My Life at the Crossroads

Internally, I go through this every single day, and it’s getting pretty tiring. So how about y’all just tell me what to do with my life? I’ll even consider being a professional cabana boy or what-have-you. Just help me find my path. I thank you in advance.

I can hear you calling out
Across the great divide
Right or wrong, there’s a feeling in my heart
I try to follow
But lately I just hide
– “The Great Divide” by Joe Cocker

Don’t Know What’s Inside the Black Box

Check out those acute geography skills in panel one. If only New Jersey and Australia were neighbors, if only. Then I could actually visit Hobbiton and be with my people.

Anyways, Black Box is a multimedia CD publication from Brimstone Press that features short fiction (drabbles, really), artwork, and music from a slew of contributors. To name a few from the author lineup, there’s Lucy Sussex, Mikal Trimm, Jay Caselberg, Lee Battersby, Jason Sizemore, and me, of course.

My published piece is a quick bit of dark flash called “Something” that is another go at the theme of scary shit under the water that I can’t seem to escape in much of my writing. Oh well. It works for some people.

I haven’t tried to run the CD on my aging PC yet, but if it worked there then that would be Irony with a capital i. Will keep all you die-hard fans up-to-date…

Every day ends in wasted motion
Just crossed swords on the killing floor
To settle back is to settle without knowing
The hard edge that you’re settling for
– “Jackson Cage” by Bruce Springsteen

Getting Lost in My Own Worlds

This comic will make a lot more sense if I sell the story it’s drawn around. But don’t hold your collective breaths, people. The publishing business is slower than [fill in your own words], and that means waiting, waiting, and waiting. Either way, let me get lost. It’s kinda fun sometimes.

You said meet me at a quarter to twelve
And I’m standing in the corner
Wishing you were here in my arms
Fare thee well, my old friends
Fare thee well
– “Starlite Diner” by Ryan Adams

Stubborn Writer on Display for the World

Man, I thought writing about writing was boring, but nothing beats drawing about it. Either way, I did get the short story completed before the December 31st deadline for Writers of the Future. So, that’s good. Stubbornness, of course, has its pros and cons. An example of both: it makes me a faster writer/it makes me cranky.

Your mileage may vary.

All that I want is something to believe
And I can’t take much more of
You’re waiting for me to see what times brings
But your relief, it evens the score up
One thing I know, I’ll be fine
This is just the story of my life
– “Will We Ever Know How?” by Valencia

Summing Up Philcon 2008

Oh, and there was a ninja there, too.

Ekaterina Sedia, Neil Clarke, and Mary Robinette Kowal are all wonderfully nice people–go click their names and check out what they do, for what they do is good stuff. So Philcon was fun again, not that I ever go to experience the con-ish things such as panels and live readings. I’m more of a bar-sitter, a watcher and listener, and it’s always nice to catch up with folks.

Granted I still see myself as a minnow with a bad tail and no sense of direction in an ocean of awesomeness at these happenings, but one day, one day I say, someone will get excited over meeting me.

We’ll go there, leave this weakness
Don’t take this from me
We’ll go there, leave this weakness
Cause I have been waiting
– “Mission” by Dispatch

All the Same Words in Politics

Hey, if you can’t wait for this election to be over and done with and just out of our minds say…poppycock.

POPPYCOCK!

And I wish I could tell you that it ended happy
Pretend like his bones weren’t practically snapping
Pretend like her gills didn’t dry up and suffer
But that’s a half dead pirate and a fish out of water
No lie, scouts honor, got a million more
– “The Harbor is Yours” by Aesop Rock

Stressing Out Over a Short Story

The short story in question can be found here: http://www.farragoswainscot.com/2008/8/pigment.html

REMINDER: I’m posting TWO comics a day until the week is over. Check below for an earlier comic!

No lyrics today. Tara is playing Kirby on the SNES in the background, and it has some bouncy, techno-esque tunes. Take that as you will…

Print Zines Are Not For Pansies

No worries. Tara, aka the Greatest Girlfriend, helped me to reach a solution to this problem. But let me just say that making this zine has not been fun. It has, in fact, just been a bunch of bullshit and it is still not yet done. I suspect other people have help or experience making these before so they can just bypass the BS tunnel, but I alas drive straight through it like a good little boy. Anyways, um, yeah. Stay tuned…

The Last Day of August Went Like This…

Yup!

And that completes the month of August. I was actually quite unsure I’d accomplish what I set out to do: draw a comic for every single day, and then some. Bonus comics slowed things down, but I climbed and conquered them in my own fashion, and I gotta say that it’s kinda neat to have a true day-by-day account of the month for me to enjoy whenever I so please.

Anyways, now that the month is complete I can begin work on the print zine. Once it is completed–hopefully within the week, but no promises there as I won’t be in my apartment for most of it–I’ll let y’all know…in case any of you might want to give me a few dollars to have such a product.

But really, if you remember, I said that this month was an experiment. It was aimed at saving time…and did it? Yes and no. These last three days I’ve had to draw like a maniac in order to catch up, which did not save me time. But for the most part it went okay. I think I’ll continue doing it like so.

How do you think it went? Things you liked or didn’t? Would you rather not have comics uploaded in big bunches and rather spaced out more? Let me know your thoughts!

And as always, thanks for reading! Onwards to September…

Waking Up To a Short Story Sale

If you read my LiveJournal, then you already know this news. Or knew it. Whatever. If you don’t, well…go here to see how things went down.

But yeah, this is a nice way to wake up. It doesn’t happen often so you gotta revel in it while you can. Also, for those keen of eyes, you’ll notice that I sleep above my covers.

::shrugs::

We can’t all be perfect.