In October 2017 I came across an internet blog challenge for a Halloween horror story written in two sentences. I decided to give it a try and enjoyed both the process and the result.
I did a few more stories under this structure, started to collect them, and decided to add the element of a small poem to summarize each one. Eventually I had a number of stories, and I thought about making a book out of them.
And later on, I got another idea. I would illustrate each story in the print book with a black/white drawing using a bamboo brush and India ink
The result was Minuscule, published in 2018. I’m now going to show you the book illustrations as an ongoing feature on this blog, once a week. I’ll link back to the story (they have been published one by one on my poetry blog).
If you want to hold the entire book in your hand, the print version is available on Amazon.
Here is the illustration for the first story, the one that started it all.
“Lunch” is the title of the story. Look here to read it.
Claudia McGill and Her Art World 
Short but scary, the drawing fits perfectly.
Thank you, I liked making a picture to fit this tiny story, I could see it very vividly.
Scary…great drawing, Claudia!
Thank you, I really like using the bamboo brush to draw with, it really seems so expressive.
Finally the chair has an occupant. Someone had the nerve to take the hot seat of truth.
Of course the person in the chair is frightened. But who wouldn’t be.
She is trapped by the truth of what her thoughts have created. She is horrified. She better hold on . Its going to be a bumpy ride until she sees the light. Oh wellb. This too shall pass.
And then who knows? Even though we assume her fate is maybe not so good, why do we do that? It might be just a bumpy ride to somewhere really interesting and good.
The illustration is perfect for the story.
Thank you, the bamboo brush is really a tool I’ve grown to love, I think it makes a marked difference in my drawing with the very expressive lines you can get.
I love that you are always experimenting and finding new ways to create.
It is what keeps me going, I think. Experimenting.