It’s true— the SWC webstore is finally up and running! Now you can spare yourself the frustration of hunting down Pan’s adventures, and order them—as well as other StarWarp Concepts titles—directly from her publisher.
Currently available are print editions of Blood Feud, the classic vampire tale Carmilla (with illustrations by Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0 comic artist Eliseu Gouveia), and The Bob Larkin Sketchbook (which features Pan on the cover). And since the sketchbook is an SWC exclusive not available in stores, the webstore’s the only place you’ll be able to get it—not counting when we sell it at conventions, of course.
Also:
The official Pandora Zwieback T-shirt! You asked for it (repeatedly) and now you’ve got it! Available in both men’s and women’s sizes, it’s the same devil-girl T that Pan wears on the cover of Blood Feud, and an essential piece of clothing for every budding Goth adventuress.
The Blood Feud Art Print! It’s Bob Larkin’s cover art for the first Pan novel—as you should be well familiar with by now—presented on 11” x 17” cardstock without text, and limited to 100 copies.
So, head on over to the StarWarp Concepts site and start ordering already—I gotta clear some space in this office! 😉
“Roman brings horror to NYC and spins a tale that keeps the reader enthralled…. I recommend this book for all horror readers and especially to young girls.”
The fact that Blood Moon Rising’s offices are based in Queens, NY—Pan’s home borough—makes the positive reaction all the sweeter. I mean, who doesn’t love a monster-fightin’ hometown girl?
You can read the entire review—as well as a review of Carmilla, StarWarp Concepts’ first classic reprint (with illustrations by The Saga of Pandora Zwieback #0 comic artist Eliseu Gouveia)—by clicking on the cover. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the magazine!
Blood Moon Rising is also the sponsor of The Institute of Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction, a one-day gathering being held this March at the main branch of the Queens Public Library, which is located in Flushing—a neighborhood that is immune to all your petty, childish jokes about toilets, so don’t even bother! 😀 Click the link in the Events listings for more information on the show.
Back in the November 7 post, I told you about my decision to go with Bob Larkin–painted covers for Pan’s novel series as opposed to the fairly interchangeable photo covers that just about every other publishing company uses for their Young Adult titles. One of the reasons was that I couldn’t imagine what it would take to have a replica of Pan’s leather jacket created, complete with the bat ornament that hangs off its left shoulder.
Well, ladies and gentlemen, courtesy of master artist and sculptor Bob Larkin, I proudly present the one-of-a-kind, real-life Pandora Zwieback leather jacket—complete with bat shoulder ornament and pentagram choker!
Sweet, aren’t they? It’s the same make of women’s motorcycle jacket that Bob used for the Blood Feud painting. The neckwear is a combination of a three-tier choker I found through Amazon.com, and a large piece of Halloween costume jewelry. The bat ornament is constructed of Sculpey modeling clay over a metal frame, then baked in the oven—which means that once it hardened, the thing became extremely fragile; drop it on the floor and it’s bye-bye, ornament.
The devil art is the 16th-century title page image from Eloy d’Amerval’s epic poem Livre de la Deablerie (reproduced in the Picture Book of Devils, Demons and Witchcraft, from Dover Publishing, which is where I found it). I scanned it and Bob printed it on cotton, then attached it to the jacket with industrial-grade glue—that thing is never coming off!—and painted over the image. Then, after he stripped the oil from the jacket cuffs, the sleeves each took about 30 coats of white paint as a primer so the black leather wouldn’t show through. And after many more hours of painting and waiting for each coat to dry, the sleeves were done—and Pan’s jacket was finally complete!
What about the bat-faced belt buckle she also wears? (And if you’ve read Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1, you know where she’ll be getting that from, at some point…) I’m so glad you asked—because Bob sculpted that, too!
That’s just damn creepy-looking, isn’t it? Not to mention those wings would probably stab Pan in the stomach every time she bent over—but hey, she’s a fictional character with the reader-influencing power of suspended disbelief, so she can wear whatever she wants! 😀
And before you ask, I’m still using painted covers on the series!
* * *
And with that we come to the end of 2011. (Yeah, I know there’s one more week left, but the office’ll be closed between Christmas and New Year’s—at least that’s the plan.) It’s been a mildly bumpy road, this first year back in the publishing saddle for StarWarp Concepts after a six-year hiatus, but the madness has been fun in its own way. And rest assured, we’re just getting started!
However, we couldn’t have made it this far without the support of you folks out there, so on behalf of book designers Mat Postawa and Mike Rivilis, Web designer Dave De Mond, artists Bob Larkin and Eliseu “Zeu” Gouveia, and photographer Marc Witz, I wish you and yours a fun and safe holiday season and a Happy New Year.
The holidays are here, so what better time to curl up with your favorite e-reader and catch up on the doings of Goth adventuress Pandora Zwieback in her first novel?
Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1 is available right now at the following e-tailers, for the quite reasonable price of $3.99:
Also available at DriveThru Fiction: J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s 19th-century vampiress novella, Carmilla—illustrated by Pandora Zwieback comic artist Eliseu Gouveia, and on sale for just $2.99.
Just click on the logos and start your last-minute shopping!
Last Thursday I appeared on the Scifi Diner podcast to promote Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1, but that’s not all we discussed! It turned into an hour-long, freewheeling conversation that spanned my writing and editing careers, my fanboyish obsession with Doctor Who, the state of young adult fiction, praise for Pandora Zwieback artists Eliseu Gouveia and Bob Larkin, and even a plug or two for some StarWarp Concepts releases.
A big shout-out to hosts Scott Hertzog and Miles McLoughlin for allowing me to ramble on as much as I did, but once they got me started on a topic it was hard to shut up. 😀
Grab yourself a snack and a favorite beverage, then click on the Scifi Diner logo to head over to the show’s site and download the new episode. It’s a Pan-tastic interview!
Sorry about the lack of updates around here these past couple of weeks, but have no fear—the Hype Hearse is back on the road! First stop:
This past weekend I had the pleasure of appearing on the podcast Sci-Fi Saturday Night to promote Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1 and, despite all my uhh-ing (Gah! I hate doing that!) as I stumbled through the conversation, I had a good time. Learn the history of Gothopolis, and the secret influence behind the Pan series, then howl with laughter as I recount my brief misadventure trying out as a Batman Adventures artist for DC Comics. Good times, good times…
Just click on the logo above to head over to the show and give it a listen.
But that’s not my only appearance this month! On Thursday I’ll be interviewed by the folks at Sci-Fi Diner Podcast, and there are Q&A’s in the works for Reading Bites—the blog for the book-review site Monster Librarian—and Books of the Dead Press, the publisher of Best New Zombie Tales 2, an anthology to which I contributed. I’ll let you know when those interviews run—and whether more are coming!
It’s a new month, with a new outpouring of love for Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1!
Over at the Web site for the weekly podcast Sci-Fi Saturday Night, reviewer “The Dome” has posted his thoughts on Pan and Annie’s first adventure:
“Equal parts Sorcerer’s Apprentice and 48 Hours, this is a mystic roller-coaster ride that glimpses a demonic past and uncertain future in the hands of two unlikely women who the fates have paired.”
48 Hours, huh? Hmmm… I guess Pan would be Eddie Murphy, with Nick Nolte as Annie. (How’s that for a weird visual?) Well, Pan could certainly sing “Roxanne” all high-pitched and off-key, so it might work… 😉
Bonus News! “Illustrator X,” the guest coordinator for Sci-Fi Saturday Night, contacted me about doing an interview for one of the podcasts—of course I said yes! Stay tuned for further developments.
What better way to celebrate this post–New York Comic Con 2011 week than with more great reactions to the arrival of our favorite Goth girl on the monster-hunting scene?
First off, the prestigious Midwest Book Review has posted their review for Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1:
“Blood Feud is a fun and very much recommended read that shouldn’t be overlooked.”
Then, over at the pop-culture site The Sexy Armpit, journalist Jay Amabile gives his thoughts about the Pan Zwieback introductory comic that he picked up at the StarWarp Concepts booth, during Comic Con:
“Cooler than Buffy, tougher than the emo wimps in Twilight, Pandora is a teenage goth girl fighting off ghouls and monsters in New York City.”
Read the rest of his super-positive recommendation of Pan in part 1 of his NYCC 2011 report.
I might be in the middle of attending New York Comic Con this weekend, but that doesn’t keep the good news from continuing for Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1!
Lillian Hawkins of the Goth-culture site Gothic Blend has posted a great review:
“This modern day, urban Goth horror will have readers turning the pages to discover how Pandora comes to terms with a very old problem . . . encountering the monsters among us!”
First off, the prestigious Midwest Book Review has posted their review for Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1: 
