Old and new and a little blue

AKA Story Rich Art

Elizabeth Mitchell
October 24, 2025

_{*image from an etching in the book (one of the few blue ones; most are black and white, and some have splashes of red)}

Morning darklings,

Art Born Words was a beautiful and complicated project. It lead to meeting a bunch of lovely people, reading great stories, becoming an editor with confidence. It was a really good thing. But it ended in a fizzle.

Some projects are like that. You work hard on them, and in the end, you have the thing to show, but not really to share.

Once, I was a makeup artist on a film with an incredible crew, child actors who were darker than me, and Miss America. It was really good. The production was quality, the story was good, the actors—all of it. We did a screening after it was done with a full house, and people were suggesting film festivals we should send it to.

An IMDB page went up. We were on it. There was buzz.

A few weeks later, we are expecting posters and news of the where the film was being submitted. We got silence. Months went by with more silence. And a little more silence. The executive producer took the film and fucked right off, I guess. No one got a copy, no one heard anything else about it.

The project fizzled, sure, but we had some photos for our portfolios and contacts for future films. And since, the writer has gone on to direct numerous movies, the actors have long lists of films and TV they’ve worked on, as well as degrees they’ve garnered. Just as I have worked on many movies, shows, commercials, and photoshoots, as well as published books, made and sold art, and so much more in the last 15 years. It was but one thing in a long list of Things We All Did.

That is but one of the many examples I have. There are movies, shows, photoshoots, music videos, scripts, events all started or finished, but someone involved was just done early and didn’t want to find an alternative solution to pulling the plug. Feelings aside, it happens.

Art Born Words could have been that. Once it was published, it could have been a Limited Edition Thing. But after a successful Kickstarter, the building excitement, wonderful stories having already been written and edited, along with the gorgeous artwork chosen, I couldn’t let that happen.

There were some serious logistics in making this happen.

Firstly, I needed the authors to say yes. Darklings, they did not all do that. There are thirteen now, and that did change the shape of it. So, even if you have the original, you might want this one. It flows differently, though the stories are still the same. Also, you’d be supporting me and the time I spent putting it together. Also, also, I’m pleased with how it’s come out, and I’d love for you to see it.

A new name was in order, as was a new cover—though, yes, this is nearly identical to the original (but it was my design to begin with). It needed an updated synopsis and new guts because I was turning it into a paperback.

The stories are rich and delicious, and the art was the inspiration. Thus, Steve’s requested new title: Story Rich Art.

Story Rich Art is what happens when thirteen writers are asked to translate art into story.

Writing and art have collided in an eclectic collection featuring speculative and dark short stories, flash fiction, and poems exploring Steve Graziani's artwork.

A tale of a monster hunting summer settles alongside a woman on Death’s door. There is fear, romance, longing, loss. Time slips, space is all there is left, and our pasts call for us.

By the last page, you’ll have visited many worlds, been many people, traveled through time, cried and laughed.

Twenty-two stories and twenty-four etchings await you.

*Stories by Adam Bolivar, Angela Yuriko Smith, Angelique O'Rourke, David Barker, Elle Mitchell, Gigi Little, G.R. Theron, Jacque Day Pallone, Kiyomi Appleton Gaines, Sarah Walker, Simone Cooper, Steve Graziani, Summer Olsson | Edited by Elle Mitchell & Sarah Walker