VODKA O’CLOCK 1535
HOLLY GOLIGHTLY
BROADSWORD COMICS
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It’s a wonderful opportunity whenever I get to chat with HOLLY GOLIGHTLY of BROADSWORD COMICS. We cover all kinds of details about Jim Balent’s TAROT: WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE which Holly colors and does the production work on; and her own SCHOOL BITES and VAMPFIRE, among other titles and merchandise. Of course, we talk about Harry Potter since Holly is a big Slytherin’ herself. She’s a big supporter of the arts outside of all her own studio.
BACKGROUND ON TITLES
Holly gives the details on which recommended audiences fit with their books and the themes within them. She loves comedy, romance, and body confidence issues. As a former creator on SABRINA, THE TEENAGE WITCH, she has plenty of insight into the tween/teen drama with supernatural accoutrements. One of my favorite things is her new PRINCE PANGUR BAN THE FLUFFY comic strips about real things that happen with her cat. TAROT: WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE is slowly being uploaded to Comixology so that has a brand new chance to reach a different audience.
CROWDSOURCING & REACHING AUDIENCES
Holly and Jim have had great success through Kickstarter. They have done five campaigns so far.
Holly doesn’t get around to many comic conventions. When she does, there is only one where she sits on a panel. Her preference is to constantly network with fans and interact with them directly.
There are unique Kickstarter rewards besides comic variants, occasionally Holly will do a tarot reading for fan-supporters. Because of their full schedule, Jim doesn’t normally sell commissions, but sometimes they are available as rewards. He never even sells his original pages.
DEFINING STYLE
Holly’s youth in Manhattan with a creative mother and polite, gentle father helped guide her into creative avenues of her own from acting to fashion design. She draws her own power and energy from art, music, and nature to channel what is quintessentially Holly.
What you see of her in person and online is going to be an honest reflection of who she is. There’s no “online persona†or anything like that.
She shared her music recommendations for what she listens to while working and how mood can be changed. She’s also done work for The English Beat’s Dave Wakeling. She has also had inspiring conversations with Howard Jones. http://englishbeat.net/
WITCHCRAFT
“I always say I like to work holistically. I like to make people happy. That makes me happy. I try to infuse what I’m doing with positive energy and I also actually use color magick when I’m working.†~Holly
There’s so much sadness, anger, and unrest, but Holly is a happy person and wants to share her good feelings with everyone.
“I want to put something positive out there. There’s way too many people worshipping Negative. It’s the easy way, the Dark Path.†~Holly
If you missed the latest in sexism, Instagram banned hashtagging #Goddess because they say it’s for porn. You can write the word “goddess†in your image caption but you can’t hashtag it and have it as a usable search. You have to work around it like “goddesshecate†or something.
FANDOM
Holly personally is a superfan of several franchises like Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Game of Thrones. She, however, is patient. She doesn’t get into speculating about what’s coming. It’s more important to address real worldly issues like famine rather than if George R.R. Martin killed a character you loved.
She recognizes that fans form attachments and get upset about things, like if Batgirl is being mistreated, but the thing to remember is those are characters that belong to a company and they get to do what they want.
Holly can even help you plan your own tour of the Universal Studios Potter experience. If you have any questions about what to see and where to go, just find her on Facebook and ask.
LINKS
Founder and Editor-in-Chief of AmberUnmasked.com and Vodka O'Clock Podcast. Author of The Farrah Wethers Mysteries, comic book short stories, prose, and non-fiction. Cosplayer and figure model.