It seems such a long time ago now that I sat and was shocked at the breaking news as a country with hundreds of years of history and culture looked as if it was about to wiped from the face of the earth.

I am happy to say a few months later the country is repairing itself but it is still only at the start of what is a long journey.

As the waters were still slowly leaving the land and returning to the seas and oceans that surrounded Japan I was made aware of a brilliant plan that had been started by a good friend of mine and a great author Brent Mills.

Brent lives in Japan and is surrounded by the aftermath of this almost apocolyptic disaster and he wanted to do something, not being a Doctor or a builder he turned to what he was good at ….. writing.

Brent has stretched out his tentacles and has now been able to get over 70 pieces of flash fiction from many well known and new authors into one package. It isn’t quite ready yet (just images 70 artistic temperaments )  but there is a list of authors and cover art all ready. This book will be release both in print and as an ebook and every penny will be going to worthwhile charities in japan.

Yes I know you have been asked to delve into your pockets on many occasions for many reasons but with this one you get something tangent (beyond the satisfaction of helping those in need) for your pennies.

Check it out and keep your eyes open and when the book is release buy yourself a copy and one for a friend.

RAILROAD!: V1 ROGER DODGER

and for those of us who prefer our stories in one big chunk she has made that first volume available on Kindle and various other formats, and at only 99c she asked me to create a cover for this first volume and so I did. So at only 99c it would be a shame not only to get some good storytelling but also to support new talent. You can follow Tonia on her own blog and of course buy RAILROAD!: V1 by clicking the links below.

VISIT THE WEB SERIAL

FOLLOW TONIAS BLOG

BUY VOLUME 1

All he could think of was a documentary on the discovery channel he had watched a few weeks ago ‘When the Black Bear Attacks!’,  those who had survived (of which there were not many) had all agreed the one thing they remembered the most was the strong sweet smell of rotting meat. As the huge creatures lunged at them and their powerful jaws came nearer, the weeks of undigested flesh that clung to the sharp teeth positively accosted their nasal passages.  He giggled; anyone looking on may had thought he had lost his mind laughing at a time like this, and to be honest he probably had, he remembered many things in those few brief moments.

Perhaps it was true, perhaps your life did flash before your eyes as you started that final journey, if it did it was amazingly bad timing and God had obviously made a mistake creating that jewel of an idea, taking his mind off survival to take a sunlight stroll down memory lane. But if you only remembered the good things it wouldn’t be a long walk.

He had been born in a small village to Sam and Liz, his Dad had been the local copper and Liz a school teacher in the primary school that occupied one of the few buildings that was larger than a house. The highlight of the weekend was when he and his friends, known as the benchers because of their habit of haunting the one public bench in the village, would hop on a bus and go into the local metropolis to sit on a different but very similar bench and whistle at the girls walking by.

He felt a wet drip fall onto his forehead but of course couldn’t wipe it off that wouldn’t be wise at all. His mind left his current predicament and shot off at a ridiculous tangent, this time he was walking in the rain along a pebble beach the grey seas were crashing up against the shore. He was wrapped in a soft woollen scarf to protect him from the harsh weather his mouth just cleared the material enough for his breath to escape and play dragons in the crisp winter air. He loved it as a young child when at school they would run around in the playground their jackets tied around their shoulders flapping their arms like strong leathery wings as they dipped and dived flying through the air. Their hot breath creating fiery smoke as it bellowed out of their mouths into the winter skies.

In his gloved hand he held another small delicate gloved hand, warm and comfortable in his grip. The hand sat perfectly at the end of an arm encased in a thick winter coat and was connected to the slender but strong form of Kerri.

Kerri’s thick long hair blew in the wind and rain that filled this particular memory, her red curls glowing against the grey of the day. He knew where this was, this was the day they became official, and once again a smile broke across his face as he thought of how his children now said that official to be truly official, had to be FBO. It took a while before they would share this meant ‘Facebook Official’; FBO was that time in a relationship where you were confident to share it with the world.

The memory of the beach was broken by another drop landing in the small concave area where his eye met the bridge of his nose; he now knew no matter how hard he fought there was no escape. Damn his good eyes if only he was short or long sighted and had to wear correctional lenses he may have been safe. Smirking he knew that even if he did have to wear correctional lenses his own vanity would have made him wear contact lenses so it really would have made no difference. The pain that was starting to appear across his shoulders was a sharp stabbing one that foretold cramps, he had been holding his arms rigid for what seemed like and age and he didn’t know how much longer he could manage it. He asked himself how much longer he could fight, how much longer would he struggle in this battle that was part of a war he had already lost.

Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes he saw the faces of his two children and heard their laughter as he let his arms drop and almost welcomed the weight that fell onto him. He felt no pain as the creature sunk its yellow teeth into the flesh of his neck and in one powerful bite and tear ending the fight, battle and war all in one.

THE END.

thanks

Ursula

Drabble 1 : Lightbringer

Nathanial Bird turned rapidly to face the oncoming threat, wiping the cold, stinging rain from his bloodshot eyes he looked once more into the darkness as they approached. His Grandma had told him stories from when they first appeared, when they first exploded from the darkness to envelope the world in a cold eternal night that covered everything living and dead. With the warmth of the fire behind him he dropped his hand to the cold solid steel of Lightbringer as it hung at his side; grasping its handle he pulled it from the leather sheaf and walked bravely forward.

http://pyrochris.deviantart.com/art/Eragon-s-Sword-Brisingr-Fiery-119947327

I started a new small press with a friend called KnightWatch Press we will be publishing both trade paperbacks and comic books. We have given me the lofty title of Creative Director which means I will be overseeing the look of the publications released by the press and often time the content as well.

Both the new press and the image designs now have a facebook page each so head along and like them (make me feel important )

www.facebook.com/theimagedesigns

www.facebook.com/KWPress

You can check out a lot of my new design work on both of the these pages but just to whet your appetite here is the cover of the newest open market at KnightWatch (hey you might even submit yourself)

Thanks for reading and I am going to do my best to keep this up to date

Talk later

OK I just finished formatting the Dead on Earth Graphic Novel and the bosses have said it is ok to share the cover and here it is. The cover art is by an artist called Cara Livermore and she has many illustrations inside as do I,  Danny Kelly and Jason Roussel with introductions from David Moody and Jonathan Maberry this is gonna be a great one to get and I’ll let you know just as soon as it is available.

Unlike many blogs out there Dollar Bin Horror serves a function Rhonda Kachur (known as Rhonny Reaper to her friends) keeps her eyes open for horror at bargain prices for the less financially flush amoungst us (yes that does include me) she keeps us up to date with the newest horror available out there and shares it all in an enjoyable, entertaining and informative manner.

Today Rhonny started out on an adventure many of us have been on ourselves, she redesigned her blog in an (sucsessful) attempt to make it look more professional. She contacted me to see if I could help by tweeking her logo,in her words the current one was,

designed almost a year ago on my crappy little  Microsoft paint when DBH started!

© 2010 theimagedesigns.com/Rhonny Reaper

I took the design she had and used it as the base for the new one obviously I kept the $1 note as the integral part but sorry to say got rid of Mr Washington and replaced him with Rhonny herself,

© 2010 theimagedesigns.com/Rhonny

 ReaperOnce Rhonny was happy with the design (and after a couple of typos from me doh!!) it was a small job to make up a header for the site and there ends the story

© 2010 theimagedesigns.com/Rhonny Reaper