tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42676764676792169622024-03-08T12:50:20.742+07:00Garrett W. VanceArtist/Writer. I hope you enjoy my creative works as much as I enjoyed creating them... actually, more would be good.Garrett W Vancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14270661134166570490noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267676467679216962.post-33016239654768279742010-12-04T13:09:00.040+07:002010-12-10T08:01:22.871+07:00Another Crazy Year!Hail Friends,<br /><br />When I started this blog I had the good intention of posting here often but perhaps you've heard what the road to Hell is paved with- at least I can one day take pleasure in a smooth ride knowing that I contributed so much. lol<br /><br />So, now that more than a year has gone by I'll hit the highlights.<br /><br />First up, my novelette <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://baens-universe.com/articles/Riders_of_the_Three-Toed_Horse">Riders of the Three-Toed Hor</a><a href="http://baens-universe.com/articles/Riders_of_the_Three-Toed_Horse">se</a> </span>was chosen for the <a href="http://www.locusmag.com/Magazine/2010/Issue02_RecommendedReadingList.html">2009 Locus Recommended Reading List</a>! Seeing my lil' ole name in a list with the likes of Peter S. Beagle, Tanith Lee, Lucius Shepard and other such literary heroes of mine sent me over the moon! I must have stared at the page for an hour after I found out about it just thinking "Oh my God that's ME!!". I'm really pleased people like that story so much, and yes, I am working on more- a lot more.<br /><br /><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51phPjuk3vL._SS500_.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 274px; height: 274px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51phPjuk3vL._SS500_.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>In more 'Riders' news, I was excited to have long time friend and fellow madman Birke Duncan adapt the novelette into a pulse pounding radio play! It has been aired on a variety of radio stations across the country and has gotten some great reviews! I designed <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/0971058245/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_0?ie=UTF8&index=0">the covers</a> and the play features some amazing voice talents, including celebrated Northwest story tellers and actors Bob McAllister and Birke Duncan! <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Riders-Three-Toed-Horse-Radio-Play/dp/0971058245">Go get one, Now</a>!<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://baens-universe.com/img/90CBC2F3-35B7-3659-81B8-7B55E4A00182/Table_of_Contents__Volume_4__Number_6.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 277px; height: 359px;" src="http://baens-universe.com/img/90CBC2F3-35B7-3659-81B8-7B55E4A00182/Table_of_Contents__Volume_4__Number_6.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>This year very sadly saw the final issue of <a href="http://baens-universe.com/">Jim Baen's Universe</a>, a pioneer in the world of web based magazines. Alas, alas, it was a wonderful thing but the fates were against it, despite a very dedicated staff's wishes to keep it going, JBU closed its doors April, 2010. I very much enjoyed writing for it, as well as illustrating- I did the cover art from October 2008 to the end and artwork for two stories, my own and Ben Bova's <a href="http://baens-universe.com/articles/Moon_Race">Moon Race</a>. I was asked to fill in as Universe's art director for the last three issues, and did the artwork for<span style="font-style: italic;"> all </span>the stories in the final issue myself. I volunteered since there was no money to pay anybody else to do it and I am really a pretty nice guy (sucker) for all my outward ogre-ness! We have layers! It was all good, being art director for two magazines looks swell on the old artsy resume.<br /><br />For the final issue's cover I portrayed the title being pulled down into a black hole-symbolizing how awful I felt to see the magazine end but also with a glimmer of hope for a rebirth in some other universe. To some extent that has happened!<br /><br /><a href="http://cms.grantvillegazette.com/upload/GG%2026/Grantville-Gazette-Cover-26.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 260px; height: 396px;" src="http://cms.grantvillegazette.com/upload/GG%2026/Grantville-Gazette-Cover-26.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>The Other Magazine I serve as art director for, the <a href="http://www.grantvillegazette.com/issues/">Grantville Gazette</a> has started publishing one Universe story per issue in the new <a href="http://www.grantvillegazette.com/articles/Introduction_to_the_Universe_Annex">Universe Annex</a>! I'm loving this, as much as I enjoy trying to come up with fun mixes of 20th century and 17th century images every two months (if you haven't tried the Gazette yet go do so now, it's too hard to explain!) I now get to do at least one wild card piece of SF or fantasy art per issue that is not related to Eric Flint's unique <a href="http://1632.org/"> 163X-verse</a>, variety is the spice of life.<br /><br /><a href="http://cms.grantvillegazette.com/upload/GG%2031/Long-Fall-mini-cover.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 350px;" src="http://cms.grantvillegazette.com/upload/GG%2031/Long-Fall-mini-cover.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Here is my fave Annex art I've done so far, for Jason K. Chapman's exciting tale of life amongst the asteroids, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Long Fall. </span><span>I've decided to make Universe Annex art look like book covers from this point forward with the hopes that Baen Books will one day wake up and realize that I can make them book covers, fast and cheap! lol<br /><br />There were a couple of super bright spots this year in which I got to meet some of my SF and Fantasy novelist heroes in person. In August I had the very extreme pleasure of meeting Eric Flint in person at the </span><span> The 10th Occasional North American Science Fiction Convention</span><span> in Raleigh South Carolina, <a href="http://www.reconstructionsf.org/?page_id=591"><span style="font-weight: bold;">ReConStruction</span></a></span><span> in which Eric Flint was Guest of Honor and we held a 1632 Minicon. It was fun to finally meet the guy who signs my checks! Eric is a very genial fellow and possibly the most intelligent being I have ever met, scary smart that one! I think he was impressed that I bothered to come all the way from Bangkok Thailand to be there, I wouldn't have missed it for the world! I was also overjoyed to finally get to meet the rest of the Grantville Gazette staff and many of our writers, what a great group! I followed our Editor Paula Goodlett around like a puppy dog for the whole con, she is pretty basically The Best Boss Ever and a heck of a lot of fun to hang out with! Everybody was very supportive, they knew I had huge butterflies about giving my first ever convention panel (on art for the Grantville Gazette) and were very much there for me- it turned out fine and I was glad my peers got to see some inside skinny on how I do (the often incredibly weird!) things I do to make art for the magazine. I hope to be able to fly across the big pond and do that again one day!<br /><br />The other HUGE highlight of this year was getting to meet SF and fantasy goddess <a href="http://www.cherryh.com/">CJ Cherryh</a> in person! She is wonderful!!!!! An incredibly talented and gracious person, she was kind enough to answer my (sweat soaked, scribbled) list of 'how to' questions, something I will treasure forever! </span><span> I was also exceptionally fortunate to meet artist and novelist <a href="http://www.janefancher.com/">Jane Fancher</a>, who in addition to doing amazing work is more fun than a barrel of monkeys and an open bar, what a hoot!</span><span></span><span> CJ and the Shejidanites are among the nicest people on the planet, seldom have I felt so welcome by total strangers! </span><span>It was like we had all known each other for years! Gush, gush, I don't care, feel the love!!!! :-D<br /><br />The other big event in my professional life this year was finishing and selling <span style="font-weight: bold;">my first novel</span>! At first I didn't even realize I had done it, the thing started out as a short story but just kept growing and growing! It's set in the 163X-verse and revisits my characters who live there, Pam the birdwatcher and her stalwart companions Gerbald and Dore, who have left Grantville to sail around Africa to Mauritius on a mission to save the helpless dodo from extinction! It's being presented as a serial, so by all means please check out <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.grantvillegazette.com/articles/Second_Chance_Bird__Episode_One">Second Chance Bird, Episode One</a> </span>in Volume 32 of the Grantville Gazette!<br /><br />So, that about wraps up 2010. I'm working on the latest Gazette as well as a brand new 163x-verse story, something quite different from what I've done so far. I intend to have those finished well before Christmas, the twelve days of which I intend to spend pleasantly pickled under the Christmas tree with my wonderful wife Mochi. It will be time to relax and reflect on a year that was one of the craziest yet, some for ill, most for good. I am very much looking forward to 2011, I have set it as The Year in which I <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> take off, friends, you ain't seen nothing yet! Ideas, boy have I got ideas, and best of all I find myself landed in the perfect time and place to do them! I wish all of you who take the time to read this a a fantastic New Year- see you there!<br /><br />Garrett W. Vance<br />Bangkok, Thailand<br />December 6th, 2010.<br /><br /></span>Garrett W Vancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14270661134166570490noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267676467679216962.post-36453081345678418372009-07-29T15:37:00.029+07:002009-07-30T16:08:50.325+07:00Many Good Things<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">Greetings!<span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><br /><br />I've put off posting here for far too long so here I am! My only excuse is that I have been busy working! When I decided to get serious about my true callings I started this blog and I have done the work-a LOT of good things have happened since! So, here's a brief history of what Garrett W. Vance (Yup. that's me!) has been up to!<br /><br />My wild and wooly sci-fi/horror adventure, <a href="http://www.baens-universe.com/articles/Riders_of_the_Three-Toed_Horse"><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 0);">Riders of the Three-Toed Horse</span></a> was published in the February 2009 issue of <a href="http://www.baens-universe.com/issues/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">Jim Baen's </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Universe</span></a> science fiction and fantasy magazine. The story is my first </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">published </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">non-shared universe piece and I confess to being pretty proud of it. Lois Tilton of the </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">Internet Review of Science Fiction </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">gave the story<a style="color: rgb(153, 255, 153);" href="http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10522#baen"><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);"> a really nice review, which can be read in its entirety</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);">here</span></a>. Here's the highlight:<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);"></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 255); font-style: italic;">"What Elias discovers is authentically scary and weird, and it is by no means obvious whether he will escape or not. The characters are genuine, and the setting is both strange and real, with the strange stuff made quite credible by the author.</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 255, 255);">" -Lois Tilton</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);"><br />That pretty much made my whole year!<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Riders-Merychippus-preview.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 318px;" src="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Riders-Merychippus-preview.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">I was also fortunate enough to be able to do my own art for the piece, I do indeed love getting two pay checks per one story! </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">I spent long hours researching what the prehistoric proto-horse of the Miocene, <span style="font-style: italic;">merychippus</span>, (my 'three-toed horse') might look like, based on a study of skeletal remains and wild 'living fossil' species such as Przewalski's Horse, untouched by domestication and still maintaining many ancient traits. </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">This critter is textbook and museum quality, or so darn close you could spit there.<br /><br />My long time friend and collaborator Birke Duncan is currently adapting Riders into a radio play, I can't wait to hear it!<br /><br />2009 has seen art take more center stage in my career. I was very excited to be asked to do three book covers for author and Universe editor Mike Resnick. They will be companion pieces to the online presentation of the novels, as soon as the links are ready I will post them here, meanhwhile, here are the covers!<br /><br />First up is the cover <span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">for Mike Resnick's</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-style: italic;"> The Widowmaker Reborn</span>, an action packed science fiction thriller.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Widowmaker-Reborn-Cover-sm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 401px;" src="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Widowmaker-Reborn-Cover-sm.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />The next is for his humorous fantasy <span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">Stalking the Unicorn</span><span style="color: rgb(192, 192, 192);">.</span><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Stalking-Unicorn-Cover-sm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 401px;" src="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Stalking-Unicorn-Cover-sm.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />My third piece of the set is for Resnick's powerful and enigmatic <span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Oracle</span>.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Oracle-Cover-sm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 401px;" src="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Oracle-Cover-sm.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I've been continuing to do my little dream job, making the the cover art for Jim Baen's Universe magazine. This has been a real pleasure as well as a challenge. Here comes the thumbnail gallery.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Universe-Oct-08-Cover-sm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 324px; height: 419px;" src="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Universe-Oct-08-Cover-sm.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Universe-Feb-09-Cover-sm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 324px; height: 419px;" src="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Universe-Feb-09-Cover-sm.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Universe-Apr-09-Cover-sm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 324px; height: 419px;" src="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Universe-Apr-09-Cover-sm.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">Author<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> <span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">and super nice guy</span> <a href="http://www.sff.net/people/bud_Sparhawk/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">Bud Sparhawk</span></a></span> was kind enough to email me some very welcome praise on the cover I did featuring his story <a style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);" href="http://www.baens-universe.com/articles/Winds_of_Mars">Winds of Mars</a>. <span style="font-style: italic;"> "I very much admire what you did with the image in my story WINDS OF MARS for the June cover... I've already framed the issue cover for my brag wall..."</span> -Thanks again, Bud! </span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Universe-June-09-Cover-sm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 324px; height: 419px;" src="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Universe-June-09-Cover-sm.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Universe-August-09-Cover-sm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 324px; height: 419px;" src="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Universe-August-09-Cover-sm.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 102);">I would say all that counts as staying busy. :-) I have some stories I'm working on, too, so fear not, 'Garrett the Artist' will make room for 'Garrett the Writer' again real soon! More good things to come, that's a promise.</span>Garrett W Vancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14270661134166570490noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267676467679216962.post-25002685439353636372008-10-31T13:43:00.001+07:002008-10-31T13:46:16.960+07:00Happy Halloween!<span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);">A very Happy Halloween to you!</span>Garrett W Vancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14270661134166570490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267676467679216962.post-68053770564942188202008-10-23T17:24:00.014+07:002009-07-30T16:24:50.268+07:00An Interview With GWV<span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">Hi Friends,</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">I'm feeling a bit introspective here on an October evening and so I'm going to engage in the guilty pleasure of pretending I'm being interviewed..</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">While skimming across the net I found the following interview, originally with Yves Saint Lauren</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">. I like the questions, so here goes!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">What is your chief characteristic?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">Creativity.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 153);">What is your principal fault?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">Moodiness.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 153);">What is your favourite quality in a man?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">Kindness.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 153);">And in a woman?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">Courage.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 153);">Who is your favourite historical figure?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">Basho, the haiku poet.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 153);">Who are your living heroes?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">People who dare to speak aloud thoughts, write stories and create art that might get them killed by the world's ignorant and greedy.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 153);">Who would you like to be, if you coul</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">d</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);"> J.R.R. Tolkien, my favorite author. He was a</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);"> dreamer and a scholar, and quite successful at both.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 153);">What is your idea of earthly happiness?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">Getting fan mail... and money for whatever I did that brought on the fan mail.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 153);">What is your idea of misery?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">Settling for less- particularly from myself.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 153);">Where would you like to live?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">Some interesting and beautiful places I haven't lived yet.</span> <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">Although here is good, too.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 153);">What talent would you like to have?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">Being good at math.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 153);">For what fault do you have the most toleration?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">Over-exuberance, especially in youth.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 153);">Who are your favourite painters? <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">(I'll stick to the classics, as Yves did)</span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">Da Vinci and Monet</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 153);">Who are your favourite composers?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsokov , I love the moody romance of the Russians.</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 153);"><br /><br />What is your favourite colour?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">Purple.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 153);">Of all things, what do you most detest?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">Rudeness.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 153);">Have you got a motto?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">"If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right."</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">-Henry Ford</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 153);">What would you like to do right now?</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 204);">I would like to make a somewhat more than comfortable living from my creative endeavors, and so have plenty of extra money to help young artists and writers get started, causing me to be a widely celebrated and well loved old fart.<br /></span>Garrett W Vancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14270661134166570490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267676467679216962.post-25617539798286241242008-08-08T20:36:00.020+07:002008-09-16T10:25:19.495+07:00The New Jim Baen's Universe Cover Artist<span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 255);">Well, that's me! </span> <span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 255);">I hardly believe it myself! It's astounding! It's fantastic! It's startling!<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 255);">Here's </span><a style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);" href="http://www.baens-universe.com/issues/Dec08">December 2008's cover</a><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 255);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">. </span>I chose to feature legendary writer Ben <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Bova's</span> </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 204, 255);">Moon Race</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 255);">.</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 255);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 255);">I'll make a few more tweaks on it before <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">publication</span>, but this is the basic idea: </span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(51, 204, 255);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Universe-16-08-Cover-GWV.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 210px; height: 264px;" src="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Universe-16-08-Cover-GWV.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 255);"><br />The piece is very much inspired by the works of the 1940's-50's <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">sc</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">fi</span> and fantasy pulp magazine artists. I was born too late to get the pulps off the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">newstands</span>, but I am lucky to know them through second hand finds and printed collections. I spent many happy hours in my youth dreaming of the far away worlds those classic magazines provided such thrilling glimpses of.</span><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 255);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 255);">I still do. I have to pinch myself now that I am <span style="font-style: italic;">the guy</span> doing the covers for an amazing magazine like<span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> </span><a style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);" href="http://www.baens-universe.com/issues/Dec08">Jim <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Baen's</span> Universe</a>! It's a childhood dream come true.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 255);">I'm now working on the cover for the upcoming October 2008 issue. The art will feature Mike <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Resnick's</span> very moving story<span style="font-style: italic;">, A</span></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 204, 255);"><span style="font-style: italic;" class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">rticle</span> of Faith</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 255);">. It looks like this will be a regular gig for for a while, I can hardly wait to see what future stories I will get to homage in cover art! I'm so freaking happy I'm going to dance the 'Eagle Rock' all up and down the docks! "Everyone in for the Eagle Rock!" (Dances the 'Eagle Rock' Be glad there is no video.)</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 255);">It still boggles my mind. I get to make moon walkers and androids for the covers of a popular sci-fi and fantasy magazine that has all the magic of the wonderful pulps of yore, and more. What a lucky life.<br /><br />Postscript: I neglected to thank my friend Dennis A. Martin for making a 3-D model of the walker based on my sketches. His version forms the base of the image you see here- I think it's time I learned how to use that 3-D stuff! Thank you, Dennis!</span></span>Garrett W Vancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14270661134166570490noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267676467679216962.post-91424218149494753732008-08-07T12:22:00.008+07:002008-09-05T18:56:12.783+07:00Grantville Gazette Ad<span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Hail Friends,</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">A while back Paula asked me if I could whip up a last minute ad for the <a style="color: rgb(255, 204, 51);" href="http://www.grantvillegazette.com/"> Grantville Gazette</a> to go in the Liberty Con booklet. Since our fearless leader Eric Flint was the guest of honor it would be a good idea to have something in there! I only had 48 hours to get it done but I came through, whew! After the dust settled I took another look at what I'd done and thought we could get some more mileage out of it. I made a few changes, added another Gustav fighter (my version of the premiere warplane of the 163x-verse) and sent it off to Paula who liked it. :-) My hope is it will soon be pointing the way to the Gazette from here and there around the web. </span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Grantville_Gazette_Ad-v3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 264px; height: 463px;" src="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Grantville_Gazette_Ad-v3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">This is just too much fun.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Garrett W. Vance</span>Garrett W Vancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14270661134166570490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267676467679216962.post-33500888865059498572008-06-14T17:49:00.016+07:002008-08-07T12:30:29.187+07:00I'm now the Art Director of the Grantville Gazette!<span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">Great googly moogly, I haven't made a post to my blog in almost a year! Here's my excuse: I've been busy WORKING on artistic stuff! Back in November of 2007 I became the Art Director of the Grantville Gazette. I think Editor Paula Goodlett may have put some kind of spell on me, she has Powers... All I did was whip up a jokey pic for her I made of myself dressed up in official swag from the <a style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);" href="http://www.cafepress.com/1632shop">1632 Store</a> and she realized I was a pretty fast hand with Photoshop.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Your-Biggest-Fan.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 126px; height: 174px;" src="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Your-Biggest-Fan.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);"><br />The next thing I knew, I was hired! The best part was I got this job by clowning around! (something I excel in). I now do all the art for the magazine. I also know a LOT more about Photoshop than I did when I started. It's a big job, but I really enjoy it! (Shhh, don't tell Paula!) </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">Check out</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);"> <a style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);" href="http://www.grantvillegazette.com/issues/Volume_15">Grantville Gazette Volume 15</a> and up for the pretty pictures; some are my original creations along with various public domain art to represent the historical elements of this alternate history series. My pride and joy are the title banners I design for each story. It's always a challenge, sometimes I find myself pondering questions like "How do I make <a style="color: rgb(255, 204, 204);" href="http://www.grantvillegazette.com/articles/The_Importance_of_Having_a_Pig__Food_and_Preservat">a pig</a> interesting?" I am working hard to bring a new (and hopefully interesting) look to this very eclectic magazine. For a few personal favorites look<a href="http://www.grantvillegazette.com/articles/Feng_Shui_for_the_Soul"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> here</span></a>, <a style="color: rgb(102, 51, 255);" href="http://www.grantvillegazette.com/articles/pirate">here</a>, and <a style="color: rgb(204, 51, 204);" href="http://www.grantvillegazette.com/articles/Wedding_Daze">here</a></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">. <a style="color: rgb(102, 51, 255);" href="http://www.grantvillegazette.com/articles/The_Whippoorwill">This title banner</a> was chosen by the 1632 Board for the <a>Ring of Fire Club</a> member's exclusive 2008 commemorative coffee cup!<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/2008mugrside.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 170px; height: 173px;" src="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/2008mugrside.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);"><br />Throughout all this I have still managed to get some writing in. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);"><span>I'm crossing my fingers that </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">my sci-fi action with a touch of horror piece, <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: rgb(204, 153, 51);">Riders of the Three Toed Horse,</span> </span><span>gets picked up by the Gazette's big sister magazine <a href="http://www.baens-universe.com/">Baen's Universe</a></span>. I'll write more about that one in a later post (hopefully in less than a year's time, and ideally after it has sold!). Writing-wise I'm currently working on a new 163X-verse story titled <span style="color: rgb(204, 204, 204);"><span style="font-style: italic;">Second Chance Bird</span>, </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);">which features the continuing adventures of Grantville's 'Bird Lady' Pam Miller, who is off on a dangerous voyage around Africa to save the dodo! There's going to be more action than a summer blockbuster movie and maybe, just maybe, a little romance for Pam, our heroic (and no longer frumpy) divorce'.<br /><br />Now I need to get Gazette 19's art going, I swear I am busier than a beer aficionado in Munich. Back to work!<br /></span>Garrett W Vancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14270661134166570490noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267676467679216962.post-84544306052097587422007-07-08T12:13:00.001+07:002007-07-08T14:47:51.518+07:00Birdwatching in Grantville, U.S.E.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/birdwatching-panel-2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/birdwatching-panel-2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Where does the time fly? Well, lately it's been through <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">a</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"> </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">burning ring of fire!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Just over two years ago I walked into Kinokuniya's excellent English language bookstore here in Bangkok thirsting for a good read. Scanning the science fiction section my eyes were caught by a novel titled simply </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/1632-Eric-Flint/dp/1416532811/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-5753716-7209606?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1183871898&sr=8-1">1632</a> </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">by Eric Flint. </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">The cover featured a group of seventeenth century musketmen taking on a pick-up truck of shotgun wielding hillbillies- wild and wonderful, I took it home. That night I read into the wee hours not wanting to put it down! I was hooked and went downtown again the very next day to grab </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);" href="http://www.amazon.com/1633-Eric-Flint/dp/0743471555/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-5753716-7209606?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1183871898&sr=8-2"><span style="font-style: italic;">1633</span></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Premise in a nutshell: The sleepy West Virginia mining town of Grantville is caught up in a dimensional rift; a side effect of the solipsistic alien </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Assiti's</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> latest quantum art project. In the <span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);">flash of light</span> and cosmic thunder that follow, dubbed the </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0); font-weight: bold;">Ring of Fire</span> </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">(RoF) , a six mile circle of 1990's WV is transported to seventeenth century Germany. Finding themselves in the middle of the Thirty Years War the American townsfolk begin to change the course of world history with their advanced technology and notions of freedom. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">I eventually learned that the novels rightfully enjoy an enormous fan following and that publisher </span><a style="color: rgb(51, 204, 255);" href="http://www.baen.com/">Baen Books</a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> hosts a forum dedicated to Eric Flint's RoF sagas. I was very excited to discover that there is an online e-zine dedicated to expanding this shared universe: </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);" href="http://www.grantvillegazette.com/issues/Volume_12">The Grantville Gazette</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);"> !</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Ever since reading the first novel I had a story of my own set in the RoF lurking in the back of my mind- now I knew there was a place where I might be able to share it, so I started writing </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);" href="http://www.grantvillegazette.com/articles/Birdwatching"><span style="font-style: italic;">Birdwatching</span></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">; the quest of depressed divorcée and amateur birdwatcher Pam Miller to learn if her beloved eastern cardinals survived the trip through the RoF. Hiking all over hilly Grantville and the surrounding Thuringean forests with her bodyguard and guide the stoic ex-soldier Gerbald in search of transplanted American birds (particularly the cardinal) leads to the beginning of a better life in her new time and place.<br /><br />I was incredibly pleased that the editorial staff and fellow writers liked my work and the next thing I knew I had made my first professional creative writing sale! To my further delight </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Editor Supreme</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> (and wielder of fearsome supernatural powers!) Paula Goodlett encouraged me to write more! I now have a color copy of the check from Eric Flint for</span><a style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);" href="http://www.grantvillegazette.com/articles/Birdwatching"> <span style="font-style: italic;">Birdwatching</span></a><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">framed and hung in a place of honor over my writing desk.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Since then Ive written a mini-trilogy of 'Pam the Birdwatcher' stories. </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);" href="http://www.grantvillegazette.com/articles/Birdwatching"><span style="font-style: italic;">Birdwatching</span></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> was published in </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);" href="http://www.grantvillegazette.com/issues/Volume_12">The Grantville Gazette, issue 12</a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> and now my second story, </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);" href="http://www.grantvillegazette.com/articles/Protected_Species"><span style="font-style: italic;">Protected Species</span></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"> is featured in the current </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);" href="http://www.grantvillegazette.com/issues/Volume_13">Grantville Gazette, issue 13</a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">. The third, </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 204, 204);">Bats in the Belfry </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">is currently slated for issue 14. I'll be posting here in detail on those stories shortly.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Writing these stories and working with the wonderful folks at Baen's Bar is a lot of fun and a wonderful opportunity. I would especially like to thank Eric Flint for starting this phenomenon, Paula Goodlett for giving a new author a chance and Virginia Demarce, co-author of </span><a style="color: rgb(0, 204, 204);" href="http://www.amazon.com/1634-Ram-Rebellion-Assiti-Shards/dp/1416520600/ref=sr_1_1/002-5753716-7209606?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1183876571&sr=8-1"><span style="font-style: italic;" class="sans">1634: The Ram Rebellion</span></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">, for sharing her knowledge and experience.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Right now I 'm struggling with, ahem, *cough* I mean <span style="font-style: italic;">working on</span> a new set of stories that focus on Pam's young adult son Walt and his new bride Crystal. After I finish these (gracious gods help me!!!) I'll start another set of Pam stories that will feature some world travel, seventeenth century style! Here's the teaser: </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Mission to Mauritius!<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">More fun to come!</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 255);">GWV</span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"> </span>Garrett W Vancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14270661134166570490noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267676467679216962.post-59614798793081494282007-01-25T17:43:00.000+07:002007-09-23T18:59:26.199+07:00The Dance Stake<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Dance-Stake-1.jpg?t=1169722742"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/Dance-Stake-1.jpg?t=1169722742" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 255, 153);">I will from time to time post reports of unusual things that have happened to me. When I say 'unusual' I mean paranormal or supernatural… things I can't explain. I swear these events are true and whether you believe me or not isn't important- I just hope you enjoy the story. GWV</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 153);">The Dance Stake</span><br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 153);font-family:georgia;" >A friend of mine became fascinated with tribal art from Papua New Guinea and started collecting it passionately. He decided to import it in larger quantities and sell some pieces as a side line in his aquarium hobby business, a most excellent and venerable establishment called </span><a style="font-family: georgia; color: rgb(153, 255, 255);" href="http://www.art-pacific.com/gallery/retail/fishstor.htm">The Seattle Fish Store</a><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 153);font-family:georgia;" >. I became quite taken with it myself and over several years I amassed a sizable collection of my own- masks, fetishes, carved animals, and other odd items.<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 153);font-family:georgia;" >The tribal New Guinea people are master artisans and their work is by no means "primitive"; each piece embodies a history, a tradition and a purpose relating to their very complex cultures. All of their art embodies a spirit- direct ancestors, progenitors of clans (often thought to be animals, for example the crocodile clan and the bat clan), and various other gods and demons. All of these items are used variously in daily life, ceremonies and spiritual practices. It is a living art that performs specific tasks based on the tribe's customs and beliefs.<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 153);font-family:georgia;" >One of the pieces I purchased was a "Dance Stake", a wood carving about 14 inches long. The top is an oval carved and painted face- a scowling and very serious looking visage, its cowry shell eyes lending it a piercing gaze. From the chin the wood tapers down to a narrow and very sharply pointed wooden stake. The dance stakes are placed in the ground around the border of the sacred area where the tribe's most important ritual dances are held. They are placed facing away from the center of the dancing place and their job is to protect the dancers from harmful magics cast by the shamans of enemy tribes, or evil spirits wishing to harm the dancers. In New Guinea, there is no question about it- these things are real forces that must be reckoned with. In their world magic is real, it works and it can kill.<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 153);font-family:georgia;" >I was living in Seattle at the time I bought the piece. I leaned it up against the bricks beside the fireplace, where it remained for several years. When I moved permanently to Thailand I left my collection for a year with a helpful friend who also collected and he displayed my pieces along with his own. On my next visit back to the States I stopped by to take them off his hands and move the collection to temporary storage on family property, there to await eventual import to my new home overseas. We were finished packing up the many pieces when I noticed the dance stake seemed to be missing and queried my friend. He flashed me what in retrospect may be considered a rather odd look and said "Oh yeah, it's down here" pointing to a spot near the floor where it hung from a hook, its bottom tip touching the floor. He explained that "Since it's meant to be stuck in the ground I put it down low." He rather hurriedly removed it from its hook and put it in the box with the other pieces.<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 153);font-family:georgia;" >That evening I hung my collection in its next temporary home, my mother's recreation room in a side building near the main house. It would be a while before I would be able to have them all brought to Thailand and they keep better out of boxes. I hung the dance stake about seven feet off the ground, a couple feet from the door. I had put a small eye screw in the back of the dance hook and used some electrical wire to attach it to a nail. The wire was fairly strong and I made two knots so that there was a small loop and a large loop. I placed the bigger loop over the nail, which had a fairly large head on it and went back to the house. A while later I returned to the room to find the dance stake lying on its back on the floor. I thought someone must have carelessly slammed the door and caused it to bounce off the wall. This time I hung it by squeezing the smaller wire loop over the head of the nail, which was a tight fit and much more secure.</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 153);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 153);font-family:georgia;" ><br /><br />The next morning I entered the room to find the dance stake lying on it back on the floor again. I was rather surprised since I had secured it so firmly, and as I picked up the piece I jokingly spoke to it- "What, you don't like it up there? Fine you can trade spots with something else!" I took down a lightweight penis gourd from a spot 5 feet away from the door and only 4 feet off the ground and placed it in the dance stake's former position with the idea that slamming doors wouldn't cause it to fall, as it would just bounce in place harmlessly. I was in a hurry as I hung the dance stake in its new spot by the larger loop of the wire. This nail was driven in with its wide head at an upward angle to the wall so that gravity would prevent the piece from slipping off. Before I left I pulled on it to test it and found it very secure- it would take quite an earthquake to bounce the dance stake off the nail. I left the room and locked it.<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 153);font-family:georgia;" >That evening I returned to the rec room, this time with my brother, Norman, to show him something in the adjacent storage room. As we walked in I stopped in my tracks. The dance stake was lying face up on the floor below its nail for the third time. I laughed nervously and said "Norman, this is kind of weird" and related the story thus far to him. He said "That IS kind of weird...if something was to jar the whole wall, you would think that other pieces would have fallen off, too." I remarked that "I'm sure no one has been out here to slam the door and cause this to happen." We definitely had not had any earthquakes. My brother walked over and picked the piece up to hang it back on the wall. I told him to stick it on the nail by the smaller wire loop- a process which took him a while as he had to work the wire over the large nail head. He said "Well, there's no way it's going to just jump off the wall now!" and we went on about our business after which my brother returned to his home. As I shut the outer door and locked it I stole a last glimpse of the dance stake sternly glaring into the darkness.<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 153);font-family:georgia;" >I must admit that the next morning as I headed out to that room again it was with some real trepidation. I had a queasy feeling that the dance stake had indeed somehow worked itself off its nail and, impossibly, jumped down to the floor again. When I entered the room my hair stood on end- there was the dance stake lying face up on the floor for the FOURTH time, its cowry shell eyes staring sullenly at the ceiling.</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 153);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 153);font-family:georgia;" ><br /><br />At this point I stopped to collect my wits and think this macabre situation through. I found I had now become a true believer in the potency of New Guinea tribal magic and spirits. It occurred to me that the shamans of the tribe who had created this dance stake had made it with a specific task in mind: to be placed in the ground to protect an area.</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 153);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 153);font-family:georgia;" >I kneeled over the dance stake and spoke to it quite seriously and respectfully-it felt like the right thing to do on an instinctual level, mad though it may seem.<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 153);font-family:georgia;" >I asked it "Are you trying to tell me that you don't want to be hanging up in the air? Do you want to be down on the ground?" I instantly sensed that this was the truth. I knew that I couldn't put the dance stake outside in the ground as the Pacific Northwest weather would destroy it so I came up with an alternative. I carefully placed a nail at exactly the right height above the floor so that the dance stake's bottom point would be touching the floor. I explained to it that this was the best I could do and asked it to "Please protect our family's grounds just as you would the grounds of the people who made you." I also told it that I had great respect for its spirit and wished it to be happy.<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 153);font-family:georgia;" >It occurred to me that this was the exact same position my friend in Seattle had placed it while it was in his keeping. I grilled him about it but to this day he denies any strange happening and chided me for not putting it near the ground in the first place! Still, I sensed that he wasn't telling me everything and his skeptical pride was making him keep any unusual activity from the dance stake to himself.<br /><br /></span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 153);font-family:georgia;" >Over the next few days I periodically wandered by the room to check on my dance stake to find it serenely perched with its tip touching the floor. I sensed that its spirit was content doing its intended duty in its proper place. I soon after returned to Thailand and according to the family the dance stake remained in place another six months right where I left it. Since then my family has moved away from that property and the collection has been boxed and put in storage awaiting my return; I admit that I feel a bit uneasy about the dance stake being kept in such a state- it certainly won't be pleased!<br /><br />On my next trip to America I plan to bring my entire New Guinea art collection back to Thailand with me, including the dance stake that possesses such a strong will of its own. I certainly don't plan to try hanging it on a wall again- it will be planted firmly in a gravel filled flower pot on my covered front porch where it can happily guard my home from evil spirits and hopefully solicitors as well.</span><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 153);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:georgia;" ><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 204, 153);">Garrett W Vance</span><br /></span></span>Garrett W Vancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14270661134166570490noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267676467679216962.post-34122836241725859822007-01-23T14:33:00.002+07:002008-03-13T17:03:35.692+07:00Fossils & Agates<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/FnA-Cover-1smaller-b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 400px;" src="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/FnA-Cover-1smaller-b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(102, 255, 153);">Sorry folks, I have to pull this one off the shelf for now- it's getting a big re-write then I'm going to submit it to a pro magazine. I'll post the results here, wish me luck!</span>Garrett W Vancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14270661134166570490noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267676467679216962.post-60598167254385555822007-01-22T17:27:00.000+07:002007-03-29T15:47:47.787+07:00Trolls, Ghosts and an Extraordinary Friend<p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Georgia;">It's long past due that I post some praise and thanks for my long time friend, associate and promoter: Birke Duncan.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Birke and I met doing high school theater together. My favorite memory of Birke from that idyllic age was his portrayal of a nearly mad scientist in the production of Karel Capek's <i>Rossum's Universal Robots</i> that I served as student director on. Birke is a wonderful character actor and has brought a bright spark of wit to every production he has been involved in, he took to the role as naturally as breathing. The highlight for me was when something unexpected happened during a performance- a heavy furnell light came loose from its overhead bar to come crashing down on the stage just a scant few feet in front of Birke! (fortunately not on his head!) Not missing a beat Birke looked up, shook his fist and proclaimed: <b><i>"Clumsy robots!"</i></b> -Brilliant!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Georgia;">I could go on and on and on about Birke's many innovative creative projects (as he often does, hehe) and so I will pick some that are near and dear to my heart and that I was directly involved with.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Georgia;">I'll start with Birke's book </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Troll-Tale-Other-Scary-Stories/dp/0971058202/sr=1-3/qid=1169461576/ref=sr_1_3/102-9970902-5029708?ie=UTF8&s=books"><i><span style="font-family:Georgia;">The Troll Tale and Other Scary Stories</span></i></a><span style="font-family:Georgia;"> that he wrote with Jason Marc Harris, fellow folklorist. The book is a collection of strange but true tales as told by the people to whom they happened- one of those being myself, the teller of my own true story, <i>The Troll Tale</i>! </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0971058202.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://ec1.images-amazon.com/images/P/0971058202.01._AA240_SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:Georgia;">There are some wonderful stories there, I am especially fond of Robert McAllistair's <i>River Boys. </i>As for my own tale Birke has transcribed it directly from an audio tape of my telling which gives it a kind of a scientific weirdness (although it was a tad upsetting how many times I vocalized "Uhhh") which accentuates the fact that this bizarre story really happened! I also have another entry in the volume concerning a poltergeist I encountered in Bavaria- and you don't have to believe me to enjoy the stories, either!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Georgia;">I will at some point publish my short story version of the troll story here, and I highly recommend taking a look at the book itself </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Troll-Tale-Other-Scary-Stories/dp/0971058202/sr=1-3/qid=1169461576/ref=sr_1_3/102-9970902-5029708?ie=UTF8&s=books"><i><span style="font-family:Georgia;">The Troll Tale and Other Scary Stories</span></i></a><span style="font-family:Georgia;"> ! The book has made the 'Best Seller List for Scholarly Works' and has been required reading in classes at both the University of Washington and Michigan State University- but make no mistake, this is no stuffy textbook and the 'Scary Stories' live up to their name!<br /><br />Birke has also produced a thrilling radio play enactment of the tale which is available directly from Northwest Folkore on CD by contacting Birke at biduncan67@yahoo.com -The sound effects and voice acting were so realistic that I felt as if I were back in that campground in Sweden going through the eerie experience all over again!<br /><br />The third project Birke has produced involving me is the audio CD 'radio play' version of my novella <i>A Long Vacation </i>which I may at some point expand into a novel as a project on this blog. It's the story of Ray, a lonely young American who works in Tokyo taking a vacation to a remote Japanese island in the Ryukyuu archipelago. There he becomes smitten with a mysterious girl named Satsuki he meets while skindiving who may hold keys to doors into Ray's past that he himself is unaware of. When he jokingly makes an offering at the abandoned cliffside shrine of a forgotten sea god Ray finds himself propelled into a chain of increasingly strange and dangerous events. There's a ghost loose on this island and who it is is anybody's guess!<br /><br />At Birke's strong (and relentless!) encouragement we worked together to adapt the novella into a radio play script. Once that was done Birke superhumanly casted a group of excellent actors, found amazing sound effects, mastered new technologies and created something entirely new and wonderful- my novella transformed into a vibrant new art form through the great talents of all involved! Hearing my written words brought to life by Birke's wonderful troupe of voice actors was an incredible experience, and one that I think you will enjoy, too. Here is the link for procuring the audio CD of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0971058229/ref=dp_proddesc_0/102-9970902-5029708?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books"><i>A Long Vacation</i></a> , and I am pleased to note that I was able to contribute one more creative act to the production as I designed the cover and took the photograph of the lovely mermaid featured there.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.merdance.multiply.com/image/13/photos/6/600x600/2.jpg/ALV%20Disc%20Cover.jpg?et=8BRBfU4ZgCW3RjS7jgBOoQ"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://images.merdance.multiply.com/image/13/photos/6/600x600/2.jpg/ALV%20Disc%20Cover.jpg?et=8BRBfU4ZgCW3RjS7jgBOoQ" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />I am also delighted to report that <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0971058229/ref=dp_proddesc_0/102-9970902-5029708?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books"><i>A Long Vacation</i></a> received the Silver <a href="http://www.greatnorthernaudio.com/MarkTime/MTwinners.html"><b><i>Ogle Award</i></b></a> for </span><span style="font-family:Georgia;">the (2nd) Best Fantasy/Horror Audio Production of the Year 2005! As I live in a rather distant city (</span><st1:place><st1:city><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Bangkok</span></st1:city><span style="font-family:Georgia;">, </span><st1:country-region><span style="font-family:Georgia;">Thailand</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span style="font-family:Georgia;">) I couldn't make it to the ceremony so Birke received the award on our behalf as producer, co-writer, director and mastermind. I am very proud to have been a part of it!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Georgia;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/SilverOgleALV.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r300/GWV17/SilverOgleALV.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />And so I want to thank Birke for unfailingly encouraging me to write and create more, and for his hard work in taking some of these creations to new levels of exposure and artistry! Birke always goes above and beyond to make things happen and its about time this hero of mine got his song. Hail Birke, you are an inspiration! Ja vi elsker det Birke!!!<br /><br />Garrett W Vance</span></p>Garrett W Vancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14270661134166570490noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4267676467679216962.post-50251883670664949212007-01-22T14:13:00.000+07:002007-03-29T15:46:13.414+07:00Prologue: A Bookshelf<span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >I have a recurring dream.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >I dream that I am standing in front of a large bookshelf in a private library room. The room features a big overstuffed armchair and a good reading lamp in an inviting corner; just the kind of place to settle in for a good long read.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >The bookshelf holds many volumes of hardbacks and paperbacks, novels and short story collections- their titles are alluring and they all allude to the subjects that I find most engaging; strange worlds, mysterious beings, epic fables...</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >I pick one off the shelf and smile at its colorful cover art. I open it briefly to read a paragraph and get a hint of what awaits me as a potential reader, just those few brief words draw me in, I very much want to curl up in that armchair with this book. I pick up another volume randomly from the bookshelf and am once again entranced- These are exactly the kind of books I love, this is a treasure trove! I eagerly look forward to reading every book on this shelf!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >It occurs to me that I haven't even looked to see who the authors are yet, so I scan the bookshelf... they all bare </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 102, 204);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >the same name</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);font-family:trebuchet ms;" > printed down their spines in a variety of hues and fonts. It's a surprising discovery:</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >The name is </span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(204, 102, 204);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Garrett W Vance</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >This is where I always wake up, my hand reaching out to see what wonders I have penned. As the shrouds of the dreamworld fall away I realize with a deep dissapointment that the books don't actually exist except as phantoms of what could be... of what</span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 102, 204);font-family:trebuchet ms;" > should</span><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);font-family:trebuchet ms;" > be.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >The dream is sending me a message, the most important message I have ever received in my life: Write those books!</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 102, 204);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >So, here I am. It's time to fill that shelf.</span>Garrett W Vancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14270661134166570490noreply@blogger.com1