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September 25th, 2009
12:30 pm - Niteblade Art Blog: Faerie and Fantasy
I just posted another Niteblade art blog entry. This time around, I feature the faerie and fantasy art of the character concept artist and illustrator Amber Alexander. A soldier turned traditionally trained artist, Amber discovered digital art during her last semester at the University of California at Berkeley. She was hooked, and decided that digital was the medium for her.
Check out more about Amber and her work here: Faerie and Fantasy: The Art of Amber Alexander.
Oh, by the way, I managed to slip "fays" into the entry, just to make a point (and because it worked). I simply couldn't help myself. Not to mention, I didn't want to use "fairies" after using "faerie" earlier in the paragraph.
Current Mood: accomplished
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August 29th, 2009
11:50 pm - Cosmic Journey Illustration
Copyright © 2009 Richard H. Fay
I created the above weird and wild illustration to accompany my poem "Cosmic Journey", appearing in the on-line version of Abandoned Towers. The image already appears on merchandise in the Abandoned Towers Zazzle Store, and sooner or later should be published on the Abandoned Towers site.
After drawing quite a few decorated medieval-style letters for another Cyberwizard Productions project, it was nice to take a break from the historical and draw something much more imaginative. And I had the general look of the "green ghungliders" stuck in my head for quite a while now, so I just had to draw them sooner or later. Otherwise, my head might eventually explode. And that would be messy.
Current Mood: artistic
Current Music: Astronaut by Duran Duran
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July 14th, 2009
11:50 am - "Electric Blue Sparks" in APHELION
My wizardly scifaiku "Electric Blue Sparks" now appears on-line in the July 2009 issue of the web-zine Aphelion. Check it out!
While I think the description is quite clear, I believe I leave it up to the reader to fill in the details of what specific action is actually taking place. Am I describing a wizard's own spell backfiring, or am I describing a rival's attack? I don't know if such a thing is necessarily proper for haiku and their speculative derivatives, but it seemed to work for this piece.
For someone who used to always play fighters in Dungeons & Dragons because all of his magic-user player characters died swift deaths, I do write quite a bit of wizardly verse. For some reason, I find sorcerers to be a great source of inspiration, poetically-speaking. Fighters apparently don't stir my muse the way wizards do.
Alas, I realized that this is my only poetry publication for the month of July (I had several illustrations published earlier this month). My poetry roll may be finally slowing to an eventual, inevitable end. I only have one poem scheduled for August publication, another scifaiku set to appear in Aphelion. And I found out that Issue 8 of The Monsters Next Door is scheduled to be released September 15th, so I will have at least one poem published in September. After that, I have a poem or two slated for publication in November, and one set to be published Spring 2010. Currently, I have nothing slated for publication in October or December.
Of course, much of this is my own fault. I'm terrible at multitasking. As I shift gears from poetry to art, my poetic productivity has been declining dramatically. As I spend more and more time on various illustration projects, I'm finding little inspiration to write more verse. I guess I'm one of those types that needs to concentrate most of his artistic energies on the task at hand, engrossed in a single-minded creative obsession.
Oh well. A while back, I did hear word from my publisher that she is hoping to release my illustrated dark speculative poetry collection in early 2010. That will go a long way in making up for any forthcoming poetry publication slump. And I do have another collection in the works, through another publisher. I just have to find the time to work on the large number of illustrations planned for this particular project.
Yes, more drawing. It seems as if I've truly become an artist who happens to write poetry, instead of the other way 'round.
Current Mood: accomplished
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July 4th, 2009
12:08 pm - A Time To...Volume 3
I just noticed today that the anthology A Time To...Volume 3: The Best of The Lorelei Signal 2008 is now out, and available for purchase HERE. It contains, among other works by various poets and writers, my fantasy poem "Sorceress Devolution". Written in almost a chant-like manner, "Sorceress Devolution" evolved from a weird little poem I first wrote back in circa 1995. It is also meant to be something of a companion piece to "Sorcerous Evolution". I see the two as having roughly similar styles and themes. One of these days, I might actually manage to get them to appear together somewhere.
Current Mood: accomplished
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June 14th, 2009
11:02 am - Decorated Letters
My latest art assignment (for a forthcoming Cyberwizard Productions Diminuendo Press publication) consists of composing knotwork borders and drawing decorated initials. Crystalwizard isn't quite ready to have me start work on the borders, but I have begun to see what I can come with in terms of medieval-style decorated/illuminated letters.
Being happy with the results so far, I also created a similar letter for use on a framed combo of my art and poetry, to be raffled off at a local fund raising event. I wanted something to use for the first letter in the poem's title, something medieval-looking, and yet something with a fantasy feel as well. This was the result:
Current Mood: artistic
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May 29th, 2009
05:03 pm - Niteblade Art Blog: Magick & Fantasy
I just added a new entry to the Niteblade art blog: "Magick & Fantasy: the Artworks of Lori Baratta". A full-time professional artist and illustrator, Lori creates everything from New Age and mythical designs to portraits of people and pets and contemporary fine art. Much of her work definitely has a magical quality.
Check out a few samples of Lori's work at the Niteblade art blog! You can also find products featuring her designs at Lori Baratta Artworks.
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May 20th, 2009
10:42 am - Submissions Wanted: Niteblade Art Blog
Although I've been quiet about it lately, because I haven't had anything to post, I am still the art blogger over at Niteblade. Unfortunately, the zine had some problems a while back, and the previous art blogs were lost. However, the art blog is still supposed to be an ongoing feature in the Niteblade News section of the zine's web site.
Weird thing is, I've received a few queries, but then I've gotten no replies to my follow-up e-mails asking for actual examples of art to feature in the blog. This leaves me scratching my head in puzzlement. I can't post examples of art if I have no examples to post.
Come on, all you fantasy and horror artists out there, I know what it's like to prefer payment for your artistic endeavours, but a little free publicity never hurt (and it has been known to help). And that's what we're offering at the Niteblade art blog, a bit of exposure for up-and-coming horror and fantasy artists. So send a few examples of your work (previously published is fine as long as you retained the rights to your work), along with a little bit about yourself, to: art@niteblade.com
(Full submission guidelines can be found HERE.)
Current Mood: puzzled
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May 11th, 2009
12:46 pm - "When Wizards Dream at Night" in TALES OF THE TALISMAN
There was a large envelope in the mail today. It contained my contributor's copy of the Spring 2009 Issue of Tales of the Talisman containing my fantasy poem "When Wizards Dream at Night". I recognized several names in the ToC. That's always a nice thing to see.
However, I happened to be taking a look at this very same poem a little while back and I saw something not so nice to see; I noticed a mistake. Oh no, not that! I actually used the wrong homophone for a certain word; I had typed "reign in the wayward dreams" instead of "rein in the wayward dreams". And this error got past me, my "first readers" (my wife and daughter), and the editor. So now the poem with "reign" instead of "rein" is in print. (I think I probably noticed it too late to try to get it changed.) Bugger!
Moral of the story - things like this happen. Typos happen, word misuses happen, verbiage mistakes happen, even to the most careful and conscientious writer.
Of course, it still bothers the heck out of me. I'm just like that. And I should know better. Shame on me!
Excuse me while I give myself twenty lashes with a wet noodle. Thwack! Splat! Thwack! Splat!...
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/wink.gif) this-way-and-that
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December 12th, 2008
02:00 pm - Poem Accepted at Bewildering Stories
After a bit of a revision, my poem "Wandering Ole Willow" has been accepted for publication at the e-zine Bewildering Stories. It is tentatively scheduled to appear in issue 323, but might go on-line earlier than that.
This particular poem was inspired by the folklore suggesting that willow trees could uproot themselves and walk about at night, muttering and stalking unwary travellers. This same folk belief probably inspired Tolkien's "Old Man Willow".
For those of you may be wondering about the wisdom of submitting to a "4 the luv" market, let me just say that the Bewildering Stories managing editor's suggestion that I revise and expand the original submission actually did help me turn the piece into a much better poem. I might not have thought about expanding and deepening the piece without that nudge in the right direction.
Sometimes I still need that friendly nudge to get all I can out of my work. And I do appreciate when certain editors take the time to give me that extra push. You don't find that at every venue.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/smile.gif) grateful
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December 11th, 2008
02:21 am - The Parley of Elf and Troll
Here is a flight of fancy that has been sitting neglected on my hard-drive for over a year now. I had submitted this poem, unsuccessfully, to a handful of markets, and then forgot about it. Something told me to dig it out, give it a brand-new polish, and post it to my journal. The piece might seem quite whimsical, but I think there is a profound message buried under the whimsy. Then again, maybe I'm just reading too much into my own poetry!
The Parley of Elf and Troll
During an uneasy parley
Following the briefest of lulls
In their constant fighting,
Elf and troll meet
Atop a speckled toadstool
'Neath the gnarled oak tree.
Instead of reaching an agreement
To heal past grievances,
The two argue and cuss
Over who should be cross at whom.
Each blames the other
For such bitterness and strife.
Elf calls troll ugly and sour;
Troll calls elf cutesy and trite.
They insult each other's mothers,
Divergent tastes in fashion,
And even inherent talents,
Or lack thereof.
The troubled truce finally shatters
When harsh words lead to hard blows.
Troll clobbers elf,
But the coming dawn
Turns troll to stone.
Elf slinks down
Into the shadows
With the rest of his twilight kin.
Fueled by misunderstanding,
Their endless fray goes on.
Nothing seems to stop
That infernal
Eternal war.
© 2008 Richard H. Fay
Current Mood: whimsical
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December 8th, 2008
12:32 pm - Justify Your Magic?
I've seen several discussions about fantasy writers needing to explain their system of magic, justifying why certain characters can wield magic and how that magic works. A current discussion on ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) haikujaguar</lj> 's journal got me thinking about this issue once more. In my mind, I compared the argument calling for explanation to the less logical attitude found in all of the fantastical tales of the past. And I've reached the conclusion that those readers and writers who think that magic should always be logically explained and justified might not have it quite right. Instead of trying to figure out exactly how their magic works, maybe modern fantasy writers should spend more time trying to figure out how fantastical stories of the past created their own sort of wondrous magic.
In my opinion, many modern writers and readers are truly missing the real magic with all this "explain this" and "justify that". You can lose the wonder if everything is explained in a quasi-rational manner. Unless you or your readers actually believe in the reality of your own version of fantasy magic, then there always will be some sort of disbelief and disconnect from reason anyway. Certainly the rules of magic should be consistent throughout your creation, unless there are justifiable reasons why they aren't, but you don't have to tell the readers everything. The author should have a good idea why the magic works, or at least how it works, but the reader doesn't have to know all. If they do, that brightly gleaming sense of wonder may shatter into a million dimly glittering shards of mild amusement.
Take a look at the folklore, myths, and legends of yore, the precursors of modern fantasy. Magic not only exists in these stories, but it can be one of the driving forces. And yet, that magic need not be justified fully, need not be explained in its entirety, it just is. An evil sorcerer or a malevolent witch wields magic because they can, because that is what sorcerers and witches do. Perhaps some explanation and justification is implied (evil sorcerers and nasty witches might make deals with the Devil to acquire their powers), but it doesn't have to appear as a full-fledged explanation in any one story. Some stories may suggest that magic works through the recitation of certain songs or words, but the reader doen't have to know exactly how those songs or words actually tap into magical powers.
Take a look at fairy folklore. Magic certainly exists in these tales, and is often not explained at all. What explanations do exist for why fairies are such magical creatures (they are magical nature spirits, or holdovers of the pagan gods and goddesses, or fallen angels too bad for Heaven yet too good for Hell, or spirits of the unbaptised dead endowed with fairy powers, etc.) can be as varied as the specific cultural backgrounds and circumstances of the tellers of such tales. It is pretty much just taken for granted that fairies are magical beings, and can wield some pretty impressive magical powers. Of course, a lot of it is illusion, mere fairy glamour, but that sense of possible unreality makes it even weirder and wilder and more wonderful.
Why must modern fantasy turn its back on the past, ignoring the wonder found in these time-honoured tales? Why must we know all? Why can't some details be left up to the imagination of the reader? The capability to suspend disbelief can be vital to creating that sense of wonder in the fantastical. Are certain readers losing the ability to suspend their disbelief? Have they become so jaded as to lose that sense of wonder altogether? Have they grown out of the ability to see the fantastical through the wide, wonder-struck eyes of the inner child? Has the awe regarding the fantastic already shattered? I hope not.
Hopefully, we will see a return to the wonder of the fantastical, a reappearance of the magical in fantasy magic. Just like with a sleight-of-hand magician, a wizard fully explained loses some of his fantastical lustre, some of his mystical appeal, some of his numinous charm.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/classic/thinking.gif) pensive
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December 4th, 2008
06:09 pm - Niteblade Art Blog: Pencilled Mayhem
Check out the latest installment of the Niteblade Art Blog: Pencilled Mayhem. This time I feature the pencil drawings of the fantasy artist Shane Lees. He combines fantasy imagery with a bit of science-fiction to create dangerous worlds inhabited by deadly cyborgs and doughty warriors.
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November 4th, 2008
03:53 pm - Niteblade Art Blog Featuring Ciaran Collins
The first installment of the Niteblade Art Blog is now on-line here. In this inaugural art blog I feature the work of an aspiring illustrator from Northern Ireland, Ciaran Collins. I like how Ciaran's art is light-hearted and yet darkly atmospheric. It reminds me of the sort of stuff I adored when I was a kid. Heck, I'm still rather fond of the cute-and-creepy style. Check it out!
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November 1st, 2008
02:50 pm - Bunch 'O Brags
I have lots of stuff out, or coming out, this month. My poems "Chupa-Chupas" and "Midnight Encounter on Merais Minor", along with my article "Vampiric UFOs", appear in Issue 7 of Hungur. Two of my illustrations appear in the November Issue of Abandoned Towers (print version). "Unicorn Enwreathed" accompanies the story "Minkus, the Masterful Magic-Mender" by Hannah Steenbock, and "The Professor Speaks" accompanies the story "The Mentor and the Apprentice" by Aaron French.
And that's not all for November! I've got more due out later this month. I will have a poem coming out in Every Day Poets on November 9th, and my contest-winning poem will appear in the special edition of The Monsters Next Door on November 15th. I'll post links when they're on-line.
And the roll rolls on...
Current Mood: crazy
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October 28th, 2008
07:11 pm - Niteblade Art Blogger
The editor of the fantasy and horror e-zine Niteblade sent out a call for an art blogger. I happened to be one of the applicants who answered that call. The idea of posting blogs to promote the work of various aspiring artists appealed to me.
Well, the editor offered me the position, and I accepted. I am now the art blogger at Niteblade!
So, if you are a fantasy or horror artist looking for some exposure, if you would like to see your work featured in Niteblade's art blog, please send me examples of your art and a little bit about yourself to: art@niteblade.com. Niteblade can't offer any monetary remuneration for your art; payment is in exposure only. However, I do promise to spread the word about the entry featuring your work.
Let me see whatcha got!
Current Mood: excited
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October 25th, 2008
09:34 am - Another Poetry Collection in the Works
An amazing thing happened the other day. After I sent more and more reprints to a certain editor, she commented that, with ten more pages, we would have a chapbook, if I wanted it. In other words, out of the blue, the editor (who also happens to be a publisher) offered to publish a collection of my science-fiction and fantasy poetry and art.
At an earlier date, I had mentioned to this very same publisher that I wanted to eventually work on a fantasy collection in the future. So perhaps the offer wasn't completely "out of the blue" after all. However, I hadn't done much more than thinking about it, until now.
Considering that the editor really wants me to create illustrations for my works currently in her zine anyway, ten more pages wouldn't be much of a problem. I may even have some poetic forum and blog postings floating around that I could include in the collection. If we could get all the way to 110 pages, we could release a full-length book! That may be overly ambitious, but it might still be a goal worth shooting for.
Nothing is really official yet. No contracts have been signed. However, the fact that the publisher approached me after already publishing the works in question gives me some confidence that this idea for a collection will indeed reach fruition.
Still, there are things I need to do to make this a viable reality. I would like to include at least a few unpublished works. So I had better get busy writing more poetry. And I had better get busy drawing, too.
It looks like I'll be pretty busy for the next few weeks or months. The gears in my mind are turning so fast that I haven't even had time to really think about how amazing the whole thing truly is. I might just fall over in shock once it truly sinks in!
Oh well, it sure beats boredom!
Current Mood: ecstatic
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October 1st, 2008
01:18 pm - Sorceress Devolution in THE LORELEI SIGNAL
My fantasy poem "Sorceress Devolution", about a sorceress's rise to power and subsequent descent into diabolic magic and ultimate damnation, now appears in the October-December 2008 issue of the fantasy e-zine The Lorelei Signal. Although I've had a couple of poems published in the zine's sister publication, Sorcerous Signals, this is the first time I've had anything published in The Lorelei Signal.
Check it out!
Since this happens to be one of the poems originally sent out in my first batch of submissions, when I started seriously submitting my poetry back in March 2007, I'm glad it is finally out there for others to read. The core concept of the poem actually goes back to my previous, very brief and half-hearted attempt at getting poetry published in the mid-nineties. Even though I had no real success then, a few of my earlier experiments served as the nuclei around which later, more complete works developed.
Yeah, I was a bit of a late-bloomer, poetry-wise.
Current Mood: accomplished
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September 28th, 2008
01:32 pm - More Art in Abandoned Towers zine...
The editor of Abandoned Towers asked if she could use my "Unicorn Enwreathed", already appearing on merchandise in the Abandoned Towers Zazzle store, as an accompaniment to a story in Issue One of her zine (print version). Of course I said yes, so a piece of my artwork will actually be published eight years after it's initial creation! Although I did sell it as framed art, and it's now on merchandise, this will be the first time it has appeared in a publication.
Cool!
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01:26 pm - Major Artwork Changes at Web Site
Yesterday, I worked all day long on making major changes to the "artwork" pages of my web site, Azure Lion Productions. I created a third art page, added more examples of my artwork, and rearranged the images so each page features a different theme. Page one features fantasy, surreal, and horror art. Page Two features art inspired by folklore. And page three features art inspired by history and historical myths and legends.
Most of the artwork has appeared in other venues, either publications or on Abandoned Towers Zazzle merchandise, although I did add colour to some that were originally published as black and white line drawings. I think the Viking and Anglo-Saxon warriors are particularly impressive in full-colour.
I would love to receive feedback and comments regarding my art pages, or the web site in general. Please take a look at the site and let me know what you think of it.
Thanks!
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September 26th, 2008
07:23 pm - Mermaid Illustration
Today, I finished this illustration of a mermaid:
It should be appearing on some merchandise in the Abandoned Towers Zazzle store in the near future. The editor seemed to like the image. Actually, her exact words were "she's absolutely adorable".
And I didn't even know I could do adorable!
Current Mood: artistic
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