The End of ABC?

On indefinite hiatus due to personal and national issues.

Will I come back to this? Who knows? I will post updates if and when they happen.

123 Comments

  1. Stress kills creativity. And you’re obviously under a lot of stress with everything going on in your country. It’s totally understandable—how do you focus on fantasy when your reality seems so bleak? It would be impossible to focus, and doing what you love starts to feel forced, more an obligation than a passion. So let it go. Find what makes you happy now. I just ask two things:

    1. Don’t walk away thinking none of this mattered. The amount of people who comment are only a small percentage of the people who have loved your work and been impacted by it over the years. You may not have gotten published, but your work has inspired so many people. Your work is beloved, published or not.

    2. Please keep this site up so your work can continue to inspire more people. If it’s too much money, please PLEASE reach out for help from your fans before you take the site down. This is a treasure trove of knowledge and research that should be shared.

    I sincerely hope you find your happiness again. You’ve given so much to me with your work. Please walk away from it feeling proud and appreciated.

    Liked by 4 people

  2. UH GRAN SALUDO, SOY DE VENEZUELA Y GRACIAS A TI ES QUE DESCUBRI QUE EN ESTE PAIS TAMBIEN HABIAN CRIATURAS MITICAS POR PARTE DE LAS CULTURAS INDIGENAS, TE ESTOY MUY AGRADECIDO POR ESO Y TE DESEO MUCHO EXITO EN LO QUE DECIDAS DESPUES. Y TAMBIEN AL SER DE VENEZUELA ENTIENDO TU DECISION, CADA DIA ES PEOR AQUI TAMBIEN,

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Un gran saludo, soy de venezuela y si no fuera por tu pagina no sabria que en este pais habian criaturas miticas por parte de las culturas indigenas. TE ESTOY MUY AGRADECIDO POR ESO, tu pagina es excelente pero al ser de ete lugar tambien entiendo tu desicion, tambien vamos de mal a peor, por lo que por ultimo te deseo lo mejor y consigas lograr lo que quieras.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Sincerely, thank you for this. I hope your future ventures are more prosperous. You made a wonderful controbution to this world. And I am infinitely happy to know that you did this. Please, get out of Lebanan if you can, and find a future worthy of you. Goodnight.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. I found this site on Quora. This is my first visit. I just knew your work would be hugely entertaining, just the kind of thing I enjoy most.
    Your announcement grieves me so much. I am very sorry for your desperate situation. It is a terrible thing when sheer exhaustion and lack of hope or any future perspective put an end to creativity, joy, curiosity, humour and intellect. That is the very best humanity has to offer, there is never enough of it to go around. It’s all so STUPID. Maybe some day things will get better. I will continue to think of you and wish you well.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. I’ve read this site for years and keep coming back to it. I’m sad to see you go, but I understand that it’s really not doable right. I just want to let you know that I appreciate everything you’ve done here. This site is one of the coolest things on the internet and you should be proud.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. I wish you all the happiness in the world, thanks for everything.
    não descida da felicidade sua e de sua família, onde quer que você vá, desejo-lhe paz e prosperidade.
    لا تنزل من سعادتك أنت وعائلتك ، أينما ذهبت ، أتمنى لك السلام والازدهار

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Thank you so much for the closure and for all you’ve given me over the last 5 years. I didn’t realize how much I loved mythology and folklore until I rediscovered it as an adult by clicking on your website (while looking for pictures of the dodo bird, found your African dodo article).

    Like another commenter said, please don’t let this go totally offline. I’d be more than willing to help however I can to keep it up–if it comes to that.

    In your life going forward, good luck. Don’t be afraid to update us every now and again.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Just happened upon this page searching for mythological beasts, & I must say this is some of the most spectacular artwork I’ve seen for these. I really hope you somehow find a publisher, because I would buy this in a heartbeat, even if only released as a general art book.

    You made some of these creatures look truly terrifying, even the more subtle ones, like the Log Shark. I really hope your situation improves and you get your muse back. This is a wonderful site.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. I hope everything will be okay with Lebanon, it’s such a beautiful country filled with beautiful people, the city of Beirut is very vibrant, the arts and traditions are very beautiful. Unfortunately, things don’t go very well with the government but it is still not as worse as other countries like Liberia, etc (sorry for mentioning names).

    I hope things improve in your beautiful country, cherish what you have now, during this dark time, take a rest and hope that things go well for you.

    Love from Indonesia

    Liked by 1 person

  13. I just found this blog and i think its amazing. I would buy this book and I’ve only read a single entry. Sad to hear things are bad and I hope they get better. In the meantime, all I can say is that your work has made me happy. Its not much but its something. I hope you can be happy too.

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Hey I’m not sure if you’ll read this but I just wanna tell you how huge of an inspiration this blog left for me, I discovered it a few years ago and it’s been one of my favorite activities to read your posts, I wish you the very best in your life! And thank you to everything you’ve provided thus far

    Liked by 1 person

  17. My first time here too. We’ve been playing a game and Keyeri came up, searched and found your blog. Very impressive.We in the USA do sometimes get news of conditions in Lebanon, and a very good friend here is Lebanese. I wish you not to be discouraged, to know that people are (gradually) noticing your work and appreciating it, and I hope that your situation improves. Publishing is notoriously either lucky or fraught with rejection, keep trying. What you have here with art, scale, description and citation is excellent, and valuable, and should be published. 2021-10-09

    Liked by 1 person

  18. You have brought me countless hours of joy reading this material. Thank you very much for all you have done here and God bless you and keep you through whatever this world will throw at you. I maintain the hope that we will all hear from you again someday 🙂 if not, it’s been a hell of a ride

    Liked by 1 person

  20. wow, i just found your webbsite and it was my saving in my own book writing hobby. I have had a hard time finding good information about creatures and monsters to find inspiration from. And here you are, absolutely fantastic. I am so sorry to hear about the situation in Lebanon, I also have relatives in that area (i’m living in Sweden). I wish you all the best and that you are safe. And don´t quit on your dreams, because if you leave them behind, you will leave a part of yourself behind and life will feel harder. Maybe its just a break and that the opportunity will come in the future.
    I wish you all the best again, and THANK YOU for your amazing and beautiful work.

    Liked by 1 person

  21. Your drawings are amazing and the amount of information there is on your blog dwarfs many of the bestiaries I have seen and read. I completely understand your reasons and I hope you and your family stay safe and sound. If this was a book, I would definitely purchase it just to read and browse through all the monsters you have listed and painstakingly researched. Good luck and thank you.

    Liked by 1 person

  23. It`s so sad to hear this but I understand completely, I hope your situation gets better. This page has been a great inpiration for me and it’s the most extensive work i`ve ever seen on this subject, at least I hope that you leave the project knowing that what you’ve already done its absolutely amazing and you have a lot of talent.

    Liked by 1 person

  25. Long time reader of this wonderful site and I just wanted to also say I’m sorry your life’s in a rough place right now. Don’t ever think what you’ve done here doesn’t matter. The internet is a cruel mistress and hidden gems like this little world you’ve given us are a treasure.

    I would buy this in book form without hesitation. It would be an excellent addition to my other bestiaries and a beautiful display piece. If nothing else, I would want an offline version just to ensure this labor of love doesn’t disappear if you are no longer able to host this.

    It’s too easy to let the world weigh you down nowadays, and I hope you do what’s best for you. Keep on doing what you love. We’ll be here, quietly appreciating what you’ve given us.

    Liked by 1 person

  27. This has been an incredible, ambitious project, and I have greatly enjoyed consulting your entries over the past year. I work with people on the autistic spectrum whose behavioral issues keep them from attending public school, and your articles, especially the ones about the evil whales of Iceland, provided hours of entertaining conversation for me and a few of my more fantastically-oriented students. My students often spend multiple hours a day being transported to and from school. They have difficulty relating to people, and find it hard to appropriately share their interests. Your research gave joy to a group of people who can sometimes feel very much alone in the world. Thank you.

    Liked by 1 person

  29. I’m so sorry to hear that something like your Nationality, is holding you back, weighing you down, and even putting you in danger!

    Well, I’d only just now discovered this site,
    today (So, Audience +1!), but I’m reading through it,
    and it all looks really great!

    Thank you for making this, for all of us to enjoy.

    You’ve done very good work, and, just looking at the many comments from your last two posts, should tell you that you DO have fans!

    This hasn’t been an act-of-futility! And, if you’re still out there (which, I really hope you are!), then this project is worth continuing.

    People DO care! And, (Although I’m brand-new to your site (as of Today!); I do find that I care, too, now—and I am hoping for all the best for you.)

    Are you able to write more, here? Not to continue the site, for now—And, not until your overall situation has gotten a LOT better; but just to let us know that you are still around?

    Maybe, we can find some way of helping you out? Atleast, to give you an audience, and some emotional-support.

    Your physical safety, and your mental well-being, are the most important things, right now.
    Getting out of Lebanon, even if it is just on a strict and limiting Work-Visa, sounds like it’s a good idea.

    While you’re still there—Only, if you can do so, in relative safely, of course!!!—I would suggest, that you could take as many notes as possible, even if they’re just mental-notes.

    You’re living through history, after all, and people ARE going to want to read about what you’re living through, as all of this happens.

    Maybe then, you can get paid for writing about all of the terrible things that you’re going through, now?

    It might just help you a little bit, to get through it? And, help you to put up some “emotional-barriers” between yourself, and the worst realities of your situation, if you can try to think of this time—as awful as it no doubt is!—as a time when, as a writer, you have the “opportunity” (even if it really doesn’t seem opportune, and certainly isn’t welcome, or fair) to research and experience the historical tragedies that are going on all around you, from your very “up close and personal,” direct perspective?

    I’m sorry that everything has become so bad, and I wish that I could help you more directly, but I’ll be thinking of you, and I’ll keep checking on your site.

    Please, take good care of yourself—and of course, be careful! Stay safe, and don’t lose hope!

    Liked by 1 person

  31. Write to CFZ Press, Myrtle Cottage, Woolsery, Bideford, EX39 5QR, United Kingdom. Give details of your circumstances. They publish many cryptozoology books. Mention my name when you write to them and give details of your website, so they can see the material it contains. Mention my name when you write.

    Liked by 1 person

  35. I just discovered your website and it strikes a very deep chord within me, rekindling a love for the fantastic and the otherworldly. Thank you for the work you’ve shared with everyone. From the comments here you can tell that people have been really moved by your work. I understand it’s not really doable right now, so take however long you need. I hope things can get better in Lebanon, but wherever your life takes you, I hope that you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. Thank you for your work, you should be very proud of what you accomplished.

    Liked by 1 person

  36. Hey,

    Just found your work and I love it, hope you manage to put together a plan to get out of the country or mark out your corner of the land to be as undisturbed by the bad times as you can be.

    So sorry to hear your going through this, your very talented and honestly I’m jealous you had the discipline and interest in something to work on it so passionately, inspiring.

    I hope you find time to continue doing whatever you love to do in future 🖤👊🔥

    Liked by 1 person

  38. Hi, I recently come across this website whilst doing research for a fantasy novel I’m currently working on. I just want to say a massive thank you for amazing work you’ve put into this fascinating project. I hope that you are well and that you may at some point continue this wonderful creation.

    Alan

    Liked by 1 person

  39. Please don’t stop this site….i hope you are still with us and fine
    i know world is hideously shitty
    but this blog has been extremely helpful and I’m even willing to make it a PDF
    keep posting please
    i can request creatures: Asasabonsam/Obayifo and Genderuwo. Please don’t give up

    Liked by 1 person

  48. I hope you are getting better. I have been on this for years, scrolling through all your amazing work. Never give up hope. But fact is, there are hundreds of hundreds of people out there slowly losing hope themselves about lots of things. So my message to you is to be one of those people who stand strong in times of pain. If you ever return, I will be there, awaiting your return. I hope when or if you read this, this cheers you up.

    Liked by 1 person

  49. This blog is incredible and is an amazing source of inspiration for any creative work. The art is superb and it is a blessing to have all these knowledge compiled into one place. I am so angry at the shitty world we live in for not letting you continue working on your creation that you are clearly passionate about. I send you my best regards and I am ready to support you in any way if you ever come back with the possibility of receiving financial aids. Take care of yourself.

    Liked by 1 person

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