Bajema’s Scriptorium

I finally got my finished and edited version of Decoded back today. So I can finally put it back up for sale. This is a gallery copy, meaning it comes without an ISBN number but has a extra short story in the back.

It can be nabbed at either my site or our etsy account: Directly from my website

Via our Etsy Store

There is no waiting for these to ship. I’ll process the order and shipped them out within three days of your order, so there won’t be a wait. I’m begging someone to buy this. Not because of my money issues but my writing insecurities. For years I’ve considered myself more of a writer than an artist. I simply can’t illustrate the images in my head or my stories, but writing offers me no restrictions. However, I haven’t really sold any of my long form stories before so my ego is waiting for a bruising.

P.S. This whole anthology is a bit mature content, dark fantasy meets dystopian literature. There are story samples on all of the purchase pages. This particular story of the six is my favorite, though the saddest.

As I send out my tarot to various publishers of such things, I’ve also gone to local printers and began the process of making my own proto-type of the tarot deck to see what it’s like and how I might change/tweek/improve upon it for a publisher. I get requests for the deck more than anything else these days so I decided to put five of the proto-types up for purchase for the time being. I don’t know what they’ll be like or how they’ll compare to ones prepared and produced by a publisher, but they will be unique, of that I am sure. Each deck will be wrapped in silk (I was told this is a popular tradition among some people and their tarot decks) and placed within a wooden box that my fiancee has crafted and we both decorated. They’ll be signed, numbered and given the whole limited edition treatment. Two of the five I put up for sale are already purchased, so if this is an item you’d like I recommend checking into it soon. I can’t wait to see them. I’m very giddy. Find selling info for the deck at this link.

There’s a lovely sensation of satisfaction when completing any project –but this is one of the larger projects I’ve ever worked on and seeing it down and almost ready to be held in my hands makes me insanely happy. Hopefully others will like it as much as me. And to utilize every last bit of space on the plates for the cards, I’ve created a miniature version of the deck to fill up the small bit of space left over from the main cards. It’s like fairy size. I’m not sure if I’ll sell this or not. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a zealous love of all that is dollhouse size. Anyhoo, more general weekend babble to come after the “more” button…

Myke revamped his Secret Adventure Mission Generator the other night. Go give it a try and please share your results and the link. : )

“The red dragon’s native tongue was fire and for every soft and seductive word he spoke to his concubines each carried a small burn. His poetry had stripped the supple skin from the first lover’s lower back, all along the line where he whispered his thoughtful words. His quiet love songs sung for the benefit of the moonlight left rippling scars along the neckline of his second lover. Each concubine over looked the pain and abuse their skin suffered, a small sacrifice each was willing to make to allow their dragon his seduction.” –The Red Dragon, (c)Bethalynne Bajema, all rights reserved.

I’m a huge hockey fan. I’m an insane hockey fan. I’m the type of hockey fan who can claim to have seen at least one game played by every single Michigan hockey team from the pros, to college, right down to the UHL, which is like a toss above a bar league. During the height of my uber love, when I could be found traveling every other night to see a game with my best hockey buddy Tina, I had a hockey comic strip I published. Mind you, the humor was very dark, my fictional hockey team was seriously awful and wonky… my world cup team were cannibals. It was twisted enough that my friends (mostly non-fans of any sport let alone hockey) didn’t give me too much grief about it. But I loved that comic. From my demented ex-race car driver zamboni driver to the mental character modeled after myself who kidnapped goalies.

While cleaning through some of my storage stuff, Myke actually came across my box of Foxglove t-shirts. These are completely rare items as far as anything you could get from me. While I sit here being sick to my stomach watching my game seven of the Wings, I think I’m going to offer a few of these to anyone who’d like an atypical item of mine. Foxglove Hockey Comics T-Shirt, 16.00 plus shipping. I only have a few. Eep! My team is losing. Uh!!!

June sale for our etsy shop is $10 Gift Wrapped 5×7 Prints and Mini-Print Collections

The Cult of the Doom and the Gloom… something that is very hard to explain and/or describe to parents and fans of pastels. By the time I was eleven I knew that I was drawn to autumn and all the things that seem to fit so well into autumn. I liked the autumn rainbow where all the colors were darker and more pronounced… like red. I don’t care for the simple color red. But a red that has dried, darkened, become more deeply pronounced with age is an exquisite color. The same can be said for all colors. And the smell of burning leaves… the taste of warm cider… walking around at night with Halloween decorations spicing up the world… this warms me. By the time I was twelve I didn’t care if anything other than black clothed me. The music I listened to was mopey and seemingly dreary, but it reminded me of my autumn and I felt so happy when I listened to it. To the outside viewer the 80s goth was a gloomy little blight on the otherwise bright landscape and it was assumed we were always ready for a funeral or good old fashioned weeping session. The very opposite is true. Being so acutely aware of death made me appreciate the beauty of living. The majority of people will make fun of you or pull a face if you tell them you’re a “goth” and that’s fine. I’d make the same face if you said you were a “jock” or “preppy” because as a teenager I saw those types as living the most boring and artificial lives on the planet. It’s all about personal preference and perspective.

Read the rest of this entry »

Artist’s Log: Took the Hunter monster for a walk.
Saw the most peculiar thing in the back yard…

[linkie: The Zombie Debate] You know, I’m a NCIS junkie. And every time I see the episode where they spend a few moments on Halloween debating the finer points of zombie code of conduct in the movies, I always find myself wanting to yell at the tv when McGee points out something about the 28 Days Later zombies because clearly!! CLEARLY! They are not zombies! Or else they wouldn’t starve to death. It’s in those moments where I look at myself and shake my head in sad disappointment and look at my remote and realize that I really, REALLY, need to get out of the house more.

I like to look at individuals as human autos. We each come off the assembly line with our own style, designs, perks, flare, and warranty. Well the auto-bajema had a very short warranty that ended somewhere in the late seventies. I seem to attract gremlins too. At this point in my life the auto that is me is held together with duct tape and twine. I’ve grown used to seeing the occasional gear or spring go flying when I least expect it. And when I roll her into the shop the mechanics just sort of cluck their tongues and figure out ways to keep the auto running without my muffler or brake pads falling off. As I mentioned in my fire sale notes, I spent a week in the hospital a few weeks back. This past weekend the auto-bajema decided it was in need of an encore, plus there seemed to be a fresh gremlin infestation. On the bright side I was able to get some newer, more flashy duct tape to hold my belts on. On the not so bright side it put me out of commission for half of a week and I’ve gotten quite behind on my email and online store activities. So this is just a quick note to apologize for delays and to assure you that I’m getting caught up as quickly as possible. I thank you for your patience with me and this junker I call a body and the inconveniences it can create at times. And on that note, I need to whip out the gremlin-be-gone spray and hose down some gremlins trying to sneak under the hood of my auto by climbing up my spine. Maybe my gremlins are from the kremlin…