Richard H. Fay's blog

[  Mood: Cool ]

[  Currently:  ]

Some of my darker illustrations now appear in the on-line Horror Art Gallery at Horror Bound Magazine:
https://www.horrorbound.com/news.php

The pieces include: "Tom Tit Tot" (aka "Tom at the Spinning Wheel"), "The Unseelie Court", "Demons of the Dark Nebula", "Forest of the Damned", "Wander the Ether" (aka "Ethereal Journey"), "Gothic Window", and "Things in the Swamp".

Feel free to leave comments on the Horror Bound site.

[  Mood: Cool ]

[  Currently:  ]

Two of my illustrations are now up at the on-line version of Abandoned Towers:
https://cyberwizardproductions.com/AbandonedTowers/

"Warring Ants" and "Maginot Line Fortification Cross-Section" accompany Doug Hilton's story "The Maginot Line", found in the General Fiction section of the site. To access the story, just click on the General Fiction link, click on the book, then click on the story title.

Check 'em out!

When Crystalwizard asked me to illustrate the story, the first image that popped into my head was ants in army helmets fighting atop and around an earthen rampart and pebble tower. The idea came like a flash, but making that idea a reality took a few days' work. And afterward, I told Crystalwizard I may never want to draw another ant again!

Since Doug inserted an expositional interlude about the historic Maginot Line, I figured I must also draw a diagram of a Maginot Line fort. A cross-sectional view of one of those elaborate underground fortifications does look a wee bit like the cross section of an ant colony. I tried to create some visual parallels between the pebble-earth-and-twig design created by the ants and France's expensive defensive folly.

I guess my biology degree and past bio lab experience, as well as my interest in World War II, actually came in handy. This certainly isn't the first time I've drawn somewhat realistic invertebrates, and I had a cross-sectional view of a Maginot Line fort in one of my various history books to use as a guide for the diagram. I just simplified it and rendered it in my own style.

[  Currently:  ]

My haiku "moaning hemlock tree" now appears on-line at Every Day Poets:

https://www.everydaypoets.com/moaning-hemlock-tree-by-richard-h-fay/

This time around, I was inspired by my observations of a neighbour's hemlock tree swaying and moaning in a bitter wind. It's a very wintry piece, quite appropriate for the current conditions here in the Great Northeast. (I'm more than ready for spring now. I've had enough of winter.)

Check it out! And if you do, please rate it as well.

Thanks!

[  Currently:  ]

Finding out last night that one of my reprint poems accepted for publication a while ago will be appearing in the March 2009 print issue of Abandoned Towers, I began musing about all my forthcoming publications. While I don't like to count my chickens before they hatch due to past problems with acceptances not necessarily translating into publications, I figured I would still go ahead and mention what I already have scheduled for publication in 2009.

Right now, if all goes according to plan, my monthly publication roll will roll right on into March without any further work on my part. I still have at least two more publications due out this month; my haiku "moaning hemlock tree" is scheduled for publication in Every Day Poets on January 12th, and my poem "Wandering Ole Willow" is scheduled for publication on the 26th in Issue 322 of Bewildering Stories. February in particular seems to be a big month for me, with a scifaiku scheduled to be published in the February issue of Scifaikuest, my speculative cinquain "Two-Dimensional Visitors" scheduled for publication in the February issue of Aphelion, and my poems "When Hunger Takes Me" and "Serpent of Storms" scheduled for publication in the February issue of The Monsters Next Door. And then there is the reprint of "Book of Dimensions" scheduled to appear in Abandoned Towers Issue 2 in March.

And that's not all! "When Wizards Dream at Night" is scheduled to appear in the Spring 2009 issue of Tales of the Talisman. My cinquain chain "Amongst Faerie Oaks" is scheduled to appear in print in the November 2009 issue of Abandoned Towers. Plus, "Something in the Yew" is due to appear in a future issue of Doorways, a scifaiku is due out in a future issue (perhaps the next one) of The Shantytown Anomaly, and "Explorers" is due to appear in the forthcoming Sam's Dot anthology Wondrous Web Worlds Volume 8.

So, with all of that already on my forthcoming publications list, I'm not too worried that I only have three or four poems currently in submission limbo. I think I have time to refill my submission pool.

Of course, it would be nice to extend my roll into April, but I won't be too worried if I skip a month or two.

[  Mood: Cool ]

[  Currently: Listening to Tokyo: July 12, 2003 (live) by Duran Duran ]

My non-fiction article "Speculative Poetry: Past, Present, and Future" has been published in the on-line version of Abandoned Towers:

https://cyberwizardproductions.com/AbandonedTowers/

To access the article, click on "Non-Fiction" on the Abandoned Towers front page. Then click on the stack of books, which takes you to the non-fiction table of contents. Click on the title of my article and read away!

In an effort to show how speculative poetry can be seen as a historically valid genre, I took a broad view of that particular type of verse. I include all past fantastic poetry, including some of Shakespeare's dramatic verse, in the family tree of speculative poetry.

This article took quite a bit of research to complete, but I think the results were worth it. I was pleasantly surprised by some of the things I discovered while putting this piece together.

Check it out!

[  Currently:  ]

In the latest installment of the Niteblade Art Blog, Cerberus, Inc, I feature three examples of art by the very prolific artist Dan Skinner. Dan's work has appeared just about everywhere, on many a magazine and book cover. Not only is Dan prolific, but he's versatile, too!

Check it out here:
https://www.niteblade.com/news/cerberus-inc/

By the way, I'm looking for art submissions for future installments of the art blog. So, if you're an aspiring fantasy or horror artist looking for a little exposure (payment is in exposure only), please consider submitting some examples of your work here: [email protected].