Into the Words

The smoking skeleton is metaphorical, somehow.

The Body Politic: Order It Now!

It's here! The Body Politic: A Parable for the Twenty-first Century is now available to order on Amazon for only $8.99.

The 120-page book contains three stories:

“All the girls at Ellen’s eleventh birthday party were having a great time until her pinkie finger fell off.” Like any pandemic, it started with just a few isolated cases that couldn’t be easily explained. But even after it took hold around the world, scientists could find no cause, no common source, no traceable vector. Could that eleven-year-old girl, one of the plague’s earliest victims, discover the cause and the cure that even science could not fathom in “The Body Politic”?

In “The Perfect Gift,” Matthew has found the most amazing birthday present for Joan. But a gift this personal might reveal once and for all his secret feelings for her. What if she finally understands that he loves her? Or worse, what if she doesn’t?

What would you do if you won the world’s first trillion-dollar lotto? You can guess what Eldridge does with his winnings in the story titled “The Man Who Bought the Moon,” but he soon learns that owning all that lunar real estate isn’t as satisfying as he had hoped, as each new day begins with the same question: What next?

My thanks again to Rue Sparks for the great cover image, and to my writers critique group, Indy Pen to Paper, for helping me mold these stories into something I can be proud of. I hope you enjoy them.

A Word to the Whys

Can I have a word with you? How about a few dozen?

The Body Politic: Cover Reveal

I am giddy to announce that Rue Sparks has put the finishing touches on the cover of my forthcoming book The Body Politic, and I couldn't be happier. Here it is!

They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but feel free to make an exception in this case.

Working with an illustrator to craft the concept and then fine-tune the details was a new experience for me. Although the book contains three stories, “The Body Politic” is the centerpiece and the one I wanted the cover image to focus on.

I talked Rue briefly through the story when I first raised the possibility of commissioning them to create this cover. I didn't commit to anything right away, but Rue immediately came up with some rough sketches that got me thinking. I sent the email to actually commit to the commission the day my coronavirus stimulus check dropped into my bank account.

Then, over the next two weeks or so, Rue emailed sketches of ideas, possible color schemes, and reference pieces. I gave some feedback and suggestions and asked some questions, and, at the end, we landed on a rough sketch that I was excited about:

Then Rue made a transfer image, with new lettering, that would be used for the final image. It was my last chance to make any changes! (I didn't have any.)

From this sketch, Rue completed the image in pencil, putting in all the wonderful shading and details. What’s more, they did it in a livestream on Twitch; you can watch the previous image turn into the next one on Rue’s Twitch channel.

Finally, Rue took the image into Photoshop for the finishing touches — color! — and voilà!

I hope to have The Body Politic available to order very soon (it depends in part on Amazon). Follow me on Twitter and/or Facebook for the latest, and, of course, watch this space!

Words with Fiends

Is there a word in English for something we don't have a word for in English?