Reference Images and Mount Kumotawa Map

  I use these for imagining things and having some fun while writing or just to take a break. Its fun to create these things on your own.

  An anime version of Yuriko and Ghost. Yuriko looks way younger than she should, but it gives the general idea of her as a soldier rather than a convenience store manager.

  The konbini at the base of Mount Kumotawa. I wanted a typical convenience store design with nice clean and simple colours of white and red. I quite miss Japanese konbini when I'm home. They have such nice assortment of food and snacks. I don't even try to eat the food back here in Canada at convenience stores.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  Another version of the konbini. Shows the torii and the forest behind the konbini. Not exactly what I imagined, but close.

  The map of Mount Kumotawa. Drawing maps is always kind of fun. I had to run a bunch of filters to soften the lines and make it more like a rendered image from the original pencil drawing. The konbini is at the base of the mountain, while the shrine is halfway up. From the top of the mountain you can see over the mikan groves out to the Seto Inland Sea. Kumo means cloud in Japanese and tawa means tower or fortress, so the mountain is a fog shrouded tower as it is a bit of a stand-alone mountain. The map is designed for the print version of the book which will come out after serialization.

  Kumotawa Shrine Honden (the main hall). There's a large gatehouse at the front of the shrine grounds and the honden is at the back. Plenty of action happens here.