Fanart Friday!

You know, the world is just full of wonderful little surprises.

On Monday, for example, I got an utterly fantastic email from one of my oldest and fiercest writer-buddies (lookin' at you, Merlin!)

On Tuesday, I saw a very handsome shirtless man walking a little white pig.  (I did not take a candid photo, because that would be hella rude, but trust me - it was marvelous.)

And yesterday... well, let me show you.

See, first came the notification that this excellent fellow was following me:

An illustrator AND a bookseller?  Don't tell me you're a pastry chef too,
or you'll need to take out a restraining order.

Then I get this little piece of joy:

And after some reciprocal enthusitude from me, he comes back with this:

This is officially the baddest-ass depiction of Elim there ever was or will be. 

Friends, I am in pieces.

Not just because the art is amazing (though it is awesome to see my flinching masculine potato channeling the Duke!) but because man.  It has been years since I had any fresh fanart, and the very idea that somebody who hasn't known me for more 140 characters - who can't be more than five chapters into the freaking book! - would break off a chunk of their time to make me something is just... wibblesome.

Like, you know, it's nice when somebody does something good for you - takes you to dinner, buys you a present, gives you a lift. But when they do something for you that you absolutely need or want and can't do for yourself... that is the apex of Platonic generosity.

Anyway, needless to say, I could not let this kindness go unanswered.  So after workshop last night, I got out my crayons and sat down to reciprocate:

Isn't friendship magic?

Anyway, that got me thinking: maybe I should do a Fanart Friday thing every now and then. I've got some vintage gems that have been languishing on my hard drive for years now, and it'd be fun to show them to the world.  In the meantime, y'all should go check out Dan's gallery on the quick side - and if anybody else out there is ever taken with an itch to make me a picture, a keychain, or a macramé tea cozy, please know that I am deeply, deeply comfortable with that.


Well, you know my name is Simon, and I like to do drawings.