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Books

COMING SOON.

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THE SEEDS
of 
ARDEN VALE

The Atomic Firefly Family Fable Series and Kevyn Bashore are joining forces to bring a new classic-style fable to life in a graphic novel style, coffee table collector's book.

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When I was a boy and teenager, I immersed myself in the mythologies of  H. G. Wells, C. S. Lewis, and J. R. R. Tolkien, as well as in the captivating paintings and illustrations of Maxfield Parrish and N. C. Wyeth. These writers and artists never lowered themselves or spoke down to my age, but rather called me forward and upward to a higher plain, both intellectually and spiritually. 

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The Seeds of Arden Vale is my attempt to give contemporary families a similar experience in a visually inspiring book illustrated with captivating art on every page. It's the story of an unassuming orphan boy commissioned to embark on a journey through a beautiful and dangerous medieval landscape, who is unwittingly given the power to seed life or death into the land around him. 

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This book is written to be enjoyed by children, teens, and adults. I am calling forth children to rise to the occasion to read text that may be challenging, teens to embrace a graphic novel on steroids, and parents to linger page by page with their family to enjoy the visual journey along with the spoken word. My hope is to create a book and story with enough depth and richness that can be enjoyed at every age and returned to later in life to continue to glean from and to share as a spark of imagination and inspiration with younger generations. 

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ARREPO'S JOURNEY

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This is an epic story about a young orphan born with a special birthmark, who is commissioned by a king, along with others of his kind, to help restore their kingdom after a severe drought and blight. Along the journey Arrepo must pass tests of betrayal, lies, and evil creatures incited by the enemies of the king. Arrepo falters and unwittingly nearly destroys the entire kingdom, but discovers his true lineage and calling, rising to become the Restorer of the Land.

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THE BACKSTORY

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In 1994, I had the honor of assisting to restore the C.S. Lewis estate near Oxford, England — the home of the beloved author of The Chronicles of Narnia, The Screwtape Letters, and over 50 other books. During my time there, I walked the same paths Lewis once shared with his friend J.R.R. Tolkien, strolling through the historic streets of Oxford and the enchanting Shotover Park and woods. It felt as though an elf, angel, or lion might appear around every corner. I even had the privilege of sleeping in Lewis' bedroom, where I began writing my own fables and supernatural thrillers, inspired by the very place where he crafted his timeless stories. As a photographer, writer, screenwriter, and filmmaker, fueled by the epic tales of Lewis and Tolkien, fables, Biblical parables, and my passion to write and produce well-told stories with a moral center, I eventually began writing a short story titled The Sower, which was later expanded and retitled, THE SEEDS OF ARDEN VALE: The Rise of Arrepo.

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THE INSPIRATION

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The spark that ignited the writing of this fable was a desire to offer medieval-style stories, fables, parables, for families to enjoy together, enhanced by inspiring and artful illustrations in the style of early 20th century illustration masters. Deeper still, it was driven by my desire to redeem my own failures in life by encouraging others, through story, to rebuild hope in the midst of mistakes, missteps, and outright bad choices. Thus came this story about an orphan with an orphan spirit. How does one live as a favoured son and daughter of a King? In THE SEEDS OF ARDEN VALE: The Rise of Arrepo, I set out to explore and bring this theme to life in a bold and captivating way.

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In 1998 I had an inspiration to write several short stories as medieval parable/fables. There didn't seem to be many such stories aimed at families to enjoy together and I knew that if I ever published these stories, I wanted to create hardback collector books filled with compelling stories and inspirational art for the whole family to enjoy. 

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Then life happened and I shelved the stories. 

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Fast forward to winter 2022. My mother's health was on the decline due to severe pancreatic cancer and in the midst of it all she raised her fists to heaven and to me in a heartfelt plea, crying out: "Finish your book! Do the illustrations yourself!" I told her I couldn't possibly do them myself, because the vision I had for them was epic." She rolled her eyes and signed. A year after her death and after a failed attempt to hire an artist to complete just one illustration, I finally reached an epiphany: I knew I was supposed to illustrate THE SEEDS OF ARDEN VALE using every tool possible at my disposal. Thus began eighteen months of illustration work.

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THE PROCESS

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I tend to be an early adopter of technologies. When the iPhone and camera Apps appeared on the scene between 2007 and 2011, I took an entire year to experiment with iPhone camera and over 80 cell phone camera Apps. This project evolved into what became: Kevyn Bashore's 365 Day iPhoneography Journal: Finding Beauty In Every Day Life. I was also one of the first artists to print iPhone photographs up to ten feet high and wide for exhibitions, resulting in my work and writings being honored for Innovation in the Arts and exhibited in the Clyde Stacks Vision Arts Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, as well as a six-month spotlight exhibition in The State Museum of Pennsylvania. 

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My process for creating THE SEEDS OF ARDEN VALE hardback collector's book began with the the writing of the original story THE SOWER in 1998 (without the use of AI technology or editing). The next step was in utilizing my skills in art, photography, graphic design, layout, design software (Affinity Photo/Designer/Publisher), and publishing, to merge my own creative vision, art, photography, and graphics, with the power of MidJourney Ai image prompts and generator.​

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THE FAMILY FABLE COFFEE TABLE BOOK PROJECT

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After being stowed away for two decades in my file cabinets, I was inspired by my mother before her death in 2022 to bring this project to completion. And now, after 18 months of image development, graphic design, and preparations for publishing, I am excited to offer THE SEEDS OF ARDEN VALE: The Rise of Arrepo, as my first family fable, coffee table hardback, heirloom book, with quality printing, dust jacket, special accents, and over 400 vivid and arresting pages of illustrations.

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SUMMARY

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I am excited to bring this book project to you and look forward one day in the years to come to see THE SEEDS OF ARDEN VALE: The Rise of Arrepo developed into an animated feature film. 

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Thank you for your interest and supporting this important project. My hope is that you and your loved ones will be inspired and invigorated by this storybook, engaging illustrations, passing it along generation after generation as a keepsake and cherished family heirloom.​

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​EPILOGUE

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In light of the AI technological revolution, as an artist/photographer/ writer/filmmaker, on March 16, 2023, I came to an epiphany: I needed to pivot in the wake of the coming AI surge or be left behind. There is no moment in history that can be frozen in time, protected forever from change. Every time we think we understand the game of life, the playing field and rules change. We can either become angry and resist the change, or pivot, embrace the change, and use it as a tool or launching pad for creative growth and prosperity. 

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So on that day I purchased a professional license with MidJourney, using their Ai image generator as a tool, a partner as it were, to assist me in bringing to life the vision I have carried for this book for over 20 years. Through these tools and processes I was able to work for eighteen months to create over 200 illustrations to bring Arrepo's story to life, using the early 20th century artist Maxfield Parrish as the inspiration for my book (works prior to 1923 and in public domain). By using public domain imagery as the reference model for the images I created for THE SEEDS OF ARDEN VALE, I adhered to current laws and personal ethics as closely as possible to insure legal use, and to respect the Maxfield Parrish legacy.

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That being said, the process for hiring an Artist to create images of a certain style and artist influence versus utilizing Ai to create such images is only different in three ways: speed, cost, and the hiring of human artists. All three affect most creatives working outside industry corporate monoliths. Furthermore, the reality is that much of the creative works produced by AI would never see the light of day had it it not been for this revolution in technology. AI empowers the Everyman to be more creative and productive, which can be a win-win for everyone.

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It seems evident that Ai is here to stay and will unfortunately replace jobs, as all technological advances do. But at the same time it will open doors for greater creativity, productivity, and flourishing for those who seek ways to change and pivot. We are simply in the vast transition season where no one knows how to proceed or navigate safely through this New AI Frontier: a Neo Technological Wild West that has emerged through this world changing and challenging tools.

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