Well, the first batch of Red Wombat Tea is now on sale! You can get Shoggoth Jasmine, Kachina Chamomile, Dead Dragon Breakfast Blend, and Odd Fish Oolong, all in their own tins, for a one-time low price of $10.75 apiece!

Order Red Wombat Tea Here: [link]

(This is cheaper than the final price will be, because the back label printing does not meet Ellen's high standards--the fronts, with my art on 'em, are all good, but she isn't quite pleased with the font printing on the back labels. Her perfectionism is your gain--they'll normally be $12 a tin, but here's your chance to grab 'em and try 'em for a discount!)

Well, my children's book, Nurk, came out a few days ago, and it's been madness here ever since.

On the one hand OH GOD, IT'S A REAL BOOK IN STORES AND EVERYTHING. My boyfriend dragged me out to Barnes & Noble to see it on the shelf, and I actually lost the power of speech for some time.

On the other hand, I realized to my intense horror that my website was not kid-friendly and had to rush like a bunny to get a new one up, which threw a lot of things on hold.

So, the wallpaper contest will get judged, it's just taking a little longer, since that's for the old website, which will get overhauled soon, but the webguy is already burning the midnight oil getting the one done.

Also, you can order Nurk on-line at:

[link]

Okay...here's a very silly idea, but what the heck. People keep suggesting silly contests. I'm thinking of offering some free wallpapers for downloads, and I'm not that good at design. Also, I have 24 author copies of Nurk that just arrived on my doorstep, and even after I give them to all my relatives and donate a couple to libraries, I'm suspect I'm still gonna be sitting on a pile, unless I start selling them at cons or something.

So! Here's your chance, gang! Win a free signed author's copy of Nurk! Make a wallpaper out of one of my paintings/comics/whatever, slice and dice at will, and submit it before...um....let's say Friday, Friday the 25th is a nice date. First place gets a signed author's copy, second and third (and/or more, depending on whether I'm overwhelmed with uber-awesome entries) gets a signed print of the cover art for Nurk. The wallpapers in question will be put up on the new metalandmagic.com (whenever it comes into being) for download, with appropriate credit given to the winner (actually, if you could put that on the wallpaper, that'd be even better!)

It can be pretty much anything related to a project of mine--Digger, Elf vs. Orc, Little Creature, random painting--don't care, have fun, I'm more interested in cool visual design than anything in particular.

With my usual total lack of planning for any kind of response, I'll probably judge these myself, unless I wind up with some ridiculously high number, in which case I may go to voting, or just rope my long-suffering friends into helping me.

Just make sure the [link] bit is somewhere on the wallpaper, and we're all good! E-mail submissions in jpg format to ursulav (at) metalandmagic.com with the subject "Wallpaper Contest" (or just send a link, if you've got it posted somewhere) and....um...I hope this isn't a totally absurd idea...

ETA: You can submit as many entries as you want, and feel free to post them in your DA gallery. Just include a link or drop my name or something.

Please make 'em the big size wallpaper...err...1024 x ...thingy.

This is just a reminder gang that tomorrow, April 15th, is the last day to order the Limited Edition Taxman print! As of tomorrow midnight, the edition closes! (Payment doesn't have to come tomorrow, although it'd be nice, but you gotta at least register your order...)

The Taxman:

[link]


We've gotten over 100 orders so far, and I am well past shock and delight and solidly into disbelief and awe...

A Very Minor Sale of the Very Minor Demon on e-bay!

[link]

Because I'm doing con prep this week--Technicon, Blacksburg, Virginia, I'm an art guest of honor, come stop by and say hi and listen to me blather nervously!--I'm just gonna submit this to the Invisible Hand and call it good.