Sorry For The Delay....

Here’s why I’ve been silent for a while.

Over the last few weeks, I turned in both ‘Sit By The Fire’ and Amazing Alternity Stories to Pulpworks Press.

‘Sit By The Fire’ is a new Don Cuevo story told from a unique viewpoint.  If you liked 'Don Cuevo’s Curative,’ from the first volume of How The West Was Weird, you may enjoy the further clues this story gives as to the nature of our frontier exorcist and his comely assistant.   I think I may make one of my goals for next year to write a few more Cuevo stories with an eye towards compiling a collection of them for 2015 when I’m not working on my next novel; hell, a third tale formed so quickly in my mind I’ve started writing down the initial licks.

I personally am relieved that Amazing Alternity Stories has been delivered to its publisher.  There have been nights I’ve had dreams of me and Harlan Ellison sitting on a bench in the afterlife with manuscripts chained to our spirits--his being The Last Dangerous Visions, and mine being Amazing Alternity Stories.  I am so grateful to the quartet behind Pulpworks Press for their patience when it came to this anthology, and am so glad that all the writers who showed faith in my for all these years will finally see their work brought to the public.

(And I think this book will mark the end of my career as an editor....)

As for other things...well, ‘The Town That Hated Santa,’ the Doc Thunder story for this year’s Pulpworks Christmas Annual continues apace.  I’m still working on ‘Giants of Industry,’ the story for Monster Earth 2.  I’ve started work on that story for that project I’m not allowed to talk about juuuuust yet.

That leaves The Shadow Legion stuff.  I think I can safely announce that one of the stories that will ultimately appear in The Shadow Legion Casebook Volume One, the Ferryman story ‘A Waltz In Scarlet,’ will be featured in Mystery Men And Women Volume Four...and another of the stories might appear in the fifth volume of that series from Airship 27.

Right now I’m holding off on finishing the Dreamcatcher story for the Casebook.  Part of that is because of the more pressing deadlines for Monster Earth 2 and the other project...and the implied short deadline for the Doc Thunder story.  But the other reason is that I realized that ‘Amongst Monsters,’ which I was over halfway done with, is going to make a much better fit for what I want to do with the second novel.  My intention is to focus primarily on the legacy of Black Talon in that novel, as well as some new additions to the cast, and the threat for the story works much better in concert with that.  That means it’s back to square one for my Dreamcatcher tale.  I think I have a good idea for a replacement tale that will hit the same beats as the story it’s replacing, but I’ll only know until I start back up.

Incidentally, the Dreamcatcher story has proven to be the most difficult.  There are story fragments from two, maybe three previous attempts.  Maybe if Airship 27 is willing to do it, I’ll provide some excerpts as a ‘CD Extra.’

Keep an eye on this blog, folks.  There is going to be a very, very big announcement coming up very soon.

The Periodic Update Post

Sorry for the delay, my fellow travelers, but trust me...I have lots to tell you about.

First off, I’m roughly five thousand words away from closing out The Shadow Legion Casebook Volume One.  The last story to be completed will be ‘Amongst Monsters,’ which sees Maybelle Tremens, the psychic detective known as Dreamcatcher, comes to the aid of a brand new hero whose encounter with a hideous creature has led them to a veritable house of horrors!  You will learn a lot about Maybelle and what sets her apart from her fellow Shadow Legionnaires mentally, emotionally and physically while also getting more glimpses of the menace that will be looming over the city of Nocturne in the next two novels, which are tenatively titled Machina Ex Deus and Urban Inferno!

I also recently finish the preliminary draft for ‘Sit By The Fire’ (the title may change), the first new Don Cuevo story in years.  An old man is visited by our frontier exorcist and his beautiful assistant during one of the nastiest snowstorms in memory.  The old man serves them some food and is willing to let them warm up....but Cuevo has some suspicions about the man’s hospitality and a mission he must carry out.  I know where I’d like for this story to go, but I don’t want to jinx it by saying much more.

Now onto things still being worked on...

You’ve probably already seen the announcement that I am the one new author to play in the worlds of Monster Earth for it’s second collection.  The story I’m working on is called ‘Giants of Industry,’ and I’ll tell you more as we get closer to completion.

Then there’s ‘The Town That Hated Santa Claus,’ the new Doc Thunder story that’s slated to appear in this year’s Pulpworks Press Christmas Annual.  I’m roughly two thousand words in, and the story might be self-explanatory from the title, as Elias Thunder responds to a curious letter to Saint Nick from a child, teaming up with a mysterious stranger to visit a small town that shuns the holidays.

There’s also a third project that I was just invited to.  I can’t go into details just yet, but I will say it plays into one of my great passions (one that I devote an entire blog to, in fact) and it’s one I’m looking forward to letting loose on!

Since these three projects have roughly the same deadline (October or thereabouts), I’ll be focusing on them before returning to The Shadow Legion Casebook and The Adventures of Tao Jones.  Plus, there’s the other project that needs a little explanation....

Several years ago, I proposed a short story anthology to Pulpworks Press called Amazing Alternity Stories, a collection of tales in alternate universes where famous personages took very different paths.  Amongst the tales pitched to me and turned in were ones where Abraham Lincoln was a crime-busting boxer, Charles Darwin was an intergalactic lawman; Winston Churchill was a spy; Barack Obama was a masked avenger; and a number more (although I will admit I regret that the writer who pitched the story featuring George Carlin as a Vietnam-era fighter pilot never submitted anything).   I asked for a few rewrites....

And then I stalled.  I can’t honestly say why the progress on the anthology stopped so dead for so long.  When I got the opportunity to write New Roads To Hell, the collective brain trust behind Pulpworks Press took the project off their production slate and asked me to concentrate on the novel.

Well, the novel’s been finished for a while.  The second book is just about done.  I had an idea for what will become my second novel I was looking for a home for.  Pulpworks Press wanted to do it, but we both knew there was a big ol’ elephant in the room that needed to be put behind us....

Thus, Alternity Lives!

I am in the process of compiling the stories into the final manuscript.  God willing, you’ll see it this winter!

So yes, it’s true.  I’ve got a lot on my plate.  And hopefully, you’ll all enjoy what I serve up in the coming months!

Coming Soon....

As we get closer and closer to the release of New Roads To Hell, the first Shadow Legion novel from Airship 27, a bunch of my friends and I got together and made an old-school audio promo!  You can download it here!

I want to thank my cast for stepping up.  To wit:

Narrator: William Robinson
Gunsel: Paul Herrman
Black Talon: Kelen Conley
Gloria: Rachel Bailey
Nightbreaker: Michael Bailey
Ferryman: Desmond Reddick
Dreamcatcher: Trelina Gonzalez Anderson
Rose Red: Megan Reddick
Johnny Seven: Andew Leyland

Kelen Conley also provided the musical bed.  Let's all give them a round of applause!

I'll have more goodies for you to enjoy as we get closer to the release date...so stay tuned!

Coming To Crush A Major City Near You!

I've got a fuller update coming later this week, but this makes one of the things I was waiting to announce official!  I am really jazzed to be participating in this anthology series.  Check This Out (and keep an eye out for an episode of Nocturne Travel Agency Podcast where I sit down with James Palmer to discuss Mechanoid and the Monster Earth timeline!)

Monster Earth 2 Is Coming!

 

Atlanta, GA—Mechanoid Press, a small imprint specializing in science fiction, New Pulp and more, returns to the exciting world of their popular giant monster anthology MONSTER EARTH with MONSTER EARTH 2.

 Returning to the helm of this mammoth (pun intended) undertaking are editors James Palmer (Mars McCoy: Space Ranger Vol. 2) and Jim Beard (Captain Action and the Riddle of the Glowing Men).

“This is going to take the monster action to a whole new level,” explains Palmer. “I thing fans of the first book are really going to love this one.”

 

MONSTER EARTH 2 will bring the action closer to the present day, with the nations of the world experimenting with genetic manipulation of the various beasties. Add a secret death cult trying to herald the end of days, and you’ve got a volatile recipe for mayhem and destruction as only some of the hottest writers in New Pulp can bring it.

 

 Returning for this volume are Edward M. Erdelac (Mighty Nanuq), Jeff McGinnis (The Beast’s Home) and Fraser Sherman (Peace with Honor). Joining them will be Thomas Deja (How the West Was Weird). Just as in the previous anthology, Beard and Palmer will also contribute stories.

 “Jim did a great job with the bible on this one,” says Palmer. “Between that and all the readers who have asked about a sequel, I knew we just had to do another book.”

MONSTER EARTH 2 is scheduled for either a late December or early January release, and will appear in both Kindle and trade paper formats.

 

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About James Palmer

 

James has written articles, interviews, columns, reviews and fiction for Strange Horizons, Tangent Online, The Internet Review of Science Fiction, and New Pulp Publishers Airship 27, Pro Se Productions, and White Rocket Books. His books Slow Djinn and Four Terrors: Weird Horror Tales are currently available in PDF and Kindle formats. He also has a story in Mars McCoy: Space Ranger Vol 2. from Airship 27. For more, visit http://www.jamespalmerbooks.com/ or follow James on Twitter: www.twitter.com/palmerwriter and www.facebook.com/jamespalmerwriter

 

About Mechanoid Press

 

Mechanoid Press is a new imprint specializing in science fiction, New Pulp, and steampunk ebooks and anthologies. For more, visit http://www.mechanoidpress.com/ or follow the robot revolution on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mechanoidpress. You can also like Mechanoid Press on Facebook.

ALL STAR PULP COMICS #2 Is Here!

AIRSHIP‭ ‬27‭ ‬presensts

ALL STAR PULP COMICS‭ ‬#‭ ‬2

‭(‬Portion of Profits Goes to‭ ‬Boston Red Cross‭)

Airship‭ ‬27‭ ‬Productions has once again teamed with Redbud Studio comics to release the second in their on-going pulp comics anthology.‭  ‬The first giant issue in this series won the coveted Pulp Ark Award for Best Pulp Comic of‭ ‬2010.

Volume two of the series,‭ ‬co-edited by creators Ron Fortier and Rob Davis,‭ ‬is even bigger than that stellar premier issue.‭  ‬Contained here are eight stories featuring both modern and classic pulp heroes‭; ‬Ki-Gor the Jungle Lord,‭ ‬the Black Bat,‭ ‬Cain,‭ ‬Robin Hood,‭ ‬Lance Star,‭ ‬Brothers Bones,‭ ‬Dillon and Domino Lady.‭

The cover is by Will Meugniot and features Ki-Gor’s lovely mate,‭ ‬Helene,‭ ‬battling back to back with Derrick Ferguson’s modern day adventurer,‭ ‬Dillon.‭  ‬Other creators represented are Russ Anderson,‭ ‬Fortier,‭ ‬Davis,‭ ‬Ian Watson,‭ ‬Thomas Deja,‭ ‬Michelle Sciuto,‭ ‬Sean Taylor,‭ ‬Aaron Meade,‭ ‬Todd Jones,‭ ‬Lee Oaks,‭ ‬James Gaubatz,‭ ‬Van Plexico,
Andrew Salmon and Kelly Everaert.‭

The book is available from Indy Planet.com and part of the proceeds are being donated to the Boston Red Cross.‭  “‬We were the last stages of assembling the book,‭” ‬explains Editor Foriter,‭ “‬when the Patriots‭’ ‬Day bombings occurred in‭ ‬Boston.‭  ‬All of us,‭ ‬like the rest of the country,‭ ‬were in shock and felt helpless to do anything.‭”  ‬It was writer Van Plexico who contacted Fortier about possibly offering some of the sales proceeds to help those injured in the terror attack.‭  “‬The second Van brought up,‭ ‬I knew it was something we had to do,‭” ‬Fortier continues.‭  ‬He contacted Davis and all the creators and the decision was made to take all the profits earned by the book during its first six months in print and donate them to the Boston Red Cross.

‭“‬We truly hope our fans,‭ ‬when they learn of this idea,‭ ‬will want to rally around a truly good cause and help us put sales over the top,‭” ‬adds co-editor Rob Davis.‭  “‬We really want this to be the best selling title Redbud Studio has ever produced.‭”


The issue is now on sale at‭ –(http://www.indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id‭=‬8450‭)

Pssssst....Wanna See Something Cool?

Remember a while ago, when I revealed that California-based artist Chris Kemple was going to be providing the interior illustrations for New Roads To Hell?

Well, yesterday, Captain Ron Fortier lit down from good ol’ Airship 27,  and he was bearing this gift--one of the nine illustrations that will add heat to the Shadow Legion’s initial adventure.  Here we see his version of Nightbreaker going all Babe Ruth (or maybe I should say Jackie Robinson?) on a couple of thugs with a handy tree branch!

We’re well on track for the release of this novel (and I’m 10,000 words away from finishing up the second book in the series, The Shadow Legion Casebook Volume One), so there will be more news and goodies in the near future.  Keep an eye on the Travel Agency, Airship 27, and the Nocturne Facebook Page to get in on everything about The Shadow Legion, Tao Jones, the Pulpworks Weird Western Heroes, and more!

The Nocturne Travel Agency Podcast Episode One: Richard Lee Byers Talks THE IMPOSTER

In association with Tricycle Offense and Burning Talking Points Productions, I've converted my old 'Elsewhere In The Multiverse' series into a podcast called The Nocturne Travel Agency!  Come join me as I talk with Richard Lee Byers about his self-published super-hero prose anthology series The Imposter.  It's  an hour of discussion about pulp, heroes, licensed properties and the creative process.

Listen to the episode here, and check back soon for more visits to The Agency!