That look in your/my eyes...

I stumbled across this surprisingly poignant summation of Artist's Alley at the San Diego Comic Con, which just wrapped up this weekend. It addresses the same mix of admiration and horror I've sometimes felt at the few conventions I've attended, either as wandering geekboy or exhibitor. I've spent the last few years toiling away on my books Vreeland and Doodleville, with the goal of selling them to major publishers and becoming wildly rich and famous (and of course, critically beloved). But when neither sold, I stopped work on them, and so years of effort have resulted in two half-finished projects. Although I still love those books and want to return to them at some point, I've decided to:

1) Set aside my ambitions for "the big book deal" and just get my work out there! (most likely through these here internet tubes)

2) Commit to finishing my damned books.

3) Play with fun, shorter pieces.

4) Go to conventions, no matter what.

5) Blog more, because that's what the world needs.

The last few months, I've been experimenting with a number of styles, formats, and stories. Shadow Play is one of the strange little projects that has emerged. It resulted from playing around, seeing what worked, and taking it where it wanted to go.

That's as much as anyone can do, I guess. I think it's turned out pretty well--today's installment is one of my favorites:

So if you see me exhibiting at a convention with a crazy look in my eyes, don't be afraid. Come over and say hi.