Cover Reveal for Heavy Are The Years
We are so excited to share the cover for the Heavy Are The Years illustrated story collection!
This book is a collaboration between Bonedust and Wildstar Press, in an effort to uplift both small indie presses as well as all of the contributors whose stories and art have brought this book to life.
The front cover for Heavy Are The Years, with glimpses of each story within the letters! Artwork by Riotbones.
This incredible collection of illustrated stories will have a single large print run (don’t worry, ebooks will be available beyond that!), so supporting the Kickstarter is the best way to guarantee you get a paperback copy (*shipping only within the U.S.) or ebook!
This book will only happen if the campaign is successful, so please make sure to support it and help us make this book a reality!
The Kickstarter launches September 4th!!
Please welcome our incredible crew of contributors!
Our amazing cover artist is Riotbones, a queer Filipino illustrator & comic artist with a passion for all things haunting, dark, and tender—with a particular interest in men, monsters, and everything in between. Specializing in speculative fiction, ranging from horror to fantasy, I've worked for various magazines, books, indie games, and TTRPGs, with clients such as Dark Horse Comics and Natsume Atari.
The first story in our collection is Irreparable Evolution. An archeological expedition goes horribly wrong when an ancient city is revealed, awakening a god that has been deeply changed by a millennia without worshipers.
Written by K.C. Pickelsimer, an adventurous and community oriented individual driven by the love of story telling. Embellishments are always to be expected but every good story starts with a plain truth.
Illustrated by Jade Zhang, a queer Chinese-Canadian illustrator and comic artist based in Toronto. She tells stories about magic, memory, and the occasional eldritch horror.
The second story in our collection is Death Recoming. If reliving the same day over and over sounds rough, how well would you handle reliving 50 years? A deeply soul-searching story about life, death, the decisions that make us who we are, and the lives we connect with on the way. And an ornery cat at the center of it all.
Written by Andrew Belindo, who lives in Washington State with their two partners and cat.
Illustrated by Carey Pietsch, the co-adapter and artist on The Adventure Zone graphic novel series from First Second books. Her work has also appeared in several anthologies, including Chainmail Bikini, Oath, 1001 Knights, Blood Root, and Terrestrial. When she's not making comics, she's probably playing a tabletop game, collecting more plants, or working on a goofy podcast about Animorphs. She lives in Brooklyn with her partner and their two rambunctious cats.
The third story in our collection is Flight Patterns of the Dead. When a young mother is violently torn away from her baby, she'll do whatever it takes, even bargain with the strange spirits of the underworld, to find her way back to the land of the living. Should she fail, she may trap more than herself in an endless knot of possible futures and unchangeable pasts.
Written by E.M. Linden, a Nebula-nominated writer from Aotearoa New Zealand. Her short stories have appeared in various anthologies and magazines, including PodCastle and Strange Horizons. She likes coffee, owls and the sea.
Illustrated by Angela Hsieh, an award-winning illustrator and storyteller. Her debut graphic novel, LU AND REN'S GUIDE TO GEOZOOLOGY is a 2026 SCBWI Golden Kite Award Honor Book and has appeared on multiple "Best Books of 2025" lists. Her illustrations have appeared in NPR, the New York Times, and even on a billboard in Times Square.
The full wrap-around cover for Heavy Are The Years, including an amazingly detailed astronomical clock backdrop! Artwork by Riotbones.
Look at this STUNNING full wrap-around cover!! We’re excited to add a bit of glamour with some gold foil details, but again, this book can only happen if the Kickstarter succeeds! So make sure to support the campaign and share it with family, friends, and your social media circles!