Just added to the Black & White Illustration gallery - my illustration for the short story "gunning for a tinkerman" by Jason Fischer to appear in Aurealis #44.

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Just added to the Black & White Illustration gallery - my illustration for the short story "You'd Better Watch Out" to appear in Festive Fear 2, edited by Stephen Clark, forthcoming from Tasmaniac Publications.

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With the 2010 Ditmar Awards now open for nominations until the 23rd of July, I have a number of works that are eligble.

In order to give everyone a chance to read those works and determine for themselves if they are worth nominating, I will be making the following works available as free PDF downloads for the next week, leading up to the 23rd July.

Have a read, have a look. If you enjoy want you read in the stories or see in the illustrations, please send a nomination my way. Click on the titles below to download the PDFs.

Best Novella/Novelette

• "The Message" by Andrew J McKiernan - originally appeared in Midnight Echo #2 from AHWA. Short listed for both Aurealis and Australian Shadows Awards: "The Message by Andrew J. McKiernan is the absolute standout in this issue. Again, a grounding in real life events gives this story real impact. There’s a real emotional hit to this one that will linger long after you’ve closed the magazine." OzHorrorScope
• "Daivadana" by Andrew J McKiernan - originally appeared in In Bad Dreams 2: Where Death Stalks from Eneit Press: "'Daivadana' by Andrew McKiernan, [is] my favourite kind of story, epic and action packed and filled with ancient and nasty magicks. He writes stories that I wish I'd written. Damn his eyes." Martin Livings.

Best Short Story

• "The Dumbshow" by Andrew J McKiernan - originally appeared in Masques from CSFG: "The Dumbshow is a noir carnival that shows off Andrew McKiernan's considerable prowess, effectively conveying the mute character's emotions and dialogue through the unlikely medium of written mime...his characters are crystal clear and throbbing with life." Specusphere

Best Artwork

• "Shards: Short Sharp Tales" by Shane Jiraiya Cummings, illustrated by Andrew J McKiernan from Brimstone Press: "McKiernan shows a brilliant sense of what stands out in the mind of a reader and then brings those images to life with a frightening style and ability beyond most artists working today in the smaller presses." gnbraun.blogspot.com/2010/07/new-reviews-up-this-weekend.html

[Edit: Links no longer available]

Just added to the Black & White Illustration gallery - my (slightly updated) illustration for Paul Haines' story "A Tale Of The Interferers: A Hunger for Forbidden Flesh" to appear in ASIM#46 edited by Mark Farrugia.

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I've just posted a copy of an article I back wrote in August 2008 based on my observations as a bookseller on the Self-Help movement. This short article has since become the basis for my novel-in-progress, "Help Yourself".

As I sit here in the bookshop on weekends it is becoming clearer to me. The 'Self-Help' section of bookshops has become the new Sunday tabernacle: a destination worthy of pilgrimage and reverence.

The 'Self-Help' section is always one of the most frequented areas of most bookshops. If you only have one customer in the store, they will probably be standing there in front of the Deepak Chopra's, Sylvia Browne's and John Edwards'.

The boss here has this thing where we are supposed to ask every customer staring at a bookshelf "Can I help you with anything?". Normally I don't mind doing this but I'm loathe to do it when the customer is standing in front of 'Self-Help'. They shouldn't need my help! They've clearly displayed how much of my assistance they need from me by being there, in SELF help, in the first place. Ironic that the 'Self-Help' section is then filled with books by others telling you how to live your life...

Read the rest at "Help Yourself" - Self-Help: the New Sunday Tabernacle

Just added to the Black & White Illustration gallery - my illustration for the poem "Dead Air" by Grant Stone, to appear in ASIM#46 edited by Mark Farrugia.

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Just added to the Black & White Illustration gallery - my illustration for Amanda Spedding's story "Nightmare's Cradle" to appear in ASIM#46 edited by Mark Farrugia.

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Just added to the Book Cover Gallery - my cover design for the forthcoming Eneit Press anthology "Baggage" edited by Gillian Polack.

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Just added to the Book Cover Gallery - my illustration and cover design for the wrap-around hardcover dustjacket of Richard L Tierney's collected poetry, "Savage Menace & Other Poems of Horror" from P'rea Press.

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Just added to the Gallery - my internal illustration for ASIM #44 based on the story "Sebastian" by Jason Fischer.

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