Friday, February 24, 2006

A Dog Who Strangles Itself Against Its Chain Without a Sound. Just one of Many Strange Goings On in a Gated Community Called Canaan Cove






















This is a thumbnail for an illustration I'm planning to do one day for my novel, or, as I call it these days, just "Book". Even if my planned illustrations, most of which exist only in my head, amount to nothing more than "value-adders" for my own vanity press edition, that's fine. Illustrations in books are cool. Something very nineteenth-century about them that I like. Anyway, this is an image from a new element I added into the first half. The protagonist's odious next-door neighbor is, among other things, the caretaker of an unusual dog who appears only in the hours between nightfall and sunrise, during which time it works tirelessly (not to mention silently) to free itself from its chain. I added a couple of scenes involving the dog because I needed to foreshadow certain elements of the second half, and this new section helped me do that. Though this image was intended as a sketch for some other more finished-looking version, I kind of like the rough version.

Anyway, it's Friday and I'm going to a prom tonight with Peggy. Yes, Emory's business school has a prom. I thought I was done with this sort of stuff after the wedding. Oh well. Peggy got a new dress and everything. So I guess I'm going to get totally wasted at this bacchanal and cut a lil' rug 'till the wee hours. Or was I just going to sit at a table cramming hors d'oeuvres while watching business-dorks dance? I forget. One of the two.

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

7 comments:

blankfist said...

A prom? It's good to see the houswife is getting out here and again. Zing! Hey dude, the housewife joke will never get old, will it? Harwell? Anyhow, I think putting illustrations into your book is a great idea. There's is something about those earlier novels that had their own charm, and I don't think it's a bad idea to emulate them. As long as this dog isn't foreshadowing some demon dogs in a flipped reality or anything, then I'm on board! For shizzle!!!!

Seeking Completion said...

your friday night sounds better than mine. Siiting on my computer reading my brothers blog wondering if i can afford getting my truck fixed and where my life went wrong... WHOPPSIE!!!! have fun dude. Its better than nothing. SPECK LOOK AT MY BLOG

Anonymous said...

Look at my blog, twice.

Anonymous said...

The housewife joke was much better in your previous post. But I'll give you credit for trying again. Because usually you just try a joke and give up on it, Heath. It's nice to see you sticking to something for once in your life and not giving up when nobody else seems to give a crap.

Crane, awesome drawing.

Look, Briley has a myspace page:

www.myspace.com/exitphour

blankfist said...

You forgot to say 'noob' or 'slipnuts' or make a reference to 'balls', Harwell. I've been updating my blog tonight. Done for the weekend. Got a lot to do tomorrow, so it looks like I won't be able to get back into writing until probably Sunday. Damn.

Anonymous said...

BOOOOOORRRRRIIIIINNNGGGG!!!!

blankfist said...

Seriously! Let's get with some inanities! Not just every weekday, but every effin' weekend day, too!