K.M. Alexander's Blog, page 46

My Top Five Posts of 2017

As many of you know, I’ve been doubling down on my blog versus sharing and spending time on social media. This blog and my newsletter, Dead Drop, are the best locations to discover what I am working on and find major announcements. I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

Since the year is wrapping up, I thought it’d be great to revisit the most popular posts I’ve shared in 2017. I’m actually really excited about this list. A lot of work went into the posts in this top five, work I was proud to share. It’s nice to see people found them enjoyable. (I’m considering my experiment a success.) So let’s take a look at the best of the best! We’ll start at number five and work our way to number one.

[image error] 5. Making Magnificent Mountains

It’s no secret that I love making maps, and I am a minor participant within several communities across the internet dedicated to the mapmaking process. So I’m not surprised that when I offered a set of 19th-century hachure-style topographical brush for download that people were interested. I plan on more offerings like this one in the future.

[image error] 4. Riverboats at War

This year I started sharing research for my manuscript, Coal Belly, in particular, research surrounding American steamboats. In these posts, I offer bits of knowledge and include a whole mess of photos gleaned from the historical record. (Usually the Library of Congress) War, and the history of war, always captures people’s attention, and this post about the brown water navy used in the American Civil War sparked excitement.

[image error] 3. How Passenger Airships Work

Airships have always been something of an interest for me. But I never quite understood how they worked as passenger transport. I thought everyone crammed into the small gondola that hung below. So for my own education, I looked into it. What I discovered was something that many others found fascinating making this one of my most visited posts for the year.

[image error] 2. Hunting the Yellow Sign

Robert Chambers’ collection of short stories, The King in Yellow, features some of my favorite cosmic horror tales. For years, I’ve seen a wide variety of artist renditions of the titular king’s yellow sign, but none of them quite hit the mark. I too wanted to know more. What was this mysterious symbol? How it was described in the work? Why was it rendered in various ways? I wanted to see if I could get to the bottom of this mystery. And a great many of you were just as engaged. Did we solve the secret of the yellow sign? Well, you’ll just have to read to find out.

And the number one post of the year is…

[image error] 1. The 2017 Lovecraft-Inspired Holiday Gift Guide

My Lovecraftian Holiday gift guide is always incredibly popular, so it is no surprise that this post ended up being my number one post for the year. (Despite being the youngest on this list.) It’s full of fantastic gift ideas for yourself or the cosmic-horror fans in your life. I make sure to try and find items for every budget. If you have an idea for next years list, why not shoot me an email and let me know.

So those are the top five posts of the year! I want to extend a huge THANK YOU to those who read, subscribe, and share the stuff I post here on I Make Stories. You make it all worthwhile. Thanks for making 2017 one of the best years for this blog, and stick around, there’s a lot more to come in 2018.

 

Revisiting Lovecraft’s Holiday Poetry

For the last few years, I’ve been sharing H. P. Lovecraft’s strange yuletide poetry here on the blog. Since we’re in the middle of the 2017 Holiday Season (you can tell because it’s snowing), I figured it’d be fun to revisit his poems and collect them into a single place. So sit back, pour yourself some eggnog, mulled wine, or a mug of spiced cider and settle in for some heartwarming “Lovecraftian” poetry.

If you want something creepy, try…

[image error] Yule Horror

Lovecraft’s creepy Christmas Poem! It’s got cannibals, chanting, feasts, death, and “pow’rs”! I mean what more could you want in a creepy Christmas poem?

If you want something a bit cheesy…

[image error]Christmas

Lovecraft writes a Hallmark Holiday Card! It’s saccharine and silly, not something you’d suspect from the grandpappy of cosmic horror.

If you’re seeking a poem for a cat, consider…

[image error]Christmas Greetings to Felis

Lovecraft’s wrote a poem for Frank Belknap Long’s cat. No seriously, he sent the cat a poem. Not Frank, the cat, Felis. Happy Christmas, Felis. Sorry, Frank.

If you’re really into cats and that last poem wasn’t enough…

[image error]Christmas Greetings to Felis #2

Lovecraft’s really loved that cat, I guess.

If you’re looking for Santa-related poetry, don’t worry…

[image error]Christmas Greetings To Eugene B. Kuntz et al.

Gotta go for the classics. This is a Lovecraft poem about Santa: presents, chimneys, and stuff!

If none of those work, and for everything else…

[image error]See Lovecraft’s other little poems here

You’ll find a few other bits of poetry in this post, from winters greetings to descriptions of pigeons in flight. You know, plenty for everyone!

Lovecraft was both a prolific poet and a prolific Christmas-themed poet. There are a few more poems out there that I’m going to track down over the next year. So enjoy this recap this year and tune in next Holiday Season for more of H. P. Lovecraft’s Christmas poetry.

Want to stay in touch with me? Sign up for Dead Drop, my rare and elusive newsletter. Subscribers get news, previews, and notices on my books before anyone else delivered directly to their inbox. I work hard to make sure it’s not spammy and full of interesting and relevant information.  SIGN UP TODAY →

Filed under: Random

A Riverboat’s Pilothouse

If the boilers are the heart, the engines the muscles, then the pilothouse is the brain of the riverboat. This small room perched high above the deck controls the steamboat. It is here where the pilot holds court, directing the engines, calling for leads, watching the waters, and guiding the big boat safely along its course.

Pilothouses came in all shapes and sizes, some were fanciful, onion-domed, and decorated with wooden designs known as gingerbread. Others were simple and austere, with little to no decorations and flat-roofed. Early pilothouses were open to the elements, while later pilothouses were glassed in to protect the pilot from the weather.

[image error]The expansive pilothouse of an unknown towboat

The enormous spoked pilotwheel was the focal point of the room. It rose arcing from the floor and connected to a tiller rope giving the pilot command of the steamboat’s rudders. Wheels varied in size, but most were quite large. The Steamer Sprague had an enormous wheel that measured over thirteen feet.

[image error] Speaking tube onboard the Str. W.P. Snyder Jr.

Communication between the pilothouse and the engine room varied from boat to boat. Before the inventions of the engine-order telegraph, pilots communicated by signaling the engineers via bells-and-gongs systems. Bells ropes were pulled and down below bells rang signaling the engineers to stop, start, and reverse engines. Many boats also had a series of hollow (usually one way) speaking tubes which allowed the pilot to get a little more creative in their communication. (See Mark Twain’s copious notes in Life on the Mississippi describing the flowery cursing that was common among pilots and crew.)

Most pilothouses had stoves to keep the pilot warm, and a lazy bench as seating for visitors and guests. Large bells on the roof of the boat signaled the leadsman. Whistles, often controlled by treadles on the floor, allowed the pilot to blow the steam whistle.

Mark Twain, served as Horace Ezra Bixby’s cub pilot on the steamer Paul Jones, a 172′ sidewheeler out of Pittsburgh. He described her pilothouse as “cheap, dingy, battered rattle-trap, cramped for room” but after the Jones, he and his mentor spent some time on a much larger and finer vessel1 and the pilothouse there was entirely different:

“…here was a sumptuous glass temple; room enough to have a dance in; showy red and gold window-curtains; an imposing sofa; leather cushions and a back to the high bench where visiting pilots sit, to spin yarns and ‘look at the river;’ bright, fanciful ‘cuspadores’ instead of a broad wooden box filled with sawdust; nice new oil-cloth on the floor; a hospitable big stove for winter; a wheel as high as my head, costly with inlaid work; a wire tiller-rope; bright brass knobs for the bells; and a tidy, white-aproned, black ‘texas-tender,’ to bring up tarts and ices and coffee during mid-watch, day and night.”

—Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi

My new novel Coal Belly is a weird-west steampunky fantasy set on a planet crisscrossed by interlocking rivers. It’s a rough-and-tumble place where riverboats are omnipresent and necessary for everyday life. One of the main characters in the novel is a riverboat pilot, and learning the ins and outs of the pilothouse, how a pilot moved, and how they behaved in their domain was key to making my pilot an authentic character. I’m still hard at work on editing the manuscript (which I finished earlier this year), but I believe people will enjoy reading about her adventures among the Thousand Streams.

Below are some images of pilots and pilothouses which I have collected during my research. You’ll see rooms of all types, from the simple to the more fanciful and you’ll meet some of the people that worked there as well.

steamer

The 2017 Lovecraft-Inspired Holiday Gift Guide

December is just around the corner. That means it’s time for my annual Lovecraft-Inspired Holiday Gift Guide! Huzzah! As with previous years, here you can find the perfect curated gifts for the weird-fiction aficionado, cosmic horror fan, or mythos-lover in your life. (Perhaps something special for yourself. You need gifts too.) There’s a lot of great stuff on the list this year, and you’ll find something for all ages and budgets.

As before, I’ve organized the list by category and ordered them by price making it easy to browse. Have a favorite New Weird or mythos-themed item I left off? Leave a comment at the bottom and let everyone know!

QUICK LINKS
Books • Music • Apparel • Games • Housewares • Miskatonic

BOOKS

[image error]Hammers on Bone by Cassandra Khaw

$6.98 + Free Shipping (Paperback) $3.99 (eBook)

More a novella than a novel, Hammers on Bone introduces the reader to John Persons, a hardboiled private investigator hired by a ten-year-old to kill his abusive stepdad. But things aren’t what they seem, and Persons discovers the truth is much dark then he realized.

[image error]The Fisherman by John Langan

$11.08 (Paperback) $6.99 (Kindle)

Winner of the 2016 Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Novel. The Fisherman focuses on a pair of widowers, Abe and Dan, who have found solace in each others company and in fishing. Masterfully written, with an overhanging sense of dread laced with cosmic horror. The result is a sober and somber look at folklore and loss that is dripping with atmosphere.

[image error]Winter Tide by Ruthanna Emrys

$14.29 + Free Shipping (Hardcover) $15.99 (Paperback) $12.99 (eBook)

A twist on historical fiction, Emrys envisions a world where the once aquatic residents of Lovecraft’s Innsmouth were placed in internment camps far from their seaside homes. Emerging from the camps, Aphra Marsh finds herself critical to the government who imprisoned her as they struggle to keep mankind safe from total destruction.

[image error]Borne: A Novel by Jeff VanderMeer

$14.30 + Free Shipping (Hardcover) $10.40 (Paperback) $12.99 (eBook)

Not specifically Lovecraftian, but certainly weird. VanderMeer is back with a tale of biotech gone awry. In a broken future ruled by a giant bear, a strange creature discovered during a scavenging mission might just tip the balance of power and put people in jeopardy.

[image error]Red Litten World by K. M. Alexander

$15.00 + Free Shipping (Paperback) $4.61 (eBook)

In the third installment of my Bell Forging Cycle, Caravan Master and now Guardian Waldo Bell returns to the multileveled megalopolis of Lovat. Hired by a wealthy patron to investigate a ritual murder he finds himself once again thrust into a conflict that will lead him up into the cities blood-soaked spires.

[image error]Engines of the Broken World by Jason Vanhee

$16.99 + Free Shipping (Hardcover) $9.99 (Paperback) $7.09 (eBook)

This is a hard book to pin down. It’s not Lovecraftian, but the themes are there: ministers speak through animal avatars, mothers sing from beyond the graves, and the world is shrinking. There is a palpable sense of dread that carries the story, amplified by Merciful Truth’s wide-eyed innocence and her outlook on a world that is crumbling at its edges.

Not finding a book you like? Check out the books features on one of the previous guides.

• 2014’s Books • 2015’s Books • 2016’s Books •

MUSIC & AUDIO

[image error]Into The Cold Waste

£5.00 ($6.67 USD) (Digital Download)

Inspired by the Dream Cycle/Dreamlands from Lovecraft’s often ignored Dreamquest of Unknown Kadath, this album from Allicorn feels like the soundtrack for a movie that should exist. It’s haunting and vast, taking you on a journey that reaches from the deck of the White Ship to the spires of Ngranek itself.

[image error]The Dukes Of Alhazred by The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets

$10.00 CAD + Shipping (CD) $10.00 CAD (Digital Download)

After a decade the latest album from The Darkest of the Hillside Thickets has arrived and fans of the Lovecraftian themed stone rock band won’t be disappointed. It’s catchy, it’s weird, it’s cosmic horror rock. (Make sure to check out the instrumental track Erich Zahn, it’s quite good.)

[image error]The Picture in the House LP – PIGAFETTA’S JOURNAL VARIANT

$35.00 + Shipping

Cadabra Records specialize in limited presses of weird fiction audiobook records. Quality and details matter and they make sure the art and presentation are perfect for the collector. This latest release features Lovecraft’s The Picture in the House, read by the indomitable Andrew Leman and scored by the amazingly talented Fabio Frizzi.

[image error]The Complete Fiction of H.P. Lovecraft – Special Edition

$75.00 + Shipping

New this year from the HPL Historical Society, this collection of all—yes, every single one—of Lovecraft’s audiobooks comes in its own neat USB stick featuring a silhouette portrait of the father of cosmic horror himself. Over 50 hours of Lovecraftian terror, perfect for your holiday.

Not finding any music or audio that interests you? Check out one of the previous guides.

• 2014’s Music • 2015’s Music • 2016’s Music •

APPAREL

[image error]NecronomiCon’s Providence Sigil Patch

$3.00 + Shipping

Love patches and haven’t been able to attend NecronomiCon in Rhode Island? Well, Lovecraft Arts & Sciences’ still sell the con’s sigil as a patch. The patch combines the Eye of Providence with the Elder Sign and is embroidered with a gold metallic thread on a black 2″ patch.

[image error]

Bell Caravans Patch

$5.00 + Shipping (Order by Dec. 10th for Christmas Delivery.)

This beautiful 3″ patch, designed by illustrator Sean Cumiskey, is the perfect way of declaring your loyalty to your beloved caravan master. Put it on your backpack, a tote, or display it on the sleeve of your jacket, just make sure the world knows who you roll with. [From the pages of the Bell Forging Cycle.]

$10.00 + Shipping

This Lovecraft Cthulhu hard enamel pin measures 1.5″ tall and comes in a deep green that makes the tentacles glisten!  Each pin comes on the backing card with a rubber clutch. (I recommend upgrading to a locking pin back.) Enamel pins aren’t your thing? The same design is available as teeshirts, stickers, and more.

[image error]Cthulhu’s Church Teeshirt

$30.00 + Shipping

I don’t feature many graphic tees. But this design from Gianni Corniola mimicking the style of stained glass you might find in a gothic church was stunning enough I felt it deserved a bit of attention. It’s a step above most cosmic horror tee shirts.

[image error]Cthulhu Idol Necklace

$31.95 + Shipping

Since the publishing of Call of Cthulhu, there has been a lot of Cthulhu idol designs. Everyone has their own vision of Uncle Angell’s horror in clay. This little pendant was a unique take. It’s subtle and effective, it feels ancient but it’s not overdesigned. The sort of thing you’d imagine someone driven to madness would create.

[image error]Bell Caravans Hoodie

$55.00 + Shipping

Join the caravan with this classic zip hoodie with a warm fleece lining. The full Bell Caravans logo designed by Sean Cumiskey is on the back, while the small wheel-and-bell symbol resides on the front. Stay warm, look good, fight the Firsts. [From the pages of the Bell Forging Cycle.]

[image error]Cthulhu Silicone Mask

$750.00 + Shipping

Elevate your cosplay game with this terrifying realistic silicon mask sculpted by Andrew Freeman. Created with quality in mind this mask moves and jiggles with a stomach-churning reality. Comes in a variety of colors from “flesh” (pictured) to even stranger patterns. It’s the perfect mask to help you fully realize your character.

Not finding any apparel you like? Check out apparel on one of the previous guides.

• 2014’s Apparel • 2015’s Apparel • 2016’s Apparel •

GAMES

[image error]Manimal Sanctuary – iOS

Free! (Digital Download)

Hard to pin down, Manimal Sanctuary is not a game so much as it’s an experience. You play the role of a benevolent creature watching and devouring the emotion as you following the lives of several characters struggling in a world devoured by gibbering monstrosities. Worth the play. Available on Android. (Low-end VR platform like Google Cardboard required.)

[image error]Cultist Simulator

$14.00 (Digital Download)

Beginnings have to start somewhere, Alexis Kennedy (creator of Sunless Sea) explores the rise of a Lovecraft-esque cult in a strange little card game. I backed it on Kickstarter, played the Alpha, and fell in love. It’s engaging, its story and its world are rich and fresh, and I can’t wait for its release.

[image error]Sunless Skies

$24.99 (Early Access Digital Download)

Failbetter Games takes the sequel to Sunless Sea from the endless night of Fallen London to the very stars themselves. For Queen and Country, you must explore the Victorian steam-punk skies of the High Wilderness as captain of your own spacefaring locomotive.

[image error]175mm Resin Cthulhu Miniture

€46.11 ($55.00 USD) + Shipping

Spice up your next tabletop gaming session with the greatest of great old ones. Spice up your players next encounter with The Revenant of R’lyeh, The Motivator of Madness, The Despair from the Deep, The One, The Only, Cthuuuuuullllhuuuuuu. [Crowd goes insane.]

[image error]Arkham Horror Premium Figures

$62.91—$191.52 + Shipping

If you’re like me, you’re obsessed with the Arkham Horror line of boardgames from Fantasy Flight. (I’m a big fan of Mansions of Madness.) Like me, you might not have the time to paint their lovely little figures. Well, lucky for us, they offer a selection of premium painted figures.

Not finding a game you’d enjoy? Check out the games on one of the previous guides.

• 2014’s Games • 2015’s Games • 2016’s Games •

HOUSEWARES

[image error]Cthulelf!

Free! (Digital Download)

Writer, cartoonist, and all-around rad person Kate Leth created this adorable little monstrosity for your home! As she says: “The old one rises from R’lyeh to wish you a merry and festive holiday season!” Print yours out and make your home a bit more festive. Check out Kate’s other work as well.

[image error]Innsmouth Olde Ale

$13.00 (Per Six-Pack)

This holiday season, when you crack open a cold one, have yourself a ‘Gansett. The latest from Narragansett Brewing Company’s Lovecraft series is names after Innsmouth and is a toasty and malted English-style Olde Ale. Something you might find served in Gilman House perhaps?

[image error]Cedric’s Eatery 11oz. Mug

$16.00 + Shipping (Order by Dec. 10th for Christmas Delivery.)

It’s cold out and you need a new mug. Why not pick one up from Lovat’s own Cedric’s Eatery located in the entresol between Levels Three and Four. An in-between place for in-between folks. Waldo Bell’s latest hangout. Fill your mug with 11 oz. of bad coffee, your favorite tea, or something stronger. [From the pages of the Bell Forging Cycle.]

[image error]Nightgaunt Statuette

$25.00 + Shipping

Your bookshelf deserves this little guardian of Ngranek. If he protected the infamous mountain on the isle of Oriab deep within the Dreamlands then he can protect your hardcover collection. Let this little fella carry you away, the way his cousins carried away a young H.P. Lovecraft.

[image error]Handmade Cthulhu Mug

$40.00 + Shipping

Whether your drink is coffee, tea, beer, wine, or something a bit stronger don’t you believe your beverage of choice deserves a mug as unique as your interests? Why not pick up this (very) limited handmade Cthulhu mug featuring the great old one gripping a human skull in his mouth tentacles, then smugly challenge all beverages.

[image error]Eldritch Pipes

Prices & Availability Varies

These gorgeous pipes come in all shapes, sizes, and styles. They are almost too beautiful to use with each shape being as unique as those who wield them. The pipe pictured is “The Cultist” and is sadly no longer available but there is always a rotating stock so keep your eyes peeled.

Not finding a houseware item you like?

Check out the housewares from one of the previous guides.

• 2016’s Housewares •

MISKATONIC UNIVERSITY

[image error]Antarctic Expedition Challenge Coin

$25.00 + Shipping

Challenge Coins have been growing in popularity in fandom (I “blame,” 99% Invisible). So it only makes sense that the Miskatonic University Antarctic Expedition be immortalized in a coin of its own. Make sure you have it on you, you never know who might call for a coin check.

[image error]Sterling Silver Miskatonic University 1928 Lapel Pin

$29.00 + Shipping

If you’re looking for something a bit on the fancy side, consider this 3/4″ sterling silver lapel pin from Badali Jewelry featuring the 1928 Miskatonic University seal. Also available as a tie-tack if you’re one of those people who is forced to wear ties unironically.

[image error]Miskatonic Varsity Zip Hoodie

$75.00 + Shipping

As a student of Miskatonic University, you’re proud of your alma mater. We all know it. So, why not wear your pride on your shoulders? This high-quality hoodie is the perfect way to show school spirit and comes with a varsity pin of your choice to celebrate your accomplishments.

Not finding any Miskatonic stuff you like?

Check out the Miskatonic University items from one of the previous guides.

• 2014’s Miskatonic • 2015’s Miskatonic • 2016’s Miskatonic •

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

Do you have a book, game, or other Lovecraftian product I should feature in next years Lovecraft-Inspired Holiday Gift Guide? Leave a comment below or send me an email!

Want to stay in touch with me? Sign up for Dead Drop, my rare and elusive newsletter. Subscribers get news, previews, and notices on my books before anyone else delivered directly to their inbox. I work hard to make sure it’s not spammy and full of interesting and relevant information.  SIGN UP TODAY →

Filed under: Shop Tagged: audio books, challenge coin, christmas, cosmic horror, cthulhu,

An OryCon 39 Debriefing

It’s time for a convention debriefing! A few weekends ago I attended OryCon 39 in Portland, Oregon. It was the smallest convention I’ve attended since 2014’s SpoCon. That isn’t necessarily bad; there are a lot of things to like about smaller conventions. Like Norwescon 40, I attended as a panelist and skipped running a table. So for the OryCon highlights, I think it’d be best to follow in Norwescon 40’s footsteps and break it down day by day.

 Friday, Day 1
[image error]OryCon 39 Readings moved to 216

I left Seattle early and arrived at the hotel around noon. I checked it and saw a fellow author and pal of mine, Elliot Kay. (Go buy his books.) I had a few panels that day. The highlight was the discussion on Checks & Balances: Magic in a Fantasy Setting. My fellow panelists—Elliot among them—were fantastic. The room was full. The conversation was lively. I thought it was great.

Afterward, Elliot and I sat in on Economics in Fantasy. It’s something I thought about a lot while working on Coal Belly, so I was pleased to see it as a topic for discussion. Due to its location near the lobby, the room was a bit noisy, but the panelists were knowledgeable, and I enjoyed the discussion and debate.

I did a reading from The Stars Were Right later that evening. It went well, but it was sparsely attended. Readings had been moved last minute and were in an offshoot room adjacent to a suite. It’s wasn’t ideal. I think it cut down on foot traffic. It was the smallest reading I’ve done. But those who sat in the room seemed to enjoy it, and I had fun.

Afterward, I sat in on another reading and then a reader of mine, and I chatted about the Bell Forging Cycle for a long while. (Thanks, Michael.) I’m always happy to talk about Lovat and the Territories. An excellent way to end the night.

Gifting My Books for the 2017 Holidays

It’s that time of year again. I hear that you’re a super cool person and you want to give one of my books to your friends or family for the holidays! Awesome! How can you do that? When should you order? What’s the best solution for you? Well, let me help you.

[image error]

Come See Me at OryCon 39!

This Friday, I will be heading south to attend OryCon 39 in Portland, Oregon. It’s my first time participating, and I’m excited to meet the community and learn the ins and outs of a new convention. I’m on quite a few panels (Yay!) I’m looking forward to discussing Nanowrimo, PNW ghosts, and all the various fantasy topics with my fellow panelists.

view my full schedule →

Oh, don’t forget, I’m doing a reading on Friday night! It should be fun; I think I’ll read from either The Stars Were Right or Red Litten World, we’ll see. Nothing like a little light-horror to set the evening mood, right?

Making Magnificent Mountains

Coal Belly, my current project, is a sprawling steampunk-ish adventure novel that spans the mountains, cliffs, and ridges in a world of interlocking rivers. To keep track of characters and locations, I began maintaining a map. The story takes places in a technological era similar to the post-reconstruction United States, around the 1890s. Because of that, I wanted my map to capture the styles of maps from that period. The sort of thing a cowboy would have in their saddlebag. Which meant I spent some time on Old Maps Online.

While researching, I noticed there was a shift in the late 1800s in how cartographers drew mountains. Earlier in the century, most mountains were rendered as illustrations. Cartographers would draw little adorable ranges as a representative of the mountains. It’s a common enough style, and one I’m sure you’ll recognize. You can see this style in this map from 1832.

[image error] Western States (Detail) , Daniel Adams, 1832

This is a standard approach and one appropriated by most fantasy cartographers today. It’s a style I’ve used in past maps. It works well and definitely lends a touch of antiquity to a piece. But, Coal Belly is more modern than that. When I started looking at mountains in maps made later in the century, I noticed there was a shift. Cartographers moved away from the illustrated ranges and towards an early topographical style. You can see the shift in the maps below.

[image error] United States (Detail) , David Burr, 1875
[image error] Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, and West Virginia (Detail) , A. J. Johnson, 1886
[image error] Kentucky, Tennessee (Detail) , Samuel Augustus Mitchell, 1886

It’s a fascinating change and one I really liked. Since most of my own fantastical cartography work is done in Adobe Illustrator, I began experimenting with creating brushes. Each of the maps above was drawn by hand so recreating a similar feel took a lot of experimentation. Different brush styles and widths. Eventually, I settled on pattern brushes based off a series of random strokes. I feel like I got really close. You can see my handiwork below.

[image error] Sample of my 19th Century Mountains brushes in use.

I made twenty brushes, with a variety of line styles and densities. They tend to work best as separate strokes and then tightly grouped together. And because they’re vector based they can be adjusted for any size project. There’s a lot of ways to adjust the overlaps for corners and such. They’re quite versatile and can be blended and combined in numerous ways.

[image error]Another quick sample made in Illustrator and Photoshop using the brushes

I ended up scrapping these mountains for the Coal Belly map, as they interfered with the map’s legibility, especially on eReaders. But, I think they would be the perfect fit for the right project. Which is why I’m giving them away for free. Just click the download button below and you can use these mountains brushes in your own project.

Download 19th Century Mountain Brushes

No Illustrator? Download the Photoshop Brush Set1

These brushes are designed for Adobe Illustrator and are licensed under a Creative Commons 4.0 International License. So they’re FREE to use for personal or commercial work, and I’m not looking for any attribution. That said, I would love to see how others end up using these brushes. So please reach out and let me know! I’m not looking for any payment, but if you want to support me consider buying one of my books.

1 It needs to be mentioned that the Photoshop brushes are significantly limited compared to the Illustrator version. These brushes were designed to work along paths so the mountains will look hand-drawn. While you can use the brushes in Photoshop there will be limitations. They’ll look more stamped and less custom.

Want to stay in touch with me? Sign up for Dead Drop, my rare and elusive newsletter. Subscribers get news, previews, and notices on my books before anyone else delivered directly to their inbox. I work hard to make sure it’s not spammy and full of interesting and relevant information.  SIGN UP TODAY →

Filed under: Art, Research Tagged: 19th century, adobe, brushes, Coal Belly, free, illustration, illustrator, maps, mountains, old maps, old maps online

My Orycon 39 Schedule

It’s November 1st! That means in a few weeks (17 days), I’ll be making a pilgrimage to the lovely city of Portland, Oregon where I will be attending Orycon 39. This will be my first Orycon, and I couldn’t be more excited.

I’m not running a table, but I’ll be on a whole bunch of panels, and on Friday night I’m doing a reading! As with previous conventions, I’ve listed out my schedule below. Find out more about my fellow panelists by clicking on their names, links go to their respective corners on the web. Buy their books, bring ’em with you and get ’em signed. As before, it’ll be a blast sitting alongside such talent.

If you see me in the hallway, feel free to say hello! I’m happy to join in on a game, grab a beer, or just talk shop. I’m the big guy wearing all black.

H.P. Lovecraft’s Halloween Poem

When he wasn’t writing cosmic horror about indescribable beings, H.P. Lovecraft considered himself a poet. I’ve mentioned his Christmas poetry in the past, and since today is Halloween, I thought it’d be fun to take a gander at another holiday poem.

Hallowe’en in a Suburb was originally published as In A Suburb in The National Amateur in March of 1926. The poem was later renamed. I spent some time researching why the name was changed, but I couldn’t find an answer. The poem stands on its own without the Halloween association, but there is a definite fall/harvest feel with reflection on sheaves and chill winds. Perhaps it was marketing?

Hallowe’en in a Suburb

The steeples are white in the wild moonlight,

And the trees have a silver glare;

Past the chimneys high see the vampires fly,

And the harpies of upper air,

That flutter and laugh and stare.

For the village dead to the moon outspread

Never shone in the sunset’s gleam,

But grew out of the deep that the dead years keep

Where the rivers of madness stream

Down the gulfs to a pit of dream.

A chill wind weaves thro’ the rows of sheaves

In the meadows that shimmer pale,

And comes to twine where the headstones shine

And the ghouls of the churchyard wail

For harvests that fly and fail.

Not a breath of the strange grey gods of change

That tore from the past its own

Can quicken this hour, when a spectral pow’r

Spreads sleep o’er the cosmic throne

And looses the vast unknown.

So here again stretch the vale and plain

That moons long-forgotten saw,

And the dead leap gay in the pallid ray,

Sprung out of the tomb’s black maw

To shake all the world with awe.

And all that the morn shall greet forlorn,

The ugliness and the pest

Of rows where thick rise the stones and brick,

Shall some day be with the rest,

And brood with the shades unblest.

Then wild in the dark let the lemurs bark,

And the leprous spires ascend;

For new and old alike in the fold

Of horror and death are penn’d,

For the hounds of Time to rend.

It’s not half bad as far as creep poetry goes, and it’s certainly better than his cat-centric silly Christmas poetry. The very talented Andrew Lehman cut a record for Cadabra Records where he reads several of Lovecraft’s poems including this one. The record doesn’t appear to be available anymore, but you can listen to Hallowe’en in a Suburb and The Cats below.

Have a happy and safe Halloween everyone! Remember that today is the last day to get FREE SHIPPING on any signed paperbacks from my store. Just use the code BFCMONTH on checkout. You can see all the details in this post.

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Filed under: Random Tagged: andrew lehman, cadabra records, h.p. lovecraft, hallowe’en in a suburb, halloween, poetry, the national amateur