Well, galleys just came in, and assuming proofreading uncovers little to no errors, final publishing to start next week for immediate shipping on PEARLS FROM PEORIA by Philip Jose Farmer and including 3 original illustrations by the Prof plus a handful of introductory contributions and extensive copy-editing. Ships from London. Here's the website featuring 2 of my graphite illustrations: http://www.therosepress.co.uk/html/pearls.html

Currently working on another Farmer book, THE BEST OF PHILIP JOSE FARMER published by Subterranean Press -- a topnotch American publisher. I am contracted for 5 original pen and ink pieces for interior illustrations including an endpaper illustration including as many PJF characters as I can fit in. Website for this (available for preorder right now): http://www.subterraneanpress.com/Mercha ... ode=farmer

Let's sticky this and help keep Keith in expensive silk judge's robes ...

Right now I'm making more money with all my endeavors NOT practicing law than my friends who ARE actively practicing.

Just not much time for slovenliness -- which is disappointing.

Very cool!

I really hope more fiction gets published with the occassional pen'n'ink illustration - part of the fun of old Sherlock Holmes and such stories are from the original illustrations that accompanied them. Originally.

A bump and a move ...

Thank you for the bump.

I just finished my final illustration for THE BEST OF PJF and will be shipping the disc off to the designer probably on Monday. Signed limited-edition hardcovers are already sold out on the preorders but the standard trade ($38 ) is still available!

Besides the endpapers, I have a single pen and ink illustration to accompany each of the following stories:

RIVERWORLD (expanded version of the original short story that inspired the RIVERWORLD series -- focuses on Tom Mix and Yeshua [Jesus])
THE JUNGLE ROT KID ON THE NOD (basically "What If William Burroughs created Tarzan rather than Edgar Rice Burroughs)
AFTER KING KONG FELL (the "true" story of what happened when, and right after, King Kong fell off the Empire State building)
THE HENRY MILLER DAWN PATROL (this one was something of a particularly tricky one to illustrate since the story is pretty sexually explicit and involves -- get this -- an old man who was a WWI fighter pilot who lives now, 1970s, in a nursing home. His "dawn patrol" is him sneaking around wearing his pilots helmet/goggles and boffing any of the old ladies in the home who'll let him, but it's all written in double-entendre as if he's in the middle of a military dogfight -- hysterical)

Check it out on http://www.subterraneanpress.com if interested.

Remember a loooonnnngggg time ago when I announced that the massive collection of previously uncollected and rare works by PJF was going to be published in London with three classy illustrations by me? Well, you know how the publishing biz is. That publisher cancelled the book at the last minute but Subterranean Press has picked it up and plans to put it out later this year.

Check out the brand new announcement :
<http://www.subterraneanpress.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=SP&Product_Code=farmer02>
I've actually got prints of the three pieces from this book that I sell over at <http://www.pjfarmer.com/khpics.htm>, and if you order a copy of THE FARMERPHILE #3 you'll see my snazzy new full-page ad <http://www.pjfarmer.com/farmerphile.htm#iss2>

Way cool, Prof.

Most Cool!!!

UPDATE ON "THE BEST OF PHILIP JOSE FARMER", written by PJF, introduction by Joe Lansdale, endpapers and illustrations by Keith Howell

Shipping this week!

Limited editions are all sold out, bu the trade copy is still available -- though only 75 copies left after pre-orders.

Available directly from the publisher at http://www.subterraneanpress.com/Mercha ... ode=farmer

or

off Amazon at
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159606 ... e&n=283155

Oooh. Way cool! I have been a fan of his since I first read Riverworld in the early 80s.

One of the stories I drew an illustration for is his original RIVERWORLD short story featuring Tom Mix and Jesus.

Tom Mix wearing nothing but his RIVERWORLD towel but making himself some snakeskin cowboy boots and a cowboy hat to go with it made for a great visual inspiration.

Crossposted from the Playroom:

As you've no doubt guessed, I've been a bit busy these last couple weeks since I've hardly had a chance to read emails much less read and write reviews.

It all started two weekends ago when I took a trip to Peoria as a guest in the home of Philip Jose Farmer. Since I had illustrated his recent BEST OF collection and the upcoming (prints Aug. 22) PEARLS FROM PEORIA 700+ page ginormous collection. Saturday night was a party and dinner at a nice restaurant in town with a number of other writers and Sunday was an all day get together that also saw some of Phil's family popping by. I've got pics and when I finally get the time, I'll upload them somewhere's so y'all can see 'em. Phil's 88 and obviously in decline, but he stayed with us all day Sunday and came out with some funny bits such as when someone brought up his little bout with his three "pornographic" novels for Essex House back in the late 60s and early 70s he said "I was really messed up back then!"

Made friends with a number of authors like Win Scott Eckert and Nebula Award Winning Mary Turzillo (who just happens to be married to scientist and sci-fi writer Geoffrey Landis and used be comic artist Mike Gustovich's girlfriend).

But, I have been running on adrenaline for two weeks now with so many irons in the fire, including giving and grading mid-terms for my night class, I barely have had time to even read my emails and then just collapsing into bed each night.

Recently I did a full-color cover for FARMERPHILE #5 illustrating Kilgore Trout's (PJF) VENUS ON THE HALF-SHELL. Keep trying to finish a print of Knight Watchman's WATCHTOWER for BIG BANG COMICS (argh, I keep not having the time to work on it) and, of course, PEARLS FROM PEORIA is coming out (available on Amazon for around $25 but the list price is $45). Scifi.com recently reviewed the book and gave it an A+ -- and even mentioned the snazzy b/w illustrations.

Since BEST OF was a total sell-out within 3 months, Subterranean is hoping for a repeat on PEARLS. I got to look through the advance proof at Phil's house that Sunday (nearly everybody who contributed through editorial, proofing, forewords, etc. got to autograph it). It looks real nice. My three pieces are slightly smaller than they might otherwise be because the book was originally intended for British publisher THE ROSE PRESS. But in the wake of the subway bombings, their printer kept getting delayed and finally Phil's agent cancelled the project. But Subterranean picked it up after the success of BEST OF preorders. So, my art was actually done for a British A5 book. But that's a minor quibble. They also had my name as "Keith Howells", which I promptly brought to the editor's attention. He assured me they already had it fixed. We'll just see about that.

Really nice-looking book and contains fiction and non-fiction along with pages of photos and individual features on the three of us who contributed art to the collection.

Gary Wolfe from Locus Magazine was there that weekend doing a feature on Phil and is expected to have his review in the Oct. issue of Locus.

One of the coolest things was getting to walk around and take pictures of the orignal cover paintings for some of Phil's most famous works. My personal favorites being the wrap-around for THE ADVENTURE OF THE PEERLESS PEER (Tarzan teams up with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson), THE ALLEY MAN (from a 1961 issue of FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION), and THE BOOK OF PHILIP JOSE FARMER (that shows Phil at the typewriter with this little demon-looking thing sitting on his shoulder).

Had a fun time talking with Mary Turzillo about Mike Gustovich. She didn't expect me to recognize the name when I blurted out "JUSTICE MACHINE!" That got her going. I egged her on to try and find out why he doesn't bring back the JUSTICE MACHINE characters and, while she wasn't explicit, she gave me the distinct impression that there may be some contractual (re: legal) reason that Mike's not doing comics anymore. Almost like he's not "allowed" to do them anymore. ??? Weird.

Win Eckert is the dude who published the MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE book that I put on my christmas list (on AICN) last year. He's also contributed to the first two volumes of JM Llofficier's TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN series and has a story going into the upcoming third volume.


Working on a drawing of Trish Wildman (Pat Savage) for a top-secret project with Win Eckert, but keep getting frustrated cause I can't get it to look like I want. So, I'm about to do redraw number 4!

More later?

Possibly,

My usual cross-post from the Playroom:

PEARLS FROM PEORIA, the massive 750 page collection of rare and previously uncollected short works by Philip Jose Farmer is shipping. Featuring 3 proud artists, of which I am one, contributing illustrations to the collection. I got to see the unocorrected proof last month when a group of us visited with Phil in Peoria and I think it's just an awesome one-of-a-kind collection. Publisher's Weekly gave it a starred review and Sci-Fi Weekly (scifi.com) gave it a glowing and excellent review. LOCUS magazine is supposed to feature a review next month.

But here's the deal. My last collaboration with Phil (THE BEST OF PHILIP JOSE FARMER) was a complete sell-out and this book looks to be quickly on that road as well. Word from the publisher is that based on pre-orders, there are only about 150 of the trade edition still available and they expect them to go fast.

For super-hero/pulp fans, one of the main reasons to get your hands on this book is that it features Phil's never-produced screen treatment for the DOC SAVAGE sequel. WB had already commissioned him to produce the script before the original movie premiered and tanked badly at the box office. So, the sequel was never made, but the script was dug out of Phil's files and dusted off for PEARLS. It's loads of fun and a true what-mighta-been.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/ ... k_code=as1

or you can go directly to Subterranean Press and order but it costs freakin' $45. Amazon has it for under $30.

http://www.subterraneanpress.com

SPECIAL OFFER FOR ANY PURCHASERS FROM IMWAN!!!!

If you order the book and would like a personalized sig to go with it, shoot me an email or private message with a mailing address and I will mail out to you a customized sig card I've designed up that can then be included with the book as a bookmark.

Nice work, Keith!

Congrats, Keith!

Just a heads up on two things:

(1) I don't know what the hellzup with Aintitcool this week. Our column was sent Tuesday night and they still haven't posted it and all the coding is mucked up on what IS there...and

(2) PEARLS FROM PEORIA has completely sold out from the publisher's stock (except for the signed $300 collector's edition). Amazon still has their order "In Stock" right now. If interested in picking it up, this is the time to do it. I've got my comp copies and the book is really nice and clocked in at over 770 pages. It's a thick little monster (no comments Frank!!!!) with more than just writing by PJF, there are also short features on each of us artists and a photo gallery at the end of Farmer's life and achievements. A rare collection that will become a collectible almost instantly.

Well, slowly but surely I'm getting myself back out there with a web presence.

http://www.myspace.com/prof_challenger

Is where you can go to check out a few art samples and I can (hopefully) blog occasionally and get some reactions. But mainly I'm looking to network. So add me as a friend if you get a chance.

I sent a message to be on your myspace.

Shoot dude!! I didn't know you're in Georgetown!!! I'm right down in Pflugerville!!!

We're practically next door neighbors.

You're added, pal.

Excellent! Fantastic stuff on your site!!

Thanks.

Hope to have a full website going before TOO long, but the Myspace thing is a quick and easy way to just get a basic web presence.