#dark novel

[the-lazy-pig-author]

Novel

I'm happy to say that while I've been waiting for my new job to start, I've been taking a lot of time to work on my novel Bound by Bramble. It's come a long way and I'm excited to say it's almost complete then I can start working on the editing. Pretty soon here, I'm going to reaching out to artists to have some art done for the book. I'm thinking of also hiring an animator to do a small trailer for the book to either post for an ad and/or kickstarter not sure yet.

Don't worry! I pay for all artwork I have requested! Artists should be paid!

Does anyone have any recommendations of where they recommend I go to hire artists for this kind of project? For smaller projects, I would go to Deviantart. Though if they are other platforms, I am open to those as well. I don't know if it matters but thinking of some illustrations, then small pieces that will be placed on each page then some 1 page comic pages of certain scenes.

Thanks for any help you can provide!

EDIT: I wanted to add a quick heads-up for any artists who may be interested in reaching out about this project.

Bound by Bramble is a dark fantasy and contains mature and potentially upsetting subject matter. This includes scenes of non-consensual sexual assault, an M/M central pairing, themes of cultural erasure and racism, kidnapping, blood and gore, and other heavy topics.

I completely understand that these themes aren't something everyone is comfortable illustrating or having their name associated with, so I wanted to be upfront about the content before anyone contacts me regarding commissions.

I also wanted to say thank you to everyone who has reached out already! I originally made this post because I was looking for recommendations on where to find artists, and I honestly didn't expect to receive so many messages from artists themselves so quickly.

That said, I don't want to give anyone the impression that I'll be making a decision right away or that this project is starting immediately. My novel is almost finished, but it still needs to go through editing before I'm ready to begin commissioning artwork. Realistically, that will probably be around two months from now.

This is also going to be a fairly large project, so I'm taking the time to budget for it properly. I've already set aside some money because I knew I'd eventually be commissioning art, but I'd rather save a bit more than overextend myself too early in the process.

My current plan is to begin with an animated teaser or trailer that I can share here on Tumblr and potentially use as part of a future Kickstarter campaign. After that, I'll start looking at commissioning the book's illustrations, page decorations, and comic-style scene artwork.

So if I don't respond immediately or make a decision anytime soon, please don't take it personally. I really appreciate everyone's interest, and I'll be taking my time to review portfolios and reach out when I'm ready to move forward.

additional info

This story is set in medieval Ireland and will have a Celtic theme to the art.

The story:

Emrys, a wizard-for-hire, takes a job to kill a monster that's been preying on hunters in a forest. The creature turns out to be Qiryeth, a half-deer, half-man Aos Si being who made a pact with a god, Cernunnos, to gain power for revenge and bring balance back to the forest.

Qiryeth was once an ordinary deer who fell down a hole while fleeing a hunter. Trapped and unable to escape, he slowly suffered starving over days. In his desperation, he made a deal with a deity to become something more, something capable of striking back against the hunters who had caused his suffering. The transformation gave him the power to hunt the hunters themselves.

Rather than killing Qiryeth, Emrys chooses to capture him, driven by fascination and attraction. This creates an unusual relationship between captor and captive, wizard and transformed creature, with implicit questions about power, mercy, and whether Qiryeth's vengeance was justified or monstrous.

The story explores cycles of violence (hunters become hunted), the cost of transformation and power, and moral ambiguity. The romantic or obsessive element between Emrys and Qiryeth adds complexity to what could have been a simple monster-slaying tale.

[eatingteethforbreakfast]

“He who ruled scents ruled the heart of men”

-Perfume, Patrick Süskind

Some quotes i like with vibes from the novel. Currently obsessed, makes my olfactory bulb go off.

[mentallyfunny]

The inspiration for the concept of 2 Friends with Eiko and Raku was the novel Goth I used to read in middle school lol, it's a 18+ novel with detailed gore and murder scene involving 2 protagonists who are friends that are not actually "healthy normal friends"

Image is manga version of the novel but I prefer the novel more, it has better storyline and better gore details such as cutting a lady's head and put the head into the womb while decorating her guts on a tree

Goth is a 18+ horror novel about 2 highschool students fascinated about death and murder

Even if they're not in love but their twisted relationship was what fuel me to create a friend duo similar to them, Raku and Eiko are nothing alike these 2 in term of personalities but they fall into a category of 2 fucked up friends duo

Their look also kinda inspired in the manga ver as well

I remember always thinking Morino (aka the girl in the novel) badass as fuck. Goth is forever my favorite novel that I can't find any other horror novel as good

[little-lily-w]

Breaking Purity II ch. 19/?

<<Breaking Purity I here

Summary: You finally reunite with your uncle, ready to learn the truth about your past once and for all. The meeting will help you make an important choice that could change your life. 

Warnings: strong language, violence.

Words: 1.6 k

You can read it here: Ch. 19: “A choice”. 

[monday-moons]

[oddattachment]

Feersum Endjinn... The front cover of a 1990's edition of what is quite possibly the most weirdly wonderful, dark and totally fucking bizarre science fiction book of them all by the late master Iain M. Banks. It's also the first of his novels to be inducted into the Sci-fi Masterworks series of books. Art by Mark Salwowski.

[little-lily-w]

Breaking Purity II: ch. 7

Breaking Purity I is here

Summary:  After the first interrogations, Michael spends the night with Reader trying to relax. She wakes up the next day worried about the people Michael decided to kept locked in the storage room but within her attempts to help them, she realizes there's a piece of the puzzle missing.

Warnings: slight sexual content. 

Words: 1.9 k 

A/N: if you have a moment of peace with Michael in this story, you better enjoy it while it lasts. 

You can read it here: Ch. 7: “Smooth jazz”