K.M. Alexander's Blog, page 83
June 24, 2014
After the Storm
As many of you may know my wife is the amazingly talented pop-surrealism artist Kari-Lise Alexander. So when she’s doing something awesome, you know I am going to totally post about it here.
Today she is released a limited edition giclee print (only 25!) of one of her latest pieces After the Storm. They’re 8″x16″ and selling for only $50. They’re going quickly, and you can nab it at her store: karilise.bigcartel.com. Full piece below.
“After the Storm” by Kari-Lise AlexanderWhile she doesn’t have a WordPress blog, I recommend following her Instagram account she super active there or you can check her out on Tumblr. See After the Storm and more of her work at her website: kari-lise.com.
Filed under: Art Tagged: Kari-Lise Alexander, oil painting, Pop Surrealism, prints
June 22, 2014
Visual Inspiration by Marc Simonetti
“In his house at R’lyeh, dead Cthulhu
waits dreaming.”
—H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu
While doing some research on R’lyeh this weekend I stumbled across an amazing image of the dead city by French artist Marc Simonetti. I had seen Simonetti’s work before—you probably have as well, he’s behind illustrations and covers for: Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld, George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice & Fire series, and guys like Patrick Rothfuss, Brandon Sanderson, Robin Hobb and Michael Stackpole—but had no idea he had done a whole series on Lovecraft! It’s all great stuff, but I wanted to share a few of my favorite pieces here:
R’lyeh
Nyarlathotep
Mountains of MadnessReally great stuff isn’t it? There’s a lot more at Mr. Simonetti’s site and I’d encourage you to check out the rest of Lovecraft’s World. You can see more of his work at his website or on his Deviant Art page and he has a Kickstarter-like campaign going with It’s Art for a new art book called Coverama which still has 22 days left. I think I will be backing this one.
Hope you found Simonetti’s work as inspiring as I did. What piece was your favorite? Leave a comment and let me know! Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
Filed under: Art, Inspiration Tagged: Call of Cthulhu, cthulhu, Lovecraft, Marc Simonetti, Mountains of Madness, Nyarlathotep, R'lyeh
June 20, 2014
Friday Link Pack 06/20/14
It’s time to share a few interesting links I have found throughout the week. Some of these I mention on Twitter, if you’re not already following me there, please do! Have a link I should feature in the upcoming link pack? Let me know!
Writing:
Busting Down The Romantic Myth Of Writing Fiction & Mitigating Burnout
Kameron Hurley who wrote the fantastic Bel Dame Apocrypha series (check it out) really lays out the reality of being an author in her article for Locus Online. I appreciate her candor, this is something every author or aspiring author should read.
We Are Losing The Art Of Reading
Has our consumption culture changed the way we as a society reads? Andy Miller explores this idea in his piece for The Guardian.
Langston Hughes & The Harlem Renaissance
A great video from John Green and the team at Crash Course takes a look at the poet Langston Hughes and his impact on literature during the Harlem Renaissance. I really enjoy all of the Crash Course videos but this one stood out. It’s a solid 11:31 and worth every moment.
David Farland’s Daily Kick in the Pants—Chapter Titles
A good chapter title can do a lot for your story. Dave Farland once again offers his sage advice on how to effectively use chapter titles.
I’m having a Kindle Sale!
For the next month The Stars Were Right is available for only $1.99! Now is a good chance for Kindle owners to pick up a copy. Click here for more info. Tell your friends!
Art:
Dina Goldstein’s Fallen Princesses
A bit of the American underbelly and a dash of Disney and you have photographer Dina Goldstein’s latest series Fallen Princesses. In these works the classic Disney icons are viewed through a lens not typically associated with their character. Good stuff. (Thanks to Kari-Lise for the tip.)
Buda Repossession
This full recreation of Hungarian painter Benczúr Gyula‘s Budavár Repossession in 3D is something that has to be seen. Incredible.
Dexter Maurer
I fell in love with these illustrations from swiss artist Dexter Maurer. It has the right blend of both whimsy and strangeness.
Random:
Spending Stephen King’s Money
In 2006 author Emily Schultz released Joyland. This year Stephen King released a book with the same title. This caused confusion among Amazon users who ended up leaving negative reviews. But there is a silver lining to all of this: there were A LOT of confused readers so Schultz ended up with a pretty big royalty check. So, like anyone, she decided to start a blog documenting how she’s spending Stephen King’s money. (Thanks to Lola for sharing this one.)
It was Russia who rolled into Berlin and ended the the European Theater portion of WW2 in the final major offensive. For a long time, people thought they deserved the credit, but that has slowly changed. Vox examines the details behind this shift in people’s perception.
Lovecraft Story of the Week:
Dagon
One of Lovecraft’s first stories follows a former merchant marine turned morphine addict who recounts a terrible tale! Nice quick read.
Farewell Gif of the Week:
Filed under: Link Pack Tagged: Benczúr Gyula, burnout, Dagon, Dexter Maurer, Dina Goldstein, Disney Princesses, Joyland, Kameron Hurley, Langstone Hughes, reading, Stephen King, The Stars Were Right, Titles, Writing, WW2
June 18, 2014
Summer Reading Kindle Sale!
For the next month The Stars Were Right is on sale for Kindle for only $1.99! That’s a savings of three whole dollars. It’s now less than the cost of a Big Mac and a hell of a lot more fun. I promise.
Want to know more before you jump into the world of Lovat? You can read the Prologue on The Stars Were Right‘s website and see what others are saying over on Goodreads! If you’re not a Kindle owner you can still get a lovely paperback copy from Barnes & Noble, direct from me, or over on Amazon. (Sadly not for $1.99)
Tell your friends!
Filed under: The Stars Were Right Tagged: Amazon, Deal, ebooks, Kindle, sale, summer reading
June 16, 2014
BEHOLD: The best picture of Hunter S. Thompson you’ll ever see.
Told you. Make sure you click for the color version. Those pants are incredible. For more Hunter S. Thompson wackiness, make sure you check out his daily routine which I posted a while back.
Filed under: Random Tagged: gonzo journalism, Hunter S. Thompson, pants
June 13, 2014
No Friday Link Pack Today…
Due to work being work, and life being life, and Feedly DDoS being a Feedly DDoS I am without a link pack today. Instead I want to shout out a few fine writer and writerly blogs I visit on a regular basis. These are a few of the people and places where I glean my own inspiration (and sometimes links for Link Packs.)
Writers
I didn’t have time this week to say something about each of these fine people. (Sorry!) But they are all great and you should be following all of them.
Roderick Davidson
George R. R. Martin
Lauren Sapala
Setsu Uzume
Neil Gaiman
Drew Gerken
Dave Farland
Chuck Wendig
Adrienne Morris
Elizabeth Bear
On Writing:
There are more thematic blogs that focus on the craft of writing. I tend to find a lot of my writerly links from these sources. If you have been reading my blog for any length of time few of these will come as a surprise.
Grammar Girl: Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
All Things Urban Fantasy
The Passive Voice
The Shatzkin Files
BibliOdyssey
The Creative Penn
Writers Helping Writers
So those are some of the great people and places from which I glean inspiration. How about you? Do you have a favorite writing blog not on this list? Leave a comment and let everyone know what is out there.
Filed under: Inspiration, Link Pack Tagged: Blogroll, links, writers, writing blog
June 11, 2014
So this happened…
There was quite a few responses to this tweet, but I wanted to highlight this one as it stood out and made me laugh. If you’re not following Dave on Twitter you should be. I still want that room as my office, bare-proof or not.
Filed under: Random Tagged: bad joke, Dave Bastian, Office, twitter
June 6, 2014
Friday Link Pack 06/06/14
It’s time to share a few interesting links I have found throughout the week. Some of these I mention on Twitter, if you’re not already following me there, please do! Have a link I should feature in the upcoming link pack? Let me know!
Writing:
It’s Too Late. Exclamation Marks Are Unstoppable Now
New York Magazine observes the prevalence of the exclamation mark in modern communication and what it means going forward.
25 Words That Are Their Own Opposites
Mental Floss compiles a list of words that with a slight change in use can mean something completely different. (See, this sort of stuff is why people hate on the English language.)
Five Things I’ve Learned From Working Remotely
There’s not much of a separation between writing and working remotely. While this is tailored to the latter, these handy tips are great advice for a writer.
Tastefully Understated Nerdrage: Magic!
I am a huge fan of Mr. Btongue’s analysis into video games, movies, and culture in general and I have linked him before. In his recent episode he examines magic, what makes it interesting, and how the greats have used it in their writing. Some good food for thought.
Art:
Photographer Goes To Great Heights For Call To Arms On Sprawl
Some stunning aerial photography capturing the issues of sprawl in America in some beautiful and shocking images.
Redd Walitzki “When We Break” And Andy Kehoe “Inner Mystic”
I went to the opening Seattle Artist Redd Walitzki‘s “When We Break” last night and was really impressed. Her latest work is hauntingly beautiful and has a slightly dark twist. (Some of her work could be considering NSFW, so keep that in mind.) Andy Kehoe’s resin pieces are also pretty great, but really need to be seen in person to capture the depth. Worth checking out.
Random:
These 3,000-Year-Old Trousers Are The Oldest In The World
Pants. Really old pants.
40 Maps That Explain The Internet
Great collection from Vox explaining the internet, how it came to be, what it is, what it’s doing, and how it’s under attack.
Step Inside Elon Musk’s Incredible New Space Machine
The creator of the hugely successful Tesla takes a crack at sending people into space, and it’s awesome.
Lovecraft Story of the Week:
The Horror at Martin’s Beach
Summer is here, so let’s celebrate by reading a beach story!
Farewell Gif of the Week:
Filed under: Link Pack Tagged: Andy Kehoe, Elon Musk, english, exclamation marks, Internet, Lovecraft, magic, Mr. Btongue, pants, Redd Walitzki, urban sprawl, working remotely
June 3, 2014
Neil Gaiman’s Cthulkhelele
Cory Doctorow shared this Cthulkhelele on Boing Boing that Neil Gaiman shared on Twitter, obviously I had to share it here. Obviously.
Filed under: Random Tagged: Boing Boing, Cory Doctorow, cthulhu, Cthulkhelele, Lovecraft, Neil Gaiman, twitter
June 2, 2014
Visual Inspiration by Anthony Wolff
Something I miss from old video games was the lack of fidelity. Okay, okay, hear me out, I have reasons. These days graphics in games have gotten to the point that it requires no imagination from the player. Back in the old 8-bit days there was a lot of room for our imagination to explore. While I appreciate the immersion high-fidelity photorealistic graphics, I do fondly remember those pixels of yesteryear. That mass of color could become a terrifying monster, or a beautiful princess, or a lush forest. I was guided by the artist and limited only by my imagination.
All that rambling reminisce leads me into explaining why I love these pieces from illustrator Anthony Wolff. His style reminds me a lot of that old pixel art. His loose brush strokes allows us to grasp concepts but also leaves room for our imagination to fill in the gaps. It’s a neat effect and it allows him to create stunning scenes full of masterful detail:
Click each image to see it larger. You can see more of Anthony Wolff’s work at his portfolio or on his deviantART page. I’d encourage you to explore his other work as well, he’s incredibly prolific and has something for everyone.
Filed under: Art, Inspiration Tagged: Anthony Wolff, deviantART, Illustrations
