A. M. Herrington

Writing, art, daydreams

Information

Herrington is a writer. And an artist, and a language enthusiast, and quite possibly also three raccoons stacked on top of one another in a trench coat. He currently resides in Nunyabiznis, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia.

A totally legitimate photograph of Herrington, taken just last week.

Q&A

Q: Tell us about yourself.
A: Gladly. My name is Herrington. I write love stories.Q: Is that it?
A: That's it.Q: What do the "A" and "M" stand for?
A: Nothing. I AM Herrington.Q: What do you do? What kind of content do you typically make?
Writing is my passion. I draw more. With regard to content, I focus on original fiction with morally ambiguous characters, taboo themes, and unconventional relationship dynamics.Q: What content warnings might apply to your work?
A: I will warn for each individual work, but here is a non-exhaustive list of things that have appeared in my pieces more than once: minor (under 18)/adult relationships, incest, age difference, minor attraction/paedophilia as a theme, dubious consent, all kinds of abuse, bigotry, (attempted) sexual assault.Q: "Love stories"?
A: Yes. Not romances, but love stories. Romantic love, familial love, love between friends, divine love, love for one's country, unrequited love, obsessive love, love that skirts conventional understanding of the concept, corrupted love, love to die for, love that changes over time.Q: What things have influenced your work?
A: For art: manga and anime are the big ones. For writing: nineteenth and early twentieth century literature (principally German), horror, children's literature, miscellaneous nonfiction. There are likely shades of my liberal arts education in there as well.Q: Why do you focus on what you do?
A: Dear reader, it makes me happy.Q: Tell us why you're qualified to write or draw about [topic].
A: Yawn.Q: What beliefs are you comfortable sharing with us?
A: Freedom of fiction, anti-thought crime, anti-censorship.Q: BYF / DNI?
A: I do not interact with bad faith actors regardless of political ideology or alignment.Q: Sprichst du eigentlich Deutsch?
A: Einst.Q: Do you take requests, trades, or commissions?
A: I do not take requests. At the moment, trades and commissions are reserved only for friends.

Gallery

May 2022: "Take"

Submission to "Keep It in the Family," a zine curated by Knife Queer Art. You can find the zine here.

Writing Sample

The Neidhardts had left the kitchen door wide open; the ground floor was flooded with the aromas of cooked meat and bay leaves, onions and fruit, even a whiff of freshly baked bread. Lukas’s stomach, which he had placated all day by offering it the rare snack, reacted to the stimulus by producing an anticipatory gurgle: Feed me, it seemed to say, right this instant. He paid it little mind, however, as he neared his destination, having detected something more interesting than a solution to his gnawing hunger: the sounds of animated chatter and jangling silverware, and an exchange among individuals who were intimately familiar."—Don’t understand why she wants so many cherries on top of her black forest cake," Ambrosius was saying. Lukas had known the voice for scarcely four hours, but its rich, resonant basso profondo was impossible to mistake. "They’re supposed to sit around in a ring, like a coven of witches. Instead it looks like a — well, an orgy, to be frank. They’re all piled on top of one another.""Perhaps that is simply what she prefers. The old woman can order what she wants." This was Elise."She can order what she wants, but I’m equally entitled to complain about her having bad taste! I mean, when you cut into the cake" — he paused, and Lukas could just imagine him making the gesture in midair — "you’re supposed to get a cherry with each slice. It’s a complement. The way she wants it, they’ll sit at the edge of the slice, if they don’t fall off and get everywhere first. Why wouldn’t you just order a tart, if cherries is what you want? Eh?"And then — there it was again, the voice he had heard upstairs, to which he was yet incapable of assigning a face. "Maybe Mrs. — maybe Mrs. Neumark loves your baking so much that she would never think of, um, commissioning anyone else, Papa." He had been wrong about the lack of self-confidence. Though soft, it delivered the words with a knowing smile. "If that were the case, you could — you could hardly blame her. I think.""Hah! Elise, this one definitely takes after you. All she ever does is flatter me. My cooking, my cleaning! Tell me: Is there anything I can’t do, child?""Use your in — indoor voice," was the answer, and all three of them began laughing together, the harmony of their voices as pleasant and euphonic as the melange of smells wafting out of the kitchen.

Writing Projects

Sag Leise "Servus"
Florian Hohenberg, renowned conductor of Sinfonieorchester an der Ilm, is dead. While the rest of the world remembers him favourably, the same can't be said for his student, Greta, whose relationship with her cousin was tense at best, actively destructive at worst. But there may be hope for her future yet: At the funeral, she meets Johannes Engelstädter, a concert pianist from Vienna, whom she befriends...

Dichter und Denker (DW)
Not for the first time in his life, Lukas Lindqvist finds himself living in Germany. This time, however, he meets — and falls in love with — his hosts, a family of eccentric but sophisticated artists known as the Neidhardts. In fact, one might say he falls a little too in love — especially with their daughter, Greta, a budding violinist who shyly but eagerly reciprocates his interest despite being only a third his age.

Hatred & Ambition: a Neidhardt anthology
A collection of drawings, short stories, meta, and essays about the Neidhardts, an ex-noble family known both for its genius and for the emotional volatility of its members.