Hosho McCreesh's Blog, page 8
March 23, 2022
On the House...
Seems there’s been a little trouble finding the SMOL FAIR freebies, and, well, that’s a crying shame!
We love what they’re doing with the SMOL FAIR, and want everyone else to love it too!
So I’m re-linking to the freebies here:
Free copy of the CICADA ebook (over at Smashwords)
Free download code for the full-length
A DEEP & GORGEOUS THIRST - UNABRIDGED AUDIO
(at Author’s Direct)
Want 20% off any order at our store during the SMOL FAIR? Just enter the code:
Lastly, this Saturday afternoon…
March 19, 2022
One SMOL Step for the Small Press...
The Eagle has landed! Starting today, DrunkSkull Books is proud to take part, once again, in the SMOL FAIR — a truly independent, free-to-all book fair that puts small presses on display for all to discover. There are so many places, readings, and events to check out that you probably can’t see them all — but that shouldn’t stop you from enjoying whatever you can!
To celebrate, here at the HQ we’re doing a few things:
1) As you may have seen from that annoying pop-up (I know, I know, but hear me out!) we’re giving away free digital stuff. And it ain’t nothing to sneeze at either! You can get a free copy of the CICADA ebook (over at Smashwords) or you can get a free download of A DEEP & GORGEOUS THIRST - UNABRIDGED AUDIO (code works at Author’s Direct). That’s just for stopping by (while the digital supplies last)!
2) We’re also offering a sale here at the STORE. Just enter the code 20SMOL$AVINGS at checkout to receive 20% off your order. So it’s a great time to catch up on any titles you (or a friend) might be missing.
3) Lastly, we’re hosting a DRUNK POEM ANIMATION WATCH PARTY to wrap up the SMOL festivities, on:
Saturday, March 26, 2022
2pm - 2:30pm Pacific
3pm - 3:30pm Mountain
4pm - 4:30pm Central
5pm - 5:30pm Eastern
(Apologies to our overseas friends for the late/early hour!)
We’ll look at our most recent animation from start to finish (that’s storyboards to finished claymation), talk a bit about the DrunkSkull Philosophy of making stuff in the hopes that others might be inspired too, and close with as many animations as we can squeeze in between chats and questions. It should be a quick half-hour, and we’d love to see you there if your schedule allows.
March 10, 2022
The Low Grumble of Thunder...
Years ago, I had this little ditty published by Six Sentences and, well, I’ve always had a soft spot for it. Mel Bosworth also made a terrific recording of it and — while it’s never appeared anywhere else — I loved just knowing it was out there in the world. I went looking for that terrific recording not too long ago, and unfortunately it seems it has been lost to the vagaries and slow degradation of the interwebs.
The piece has always had exactly the right feel for a more cinematic treatment…and, well, I finally got around to finding the talent folks needed to realize that visual dream! If only I had Mel’s voice to go with it! Oh well, we’ll have to settle for mine. So here we are, years after its original publication, checking yet another little bit off the to-do list of forever.
And Marc Hamill (not that one, I don’t think!) really did It up, really understanding the mood and feel I was after in the piece was after. And when that happens, it always feels like I owe the fates a little thank you…so thank you!
If interested, you can watch other fun stuff over at the Audio/Video, Misc. Page.
March 6, 2022
SMOL: Drunk Poem Animation Virtual Watch Party! (Save the Date!)
In support of the terrific and truly independent SMOL FAIR, DrunkSkull Books and the Dead Bird Gang are proud to offer up a drunk poem animation watch party!
Saturday, March 26, 20222pm - 2:30pm Pacific
3pm - 3:30pm Mountain
4pm - 4:30pm Central
5pm - 5:30pm Eastern
(Apologies to our overseas friends for the late hour!) Event Page
It's an early salvo in what promises to be a years-long campaign to create animations for all of the poems from A DEEP & GORGEOUS THIRST. From rotoscoping to traditional 2D animation to claymation, the poems are brought to life by animators and narrators the world over!
We'll start with the PREMIER our latest animated poem, THIRST #125, followed by a deeper dive into the actual production of it -- to include sharing both the original storyboards and nuts-and-bolts of our basic process. With any luck, it might get fellow writers and presses dreaming bigger, and thinking further outside their promotions box when banging the drum for their own projects!
That will be followed by a handful of other animated drunk poems:
THIRST #3 - Tina LaTurner-McCreesh/Romana Vashtar (0:33)
THIRST #26 - Ben Tanzer/MusicAnimation (1:25)
THIRST #28 - Bastien Chiarini/stoniends (with music by the mighty Leeches of Lore!) (0:58)
THIRST #50 - Walevske Perez-Herrera/Tharinda Dharmasena (1:22)
THIRST #140 - Willy Vlautin/Mattia Adorni (1:45)
We'll close with a brief chat/Q&A.
February 28, 2022
WATCH The ENTIRE 3-Minute Film Festival!
The Santa Fe Reporter has put together a video of the entire 3-Minute Film Festival, for your viewing pleasure! One of the THIRST animated drunk poems finished third, and you can see it, and all the other films here!
As always, we’re working on more here at the HQ, so keep your eyes peeled. If you want to watch more animated drunk poems, here’s how:
Watch moreFebruary 9, 2022
A Liquid Text Drunk Poem with Ben Tanzer...
The ANIMATED good times just keep on rolling — with this new drunk poem animation about some of those lousy ‘ol party times!
[Animator] brings your friend and mine, Ben Tanzer’s, terrific reading to liquid, dripping, boozy life in this latest installment of our probably-years-long ANIMATED DRUNK POEMS project. Share the word far & wide!
February 1, 2022
Cicada: Free eBook
We’re happy to offer up the free ebook version of CICADA to any and all — available at Smashwords.
Share it with anyone you think might be interested!
January 24, 2022
The Cicada Has Landed!
At long last (supply chain delays be damned!), we’ve got CICADA in-house and orders will be shipping out directly!
For all who’ve already ordered: I truly can’t thank you enough for your patience. I hate hate hate being late on a release date, but I suppose sometimes things are simply beyond our control. So we do our best, move forward, and try to learn from the process! Any-who…expect a little something extra in your long-delayed orders, as it seemed the least I could do.
It’s been terrific to work, again, with Sean Lynch, and to really take stock of specifically one piece, try to chronicle it from start to finish to better understand what happen with it, and how. It’s easy to lose sight of these subtle kinds of magic in the hustle and bustle of working on whatever’s next. The simple truth is, anything reaching anyone beyond folks we directly know is a kind of miracle, and even when looking deeply at it, there’s just no way to ever fully grasp how a piece connects with others. In fact, since the book was sent off to the printer, I did another cursory search and discovered a couple more tattoos, and even a touching instance where the poem used was a metaphor for someone’s transition into their preferred self. As ever, I am humbled and surprised by everyone who feels a kinship with the poem. And I’m grateful to witness the continued magic of all of this.
If you’re interested in a copy (or a T-shirt, or both!) — the button below will get you there.
January 18, 2022
Willy Vlautin's Little Joe [a Short Film]
Somehow this gorgeous gem slipped past me, so I wanted to make sure that didn’t happen to you! I don’t have any affiliation with this, unless you count me as a fan — which I am! I guess I just like sharing things when they inspire me.
It’s a great short story, set to some sweeping Western landscapes — it’s classic Willy, and something all short story writers should be doing! Hopefully I’ll get my act together and eventually do something like this too. Until then, grab a beer and 23 minutes or so to enjoy it.
December 28, 2021
180 Seconds...(or less!)
Welp, whatd’ya know…the kind folks at the Santa Fe Reporter have not only revitalized the film festival circuit with what they’re calling, “the return of that sweet film festival, 3 minute style,” they’ve also invited one of our drunk poem animations to be involved!
It’s this little ditty, narrated by Sean Lynch and animated by Mattia Adorni.
The annual film fest, sponsored by the Santa Fe Reporter and held at the Center for Contemporary Arts, aims to, “celebrate all that cinema that is short, sweet and to the point.” We’re pleased as punch that one of our drunk poems fit belongs on the podium! So a tip of the hat to NM’s local cinematic talent — I’m looking forward to seeing what you all are up to! Viva la small press! And long live the DrunkSkull!
In other news…CICADA is delayed until Mid-January at the earliest. My sincere apologies!
