Back in March, I was contacted by a small publisher in Italy about the use of one of my drawings as a cover.

I don’t speak Italian, so here is what I know about the book from email with the publisher:

The book is a story of a lady who lived with breast disease. It is divided into three parts, one in which there is the discovery of the disease, the second with the intervention and treatment, the third with the complete healing. She tells of her emotions, feelings and the way that this disease has provided up to the recent healing. The publisher is ‘Apogeo Editore’ and the website is www.libreria-Apogeo.it.

I was very impressed with the production quality of the book and I’m really happy with how they used my drawing. Grateful for the opportunity to be involved, too.

The United States Postal Service delivered a special surprise for me today: three copies of Chaosium’s Basic Roleplaying book. I’m excited to have seven spot illustrations inside.

These are among my first illustrations for a published roleplaying game, and it feels pretty good to see ‘em printed.

You can see more of them in my portfolio. They’re on my “Eric M. Smith, Illustrator” Facebook page, too. I promise that very soon I’ll have lots of new illustrations up in both places. Just waiting for the books to be published.

My sister Sara Mackie has been nominated for a Cincinnati Entertainment Award (CEA) for “LOCAL ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A PLAY” for her performance as Izzy in Rabbit Hole (Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati.)

Vote now: 2008 CEA Theater Voting

Sara’s on the left.

Voting is open to anyone. If you’ve got the notion, cast your vote for Sara. I saw Rabbit Hole right before I moved out of Ohio and I’m very glad I did. (See the play, not move. Heh.) It was a very powerful play, great story and characters.

If you didn’t see Rabbit Hole, take my word that it was awesome. Or this reviewer’s word. He loved it, too.

Mackie’s Izzy becomes a startling voice of reason … This is a memorable production. Grade: A — Citybeat.com

Vote now: 2008 CEA Theater Voting

Vote now: 2008 CEA Theater Voting

Last day to vote is Monday, August 4.

What’s the point of living near the coast if you don’t go to the beach once in awhile? I ask you.

To do: figure out why, when settings are identical, one scanner produces the gritty, low-res scan on the left and the other produces a pretty close facsimile of the actual sketch.

The left-hand scanner is the big one, the 11X17. I got it because I work bigger than letter-size most of the time and I dislike piecing scans together. I usually have to do a lot of work with its scans to make them satisfactory.

The right-hand was a cheapie scanner I picked up on a whim maybe five years ago. It has been stepped on (trod upon, for my friends across the pond, and also Trev and eFlo,) knocked to the floor by the kitten; it definitely has rattling pieces inside it somewhere, but it still works terrifically. It’s just small.

“You can’t always get what you want,” said the man wiser than me.