The Periodic Update Post

Hey, again, my fellow travelers!  Here's what's going down....

Two more of the three stories for The Shadow Legion Casebook Volume 1 are done.

One is 'Ghosts of Steel,' the Nightbreaker tale, which is going through its polish phase before I send it off to Cap’n Ron at Airship 27.  This has shaped up to be both the most pulp and the most superheroic of the four stories, as our pistol packing protector comes to the aid of a young heiress is the target of a decade-long vendetta.  This is going to be pure action with Isaiah Copper fighting all sorts of mechanical horrors manufactured by the insidious Dr. Creole.  Plus you’ll learn more about the history of vigilantes in Nocturne’s past and see the debut of Nightbreaker’s signature weapon, the Multi-gun!

More importantly, however, is that ‘Ghosts of Steel’ gave me a chance to fill in something I had to leave out of New Roads To Hell.  You’ll learn how Nightbreaker gained control of his powers and developed the fighting style that will become his signature. I originally had scenes addressing this in the initial draft of the novel, but cut them due to flow and time constraints.  Now, through this story, I get to share this angle with you.

The other completed story is ‘The Ascension of Indio Blaque,’ which will be the Black Talon story in this volume.  In this tale you’ll see Talon at the mercy of a cult headed by the titular Indio Blaque.  Talon will find himself without the powers given him by The Circle as he combats the sinister cult leader and his crusade to stave off a disaster by killing off every superhero in Nocturne!

You’ll notice that I’ve not used the original subtitle for the Casebook, Four For Danger.  That’s because I’ve experienced another happy accident.  Namely, I’ve noticed how even though each story can be read on its own, certain elements carry through the stories that will give you a greater sense of the world The Shadow Legion will exist in.  You’ll see the creation of the fifth (and the seeds for the sixth!) member of Nocturne’s heroic community, the introduction of the threats that will plague the Legionnaires in the next two novels, more about the history of the city, and other goodies.  My goal has always been to create a fully realized world which authors--both myself and others--can tell super-hero stories, and a lot of what you’ll learn goes to bringing Nocturne and its environs to vivid life.  But that means that the collection needs a title that ties into the theme a little more.  And once I have it, I’ll announce it right here.

Once I finish the final story in the collection, I’m going to concentrate on a few other things, primarily The Adventures of Tao Jones for Pro Se Press and the new Doc Thunder story for Pulpworks Press.   I do want to write something else before beginning the second Shadow Legion novel.  I don’t want to say much, as it’s still coalescing in my mind, but I will say this...if the Legion is my tip of the hat to The Defenders, then the new project is my way of genuflecting towards another famous Legion.  More as it develops!

I’m now going to go and do my final prep for the first Nocturne Travel Agency podcast, where I sit down and talk with famed fantasy author Richard Lee Byers about his super-hero e-book series, The Imposter!  Talk to you soon!

The Periodic Update Post

Hey, pals and gals...welcome to 2013!  Hope your holidays went well and January finds you healthy and happy.

I'm still hard at work on The Shadow Legion Casebook V.1: Four For Danger, and have reached the halfway mark on the book.  'The Ascension of Indio Blaque,' the Black Talon tale that sees our Predator of The Concrete Jungles of Nocturne reach back into his childhood knowledge to battle a sinister cult leader with lethal designs on the superhuman population of The City That Lives By Night, is halfway finished, and should be next to be done.  Of course, the most fun I'm having is with 'Final Innings,' the Dreamcatcher story, which sees our Sexy Sorceress trying to determine who is using magic to wreck the season of Nocturne's resident baseball team.  It's one of the reasons why I wanted to alternate between novels and antholgies for The Shadow Legion--the anthologies give me a chance to do different styles of stories with different tones and feelings to them.  And I hope that all of these stories will give you new insight into our heroes and heroines, and a greater concept of Nocturne and the world around it.

Also moving along is The Adventures of Tao Jones.  I've been concentrating on 'The Damocles Gun,' the story that will see Tao and her ally Mike Townsend trying to reclaim a weapon that kills with a thought before all Hell breaks loose in Sovereign City.  That one's still a ways away, but if you want to learn more about Sovereign City--and read some cracking stories in the pulp tradition--go to Pro Se Press and purchasing Derrick Ferguson's The Adventures of Fortune McCall and Barry Reese's The Adventures of Lazarus Gray and Lazarus Gray: Die Glocke!

There's something else I just signed on for--something from Pulpworks Press you won't see until the end of this year.  But that'll be something we'll discuss as it takes fuller shape.

Before I do close out this update--and hopefully the next time I'll finally be able to get you that long-promised interview with Lee Houston Jr. about his super-hero/space opera mash-up Project Alpha, also available from Pro Se Press--I want to alert you to two New Pulp Books I've been grooving on lately.

Ed Erdelac's Merkabah Rider: Tales of A High Planes Drifter(Damnation Books) is an excellent collection of four weird western stories featuring a Jewish mystical gunfighter known only as The Rider.  Ed is an excellent writer whose evocative prose mingles a number of different genres.  As for the Rider himself, he's a great addition to the New Pulp canon, the sort of figure that fans of Solomon Kane and Jonah Hex would feel right at home with.  Hell, any of these stories could have easily been retrofitted to become the Jonah Hex movie I really wanted to see!  And the best thing is that there are two other books in the series, and I can't wait to read more of The Rider and his quest to right wrongs and track down his mentor and betrayer, Adon.

I'm a sucker for alternative history novels, and Wayne Reinagel's Modern Marvels: Viktoriana (Knightraven Studios) posits a doozy of an alternative history--one where literary figures Mary Shelley, H. Rider Haggard, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells and others are part of a secret order that wages war against a vampire army headed by Countess Elisabeth Bathory.  Wayne's got a tendency for epic storytelling, and it is a Big Read--we're talking almost five hundred pages.  But it is a Big Read of wonderfully gothic setpieces, great characterization and lots of action and intrigue.  If you, like me, long to read stories where vampires are treated as monsters and not boyfriends with interesting dentition, this book is for you.

So check these two books out.  I'll alert you to other great new pulp reads as I get to them.  Come back soon for some interview-y goodness with Lee Houston Jr.!

(Oh...and if you're a writer or publisher who'd like to see me talk about your books in future Agency updates, please contact me through my Facebook page....)

The Periodic Update Post

Hey, pals and gals...I'm sorry for the radio silence. I've been doing some big things in my private life, including making arrangements to finally get the diploma I apparently earned twenty-five years ago but didn't claim, which precluded myself from updating until now.

That doesn't mean I've been lazy. Right now I'm still concentrating on getting the first drafts together for The Shadow Legion Casebook Volume One: Four For Danger so it can quickly follow-up New Roads To Hell. In fact, the first story is already in the can--it's 'A Waltz In Scarlet,' featuring our very own Avenger For The Other Side, Ferryman! Alan Dennings finds himself questioning his own methods when he finds himself protecting a little girl trapped and pursued on the mystical plane where he keeps his mental sanctum. And, like all of the stories I'm working on, this will introduce new characters and concepts that will play out in both The Devil's Toybox and other, future books.

Truth be told, I've been working pretty hard on all the stories in this collection--and I'm over a third of the way done with the book overall. If you can't wait to see one of these tales (and I'm hoping you will after New Roads To Hell is in your hands), the plan is for one of them to appear in Volume Four of Mystery Men and Women, also coming from Airship 27 in 2013.

Speaking of New Roads To Hell, the book continues winding its way through the Airship 27 pipeline. I've been seeing preliminary artwork from Mike Fyles for the cover, and let me tell you it's great. I can't share it with you right now, but trust me, your eyes will pop!

I'm still working in low-impact mode on The Adventures of Tao Jones for Pro Se Press, and should kick into overdrive on that once I get at least one more story for the Casebook done. The one that's coming along the best is 'The Damocles Gun,' which introduces a character who I may have big plans for--but more on that as it develops.

And I'm still going to be doing more 'Elsewhere In The Multiverse' interviews. In the coming months I have Lee Houston, Jr. and Jeff Deischer coming by to discuss their own super-heroic fiction pursuits.

So don't forget to check in on The Agency periodically for more news, commentary and pulpy fun!