Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Oct 3, 2011, 6:47 pm
The sound is quiet, so you might need to turn your volume up, and, well, it's me reading, so you might want to turn the picture down, but this is my performance in my 11am slot at FantasyCon 2011. Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Sep 5, 2011, 4:33 pm
Okay, I'm a little late to the party with this (and what a party it is, what with the balloon and the candle and the second-hand party-popper), but 'The Office of Lost and Found' is now available in print!
It's still available digitally as well, which means you can now choose between the following f... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Aug 22, 2011, 1:16 pm
A brief on-line conversation around lunchtime today set me wondering if there was any relationship between the kind of fiction people write and their professional background. I have a vague notion that crime-writers are somewhat more likely to have a background in journalism or law, while SF/F/H see... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Aug 22, 2011, 1:16 pm
A brief on-line conversation around lunchtime today set me wondering if there was any relationship between the kind of fiction people write and their professional background. I have a vague notion that crime-writers are somewhat more likely to have a background in journalism or law, while SF/F/H see... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Jul 29, 2011, 5:01 pm
Okay, so instead of getting on with the book covers I'm supposed to be doing or writing the short story I'm supposed to be finishing, this evening I have been cleaning up the logo used on the cover for the first draft copies of Lost and Found...
BEFORE:AFTER: Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Jul 3, 2011, 4:48 am
So, it's finally happened. It's now possible to buy one of my books on Amazon. The giddy novelty is sure to wear off eventually, but for the time being, I'll do my best to appreciate the moment. Here's a new trailer to watch to mark the occasion.
P.S. I should also say that the piano samples mixed ... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Jun 28, 2011, 10:38 am
Reviews are now starting to filter in for 'The Office of Lost and Found'. I don't know whether I'll keep this post up to date with every review (I imagine I'll lose track sooner or later), but these are the ones I know about so far, in order of posting, along with quotes I haven't taken entirely out... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Jun 24, 2011, 5:23 pm
Okay, it took a couple more evenings to turn those initial sketches into a finished picture and the finished picture is somewhat flawed, but it's been good practice so maybe the next one will be better. I still can't shake the feeling that copying rather than dreaming up from your imagination is che... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Jun 22, 2011, 5:34 pm
I've made a few attempts at speed painting in Photoshop recently, but haven't got very far, usually because I started out without a clear idea of what I wanted to do and so gave up quite quickly. I was also struggling to paint faces that I was happy with. So, to get around both those problems, I tho... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Jun 18, 2011, 4:10 pm
Business cards. Authors. Cheesy awkward self-promotion. Three things that often go together. On the other hand, it's a lot easier to hand over a card than it is to explain to someone how to spell my name. So, I thought I would try doing some MOO cards. Rather than just use the cover artwork, I knock... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Jun 13, 2011, 2:18 pm
As I don't think I've actually posted the blurb for the book yet and because I was asked for one in the comments to the trailer post, here it is...
THE OFFICE OF LOST AND FOUND
by VINCENT HOLLAND-KEEN
Thomas Locke can find anything. You know the hurricane that hit a while back? Word is he found th... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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May 31, 2011, 10:36 am
After 87 years, 256 days, 18 hours, 23 minutes and 8 seconds, I have finally finished copy-editing 'The Office of Lost and Found'. It has now gone off to Anarchy Books, which means my life is now once again blissfully aimless and without meaning. Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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May 23, 2011, 4:52 pm
Here's some photos I took while taking a break from Crimefest and wandering up to the Clifton suspension bridge. The picture quality's a bit ropey because they were taken on my iPhone. To paraphrase multitudinous spam emails, click pic to embiggenify (which you might need to do to spot the people cl... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Apr 29, 2011, 4:36 am
I've been tweeting about my progress copy-editing 'The Office of Lost and Found' ad nauseum lately, so for those who aren't familiar with what this entails, I thought I'd write this quick post as a break from the aforementioned copy-editing.
The following passage serves as an example. This first ver... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Apr 27, 2011, 8:03 am
Right, I'm busy at the moment copy-editing 'The Office of Lost and Found' prior to sending a final draft off to the publisher, but once that's done, I will be looking at producing a trailer and I'll be looking to make a bit different to most book trailers in that I'm hoping it'll be good*.
So, I tho... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Apr 4, 2011, 5:05 am
Barring unforeseen calamities, it looks like the great book-reading public will finally get the opportunity to acclaim/scorn/ignore 'The Office of Lost and Found', which is due to be released as an e-book from 'Anarchy Books' on June 1st, 2011 in July, 2011. Find the official announcement here. Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Mar 4, 2011, 3:13 pm
I've mentioned before that I have an undue fondness for airbrush in Photoshop, but unfortunately that doesn't deliver the kind of gritty style I need for a new pic I'm working on, which means I've had to start experimenting with using the brushes. So, I came up with this while watching one of the in... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Feb 26, 2011, 11:06 am
Alongside copy-editing Balesley Green, I'm planning to do artwork to flesh out the world of the book, which started today with a sketch for the school house that plays a significant part in the story. Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Feb 6, 2011, 10:03 am
Once upon a time I came up with a title. It was a brilliant title, but I couldn't come up with a story worthy of it.
Some time later, I found myself pondering tales that I could never get completely excited about. I really liked the idea behind 'Heroes and Hobgoblins', for example, but it never sang... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Jan 21, 2011, 2:12 pm
So, the other day I decided I would try self-publishing 'An Alternative History of Balesley Green'. This allows me to do all sorts of exciting stuff that I couldn't do if a traditional publisher was handling the process. One of those things includes doing my own covers, with the emphasis on the plur... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Jan 16, 2011, 3:15 pm
So, despite not doing requests, Adele asked if I could do a dragon and, because she has peculiar predilections, it had to be a mean and ugly dragon and... well, I decided to see if I could. As per usual, click to embiggenify. Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Jan 14, 2011, 2:36 pm
Again, after stressing again I don't do requests, but a friend came up with an interesting idea for a picture featuring a character from one of her stories... Though, admittedly, the end result does feature certain elements born of my own artistic sensibilities. I'll let you guess for yourself which... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Jan 3, 2011, 6:49 am
Okay, I'm not about to make a habit of taking requests, but someone asked if I could draw a squirrel knight and because I still can't bring myself to start trying to write a sitcom...
(Took about two hours, not sure if my cunning plan to use depth of field entirely worked) Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Jan 2, 2011, 11:47 am
While on the way back from the shops, it occurred to me that if I'm going to do a web comic, then of all the multitudinous intellectual property I have developed over the years, there is one story that lends itself to the graphic novel approach more than any other... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Jan 2, 2011, 8:19 am
So, because everyone and their monkey does pictures of comic book characters on sites like DeviantArt, I thought I'd give it a go. Et voila, another three hours later and I have my own rendering of Batman and Catwoman. Mapping some common functions to the Cintiq's Express Keys streamlined things a l... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Jan 1, 2011, 10:11 am
This afternoon, I have been playing around with my new Wacom Cintiq 12WX. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a graphics tablet. However, unlike most graphics tablets, the surface you draw on is a second monitor, meaning you can see what your pen is drawing by looking at the nib, rath... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Dec 25, 2010, 4:50 pm
Okay, it's about two days later than I was planning, but these things always end up taking longer than I planned. The following story should work as a standalone piece, but it probably works better if you've read a certain book (which, unless you're very, very lucky/unlucky, you won't have done :). ... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Dec 7, 2010, 4:53 am
Head on over to the official Un:Bound Video Editions site for a special competition tied in to the launch. Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Nov 28, 2010, 10:51 am
So, I have spent my whole weekend thus far turning video that looks like this:
Into video that looks like this:
Why? Well, you'll have to wait until December 6th to find out and even then if you blink, you might miss it. Of course, that assumes I actually make the deadline... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Nov 21, 2010, 5:48 am
So, I spent most of yesterday messing around with book covers. The modern book cover is interesting thing when you look closely at it. If it's in the crime genre, you can often go: 'ah yes, that's a stock photograph from an agency like Corbis or Getty Images'. If it's a sci-fi or fantasy cover, you ... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Nov 11, 2010, 5:21 am
I generally don’t submit my writing to agents/publishers because a) it’s incredibly tedious, and b) it’s too akin to a lottery as far as a writer’s concerned. Now, I do play the National Lottery, but only because everyone else in my office does and buggered if I’m going to be the only one ... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Nov 10, 2010, 12:14 pm
Okay, the sekrit project is sekrit no longer. The press release for Un:Bound Video Editions is now available here.
The current state of play is that we have all the footage we need (barring one or two pick-up shots) and what now follows is many weeks of post-production. The primary reason it's many ... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Oct 15, 2010, 4:38 am
Okay, a little while ago and a few inches further down this blog, I posted about my weight loss plans and the reasons why I was doing it and included a picture of Hugh Jackman, which has been responsible for just about every hit on my blog since. I'm following up that post now because I think I migh... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Aug 8, 2010, 6:34 pm
For some reason I found myself reviewing the cuttings files of scenes and passages I edit out of books, but keep handy in case they contain ideas I might want to use again. As such, I thought I'd post up here a passage that got cut from the second draft of 'An Alternative History of Balesley Green' ... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Jul 9, 2010, 12:11 pm
Okay, I'm writing this for future reference. When I next say to someone I'm trying to lose weight and they raise an eyebrow I shall point them to this post.
There are some people who are trying to lose weight because they're fat. Fair enough. There are other people who are trying to lose weight beca... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Apr 28, 2010, 8:25 am
It just occurred to me, somewhat belatedly, that I should announce on here that I'm now writing a fortnightly column for another blog called Un:Bound, which, despite the name, isn't a website for those recovering from a fetish for being tied up. It's a blog boundlessly enthusiasm about books, whose ... Comment - Like
Vincent H. posted an article on
Dragons Fandango
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Apr 6, 2010, 12:12 pm
This afternoon I spent some time looking up literary agents to try and decide who to submit Balesley Green to next.
It was an experience much akin to surfing dating sites and trying to pick out those girls that in my considered judgement are:
a) attractive
b) interesting
c) remotely likely to rep... Comment - Like
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