DARK WORLDS MAGAZINE Issue #5

Just want to remind people that this is really cool and still available!

It's been a long time in the making but it is finally here! Dark Worlds issue number 5 is now available for purchase right here.

We've changed up a few things from previous issues. The magazine is now in quarto size. (More pulp-like) and secondly we're doing full covers without ads on the back.

And that is my artwork gracing the cover. I was fortunate enough to be able to illustrate a very exciting scene from a very exciting story, OF KINGS AND SERVANTS by C. J. Burch.

The line-up for issue five is:

"Of Kings and Servants" by C. J. Burch (Sword & Sorcery)

"The Hook" by J. F. Gonzalez (Horror)

"The Black Grave of Deception" by Peter J. Welmerink (Sword & Sorcery)

"Body of Work' (Mythos Horror) -- A Book Collector story!

"The Cryo Game" by Jack Mackenzie (Space Adventure)

"Black Destiny of Ys" by David A. Hardy (Historical Fantasy)

"Against the Gathering Darkness" by Joel Jenkins (Historical Horror/Adventure)

"An Interview with C. J. Burch: A Chuck the Barbarian Cartoon"

Go, buy a copy and enjoy! And, hey! Don't keep this news to yourself! Pass it on!

And while you're at it check out Rage Machine Books' other titles:

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

GENERIC SCI-FI COVER ART

First in my Generic Genre Cover Art Series.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

DARK WORLDS #5

Just want to remind people that this is really cool and still available!

It's been a long time in the making but it is finally here! Dark Worlds issue number 5 is now available for purchase right here.


We've changed up a few things from previous issues. The magazine is now in quarto size. (More pulp-like) and secondly we're doing full covers without ads on the back.

And that is my artwork gracing the cover. I was fortunate enough to be able to illustrate a very exciting scene from a very exciting story, OF KINGS AND SERVANTS by C. J. Burch.

The line-up for issue five is:

"Of Kings and Servants" by C. J. Burch (Sword & Sorcery)

"The Hook" by J. F. Gonzalez (Horror)

"The Black Grave of Deception" by Peter J. Welmerink (Sword & Sorcery)

"Body of Work' (Mythos Horror) -- A Book Collector story!

"The Cryo Game" by Jack Mackenzie (Space Adventure)

"Black Destiny of Ys" by David A. Hardy (Historical Fantasy)

"Against the Gathering Darkness" by Joel Jenkins (Historical Horror/Adventure)

"An Interview with C. J. Burch: A Chuck the Barbarian Cartoon"

Go, buy a copy and enjoy! And, hey! Don't keep this news to yourself! Pass it on!

And while you're at it check out Rage Machine Books' other titles:



I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

THE LUCKIEST MAN ON EARTH

That's me.

Tonight my wife made beef bourguignon for dinner with a fresh peach/plum flan with blancmange and whipped cream for dessert. It was a slice of Heaven.

Tomorrow she says we're going to have meatloaf along with new potatoes and green beans that she picked up at the farmer's market today.

I do not deserve her. I don't know how I got to be the luckiest son-of-a-bitch on two legs, but I would not trade places with anyone.

I'd post pictures but it's all gone.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

RAGE MACHINE BOOKS

It's a publishing company started by G.W. Thomas in which I am a partner. I made this video to show what we're about. Check us out.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

VIDEO ON YOUTUBE

Because apparently you've gotta have one.





I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

ROOTS AND BLUES

On a happier note, this weekend I attended the 18th annual Salmon Arm Roots and Blues Festival. It is a three-day music festival that happens every year in our town. It's always colourful, always interesting and usually very loud.

Here's my buddy Ernie Phillips doing some fancy dancing at the opening ceremony:

Here's my boy K'Naan performing that Wavin' Flag song:

I didn't actually see K'naan perform. He was the headliner on Friday night and our schedules conflicted so I'll have to catch him next time.

Other than that it was a fun time. My daughter and I went Saturday and Sunday, we watched the crowds, bought iced coffees and little doughnuts, and we caught some awesome acts including the Alexis P. Suter Band, Daniel Champagne from Australia, John Lee Sanders from B.C., Non Stop Bhangra from California, Shemekia Copeland, the Wasabi Collective and John Németh among many others.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

RANT: IS THE INTERNET AN EXCUSE FOR LAZINESS?

I heard an announcer on CBC radio this weekend (For those of you in the UK CBC radio is the equivalent of BBC radio. For Those in the US: It's the equivalent of NPR) bemoaning the fact that because she has spent so much time googling and twittering that she can't get the concentration together to finish a whole book. She said this during an interview with a tech writer who brought up Nicholas Carr's article in the Atlantic Monthly "Is Google Making us Stupid?"

This is not the first time that I have heard an otherwise intelligent person complaining that their internet use is making them incapable of concentrating long enough to read a book.

To that, I say, unequivocably: Bullshit.

Frankly I was appalled that any intelligent person would try to argue that point. I cannot hide my contempt for anyone who would say something like that. It is merely an excuse for intellectual laziness. That's it, pure and simple. It is right up there with "My dog ate my homework."

I won't accept it.

If I go to the trouble of sustaining my attention long enough to write a novel (and I have written four*) then I expect that you can muster up the attention span to be able to read it. It's one thing if it doesn't interest you. You don't like my book, fine. It doesn't interest you, don't finish it. But don't come to me with the lame excuse that the internet is somehow to blame for you not being able to read a whole book.

Our brains are flexible. Our thought processes are shaped by our experiences and by what we concentrate upon. If we spend all day doing something, our brains adapt to do it more efficiently. That includes painting a house, fixing a car, or researching on the internet. But to say that those changes prevent you from switching gears, from mustering up the concentration to do something else, is ludicrous. We would not accept that argument from a teen who claims that playing video games makes him unable to study. I am certainly not going to accept that argument from a CBC radio announcer, nor anyone else.

The way I see it, if one can muster up the attention span to watch LOST for SIX YEARS(!) then that argument holds no sway with me.

End of rant


*unpublished as of yet

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

A TYPICAL DAY IN CANADA

Let's face it: as Canadians how often have we been in this situation -- having to bitch-slap a Yeti who has decided to get all up in your grill while you are cavorting naked in the snow.


Happens all the time north of the 49th parallel, I'm telling you.


Another cover for Rogue Blades Entertainment's Heroicologies.


I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

THE ELECTRONIC DREAM

Norman Spinrad has been posting a series at his blog about the current "Death Spiral" of the publishing industry. It's been pretty depressing reading but Spinrad tries to pull it up in the final installment with a vision of how the electronic publishing industry can survive and thrive without the traditional book publishers.

It's a wonderful vision of a gloriously free market and grist for the mill for small e-publishers like my partner and I. But to my mind it's a little too unrealistic.

Nevertheless, this is Norman Spinrad and it is well worth perusing for his insights into the industry.

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio

MONDAY MUSINGS

I haven't posted anything here in a long while and there are several reasons for that. We've had a number of guests coming to stay with us this summer which is unusual for us. The guests are gone now and things are back to normal but I'm finding that I don't have the energy to do the things I'd like to do.

I wanted to write a long and philosophical post about family and raising children. I also wanted to write a review of SHERLOCK, Stephen Moffat's modern-day take on Sherlock Holmes (The crux: If you are a Sherlock Holmes fan, even a purist, this series is very gratifying. First rate.) and a review of a British TV series called DEMONS (avoid like the plague!)

But honestly, I find that I am just too worn out to do any of that. So instead I will post a picture which isn't even new.

I did this a while ago. It's actually an alternative version of a wraparound cover I did for an upcoming anthology from Rogue Blades Entertainment. What anthlogy is it for? That's the kicker. You get to decide!

I've been here and there. I've drawn a lot of pictures. I've written a bit, too. I'm not good at this self-promotion thing. Look, you want to know about me? just visit these websites. Okay?
www.mdjacksonart.weebly.com
http://mdjackson.deviantart.com
http://community.imaginefx.com/fxpose/mdjacksons%5Fportfolio