MonkeyBrain’s September 2-for-1 Sale!

Been sitting on the fence waiting to buy a copy of COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO, or Jess Nevins’ THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FANTASTIC VICTORIANA? Well, wait no longer. COVER STORY has been graced with not only 2007 Locus and Hugo Award nominations, but it’s also in large part why I’ve been nominated for The 2007 British Fantasy Award and the 2007 International Horror Guild Award. And it just got a lot easier to own it or give one as a gift. The folks at MonkeyBrain Books have an insane sale going on right now. Pull out your checkbook and thank me later — you’ll kick yourself if you miss this. Here’s why, courtesy of Chris Roberson:

“For the month of September, MonkeyBrain Books is offering a special 2-for-1 sale. Buy any book direct from us through www.monkeybrainbooks.com at the regular price, and receive another book of equal or lesser value free of charge.

To pay online with PayPal, just select the book you which to purchase at regular price from our website, and when you reach the “Review Your Payment” step of the PayPal order process, select “Add special instructions to seller” and type in the title of the book you’d like as your free gift. If you’d like two copies of the same book, purchasing one at full price and getting the second for free, that’s fine with us, too.

If either book you’d like isn’t yet shipping, we’ll ship the portion of your order that is currently available, and send the remainder in a separate order when the books are printed.

As if a free MonkeyBrain title weren’t enough, we’re also tossing in free Shipping & Handling for the second title, as well. You’re losing money if you *don’t* take this offer. Supplies on some titles are running low, so don’t delay.” What’s not to love? Take advantage of these crazy people before they come to their senses. 🙂

Lou & John’s Excellent Adventure

Also known as our madcap, surgical strike trip to Worldcon 2007 in Yokohama, Japan…I’m back home now and dead-tired, but before I crash, here are a few sights and thoughts from the journey. The whole experience was worth every bit of time and money, and I’m so glad I went. Met my buddy Lou Anders (AKA 2007 Hugo finalist Lou Anders of Pyr) over in Houston and we flew out together.


We were on the ground for 72 hours in Japan, and we did a heckuva lot in a very short time. Shoutouts to all of my new friends in Nippon, including Takahiro Hirata (left), Hayato Kato, Hiroyuki Ohashi, and the wonderful Yasko, who were so kind to me throughout the weekend. Taka even presented me with a beautiful gift (left), which was completely unexpected and amazing. Thanks not only to them, but all of the kind folks who showed up to my panels and signing events. Nice to know my work is connecting with its audience, even on the other side of the Pacific. Look forward to visiting with you again, at Worldcon in Denver next year.


The hotel and con facilities in Yokohama were first-rate — the convenient, futuristic bridges connecting the con complex; the super-elegant bathrooms in the Pan Pacific Hotel; this stellar view from our hotel balcony; all of it. This year is Ultraman’s 40th anniversary, and this brother was hard to miss, no matter where you looked. I had a friend in 3rd grade who turned me on to Ultraman, and I have fond memories of all of my playground pals back then striking this pose all day long.


Bought this fabulous little book celebrating the art of Naoyuki Katoh. I didn’t know his work before this trip, but I sure do now. His stuff’s phenomenal. Awards-wise, I was honored to be a finalist for two Hugos and two Chesleys at this year’s Worldcon. Had more bling on my badge than I’ve ever had anywhere before. Didn’t bring home any large hardware this time around, but with a Locus Award win earlier this year, and artist nominations for the forthcoming British Fantasy Award, International Horror Guild Award, and World Fantasy Award, it’s hard not to be grateful. Thanks to all who voted for me in this year’s Chesleys and Hugos, and I appreciate your kind consideration. I’m honored to be working in this field and I’ll just keep plugging away and trying to get better. Big shoutout and sincere congrats to all Chesley winners and especially to Donato Giancola, who won this year’s Best Professional Artist Hugo for the second consecutive year. Well-earned!!



In the end, these trips are all about the people, and Paul Cornell and his lovely wife Caroline Symcox are two of my favorites. (L to R: Caroline, Paul, Lou Anders, me, and Jessica Langer, at the Hugo Pre-Awards Reception). Spent quality time with Bob Eggleton and Marianne Plumridge. Zillabob had a terrific Art Show display. He’s been doing a painting-a-day display on his blog for much of ’07 and he’s been on fire lately. (L to R: Bob Eggleton, Marianne Plumridge, me, and Lou)


Great to visit with Betsy Mitchell, editor-in-chief of Del Rey, whom I’ve had the pleasure of working with on the forthcoming ELRIC: THE STEALER OF SOULS (coming Feb ’08). Betsy debuted a few of my interior illustrations from the book, during her Del Rey slide presentation. (L to R: Betsy, Naomi Novik (congrats on the Campbell win), Scott Edelman, Charles Ardai (spiffy threads, fellas!), and Scott’s wife, Irene. Frank Wu won the Hugo for Best Fan Artist (go, Wu), and although not physically present, his zany aura was still felt at the festivities, courtesy of Kelly Buehler.


Lou and I had the pleasure of spending the mighty bulk of Hugo Night with the aforementioned Paul and Caroline as well as Steven Moffat and wife Sue Vertue (pictured here). Steven won the Hugo for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form for his Dr. Who episode, “The Girl in the Fireplace” and his big Ultraman Hugo trophy sat in the middle of our rambling conversation circles all night long. As per Worldcon tradition, Hugo nominees received a gift from the upcoming year’s Worldcon, which this year came in the form of a Japanese fan, embellished with artwork by Rick Sternbach. Jessica Langer models the one I received here, and does it much better than I ever could.

Beyond that, more great times with brilliant folks, including the mighty Karen Jones, Ted Chiang, Jannie Shea, Jennie Faries, Michael Whelan and family, Ellen Datlow, Greg Ketter, Lisa Freitag, Mike Willmoth, Jean Goddin, Kelly Link, Gavin Grant, Kurt Baty, Kevin Standlee, Gay Haldeman, Eileen Gunn, John Berry, Barry and Judy Newton, Sandra Childress, James Briggs, Marc Zicree, Maura McHugh, Geoffrey Landis, Mary Turzillo, Jay Lake, David Silver, Julie Rigby, Pat McMurray (congrats on the nuptials, Julie & Pat), Ben Yalow, Robert Charles Wilson, Tom Galloway, Karen Haber, Robert Silverberg, and many more. Lori Ono — thanks for saving the day on Friday. Congrats to Rene Walling and the whole Montreal bid team for claiming the ’09 Worldcon. Countdown begins for Denvention in ’08. Right now — I’m glad to be home with Traci. Off to bed. Whew. When I wake up, I’ll be 38…

ELRIC: THE STEALER OF SOULS / Cover Art

I’m off to Japan and Worldcon in less than 24 hours. Apparently, Random House and Amazon have both posted solicitations for Del Rey’s forthcoming trade paperback release of ELRIC: THE STEALER OF SOULS by the legendary Michael Moorcock. If you click their cover, it doesn’t yet show a larger version of the new cover. I’m already seeing some cyber-buzz about the impending release of this book, so I thought I’d finally give everyone a look at the final art, sans final typography. When I receive a jpeg of the final cover layout from Del Rey, I’ll post it here as well. ELRIC: THE STEALER OF SOULS will be volume 1 of a series and will contain lots of b/w illustrations by me. Forthcoming February 2008. Enjoy! More when I return….

Flying the Geek Flag

My alma mater, The University of Texas, publishes a slick bi-monthly alumni magazine called THE ALCALDE. Lately they’ve been running a feature where they solicit alums to submit their personal Top 10 List of Most Influential Works. As you might expect, lots of lawyers, doctors, and successful professionals have submitted their lists with impressive tomes such as THE BIBLE, THE BOY SCOUTS’ HANDBOOK, and WAR & PEACE amongst their choices. Mine reads a little differently…I will say that my interpretation of the word “influential” was over the course of a lifetime as opposed to what are my most influential “right now”…but yeah, I’d say that each of these works inspired and shaped me at one point or another, and some of them still do….so without further ado, in no particular order:

SCULPTING IN TIME (book)
Andrey Tarkovsky
(1989)

BLADE RUNNER (film)
Dir. By Ridley Scott
(1982)

WINGS OF DESIRE (film)
Dir. By Wim Wenders
(1987)

VIOLENT CASES (comics)
Neil Gaiman / Dave McKean
(1987)

THE SANDMAN (comics)
Neil Gaiman
(1988-1996)

GUSTAV KLIMT: 1862-1918 (artbook)
Gottfried Fliedl
(1997)

THE ART OF RICHARD POWERS (artbook)
Jane Frank
(2001)

DREAMTIGERS (book)
Jorge Luis Borges
(1985)

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (film)
Dir. By Irvin Kershner
(1980)

BEHOLD THE MAN (book)
Michael Moorcock
(1969)

Anyone out there care to share their own Top 10 List of Most Influential Works?

Chris Merle Interviews Me

When I was Artist GOH at Conestoga last month, Chris Merle included me in his running series of podcasts with sf/fantasy creators and luminaries. I’ve done lots of interviews in the last several years, but to my knowledge, this is the first podcast I’ve ever done. So if you’re interested in hearing me prattle on for 38 minutes, check it out. I think Chris did a terrific job, but admittedly, I’m not used to hearing the sound of my recorded voice and all of my vocal idiosyncracies. Yikes. Despite that, I hope some folks out there find it entertaining.

Where I’ll be at Worldcon 2007

The folks at Nippon 2007 have just posted the complete program grid. Lots of great panels and events. You can find me at the following on Friday and Saturday at this year’s Worldcon…

FRIDAY AUGUST 31

Fri 1400
THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO
A slide presentation of John Picacio’s artwork.
(One and all are invited, whether you pop in for a few minutes or stay for the whole show….images move briskly; lots of new work will be presented; and folks are welcome to interject with questions at any time about process, techniques, or anything they can think of. Totally casual.)

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 1

Sat 1000
WHAT EDITORS WANT FROM ARTISTS
Participants: Bob EGGLETON, Jennie FARIES, John PICACIO,
Karen Haber SILVERBERG, Lou ANDERS
Is it realism? A particular color? Many editors return to
the same artists again and again. What sets these
paragons apart? Style? Originality? A distinctive look
or varied approach? Reliable telepathy? (Oh, and must
the artist read the story, or what?)

Sat 1200
AUTOGRAPHING
John PICACIO / Eileen GUNN / Geoffrey A. LANDIS

Sat 1300
DEL REY UPCOMING TITLES
(Betsy Mitchell will run the show and I’ll make a brief cameo appearance to talk about ELRIC: THE STEALER OF SOULS by Michael Moorcock, for which I’m doing the cover and interior art. Betsy will present some of my interior art for the book.)

Beyond those events, I’ll be at the Chesley Awards (Fri 1600), the Art Show Reception (Fri 1800), and the Hugo Awards festivities (which kick off Sat 1600), and of course in the hotel bar with pals Lou Anders, Paul Cornell, and anyone who wishes to join us. If you’re attending, say hi (or “konnichiwa”/”kombanwa”) and I look forward to seeing you there!

The 2007 World Fantasy Award Finalists

Via Locus Online, it looks like the list of the 2007 World Fantasy Award Finalists is officially out. The World Fantasy Convention happens this year Nov. 1-4 in Saratoga Springs, NY and the winners will be announced there. A few quick thoughts about the list: Wow, I’m a World Fantasy Award nominee in the Artist category!! Too cool!! I’m thrilled and honored. Very pleased to be in there with Jon, Edward, Shaun, and Jill. They’ve all done breathtaking work in the last 12 months. It’s a terrific list of nominees in all categories. I can’t imagine it’s easy for the judges to make a list like this, but this one is as solid as any year I’ve seen. Names that gave me a big smile when I saw them here….Jeff Ford (3 times!!!), the mighty Mark Finn (his first nom….Finn, do the monkeywalk), Deanna Hoak (this may be the first ever for a copyeditor), John Klima (thrilled for JK…well-earned), Kim Newman (yay MonkeyBrain), Norm Partridge (hurrah for DARK HARVEST), Scott Cupp (happy for Lansdale as well, but this is a breakthrough for Scott), and Greg Ketter (tireless behind-the-scenes warrior who really deserved this nod….great call by the jury on this one). There are other names that I’m excited about, but I’ll stop there. Like I said, it’s a helluva list, and I’m proud to be a part of it. Final note — congrats to Chris Roberson and Allison Baker at MonkeyBrain Books for having three MonkeyBrain works on this ballot.

The 2007 World Fantasy Award Nominees

Novel:
Stephen King: Lisey’s Story
Ellen Kushner: Privilege of the Sword
Scott Lynch: The Lies of Locke Lamora
Catherynne M. Valente: In the Night Garden
Gene Wolfe: Soldier of Sidon

Novella:
Jeffrey Ford: Botch Town
Kim Newman: The Man Who Got Off the Ghost Train
Norman Partridge: Dark Harvest
M. Rickert: Map of Dreams
Ysabeau S. Wilce: The Lineaments of Gratified Desire

Short Fiction:
Jeffrey Ford: The Way He Does It
M. Rickert: Journey Into the Kingdom
Benjamin Rosenbaum: A Siege of Cranes
Christopher Rowe: Another Word for Map Is Faith
Geoff Ryman: Pol Pot’s Beautiful Daughter (Fantasy)

Anthology:
Scott Cupp & Joe R. Lansdale, eds.: Cross Plains Universe
Ellen Datlow & Terry Windling, eds.: Salon Fantastique (Jeff, Ed)
Joe R. Lansdale, ed.: Retro Pulp Tales
David Moles & Susan Marie Groppi, eds.: Twenty Epics
Sharyn November, ed.: Firebirds Rising

Collection:
Susanna Clarke: The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories
Jeffrey Ford: The Empire of Ice Cream
Glen Hirshberg: American Morons
Margo Lanagan: Red Spikes
M. Rickert: Map of Dreams

Artist:
Jon Foster
Edward Miller
John Picacio
Shaun Tan
Jill Thompson

Special Award Professional:
Ellen Asher for her work at The SFBC
Mark Finn for Blood & Thunder: The Life of Robert E. Howard
Deanna Hoak for copyediting
Greg Ketter for Dreamhaven
Leonard S. Marcus for The Wand in the Word

Special Award Non Professional:
Leslie Howle for her work at Clarion West
Leo Grin for The Cimmerian Magazine
Susan Groppi for Strange Horizons
John Klima for Electric Velocipede
Gary K. Wolfe for Reviews in Locus, and other contributions to the field.

Armadillocon Wrap

Got back home yesterday after a short 24-hour stint at ArmadilloCon in Austin. I needed to be back in San Antonio Saturday night so it was an abbreviated trip this year. As usual, the FACT folks run a terrific regional show. There was good buzz and energy everywhere. Visited briefly with Ben Yalow, and Laurie and Jim Mann. I’m impressed that they come down from the East Coast to do Armadillocon. L & J came because they wouldn’t be at Worldcon and picked Armadillocon as a consolation summer con getaway. I think that speaks volumes about the job that FACT does with this show. Logged some precious bar time with some of my favorite people….Chris Roberson, Allison Baker, Jess Nevins, and Mark Finn. Got to visit with good people I don’t see very often including Jay Lake, Scott Cupp, Rick Klaw, Chris Nakashima-Brown, Laura Anne Gilman (her first Armadillocon), Matthew Bey of Revolution SF, Joe Lansdale, Ellen Klages, Sara Felix, Bill Crider, Shai Mohammed, and Paul Benjamin. Hadn’t seen Matthew Sturges in ages, and it was great to see him. Gary Lippincott’s watercolors in the Art Show were sheer dynamite. He’s a solid cat and I look forward to seeing his work at WFC. Enjoyed being on panels with Gary, Cat Conrad, David Lee Anderson, Matt Taggart, Rocky Kelley and Sherlock. Saw Mikal Trimm, Sharyn November, and many, many others all too briefly. All and all — a great, albeit concentrated, dose of convention goodness.

The British Fantasy Awards 2007

The finalists have been announced, and lo and behold I’m amongst the five nominees for Best Artist. Wow, wow, wow. Les Edwards, Edward Miller, Dean Harkness, and Vincent Chong are my fellow finalists. I’m honored to be in their company.

Overall, there’s some terrific and worthy work throughout the categories. MonkeyBrain Books got their first British Fantasy Award nom with Kim Newman’s THE MAN FROM THE DIOGENES CLUB amongst the finalists for Best Collection. I’m pleased to see that. Congrats to Chris, Allison, and Kim! It’s a terrific read, and I had fun illustrating and designing the cover.

Armadillocon 29 / Austin, TX

It happens this coming weekend (Aug. 10-12). I’ll be there for the first half, but unfortunately, this year I won’t be there Saturday night or Sunday. Because I wouldn’t be around for Art Show Checkout hours, I decided not to participate in the Art Show this time. If anyone attending wants a print of any of my past work, email me or leave a comment here and I can still deliver to you at the show. Prints are generally 16 x 22 (sometimes 18 x 22, depending on the proportion of the original) on Somerset Velvet watercolor paper and they’re signed and numbered in editions of 100. Each print, $100 even. If you want a bigger size, let me know and we can work that out.

My panel schedule is as follows. See you there!

Sa1000PC Autographing
Sat 10:00 AM-11:00 AM Phoenix Central
Picacio*, Benjamin, Crider, Dayton

Sa1100De Cover Lovers Anonymous: Confessions From All Over
Sat 11:00 AM-Noon DeWitt
Anderson*, Taggart, Picacio, Foster, Kelley, Lippincott, Sherlock
Join us to discover things about covers and the people responsible. Who chooses artists and how? What is the process from selection to conception to production? How do anthology covers get designed?

Sa1400R The Masters of Art
Sat 2:00 PM-3:00 PM Robertson
Picacio*, Kelley, Taggart, Foster, Conrad, Lippincott, Sherlock
What artists of long-ago have had the most influence on your work?

ASFA’s 22nd Annual Chesley Awards Final Ballot

The Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists has released their list of the 22nd Annual Chesley Awards Nominees. Current ASFA members can of course download the Final Ballot here, and vote by August 10th. For anyone else who’s curious, the whole rundown’s posted below. Some really terrific work on the ballot, and I’m honored to have two of my cover illustrations amongst the nominated. These were posted earlier this month when ASFA released their Chesley Preliminary List, but here they are again.

In the Best Cover Illustration — Paperback Book category, here’s my cover for Walter M. Miller, Jr.’s classic A CANTICLE FOR LEIBOWITZ (Eos).

And in the Best Cover Illustration — Magazine category, here’s my cover for INTERZONE #204 (May/June 2006).

Special shoutout to Pyr’s Lou Anders. His sheer versatility as Pyr’s Editorial Director and Jack-of-All-Trades has now been officially exposed to the world, as he’s recognized with a Chesley nom for Best Art Director. How many editors have a Chesley nom for Art Director on their resume?? To all of my fellow nominees, I’m honored to be amongst you. Here’s the full list:

Best Cover Illustration — Hardback Book
* Stephan Martiniere, “River of Gods”, by Ian McDonald, Pyr, Mar 2006
* Jon Foster, “The Demon and the City”, by Liz Williams, Night Shade Books, Aug 2006
* Donato Giancola, “The Thirteenth House”, by Sharon Shinn, Ace, Mar 2006
* Todd Lockwood, “Temeraire: In the Service of the King”, by Naomi Novik, SFBC, 2006
* James A. Owen, “Here, There Be Dragons (Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica)” by James A. Owen, Simon & Schuster, Sept 2006

Best Cover Illustration — Paperback Book
* John Picacio, “A Canticle for Leibowitz”, by Walter M. Miller, Eos, May 2006
* Daniel Dos Santos, “Moon Called”, by Patricia Briggs, Ace, Feb 2006
* Vince Natale, “Queen of Attolia”, by Megan Whalen Turner, Eos, Jan 2006

Best Cover Illustration — Magazine
* Steven Gilberts, “Dark Wisdom: the Magazine of Dark Fiction”, Winter 2006
* Renee LeCompte, “Fantasy Magazine”, Summer 2006
* John Picacio, “Interzone” #204, May/June 2006
* r.k.post, “Dragon” #336, January 2006

Best Interior Illustration
* Tony Di Terlizzi, “Care and Feeding of Sprites”, by Holly Black & Tony Di Terlizzi
* Omar Rayyan, “Cricket Magazine”
* Yvonne Gilbert, “The Ice Dragon”, by George R.R. Martin, Starscape, Oct 2006
* Justin Sweet, “Kull: Exile of Atlantis” by Robert E. Howard, Del Rey, Oct 2006
* Ruth Thompson & Lawrence Allen Williams, “The Book Angels” by Todd Jordan, Sterling 2006
* Michael Kaluta, “The Orphan’s Tales: In the Night Garden” by Catherynne M. Valente, Spectra, Oct 2006
* James A. Owen, “Here, There Be Dragons (Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica)”, by James A. Owen, Simon & Schuster, Sept 2006

Best Color Work — Unpublished
* Jim Burns, “Dryad of the Oak”, acrylic
* Donato Giancola, “Tristan and Isolde”, oil
* Stephen Hickman, “Galadriel’s Harp”
* Michael Whelan, “Retrospection”, acrylic
* Benita Winckler, “Changing”, digital

Best Monochrome — Unpublished

* Donato Giancola, “Red Sonya”, pencil & chalk
* Stephanie Pui-Man Law, “Plum Blossoms”, ink
* Alex McVey, “Love Bites”, pencil
* Tom Fleming, “Spring”, pencil
* Joe Bellafatto, “The Great Temptation: Angel of Death”

Best Three Dimensional Art

* Laura Reynolds, “Ice Dragon”, mixed
* Gabriel Marquez, “Cthulhu V2”, porcelain
* Scott Webb, “Head over Heels”, polymert clay
* Forest Rogers, “Sea Maid’s Music”, clay and misc.
* Luke Eldridge, “Gargoyle Descending”, wire

Best Gaming Related Illustration
* Carl Critchlow “An Ill Wind Blows”
* Ralph Horsley “Thri-Keen”
* Todd Lockwood, “Dragons of Fearum”
* Richard Sardinha,”Coils of Set”
* Eva Widerman, “Seed of Undead”
* Paul & Michael Bielaczyc, “Knightly Order of Ansalom”

Best Product Illustration
* Douglas Fitch, production design for LA Opera’s,”Hansel and Gretel”
* Nathan Crowley, architectural design for the movie, “The Lake House”
* Eugenio Caballero and William Stout, production designer and conceptual designer for the movie “Pan’s Labyrinth”

Award for Artistic Achievement
* Stephan Martiniere
* John Jude Palencar
* Kinuko Y. Craft
* John Howe
* Alan Lee

Best Art Director
* Irene Gallo, Tor Books
* Matt Adelsperger, Wizards of the Coast
* Lou Anders, Pyr
* David Stevenson, Del Rey
* Jeremy Jarvis, Wizards of the Coast
* Judith Murello, Berkley Publishing Group
* Nicolas Sica, Bookspan (SFBC)
* Justin Stewart, Apex Magazine

Nifty Nippon Hugo Noms

Just opened today’s snailmail and pulled out these nifty certificates recognizing my two 2007 Hugo nominations. Is it me or does anything official look sexier with Japanese script? Simultaneous reality crash: I’ll be in Yokohama for Worldcon a month from now. It’s already around the corner, isn’t it? Where has the year gone….friendly PSA to any folks who want to vote in the Hugos but haven’t yet….according to Nippon 2007, all final Hugo ballots must be received by midnight (2359hrs), Pacific Standard Time tomorrow night (Tuesday, July 31, 2007). Some terrific nominees in all of the categories, so let your voice be heard.

ROBOT 51

I wish I could read Italian. Silvio Sosio and the good folks over at Delos Books sent me copies of ROBOT 51, the latest issue of their cool digest-sized sf/fantasy magazine. It features cover art by me, which you may recognize as the cover for Lou Anders‘ critically-acclaimed anthology LIVE WITHOUT A NET (Roc). I’m careful about second-rights usage of my illustration work, and this particular illustration is especially near and dear to me. However, Lou gave his blessing (since it was a non-North American usage) and then ROBOT kindly provided a prominent credit on the back cover mentioning Lou and the illustration’s first appearance on the cover of LWAN. This issue features fiction by Robert Silverberg and Paul Di Filippo, and interviews with Danny Boyle (SUNSHINE) and Ray Bradbury. It’s a sweet-looking, little package. Again, if I could only read Italian…

Back home from Conestoga 11

…and it was a terrific time up there in Tulsa. Thanks to all of the con committee who put on an entertaining and diverse con, especially Elspeth, Kathy, Barbara, Randy, Paul, Amanda, Dr. Omed, and Uncle Guido. Thanks to all of you for taking care of Traci and me and all of the GOHs, including Eric Flint, the Zellichs, and Laurell K. Hamilton. No photos here this time around because I forgot to bring my camera, but some of my favorite memories were the meals Traci and I shared with some great folks….yummy Persian food with Eric Flint, Baen‘s Toni Weisskopf, and an army of 1632 readers that filled Shish-Kabobs and made them lock their doors for the remainder of the night (1632 is of course the title of Eric’s series, not a headcount)….a fabulous sandwich and pie shop called Boston Deli with K.D. Wentworth and Paul Batteiger….tapas and handmade chocolates with Elspeth and the Zellichs…and (god help me) a surprisingly decent meal at Applebee’s with not-so-surprisingly great company (Brad Denton, Robin Wayne Bailey and his wife, podcast jockey Chris Merle and his wife Melissa Tatum). This was the first con I’ve ever attended where a lemur, a python, an alligator, and a wolf roamed the hotel concourse all weekend long, courtesy of Safari Sanctuary. Not including the animals, Conestoga logged its largest attendance in its history (congrats again to the con com), so thanks to all who came out to my panels and I was glad to be a part of it.

ELRIC Sneak Peek

In the aforementioned issue of DEATH RAY (#2), they previewed one of the brand-new interior illustrations I’ve just finished for the much-anticipated Del Rey trade paperback release, ELRIC: THE STEALER OF SOULS by Michael Moorcock (February 2008 release). DEATH RAY used the illustration as a field background and I thought they did a clever job with it. So without further ado, here’s that illustration. This is the first full-pager from ELRIC: THE STEALER OF SOULS. Medium: Pencil on cold-press illustration board.