Hi everyone, and thanks for checking this lengthy update and musing post out!
Here are some updates on the creative front, followed by some thoughts about some current life stuff.
Creative front:
Music:
New music is coming on a couple of different fronts that I can't say a lot about. One of the projects is in collaboration with a writer I greatly admire which has the tentative title of "Crow Sorcery". This will likely be 3-4 lengthy tracks (over 10 minutes) spanning genres from black drone atmospherics to strings and rhtythms remiscent of African drum and kora melodies. It should prove to be pretty wild, but will take some time and care to craft it into what I am hearing in my head. Plus I want to give the writer time to craft something he is happy with, and of course, we both need to be happy with it before it arrives in your earholes. Stay tuned for more on this in the coming months!
Still holding on some other music release news for a couple of other projects-again, stay tuned.
In the meantime, The Dark Prairie Atmospheric Collective Vol 1. - MIDATLANTIC LUSTSET is available from last month, and I have gotten some very kind feedback on it! Pick it up here, along with my other work: https://pentamethdemon.bandcamp.com
Writing:
Nafallen University Course Catalog: The catalog is on its way to layout! Thank you so much to all who have contributed to this becoming a reality. I think it is really something special, and I am proud to have my name associated with it! I think a little over half of the content is mine, but it wouldn't be as strong without all of the other authors who contributed to it. When I have a drop date from the publisher you will be sure to hear about it!
Olde Wyathscope's Quarterly Concern: You can see your old pal up at the top of this post, and I am delighted to report Issues 1 and 2 are back from the printer, and they look pretty damn awesome! Issue 3 is being printed now, and issue 4 will likely be wrapped by May 1. This is way ahead of my schedule, which means that I will shortly be able to announce sales for issues and subscriptions! There is another blog for that at https://oldewyathscope.blogspot.com which right now has very little, but will have much more in the weeks to come!
What is Olde Wyathscope's Quarterly Concern? It is an almanac of the weird, surreal, silly, and horrifying by myself and Mat Fitzsimmons (WXXT Program Guide). There are weather reports, horoscopes, advice, fiction, and much more! Four issues per year, each anywhere from 38-44 pages, festooned with art!
Other projects: These, for now, are mere hints at what is to come. There are some submissions I have outstanding, with one potential sale looming. There are a couple of projects with Mat Fitzsimmons that are brewing but probably won't come to completion this year. And other drips and drabs here and there. I am also going to be on a Zoom call to become a YouTube clip in conversation with one of my favorite authors - I will post that link when it becomes available!
Now for the Personal:
I mention these things because they are personal accomplishments I have a little pride about, and that I want to share with you reading this. It is not meant as a brag; rather, as hopefully inspirational for you (as in, if Henshaw can do this, maybe I can too about something I want to attempt). In that spirit:
I am proud today because it has been one month since I have eaten any meat. My wife is a vegetarian, and while she has never pushed me towards it, it has always been something I admire about her. It is not easy to be vegetarian when we have options for all kinds of food, and especially raised as an omnivore. There have been brief spurts of Meatless weeks and days over the last 13 years or so, but nothing has stuck for as long as this one. It turns out today there are actually a lot of great non-meat options out there to substitute for, and all it took me was a little discipline to stick to it. To be honest, I had one bad day last month (the 8th of March) where I did eat a chicken tender breakfast sandwich. I didn't feel good about that after the fact, especially since part of my impetus for choosing a vegetarian diet is the animal cruelty thing. I feel great and actually have lost some good weight as a result. I am going to try to stick with it, and give myself grace when I will inevitably not make "the best choice" in alignment with my philosophical stances. And this is not to say I still don't eat like crap sometimes, I definitely do. But I am trying to be mindful, and for now that feels like a win for me.
I am also proud today because for the first time in over 2 years I went to the gym. Before the pandemic, I went to the gym at least 5-6 times a week for an hour at least. I was also on WW and seeing incredible results, down to my lowest weight since I was in college. The pandemic and stress around that and other circumstances had me returning to bad eating habits and a reduction in physical activity. I know I feel better when I do regularly exercise, and after weighing the risks, I decided to re-up my gym membership. Today I did 5 miles on the bike and a 30 minute circuit. I'm exhausted, but I know this is what happens when you don't go to the gym on a regular basis. I am looking to change that, and between this and the vegetarian diet (along with smaller dinners for the most part), I feel like I can reset my health goals and get to where I was going a couple years ago (out of obesity, under 200 lbs). I have rewards set for myself when I hit them that I would be excited to "cash in" on but it will take more discipline and work.
Lastly, this is something I wrote when prepping the sales launch of Olde Wyathscope that I think wouldn't necessarily be appropriate to put on that site, but I will put it here because I want to be transparent when it comes to selling my wares-the same generally applies to all my creative output, so here it goes:
Transparent Miscellany of Potential Interest
Hi, I’m Matt Henshaw, and this post is where I tell you a
little more about the genesis of this project [Olde Wyathscope's Quarterly Concern] and what has been involved with
getting it off the ground!
My association with Mat (Fitz) Fitzsimmons came after a
letter I wrote to Matthew M. Bartlett’s “WXXT Program Guide” got a wonderful
illustration by Fitz. Matthew Bartlett gave me Fitz’s email and we hit it off
well-this is why Matt Bartlett will be thanked in every issue. Fitz suggested we work on a project at some point, and in February 2022 I
came up with the idea of doing a quarterly, limited run chapbook that would
take the form of what I thought might be in an almanac. I quickly wrote a few
sections and sent them to Fitz, who began firing back amazing illustrations. By
the middle of March, four issues were written and almost all illustrated. I am
currently on issue 6 as I write this in early April. It was my intention to
start selling these when I had a year completely printed and ready to go (even
though I will be sending them out on the schedule listed above). Everything has
come together much more quickly than I expected it to, and exceeded my expectations
in almost every way. As we worked through the “basic” issues, we also have been
developing bonus content-namely, four shorter chapbooks printed by Fitz
featuring our pseudonymous contributors. The issues, as well as these shorter super
limited chapbooks, are not just full of silly, horrific, and weird written content,
but they are works of bespoke art that I am proud to put my name to.
It has been an intense and rewarding exercise and lesson(s)
in self-publishing, and I have been fortunate to have the help not just of
Fitz, but a couple of other creative persons in terms of how to execute this
(Nick Vasi and Mike Cavagnaro). Nick put me in touch with Dixon Printing here
in Central IL who have produced limited runs of 60 for each issue. Both Nick
and Mike have helped review the issues (and will have more contributions in
Year 2!) for content. I’ve also sent issue 1 to some of the writers and friends
I have made since starting this writing thing in earnest in 2021. My wife Jenny
has also been incredibly patient and supportive throughout this process.
I am also very lucky to have a full-time job which allows me
to work from home and to devote a reasonable amount of outside-of-work time and
money to this endeavor. Throughout, I have struggled with a fair price to
charge for this that will allow me to at least make back the investment, and have
extra left over for expenses and compensation for contributors. Here is roughly
how it breaks down:
A run of 60 print issues runs me about $210-$230, depending
on the length of the issue, so about $900 for the year.
First class shipping of an issue is $1.71 – this will be a
little more for the bonus issues and other ephemera.
Then I’ve also spent about $40 on an embosser, stamps, and
pads and other items like test prints.
All of this to say, if we end up with sales of $1000 off of
this in a year, we’ll have broken even! And that would frankly be amazing to
me, since I am new (and admittedly not excellent) at marketing and “the
business” of publishing.
What I can commit to is this though; anything above and
beyond breaking even goes back into the Concern, in the form of enhanced
artwork in Year 2, paying a fair rate to contributors in Year 2, and having
this go into Year 3, 4, and possibly 5. Fitz and I have already been talking as
well about compiled versions of the years as print-on-demand paperbacks and
e-books, and if it proves somewhat popular, there are some small presses I
would be delighted to have publish these as well.
So, big plans, but they all start with a small step, and
sincerely, thank you so much for giving this your time and attention, and I am
very excited for you to check this work out and enjoy it for the foreseeable
future!
If this project is entertaining to you, the best thing you
can do is share it in your social media feeds and with other friends you meet
out in the world. Word of mouth is how this will really gain traction and get
attention! One thing I have learned in the weird/horror community is when one
of succeeds, we ALL succeed, and that means supporting one another and boosting
signals within and outside of our circles.
