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Original Art of the Secret Realm
Drawings and Paintings establishing the Lands of Kalendra
Forest Steps in Progress
Forest Steps 24x30 Acrylic on Canvas
After working as a television producer in Los Angeles, I wanted to create original stories. Access to nature and living a lifestyle that allowed me to be available for my kids were my highest priorities. These novels began by learning to draw and paint.
Filmmakers use storyboards to plan movies. I painted the world and its characters as I planned the Kalendra Novels.
Kalendra’s forests, mountains, and hidden passes were inspired by the Pacific Northwest, the high desert of New Mexico, and the Himalayan foothills of Nepal. While living outside Kathmandu in a mud-hut village and making my first documentary film, I discovered the ancient Tantric color traditions in the shrines. The peaceful atmosphere made with powerful pastels and bold jewel tones stole my heart. They established my color palette.
Pilgrimages to the sacred shrines in the Kathmandu Valley required the devout to trek hundreds of miles through jungles or brave the Himalayan foothills. When I stood inside the shrine, even without an understanding of their story, I understood why people made that pilgrimage.
The characters. My personal heroes, including professors, advisors, and good friends alike, inspired the magic wizards, their beliefs, and ideas. Those people we call wicked inspired the villains. They threw plenty of challenges in the Keeper's way. Writing their stories was fun.
Six novels so far—and the world is still unfolding.
Follow these footsteps. When you cross beneath the arch, the Portal to Kalendra will open and take you there.
Eventide 36x48 Acrylic on Canvas, 2022
Sylviana Wolfspirit 24x18 Acrylic on Canvas
Explore the Secret Realm
I’ve always been drawn to the spirit of a place. I love how fantasy worlds feel, even before the story unfolds. The artwork you see here is part of that exploration that inspired the Keepers of the Secret Realm
Ariselle (Relle to her friends) 36x36 Acrylic on Canvas
Kassara is Relle's best friend, 36x48 Acrylic on Canvas
The Divide 24x36 Acrylic on Canvas
Six novels so far—The Keepers of the Secret Realm and Fire Goddess. You can read Call of the Secret Realm by signing up below.
I drew characters in a variety of ways. These are acrylic on Canvas.
Secret Passage 12x12 Acrylic on Birch Board
From Kris Campbell’s Journal: The Crystal Pillars
Instead of crossing a single, massive gap—what if the danger never stopped? What if every step required courage?
My characters would have to cross under pressure, no time to plan or think.
I didn’t invent that fear.
Years earlier, I was crossing a glacier on Mount Olympus in Washington State. The sun would soon set when we left the Snowdome lookout. On the way there, we’d carefully walked around the glacier field, hugging the cliff. But, as we returned, tired and rushed, walking back the way we came seemed too far.
A trail through the snow and ice looked well-traveled. It led to dark soil in the center - or so we thought.
It wasn’t. It was the deepest part of the glacier.
The trail soon vanished into ice, dusted with fresh snow, and we were surrounded by glacier crevasses. Deep blue walls dropped to an icy river far below. Many crevasses were hidden beneath fragile snow bridges.
The sun was setting. The temperature was dropping.
There were no more footsteps to follow. One wrong move would send us beneath the glacier.
We'd come so far that we couldn't go back. There was no trail anywhere.
More than once, my ice axe found air beneath a false snowbridge.
We made it across, somehow. But the terror of that crossing stayed with me.
It resurfaced while I was drawing.
Kris Campbell—Arendel, if you prefer his Kalendrian name—fell six thousand feet while crossing the Crystal Pillars. He didn’t know it, but powerful magic slowed his fall. At the bottom, two Magic Wolves—Jetson and Shantini—carried him to safety.
The wolves took him to Sylviana Wolfspirit. She goes by Sylvia and looks more like a model than a powerful mage—but in Kalendra, appearances are rarely what they seem.
You can read their love story in Fire Goddess.
Backstory. How these drawings inspired this world.
Relle and her friends, aka The Keepers, must cross these Crystal Pillars. A 6,000-foot drop lies between each. Kris fell in Call of the Secret Realm and miraculously survived.