Some 2023 Life Drawing

In between working on fiction (and a job, social life, panicking about world events, etc.), I've picked up drawing more regularly. Please enjoy some work I've been doing!

Strong Women · Strange Worlds June 17th Reading!

For the first time, I'll be reading with Strong Women-Strange Worlds! I'm doing a Third Thursday Quick Reads event on Thursday, June 17, at 5:00pm EST. So I recommend a cocktail or pleasant beverage! 

You can now register for the event here!

Looking at the current line-up, which is subject to change, I'll be reading alongside Elaine Isaak and C.S.E. Cooney (both of whom I have prior reading experience and are lovely people to boot) as well as Ingrid Kallick, Elle Ire, and MB Austin. The emcee will be the eminent Sarah Smith!

Their next reading is this Friday at noon and features Barbara Ann Wright, Gloria Oliver, Sarah Jean Horwitz (who I met at a convention a while back), Patricia Correll, Jane C. Esther, and Carol Berg. Please join them if you can.

Updates to register for the event will be available here. You can also sign up for their mailing list to receive information about upcoming events.

Hourly Comics 2021!

Hourly Comic Day is every year on February 1st! They're a wonderful time capsule, I find. Here are the ones I did 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019, the last year I did it. Now, to chronicle this day in 2020 2021!

One more thing. If it's in my head, it's now in yours:

Boskone: February 12-14, 2021

Arisia may be over for the year, but Boskone is now on the horizon! I'm on panels for it as well:

 

Creating Across Media

12 Feb 2021, Friday 17:00 - 18:00, Carlton - (Mtg Room) (Virtual Westin)

Versatility is an author's greatest tool in today's publishing market. Whether it's books, blogging, comics, drama, film, gaming, graphic novels, non-fiction, short fiction, social media, or TV there is a story to be told. When switching from one to the other, what do you need to keep in mind? What are some of the key tips and tricks to creating compelling content no matter which medium you are writing in at the moment?

Christopher Golden, Walter Jon Williams (Word Domination), Scott Edelman (M), Gillian Daniels, Mur Lafferty

Female Character Evolution in Speculative Fiction

13 Feb 2021, Saturday 13:00 - 14:00, Burroughs (Webinar) (Virtual Westin)

Is there more to life than virgin-mother-crone? Let's look at how physical and psychological change in women is portrayed in fiction today. We've talked about how the representation of women in fiction has changed, but we'll talk here about how a woman actual changes through time and experience within today's works. How does SF/F/H approach the physical changes, from childhood to womanhood or the later changes in life? How do print and screen differ in this regard? 

Nancy Holder, Gillian Daniels (M), Maura McHugh, Connie Willis, Tamora Pierce (Tamora Pierce LLC)

 

Horror Comics: The Art of Graphic Terror

14 Feb 2021, Sunday 11:30 - 12:30, Burroughs (Webinar) (Virtual Westin)

From comics to graphic novels, these artists and authors don't pull their punches. Instead they excel at steadily building the narrative dread through a combination of disconcerting story elements that happen both in the panel and off the page as they push old tropes into unknown territory. From body horror to creepypasta, zombies, noirish superheroes, organ farmers, demonic ice cream men, and fairies dwelling inside the rotting corpse of, well, never mind, why do we read them? Is it the sheer inventive fun of titles like Afterlife With Archie; Killadelphia; Die; Crawl to Me; or Gyo: The Death-Stench Creeps? Maybe it’s the sequential-storytelling skills of writers like Joe Hill, Cullen Bunn, Gail Simone, Victor Lavalle, or Carmen Maria Machado? Or maybe there’s just something wrong with us?

Jack Haringa (Worcester Academy), Cat Scully, Maura McHugh, Gillian Daniels (M), Joe Hill

 

The Representation of LGBTQ+ in Popular Culture

14 Feb 2021, Sunday 14:30 - 15:30, Carlton - (Mtg Room) (Virtual Westin)

LGBTQ+ characters are no longer invisible on the screen. While there has been an obvious shift in popular culture, we still have a long way to go in the fight for appropriate representation in film, television, and fiction. The surge in LGBTQ+ representation has brought with it a surge of creators exploiting our desire to see a more realistic representation of diverse stories, often writing characters who are either caricatures or characters in relationships without being fleshed out appropriately. We'll discuss good and bad examples of LGBTQ+ characters. How do they help or hurt popular conception, including self perception, of gays and lesbians?

Jennifer Williams (Circlet Press), Sara Megibow (KT Literary), Gillian Daniels, Julia Rios (Mermaids Monthly) (M)

 

Wicked Women, Bobbie, and Her Father

I'm so, so happy The Dark Magazine has published another of my short stories for publication, Bobbie and Her Father! This one means a lot to me. It's about family, growing up with a difficult body, and trying to be the best person you can when there are holes in your knowledge of what "good" looks like. Charles Payseur writes in his lovely review, "The result is visceral, an exploration of how these acts, these violences [...] come in cycles."

I'm very proud of it.

Because I guess I'm a horror writer now, I have another story coming out later this year in an anthology of female horror writers, Wicked Women! The table of contents is available here and includes special guests Jane Yolen and Hillary Monahan. I'm grateful to Scott T. Goudward and Trisha J. Wooldridge at New England Horror Writers Press for their hard work in curating and editing the collection.  

I'll, of course, be linking the hell out of it when it's available.

***

Lock down continues. I live in Massachusetts where the virus isn't as bad as many parts of the U.S., but I don't expect to return to the office or to eat in restaurants again until some time after the vaccine is available. The federal government, by the way, is just awful.

As I wrote in March, I'm journaling, reading, and jogging. The last I'm doing about five times a week for a minimum of three miles each time I'm out. I've added some weight training, too, though this is essentially cardio again. I've fallen off of yoga and meditation for the last few weeks and wonder if I should start again.

I really value the time I've spent with my roommates as well as the outings we've done and the movies we've watched together. 

Over on Twitter, I've spent a lot of time writing about the books and movies (lots of horror) I've been consuming. 

Down at my Patreon, I've been posting excerpts from the new novel I've been working on as well as some art. Shout out to Saint Gibson at Holy Roots Tarot for being a new backer! After a few days, many of my posts become public, so I recommend checking it out even if you don't want to send me dollars and cents. 

As a last thank you, I want to send a shout out to Judith Huang for performing her Ballad of Bloody Brigid at CoNZealand!

HAUNTED by a Busy October!

You know how, in August and September, you (okay, I) say things like, "Oh, I'll do this in October! It's such a far away month, October."

Imagine my surprise that October has turned out to be a busy month! Who could have foreseen this happenstance?

This Sunday, October 13th, 12-6pm, I'll be at the Black Market Flea in the Cambridge Community Center! I'll be selling my comics, poems, an RPG to which I've contributed, and fiction!

I'll have a lot of the material I had at LadiesCon last month there with me, but I'm hoping to have a new zine to share, as well.

If you don't come to gaze upon my wares, may I suggest gazing on the gorgeous art, books, posters, prints, and jewelry other vendors will be selling?

Later still this month, I'll be hosting another Speculative Boston Reading on Thursday, October 24th 7-9pm at Trident Booksellers & Cafe!

I'll be asking questions and presenting readings with authors Errick Nunnally, Bracken Macleod, and Isabel Yap, all of whom have dabbled in fiction with horrifying elements and all of whom, to my knowledge, are enormously warm and kind.

Many thanks to Andrea Corbin for her continued work running Speculative Boston and making a space for genre writers to share their work and talk about their experiences. You should help spread the word around the Boston area!

Now, less of an event and more of a hurray, Tor.com recommend my most recently published short story, "Brigid Was Hung By Her Hair from the Second Story Window" (The Dark Magazine) in its Must-Read Speculative Short Fiction for September 2019! They call it "haunting," which is endlessly pleasing to me. I'm in good company, too, as the list also includes a short story from a fellow Clarion 2011 classmate I deeply admire, the sweet, aching “A Bird, a Song, a Revolution” by Brooke Bolander.

If I'm keeping good company in life and online, I must be doing something right.

Boston Hassle's Green Market Flea

I've started doing the thing I've been wanting to do for about a decade: making zines. A couple of them are already available online, including a collection of comics called Undertow.

I'll be selling paper copies of the zines I've created on Sunday, September 8th, 12-6pm at Boston Hassle's Greek Market Flea. This includes comics, poetry, and fiction, mostly having to do with the theme of the show, the environment and climate change.

Come on down to Cambridge to support local artists, including The Atomic Garden and many other talented individuals.

I'll see you there.

Eat the Children and Other Poems of Monsters

During Readercon 2019, I sold printed copies of the chapbook, Eat the Children and Other Poems of Monsters. It's a collection of all the creepy, funny, weird, and political poems I published between 2013 and 2018.

You can buy a PDF of my poems here: https://gilldaniels.itch.io/eat-the-children

Table of Contents

Eat the Children
The Tiger is Herself
Cloth Leaves and Wire Vines
Sleep Lives Inside the Bed
The Liar's Charm
To the Creature
The Virgin Regiment
The Pacific is Wine Pink
Athena and Yeshua
Tourists of the Undead
Persephone Kidnaps Him
You Sing Your Murder Ballad
Superheroes
The Hero John Wayne
Anyway, Here's a Poem About the Internet
The Boston Holocaust Memorial Vigil, 8-15-17 30

Hourly Comics 2019!

Hourly Comic Day was on February 1st. I've done this 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. This is my fifth year.

More comics below the cut!

Comics, Conventions, and Compliments!

Readercon is THIS WEEK and my schedule is RIGHT HERE!

I'm now posting daily comics and artworks (example in this post) now on my Patreon and Tumblr! If you would like to support my Patreon for $2 a month (such as dear supporter Alan Danziger), you can see my comics and other content a couple days before anyone else!

Also, I would be remiss if I didn't express my gratitude to Quick Sip Reviews, where Charles Payseur reviewed my flash piece, "Beast of Breath," in Fireside Fiction! Many thanks.

Hourly Comics 2018!

It's that time of year, again: Hourly Comic Day was on February 1st! Like my posts in 2015, 2016, and 2017, here's a day in the life!

I'm currently, and slowly, listening through the archives
of The Adventure Zone podcast.

#HistoricalPoochesZine

I met Lauren Chaikin in middle school. I was in seventh grade and she was in eighth. We bonded over mutual friends, the library teen anime club, Monty Python jokes, and a love of drawing. We even worked on some comics together in lined notebooks! She's hilarious and smart as hell.

As the years went on, I began to focus more on writing with drawing in the background. Lauren, meanwhile, has become an accomplished graphic artist and illustrator.

Historical Pooches Zine is her newest project. She rounded up a bunch of artists to draw famous dogs and famous people as dogs. IT IS SO COOL AND CUTE.

And all the proceeds? Yeah, they go to benefit the American Civil Liberties Union.

Seriously. Awesome.

Also, it's gorgeous. In fact, I really can't get over how polished and charming it is. My only contribution was proofreading!

Print copies will be $20, but the digital edition is $5. Another print run is anticipated in the near future, but for now, please support the digital book, the ACLU, and the fantastic awesomeness that is Lauren!

This is Real. This is What We Do Next.

Here's a list of organizations you can support:

- Union of Concerned Scientists

- The Climate Reality Project

- The Sierra Club

- Sacred Stone Legal Defense Fund

- ACLU

- The Human Rights Campaign

- YWCA

- RAINN

- The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Here are some petitions you can sign:

- Kids vs. U.S. Government & Big Oil: Adopt A Climate Recovery Plan Now

- Electoral College: Secretary Clinton WON THE POPULAR VOTE and should be President. 

- ACLU: I am ready, willing, and able to fight like hell to protect the Constitution and defend freedom for everyone in this country.

We have work to do. It is a new world. 

The election results fill me with trepidation at best and a fear of multiple, catastrophic, national and international incidents at worst. There is a moment each day that I wake up where I am relieved and happy until I remember what has happened and where we live now. I am grieving.

I don't think it's the right time to over-react, but it is the right time to take action. A wave of hate crimes has already broken out. Street harassment has been reported en masse. This is not right but it is real. It is happening.

We don't know what will happen next. There's been much speculation and little confirmation. 

We must take responsibility for the coming years. We must stand and fight for the people and things that have become so much more vulnerable.

Write to your representatives. Call. Find them here.

Otherwise, in this time of helplessness, in the hope that our greatest fears will not be realized, I urge you to reach out. Affirm your friendship and love for the people in your life who are important. Take care of your mental health.

If you volunteer, keep up the momentum through November, December, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. If you donate, keep your eye on what we can do next to help. If you read articles and watch the news, don't give into panic. 

Organize. Push. Next time an important election happens (looking at you, mid-term elections), vote.

Stay passionate. Stay loving. Don't burn out, burn bright.

If you make art, keep making it. It won't help by itself, no, but it is a welcome thing in difficult times.

I love you. Even if you voted for the candidate I didn't support, I want you to live in the best possible world. I will fight for you, all of us. I hope you'll consider doing the same.

Cat Days of Summer

August has been busy.

I have a new job and a new roommate. His name is Lionel. I picked him up from Kitty Connection a couple weeks ago. He's sweet and well behaved and likes to bully me awake by purring and buffeting me with his face. He's two-years old and the best.

One of my poems will be published at Strange Horizons soon! I'll be blasting social media about it when it appears.

The More (Than) Human podcast is ten episodes old! Yay! Go listen to it for all my thoughts on superheroes, etc.

I've been updating my art blog more. I'm wondering if I should try doing some illustrated projects.

It's almost fall. After the heat waves this summer, I'm looking forward to it.

Oracles and Sketch Blogs

I'm excited my short story, "The Oracle Sings a Torch Song," is in the 55th issue of Not One of Us! I've been pushing to find this story a home for a while and I'm glad John Benson grabbed it. It really means a lot to me.

In other news, I started a sketch blog. I figured it was past time to really practice and push myself to share more.

I can't believe it's almost summer.

Hourlies 2016 and Other Sketches

Back on February 1st, I did some hourly comics. They seemed pretty boring compared to last year's. Now I think they look like a nice snapshot of my life in 2016. Also, falling in love with a podcast.

The last comic is about coffee.

Here is God's Photograph of the Natural Human Heart

Boston Zine Fest 2015 was pretty cool. On the second day, there was a zine-making room. I tried an experiment.

Arts, Stars, and Horseshoes

Approximation of @hownowgobbycow
for #BlackOut

Over on Twitter, I've been intermittently posting drawings since completing the hourly comics' challenge.

During Boskone, I met Jenna Kass who suggested trying to draw an hour a day for six months. I don't succeed in setting aside time every day, but I try to make it up when I don't.  I'm feeling a lot more confident about my sketches.  I'd say they're "pretty far from where I want them to be," but from years of following art blogs, I've confirmed this is a fairly common anxiety.  Regardless of experience, it seems like every other artist is embarrassed about their "lack" of drawing ability.

Also, Hugo-winner Ursula Vernon posted this adorable certificate that gives the bearer permission to "make as much really terrible BAD ART as they need to make and it'll be OKAY" because that's how you get better.

***

Want to help me raise money for 826 Boston, a non-profit tutoring writing center? Their 2015 Write-a-Thon is currently underway.  The team I'm on is called The Eternal Footmen (because yay literary references!) which has some pretty nifty people.  If you have some cash to give, please do!

***

I had my first poem of the year accepted for publication.  I'll say more later when stuff is signed/confirmed/etc.  I'm so happy!  It's in a market I've been wanting to get into for a long time.

For all those querying, sending out submissions, or just putting your writing out there, keep going.  It's a grim, slushy time of year.  Keep the hope strong and enjoy a gif.

***

Boskone 52  was pretty neat.  While there, I met and talked to a lot of writers who had braved the dire weather forecasts.  Then Boston's record-making snows happened.

And it was still pretty neat.

But wow, yes, February was hard.  Hope everyone has taken care of themselves.

Now that it's clearing up, I'm poking my head out once more to attend Vericon.  I'll be another attendee thumping around the halls of Harvard if you want to say hi or grab a drink at one of the many bars near campus!