All righty, folks. Time to give you another bite.

I'm doing the graphic novel proposal for Vertigo or Dark Horse or whoever, as well as working on the script (got another couple of pages done). Going by Vertigo's guidelines, I need to write a one page cover letter, one page resume with any writing credits, one page plot synopsis, on page of character profiles, and two pages of sample script. I've got everything but the synopsis and profiles finished. Proposals are funny things. I have to condense my epic graphic novel into a one-page synopsis, and it's gonna be muy difficult.

Anyway, here's a section of the cover letter to whet your appetite:

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The story is called "Dance of the Harlequin" and takes place in the present day, the distant past, and somewhere in between. It's about the corruption of absolute power, the strength found within when ordinary people are put in extraordinary circumstances, and the manipulation of the innocent by bored immortals. It's about revenge. It's about redemption.

I have been writing seriously now for about eight or nine years, meaning that I feel bad about myself if I don't write every day. My focus has been science fiction, urban fantasy, horror, and suspense (if you can call that focus), primarily in prose form. But as I was writing "Dance of the Harlequin," it kept wanting to get bigger and more visual, and by the time I was done with it, it dawned on me that it would make a pretty cool graphic novel.

The format of the story can be handled in a couple of ways: it is split into two parts so that it can be produced as a two-issue limited series, or as a large one-shot graphic novel, or both. This story was heavily influenced by a life-sized sculpture by the artist Lisa Snellings, and she has already agreed to illustrate the cover(s).
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That bit about Lisa illustrating the covers is totally true. I've talked to her on and off through email since meeting her at the World Horror Convention in Atlanta a few years ago. At the convention, where she was Artist Guest of Honor, she had an entire corner of the art room to herself, often sculpting harlequins and other beasties right there at the table where people could watch and talk to her. Her enormous kinetic sculpture (meaning that it moved) of a carnival Ferris Wheel was displayed, crowded with an odd assortment of riders and hangers-on, each creepy, each with a story to tell. This work was so inspiring that Ed Kramer edited a wonderful anthology called Strange Attraction, featuring stories based off of the characters on the eternally turning wheel. I was mesmerized by this moving piece of sculpture, but as much as I liked it, there was another piece that gripped my eyeballs tightly and didn't want to let go. It was a life-sized sculpture of two harlequins, a male and a female, grinning evilly, their eyes fierce with manipulation. The sculpture was called "If Love's a Fine Game, Hell's a Good Joke." I was so inspired by this work of art that I immediately went up to Lisa and asked if I could write a story about it. And after many rewrites and revisions and reworkings, I finished. She was gracious enough to read drafts of the story and offer input and encouragement. For her to illustrate the cover or covers for the graphic novel would be to take this entire process full circle, which I find fascinating. Maybe I can get her to draw the insides too...

Next: character profiles. Stay tuned!