Musings from the basement...

PITCHED 2: Happily Ever After

Here’s a neat one for you. “Happily Ever After” is a humorous swashbuckling tale first conceived as a short story, then plotted for the first Pitched! anthology, then dropped only to be resurrected for the upcoming second installment. The talented Trevor Giberson dove into the art and captured the tone of the story perfectly. Below is a preview page of his art. The awesome John Mietus, who lettered stories like “The Homecoming of Carlos Ruiz” in the first volume, will only add to the fun. This script has been a trip to write; I look forward to folks getting a chance to read it. Click image for full-sized

Soon. New Eric music. Very soon.

When recording music, self-indulgence is a huge sin — and one I commit time and again. Can’t help it. It’s not like it’s musician wank. I’m not anywhere CLOSE to a good enough musician for that. It’s sound wank. Noise, big sound, layered drones, guitar feedback. Stuff no one wants to hear. But I like to hear it, so I do it. So anyway, I’m recording a new X-Sweet album, right? And X-Sweet tends to be my more traditional musical project, what with me singing reg’lar ol’ songs and all that. I’m not claiming it’s good, as you can see for yourself, I’m just saying it exists. I like doing honest to goodness songs, but I’m objective enough to admit my guitar soundscapes are far…
Read more

PITCHED 2: Some Time with the Family

We’re getting close to the finish line on the second volume of Pitched, my series of comic anthologies, so I thought I’d throw some more preview art out there. These are the first two pages of a story called “Some Time with the Family,” a horror story (obviously) penciled by Logan Reilly, inked by James Pipik (who did the art on “The End of All Summers” for the first volume of Pitched), and written by yours truly. Despite the art being unfinished, I think it looks quite nice, and so will you: Click image for full-sized Click image for full-sized

Standing in the middle of the road

Three paces, then four, then five, and you’re in the middle of the road, watching it stretch out in either direction, no cars for as far as you can see, just blacktop and you. And somehow, it manages to make you feel freer than you’ve felt since you were 12 and were allowed to ride your bike around the neighborhood on your own; like nothing in the world can contain you. It might be a remnant from childhood. The unspoken knowledge that you’re breaking a Rule. That you’re doing something you’re not supposed to do. After all, you don’t just walk out into the middle of the road. That’s dangerous. We all know this. And you certainly don’t just stand there. You cross quickly and…
Read more

Stuff Every Husband Should Know manuscript = complete

Stuff Every Husband Should Know

Headline says it all. The manuscript for my next book, a pocket book called Stuff Every Husband Should Know and scheduled for publication next spring by Quirk Books, has been finished and turned in to my awesome editor, Stephen Segal. This doesn’t mean my work is finished, of course. There will be more to do on the project. But the tough stuff is done. And that’s good. Now I set my sights on scripting my next comic anthology, which I have mentioned a few times before. Some great stuff is coming in from the artists involved, really exciting images that are bringing these stories to life in ways I hadn’t imagined. Can’t wait for people to see more. Further preview pages will be coming soon….
Read more