#WRITERPROBLEMS

I don't really have what you might call major #writerproblems, but it is a popular hashtag so we'll see if it leads any folks here. Today's post is a few assorted odds and ends I posted to social media and wanted to share here as well.

First off, I started doing that most writerly of duties... cleaning the office. It's amazing how cluttered my writing space can become. It's also amazing what treasures you find when cleaning the office. Notes from stories and podcasts from almost 4 years ago. No wonder that bottom shelf was so dusty. Like I said, #writerproblems Ha!

There is so much truth in this. Believe me.

Hey, Netflix! Just an FYI. My catalog and I can also be bought. Just putting that out there in case you're still browsing.

Lastly, here's a thing I made. This is Al. Al needs reviews and so does your favorite author. Please take a moment to leave a review for the last book you enjoyed. It only takes a moment and can be as easy as "I liked this book. 4 stars!" Won't you help? It costs you nothing, but means the world to the creators involved. Thank you. We now return you to your regularly scheduled social media, already in progress.

Have a great day.

Bobby

A WRITING SNEAK PEEK!

Doing some writing today. I can't really say much about the project yet as the publisher hasn't announced it, but it was put together by a talented writer and editor whose work I've admired for years. I'm having fun with the story and look forward to finishing it up tonight or tomorrow. It's my favorite genre as well, crime fiction with a pulpy flair. That's always a fun sandbox to play in. I'll say more about the project when I can.

Here's a sneak peek at today's work. It's all first draft so this might change a bit between now and when it sees print.

Enjoy.

Bobby
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I held up a finger so he wouldn’t reach for the weapon he no doubt carried. I hadn’t come to this little meeting unarmed and I doubt he did either. I pointed toward my pocket and slowly, carefully reached inside and pulled out an envelope I had folded in half and tucked inside. “You mean this?”

“Hand it over.”

“Well, you see, that’s the things,” I said, stalling for time. “I was hired by my client to get this information. I really shouldn’t hand it over to anyone but her.”

He sneered.

“I mean, how would you feel if you hired me and I gave the goods over to someone else just on their say so. I’ve got a reputation to uphold, you know. A p.i. who can’t be trusted is an unemployed p.i. and I’ve gotten kind of used to living indoors. I’m sure you understand.”

He didn’t.

UPDATED - ANOTHER BLAST FROM THE PAST: LITTLE LAMB AND BLACK SHEEP THE COMIC BOOK

Little Lamb makes an entrance - Story: Bobby Nash. Art: Jeff Austin

Last week, I shared the Little Lamb and Black Sheep prose story I wrote with illustrations by Jeff Austin. You can read it here.

I mentioned that Jeff and I had worked the characters up originally as a comic book story. I didn’t have copies of the art handy, but Jeff did and he shared his pencils and his thoughts on his blog. Jeff’s a talented artist. If you aren’t already following his blog, you should.

Enjoy Little Lamb and Black Sheep.

Bobby
Click for larger view.

Page 1 - Story: Bobby Nash. Art: Jeff Austin

Page 2 - Story: Bobby Nash. Art: Jeff Austin

Page 3 - Story: Bobby Nash. Art: Jeff Austin

Page 4 - Story: Bobby Nash. Art: Jeff Austin

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Page 8 - Story: Bobby Nash. Art: Jeff Austin

ARE YOU READY FOR LITTLE LAMB AND BLACK SHEEP?

Not your typical crime fighters.

I was talking on the phone with my friend, Jeff Austin earlier today. I mentioned how much I’m enjoying the older art Jeff has been digging out of mothballs and posting on his blog and that got us talking about some of our old projects together.

That brought me back to Little Lamb and Black Sheep.

Little Lamb and Black Sheep were comic book characters that Jeff and I created way back when (some time in the early 90's I’d guess) with the dream of taking them to series. Little Lamb and Black Sheep was an interesting experiment. The characters in the stories, both good guys and bad guys were taken out of Jeff’s various sketchbooks. We found images we liked and gave those characters life. It worked pretty well for us too. It also allowed us to create characters that were a little different from the types of characters we might create on our own.

My favorite panel from the 1st comic script. Sad this never got finished.

I actually wrote several all-ages comic book scripts featuring the duo, but sadly only part of the first one was drawn before other projects pulled Jeff away from this project and we never seemed to get back to it. I probably have copies of those pages in a box somewhere. Maybe I’ll run across them one day. Anyway, I later wrote this short story to appear in Odyssey Magazine and Jeff added some spot illustrations to it. I miss Little Lamb and Black Sheep. They were a lot of fun to write.



I thought you might enjoy this peek at the Little Lamb and Black Sheep short story. It will be added to the Free Stories tab above for future visitors to find and hopefully enjoy.

Bobby

LITTLE LAMB & BLACK SHEEP OVERVIEW

Bethany Talbot and her uncle, Clarence (Blacky) Talbot make up the duo known as Little Lamb & Black Sheep.  Together with the brilliant inventor Herbert Talbot III, Bethany’s father and Blacky’s brother, they solve crimes.

Clarence Talbot was a top notch fighter pilot in his youth.  He was part of a select group who were experimented on for a special mission in outer space long before Sputnik was launched.  The mission was a failure, but there was an unexpected side effect.  Those involved aged very slowly and they began showing signs of blossoming super powers.  Thus, the world’s first super heroes were born.

Now, there are fewer and fewer of these heroes around as they are starting to age and find themselves tired of the constant battles and mind games.  Blacky agrees to train and watch after his niece when she devotes her life to the goal he and her father both fought for.  Although she has no super powers of her own, Herbert has created a way for Bethany to use hypnosis as a weapon.  With only the sound of her voice, Bethany can hypnotize many people.  This is how she keeps her face out of the spotlight, since she wears no mask.  The newspapers have even gone so far as to assume the vigilante called Little Lamb is a man.

There are those few who are immune, of course.

FREE SHORT STORY - LITTLE LAMB AND BLACK SHEEP 
Written by Bobby Nash.
Illustrations by Jeff Austin.
Click on images for a larger readable copy.

Check out Jeff Austin's Art Blog at http://pencilbrushblog.blogspot.com.