THE INK FROM MARS By R.J. Huneke Is EM Magazine's Featured Short Story for the month of March 2023!
I could not be more proud of this work of suspense with a speculative fiction - science-fiction twist. The tale follows a NASA astronaut and the crew who lands on Mars. Unfortunately, they must hustle to complete their mission before a violent storm hits their landing zone. But will the crew have a successful mission? And why was a team from NASA sent out to this harsh dry deserted red planet in the first place? Find out what's in store within this epic page-turner, featuring a gorgeous contemporary nude "Blue Ink" shoot by Master Photographer Joey Steadman and nude fitness model Jenny Williams. Read the opening pages above and be sure to order this tale in digital or print here: https://www.magforest.com/downloads/em-magazine-march-2023-ink-from-mars/?fbclid=IwAR2BUBMrYppPy0TiZ0yLTGtpWEahgzr1n6qiOT69XftkM2qsOfCihcpid-s
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Birth, Books, NY Comic Con, Coffee, CYBERWAR SERIES Update is an apt description of my current life in less than 60 characters. That said: ‘Hel-LO!’ as Uncle Leo would enthusiastically say on Seinfeld. I have not enjoyed going MIA so often these past few months (and years), well for the most part I have not; sometimes solitude is truly bliss, and that is much harder to come across as this world grows more connected by the second. Please forgive my delays, but I have missed you, Eager Readers. And without further ado, the news! I had a baby girl, or rather my wife did with my help, not too long ago, and everyone is happy and healthy! I could not be happier. And that is not the sleep deprivation talking. I am a DAD! It is an indescribable feeling, all love, and she already makes me much more optimistic about the future of the earth she is inheriting. Her smile can move mountains. And since everyone always asks with concern, Indy, our Dalmatian, loves our baby girl. She guards her, attempts to play with her, and constantly alerts us to any unhappiness she seems to be having. I am still working, writing, editing, reading, scrawling, and who knows what else, because I damn well cannot remember. Largely because of coffee. Strong coffee. Ground Colombian bean and a french press and repeat. Do not thank me, thank the coffee, that any art is getting done this year. So the sequel to my novel, CYBERWAR, has been completed, but because of its massive size, 400-500 pages, it will need more time to be edited to as close to perfection as is possible. Thankfully, my publisher and I are looking to work with one of the most talented editors I know, and I am beyond thrilled. The only downside to making this a far better work is that it will not be coming out just yet and certainly not before 2020. But it will be worth the wait; it is a bold step forward for me and it makes CYBERWAR a prequel to a much larger storyline in the Cyberwar Series (meaning the new book will be acting as Book 1), and I have some very BIG plans. For the delay I apologize, but I hope this will make it up to you: SPY WOMAN SPY, my years in the making graphic novel, which had a brief appearance of its cover at New York Comic Con last year will be making noise at NY Comic Con 2019, as Issue #1 arrives. I can finally speak a little more about this. Rune Works small press is publishing SPY WOMAN SPY, initially, and for all of you CYBERWAR fans out there, this is a prequel to the novel starring Xera Finn and Fae Yu, and it will be first released at NYCC on October 3, 2019. Here is the premise so far: When a foreign agent named Xera Finn learns of her government’s involvement in human trafficking on Long Island, she goes rogue. Xera and her lover, a tech bootlegger named Fae Yu, race to Coney Island to free a truckful of young women. But their hacking and espionage skills are soon put to the test when Xera’s former handler tasks both the local authorities and an outlaw motorcycle gang to ruthlessly retrieve them before they can reach sanctuary. For those of you who have read CYBERWAR, this graphic novel series will be all about the backstory of the two badass rogue agents that were main characters of the novel. There will be lots of insight into the degradation of the Cyber US and the Wangluo society before and after hackers took over the governments for good. I will say no more, as the fun will be in the reveal on the page. But I will say that I love the further exploration of the world, this near future of ours, and this future continues to surprise me. I am thrilled to once again be at the Rune Works Productions Ltd. Booth in the Small Press section on the NY Comic Con main show floor to sign books and comics and to talk shop. The comic book will be a single-issue format to start off, and there are a few of these issues written already so more are coming after #1, with the plan to release a compilation trade paperback down the road. Cover artist Elizabeth Yoo will also be on hand to sign the comic book. Last, but certainly not least, my wife and I are hoping Rune Works Productions will have time to have on-hand a version of our new children’s book at New York Comic Con. We have an incredibly talented artist in Cheryl Huneke, and we are really looking forward to sharing this excellent and exciting book involving space and … I cannot say anymore just yet … but it is a TON of fun. And I hate rhyming poetry and still wrote ‘TON of fun’ – I must be tired. Speaking of poetry, if you have not kept up with my recent publications, I am thrilled to have been selected to have poems published in these 2019 anthologies: POETS TO COME: WHITMAN'S 200TH BIRTHDAY ANTHOLOGY, the 2019 Suffolk County Poetry Review, the BARDS ANNUAL 2019 anthology, and the National Beat Poetry Festival anthology We Are BEAT. Poetry is the most freeing form of art I know. No matter how frustrated I may be drawing, editing, writing, strumming a new tune on the guitar, I can always turn to poetry and release myself from all sense of structure and allow pure instinct and energy and strong of consciousness to take me to another place of bliss. If you did not know, I am a big fan of the beats. Feel free to check out the Bard’s Day or the National Beat Poetry Festival, as both are coming up next week, both will feature readings and fantastic books of poetry. I hope you are all well and your summer reading never falters. ~RJH 2 Days To New Comic @ NYCC 2018 BOOTH 1061: RJ Huneke, Elizabeth Yoo, Fred Harper and more folks will be at the Rune Works Booth #1061 with THE comic, SPY WOMAN SPY, loads of art, free swag, and more at the NYC Javits Center!
Eager readers, I could not be more excited for 2018's NY Comic Con. I am beyond STOKED this year! Alongside my good friend and amazing artist Elizabeth Yoo, the very first preview issue of the CYBERWAR Series prequel graphic novel SPY WOMAN SPY will be available in extremely limited quantities. We will do our best to have these books out every day of the con and I am hopeful that the art is going to set the world on fire! This comic book features Xera Finn and Fae Yu from CYBERWAR. SPY WOMAN SPY takes place in the near future, in the CUSA, where the two disillusioned foreign agents, friends, and lovers struggle to cope with breaking ties to their past. As their birthplace, Wangluo, demands more and more heinous acts of allegiance from Xera and Fae in the Cold Cyberwar, a horrible act of government-sanctioned child trafficking is uncovered rattling the two spies to their core. Betraying orders will be costly! SPY WOMAN SPY written by (me) R.J. Huneke, and art by Elizabeth Yoo, will be premiering the first preview book of SPY WOMAN SPY Issue #0 at the 2018 NY Comic Con. It has been five years since my car accident, and I am not yet at 100% (getting close), but my creative drive has never been stronger, folks. Many new projects (children’s book series anyone? a few are in the works) and art are coming very soon, and though I have struggled to work as quickly as I would like, I have by no means been idle. You will be happy to know that I am currently pitching the follow-up to my novel CYBERWAR. I apologize for leaving you hanging at the end of that first novel, but from what I gather as I speak to fans of the book series, the next chapter will be something special that will make up for the wait. The book will be longer for one thing. And there will be many answers and more questions examining the entire world and Cyberverse as the Cyberwar is fully unleashed... That’s right! I will be signing books at NYCC 2018 Rune Works Booth 1061, but more on that later. I am thankful to have some great friends who happen to make amazing art and are going to be on-hand with me at Rune Works # 1061. The incredibly talented illustrator Fred Harper will be there – badass Hulk prints in tow – and he will be doing commissions throughout the Con as well as painting and possibly even taking a musical turn on his infamous cowbell. My longtime friend (and now) bookmate artist Elizabeth Yoo has been producing amazing cover art for novels and movie productions of late, and she is innovative (I do not use the word lightly). Her work is truly resonates deeply on many levels, and I am ecstatic that she is producing a deeply noir-esque and never-before-seen take on the comic book art form as a co-creator and the artist of SPY WOMAN SPY. I could not have imagined anyone who grasps the feel of the world of Cyber more than Elizabeth. And her art, from the Joker to Batman and Catowoman sharing a milkshake will blow you away. Along with Fred's prints, original art, and commissions, Elizabeth will have limited edition prints, as well as a host of other goodies on sale at NY Comic Con. Liz’s amazing “Joker” piece and “Pyscho” piece will be on a heavy-duty tote, for example, and the Mr. Romero’s Joker lips will be hand-colored by Ms. Yoo at the table! They are $10 a piece or $5 with any other purchase! There will be magnets and Comic Con-only discounts to Liz’s art prints! And yes, the author R.J. Huneke, yours truly, will have a limited number of copies of his book CYBERWAR and will be signing them. Now I recently uncovered a box while moving, so I will have a VERY LIMITED amount of the sold out hardcover in tow, and I have paperbacks left as well! Please check in at the booth for signing schedules for all of the artists, including author RJ Huneke (me). And be sure to talk to my friend Charles D. Chenet; Charles' Dare2Draw non-profit has brought comic books, published artists and aspiring artists together for education, amazing lessons, and fun exploration of the craft. From their site Dare2Draw.org: The Dare2Draw is a non-profit mentoring and networking platform for all comic book and creator artists, an opportunity to connect with each other, face-to-face, encouraging good health and business practices for cartoonists. Established artists and arts organizations meet in a supportive setting, putting the art back in sequential art. And, as always, there will be free candy, bookmarks, Joker playing cards, and fun swag galore! On behalf of the Rune Works / Cyberwar Series team, I’ll see you there, at NY Comic Con, in just 2 DAYS! ~RJ Huneke It was a tremendous launch for the Suffolk County Poetry Review 2016 at Dowling College in Oakdale. Tremendous. The poets in attendance that read were nothing short of awe inspiring. And I am so very proud to have been published amongst such talented and creative scribes. My piece “Careless Eyes” was chosen to be a part of the second ever Suffolk County Poetry Review and I am humbled and truly moved that it was. I submitted a few pieces, but this one has more significance to me than most. It is something I wrote about after suffering a traumatic brain injury that has drastically impacted my life, and in turn, my writing for nearly two years now. I attended the event and read my short piece “Careless Eyes” aloud. My Mom and Dad and my young niece – an intelligent poet of nine years of age (who is already reading and enjoying Walt Whitman; I mean how cool is that?) were there to witness it. The piece, as you will see by the picture here, is short. I told the poets in attendance it would be a short read, but I wanted them to get the most out of it; I urged them to look on it in there books, as this poem is every bit as visual as it is audiological. It was my great Creative Writing professor, and a Poet Laureate in his own right, Ed Stever, that taught me the power of a visual poem, that a poem could have no bounds on the page, and that it could in an abstract or specific way have visual stimulus other than the words. In the class there was a piece in the shape of a smoking cigarette that shook my brain out of its norm in a very, very good way. What do I mean when I say visual? Well, my favorite poets of T.S. Eliot and Ginsberg made way for another, one ee cummings, who refused to even punctuate his name and whose words became art on a page. Those of cummings are visual, as is “Careless Eyes”. Why does that matter? My short poem reflects my transformation from an author reading, writing, and editing an average of 1000 words a day for many years and then was struck by a car and unable to type even a simple good morning without inverting letters and words due to cognitive and visual sufferings from my brain injury. After so many years, typing a sentence, let alone a piece in any medium, took 100 times as long to accomplish as I continually wrote it wrong; every day I wrote one of my best friends ‘good monring’ and grew angry, despondent, depressed and a myriad of emotions at this battle that was my livelihood. For anyone that has ever dealt with a traumatic brain injury, and that includes a bad concussion, this piece is for them. My words start off working until the HIT on the page. And then you get a glimpse of what is has been like for me for nearly two years now. It hurts, but I fight to get through it. Nearly a year to the day after the car accident, I had to write this poem. I had to. I cannot explain that other than saying that I had to. It was difficult but it lives now forever in great company of poets from Suffolk County, Long Island, New York, and these talented individuals have inspiring pieces that fill the volume. My piece is but one tiny part in this anthology, but I am utterly grateful to be a part and for “Careless Eyes” to be the one in there means the world to me. I dedicate the poem to my love, my wife, Cassie, without whom I would have been lost to this, the past year plus. Sincerely, R.J. Huneke Rune Works is ecstatic to announce that R.J. Huneke's newest thriller novel will also become a graphic novel written by the author! "I feel this work has a lot of intrigue for potential readers, and with its sharp, visual qualities, making a dystopian graphic novel makes a lot of sense," says Huneke. Read more of this conversation @ Rune Works. Tuesday, May 22, 2012 Dark Shadows: A Tim Burton Masterpiece The film Dark Shadows encompasses a rarely met joining of horror, gloomy fantasy, and dark humor, which is often created by the overwhelming sexual tension that oozes across the screen in numerous scenes. Read the Entire Article on Fantasy-Matters.com here! Well I am floored!
The day draws near and reality comes home to hit me with a heavy mallet: THE SUBLIMINAL RELIGION, my baby for almost two years now, is going to be out in the world! I am so excited! That said it is vital that I say thank you for everyone's support; it has meant the world. The AMAZON Author Page is up here, enjoy it with me! Well, after many many arduous hours of work THE SUBLIMINAL RELIGION will be published and released on December 1, 2011!
This is my baby, and has been a culmination of my many artistic influences, including Orwell's 1984 and Mieville's The City & the City, for a long time now. The subliminal research that I did was fascinating to me, as were the characters that grew with me to traverse the cracked streets of New York City and Brooklyn in a time not too far removed from ours. I hope everyone enjoys this book, as much as I have loved being a part of its creation. The dystopian speculative thriller involving subliminal messaging, Disney, the Tea Party and two young film students trying to avert disaster will finally see the light of day thanks to a small Amazon press and Rune Works, and it will be available in a gorgeous trade paperback for $12.99 and as an e-book as well. Pre-orders are currently taking place now through a cut-off date (that will be announced in November), and anyone who pre-orders is guaranteed a SIGNED copy! I hope you all love this! Sincerely, R.J. In light of the recent battles that have multiplied across the earth, in particular the China Mieville VS. Everyone Blogs, RJ Huneke has taken it upon himself to seek out some of the more elusive combatants in hopes of kicking some ass.
Now it's true that NO ONE can beat up the author China Mieville, but where's the suspense in that? RJ Huneke has begun to tackle some of the most awe-inspiring warriors of the modern age starting with the Duke himself, Duke Nukem! RJ Huneke VS. Duke Nukem: The fifteen year grudge match has finally come to terms, as the Duke - who largely disappeared from RJ's life for a decade and a half following one of the most fun ass-kicking video games ever - returns in June of 2011! RJ took out the game, threw down the package and taunted the yellow flattop by calling him a...SISSY! The Duke, fresh off of a steroid transfusion and a universal kill spree on the aliens who took earth's women, put out his cigar in his hand (just to further prove how bad-ass he is) and leaped from the game cover out into RJ's living room. From there the author tried to bombard the fictional character with a flurry of hastily thrown Guinness bottles and an illegally painted black (so BAD-ASS!) Nerf gun. Though a foam dart struck the Duke in the eye, the muscle-head merely laughed at length. Nukem then serenaded his new-found foe with punches before taking out his shrink-ray and stunning the lanky RJ (who had never been short before in his life). Seizing an opportunity for defiling the holiest of sanctuaries, the Duke proceeded to knock all of RJ's precious books off of their shelves, while the newly-made little person stamped with rage impotently. Once the torture was thorough, the Duke then stepped on RJ with the Mighty Duke Boot: SQUASH! Battle One: Duke Nukem Kicked RJ Huneke's Ass. RJ was down, but not out, however...to be continued... Come and see all of the fun articles that have been written for the Gadizmo.com Mega Site! Everything from "Family Guy [for] Free" Apps and detailed work on the rise of Duke Nukem Forever is on there! Read up on useful gifts and Apps for the thoughtful consumer to the technologically advanced money spending patrons of the world!
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AuthorI have turned the tide and started on my journey. Words and Worlds hang in the balance and I am writing it all down before the RJ Tower! Read about my newest novel on CyberwarSeries.com Archives
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