Cover Art for Arcane II Revealed!

Take a look at this amazing image by French artist, Nihil.
Look closely. Blow it up to full size. Soak it in. 

“Le grand ordonnateur”

Let it inhabit your brain a bit.

But not too much--it's pretty damn creepy.

I am thrilled to say that this fine image will reportedly be gracing the cover of Arcane II, the much anticipated second volume in the Arcane Anthology series, edited by Nathan Shumate and published by Cold Fusion Media. “Le grand ordonnateur” apparently translates to "the great architect," or "the main organizer." Both evocative, though I prefer the former. Props to Nathan for his impeccable taste, and to the artist for his unique vision.

Of course, my story "The Dubious Apotheosis of Baskin Gough" will be appearing in Arcane II, so I have particular reason to be excited.

I have always been of the firm opinion that, even when readers know better, cover art can have a huge impact on sales. How many good books have I passed on again and again because of the cover art, only to be surprised when I actually did pick them up at the quality to be found between the covers? Likewise, I've bought more books than I can recall that were great right up until I actually got down to the reading. But not to worry. With all due modesty, I have complete faith that the stories in Arcane II will live up to such a wickedly alluring cover.


On a related note, here is a complete list of the

stories that will be appearing in Arcane II:

Jean Graham, “Nightcrawlers”

Nicole M. Taylor, “The Pianist’s Wife”

Suzanne Sykora, “Palace of Rats”

Michael R. Fletcher, “Fire and Flesh”

Steve Toase, “Fate’s Mask”

Miranda Ciccone, “Orpheus and Eurydice”

Joanna Parypinski, “Lakeshore Drive”

Harry Markov, “Hurricane Drunk”

Brooke Miller, “The Last Laugh”

Gef Fox, “Tree Hugger”

Philip Roberts, “90 Day Notice”

Libby Cudmore and Matthew Quinn Martin, “Convention of Ekphrasis”

Michael Haynes, “In the Paint”

Milo James Fowler, “Beneath the Surface”

Andrew Bourelle, “What It Means to Love”

Priya Sharma, “The Beatification of Thomas Small”

Craig Pay, “His City”

Patrick McGinnity, “The Dubious Apotheosis of Baskin Gough

Adele Gardner, “Triptych”

Eric Dimbleby, “The House That Wept Puddin’”

Be on the lookout for the e-book in Mid-January, and the print version not long after. Of course, I'll keep you updated, so check back often.

I'm not much for merchandising, but...

I was just checking in on one of the most intriguing fantasy artists I know of, and came across this picture, which I had to share.



If you don't recognize these lil' fellas, they are straight out of the pages of Froud's collaboration with a colleague of mine at CMU, Ari Berk, which is entitled, appropriately, Goblins!. You really should check it out if you haven't already. I have actually had two professors in my career who were acquainted with the Devonshire artist. The first was Valiant Norman, at Lexington Community College. He apparently did a stint as a shepherd near Froud's home, and they became pals--this was long before The Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal brought Froud to international attention. Val also worked as a stage hand on Bewitched--who says college professors are stuffy?

Anyway, check out Ari's periodic "Folkroots" column in Realms of Fantasy, as well as his many other fine writings, which include a couple more collaborations with the Devonshire Dervish. He's also a member of Endicott Studios which is in my blog list to the left. Check out Brian Froud and his wife Wendy (and their son Toby, who was the bald little baby of the same name in The Labyrinth, and who is now a man -- which makes me feel quite old) at his website World of Froud. I may be trying to wrangle an interview with Ari Berk before too long, so keep checking in. That is all for now.