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Tag: street art

Revealed: The street artist who tagged Heretical symbols all over the Capital

THE CAPITAL — You see it painted on road signs and the walls of train stations and government buildings: A black visage with fiery red eyes.

wtw face
The so-called “Fire Eyes,” dissident symbol of Heretics in the Underground.

This graffiti, done with a stencil and spray paint, has long fueled the Heretics’ hatred for our benevolent government. But until today we did not know the perpetrator.

Today, the administration of President William Drake announced that the Guard have learned the graffiti scoundrel’s name: Ignatius.

“We will find Ignatius,” said a spokesman for the Guard. “When we do, the Heretic will face charges of treason and Heresy. These offenses are punishable by death.”

It is not known where Ignatius resides at this time, and the street artist seems to have gone quiet of late, the spokesman said.

“He will turn up again,” claimed the spokesman. “Heretics like Ignatius just can’t resist. When he does, the Guard will be waiting.”

Follow Ignatius in “Fire Eyes,” the new short story by Adam Bender.


Cover of "Fire Eyes," a short story by Adam Bender
“Fire Eyes” – The new short story by Adam Bender

Set before the events of WE, THE WATCHED and DIVIDED WE FALL, “Fire Eyes” reveals the man behind the street art seen throughout the acclaimed dystopian sci-fi novels. The story, inspired by real political street art by Banksy and others, makes a great entry point for new readers and provides new perspective to fans of Adam Bender’s books.

Like his novels, this short story by Adam Bender exposes a current political issue in an exciting speculative fiction adventure, carrying on the tradition of dystopian classics 1984 by George Orwell and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, as well as more recent blockbuster novels like The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

“Fire Eyes” is free to read on Smashwords! Also available from Apple, Nook, Kobo, Scribd and Inktera.


You can also read the story below via Scribd.
[scribd id=299710621 key=key-l1deYvd24lhocffpEzdX mode=scroll]

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Writing update

It’s been a big year with the release of my second novel, Divided We Fall. But as they say in journalism, you’re only as good as your next story! So here’s a quick update on my current projects.

Short story

"Fire Eyes" is an upcoming short story by Adam Bender. Art by Belinda Pepper.
“Fire Eyes” is an upcoming short story by Adam Bender. Art by Belinda Pepper.

I’ve just finished a new short story called “Fire Eyes,” set in the same world as my novels We, The Watched and Divided We Fall.

Taking place before the events of either of those stories, “Fire Eyes” follows an underground street artist called Ignatius who for years has dodged surveillance cameras to spray paint a dissident symbol: a dark visage with fiery eyes. Dissatisfied with the impact of his work, Iggy sets his sights on tagging the most important government building in the nation.

I have just submitted this story to a sci-fi short story magazine. I’m hoping to show it to you one way or the other by early next year.

Screenplay

I began work a while back on a screenplay of We, The Watched. It’s about two-thirds finished and looking pretty solid, but I have to admit it’s taken the back burner to my other projects. I hope to get back to work on this in the near future with a view to finishing it next year.

New novel

This is where I’ve been spending the bulk of my time. My next novel is a completely new and original story, unrelated to any of my past work. It mixes elements of several genres, including western, adventure and speculative fiction. Like my previous novels, there is a political twist. Whereas the We, The Watched stories focus on government surveillance, my new novel takes on gun issues in America.

The working title is: The Wanderer and the New West

I hope to have more updates for you soon!

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