Just thought I'd post a quick 'Work in Progress' image of the illustration I'm doing today. It is one for Richard Tierney's forthcoming poetry collection 'SAVAGE MENACE' . This is the illustration for the title piece of the collection. Still a ways to go yet, and I should be finished tonight or early tomorrow.
Click on the image for a larger view.
- Location:The Kephra Memorial Library
- Mood:artistic
- Music:Jimi Hendrix - [The Ultimate Experience #08] Burning Of The Midnight Lamp
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gillpolack, a few reviews of my work have appeared over the past week or so and I'm going to post notice of them here :)First up,
felicitydowker has reviewed "SHARDS: Short Sharp Tales" over at Specusphere."The overall experience of Shards is that of a dizzying, vivid, frightening rollercoaster ride, plunging the reader repeatedly into dark and horrible places, only to climb up toward the light for a gulp of air before dropping sharply into another nightmare. All lovers of dark fiction will find something to cherish here, and those who appreciate high quality artwork will enjoy McKiernan's touches, too."
[read the full review]
Midnight Echo #2 has also been reviewed at Specusphere by Damien Smith. Of my story "The Message" he had this to say:
"Of course there are the traditional horror staples of blood and death. Particularly noteworthy among these is 'Sweet Music' by Shaun Jeffrey, which puts a unique spin on old fashioned creative pain. It would have won my prize for Biggest Reader Reaction if not for the lingering sense of sadness created from Andrew J. McKiernan's 'The Message'. "
[read the full review]
And the wonderful
azhure has also reviewed Midnight Echo #2 over at OzHorrorScope, and has some very nice things to say about "The Message":"'The Message' by Andrew J. McKiernan is the absolute standout in this issue. Again, a grounding in real life events gives this story real impact. There's a real emotional hit to this one that will linger long after you've closed the magazine."
[read the full review]
Thank you all for your kind words :)
- Location:The Kephra Memorial Library
- Mood:working
- Music:The Doors - [Morrison Hotel #10] Indian Summer
Anyway, I've looked through the answers I received for my Black Friday Shards Giveaway and made a decision.
The question was: What is your biggest fear?
navicat answered: FailureQuite a general answer, but one that is very real for pretty much every human on this planet (I think). Failure as a person, as a parent, failure in work, failure to find love or friendship, failure in accomplishing our own dreams. Its all pretty universal for us but - and here's the kicker - I think that FAILURE is also the thing that drives most of the human race to accomplish new and wonderful things! I know I'm always worried about failing in my writing - about an hour after I've finished writing anything it kicks in, overtaking any feelings of accomplishment I might have had. I also worry very much about failing as a husband and a father. But it is that fear of failure that makes me work that much harder in making all these things better. Without a fear of failure, humanity probably would have fallen on its arse a long, long time ago.
gillpolack answered: Being InvisibleI could me mean, and just pretend I didn't notice that answer at all, but this is also a big fear for many people I know. To be totally honest, Gillian is one of the least invisible people I've ever met. She's always there with great advice and wonderful writing - be it about fiction, history, food or all of the above - and she has one of the most wicked senses of humour I've ever encountered. Sometimes, with every going on in and around my life, I actually wish I was invisible. I'd probably hate it if I was, and the old adage of 'beware what you wish for' is probably the first thing Gillian will think of when she reads this. Nevertheless, Gillian, you'll never be invisible to me!
LJ newcomer
kazwald answered: Being Buried AliveThis one definitely appealed to my sense of morbidity. In this day and age of medical marvels and scientific investigation taphophobia is probably one of the fears least likely to occur. But still, the fear persists. Nowhere near as many people are actually 'buried' these days - cremation now seems to be the norm in the Western World - and you're more like to wake up on the autopsy table than six-feet-under. And yet, those feelings of isolation, of being trapped in darkness and slowly running out of oxygen (not too mention the almost impossible possibility of creepy crawlies in the sealed lead coffin with you) are as real today as when Edgar Allan Poe penned his tale 'Premature Burial' way back in 1844.
And so, with the themes inherent in the collection and the Black Friday nature of the competition, I award the copy of "SHARDS: Short Sharp Tales" to
kazwald!A big thanks to
gillpolack and navicat for revealing their fears to the world at large, and I'll see if I can rustle up some form of consolation prize for you both.kazwald, if you can email me at ashr @ tpg . com . au (remove the spaces) with your full name and a postal address, I'll try and get your copy in the mail within the next week or so.Remember, if you'd like a taste of what 'SHARDS' has to offer, check out the free PDF chapbook "SHARDS: Damned and Burning" available from http://www.brimstonepress.com.au
- Location:The Kephra Memorial Library
- Mood:working
- Music:Jeff Martin - [Live at the Corner Hotel #06] Coming Home
SHARDS GIVEAWAY!WIN A FREE COPY!
Today is the final day to win yourself a copy of 'Shards: Short Sharp Tales'. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me (in 100 words or less):
What is your biggest fear?
I'll choose a winner tonight, Monday the 16th. The choice of winner is mine and no correspondence will be entered into regarding it. I'll choose the answer I like best, so it is all down to a personal preference but I'll almost definitely go for the most interesting (and possibly unusual) fear that gets commented.
So far, there is only one entry. A sure winner unless others chime in soon.
So, off you go! You know you want to! There's a dark creepy book in it for you :)
- Mood:artistic
- Music:elbow - [starlings #01] seldom seen kid
It might be Friday the 13th but, as a horror writer, I have plenty to celebrate and be happy about at the moment. So happy, that I'm giving one LJ reader a chance to win a copy of 'Shards: Short Sharp Tales'!Firstly, on Tuesday the 10th November, my wife and I celebrated 20years since we first met by going out to dinner and seeing Jeff Martin and The Armada perform a particularly amazing performance at Lizotte's on the Central Coast. Jeff, Wayne Sheehy and former Newcastle lad Jay Cortez were in extreme intimate mode at one of the smallest, but best, venues I've ever been too. Lizotte's Kincumber is an awesome restaurant with great food and bands and musicians almost every night. A month ago we went there and saw Paul Dempsey solo, and going back next month to see Paul again. But, on such a small stage in so intimate a setting (so close we could touch the band), Jeff Martin and his new band were amazing! It was almost an acoustic gig, but that did nothing to diminish the power of his voice and energy he draws out of every song. It was a great selection of Armada songs, old Tea Party tunes and the odd cover mixed in (NIN's 'Hurt', The Beatles 'Within You Without You' and a few others I can't remember off-hand). As always, Sister Awake was the highlight for my wife and it was a great night for us to celebrate 20yrs of knowing each other! I've now spent more of my life WITH her, than the number of years I lived before I met her. I can barely remember a time when she wasn't there for me and I'm defintely looking forward to spending the next 20yrs of my life with her.
On top of all that, I've been informed that a couple of works I've been involved with have been recommended for nominations in the Horror Writers Association Bram Stoker Awards!
Firstly, my story "The Message" from Midnight Echo #2 has been recommended for 'Outstanding Achievment in Long Fiction'. Its still a long way from final ballot nomination, but the honour and thrill of just this much recognition is quite a dizzying feeling.
Second, "Shards: Short Sharp Tales" by Shane Jiraiya Cummings has been recommended for 'Outstanding Achievement in a Fiction Collection'. Shards was very much a labour of love for Shane and I. The marriage of his dark and disturbing flash fiction with my illustrations. Specusphere has described Shards as "...a dizzying, vivid, frightening rollercoaster ride, plunging the reader repeatedly into dark and horrible places, only to climb up toward the light for a gulp of air before dropping sharply into another nightmare."
If you haven't read Shards yet, you can always download the free PDF Chapbook "Shards: Damned and Burning" from Brimstone Press which contains stories and illustrations not included in the full book and get a feel for it (http://www.brimstonepress.com.au/) or, if you'd like you're own copy of 'Shards: Short Sharp Tales' see the Giveaway a little further down in this post.
Sinister Reads - a sister site to the Australian Horror Writers Association - has been wonderful enough to profile myself (as well as the other Australian Stoker recommended authors) on their website (see: http://sinisterreads.wordpress.com/) in hope of drumming up a bit more publicity and recognition for us all. I've been profiled today, along with Felicity Dowker (
felicitydowker) and Matt Venne. Check it out: http://sinisterreads.wordpress.com/2009/1SHARDS GIVEAWAY!
WIN A COPY!
And, in celebration of all this, I'm giving away a copy of 'Shards: Short Sharp Tales' to one lucky LJ reader. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me (in 100 words or less):
What is your biggest fear?
I'll choose a winner on Monday the 16th. The choice of winner is mine and no correspondence will be entered into regarding it. I'll choose the answer I like best, so it is all down to a personal preference but I'll almost definitely go for the most interesting (and possibly unusual) fear that gets commented.
So, off you go! There's a dark creepy book in it for you :)
- Location:The Kephra Memorial Library
- Mood:
chipper - Music:The Armada - [The Armada #05] Morocco
Conflux has been and gone and, most disappointingly, this year I had to miss it. A number of books were launched there though in which I had some involvement.
Slice of Life, a collection of short stories by Paul Haines (
paulhaines) was launched by Stuart Mayne's new press The Mayne Press . I did the cover and internal layout and design. I'm still waiting to find out how this book can be ordered online (hopefully sorted this week), but I have to say this is a MUST HAVE book. Awesome writing, disturbing and heartbreaking stories, and all proceeds go directly to the Paul Haines cancer fund.Eneit Press released two books:
Gillian Polack's (
gillpolack) novel Life Through Cellophane is a slightly dark (but not too much so) 'suburban-horror' novel that the author and publisher describe as "latte suburban horror". It is available from http://www.eneitpress.com/books.php?isbn=9And the second anthology in the acclaimed "In Bad Dreams" anthology series is also here! In Bad Dreams 2: Where Death Stalks is an anthology with, unlike Life Through Cellophane, no milk or sugar in its dark and bitter tales of horror. It includes 11 stories by authors such as Martin Livings (
martinlivings), Stephanie Gunn (azhure), Gillian Polack (gillpolack), and myself. I also did the internal layout and the cover design for this one too.SHARDS: Short Sharp Tales, with stories by Shane Jiraiya Cummings and illustrations by me, is also currently still available from Brimstone Press (http://www.brimstonepress.com.au/). Keep your eye on my LJ over the next few days for your chance to win a copy!
- Location:The Kephra Memorial Library
- Mood:busy, busy, busy
- Music:elbow - [Asleep In The Back #05] Bitten By The Tailfly
Click on the image for a larger view.
Or view all the covers in order
- Location:The Kephra Memorial Library
- Mood:busy
- Music:Paul Dempsey - [Eveything is True #02] Fast Friends
martinlivings) and Cat Sparks (catsparx) both have some very nice things to say about my writing over on Martin's LJ.Martin gives a mini-review of the recent Midnight Echo #2, and my story "The Message" receives some high praise indeed.
Cat chimes in with a comment on how my story 'The Dumbshow' was possibly her favourite story from the CSFG Masques anthology.
Coming from two writers who I admire quite a bit, comments like these really mean a lot to me. Thank you both, and I'm really glad you enjoyed the stories.
- Location:The Kephra Memorial Library
- Mood: happy
- Music:Paul Dempsey - [Eveything is True #03] Out The Airlock
Chimaera Publications, publishers of Aurealis magazine, will be launching a series of six books at Worldcon 2010 (Aussiecon 4) reprinting some long-forgotten classics of Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy. Featuring introductions from some of the biggest names in Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy, these are going to be a great set of books to have on your shelf, and a marvellous collection of Australian history.
Here are my draft cover designs for the first 5 books in the series.
- Location:The Kephra Memorial Library
- Mood:busy
- Music:Tea Party, The - [The Edges Of Twilight #06] Sister Awake
Our wonderful (less than 12mth old) wide-screen plasma died on Thursday night. The power just went at 7.30pm and that was it.
Its still under warranty - it was only manufactured in Sept 2008 so its not even 12mths out of the factory - but it will apparently take 2-3 weeks to fix and return to us.
2 - 3 Weeks!! No TV. No DVDs. No Playstation.
If you read about a family of four on the Central Coast murdering each other over the next few weeks, you'll know why.
- Location:The Kephra Memorial Library
- Mood:
annoyed - Music:Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - [The Best of #02] Red Right Hand
Via
ellen_datlow's LJ today, I found out about this post (More Diversity and More Perversity in the Future!) by author John C. Wright.His statements about 'Natural Law' and homosexuality just make me sick!
Now, I agree, no story (tv, film or book) should ever feel the need to bend to pressure from an outside source just to include their point-of-view. Such things only serve to undermine the strength of story-telling. But, his views are just so wrong - just so ignorant of the scientific facts surrounding homosexuality in the animal kingdom (humans included) - that I can never offer that man another cent of royalties from my own pocket.
A big shame, because I loved his Golden Age trilogy (possibly the best Science Fiction series written in the few decades), really ate up his Everness duology, and (mostly) enjoyed his Chronicles of Chaos. But, not another cent from me! Ever!
- Location:The Kephra Memorial Library
- Mood: cranky
- Music:Artie Shaw - [The Genius Of #1/12] Nightmare
Here are a couple of excerpts:
"Cummings is coming at you with splintered tales of the macabre that will reverberate with you long after you have finished the book."
"Shane Jiraiya Cummings with Shards shows he is not only a master of the flash fiction style of writing but has pretty much written the definitive statement on how it should work. The collection is a strong statement on the validity of an internet driven writing style and is a must have for any collector of Australian Dark Fiction. If you love dark fiction or have ever wondered what flash fiction is about then Shards should speak to you in language that you will understand."
"McKiernan draws in black and white, always an advantage if wanting to hit stark themes without overly cluttering the visual with colour, and clearly has a grasp on what Shane Jiraiya Cummings is after in Shards. It might be just me but I took a sort of 1930s film noir art deco feeling away from McKiernan's work in the book. Hey I'm not an art critic but McKiernan's stylings were working for me here."
Thanks, Jeff, for the absolutely wonderful write-up!
You can read the full review at: http://www.scaryminds.com/reviews/book11.p
- Location:The Kephra Memorial Library
- Mood:working
- Music:Okkervil River - [The Stage Names #1/10] Love To A Monster
nyssa_p, here are some photos of my beautiful cat, Cobweb, lounging in the sun on the porch of her summer cottage.She spends the nights inside (that's inside the big human house, not the cottage) but most of the day, now that the weather is warming up, you'll find her sleeping on her porch and basking in the sun.
She's still not too happy with me putting sun-block on her nose every morning, but she's getting used to it. If she's going to spend so much time there I'm not going to take the risk of sun cancers on her pink little nose.
- Location:The Kephra Memorial Library
- Mood: chipper
- Music:Something for Kate - [The Murmur Years (CD 1) #07] You Only Hide
Aurealis #42 has now been released and copies have been sent to subscribers. You can also order a copy direct from the Aurealis website.Featuring another brilliant cover by Adam Duncan, and stories by Lucy Sussex, Rick Kennett, Trent Jamieson, Jason Fischer and Geoffrey Maloney, this is definitely one of Aurealis' darker issues.
Issue #42 also includes my own story "The Haunting that Jack Built" - I don't think my name ranks with the above featured authors quite yet, but I think I'm getting there.
If you're not a subscriber to Aurealis, you should become one! Otherwise, you can always order individual copies for the mere price of $12.50 for Australian readers. That's a bargain for 8 pieces of shiny new fiction, an interview with Greg Egan, another episode of Xtreme Science by Patricia L O'Neill, and a whole heap of book reviews.
Head over to the website to check it out and order your copy: http://www.aurealis.com.au
- Location:The Kephra Memorial Library
- Mood: cheerful
- Music:Tori Amos - [Tales of a Librarian: A Tori Amos Collection #17] Tear in Your Hand
In all my rush to complete writing and illustrating deadlines over the past week I forgot to post about one event that was very important to me...
"Shards: Short Sharp Tales" by Shane Jiraiya Cummings (author) and myself (illustrator) has finally become a reality!
It's not a good photo - my real camera has no batteries and the phone camera is crap - but it does show that this book is now a real, physical entity.
After 3yrs of work between Shane and myself, and numerous personal and publication set-backs, it has all finally come to fruition.
So, what is "Shards"?
It is a collection of 31 dark flash-fiction stories by Shane, each one with a full page illustration by me. You can see a few of those illustrations over at my main website Gallery - www.andrewmckiernan.com - but here is the one for the story "Congo Jenga" (click for a larger view):
And what are others saying about "Shards"?
"With SHARDS author Shane Jiraiya Cummings and artist Andrew J. McKiernan take us on a guided tour of the darkest backroads of the imagination. It is wonderfully moody and creepy."
– Jonathan Maberry, multiple Bram Stoker Award-winning author of PATIENT ZERO and THE WOLFMAN
“Shards cuts you right open and then sets about infecting the wound. Cummings' prose is as the title suggests: short, sharp, and deadly. The tales themselves are relentless, battering you with their suggestive intensity or mocking with bleak humour. Add to this darkly disturbing illustrations by Andrew McKiernan and Shards is one hell of a nightmare.”
– Dr Marty Young, President, Australian Horror Writers Association.
“If flash fiction is the distinctive form of our internet age—and everything points that way—then I can’t think of a better demonstration of the art than Shards.”
– Richard Harland, award-winning author of The Black Crusade and Worldshaker.
"Shards offers a worthy selection of short-short stories that reflects the author’s prominence in the contemporary upsurge of 'flash fiction' among Australian horror writers. Fans of the short-short form will welcome this darkly entertaining foray into a world gone subtly—and at times unsubtly—askew, from one of Australia’s 'new bloods' of horror. Combined with a wealth of evocative illustrations from Andrew McKiernan, Shards represents a unique horror experience."
– Robert Hood, the 'Godfather of Aussie Horror' and award-winning author of Creeping in Reptile Flesh.
"This is how flash fiction should be written – sharp, brilliant images conjured by amazingly few words. Cummings’ aptitude for flash fiction is evident in every carefully chosen phrase."
– Stephanie Gunn, HorrorScope
"Shards is a maelstrom of images that delivers to the reader intense stories, and repeated sucker punches to their emotions."
– Sharyn Lilley, Eneit Press
"Reading Shards is like being strapped to a rocket, once you're on you can't get off till the end."
– Stuart Mayne, Editor Aurealis Magazine
You can order a copy directly from Brimstone Press for $17.95 AUD (+postage).
Or you can go into any bookshop and, if they don't have a copy on their shelves, ask them to order one (or two, or three, or four) through Tower Distribution using the following details:
Shards: Short Sharp Tales
By Shane Jiraiya Cummings
Illustrated by Andrew J McKiernan
Published by Brimstone Press - August 2009
ISBN: 978-0-9805677-2-4
- Location:The Kephra Memorial Library
- Mood:
tired - Music:Antony And The Johnsons - [The Crying Light #06] Another World
Just added my website Gallery - my illustration for Mark Farrugia's story "Santa's Little Bitch", to appear in the Tasmaniac Publications anthology "Festive Fear" later this year.Click on the image for a full size view.
I'll be spending the day in bed - that's something I can't remember doing in years. But, I think I need the rest.
After churning out 2,342 fairly decent words on Saturday, I followed it up the next day with a further 2,068 words.
That brings the story up to a total word count (after a few minor edits here and there) of 10,996 words. Just a little over the original editorial request of 5,000 words.
Today? I've got a stack of illustrations to start working through and, if I've got time, emails to answer!
- Location:The Kephra Memorial Library
- Mood:
anxious - Music:Xera - [Lliendes #07] Ñubes
2,342 words.
I think that might be a new daily record for me.
Back to it then...
**EDIT** Sorry for ignoring all your emails and comments over the last couple of days, but I'm going to get this thing finished before I reply to anyone. That should be sometime this afternoon if things go even half as well as yesterday.
- Location:The Kephra Memorial Library
- Mood:enthusiastic
- Music:The Beatles - [Abbey Road #01] Come Together
Looks like I definitely needed to step back and take a break for a day or two.
8,788 words in total and heading into the final two or three scenes.
I might even be back for more after dinner.
- Location:The Kephra Memorial Library
- Mood:enthusiastic
- Music:Editors - [The Back Room [Bonus Tracks] #04] Fall
