Sketchbook of Straw (Cover Art)

Even as the snow once again covers Ichabod's Cottage (seems like there has been snow on the bogle since late October), the Bindlegrim goblins have remained busy at work with lots of new spooky goodies for 2012.

The holiday was a great time to get some writing done, and work is progressing on that new collection of Bindlegrim short stories (and perhaps poetry) called Sketchbook of Straw. There are two dark tales written and edited: The Jitter Dance and The Herbivorous Witch for definite inclusion. A third tale is undergoing editing and there is some back-and-forth decisions on if this lighter tale (along with the 4th lighter story now being written) will be included in the same volume - perhaps this will be a book with sections for darker and lighter moods?

As shown above, in preparation for the cover, I've been going through some of my old pen/pencil drawings from sketchbooks (which seemed appropriate) of the late 1980's to the early 1990's - when I was thoroughly enjoying the world of surreal and abstract art, with influences such as Dali, Miro, Tanguy, and Klee to name a few. Above are a few working ideas of how the cover might appear.

As if this wasn't enough to keep the goblins busy with all those art and literary pursuits (I'm not sure exactly when there will be enough stories to complete a full volume), there are also some design pursuits occurring with vintage-style Halloween lanterns for 2012, and keep an eye out for that news too!