Strange Creatures

Outside the sun is shining but it's incredibly cold. In fact  I was out earlier this morning and there were a few flakes of snow in the air. Snow - in May! Maybe the Mayans had it right and we're approaching the end of the world.

Taking a little bit of a break from writing - well not really - and doing a bit more community work. I say not really because I'm drafting a new chapbook with an artist friend which we might try out with various publishers.

The subject of the book is Strange Creatures and it arose out of some of the stuff I've been doing for Career on odd creatures. A few people have been in contact with me with suggestions for future creatures on the Career blog site and I thought well why not do a bit of a chapbook on these entities. So when Andy contacted me - he worked on some of the books I'd done for Barrons Publishing in New York, it seemed too good an opportunity to turn down. Who'll publish it I don't know but we're putting a sampler of sorts together and hoping to do it like an old-style chapbook of odd and dark creatures which you probably won't find anywhere else. It's an interesting thing to do and keeps my hand in writing whilst I'm doing other things.

I'm also working with Gina at Career on the edits for A Haunted Mind the new Lovecraft book which will be out soon and after that American Vampires which i know some of you are patiently waiting on. After that I'm not sure and so the chapbook is a good way of keeping busy. Hopefully, it'll see the light of day although with the publishing world the way it is I wouldn't think it'll be any time soon - but you never know.

I've had an invite to address a convention in Cheyenne in Wyoming and I might go to that - at the moment we're sorting some of the practicalities out. So if I do and you happen to be in Wyoming around the 29th September, come up and make yourself known to me. I think I should go if we can get it sorted out as it would give me a chance to connect with my US readers.

If you read Chinese or Russian, I have three or four foreign editions out in those areas too. Maybe they'll give me an invite to go over there as well - one can always live in hope!

Anyway, hail is hitting the window and there's football on television I think so might take a break and go and watch that. I'll keep you all up to date about the possible Wyoming trip if we can get it up and running. And if the chapbook takes off we'll talk about that as well.

Things are moving if very slowly.