Utrecht in the springtime…hard to find a nicer place to be. Traci and I are back home from a nine-day stint in Europe. We spent the first half of the trip with over 22,000 costumed faithful at the 2007 Elf Fantasy Fair in the Netherlands, just outside of Utrecht. I was invited out as a special guest for the show, and as you can see from the photos here, it’s a spectacular venue. The fair happened on the grounds of Castle de Haar, the biggest castle in the country.
Essentially, it was a massive costumed festival, with lots of eats; lots of battles and jousts; and tons of imagination, revelry, and camaraderie everywhere. My fellow special guests at the show were a really special bunch. I can’t think of a more diverse and strange group who on the surface should have had nothing in common, but as it turned out, the best times were when we were all together. A quick rundown of the whole crew…

David Anthony Durham — aka “Big D” — author of PRIDE OF CARTHAGE and the forthcoming ACACIA, and if the massive Saturday battle is any indication, a man with a killer instinct when 50 rows of his barbarian brothers are in front of him with weapons and shields swinging away…(‘kidding, D!)…true enough, history will remember that battle as the one where D was holding down the rear guard in heroic fashion. 😉

Brian Froud — aka “Little B” — what can you say about Froud at a festival called Elf Fantasy Fair? I mean, seriously. It figured the guy would be a rock star out there, and it was no surprise when he was. Gotta respect a guy who says out of the blue, “Real men don’t wear armor. Real men wear tutus.” And then backs up his talk when his fans show up in droves to his Sunday signing. He’s the man. Froud forever.

Chris Geere (pictured right, along with Jetse de Vries) — Have you seen the film BLOOD & CHOCOLATE yet? I haven’t, but now I have to, because Chris is in it. He was a riot and a revelation all weekend long. Traci and I very much look forward to future shows where this guy graces the screen…favorite Chris Geere moment from the EFF weekend: too many to count really….although the immortal line “Where’s Little B?” will probably ring in my memory forever…

Prof. Dr. Roland Rotherham — A gentleman, a scholar, and the ambassador of the entire Elf Fantasy Fair. You’re all heart and soul, Prof, and Traci and I appreciate all that you did out there at EFF.

In addition, we crossed paths with these folks…

Julian Glover — His performance in INDIANA JONES & THE LAST CRUSADE was unforgettable, and he’s widely regarded as one of the best character actors anywhere. We spent some time with him on Saturday night when the group of us convened at the hotel bar, and he was a true gentleman.

Scott Lynch — saw him very briefly in the VIP room and then never again….very sad to say that we never hung out over there, as his schedule was apparently very different from the rest of us.

James Clemens — Ditto. Sorry that you and Scott missed out on some really fun times with our motley crew. 🙂

Lou Ferrigno — I religiously watched the HULK TV show when I was an elementary school kid, and I had a big Lou Ferrigno HULK poster in my room at that time. So it was quite a trip for Traci and me to spend an hour-long taxi ride with him, and discuss everything from superhero movies to knee surgery to tasers. A very kind guy and I wish we got a chance to hang out with him more at EFF. Take care out there, Lou.

Jetse de Vries — a good friend, and one of the editors of the Hugo-nominated INTERZONE Magazine…Jetse lives in the Netherlands and was kind enough to join our crazy EFF bunch for a memorable Sunday evening.

(standing, L to R: Brian Froud; Martin, our terrific PA; seated L to R: Jetse de Vries; Chris Geere; the Prof.; me; Traci; Ronald; David Anthony Durham)

Big thanks to the EFF organizers, and especially Stefan, Coca, Martin, Ronald (thanks for getting us around), PJ, Pim, Tamara, Arno, and all the rest who really looked out for us. It was a real pleasure. After EFF, Traci and I spent several days in London, and that was the second of our two honeymoons (the first was last month in Toronto). All in all, we had a phenomenal time in Europe, but it’s good to be home now.

So much to say…..here goes….spent the first part of last week in Toronto with my wife Traci on our first honeymoon (we’ll do the second honeymoon this month in London). Toronto was one of the best cities we’ve ever visited. Phenomenally diverse! Loved it. Queen St. West is now one of my favorite streets in the world. Bloor St was terrific. So many jaw-droppingly beautiful churches all over. A new Frank Gehry addition punching through the Ontario Art Museum.A day trip to Niagara Falls. Silver Snail and the Beguiling are two of the finest comic book shops I’ve ever visited. Bakka-Phoenix Books rules. And Toronto has some of the nicest people anywhere (example: Holly, the waitress at the Marriott who served with a smile for days on end and became like family to WHC barflies, who shall remain nameless). Traci and I often said, “We could live in this town.” Our short honeymoon was fabulous, and we get to dream it all over again in London later this month.(And by the way, for those of you who’ve emailed asking about wedding photos, I haven’t forgotten. Photos forthcoming. Traci and I have been so busy, we haven’t even had time to see them.) Meantime, here’s an ultimate honeymoon cliche — Traci and me at Niagara Falls…..so touristy, it’s nauseating, but hey — we couldn’t pass the opportunity, and we’re glad we went.

On to World Horror Con…impossible to do an all-inclusive report, but a couple of things that must be said. The con committee — what an achievement this past week was. Stephen Jones is The Man. Steve, you shattered your own high standards, and crafted a convention experience for the ages. I look forward to WHC in Salt Lake City next year, but I don’t envy them for following the performance of this year’s committee. I suspect SLC will be terrific, but this year’s result will be so tough to top. So professionally run, so well-organized. So many congoers raved about the programming slate and how much goodness there was, hour to hour. One of the best WHCs ever. My biggest thanks to Head Chair Amanda Foubister and Associate Chair Mandy Slater. Rodger, Lisa, Kelly, Alex, Marah, Evelyn, and everyone — again, you outdid yourselves. Lastly, what a GOH crew — Michael Marshall Smith, Nancy Kilpatrick, Pete Crowther, Don Hutchison, Pete Atkins, Gahan Wilson, and Sephera Giron…it was a true honour to be side by side with you.

Highlights:

Best WHC party: the PS Publishing Party at the Merril Collection….Pete and Nikki Crowther hosted a memorable reception where they debuted several PS releases, including POSTSCRIPTS 10, a special Michael Marshall Smith issue with stories by Mike as well as Stephen King, Joe Hill, Lucius Shepard, Connie Willis, Tim Lebbon, Graham Joyce, and more. Cover by me. The book turned out beautifully and it was a very fast seller. There may still be a few copies left. The Merril Collection was a revelation. It’s an expertly-maintained, climate-controlled archive of the best genre books and art, available for scholarly use. Partygoers took tours of the collection. Awesome. A great time. (Stephen Jones, Ellen Datlow pictured.)

Best Convention Program in the history of Conventions: TRAVELLERS IN DARKNESS, the souvenir book for WHC 2007, edited by Stephen Jones. Almost every con has a program, which is usually a magazine of varying production quality, sometimes slick, often not so. Not good enough for WHC 2007 though. This con had a gorgeous hardcover book with dustjacket! Artwork by Bob Eggleton, Randy Broecker, Les Edwards, myself and more and contributions by Michael Marshall Smith, Neil Gaiman, Joe R. Lansdale, Kim Newman, Robert Sawyer, F. Paul Wilson, Norm Partridge, Michael Rowe, and many, many more. Plus an interior color gallery of some of my cover illustrations. Make no mistake though — this book was Steve Jones’ baby. My reaction when I first saw it: “You’ve gotta be kidding me…..” Utter awe and admiration. Rumor has it Michael Marshall Smith did the beautiful interior layouts. If so, further proof that MMS is one of the deadliest talents anywhere. What CAN’T this guy do well?

Favorite Stoker Awards moment: Joe R. Lansdale getting a standing ovation when he won the Grandmaster Award. Congrats to all of the Stoker winners. It was great to see Pete Crowther recognized for his stellar work with PS Publishing and great to see Joe have a night where he was honored like that, along with his family. (Pictured below at the Stokers, left to right: Brendan Vaughan, Brad Hutchings, Claire Booker, Ann Hutchings, Traci, me.)

(Bottom photo….the new Rat Pack?? Left to right: Pete Atkins, Ramsey Campbell, Stephen Jones, Jonathan Reitan)

General good times shoutout: to all congoers who were so gracious….so many good people who were so generous and kind…..it was a pleasure to spend time with all of you. As always, a blast to hang with comrades-in-arms Chris Roberson and Allison Baker, as well as Liza Trombi, George Mann, Jeremy Lassen, Liz Gorinsky, Michael Marshall Smith and his wife Paula (and little Nate!), Tim Lebbon, Rodger Turner, Scott Edelman, Gahan Wilson, Brendan and Claire Vaughan, and Brad and Ann Hutchings. So many more. Again — Steve, it was an amazing con that you, Mandy, Amanda, Kelly, Evelyn, Rodger and everyone put together…a phenomenal weekend that Traci and I will never forget.

So I just got back home after an amazing week in Toronto. Sorry I’ve been away for so long. More on that coming.

Apparently, while I’ve been out of town, the Hugo nominations list released. I’m absolutely thrilled to be one of the five nominees in the Best Professional Artist category. Wow! What an honor. And as thrilled as I am about that, I couldn’t be happier that COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO has been nominated for the Best Related Book Hugo as well. Wow, wow! Better yet, COVER STORY’s nomination is the first Hugo nod for MonkeyBrain Books and the husband-wife braintrust of Chris Roberson and Allison Baker. The book was a team effort, and it’s all the sweeter to share this nom with them.

The thing that makes this even more dreamlike is I was first officially notified of the two(!) Hugo nominations the same day I got married (March 17). Out of respect to the Hugo process, I kept this bit of news a secret until the news broke, which it did days ago. So there you have it — as if March 17, 2007 wasn’t already my Best Day Ever, the double-Hugo nod made it absolutely surreal. Wow. It still feels like a dream…..thanks to all for their consideration, and I really couldn’t be more honored to be a part of this amazing list of Hugo finalists.

I married the best girl in the world on a perfect blue sky day surrounded by the greatest friends and family any man could ask for. More photos soon.

Top: Traci and John Picacio, married March 17, 2007, San Antonio, TX

Middle: Friends at the wedding reception — (l to r) Michael Moorcock; Rick Klaw; Chris Roberson; Georgia Roberson

Bottom: The Best of Times — post-wedding celebration at me and Traci’s favorite restaurant, Acenar, Riverwalk, San Antonio, TX, Saturday night, March 17, 2007 — (l to r, clockwise) Allison Baker; Georgia Roberson; Chris Roberson; Lou Anders; Traci Picacio; John Picacio; Dena Lackey; Sean Lackey; Jess Nevins; Jude Feldman; Alan Beatts

While I’m sure blinding sex appeal comes to mind first (cough, ahem), the answer in this case is that we’re featured interviews, along with Robert Picardo, in ROBOT 50, the brilliant Italian magazine from Delos Books. I just received my copy yesterday and the issue looks fabulous. Thanks to Silvio Sosio and Maurizio Manzieri for inviting me. Maurizio is a terrific Chesley Award-winning illustrator and did a great job with my interview. The image they chose for the cover is is the art I did for the most recent North American edition of Frederik Pohl’s GATEWAY (Ballantine/Del Rey). Grazie, fellas!

Been working away over here on several assignments, so I’m a bit late on the following. Just wanted to say thanks to a couple of folks. First, to SFRevu. They recently posted their Hugo Recommendations and were kind enough to list me amongst their suggested suspects in the Professional Artist category. Very appreciated. All terrific names in their list, and I’m pleased to see Brian W. Dow listed there as well. His most notable recent cover work was done for Pyr, and besides his really thoughtful covers, the guy is an absolutely amazing modelmaker. For a couple of his Pyr covers, he lovingly crafted spaceships out of household scraps and then used these models as references for his illustrations. I did the same thing on Mike Resnick’s STARSHIP: MUTINY and STARSHIP: PIRATE, but I have to hand it to Brian — his handiwork would make Industrial Light & Magic drool with envy. He’s good. So I’m happy to see him getting acknowledgement for his work. Lots of other terrific recommendations overall in the SF Revu Recommendation List, including Lou Anders for Best Professional Editor (Long Form), and Chris Roberson’s PARAGAEA (Novel).

Also thanks to John Klima, the mastermind at Electric Velocipede. He offered his Hugo thoughts and he listed COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO as a nominee in the Best Related Book category. COVER STORY is definitely eligible, as well as SPECTRUM 13: THE BEST IN CONTEMPORARY FANTASTIC ART and Jon Foster’s re/volution, amongst other 2006 releases. Good luck to Klima in the Hugo Best Editor (Short Form) category for his work on Electric Velocipede. SFRevu and Electric Velocipede are both excellent considerations in the Best Fanzine category.

Congrats to Rebecca Ore, Diana Gill, Jennifer Brehl, and the folks over at HarperCollins/Eos. Rebecca’s latest novel TIME’S CHILD scored a rock-solid “A-” review from SciFi.com. “Highly entertaining and creative, a story readers won’t forget.” Looks like Eos is running some thoughtful essays by Rebecca over at their blog. You should check these out, and definitely keep your eyes out for TIME’S CHILD which just released in bookstores everywhere yesterday. (In case you’re curious, here’s the full front cover art.) 🙂

I offered the following thoughts (or words to the effect) over in a comment on Lou Anders’ blog. Lou’s new anthology, FAST FORWARD 1: FUTURE FICTION FROM THE CUTTING EDGE, (published by Pyr), debuted this week via booksellers everywhere, and in fact, I just recently received a few comp copies from the publisher over here. In a nutshell, I’m so thrilled to be a part of this book. When I saw the finished product for the first time, I felt very fortunate to do what I do for a living. The reviews for the book are starting to roll in and it’s getting raves from many corners. I couldn’t be happier for Lou and Pyr.

As far as the cover goes, it’s no secret how much I admire Richard Powers and his art. Here’s an expanded version of my comment from Lou’s blog, regarding this cover:

Lou and I talked a lot about this one. More than anything, we talked about the editorial direction of the book and what territory he was trying to explore. I read his introduction early in the process. Incredibly inspiring. He and I talked a lot about Richard Powers and his effect on Ballantine’s covers in the ’50s. On Lou’s blog, he mentioned something about the cover “approximating some of Powers’ energy for our time.” I don’t want anyone to think that I equate myself with Powers, so I might clarify that by saying that the thing I love about Powers’ covers is that they challenge their audience. They refuse to be beauty pageant pieces that desparately preen to be liked for their surface polish. I think that’s one of the most powerful lessons in his art….they spoke to the audience of their time, and they did it on their own terms. So I guess if anything, I was attempting (and attempting is the keyword) to do the same with this cover. Lofty as that may sound. Of course, in the end, I look at the FF1 cover and as much as it’s one of my recent favorites, I see my own glaring shortcomings more than anything. I’ve got a long way to go….I’m already looking forward to FF2, so I can try again.

Here it is. I’m pleased to see COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO listed amongst LOCUS’ list of the best art books of 2006. Awesome.

Also especially pleased to see the following books on the list because I was fortunate to do covers for them:

THE EMPIRE OF ICE CREAM by Jeffrey Ford (Golden Gryphon)

THE MAN FROM THE DIOGENES CLUB by Kim Newman (MonkeyBrain Books)

FUTURESHOCKS, edited by Lou Anders (Penguin/Roc)

SCIENCE FICTION: THE VERY BEST OF 2005, edited by Jonathan Strahan (Locus Press)

FANTASY: THE VERY BEST OF 2005, edited by Jonathan Strahan (Locus Press)

MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE: PHILIP JOSE FARMER’S WOLD NEWTON UNIVERSE, edited by Win Eckert (MonkeyBrain Books)

BLOOD & THUNDER: THE LIFE & ART OF ROBERT E. HOWARD by Mark Finn (MonkeyBrain Books)

…is shaping up to be a fabulous show and we’re still two months away. First of all, congrats to Joe R. Lansdale for being recognized with the 2007 Grand Master Award, which will be given at this year’s WHC. That’s terrific news. The cover for the con’s Souvenir Book will be my art that first appeared on Joe’s BUMPER CROP collection (Golden Gryphon Press, 2004). And check out this Souvenir Book…you know how most cons do these as glossy magazines of varying quality? Hey, not this year’s WHC. These folks are blowing it out and doing a fabulous hardcover volume called TRAVELLERS IN DARKNESS, edited by the great Stephen Jones. Seriously, how many cons do their Souvenir Books as a hardcover giveaway? Macho! I can’t wait for this.

Check out the preliminary programme preview. There’s some really neat stuff happening. I’m very excited about the PS Publishing Launch Party at Toronto’s Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation, and Fantasy. How cool is that? You get to party AND take a tour of a historic collection of classic genre works. I’m so there. Peter Crowther, the man behind PS, will be the Publisher Guest of Honor this year and he’s releasing a really special tenth issue of his magazine POSTSCRIPTS in conjunction with the show. I did the cover art and the full lineup of writers in this issue is mind-blowing. If you haven’t already ordered one of these, you might want to stop reading this, and get one for yourself. Seriously. Michael Marshall Smith, Graham Joyce, Lucius Shepard, Tim Lebbon, Joe Hill, Stephen King, Connie Willis, and more…..pleeeease. Good lord.

Speaking of Michael Marshall Smith, I couldn’t be happier that he’s the Author Guest of Honor. He’s one of my favorites, a brilliant writer, and it’s great to see his works celebrated. I’m looking forward to spending time with all of the GOHs.

I could go on, and I probably will as the show approaches,(heck, I didn’t even mention that the Stoker Awards take place there this year) but the point is — WHC2007 is gonna be a wonderful con and if you’re not already registered, you should. Anyone out there have any favorite restaurant suggestions for Toronto?

Been busy over here, so I’m a little late on this. Revolution SF contributors Peggy Hailey and Rick Klaw have each recently released their lists for “What Is Best In Life” for 2006. I’m pleased to say that both have selected COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO amongst their favorite books from this past year. Thanks, folks! I was also pleased to see books by John Scalzi, Chris Roberson, Jeff Ford, Scott Cupp, and Mark Finn, amongst their choices. Peggy is not only RevolutionSF’s esteemed book editor, but she’s also a buyer for one of the finest independent bookstores in the country, BookPeople. Rick is Editor Emeritus over at RevSF, and is currently working on a biography of his famous grandfather Irving Klaw, “the King of Pin-up”.

As for this photo, BLOOD & THUNDER author Mark Finn channels his inner barbarian and displays the cover (illustrated by Yours Truly) of his highly-acclaimed Robert E. Howard biography. Check out Mark’s own edition of “What’s Best in Life (And The Tree of Woe) 2006.”