Full page @UnderTheJuniper Tree illustration

I decided to colorize the "Lobotomy Pie" illustration from the Twisted Vol. 1 book and submit it to the online kid's horror magazine Underneath the Juniper Tree. This would be how it turned out.

Juniper Tree has a blog that keeps up with their latest, but they also have all their back issues available for viewing online on Issuu.

Similar Dispositions: @UnderTheJuniper #ohyeah

I've found an online magazine that seems to be produced specifically for my twisted side. It's titled Underneath the Juniper Tree and is loaded with short stories and illustrations of horror for kids. If the magazine's title seems odd, it might not so much after you've seen where it comes from.

The Halloween issue comes out soon, and I've submitted (and they've accepted) an illustration for the occasion. I'll wait to post what I've submitted after the issue is released. No spoilers!

Something I can show you is the ad I designed and bought in this issue. That's a teeny tiny version above, but you can click on it to see it biggie-size. It's a full page ad, and I hope it sucks in some new readers who otherwise might not have known about the book.

Twisted: Vol. 2

Hey. Guess what.

I went and drew something new for Twisted: Tales to Rot Your Brain Vol. 2, and here it is:

It felt good getting back into it. I've been busy writing a novel for over a year now, and any kind of writing or illustrating for Twisted has taken a bit of a backseat. This illustration is page 7 of a graphic novel I had started for the first volume that didn't quite get finished in time so it got pushed aside until a later date.

You can see other pages from the story on the Hairy Eyeballs illustrations page.

Instigation: Creative Prompts on the Dark Side @MikeArnzen

As you may (or may not) know, Twisted: Tales to Rot Your Brain Vol. 1 owes a lot to the instigations of Mike Arnzen and his Twisted Prompts for Sicko Writers. For years I've been stealing his short, dark story prompts from the Gorelets blog and collecting them in a Word file that I revisit on occasion when I'm short on ideas.

Well, he's about to make the task a lot easier for me. He's collected the instigations from his Goreletter (along with additional prompts and goodies) and will be offering them up in an eBook this spring. You can get a copy for as little as $1 if you back his Kickstarter project "Fridge of the Damned," which serves as even more instigation. Jump in now; funding ends Feb. 1.

Appendectomy: The Final Sucking

Here's my final drawing for the chapter "Appendectomy" planned for use in Twisted Vol. 2. Can't wait to show my doctor. I think she'll approve.

Appendectomy

I had a few stories left over from Twisted Vol. 1 that weren't quite ready for prime time, and I decided to save them for Vol. 2, but last week I had my first new idea for Vol. 2 that I felt like I really needed to work on.

Here's the sketch:

It's what actually happens after you go in for surgery and they hit you with the Forget-Me Stick. Working title will be "Appendectomy."

I guess I've already given away the punchline, haven't I.

All Hallows Read

In case you didn't know about it, Neil Gaiman had an idea a couple of years ago that he called "All Hallow's Read" where, instead of (or in addition to, it doesn't really matter) giving candy at Halloween, you give a scary book instead. You can gift it, you can leave it somewhere, you can give it to a library. It doesn't really matter. All you really need to do is get people reading!

So, as in the past, I've designed a bookmark for the occasion. It's free to download and print as often as you like, and free to give away with that scary book you're going to give this Halloween. Download the hi-res pdf version on the Hairy Eyeballs Press site.

 

The font I used on the bookmark is called Canker Sore, and it was designed by John Martz.

As for scary books, may I suggest Twisted: Tales to Rot Your Brain Vol. 1? It's fun, it's scary, and it's just the thing to tuck your little ones in at night.