Farewell Bani

I'm dumbfounded and dismayed that my longtime online friend Bani Kinnison passed away unexpectedly this last Wednesday morning. I had been friends with Bani for about the last eight + years. I met her on tumblr first where she was really active, sharing her artwork, selfies, memes and vintage pics. She had a great sense of humor.

She created so many pulp inspired pieces and she loved doing vintage and comic inspired art. I have bought a few of her pieces down through the years, and with the exception of a Frazetta Atlantis phone cover, as long as I have had smart-phones, it was her artwork that I used through one of the sites she sold materials on like Redbubble or Society 6. If you see something you like this would be a good time to snag it to help out her loved ones.

I had intended on commissioning her to do a pulpy type book cover for me one day, but we never got beyond just talking about ideas.

Something that strikes me like thunder now, is that I had liked some of her Memento Mori work - she had taken some old cemetery stones and done designs with them that I liked. That theme was one that has been striking a chord with me lately, as I have a book coming soon with that title, but even more so it has had a synchronicity for me lately( with old friends younger than me passing away) and I've just gotta say to everyone, cherish and

value the time you do have.

The theme of the phone she designed - I'm guessing it had to be among her last commissions, made me feel uncomfortable sharing it with more of her fanbase at large, but I figure my blog is quiet enough and just has my usual friends that I was ok posting it here.


So it was only a week ago I was chatting with Bani and told her I would like a Memento Mori phone case, she offered to get to work on some new designs and let me pick my favorite. She got to it and soon was showing off her work. I picked my favorite and she said it was her favorite of the designs too.

That I had only spoken to her a week before just stunned me, there was no warning that she was sick. I read that she thought she had a fever, but then passed out and was unable to be revived by the time she was taken to the emergency room. She was just about a month shy of her 45th birthday.

I miss her sense of humor and vitality and it is a stark reminder to appreciate life and loved one.

Farewell Bani, you were something else entire and the world was a brighter place with you in it.

Across the Threshold of Dream

Doing a repost for the 25th anniversary of one of my favorite authors death. More people need to be aware of Karl Edward Wagner's incredible works! 

Lest anyone be afeared of my losing that bizarre and esotericness I emblazon across my banner I have for your amusement a rather weird and strange tale, echoing of mad dreams, perhaps assisted by the Dark Muse herself.

Late last night I was working on a new title for a brand new opening I have written for Blood of Our Fathers. Originally Heroes of the Fallen and Blood were one book, but at its voluminous size I decided to submit it in half and it was thusly accepted, but that brought its own problems of making sure things were edited and for book 2 making an adjustment for the sake of continuity for the possible reader who has not read Heroes.

I have written a new opening for Blood and was thinking on what I would like to title the opening chapter. I delight in naming each chapter as if it is it's own short story, plain numbers bore me, but I was at a loss for what to title this new opening. It involves a major character from Heroes=Amaron who is sometimes known as the Lion. Then I started thinking about some of my favorite pulp fantasy writers titles and I remembered an unused title by Karl Edward Wagner. He was going to write the then as yet untold tale of how Conan became king of Aquilonia and he was going to title it Day of the Lion. But L.Sprauge DeCamp who had the rights squashed that idea because he wanted to write that story himself. So KEW wrote The Road of Kings one of the best Conan pastiches, and Day of the Lion went unused. I should mention that DOTL was a play on Robert E. Howard's only Conan novel Hour of the Dragon and was a tale set after Conan has become king of the worlds greatest nation.I have discussed Karl's work before here.

Because of the possibility of using a Lion reference and name for my chapter I thought perhaps I would use the discarded title from a great influence and so I went to sleep.

I dreamt I was in a biker bar talking with Karl and playing pool, getting along famously until I mentioned I was going to use his discarded title. He was not happy-he said we better step outside or some such. I said fine because I've been in a scrap or two, to quote Charlie Daniels, we went outside and exchanged fisticuffs. Needless to say neither one of us were definitively winning the fight and I awoke in the morning resolving that I would not use the title as it was not mine, not in the proper homage and to boot KEW did not want me to use it.

It wasn't until I was well into my day that I read online from some of the sites I frequent, that I realized today is the 15 year anniversary of Karl Edward Wagners death. I would think it an interesting coincidence but I don't believe in coincidence. So perhaps it was the Dark Muse that Wagner wrote about, playing with both alive and dead authors creating malevolent discord among those that should be friends.