MYSTERIOUS VISIONS: AFTER HOURS
Dimestore Productions put out this comic book anthology. I don't want to
go into depth here, except to say, my work with Earl Gaier was good, as
were the works of Josh Brown that I found within the pages. This had a
very small print, and I doubt there are any books anywhere for anyone
to find. Good luck if you are searching.
FOURTH REICH FINAL STRIKE
Alex Ness Words, Jason Moser Art
In 2005 a very close friend and I had developed an idea for a war game.
The concept was one where the Nazis had not died, but rather prepared
for an escape, and did so. Then when ready, attacked the world. The game
designer/artist friend died of Lung Cancer in 2009, but my story was
written. A while later I shared it with Jason Moser, a very fine artist,
and this project is the result of that connection. Perhaps some day the
war game can still happen. I regret that I didn't proof my work as well
as I could have, and Jason was great, but I was unclear and left too
much to be clear about both what happened and if it indeed ended the way
it seemed. The book looks beautiful, due to Jason alone.
BAM TOO! BIG ASS MINI COMIC
I was asked if works I had written and others had illustrated could be
submitted to this collection. And I was happy to see this book appear
under the hand of friend JM Hunter. I will probably not be carrying the
book around, it has 400 + pages, but I am proud to be in it. Even if I
am not a comic book writer, it is fun to be in the same neighborhood as
some of the people I like very much.
A LIFE OF RAVENS
A Life of Ravens was a massive project that featured my words and the
art of 27 different artists, including Mike Grell, Peter Bergting, Alex
Sheikman, Rich Koslowski, Josh Howard, Paul Harmon, and Bob Giadrosich.
Bob Giadrosich did approximately 1/3 of the art, and published the work
through his Sharayah Press imprint. It is a lovely work, and one that I
am proud of. It is rare at this time. It is out of print and has some
value on Amazon, selling for $40 most of the time. These stories and
poems and mythic tales are amongst the first where I had the freedom to
write as I wished. To some degree they were still modified by the
publisher. But I do not regret that, the book is lovely.
LANCELOT
Lancelot from Cyberwizard was a mass effort by many artists and a
brilliantly talented co-writer G.F. "Geoff" Evrard, who is Breton
French, and his side of the project included many fabulous artists. My
side of the project had numerous great talents, but numerous people
dropped out, leaving me hanging. Some of those were great, but one was
very unprofessional (he comes from Ohio). So, for me it was a troubled
work, but, it is a beautiful error free project. It is also out of
print, which is a horrible thing because for all the work done on this
book, it deserved much better. To the publisher Cyberwizard's credit,
she fulfilled a promise of publishing the work in color. This edition
remains available on Amazon. It is very expensive, but I promise, it is
worth the cost. There are page embellishments by a skilled artist, along
with the new color art, it is a beautiful work deserving of collection.
ARTHUR, REX ETERNUS
Arthur Rex Eternus was born as a sequel to Lancelot, only the publisher requested my work, but never worked on it for a year. After that time I asked Josh Brown (mentioned above) to edit and format it
and write a tale, and we were joined by an artist Trent Westbrook. Of
my work, I like these poems, rather more than the Lancelot poems,
despite liking the book on the Lancelot more. I think it comes from
growth as a writer, of course, but also, having the freedom to work for
Josh as an editor instead of someone I do not know.
THE HOLY CHALICE: THE QUEST OF ARTHUR
I had an idea, to write about Arthurian love. It was gold, GOLD I tell
you. Some see love as the ultimate quest, but lust interrupts that
quest. Some say fulfillment is the ultimate quest. But does the Holy
Chalice, the Grail of legend represent fulfillment, or are we
fulfillment of the quest, when we love another fully? Arthurian Romance
and quests surround the love of others, of service, and of lust. The
quest is to learn what is the Holy Chalice.
KING OF AGES: An Anthology
The concept of the book was new. Arthur and Merlyn were/are
ever existing. They appear in different forms throughout history, and
the future. The tales of King Arthur have appealed to me since my
earliest memories. When Josh Brown presented his theme/concept for the
book I immediately turned to the primal templates of Arthur and Merlyn.
Arthur lived with the blood of a brave but iniquitous man, Uther
Pendragon in his veins, was born of a rape of the mother. Arthur was an
innocent, despite the perverse origins, and the one to counsel him, and
announce him was Merlyn. Understanding them then from Josh's direction, I
saw Arthur as King and Merlyn his seer as the iconic theme of John the Baptist, and Christ the King. However, I also saw them in the future, with Christ returning to earth, in the form of Arthur. Wherever
there is Arthur, there is Merlyn, and wherever Christ appears, he is
foretold and announced by John.
AMONGST THE RUINS
This was published by Diminuendo publishing and is a book about fantasy
and ancient events from the perspective of battle and adventure. It was
purely text, and some people thought that it would be a chance to
focus upon my poems rather than the art and poems. I enjoyed the work I
did, and despite a snafu that marred the first print, (the printer's
proof was different than the final product and it was left with two
pretty obvious and frustrating errors in product) I am proud of my
words. It is now out of print. But Amazon has copies.
MYTHIC MEMORIES
The publisher of Mythic Memories is the person who was responsible for
finding my project Lancelot and getting it in the publishing stream.
Jason Waltz of Rogue Blades Entertainment was great, remains a friend,
and he did a magnificent job on this book. I wrote this immediately
after A Life of Ravens and thought of it, initially as A Life of Ravens
II. But it became a more focused work upon myth and is illustrated with
public domain work and images from the great works of sculpture and
history.
EMPIRE OF STONE
This book was originally written for a certain artist from a concept I
had that I thought he'd be perfect for illustrating. But since writing
it, it has been with various artists and now, was self published. As
such, the work is a shared beast with lots of people doing the work and
I have no idea when it will be for sure published, other than soon. The concept is a world where wars have left few living, and Dwarves
living in the lonely mountain ridge are beset in final combat by hordes
of evil beings... It is bloody and it is epic. The cover is by Jason
Moser, the interior art is by Trent Westbrook, additional story telling
is by Josh Brown, and Dara Syrkin kicked my ass with the edits, thank
you.
HUNT THE WINTERLANDS
This collection of stories came about as a result of brainstorming,
collective ideas, and some pretty damn hard work by the editor Josh
Brown. Michael May, my oft co-writer and I had a concept, we had some
works that came in as a result of our creation of the series bible, but
it was Josh who sewed the pieces together of this tapestry. I am proud
of my short story, as it was hard to complete but, when finished and
after Josh's helpful edits, it is a story I am rather proud of. As a
book by many this is a creation I am proud of, and am happy to say, it
is done. Thanks to Josh, and everyone aboard.
EYE OF THE DAGGER
Friend Josh Brown and I'd both submitted our works for a project and
while both made it to the final round, we didn't succeed. However, we
obviously both disagreed with the decisions. Josh suggested that we do a book. I
said, of course, huh? and he said, I'll do it. Eye of the Dagger is a
show of his genius in formatting and edits, he did some stories, as I
did, and so did my friend Marc Kleinhenz. As a result we wrote stories
about assassinations and dark acts of subterfuge. I think it is a lovely
work.
SAVAGE PAST: LIFT HIGH THE RAVEN BANNER
When an artist who took on many projects and then quit on all of them
after two years, accomplishing 1 page and not a good one, even, I was
steamed. I went to a convention that I'd been guaranteed to have product
to sell at, in fact I had very little. Across from me was an artist who
was spectacularly talented, and quiet. He looked at my stuff, asked
many questions. He asked me if it was easy getting the things I had into
print. Since all my work then was through publishers, I said no, but
supposedly there are print on demand printers and publishers who should
make that easier. By the end of the convention we had traded lots of
things, and made big plans. Daniel Mann is a great artist, and I like
him very much, so I am sad that we didn't do more than this, but I will
say, I am glad we did do, SAVAGE PAST: Lift High the Raven Banner. It is
a single poem, illustrated, with a color cover, in comic book size, but
with only a single tale inside. Both Daniel and I have been told the
story and art were great. So, it was a good happenstance that happened.
AUTUMN PAINTED RED
A series of events occurred leading me to write a series of poems, from
the personae of the killer Jack the Ripper. His acts were and still
remain vile, by any measure, and were more so in the past due to
spectacular events media attention, the relatively new kind of crime
spree, and, the letters used by the killer, possibly, and a vast number
of hoaxers, to flame the intensity of the emotions regarding the
events. Never before had the media played such a role in a series of
murders, and, since the time of the murders, all crimes of a sensational
nature can point to this one as their influential source. So I wrote
from the perspective of a participant, and provided a long essay, along
with Joseph Hilliard and Nichole Porter, and there is a special back
cover from friend Daniel Mann. Other participants include Kurt Wilcken
and Robert Wilson. The writing on it is intensely dark, and I would say
that the accompanying images from Public Domain sources makes the work a
stunning one.
WARBIRDS OF MARS
I was invited to take part in this illustrated prose anthology utilizing
prose to expand the world of webcomic ongoing series. Since I tend to
not work from the same page as others, both for good and ill, I tried to
think about how to tell stories that fit, without stepping on ground
that had been stepped on before. The result are two small stories that
were fit into this anthology. Thanks to Scott Vaughn and Kane Gilmour
for the invitation.
WINTER KILL
I wrote this work as a personal journey, both a fictionalized
autobiography, as well as a commentary upon the world. It was made
amazing by the images, first by Simon Huelsbeck, a fine artist who
kicked major ass. And then with a hopeful gallery by Mark Orluck, a
beloved cousin of mine. This was written mostly during my mother's
hospice stay, and finished right before her passing. It is a work
meant to be beautiful, and it is marred by 4 typos that happened, due to
my negligence of sorts. Please forgive those, but read the work and
understand, it is me poured upon a page. Mark and Simon were wonderful
partners to work with, and if I do ever work with people again
collaboratively, I'd love to work with partners so kind and so talented.
This work and its sequel are now presenting free to read in the pages section of this website.
SACRED GROUND
RAVENS OF ODIN
UNION OF THE CROWNS
My friend Ed Quinby did some excellent work with me. His art was
beautiful and enriched the quality of my words. We did three books
together, and I am very much his fan. He passed away in 2016, and I am
still grieving his loss. Celts, Romans, Vikings, and a Celtic fusion
world are shown in short prose and poems and images.
SORROW OF THE CTHULHU SPAWN
CATASTROPHIC DISCOVERIES
Both of my Cthulhu books are written as a means to express within the
stylistic walls of the previous builders. HP Lovecraft and his circle
created a world of horror. I intended to approach it first in a found
document sort of way, with journal entries, prose, and verse, along with
images to add to a mood. Cthulhu: Catastrophic Discoveries was
written with a theme, that of human first contact with the horror of
Cthulhu, exploration and discovery of something terrible. I was
assisted by Josh Brown in the endeavor.
SAMURAI: CHERRY BLOSSOMS FALL
Short prose stories, Haiku/poems, quotes and images. From the world of
the Samurai warriors of Japan. Josh and I wrote from our interest area
here. We both adore ancient and medieval Japan, and the Samurai
embodies that deeply
. The Samurai commonly describes a warrior
in Japan who serves a lord, using combat skills and living by the code
of Bushido. But not everyone followed the code so directly, nor was
every samurai so bold and courageous. So while the truth is somewhere
between the idealized icon of fidelity and bravery, and bullies with
swords, this work features the samurai who lived by their code.
Inspired by the great and legendary samurai themselves, this work of
short stories, poems, and quotes is meant to evoke, however briefly,
life from the viewpoint of the samurai.
VISITATIONS INTO SIDHE AND TIR NA NOG
These poems were written a long, long time before the book came out.
Thankfully, having Josh Brown as an editor & publisher, he put the
shine on the old words and they came out nice. I wrote poems about how
normal human life takes place in a world very unlike SÃdhe and TÃr na
nÓg. This magical place is where faeries dwell, the Wild Hunt goes on,
and bodies never age. Go into The Gray with poems about life and death,
and love.
THE DEATH CYCLE BOOKS
BIRTH TO DEATH
My life's observation following the loss of my mother in 2012, my
getting lymphoma (cancer) in 2013 and the loss of one of my very best
friends Cathy, in 2014. Life and death is our primary experience.
Birth to Death
is a collection of poems that explore the joys and pitfalls of the
human life cycle from beginning to end. Drawing on the personal
experiences of his mother's death, contracting cancer, and the death of
a very close friend, all in the span of three years, Alex Ness
poetically lays down the cycle of birth to death into words.
THE DEATH CYCLE
DEATH STALKS US ALL
In my previous work, Birth to Death I dealt with losing my mom, my good
friend and then having cancer in there as well. It is not the end.
There is more to life than birth, eat, sleep and die. A life lived
without purpose and direction when lost to death, is a tragic waste of
existence. But a life that has been focused upon helping others, doing
good works, having a family that has good positive values is one where
the death will be sad, but the life had been used well. How can we
complain if we do not allow our flame to be wasted?
MEMORY'S CATACOMBS
I suffer and have helped those who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress
Disorder. My life has worth, as with those who I have helped, but due
to the damage we've suffered, our lives play out differently. We are
alive, we are worthy of love, but due to our scars others treat us
differently. This is my story.
DECIDING DESTINY
A comprehensive look at the things that make up a poet, create a poet,
and evidence of the work done. Published by Uff-Da Press and Josh
Brown.
ENTER OBLIVION
War is oblivion, and this was a collection of poems and narrative about the cost of and the addiction to war by humans. My best friend Russ Stewart edited and formated the work and it is a nice looking easy to read collection.
REFLECTIVE POEMS: Memoria and Time Ends
Considering the beauty and disaster, the madness of life and the power of existence
A VIOLENT STORM Vikings and their way of this world
VICTORY & CROSSBONES & CROSSES
VICTORY is a book of essays, poetry, and images aiming at asking the
question, if we hate war so much, why do we fight. It was written with
Jason M Waltz, who is a poet, publisher and helluva nice guy. He
published CROSSBONES & CROSSES featuring stories about Pirates and
Crusaders. I have a poem in the Crusader section.
TALES OF LOST KINGDOMS
At one time I was going to do a blog about Atlantis and Lemuria, Mu and Thule, and many more lost kingdoms and wondrous places. But my partner had a real job and while his work was great, we had to wait, for the right time to put all our pieces together, counting art, counting many poems and essays by both of us. As a person who has no idea what to do with the features on Amazon's self publishing page, Peter was tasked to do that as well as add the poems he wrote, and editing our work. It is an error free work, I am extraordinarily grateful to Peter. And honestly after a number of collaborations turned to hell with other writers and artists, I am so happy to announce this work, that you can find it on Amazon or through me or Peter. (Peter in that place was incorrectly called Joe. My heart still thinks of
Joe Monks on each book, because he kept my writing during cancer and a broken neck and more. So sorry Peter for my mistake, and I remain grateful for all you did.) Either of us with give you a better deal that Amazon.
Joe Monks saved my life after my broken neck and various bouts with cancer. He kept me positive, he kept me strong, and guided me through a maze of issues. We had a plan, and the first book that occurred from that plan was DISPOSABLE and RAVE MASSACRE AT GLENCOE MN. Joe wrote about a police unit chasing and searching for a coven in Southern MN of witches, and refers to a weird happening 20 years or so prior. Which is what my story covers. He did it so well I read it three times over and said HEY he just referred to my work! I love Joe, and 4 more years of work together were lost when he passed away, one month before our premiere...
