5 for FRIDAY: INK ME!

To further my descent from ordinary son of a bigoted, white, working class, English family to inexplicable arty-farty possible-poofter who 'aint never been t' same since 'e went off to t' Big City darn Sarf, I got me a tattoo for my most recent birthday.

Honestly, I have no idea why, but tattoos are genuinely addictive. I cannot explain it-- although I have confirmed it with others who have them-- but having received my first one, all I can think about is how soon I can go back and get my second, and third, and eighth, and fifteenth.

Seriously. This is me. This is me, now.

So, for today's 5 for Friday, here are 5 designs I'm determined to get.

5 for Friday: Ink Me!

I was lucky enough, for my first two novels, to have astonishing covers created by the superbly talented Nick Castle. Even luckier, Nick was kind enough to create a couple of snips for me to use in promotion, and granted me permission to use the 'hanging jester' section of the cover as my logo, which is why it appears on my letterhead, web pages, and everywhere I can stick it. 

I think the above snip is utterly beautiful, and I want it wrapped around my upper arm like a torc.

Madness. The nutty boys. My favourite band of all time. This is fandom, pure and simple.

More fandom, and a choice. I've been a fan of The Lord of the Rings since I was ten years old. I first read the collected edition at that age and re-read it every year until I was well into my twenties. Then, of course, there were the movies. And, yes, basically, it's the overriding literary love of my life.

I'm still undecided over whether I want the original Tolkien-designed logo, the words of the ring itself around my arm, or the full eye of Sauron across my upper back. If my physique was better, there'd be no argument, but I'm a little afraid my fat-arse back fat would make the Lord of all Evil look like he was very, very surprised......

Psi and Phi. I first saw these two letters of the Ancient Greek alphabet entwined together on a tee shirt many years ago at a Swancon. Unfortunately, I was never able to get the tee, but I've always liked the usage to represent a genre and a form of thinking that has meant so much to me over the course of my life. This is one to fill a calf, I think: a nice long, clear space where it can climb, and spiral, and fill.

Does anyone need this one explained? Anyone?