos Rising!

Games! Games! Games!

Galaxy Zento the Boardgame heads to art design! After much testing we are moving forward on the artwork for the GZ Chessmen board game. It will be the first in an interlocking series of games that can all be played together. Three editions are currently being planned. Not sure how fast Chessmen will be done, but you can be sure of updates right here. This game has been voted, and I quote, "extremely fun" by play testers. In this game you can fight enemies, recruit allies, gather artifacts, or just beat each other silly. Or do it all! We plan to have a meeting this week to discuss art details. You can bet it will be vibrant and full of color.

Galaxy Zento the Card Game has gone through lots of play testing. It's being held back because of the overwhelming vote on the board game, but it's still there. I will still be playing with designs on the side while working on the board game. Plans for the set include three decks of cards and a few extras for deck building. You get the whole set all at once and ready to play. The first set is Chessmen of course and depicts character battles. You're getting a sneak peek at character card design right here, done by Gray Taylor.

Guest Artists!

I have it on good word that there are 3 artists working on something to show off their talents. I'm not going to spoil names at this time. I would rather let their work do the talking as I post their talents and pages with an interview.

These are definitely exciting times and I'm so glad so many of you are along for the ride! Keep it real heroes!

Why you should be a guest artist for Galaxy Zento

Elkhorn by Joe Garcia

Recently, I posted to several groups on Facebook and Google+ that I am seeking guest artists to write about and interview. The feedback showed me that I  need to explain what is involved a bit deeper. The purpose of this post is help that out. So what's in it for you to be guest artist? Here's what happens:

You visit Galaxy Zento and browse it's characters (or just browse my photos if you are seeing this on Google+). Draw any one of them that catches your fancy and submit it to me on Facebook or at Galaxyzento.gmail.com. In return I will do an article on you, your talents/business in an effort to gain you exposure and basically advertise YOU and your skills. Now, lets dispel a misunderstanding:

Question: Do you just want people to draw your characters for free?:  Absolutely not! What I'm offering is to advertise and showcase YOU on MY page. The name of the blog is Galaxy Zento and you have to admit that keeping with the theme is sound business practice for anyone. So you drawing one of my characters is just keeping in theme and giving me the kick off to start an article on you.  Heck, if I really needed anyone to draw my characters, you wouldn't have access to over 200 illustrations already. Now ask yourself this, what is advertising your talent worth to you?

Nyhtwulf by Robert Mead

Okay, so how good does it have to be? It should show your level of talent accurately. You can just do a pencil sketch if you want. Just make it look as good as your other work because I will want other examples of your work to post right after it. This is about YOU and YOUR talent after all.

Do I have to be professional? Nope. You can be a ten year old beginner and I'll still give you a good write up based on your efforts. Of course, there may be a different category for that eventually. I would love to showcase artists with special talents in the face of disability!

What else will you use the pics for? Nothing. Well, they'll be posted in my guest artist folders on social media so people can always check them out. See HERE. But past that, I won't use your pic for anything else unless you want me to. The only purpose is to be a guest artist (repostings are possible for example purposes or to remind readers of you and others). You are not donating art to me for use in any other way. So I won't use it for the cover of my next book or as illustrations in any other professional works. You have permission to post them where ever you wish. YOU are the artist after all! All I ask is that you post links just like I will for you.

Victor Darksong by
Brian Rogers

What does Galaxy Zento get out of this? A successful blog needs constant material to stay successful. You will help me increase that material and keep me writing. The writing of the post serves us both equally. You could think of it as a colab with me as the writer and you the artist. If you make sure to share your article you'll give us both extra exposure. We both get the same results.

Finally: My work supports a cause: I want to show youth with disabilities that being disabled is not the end. I have multiple sclerosis and Asperger's syndrome (high function autism) and my son has autism as well. Every time I publish a book I show it to him to show him that Dad being disabled doesn't stop success. I point it out to show that we can always go forward in some way. The more writing I get to do, the more that's supported. So if you have a disability, tell me! I have a special category for that and you can help this cause.

Deadline: There is none. Get to me anytime and just let me know you'd like to be a guest artist with your submission. First come first serve! Timing of your article will be based on how many I have ahead of you and my posting schedule that I intend to increase.

For those of you who are already taking this on THANKS! For those of you who added GZ on  Facebook, THANKS!

See the work of the guest artists above at:

Joe Garcia
Robert Mead
Brian Rogers