Farewell for Now

You can still read all of drawn bad online here.

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I've been thinking about taking down the db website for a while now, and I think we've finally hit decision time.

My writing career is picking up and taking all of my energy and time, and it's getting harder and harder to imagine pouring as much time into this story as I used to--at least in the foreseeable future. I'm spending 20 bucks a month just keeping the site alive, and aside from a handful of spikes of 100-200 page views/day, the traffic has been running between 5-10 views/day.

I will keep the blog alive, but I'll be shutting down this Facebook group, as well as the CafePress merch account. And drawnbad.net, of course, will not longer lead you to Victoria, Colorado and its residents. The existing pages of drawn bad will be available to read or download courtesy of the free webcomic host Smack Jeeves. They'll be there as long as the internet keeps spinning.

I understand. Nobody likes to see the death of a project, and I'll admit, part of me still can't imagine never finishing Malcomb's story. I dream of completing it somehow, of letting poor Alex move beyond his darkest moment and into the next chapters, but for now, I have to put it all on the shelf. I hope you understand. (I hope Malcomb understands.)

Thanks everyone for supporting my crazy attempts to tell my stories and for following me through the ups and downs of figuring out the best way to do that. I hope I can write something that makes this sacrifice worth it.

Farewell for now, Victoria, Colorado. And of course, keep your eyes open, strangers. You never know what is just around the corner.

Steve

I Can Haz Sell Story?

Hello, all. It's been a while since I've updated the ol' blog. I just wanted to let you all know that I've made my first professional short story sale! It is a flash story about 750 words long. It's short, but I sold it for well-above pro rates, which meant a lot to me. You can read it on September 2nd by signing up for Daily Science Fiction. It's free, and you can remove yerself (yar) from the subscription list whenever you want. You can sign up in the sidebar.

As for db, unfortunately it is still on hiatus. I'm not sure when I will get back to it, but I read through it the other day with fresh eyes and was surprised how much I still liked it. I want you to know, the ability to concentrate on my writing has been a huge blessing, and with a second little girl to take care of, my time is more limited that it has ever been. The strides I've made wouldn't have been possible if I had kept updating the comic regularly, so in part, this sale belongs to all my db fans too, for being so supportive and understanding. I hope to get back to db one day, and I don't foresee taking down the site any time soon. I have wild dreams that maybe one day I can either continue it or start over (now that I know what I meant) with a professional artist (who would keep things sketchy...it's still db!). But that's only going to happen if I continue to establish myself as a credible fiction writer first. Here's to crazy dreams!

db on Indefinite Hiatus

Dear db fans and friends,

After a lot of really difficult thought, I have reluctantly decided to put db on hiatus for an indefinite period of time. Strangely enough, last April Fools I almost sent out a message very similar to this one as a joke. Unfortunately, circumstances have all but forced me into this very real decision.

I have been in limbo between amateur and pro writer for a long time now, and I am beginning to see that side-projects like db have been standing in the way. I have too many "open channels," as Jeff VanderMeer puts it, too many demands on my already limited attention span. Between short stories, comic scripts, comics like db and bros, music, and other such projects, I have had to continually delay my plans to finish a novel. Writing is what I want to do with my life. It's time I made the sacrifices necessary to make it happen. And with another little girl coming in May/June, I can't afford to put it off anymore.

To all of you who have enjoyed the comic and are invested in the story, I ask you to be patient. Forget about db for the time being. Do some stuff. Let time pass. But don't be surprised if you get a message from me six months to a year from now saying that I'm up and running again. Believe me, guys, I love this story, and I deeply appreciate the support everyone has shown me. And it will be a miracle if I can leave this story alone. But I have some stuff I need to do before I can afford to give time to this again.

I'll keep the website up (as well as the Facebook group). And just because I'm not doing pages, doesn't mean you can't keep in touch with me. Ask me how the writing is going. Ask to read some stories (I love it when people do this). And, of course, I'm always willing to talk db with people.

I think that about says it. Hope to see you sooner rather than later,

Steve Stewart

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Hey, everybody. Just a quick note to let you know that I would normally be updating right now, but the holiday season (and my birthday) are going to get in the way this year. You can expect an update sometime in January. I'm looking forward to it.

Have a great holiday season, everybody. :)

Thanks (pgs 143-147)

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody. Five pages today, to let you know how thankful I am to have your eyes on my scribbles. It's the reason I'm still doing this strange, strange project.

Also, you'll want to check out the store after this update. There's a new shirt you might find interesting.

This is Just a Tribute (pgs 141-142)

Hi, everybody. Two pages today. db continues. Oh, and...Happy Halloween.

Mr. Stewart, I presume. (pgs 135-140)

Hello, drawnbadians. I have returned. And I'll try to stick around for a while this time. I've been doing some serious soul-searching about whether or not to continue this project, about whether it is a burden on my writing career. But I came to the conclusion that I want you guys to witness this messed up story, probably more than you do. So no more three month delays (until the baby or the novel; then we'll just have to see). I'll try to update 3-6 pages every two weeks, with a little Bros thrown in for good measure. Let's move a little further down the line, shall we? Far from Folsom Prison.

Six pages today. Let's jump back in with Alex and see how things are going for him in Part 3. And as always, eyes open.

Boot Camp

Hey, everybody. I'm back from Uncle Orson's Literary Boot Camp. Sadly, this means more delays for db while I outline my first novel. Please know, I haven't abandoned this story. I just have to focus on my writing career for a little while. I'll get more pages up as soon as I am able.

If you want to make sure I'm not dead, check out the writing blog.

See you soon.

Delays, Delays

More slowness for db as I try to do some other things. Read all about it here to keep up with my epic struggles.

Pigs Fly (pgs 127-134)

You're never going to believe this:

New db.