Behind the Cover: David Palumbo

As far back as I can remember, I wanted to be an artist. As a child, I enjoyed reading comic books that my father gave to me and watching hours and hours of science fiction movies. Not surprisingly, the subject matter of my drawings was mainly monsters, robots, superheroes, and spaceships. My mother and step father, both being fantasy artists themselves, were very encouraging and supportive for me to develop my skill in drawing and allowed me to start taking life drawing classes as early as twelve years old.

For several years this was the focus of my artistic study, until graduating high school and moving to Philadelphia to study traditional painting technique at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. Though the Academy emphasized classical style and subject matter, I retained my interest in illustration and began applying myself to both fields. These years of training were augmented by private studies with my parents, as well as occasional sessions with Burt Silverman.

 
Eight of Swords

( more pics )

After leaving the Academy, I focused on my fine art and portraiture for the next year or two. I was already showing with a Philadelphia gallery (where I continue to show work) and doing the occasional illustration whenever a job would turn up. When not preparing for a gallery show, I persisted in illustrating fantasy and science fiction scenes and refining my portfolio, steadily building towards a career in freelance illustration. Since 2006, illustration has been the main focus of my efforts. Being able to make a living through painting is really all I could ever hope for, and at this point I can’t imagine doing anything else. If those paintings happen to include monsters, robots, superheroes, and spaceships, so much the better!

As a freelance illustrator, I have provided artwork for book covers, collectable card games, comic covers, album covers, film posters, magazine covers, advertisements, and film preproduction and have had my artwork appear in such publications as Spectrum, Heavy Metal, ImagineFX, and 2D Artist Magazine.

My past client list includes Acclaim Entertainment, Black Library, Heavy Metal Magazine, Night Shade Books, Pyr Books, Riley Films, Science Fiction Book Club, Solaris Books, Upper Deck Entertainment, and Wizards of the Coast.

Exhibitions in 2008-2009
2009: Nesting, A.Okay Official, Chicago, IL
2009: Waiting for the Train, Artists House, Philadelphia PA
2008: Small Works, Artists House, Philadelphia PA
2008: Young Guns, Io Gallery, Cornwall CT

http://www.dvpalumbo.com/

Behind the Cover: David Palumbo

As far back as I can remember, I wanted to be an artist. As a child, I enjoyed reading comic books that my father gave to me and watching hours and hours of science fiction movies. Not surprisingly, the subject matter of my drawings was mainly monsters, robots, superheroes, and spaceships. My mother and step father, both being fantasy artists themselves, were very encouraging and supportive for me to develop my skill in drawing and allowed me to start taking life drawing classes as early as twelve years old.

For several years this was the focus of my artistic study, until graduating high school and moving to Philadelphia to study traditional painting technique at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. Though the Academy emphasized classical style and subject matter, I retained my interest in illustration and began applying myself to both fields. These years of training were augmented by private studies with my parents, as well as occasional sessions with Burt Silverman.

 
Eight of Swords

( more pics )

After leaving the Academy, I focused on my fine art and portraiture for the next year or two. I was already showing with a Philadelphia gallery (where I continue to show work) and doing the occasional illustration whenever a job would turn up. When not preparing for a gallery show, I persisted in illustrating fantasy and science fiction scenes and refining my portfolio, steadily building towards a career in freelance illustration. Since 2006, illustration has been the main focus of my efforts. Being able to make a living through painting is really all I could ever hope for, and at this point I can’t imagine doing anything else. If those paintings happen to include monsters, robots, superheroes, and spaceships, so much the better!

As a freelance illustrator, I have provided artwork for book covers, collectable card games, comic covers, album covers, film posters, magazine covers, advertisements, and film preproduction and have had my artwork appear in such publications as Spectrum, Heavy Metal, ImagineFX, and 2D Artist Magazine.

My past client list includes Acclaim Entertainment, Black Library, Heavy Metal Magazine, Night Shade Books, Pyr Books, Riley Films, Science Fiction Book Club, Solaris Books, Upper Deck Entertainment, and Wizards of the Coast.

Exhibitions in 2008-2009
2009: Nesting, A.Okay Official, Chicago, IL
2009: Waiting for the Train, Artists House, Philadelphia PA
2008: Small Works, Artists House, Philadelphia PA
2008: Young Guns, Io Gallery, Cornwall CT

http://www.dvpalumbo.com/

Crossroads by Keta Diablo

Keta Diablo likes the unpolitically correct characters. I had just a little taste of it in a previous short story in which one of the character was a man who cheated on his lover for fear of commitment; as you all know, for me a cheating man is something I can hardly forgive, even if, truth be told, in that book the man was doing everything possible to be forgiven.

In this new book Frank is the most possible anti-hero you can find. A mix of Inspector Callaghan meets Yaoi, Frank is a private investigator who has a little help from the otherworld: he sees dead people... not so original, you will think, there is even a series (Eye Spy by Drew Zachary) in which not only the private investigator sees ghosts, he has even a ghost partner (partner as lover). But let's start from the beginning: when Frank was still a rookie in the police department he was taken under the wing of an older police officer, Quinn; he was like a father for Frank and welcomed him in his home where Frank met Rand, the 17 years old gay son of the man. Since Frank was gay, and Quinn knew it, and Rand was in need of a firm hand, Quinn and his wife encouraged Frank towards Rand, but Frank did the only right thing he will do in all the book, he didn't take advantage of the young boy (even if with he had the consensus of the parents). And, as I said, that was the last time Frank behaved as a good man; soon after Quinn died in the line of duty, and Frank resisted only few months near the widow and her two sons, and then left her alone with all her trouble, even if the woman welcomed him in her home. Five years he acted as he didn't know that the woman needed him and that her son Rand considered him a role model, and loosing him at the same time of his father was not probably for the best.

After five years the widow calls him since her son Rand is disappeared since three months without notice. The woman knows that probably the young man, now 22 years old, is in some trouble and asks Frank to find and bring him home again. Due to his sense of guilty and the respect he had for his father, what do you think Frank should do? find the boy, teach him a lesson and bring him safe and sound at home, right? Oh yes, Frank finds him all right, but also breaks into his apartment at night wearing a hood, chains the boy at the bed, gags him and plays with him using a martial weapon as sex toys, to end all with a thoroughly sex session, the part that remembered me a yaoi manga, whimpers, blushing and tears all together.

So no, Frank is not exactly a private investigator by the book, and Rand is not probably the innocent boy who Frank remembers, but one thing you can say of this book, it didn't play according the rule. And so if you are searching a lot of sex, down and dirty, and a very bad boy character, that is unrepentant till and beyond the end of the book, probably this one could be an interesting and unusual choice. I can't say more on the story since this is only a novella and if I say more on the mystery part, I will risk to give up the book. And then, truth be told, with two long and detailed sex scenes, there is not much space left.

http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Crossroads/exact_match=exact

Amazon Kindle: Crossroads

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle

Crossroads by Keta Diablo

Keta Diablo likes the unpolitically correct characters. I had just a little taste of it in a previous short story in which one of the character was a man who cheated on his lover for fear of commitment; as you all know, for me a cheating man is something I can hardly forgive, even if, truth be told, in that book the man was doing everything possible to be forgiven.

In this new book Frank is the most possible anti-hero you can find. A mix of Inspector Callaghan meets Yaoi, Frank is a private investigator who has a little help from the otherworld: he sees dead people... not so original, you will think, there is even a series (Eye Spy by Drew Zachary) in which not only the private investigator sees ghosts, he has even a ghost partner (partner as lover). But let's start from the beginning: when Frank was still a rookie in the police department he was taken under the wing of an older police officer, Quinn; he was like a father for Frank and welcomed him in his home where Frank met Rand, the 17 years old gay son of the man. Since Frank was gay, and Quinn knew it, and Rand was in need of a firm hand, Quinn and his wife encouraged Frank towards Rand, but Frank did the only right thing he will do in all the book, he didn't take advantage of the young boy (even if with he had the consensus of the parents). And, as I said, that was the last time Frank behaved as a good man; soon after Quinn died in the line of duty, and Frank resisted only few months near the widow and her two sons, and then left her alone with all her trouble, even if the woman welcomed him in her home. Five years he acted as he didn't know that the woman needed him and that her son Rand considered him a role model, and loosing him at the same time of his father was not probably for the best.

After five years the widow calls him since her son Rand is disappeared since three months without notice. The woman knows that probably the young man, now 22 years old, is in some trouble and asks Frank to find and bring him home again. Due to his sense of guilty and the respect he had for his father, what do you think Frank should do? find the boy, teach him a lesson and bring him safe and sound at home, right? Oh yes, Frank finds him all right, but also breaks into his apartment at night wearing a hood, chains the boy at the bed, gags him and plays with him using a martial weapon as sex toys, to end all with a thoroughly sex session, the part that remembered me a yaoi manga, whimpers, blushing and tears all together.

So no, Frank is not exactly a private investigator by the book, and Rand is not probably the innocent boy who Frank remembers, but one thing you can say of this book, it didn't play according the rule. And so if you are searching a lot of sex, down and dirty, and a very bad boy character, that is unrepentant till and beyond the end of the book, probably this one could be an interesting and unusual choice. I can't say more on the story since this is only a novella and if I say more on the mystery part, I will risk to give up the book. And then, truth be told, with two long and detailed sex scenes, there is not much space left.

http://www.king-cart.com/Phaze/product=Crossroads/exact_match=exact

Amazon Kindle: Crossroads

Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=reading list&view=elisa.rolle