Paul L. Mathews: Roll and Write: Sean Phillips

Thursday, 11 February 2010

Still in Love

Valentines Day 2010 marks the third birthday of The Valentine Chronicles...and no birthday is complete without gifts, right? And no, I don't mean chocolates or flowers. I'm talking a really, really cool gift...

As with last year's Valentine's Day celebration, I'm very proud to present the Chronicles's brand new gallery, which features sketches and artwork by some of the UK's best talent, including:-

Alan Davis (ClanDestine, Excalibur, Marvelman)
Duncan Fegredo (Hellboy, Judge Dredd, New Statesmen)
Sean Phillips (Marvel Zombies, Hellblazer, Third World War)
Jon Hodgson (Dragon Warriors, Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: The Gathering)
Staz Johnson (Civil War: War Crimes, Catwoman, Detective Comics)
David Hitchcock (Gothic, Springheeled Jack, Spirit of the Highwayman)
Dylan Teague (Judge Dredd Megazine)
James McLean (Quarry Grove, Beowulf, M.A.S.K.)

Also I'm thrilled to announce rising Filpino star Dexter Wee (Swerve, The Reserves, Anna Chronistic) has graced the gallery with a fantastic sketch of the Witch of Bleakwinter!

As ever, all this good stuff is FREE, and on a site devoid of ads and pop-ups. Now that's what you call a Valentines present!

If you have enjoyed this blog, please consider making a donation to my preferred charity, the Myasthenia Gravis Association. Thank you.

Tuesday, 10 February 2009

I Love You

It's Valentines Day again, and that means The Valentine Chronicles is celebrating its second birthday. So it's time I gave you a gift or two, right?

Well, how about I give you the conclusion to our current serial, Frozen? And what about a brand NEW gallery, one that features sketches and artwork by some of the UK's best talent, including:-

Duncan Fegredo (Hellboy, Judge Dredd, New Statesmen)
Sean Phillips (Marvel Zombies, Hellblazer, Third World War)
Frazer Irving (Gutsville, The Simping Detective, A Love Like Blood)
Peter Doherty (Batman & Superman: World's Finest, Judge Dredd, Armitage)
Jock (Green Arrow, The Losers, Lenny Zero)
D'Israeli (Stickleback, XTNCT, Lazarus Churchyard)
Dylan Teague (Judge Dredd Megazine)
Wynn Ryder (Cannibal Island, Flight of Moths)
James McLean (Quarry Grove, Beowulf, M.A.S.K.)

Would you like that? And would you like to get all this good stuff, for FREE, on a site devoid of ads and pop-ups? You would? Okay. Take them. They're yours.

Because I love you.

If you have enjoyed this blog, please consider making a donation to my preferred charity, the Myasthenia Gravis Association. Thank you.

Paul L. Mathews' work can currently be seen in these fine publications:-

The December 2014 issue of the Galician e-zine Nova Fantasia features a reprint of my steampunk tale Enjoy the Silence.

Nova Fantasia's October 2014 issue includes a reprint of my WWI horror Ein Normales Leiben.

Unconventional Diplomacy, the new supplement for Cubicle 7's The Laundry RPG, features the scenario A Pocket Full of Priapus, as written by your ever lovin' author. It is available now from Cubicle 7's e-store.

2013/14 sees the release of Cultists Under the Bed, the latest sourcebook for Cubicle 7's veritable The Laundry RPG to feature some dirty linen by yours truly. See Cubicle 7's e-store for more details.

Issue #22 of FutureQuake includes my comicstrip The Day the Earth Struck Back, as drawn by the jaunty Jim Lavery.

The August 2012 issue of German sci-fi magazine Nova features the latest reprint of my steampunk tale Enjoy the Silence.

The new Zombies 2 anthology from those lovely folk at Accent UK includes the one page comic-strip iZombie, as brought to you in the finest Romero tradition by David Miles Golding and my good self.

Avaiable now, The Mythos Dossiers is a special collection of source material and background information for Cubicle 7's excellent The Laundry role-playing game. It also contains a wealth of material written by yours truly!

Paul L Mathews' Meager Bibliography

Children's Story
A toy monkey awakens to find his friends have vanished and the world stands on the cusp of oblivion. So he decides to find out why.
Mirror Dance, Spring 2012
The Deepening, April 2007

Clean
A German soldier finds redemption in this 6 page WWII comic-strip.
Available in Accent UK's Predators anthology.

Desire
In a sterile future, one man strives for a way to fulfill his most destructive desire. Art by my good friend James McLean!
Murky Depths magazine, issue #17.

Ein Normales Leben
In the year of our Lord 1915 a squad of German Cavalry ride into the Belgium town of Zandsteert. Will they survive the Merovingian horror that awaits them?
Nova Fantasia (Galician), October 2014
Estronomicon, October 2008

Enjoy the Silence
A steampunk inventor nears the completion of his Instantaneous Communication Machine. But why does his cat seem so determined to thwart him?
Nova Fantasia (Galician), December 2014

Indian Sci-Fi, December 2013
Revista SRSFF (Romanian language), October 2013
Nova (German language), August 2012
Nowa Fantastyka (Polish language), November 2007
The Willows, September 2007
SciFantastic, April 2006
The Deepening, January 2006

I Don't Remember
A man awakens in the hands of Prussian forces on an alien world. But just who is he, and what do his captors want from him? Find out in this steampunk comic illustrated by Dylan Williams.
Murky Depths magazine, issue #18.

iZombie
Discover the dangers of staying up late with a computer in this one page zombie comic. Art by David Miles Golding.
Available in Accent UK's Zombies 2 anthology.

Kings and Queens
A mad king hunts angels and devils alike in pursuit of a singular obsession. But is that obsession so complete he would risk losing his kingdom and his wife?
Twisted Tongue, November 2007
The Deepening, April 2006

Little Sister
122 AD. A Roman general tracks an alchemist to the depths of Germania Superior. Find out why in this historical fantasy.
Mirror Dance, Autumn 2011

Money
Parallel tales of an automaton prize-fighter, a down-at-heel forger, and a magic banknote become entwined in this steampunk fantasy.
Pantechnicon, Issue #10

On The Air
Can Derek Ramsbottom survive Doctor Springer's televised surgery?
Twisted Tongue, October 2009

Strict Machine
All is full of jaundiced love between a Prussian General and her lover in this 6 page steampunk comic-strip. Art by the excellent Dexter Wee!
Murky Depths magazine, issue #12.

The Day the Earth Struck Back!
Earth battles an alien invasion in this comic strip homage to the finest of fifties B-movies! Art by Jim Lavery.
FutureQuake magazine, issue #22.

Weak
A magician fights a cruel and unusual fatigue whilst pursued by a monstrous enemy.
Nowa Fantastyka (Polish language), October 2010

Useful Links for Nascent Writers

Talking Turkey
A brilliant and funny article, edited by Bruce Sterling, which details the common mistakes made by novice writers. And before you ask, yes, I've made all of 'em. Repeatedly.

Worried About Copyright?
Dispel your fears with this useful guide from the UK Copyright Service.

Show, Don't Tell
If, like me, you're continually perplexed by the vagaries of Show, Don't Tell, you may find this illuminating.

What's in a name?
That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, right? Well, not according to the writer of this article, to whom a decent name for your story is of paramount importance (as in it can make a difference between a piece being published or not).

Market Tips and Publishers
For those of you looking for prospective markets for your writing, I heartily recommend Ralan.com—a veritably treasure trove of magazines, e-zines, anthologies and publishers. My rejection pile would be much poorer without it... You may also like to have a look at Duotrope.

Said Book-isms and Dialogue Tags
For the record, I think 'said' is the most insipid word in the world, and it bores me shitless. I love a good 'enthused', or 'uttered' or 'sighed'. Editors disagree, however, and so does the writer of this article, so I suck it up and use 'said' whenever I can. Yawn.

Manuscript Format
Presenting your work correctly can only improve your chances of publication (or so I'm told). So check out this useful guide to the do's and don'ts of short-story manuscript formatting. Follow your nose and you'll also find similair tips for novels, poems etc.

Online Dictionary
If there's one thing every writer needs, it's someone to massage their ego. If there are two things every writer needs, it's someone to massage their ego, and a good dictionary. My online dictionary of choice can be found here. An excellent site, it features a dictionary, thesaurus, grammar guides, style-sheets, an encyclopedia and more. Well worth checking out.

OSC's Guide to Everything
Not only does Orson Scott Card write fine books, but he also has a neat website. You may find this section in particular pretty useful, as there are a plethora of handy tips, hints and answers to every question a young writer may wish to ask (apart from "Why does everybody hate my work?")

Elements of Style
It's a bit long in the tooth now, but Strunk's Elements of Style is still considered a definative text. You can find the full version here.

The Em Dash
For the longest time I was confused by the mysteries of the Em dash. Avoid similiar confusion by reading this article.

Writers Write
I don't like to lecture people who say they want to write and then don't because they're dreamers, bone-idol etc. That's their problem. But if you genuinely want to write, but you're afraid to, or daunted, or think you're unworthy/rubbish, then this article pretty much sums up my attitude, and approach to Getting. Things. Done.

The Query Letter
For those of who've taken a step further than me (ie: Written a book that didn't end up in the bin!), you may be considering hawking it around to an agent. In that case, this article may be of some use to you. It details the anatomy of a perfect query. Read it, inwardly digest...and copy!

The Appalling World of Paul L. Mathews's Malapropisms

In my pursuit of writing nirvana, I've commited an awful lot of words to paper, but--as you're about to see--not all of them have been the right words...

My friend and author Stephen J. Anderson's reaction to my short story Ein Normales Leben (in which I mistakenly wrote 'Bash the bosch'): "I think it's normally spelt "boche" or "bosche" (it's French). 'Bashing the Bosch' made me think of a sexual practice involving power-tools."

Ein Normales Leben again, in which Stephen J. Anderson was surprised to learn the central character wanted to 'bread dogs', as opposed to 'breed' them. A culinary exercise involving bread-crumbs and a frying pan, perhaps?

This howler comes from the first draft of my first novel Pariah:-

"Activate tractor breams," Vosburgh said.

'Tractor Breams'? A shoal of magnetic fish, or fish farming on tractors? You decide.

Whilst not exactly a piece of writing, per se, I think one of finest moments must surely be whilst playing the Dark Conspiracy RPG. Upon being captured by the baddies, my PC innocently enquired "Are they gonna frig us for weapons?"

In an early script for my Prodigies series of comics, one character, upon agreeing with a fellow hero, stated "I can cure." That's nice, dear--but do you concur?

Dark Conspiracy again, and my fellow players were surprised to learn my well-heeled player character wore an Armenian suit.

Whilst being examined upon an operating table, one character had a needle thrust into his quadraped, as oppossed to his quadricep. God knows what the passing beast had done to deserve that...

Mortar follow.

Paul L. Mathews: Roll and Write

Thursday, 11 February 2010

Still in Love

Tuesday, 10 February 2009

I Love You

About Me

Paul L. Mathews' work can currently be seen in these fine publications:-

Paul L Mathews' Meager Bibliography

Forthcoming Attractions

Useful Links for Nascent Writers

The Appalling World of Paul L. Mathews's Malapropisms

My Negligible Visitors (Installed 23rd August, 2011)

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