Plenty of Pleasing Pictures for your Perusal

American Fantastic has added a photography section!  The first two selections are shots by site co-creator John Beechem.  They are divided between urban photos:

and natural photos:

so whether you're a gargoyle or a fairy at heart, there's bound to be something for you.

American Fantastic is also excited to introduce its audience to Seattle artist Krista Wade.  Krista creates in a variety of mediums including ink, acryllic, soapstone sculpting, and is even learning video game design.  Check her out!

 

For submissions, please e-mail americanfantastic@gmail.com with your content included as an attachment.

American Fantastic Strikes Back

After a six month hiatus, new content has been added to American Fantastic. We are extremely pleased to post new material, and hope to continue to update more regularly through the savage heat of summer, the sun's fire lighting the flame of our muses.

John Beechem has posted chapter 15 of his on-going fantasy novel, The Chronicles of Trivo:  Phoenix Ranger.  In the latest installment, Trivo and his allies enter the Drulag Caverns, home to the deepest, darkest evils in the realm.  In an uneasy alliance, the companions join warriors of the local tribe, the Kel ta Ko and a clan of vampyrs who call the caverns their home.  Together, they battle a horde of the undead under the control of a necromancer's apprentice, in a fight for the future of their homelands.  

Dordji Bowles has added three new pictures of speculative evolutionary art about a world in which life has evolved on a hostile planet filled with toxic gas and seas of acid.  Dordji specializes in drawing fantastic creatures whose anatomies are based on a blend of biology and imagination.

Thank you for returning to American Fantastic.  

The Collection of Curiosities Has Expanded

American Fantastic continues to grow like the majestic horn of a newborn unicorn or the all-consuming darkness of a black hole, depending on your sensibilities.  The insane architects of this website would especially like to thank those contributors who have made this update possible.  

Dordji Bowles has updated his gallery to include some black and white pencil sketches that feature dark creatures only his twisted imagination could fathom (http://americanfantastic.com/dordjis-art/)

Jodie Beechem has added three new pictures to her gallery (http://americanfantastic.com/jodies-art/jodie-beechem/), including abstract pieces that combine elements of geometry and abstract symbology.

Gary Boyd has shared two of his literary oddities, "A Tanae Solium" ( http://americanfantastic.com/a-taenia-solium/) and "Ayeen" (http://americanfantastic.com/ayeen-by-gary-boyd/).  The prior is a short story about a man infected with an intelligent tapeworm, and the absurd world that they inhabit.  The latter is about a fabricated person named Ayeen and the room that he inhabits.

Last but not least, John Beechem has posted two recent chapters to his swords and sorcery epic, The Chronicles of Trivo:  Phoenix Ranger 
(http://americanfantastic.com/the-chronicles-of-trivo-phoen/?currentPage=3).  Follow Trivo and his companions as they journey through the foggy foothills of the southern highlands, battle a cave dwelling cyclops, and combine forces with a blood sucking vampyr against the evil necromancer, Count Benedict.

A special thanks to our contributors this week.  This is the largest update we've had since the site's creation, and this makes American Fantastic a truly collaborative effort.  Remember, we crave new content like a zombie hungers for human flesh, so please submit any original works you would like to see posted to americanfantastic@gmail.com.

Thank you for visiting, and please enjoy your time in this realm of wonder and darkness.

A Tale of Woe, a Poem, and New Art

Gary Boyd has written a short story called "Spiegelgrund" told from multiple perspectives about heartbreak and its aftermath. His characters are as flawed as his writing is not, and he has provided us with a compelling read.  

Jodie Beechem's art gallery has been expanded to include a few new pictures of black and white art she has created including a sea gull drawn in the style of a Native American woodcarving, a pair of spectacles, and some rootin' tootin' boots and spurs.

John Beechem has posted a poem about the beauty and darkness in his neighborhood in Seattle, WA titled "Aurora".  

Thank you for visiting American Fantastic, and remember, we love those who submit writing and/or art to americanfantastic@gmail.com.

New art by Jodie, and new fiction by John

A modest update adds to the menagerie of works by artist Jodie Beechem and writer and site co-creator John Beechem.

Jodie continues the tradition of humor, strageness, and surreal beauty of her gallery while adding new works that involve eye-popping color and a black sketch pad.

John has posted the first part of a work of urban fantasy about a young woman named Lynlea, balancing her life as a stressed out teenage hipster scholar with her fight against dark supernatural forces intent on using her "gift" for evil.  It's called The Hat Man's Shadow and it takes place in the same darkly fantastic Seattle as John's previous urban fantasy short story Scorch.  This story's protagonist, Lynlea, is the daughter of Ryu Murikami, a homicide detective who is not constrained by conventional notions of possibility.

Thank you for coming back to American Fantastic, and remember, we are always looking for contributors, so any aspiring creators should send digital versions of original works of art or fiction to americanfantastic@gmail.com.  Tread lightly in the shadows...