"there is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion" Sir Frances Bacon, "Of Beauty, Essays" 1625
Magpie’s Ladder, my illustrated collection of short stories, is currently available for pre-order. Copies of the unsigned edition are expected at PS Publishing at the end of May! I am currently signing the signature sheets for the signed editions. Please check the PS Publishing website for more information.
Here is a sampling of the illustrations:
Richard
This past week was productive. I handed in all of the artwork for Magpie’s Ladder (my forthcoming short story collection) to PS Publishing. Unfortunately I can’t show it to you yet, though if you follow me on Instagram you might have glimpsed some of the work in progress.
Instead, I am showing you this new watercolor piece called Crown of Coral. After a long, monochromatic winter I am in the mood for some color work. I hope you enjoy this piece. I have made it available on my Etsy site for a low price.
Work continues on edits for my new novel, Tailor of Echoes.
Richard
Following a very busy autumn, I’m now finally sitting down to plan creative work for 2017.
My new novel Necessary Monsters is scheduled to be published by Resurrection House/ Arche Press in May. I thought I’d share the description from the distributor’s website.
Lumsden Moss is an escaped thief and an unrepentant bibliophile with a long-suffering desire to foist some karmic retribution on those who have wronged him. But when the opportunity to steal a rare book from the man who sentenced him to prison puts him on the wrong side of the wrong people, Moss finds himself on the run. And it’s not just the book he stole that these people want, it’s also the secrets of a long-forgotten location on Nightjar Island, a place cursed and abandoned since the Purge.
When Moss falls in with Imogen, a nimble-fingered thief who has taken a traveling bookcase filled with many secrets, he starts to realize how much of his unsavory past is indelibly tied to a frightening witch-child and her nightmarish pet monster.
In a fantastic world, still recovering from a war where magic and technology were fused together, Moss and Imogen must decipher the mystery of their mutual pasts in order to illuminate the dark heart that still lurks on Nightjar Island.
I thought I’d share my progress to date on The Dark Seed. It took a bit of a back seat to Bells Call Others, but it’s not unusual for me to have several drawing on the go at once. This strategy is necessary as pointillism is by its nature a slow technique. Having a few drawings in play allows me to keep my interest high, and my eyes rested.
As time permits I’m also working on getting 2 books ready for printing, a novel (Necessary Monsters) and a collection of 5 short stories (Magpie’s Ladder). I’m working toward having them both out for 2016 under the Radiolaria Studios imprint. Time is needed to produce the illustrations and as anxious as I am to have them out in the world, I want to make sure the illustrations are perfect. I will no doubt be posting samples in the months to come.
On the subject of books, a little bit of poking around on the internet revealed that Tome II: Melancholia has been received by the publisher 44Flood. If you are not aware, Tome is a sumptuous art book featuring many artists, and interviews where the artists talk about their work. My work is included and I was fortunate enough to be interviewed by the author Clive Barker. As soon as I get a copy in hand I’ll post some images. In the meantime, follow the links for more information.
That’s it for now.
– Richard.
