I’ve always prided myself on the fact that the DIY publishing articles on this site have a certain lack of, shall we say, bullshit. And normally, a book called How to Become a Famous Writer Before You’re Dead would smell a little funky to me. However, Ariel Gore, Hip Mama mag creator and indie culture maven wrote this book, and like all her books (I’m particularly fond of her memoir Atlas of the Human Heart) it is excellent. As well as sharing her own considerable experience, she interviews folks like Ursula K. Le Guin, Dave Eggers, and even me, and manages to pack more wisdom and practical advice than I’ve ever seen in a book of its ilk. (It had an extremely high nods-per-minute ratio.) She even gets the folks she interviews to give “assignments” at the end, making it a writing class unto itself. Plus it’s extremely readable — I intended to skim to find something to excerpt but I found myself sucked in and reading most of it. Below is one of my favourite sections in the book. Read the rest of this post »

So I’m putting together the catalog copy and cover mockup for my upcoming graphic novel, Therefore Repent!, and Salgood’s done another killer job on the art. My favourite comment so far: “When I looked closer the dog’s eyes seem to be, uh, overflowing with evil.” I told Salgood about it and he said he just drew a blank eyed stare and people read it as demonic.

Keep reading to check out the cover it its full glory, wingèd helmet and all…
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I’m excited to announce that my fifth book will be a graphic novel: Therefore Repent! is set in the Chicagoland area after The Rapture and continues the story started in the 24 page webcomic I did last year with Michel Lacombe. Salgood Sam is illustrating this one and and we’re working towards a summer 2007 publishing date — check out a rough page from it here to get a taste of his amazing talent.

In the tradition of The Book of Revelations, it’s a pretty wild dark fantasy tale filled with demons and swords and blood. Read the rest of this post »

So what would you do if the Rapture, the biblical end of the world as foretold in Revelations, came to pass? Raven and Mummy go on a roadtrip! To read the 24 page comic for free click here to launch a full screen window, or here for straight html.

The backstory: a year ago, when An Opening Act Unspeakable Evil came out, I posted one entry a day to the faux blog roommatefromhell.com. On it was an online poll that asked readers if they thought the character Lilith was really a demoness or just delusional: I said that I’d write a spin-off story depending on how the vote went. Of the 500 people who weighed in, 55% of you thought she was unholy rather than unhinged.

Supernatural, then.
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Susan and I are doing some exploring of our own — we’ve got two European shows coming up in London and Berlin. Currently we’re in Montepellier for her biochem conference, amazed that the French Mediterranean is in fact that fabled place of palm trees and terraced cafés.

But The Bold Explorers actually refers to the comic Kate and Bruce start making together at the end of An Opening Act of Unspeakable Evil. A comic that is currently being drawn into being by the fiendishly talented Michel Lacombe. Check out the cover, and keep your evil eye cocked for it — it’ll be released in October.