Tag Archives: Cohesion Press

Festivus Author Pimping – Hank Schwaeble

December 18, 2016 Amanda J Spedding Leave a comment

Happy Festivus! Today I will be pimping author Hank Schwaeble. Yes, I did just read that sentence back but I’m gonna roll with it (minds and gutters, people). The reason for author over book pimping is there are two titles of Hank’s that I’ve read this year, and you need to be reading both of them.

It was American Nocturne where I was first introduced to Hank’s work – a collection of short stories that definitely sit on the dark side of fiction. Hell, it’s horror at its best, and I’d wondered why Hank’s writing hadn’t been on my reader earlier. I mean really, the man’s a two-time Bram Stoker award winner, so… mea culpa.

American Nocturne

Now before we delve further, both titles I’ll be discussing here are put out by Cohesion Press, of whom I’m the editor-in-chief, but as I’ve only managed to read eight books this year due to workload (I stopped counting when I hit four million words – that’s right, four million), there’s going to be some crossover between work and reading outside of work.

Okay, so now we have that out of the way – American Nocturne. There’s a definite noir feel to the stories in here, especially with the title story, which kicks off the collection. There’s so much to love about this collection, and while each story is so very different from the last, it’s Schwaeble’s voice, his storytelling that holds this collection together. Oh, and the twists he delivers with some of the stories are done with such a deft hand, it will have you rereading for an altogether different experience of the story (like two books for the price of one!). You can read a full review of American Nocturne over (here) over at review site Smash Dragons.

The next book of Hank’s is the novel The Angel of the Abyss, and if this cover doesn’t make you want to rush out and buy it, then you and I need to talk. Out the back. In a dark alley.

This is the third in the Jake Hatcher series, but can definitely be read as a standalone. I hadn’t read the previous two novels (Damnable and Diabolical), but I was immediately drawn into the tale of Jake Hatcher – military vet come demon hunter. But Hatcher is well on Hell’s radar, and as demons are wont to do, they mess with him every chance they get. And that’s half the fun, trying to sort the lies from truth while attempting to stop the one hell of a demon taking human form and walking the earth once more. As I’ve come to expect, the twists and turns in this book keep you guessing, they make you think, and there’s not much better than reading a book that involves you, that asks you to take the journey with the characters, because they know just as much as you do about what’s happening. Hatcher is a brash, sarcastic, takes-no-shit character who despite his protestations, wants to do the right thing. He just happens to get thrown into the crapper a lot. There’s black magic, demons, cults, secret military installations… yeah, it’s a heap of fun!

angel-of-the-abyss

You can read reviews of The Angel of the Abyss here and here. But trust me when I say, you’re in for a hell of a ride with this book, and there are more stories due in the series… and it’s only going to get nasty… or nastier.

Both books are highly recommended for lovers of horror, military horror, supernatural, and thrillers.

(Both covers were created by the amazing Dean Samed of Neostock. Check out his work.)

Art, Reading, Uncategorized, Writing

Art of the Cover

May 25, 2016 Amanda J Spedding Leave a comment

Covers matter. They do. That old adage: Don’t judge a book by its cover, if taken in its absolute literal sense, is utter bullshit. Covers are your visual selling point; it’s the first thing a potential reader (and buyer) sees. And if it’s terrible and/or amateurish… Behold, I will judge with all my judgey judginess! I will slam down my imaginary gavel, and I won’t buy your book.

But wait, I hear you say, what if the story is brilliant? Then invest in good cover art, dammit. Invest in it like you invested in your story. All those hours you agonised over words and plot and characters, of the sleep you sacrificed, eating at your desk, of wondering whether you showered today… or was it yesterday… (No? Just me then…), invest that same excellence in your cover art. Don’t just slap any cover on your work (and for the love of all things holy and unholy, unless you’re an artist, don’t do it yourself!), ’cause I will judge your book by its cover, and so will a lot of others.

I read a lot, and as a buyer of print books, a beautiful and/or interesting cover will draw me in as much as a shitty one will repel. And with the amount of both print and electronic books on the market, a good cover is half the battle won. I’ll pick it up, and if your blurb is good (that’s fodder for another post), then that’s a sale. When it comes to my hard-earned cash, I’m particular on how I spend it, and I’m more likely to spend on a book with a beautiful cover, than I am on one with a shite one.

For someone with a mountain of ‘to read’ books who also can’t walk past a bookstore without venturing into its delicious depths, I’m always looking for new authors to read. A cover is where it all begins. It led me to Mark Lawrence and his Broken Empire and Red Queen series, and now I’ll read anything the man writes. Seriously, go to his website and buy the man’s books. Go. Now. I’ll wait.

Back? Excellent.

Another thing I often hear is that bad covers are the domain of the author-publisher. Again, I call bullshit. The advent of author-publishing and the (now-diminishing) stigma attached to it, has shown authors know the value of a great cover. There are self-published authors whose books have gorgeous covers – this tells me they’ve thought long and hard about their finished product, about their reader. And covers should reflect the content, the world and atmosphere of a book. Take a look at Devin Madson’s The Blood of Whisperers – the story inside is as beautiful as the cover. Another author whose work I will now always read.

As an editor, I understand the importance of covers, how they work to sell the story/stories inside. If you can excite a potential reader by the cover art alone, then you’re looking at sales. Sales are good. Sales mean the author (or authors, when an anthology) will be read, and those authors may begin to get a fan-base – and there’s not a lot better than that. As an editor for Cohesion Press (an Australian small press), their mantra is to always source kick-ass cover art. Great cover art gets readers excited, it builds interest, it builds sales. But more than that, it’s the finished product. Readers will appreciate the effort you put in, and they’ll remember your name.

I know there’ll be those out there who will bemoan the cost of cover art. That good cover art is unaffordable. Well before you do that, how would you feel if someone bitched about the price of your book? Good cover art costs, just as good editing and proofreading – all essential parts of the publishing process. You want to put your best work out into the world, right? Right?

The reason I decided to write this post was the cover artist for Cohesion’s books, Dean Samed (check out his work) just yesterday had his site go live, and his cover-work is just astounding. Each piece grabs you, it takes you places, and it defines what’s on the inside pages. The last thing any author wants is a horror book (for instance) with a decidedly romance cover. That’s a betrayal no reader will tolerate.

There are amazing artists out there who love creating cover art for the books you love creating. Check out Deviantart, get onto artists’ sites, and if you like the style of a book cover, the artist is usually mentioned in the front-matter. Social media is a great way to get recommendations for artists, for those who specialise in covers, who can put the best ‘coat’ on your baby.

Do a little research, chat to artists, find great art. Your book will thank you for it.

Editing, Ramblings, Reading

So many words…

April 9, 2016 Amanda J Spedding 5 Comments

So April must have knifed the previous three months in the back and leapfrogged ahead. That’s the only explanation for me to be looking down the barrel of the first school holidays for this year. It’s been a busy three and a half months editing wise, and after being offered the role of lead editor for the SNAFU series, and editor for Cohesion Press’ upcoming releases, it’s been a whirlwind of amazing words crossing my screen.

What hasn’t been happening is reading for pleasure (although, conversely, the stuff I’m reading for Cohesion is brilliant indeed). But I’ve had the same novel sitting on bedside table, untouched, for going on three months. And it’s a novel I’m truly invested in – City of Wonders, the third in the Blasted Lands series by James A Moore. However, by the time I head to bed after a full day of editing, my eyes feel like someone’s rubbed them with sandpaper, and I know picking up the book will do not only me, but the story itself a disservice.

Last year I read a total of twenty-five books (novels, anthologies, collections and graphic novels), and that doesn’t seem a lot for the average avid reader, which I’d definitely class myself as. So why wasn’t I reading as much as I thought I should (or wanted)? I’ve often said I read a lot for my editing business, but had no real idea what ‘a lot’ was, so I decided to quantify ‘a lot’ and started keeping track of the word count of all I read for “work”. Yes, those are deliberate quotations – see previous paragraph about the brilliance of what I read.

Now anyone who knows me, knows that not only do I totally suck at math, but math totally hates me back. It’s giving me the finger right now. But even I can’t deny the numbers, and believe me, I’ve tried. From ‘That can’t be right’, to ‘Stupid fat fingers must be hitting the wrong buttons’. But no. The numbers definitely add up. It’s a believability thing.

In January of this year, I read a total of 300,200 words; February was a doozy, reading 568,100 words, and March? 392,350. In the first three months of this year, I’ve read: 1,260,650 words. That’s right – one million, two hundred and sixty thousand, six hundred and fifty words.

If we break that down to novels – at a word-length of 90,000 – that’s …. (hang on, doing math, this may take a while)… okay, that’s 14 novels. Fourteen novels in three months. That’s more like it! That’s more me.

The beauty of reading for editing is that you sometimes get to read stories that you may not normally pick up at a bookstore or buy online. This year I’ve read horror, military horror, regency romance, crime, fantasy, YA, children’s books, non-fiction on refugees and Human Rights Law, eating disorders, and corporate planning. It’s a funny ol’ world.

I used to feel guilty about not reading as much as I used to, but not anymore. Sure, my ‘to read’ mountain grows ever-higher. And yes, I’m still buying books to read – really, that wasn’t ever going to stop. But now I look at the novel sitting on my bedside table and think: Soon, my pretty, soon. And when we are once again reunited, it will be bliss.

Art, Cool stuff, Editing, Ramblings, Reading, Reviews

Festivus Book Pimping – SNAFU series

December 21, 2015 Amanda J Spedding Leave a comment

For your military horror dining delight, I bring you a big, fat course of SNAFU for your Festivus feast. Sit down, strap on (easy) your kevlar, and lock’n’load – it’s about to get messy. SNAFU (Situation Normal All Fucked Up) is the series put out through Cohesion Press that covers different takes on the military horror theme.

I’ve been lucky enough to be involved from the start as one of the co-editors of the series (with Geoff Brown), and having the pleasure of working with some truly amazing storytellers, both established and up-and-coming, and from here and overseas. But more than that is the calibre of stories on offer.

Cohesion has four SNAFU anthologies currently on the market – two print/ebook and two ebook-only offerings. All of the anthologies have brilliant Dean Samed cover art, with internal art supplied by the wonderfully-talented Monty Borror. This is seriously good monster art – you won’t want to miss it.

Let’s begin with the first in the series, the entre: SNAFU: An Anthology of Military Horror. War is hell, and this offering was Cohesion’s first foray into the military horror theme, and garnered a Bram Stoker Recommended Read and finalist for the Australian Shadows Award (edited publication), thanks to the talented writers.

Next up for tasting in the series is SNAFU: Heroes, which offers novellas and short stories from Jonathan Mayberry, James A Moore, Weston Ochse and Joseph Nassise. As the blurb says: ‘From demons to horrors from the deep, the battles keep on coming. Fight or die…’

SNAFU: Wolves at the Door, is the next to the table, where you will share your meal with… my, what big teeth you have! This ebook tells the tales of soldiers fighting against all manner of were-animals – wolves take precedence in this instalment, but the diversity is staggeringly good. Stories with bite! (How could I not say it?)

And check out the cover art…

But wait, there’s more! The next in the print series is SNAFU: Survival of the Fittest, which was released in August this year. This is survival horror where every bullet counts. Low on ammo, this is about soldiers trying to make it out alive against nightmares made real. And damn, if these authors don’t know how to wrangle some nasty enemies for their squads.

There are two more in the series on the horizon; I’m currently working on SNAFU: Hunters (think Grimm, Van Helsing, ‘Supernatural’s’ Sam and Dean), which will be published early next year. This SNAFU is all about the hunt, the thrill of the chase, and the uncertainty of outcome. Then there’s SNAFU: Future Warfare – military horror with a sci-fi bent (yeah, you know you want that!), which is due around mid-year. So keep your eyes and ears open for these, kiddies… well not literally kids, ‘cause unless you’re willing to shell out cash for some serious therapy, these books aren’t for them.

The beauty of the SNAFU series is that stories cover the gamut of historical to modern warfare; from Viking raids, the World Wars, Vietnam, Korea, Afghanistan… and all time periods and locales. And if you think you’ve read of every monster out there? Think again, my friend, oh yes, think again. There’s a diversity here that will keep you (or those you’ve gifted these treasures to) turning the pages.

Recommended for anyone who loves military stories, military horror, supernatural horror, straight messed-up horror… you get the picture. They’re brutal, they’re bloody, they’re awesome.

Reading, Reviews

Review: Return of the Ancients (Valkeryn Chronicles #1) by Greig Beck

October 3, 2015 Amanda J Spedding 1 Comment

So I’m back from my week away; well rested and slightly sunburned. One of the many things I love about visiting my father’s farm is the amount of time I get to read while the kids race quadbikes around 300-acres of pristine countryside and scaring the crap out of the wildlife.

I powered through Australian author, Greig Beck’s first book in the Valkeryn Chronicles, Return of the Ancients. I’d been sitting on this book awhile; had read about 50 pages but with the amount of work I had on, by the time I got to bed, my eyes refused to focus on any more words. But when I picked up the book and lounged on the back porch in the sun, I couldn’t put it down (hence the sunburn).

Now it’s time for the requisite spoiler alert:

*POINTS* HERE THERE BE SPOILERS. *POINTS* THERE, THERE BE SPOILERS. AND IF YOU DON’T MIND YOUR FEET, YOU’LL TRIP OVER THOSE ANNOYING LITTLE SPOILERS…AND THE BIG-ASS SPOILER IN THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH – YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Return of the Ancients is a story about fifteen-year-old Arnold Singer who, while on a school excursion to watch the test firing of a particle accelerator, gets transported to a new world. And what a world it is. The reader is gifted a glimpse into this world via the prologue, and I was very much looking forward to Arn reaching this destination.

Beck’s world is laden with Norse mythology, but don’t go thinking this is the brilliant stuff of Vikings, but rather the descendants of the great Fenrir. (For those unfamiliar with the Norse mythos, Fenrir is the giant wolf born of Loki and the giantess, Angrboda.) Yes, we’re talking a race of Wolfen – warrior-wolves beholden to Odin and fighting for their place in Valhalla.

Pitted against their long-standing foes, the Panterran, and a legion of monsters borne right out of nightmares, an epic battle looms. And in the middle is Arn. You see, this isn’t a new world at all, rather one far into the future in which human’s no longer exist. Arn’s arrival, however, has been foretold. And the portents aren’t good; Ragnarok looms.

Beck’s new world is beautifully and horrifically described, the Wolfen with whom Arn finally finds himself amongst wonderfully fleshed out (as are the enemy). So much so that the death of one Wolfen in particular, hit hard. It’s an honourable death, worthy of Valhalla, but… dammit.

Arn, though enamoured with this new world and the Wolfen, does want to get home. Those at home (or rather those at the lab), are on a quest to get Arn back via the wormhole that now sits open and ready. Beck moves the reader back and forth between one world and the other, and it soon becomes apparent that not all are looking at this as a rescue mission.

Return of the Ancients is a fast-paced, action-packed story that grips the reader and doesn’t let go. It’s all leading toward the battle-of-battles that will determine the fate of the Wolfen and Valkeryn, and Arn is sent on one last quest by the Wolfen king. But this won’t just be a battle of forces within this world, but the clash of cultures old and new. More ancients are coming, and there’s absolutely no doubt they’re bringing a reckoning.

Beck’s done an amazing job drawing the reader in, and keeping them on tenterhooks before leaving them wanting more. ‘More’ will be arriving in the next couple of days in the form of ‘The Dead Lands’ (The Valkeryn Chronicles #2) via Cohesion Press.

Do yourself a favour, peeps, read this book – I can’t recommend it enough.

On a Goodreads scale, I give the Return of the Ancients five stars.

Cool stuff, Editing

Weaponised Darwinism – SNAFU: Survival of the Fittest

August 27, 2015 Amanda J Spedding Leave a comment

I have many hats, both real and virtual, and today I’m wearing a pretty swish fedora with sparklers for added flair, and for very good reason. *dons promotion hat*

SNAFU: Survival of the Fittest (the fourth in the series), hit the shelves the other day and it’s going great guns, as well it should. Sure, as one of the editors of this awesome tome, I’m biased but I’ve every right to be – *points to promotion hat* – the hat says I can.

As of this afternoon, the anthology sits at #3 on Amazon’s horror short stories, behind two of Stephen King’s books. NUMBER THREE! *does snoopy dance* (which looks spectacular with the sparkler-laden promotion hat, I gotta say.)

The title of this anthology says it all – this is military horror at its most primal. Live or die. We’re not talking that peaceful slip into the abyss but, you know, flayed of flesh annihilation. We’ve got some of the best writers in the genre penning their soldiers and breathing life into their monsters. And oh what monsters they have for you! Think re-animation, demon and devilry, alien and elder creatures, mythos, and those birthed from nightmare’s bowels. What stands between you and these horrors are elite forces, para-military, mercenaries, and the (not-so) ordinary grunt from battles both modern and historical.

And lets not forget the art. The amazing cover is the creation of the ultra-talented Dean Samed, and each story has internal art by the genius that is Monty Borror.

As co-editor of this kick-arse anthology with the equally kick-arse, Geoff Brown of Cohesion Press, I’m immensely honoured and privileged to work with authors of this calibre – without them, SNAFU: Survival of the Fittest, wouldn’t be the book that it is.

To say I’m proud of this band of SNAFU authors is an understatement. So do yourself a favour, and check out these amazing authors and the monsters they’ve unleashed upon the world.

Table of Contents:

Badlands – S.D. Perry

Of Storms and Flame – Tim Marquitz & J.M. Martin

In Vaulted Halls Entombed – Alan Baxter

They Own the Night – B. Michael Radburn

Fallen Lion – Jack Hanson

Sucker of Souls – Kirsten Cross

Cold War Gothic II: The Bohemian Grove – Weston Ochse

After the Red Rain Fell – Matt Hilton

The Slog – Neal F. Litherland

Show of Force – Jeremy Robinson & Kane Gilmour

(Available in ebook, paperback and limited-edition hardcover with signature pages.)

Now I’m off to put out the sparklers before I set myself on fire…

Art, Comic, Writing

It’s live! Live, I tells ya!

July 3, 2015 Amanda J Spedding 4 Comments

The Road to Golgotha, the two-in-one graphic novel published through Cohesion Comics is now live! *does happy dance* … *apologises for happy dance* No one deserves to see that.

Now it is true that the launch was last weekend at ComicCon Melbourne (see my wrap-up here), but now the comic is unleashed upon the world. Mwhahahahahaha!

Ahem.

The Road to Golgotha consists of a story by GN Braun – His Own Personal Golgotha, and my supernatural horror story, The Road. (See how clever that combined title is? Yeah, I didn’t come up with it – all kudos to Geoff for that one). There’s a symmetry in the telling of both stories, a link of cause-and-effect that strikes deep at the main characters of each tale. This is also beautifully carried through by the illustrations of uber-talented artist, Monty Borror.

Here’s what it’s all about:

“The Road to Golgotha holds two comics by Australian writers, set to the art of US illustrator Monty Borror. His Own Personal Golgotha by GN Braun follows the awakening of ‘the man’ into a nightmarish world of cemeteries and bones. To achieve anything, he must find out where and who he is. The Road by Amanda J Spedding shows us the changes wrought in Riley as she casts off her civilized veneer to allow the goddess within to emerge fully into her birthright. Redemption and personal growth are strong themes throughout both stories, and they each hold surprises as the protagonists struggle to come to terms with changes or growth they need to undertake. Travel with them as they go through their own personal golgotha along a road less-travelled.”

The first-run, signed ComicCon editions of sleek black & white are available, but Cohesion is looking to have colour editions screaming their way into the world soon. And by colour I mean vivid splatters of red and wispy, fiery orange. I’m so incredibly in love with this graphic novel, and so incredibly proud to have it published and in readers’ hands.

This is the first graphic novel in the Cohesion Comics line, with some incredible storytellers lined up for the future. The Road to Golgotha is an amazing first edition to what will only be a kick-arse series from the Cohesion team. Go take a look. G’orn, you know you want to…

Art, Comic, Life and stuff, Ramblings, Writing

ComicCon Wrap-up

June 30, 2015 Amanda J Spedding 8 Comments

Where to start? Probably 5am Friday morning when I dragged myself out of bed then dragged an equally unwilling child from her bed to catch a too-damn-early flight to Melbourne. After copious amounts of coffee (for me, not my daughter), wakefulness hit then excitement – COMIC CON!!!

We were bunking down at a my friends Chris and Tracy’s place (read her work – read it!), so Saturday morning we were again up at sparrow-fart and off to Melbourne-proper. It’s a pretty city, Melbourne, and damn if they don’t make a great cup of java (yes, this is a vital part of me liking any place I visit). As my daughter and I strolled along Southbank, it wasn’t long before we were in the midst of cosplayers – excitement level-up.

While I’ve been to Supanovas, this was my first ComicCon, and what made this all the more special was that this was the launch of my comic ‘The Road’ – part of a two-in-one comic ‘The Road to Golgotha’ with GN Braun and brought to spectacular life by the artist, Monty Borror. And when I walked up to the Cohesion Press table, there she was, pride of place and absolutely beautiful. That I was sharing this with my daughter made this even more special.

Our table was beside that of IFWG Publishing, manned by the lovely Gerry Huntman, the effervescent Stephen McCracken, and one of my favourite people in the world, Robert Hood. We were in some mighty fine company.

Now, I’m not a salesperson by any stretch of the imagination (kinda a design flaw in the whole being-a-writer thing), and pimping my work to strangers is hard, but the thing with ComicCon attendees is their desire to engage. There’s complete and utter acceptance of everything and everyone at cons such as these; it’s a celebration of the arts in all their mediums, and a celebration of those who love their movies, tv shows, authors, artists and all that goes with it.

The cosplayers were just brilliant – always happy and obliging for photos; and some of the costumes just blew my mind. It was happy, happy place that nurtures creativity, and you really can’t ask for more than that.

Chatting with people about the comic, explaining the idea behind the story and having people ask me questions then buy the comic was such a buzz – signing it for them as an author is a real joy. To have someone come up and buy your work because another con member recommended it? That’s the stuff of snoopy-dances.

If all of this wasn’t enough, I got to finally meet some peeps I’d been waiting to for a long time, and my mate James O’Keefe (who was also working ComicCon) was first to the table. I’ve known James for… must be five or six years now, but with both of us living in different states… it was great to finally catch up in person.

I knew artist and writer Jason Franks would be at the con, and that was a meet I was looking forward to, especially after reading his amazing novel Bloody Waters (get on it – it’s a killer piece! Reviewed here). While I would have liked to have spent more time chatting and to sit in on his panel – time was a hungry beast for us both.

Same with Aaron Sterns – it was wonderful to finally meet and chat with the softly-spoken writer of the Wolf Creek fame. I missed his panel as well, but that’s the thing with being an exhibitor at cons, you’re there to engage with potential readers and you can’t do that effectively when visiting people you’ve been hanging to meet for a long while. But cons are also the places that allow you to have those meets with friends from other states; with the people who love what they do as much as you do.

Being amongst it all brings home how much this really is the best gig in the world, and how lucky I am to be doing something that feeds my soul. None of which could have happened without the likes of Geoff Brown of Cohesion Press who believed in me and how much ‘The Road’ would be a kick-arse comic. I can’t thank him enough.

I really wish Monty could have made the con, but living in the US makes it a tad more difficult to get here – he’s a very busy lad! But without him, ‘The Road to Golgotha’ wouldn’t be the stunning piece of art that it is. And to top it all off, there were two pieces of original artwork waiting for me. Two of my favourite pages from the comic that will soon be framed and up on my wall where I will love them and stroke them and love them.

It was all over far too soon. Exhausting though those days were, it really lit a fire under my bum to create bigger and better, and to make sure I attend more cons to not only connect with my mates but to readers as well, ‘cause there ain’t nothin’ better than seeing someone walk away holding your book with a smile on their face.

Art, Comic, Life and stuff, Ramblings, Writing

ComicCon, I will be in you…

June 26, 2015 Amanda J Spedding Leave a comment

Tomorrow morning (waaay early), my daughter and I will be dragging our tired selves onto a plane for our trip to Melbourne for ComicCon. It’s a big deal, a very big deal. This is where the two-in-one comic ‘The Road to Golgotha’ will be launched through Cohesion Press. My story ‘The Road’, takes up 47 pages of horror-filled beauty, and while it’s uber-exciting, I don’t think it’s really sunk in yet (hell, I still haven’t started packing).

It’s been quite a long road (yeah, I see that pun) to get to this point; the script was written about two years ago, taken from a short story I’d had published in Midnight Echo #9. This was the first comic script I’d written, and truth be told, it almost broke me. Comic writing and story writing are two completely different beasts, and it took me a while to wrap my head around the ‘stillness’ of a comic. A panel is a snapshot, a moment frozen in time – a character isn’t ‘running’ they are ‘mid-step’; they aren’t ‘raising their hand’, it’s either up or down.

A true collaboration it is, and the gods stepped in and sent extraordinarily talented artist Monty Borror my way. It’s his art that brings my story to life, his skill and mastery of the medium that took my words and ideas and made them visually real, visually stunning. I sometimes wonder if he’s a sorcerer.

So 47 glorious pages later, Monty had finished the art, the lettering had been done, and it was off to the printers in time for launch at Melbourne ComicCon. ‘The Road’ is a story of gods and monsters, of self-discovery and a battle for identity for the heroine. It’s hard and it’s bloody and she unapologetically owns it.

The other story, by GN Braun is ‘His Own Personal Golgotha’ – a search for redemption through horror-filled pages again brought to wicked life by Monty Borror. It’s a visually stunning piece that doesn’t pull any punches. It’s kick-arse.

I also get to share this experience – my first ever launch – with my daughter, and that’s pretty damn special. She’s just as excited as I am, despite the fact she isn’t allowed to read the comic as it comes with a ‘R’ rating, but she’s very much looking forward to wearing an exhibitor pass and exploring ComicCon.

So if you’re in Melbourne over the weekend, come say hello and take a look at the comic – we’ll even sign it for you! For anyone who can’t make it, the comic will be available on Amazon next week, in either black and white or spectacular colour.

Now, I’d better go pack, I have to be up in five hours.

Art, Comic, Editing, Novel, Reading, Writing

2015? We Need to Talk…

January 6, 2015 Amanda J Spedding Leave a comment

Aah, 2015, how’d you arrive so quickly? Well you’re here now, so let’s get one thing straight, I have some damn high expectations forthcoming, so if you could not rush through this year as you did the last, that’d be great. Not that 2014 sucked by any stretch of the imagination, but I’ve set goals (note: that’s goals not resolutions) that I will reach, and strict regulations on my family/work/writing time management.

2014 was very business-oriented, with most of my time taken up with editing – don’t get me wrong, I love what I do; working with other authors… there’s not a lot that beats that!. This year, however, I will be much stricter with my working hours and my ‘no working weekends’ policy. Still, business is good, and the authors I worked with last year were most inspiring. Writers rock!

I also had the pleasure of being a co-editor on the SNAFU series with Geoff Brown, the owner and editor in chief of Cohesion Press. SNAFU: An Anthology of Military Horror, and SNAFU: Heroes have both been released to strong sales, but more importantly, kick-arse reviews. SNAFU: Wolves at the Door, will be released this month, and as with the other SNAFU anthos, there are some truly amazing stories within, both from established writers such as James A Moore, and some new writers you definitely need to keep an eye on.

As for last year’s reading (I’m talking for pleasure, here, not work), I kicked 2013’s arse. Twelve novels and two short story collections, which I plan to beat this year as well. I’ve a review coming for the last collection I read, and am already well into the first novel for this year.

Writing wise… well, this had to take a bit of back-seat. I finished the script for for my comic, ‘The Road’, and the uber-talented Monty Borror has finished the art – I can’t begin to put into words how Monty has captured my vision for the comic, only to say that I am extraordinarily humbled as well as mind-blown by the man’s work. Lettering will begin soon, and the comic will be launched at Melbourne ComicCon in June through Cohesion Comics. (Watch out Melbourne, here I come! Ahem…)

I wrote one short story last year, which was short-listed for a pro-paying market (that’s a win for me), but most of my writing was taken up with the first draft of my novel. Things there are progressing a lot slower than I’d like, but I have plan, and six weeks to get it done. And get it done I will. Then it’s rewrite time! I’ve also set a short story goal of four for the year, all to be subbed to pro markets. (See 2015? Goal-motivated – don’t be screwing with me and start messing with time.)

So 2015, I’m taking no prisoners and you’d better be on board. Don’t make me get all stabby with you.