New Work Published: 101 Things to Do Naked

It never rains but it pours. Hot on the heels of yesterday's Weird Tales profile, comes this new book from local author Cathy Roberts, "101 Things to do Naked! A Guide to 'Dress-Free' Living". This is a humor book with some expert advice on fun things to do without clothes. I had a bit of fun doing the cover design and a bunch of interior cartoons for this book. It's a nice breezy read that will give you a grin or two, and possibly a few ideas. Go check it out and give it a read; clothing optional.

New Work Published - Defeat Your Beast

Here's one I'm rather proud of for different reasons than usual.  Not that it's necessarily my greatest work, artistically.  In fact, the art I contributed is rather basic.  I'm proud of this project for its intent.

"Defeat Your Beast" is a book (and soon to be accompanying board game) aimed at younger readers that deals with the subject of social anxiety (the titular "beast") and how to deal with it.  The author is teen student Evan Hennigar, a young author and actor who has appeared in television shows such as "Haven" and "Mr. D", and who, by his own report, has had first hand experience at dealing with anxiety.  Rather than give in to his anxieties, Evan has taken control of the situation by becoming an activist and educator on the topics of anxiety and bullying.

From the book's description:

Defeat Your Beast is the true story of one kid who battles his beast known as anxiety. He battles him, and wins, taking control of his anxiety and taking control of his life.
Evan Hennigar sheds some light on an issue that is largely left in the dark, giving kids with anxiety a voice, hope and understanding.
 
For the past couple of months, I've been working with Evan's mother, Tina, to help put together a set of illustrations for this project that they have turned into two books, a game, and educational materials to help young people understand and cope with social anxiety.  They've spun this concept out into a series of workshops where Evan speaks to young people on the topic, supported by the materials and links available through Evan's website, where you can also buy the books.

Below is the book trailer on YouTube....check it out, then go to Evan's site to check out the other resources available there, and grab a copy of the book.  If you know a young person dealing with anxiety (and I can almost promise that you do), I hope it will be a valuable tool in helping them to deal with and overcome their problems.

New Work Published: Safyre

Freshly available for your reading pleasure, may I present Safyre:  Explosive Origins, titanic superhero fiction from the father and son team of David and Caleb Brezinski.  I was fortunate enough to be comissioned to to the front and back covers as well as several interior illustrations for this book, and had a great time doing it.

Looks like I'll have some more work coming up with the Brezinski's, so watch this space!

Safyre is available in Kindle and paperback editions from Amazon right now, either edition being very affordable and sure to please all you superhero fans.  Go and check it out!  Go, I say!

New Work Published: Fresh Cut Tales by Kenneth Cain

Fresh off the digital presses comes "Fresh Cut Tales" by Kenneth W. Cain, a collection of sixteen stories (8 previously published, 8 new) of horror.  Kenneth is a Lovecraft eZine alumni and the author of a long list of dark fiction that you can find at his Amazon author's page.
Each of the stories in this collection is illustrated, and two of them are my work.  There's some other talented people in there too, but it's really my stuff you came to see, right?  Right?
Fresh Cut Tales is available at Amazon and Smashwords right now, and will shortly be available in paperback as well.  Whatever your preferred reading format, you'll find a copy to fit the bill, so head over and check it out today!

Lovecraft eZine - Now on Amazon!

Did you know that you can now get the Lovecraft eZine via Amazon?  I mean, you've always been able to get it for your Kindle via their own website, but now the most recent issues, including the latest one, are available on Amazon as well.  Given the low price (just 0.99 per issue!) and the ease of Amazon's One-Click service (this is not just shilling....it really is about the easiest way to buy an ebook), it's got to be the best way of getting a regular dose of great writing on your ereader or mobile thingy.  I don't have any work in the May issue due to scheduling issues, but there's lots of talented people who do, and if you even slightly enjoy weird fiction, this magazine is well worth a look.

By the way, I am scheduled to have an illustration in the June issue, so make sure you grab that one as well.

Powers vs. Power V. 2 Now Available

Waiting for a Watchmen sequel that's likely never going to happen?  Read every issue of Astro City and wondering where to go next?  Let me suggest you try "Powers vs. Power" by Robin Reed.
The second volume of this series has just been released in various ebook formats, with my own work gracing the cover.  Each book is a collection of short stories based on a group of original superheroes created by Robin for Metahuman Press.  I enjoyed the first volume very much and am pleased to say that the second volume, so far, is maintaining the same level of quality.
Writing prose about superheroes can be a difficult task because the visual aspect on which the medium of comics depends is missing.  "Biff!" and "Pow" don't parse the same in a non-graphic form.  This means that the stories, if they're not to be entirely juvenile, have to be a lot more character driven.  The problem is then to avoid the pitfall of turning the work into fanfic, making the characters cheap pastiches of existing heroes or winding up hip deep in long descriptions of powers and physiques.  Robin manages to avoid these dangers quite nicely and has created a cast with a fair amount of depth and personality.  Yet, the work does not cross over much into Alan Moore territory, in the sense that this is not a deconstruction of the genre.  Superheroes in this world are a good thing, and there's a good sense of fun and wonder in these stories as well.  I think these books will be enjoyed by anyone who actually likes superheroes.
Powers Vs. Power Book 2 is available in Kindle format from Amazon at the low price of $2.99, and in various ebook formats from Smashwords for just 99 cents.  If you're fan of the genre, or of good storytelling in general, I really do recommend it.

Open Zen

As an update to my earlier post on "Zen to Done", I thought it would be worthwhile to share with you the news that author Leo Baubata has just declared all content on his blog "Zenhabits" to be in the public domain. This includes his ebook, "Zen to Done". In his own words:

"my writing here at Zen Habits and in the Zen To Done ebook are now in the public domain. I hereby waive all claim of copyright in this work; it may be used or altered in any manner without attribution or notice to the me. Attribution, of course, is appreciated."

So, while you can (and should) still buy a copy of "Zen to Done" from Leo's site, I do still have the ebook myself, and would be willing once again to send a copy to anyone who emails me a request for it. Once again, I would ask that if you receive a copy, you "Pay it Forward" to someone else who would appreciate the book. Also, if you blog or otherwise write for the net, it would be a good idea to review the book or otherwise link back to Leo's blog to help spread the word about his work.

More details about Leo's decision to release copyright on his work can be found here.