Friday, May 31, 2013

Sean Taylor is... THE COMIC BOOK MAN!

Guess who's gonna be a regular call-in guest for a radio show about comic books? Yep, this guy.


I'm going to be a regular guest on Barry King's BK ON THE RADIO Saturday night show on WYXC radio (1270 AM), where I'll go over my picks of the week from the week's comics. Those of you who aren't local can catch the show on TuneIn or online at http://www.am1270wyxc.com/shows/bk-radio/.

Join the fun starting this Saturday (tomorrow) night at 10 PM EST.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Post-Alabama Phoenix Festival Re-Cap

Alabama Phoenix Festival recap... Dear sweet breastplace of Zeus, where do I even begin?

Friday kicked off with a slow start while we waited for our neighbors to arrive, but after a few well-attended panels that day, we settled into the main stage for a rousing game of Authors and Artists Whose Line Is It Anyway? Luckily, my amazing friends Bobby Nash, Michelle Brundage Weston, Allan Gilbreath, Kimberly Richardson, Van Allen Plexico and Allen Hammack are very forgiving and didn't mind me making all kinds of fun of them during the event, which apparently seems to have turned out to be quite a popular one at the con. Highlights included Kimberly as the superhero Princess Cupcake, Michelle and Allan G. doing a crime musical number, Van "blasting" around the stage as Fart Boy, Bobby's rousing turn as a damsel in distress who couldn't pronounce the letter 'S' (Ave me! Ave me!), and Allen H. making up an algebraic combination of binary code and gobbledeegook.

Saturday gave me lots of time to meet awesome folks and just hang out at my table until about 5:30 when my panel schedule began. But a highlight of the day would most definitely be the time spent with my booth Alices -- yes, two of them! -- Rachael Van Riper and her daughter. Thanks again so much for helping me by making the table sparkle with beauty. After that it was another great day of panels, closed out with the oh-so-much fun panel in which we reenacted the old X Minus One radio script "Student Body" featuring the dumbest space morons to ever undertake a serious mission and doom Earth in the process.

After all the panels I had a midnight breakfast with Daniel Emery Taylor and Jim O'Rear and their lovely wives, and got to hang out with other stars of their flick THE HOSPITAL (such as Scott Tepperman from GHI and the lovely and perky Robyn Shute). Of course, poor Evan, my son, who went with Charis and me this time, couldn't hang with the old pros and went night-night on the booth at IHOP.

Sunday came way too early in the morning, and it was off to the races for another day. Hands down, the highlight of the day was Josh Duke and Ali's wedding in front of the TARDIS. The poor guy didn't realize he was marrying Mae West (yes, that's how awesome the bride looked!). Another high spot though was when I played guitar over at Afua Richardson's table and we sang a bunch of songs together. And daaaaaaaaannnnngggg that girl can sing. Wow! I'm just glad she let me sing with her. Hopefully someone captured some footage and you can catch it on YouTube.

Well, that's it except for the long boring ride home and then passing out when I finally hit my own bed.
Special thanks go (as always) to Tim Stacks, Stan "Kingdom Comics" Daniels, and Steve Charleson for putting on one of the most fun cons of my "touring year" and certainly one of my hands-down favorites. You guys rock big-time!

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

"Whose Line Is It Anyway?" at Alabama Phoenix Festival

We had such a blast doing an "Authors and Artists Whose Line Is It Anyway?" at the Alabama Phoenix Festival this past weekend.

Want proof?

Then check out these videos:

Super Heroes
Dating Game

Storytime



Tuesday, May 28, 2013

If You Wanna Ride, Ride the White Rocket!

This week Van is a guest at the 2013 Alabama Phoenix Festival and spends some time with several other notables in attendance -- Bobby Nash, Sarah White, Sean Taylor, Doc Osborn, Mike Gordon, and David Wrigh t-- discussing what they're up to and what they think about the Festival. A good time is had by all! So load up on Zaxby's and grab a seat in the Cahaba Center--good times await!

Click here to stream or download.

Monday, May 27, 2013

TUNE IN AND DROP OUT INTO ADVENTURE WITH 'THE LEMON HERBERTS!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-
JIM BEARD'S LATEST PRO SE PROJECT OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS-
TUNE IN AND DROP OUT INTO ADVENTURE WITH 'THE LEMON HERBERTS!"

Pro Se, a leading independent Publisher specializing in cutting edge Genre Fiction announces the latest mindbending concept from the mind of ‘Monster Aces’ Creator Jim Beard! Get your groove on with ‘The Lemon Herberts!’

Beat it, Beatles! Move over, Monkees! Here come the Lemon Herberts, the kookiest, kickiest quintet of fun-lovin’ musicians ever to hit the Summer of Love! This anthology of tales will cover the very first world tour of the Lemon Herberts, a late-1960s musical group with not only a flair for inventive pop songs, but a pulpy taste for adventure. Each story will be set in a different country along the group’s tour, setting the stage for colorful, groovy plunges into peril for the Herberts. Think Help! plus Head and divided by Donovan and you’ll be on your way to imagining all the peace, love and DANGER the Lemon Herberts could get themselves into in the incredible year of 1967!

This happening collection of Music Themed Adventure type Pulp has openings for five stories, each one 10,000 words. If interested in going on tour with ‘The Lemon Herberts’, request the concept bible by emailing Morgan Minor, Director of Corporate Operations at
MorganMinorProSe@yahoo.com.

Deadlines for proposals are June 15th. Notification of acceptance will be sent following that date. This is scheduled for publication in early 2014 by Pro Se Productions.

Channel the Psychedelic Sixties and give ‘The Lemon Herberts’ a spin!

For more information on Pro Se Productions, go to www.prosepulp.com.

Saturday, May 25, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE-PRO SE EXPANDS, ADDS NEW POSITION!

Pro Se Productions, a continually expanding and growing company focusing on Genre Fiction, New Pulp, and cutting edge Action and Adventure Books and Anthologies, announced today the addition of a new position within Pro Se Administration- Global Relations and Accountability Coordinator.

"Pro Se," Tommy Hancock, Partner in and Editor in Chief of Pro Se, states, "has grown tremendously since opening our doors so to speak in early 2010. We have every single writer, artist, editor, and administrative person that's done even one little thing to thank for that. With the fact that we intend to produce the most books we have yet in our history this year and next year as well, it's become necessary to bring in others to help handle the growth. To that end, we created a position that actually has two duties- Marketing and Social Networking as well as managing day to day affairs from the Editor in Chief's office. Essentially, making sure I get my myriad projects and jobs done successfully."

The Global Relations and Accountability Coordinator will act as executive assistant to the Editor in Chief and will handle daily operations outside of the Editorial/Writing/Creative Staff. The GRAC will also assist the Editor in Chief in creation of and distribution of press releases, setting up blog and podcast appearances, and utilizing Social Media of all types to its fullest extent.

"Pro Se," Hancock says, "has a great catalogue that will continue to grow and be even greater. We've spent three years intentionally growing our personal library of books and now it's time to promote them, old and new, from the first book published to the latest and greatest, with every technique and tool we can come up with. And as our Global Relations and Accountability Coordinator, Beth Alvarez will help us do that and we are proud to welcome her to Pro Se Productions!"

Beth Alvarez is a previously self-published author residing in Memphis, Tennessee with her growing family. A voracious reader in her free time, Alvarez specialized in the study of fine arts with a focus on visual arts and teaching. An accomplished programmer, she has spent time working as a freelance web development specialist and graphics designer since 2005 and now adds Global Relations and Accountability Coordinator for Pro Se to her accomplishments.

Beth can be contacted at BethAlvarezProSe@gmail.com and will in the future be making contact with reviewers, bloggers, websites, other publishers, and other parties related to Pro Se business.

Pro Se Productions- www.prosepulp.com

Friday, May 24, 2013

Black Pulp featured on Huffington Post!

BLACK PULP Continues to Garner Worldwide Attention! Walter Mosley's essay featured as the introduction of BLACK PULP is now featured at The Huffington Post with a link to the book.

And yes, that is PRO SE PRODUCTIONS listed in the article!

Thursday, May 23, 2013

VOICE OF PRO SE AUDIOBOOK LINE DEBUTS-HUGH MONN PRIVATE DETECTIVE FIRST TITLE!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

VOICE OF PRO SE AUDIOBOOK LINE DEBUTS-HUGH MONN PRIVATE DETECTIVE FIRST TITLE!

Pro Se Productions, an independent press on the cutting edge of genre fiction, heroic storytelling, and New Pulp, was the first company formally involved in the New Pulp Movement to enter into the world of audiobooks with its original line of magazines. Pro Se, in conjunction with New Pulp audiobook pioneer Dynamic Ram Audio Productions announce the first audio title for ‘The Voice of Pro Se’ audiobook imprint!

“Audiobooks,” Tommy Hancock, Partner in and Editor in Chief of Pro Se Productions states, “have always been in the plans for Pro Se. The sort of fiction we publish lends itself well to the spoken word and adaptation of all sorts. That, and I am a major fan of Audio Fiction, from old time radio shows to modern day audio drama and especially audiobooks. And our first trip into the medium was a great experience and to have Chris Barnes, our engineer the first time around and the man behind Dynamic Ram Audio Productions now, on board for this debut as well as what is coming, it just couldn’t be any better.”

The debut title in THE VOICE OF PRO SE Audiobook line is HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE, the novel written by Lee Houston, Jr. One of Pro Se’s flagship characters, Hugh Monn comes wonderfully to life thanks to Audiobook Narrator Pete Milan in eight tightly written fast paced uanbridged stories. Milan is a voice actor, writer, narrator, audio drama producer and cosmopolitan jackadandy. He has previously appeared in works by Pendant Productions, the Colonial Radio Theatre On The Air, Gypsy Audio and Cape Cod Radio Mystery Theater.

“Pete Milan,” Hancock says, “channels the voice of Lee Houston’s Hugh Monn perfectly. Hugh sounds like a 1950s type detective, but plies his trade in a futuristic setting. In just the same way Lee blended those two things seamlessly together, Pete’s take on the stories has the nearly hard boiled edge you’d expect from a great PI tale, but there’s also that flexibility a good science fiction tale demands of a narrator. Hands down, the team of Milan and Houston make HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE an audiobook must have.”

Even in the future, dames still need help, criminals still need captured, and men still hire out to do both! HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE written by Lee Houston, Jr. and narrated by Pete Milan lets you walk the glittering, yet dark and mean streets of Galveston 2 and join Hugh Monn as he investigates cases with gorgeous green skinned dames, slick swindlers and hardened crooks while keeping one step ahead of the lawbots. This VOICE OF PRO SE audiobook engineered and produced by Dynamic Ram Audio Productions is over 7 hours of fantastic futuristic Private Eye Action!

Listen to the HUGH MONN trailer at http://soundcloud.com/chris-barnes-37/hugh-monn-private-detective. And the entire Audiobook is Avaiable via Audible at http://www.audible.com/pd/ref=sr_1_1?asin=B00CQ6MJHS&qid=1368850196&sr=1-1 and from Amazon at http://tinyurl.com/bdx6lmm!

The Voice of Pro Se from Pro Se Productions (www.prose-press.com) and Dynamic Ram Audio Productions (www.dynamic-ram.co.uk) proudly presents HUGH MONN, PRIVATE DETECTIVE-the audiobook.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Ruby, take your love to town!

Just a little reminder that...

(1) The Ruby Files Volume 2 is coming soon, and

(2) The Award-Winning Volume 1 is still available for those of you who missed it.
 

Saturday, May 18, 2013

THE ROOK VOLUME 2 SPECIAL EDITION NOW AVAILABLE!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE AND DISTRIBUTION

Reese Unlimited, an author centered imprint of Pro Se Productions, proudly announces the release of the special edition second volume collection of one of New Pulp’s best known and loved heroes! THE ROOK VOLUME 2 SPECIAL EDITION by multiple award winning author Barry Reese is now available in print and ebook format!

THE ROOK VOLUME 2-SPECIAL EDITION is a newly edited, newly formatted Pro Se edition of the second volume of Reese’s Rook Series. The adventures of Max Davies, tortured masked hero and defender against evil of all kinds, continue in typical Reese two fisted, double barreled action in this collection of stories. Continuing his battle against the supernatural, The Rook discovers more about his own tragic destiny while battling darknesses vile and ancient! He also discovers he is not alone in his fight, teaming up with Classic Pulp heroine, The Domino Lady, and the Russian near superman Leonid Kaslov, another one of Reese’s wonderful New Pulp Heroes.

Even with companions, though, The Rook continues a solitary war, striking out at villains because he has been given no other choice!

“The Rook,” Tommy Hancock, Editor in Chief and Partner in Pro Se stated, “is one of the first names people bring up when a discussion of New Pulp heroes starts. Barry struck such a necessary chord with the creation of Max and company, combining classic Pulp sensibilities with his love for the expansiveness comic books allowed with cast and such, and adding his own very unique twist to the mix. Pro Se is proud to be able to put its own unique touch on the early adventures of The Rook in these Special Edition collections from Reese Unlimited."

THE ROOK VOLUME 2-SPECIAL EDITION features the six original stories of the collection, all newly edited by David White, as well as an updated timeline of Reese’s shared universe in which he writes! The edition also includes a stunning new cover and accompanying brand new illustrations by award winning Pulp Artist George Sellas! With logo and cover design and print formatting by Sean Ali and ebook formatting by Russ Anderson, THE ROOK VOLUME 2-SPECIAL EDITION is the second from Pro Se in the SPECIAL EDITION series collecting the classic tales of Reese’s seminal creation!

THE ROOK VOLUME 2 – SPECIAL EDITION is now available at Amazon at http://tinyurl.com/d3ctcus, at Barnes and Noble at http://tinyurl.com/bq4ns9q and through Pro Se's own store at http://tinyurl.com/bpmtega for $18.00. Available via Kindle WITH INTERIOR ILLUSTRATIONS INCLUDED at http://tinyurl.com/cxxoblr and available at www.smashwords.com and via the Nook at http://tinyurl.com/bq4ns9q for $4.99!

Friday, May 17, 2013

AIRSHIP 27 presensts ALL STAR PULP COMICS # 2


OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

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

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Meet Cam Crowder, the Runty Little Ginger

Cam Crowder is an avid gamer, reader and guitar nut who's had fancies of writing since he was runty little ginger sitting on his grandfather's knee. Finally, he decided to do something about it and chase after his dream, like his grandfather always taught him to.

(He's also plotting to take over the world, but don't tell anybody!)

Tell us a bit about your latest work.

My upcoming project is called Revelations. It's the third and final book in the Broken Bloodline series, which follows a group of bad-a vampires (who don't sparkle) from a "minor" plot to wipe out their race, all the way to large-scale apocalypse-prevention. My plan is for the last book to be as explosive and exciting as possible, bringing every character arc to a nice, satisfying close before the series is done.

What are the themes and subjects you tend to revisit in your work?

The issues I tend to come back to are trust, betrayal, love, loyalty and brutality. There are others I touch on as well, but those are probably the biggest I deal with. Some, like trust, I don't openly dissect in my work, but instead I engrave the idea deep into the characters and let it show (if you're looking) in the way they act and interact with each other and the world around them. Personally, I think trust is one of the most important values human beings can hold onto, and who we trust kind of defines who we are.

What would be your dream project?

I've thought about that a few times over the past few years, and in all honesty, the only thing I can think of would be a list of authors I'd like to collaborate with, rather than a set project I'd like to work on. Dan Wells, Brandon Sanderson, Neil Gaiman and Peter J. Tomasi are a few I'd really like to work with in some capacity. Gaiman especially, I think, just because I get the feeling he'd challenge me to break out of my comfort zone and experiment more.

If you have any former project to do over to make it better, which one would it be, and what would you do?

I don't have an insanely large body of work to pull from, but what I have written, even given the chance to go back and fix some mistakes I've made, I'd probably leave it all alone. Not because I think it's perfect, but the opposite. No work is perfect, and sometimes what you think might be a flaw is something the reader is really drawn to.

What inspires you to write?

Living, breathing, walking, running, driving, hearing my fiance' say "I love you.", etc. Everything I do or see in life inspires me to some degree, I think. Music is a big factor as well; I can't tell you how many times the tone of a song I'm listening to has given me an idea for a story or character arc. All of that inevitably finds its way into my writing, no mater what, and I'm more than fine with that. If we try to hard to filter the things we go through and keep it from affecting our stories, our writing becomes stale and lifeless. I don't want that to happen to my work. I want it to be as alive as I am.

What writers have influenced your style and technique?

The biggest literary writer to influence me would have to be Robert Jordan. When I was fifteen and picked up The Eye of the World, it blew me away and completely changed the way I look at writing and Fantasy. It was after finishing that book, and I realized the way it had impacted me, it hit me that that was what I wanted to do. I wanted to make stories that take people on a crazy-fun ride, while at the same time maybe address things that challenge the way they think. That's the type of writing that's always appealed to me the most. Even if it's a point I don't agree with, I like it when a writer at least makes me stop and think about it. Beyond Robert Jordan, Jon Foreman (the most amazing songwriter alive today, in my opinion) has had a huge impact on the way I think and write. There are a lot of other writers that have influenced me to some degree; Joss Whedon had a hand in the way I write dialogue, Peter Tomasi influenced the way I go about character interaction, Brandon Sanderson gave me great ideas on world-building, and so on.

Where would you rank writing on the "Is it an art or it is a science continuum?" Why?

I'd say it's a pretty equal marriage. The ideas, the characters, the setting, all of the initial creation that goes into a work, I consider it straight art. Pinning all of those things down on a page, however, comes down to a bit of a science, like it or not. So I'd say the first half of your work is art and the second half is science.

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?

Once Broken Bloodline is done, I have three other major projects I want to do, the first will probably be a two-part series about a young man given superpowers against his will, and rather than using those powers for good, uses them to retaliate against the government who experimented on him, and eventually, believing he can run the world better himself, establishes a sort of totalitarian regime. It's kind sort of my version of a Superman gone horribly wrong and having to be brought down by the people closest to him that he had complete trust in. (See? There's that trust issue again, haha!)

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

[Link] 5 Lies Unpublished Writers Tell Themselves (and the Truths That Can Get Them Published)

by Matt Mikalatos

Writers tend to be creative in many areas of life, so it’s no surprise that we can get creative with the truth. Or, as my mother said, “You lie a lot.” This is especially tempting when we are debating why we aren’t published. Before I was a published author, I embraced a few cherished lies because they blunted the pain of rejection. But the road to publication required discarding these lies and facing reality. Here are five lies I believed before I was published:

1. THE RULES DON’T APPLY TO ME.

I write amazing first drafts. If there were a contest for first drafts, mine would win every time. So I told myself, “Writing is not rewriting.” Other people might have to do multiple drafts, but my first drafts are so solid I could publish them as-is. For years I believed this.

One day I did three drafts of an article, and it became my first published article. A solid first draft is not good enough to be published. All those “rules of writing” that you read in Writer’s Digest, on blogs, and in creative writings classes are rules because they are true most of the time. So if there are some rules that you think don’t apply to you, think again. It might be the rule preventing you from getting published.

2. AGENTS AND EDITORS HAVE IT IN FOR ME.

Ah, those blood-sucking agents and editors. I’m pretty sure they have meetings in a secret underground lair where they talk about how jealous they are of my writing skills and how they should team up to keep me from being published.

This is a lie that is so prevalent among unpublished writers that editors and agents have to go to psychologists so they can feel good about themselves again. I know one editor who calls herself “Dream Crusher” to assuage her pain. Here’s the truth: Editors and agents desperately want you to be good enough. They make a living by writers being publishable. If you’re getting rejected it’s because you still have work to do. either as a writer or as a marketer.

Continue reading: http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/5-lies-unpublished-writers-tell-themselves-and-the-truths-that-can-get-them-published?et_mid=617739&rid=232422756

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

[Link] What NOT to Do When Beginning Your Novel: Advice from Literary Agents

by Chuck Sambuchino

In a previous Writer Unboxed column, I discussed the value of starting your story strong and how an “inside-out” approach to narrative action can help your case. But just as important as knowing what to do when beginning your novel is knowing what not to do.

No one reads more prospective novel beginnings than literary agents. They’re the ones on the front lines — sifting through inboxes and slush piles. And they’re the ones who can tell us which Chapter 1 approaches are overused and cliche, as well as which techniques just plain don’t work. Below find a smattering of feedback from experienced literary agents on what they hate to see the first pages of a writer’s submission. Avoid these problems and tighten your submission!

FALSE BEGINNINGS

“I don’t like it when the main character dies at the end of Chapter 1. Why did I just spend all this time with this character? I feel cheated.”
- Cricket Freeman, The August Agency

“I dislike opening scenes that you think are real, then the protagonist wakes up. It makes me feel cheated.”
- Laurie McLean, Foreword Literary

IN SCIENCE FICTION

“A sci-fi novel that spends the first two pages describing the strange landscape.”
- Chip MacGregor, MacGregor Literary

PROLOGUES

“I’m not a fan of prologues, preferring to find myself in the midst of a moving plot on page 1 rather than being kept outside of it, or eased into it.”
- Michelle Andelman, Regal Literary

“Most agents hate prologues. Just make the first chapter relevant and well written.”
- Andrea Brown, Andrea Brown Literary Agency

“Prologues are usually a lazy way to give back-story chunks to the reader and can be handled with more finesse throughout the story. Damn the prologue, full speed ahead!”
- Laurie McLean, Foreword Literary

EXPOSITION/DESCRIPTION

“Perhaps my biggest pet peeve with an opening chapter is when an author features too much exposition – when they go beyond what is necessary for simply ‘setting the scene.’ I want to feel as if I’m in the hands of a master storyteller, and starting a story with long, flowery, overly-descriptive sentences (kind of like this one) makes the writer seem amateurish and the story contrived. Of course, an equally jarring beginning can be nearly as off-putting, and I hesitate to read on if I’m feeling disoriented by the fifth page. I enjoy when writers can find a good balance between exposition and mystery. Too much accounting always ruins the mystery of a novel, and the unknown is what propels us to read further.”
- Peter Miller, PMA Literary and Film Management

“The [adjective] [adjective] sun rose in the [adjective] [adjective] sky, shedding its [adjective] light across the [adjective] [adjective] [adjective] land.”
- Chip MacGregor, MacGregor Literary

“I dislike endless ‘laundry list’ character descriptions. For example: ‘She had eyes the color of a summer sky and long blonde hair that fell in ringlets past her shoulders. Her petite nose was the perfect size for her heart-shaped face. Her azure dress—with the empire waist and long, tight sleeves—sported tiny pearl buttons down the bodice. Ivory lace peeked out of the hem in front, blah, blah.’ Who cares! Work it into the story.”
- Laurie McLean, Foreword Literary

Continue reading: http://writerunboxed.com/2013/04/22/april/

Friday, May 10, 2013

PRO SE DEBUTS IMPRINT FEATURING NEW STORIES OF CLASSIC PULP


TO BE RELEASED IMMEDIATELY-

It isn’t often in the modern market that a Publisher gets the opportunity to work with the characters of a Pulp Writer from the Classic era of Pulp Fiction with the involvement of the author.  Pro Se Productions, a leading Publisher of cutting edge Genre Fiction both looking to the future and firmly rooted to the past, proudly announces the debut of a new imprint bringing new life to characters created by prolific Pulp Author Charles Boeckman!

“CHARLES BOECKMAN PRESENTS…” states Tommy Hancock, Partner in and Editor in Chief of Pro Se Productions, “came from the source itself, honestly.  Charles Boeckman, now 92 years old, was a writer of many stories back in the heyday of Pulp and beyond, mostly suspense/mystery and western tales.   Due to his publishing of a collection of his mystery stories, I became aware of his work and absolutely fell in love with the characters he created.  Not only were the stories taut and exciting, but the characters, all of them just appearing the one time, so many of them had series potential.  So, an email or three later to Charles and his wonderful wife, Patti, and I asked about his permission to have modern writers take on some of the characters he’d written into life.  He was enthusiastic and encouraging and now we have the debut of CHARLES BOECKMAN PRESENTS JOHNNY NICKLE!”

Originally appearing in Boeckman’s story, ‘Run, Cat, Run,’ Johnny Nickle was a trumpet player on the run from his own past.  And now, in CHARLES BOECKMAN PRESENTS JOHNNY NICKLE, this unlikely hero makes a return engagement to perform TWO exciting new hits.  NOTES IN THE FOG written by Richard White and THE DEVIL YOU KNOW authored by Brad Mengel push Johnny into mystery and out of it hopefully on a high note.

“This character,” Hancock explained, “is neat on several levels.  A sort of sub genre that is very popular among Pulp and Crime fans is that of the Musician Detective/Hero, usually a Jazz type, like Jack Webb’s Pete Kelly.  Mr. Boeckman’s work is replete with these sorts of characters and each one stands apart, no cardboard cutouts.  Johnny has an edge to him in the original story that both of our authors have maintained, utilizing the rich background Johnny has a trumpet player as well as his own personal background.  It’s even more wonderful that Mr. Boeckman is a professional Jazz Musician and band leader as well, so the original stories come with an authenticity that definitely influenced Richard and Brad.”

CHARLES BOECKMAN PRESENTS JOHNNY NICKLE features a fantastic cover by Adam Shaw as well as cover design and print formatting by Sean Ali and ebook formatting by Russ Anderson! Edited by David White, these two tales are your backstage pass to see Charles Boeckman’s Johnny Nickle tackle mystery and murder with a soundtrack that cooks with red hot women, ice cold killers, triple time thrills and smokin’ jazz!  From Pro Se Productions!

CHARLES BOECKMAN PRESENTS JOHNNY NICKLE is available from Pro Se’s own store at  http://tinyurl.com/c52g4cc and at Amazon at http://tinyurl.com/cz6s2q3 for $8.00!  Available for $2.99 for the Kindle at www.Amazon.com , the Nook at www.barnesandnoble.com, and in other formats at www.smashwords.com!

For more information concerning Pro Se Productions, go to www.pulpmachine.blogspot.com and www.prose-press.com.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

TCM Remembers Ray Harryhausen

Thanks, Ray, for making childhood last into old age. You've created more creators than any living person I can think of.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Love Free or Die seeks submissions


ATTN: PULP AUTHORS: A new, themed pulp (spicy romance) anthology market - details from http://cindimyersmarketnews.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/more-short-story-markets-ethnic-magazines/ (pays $50/story; 8,000 words max; deadline, July 31, 2013; story MUST be set in New Hampshire [USA]):

In the mood for New Hampshire Romance? The LOVE FREE OR DIE: Spicy Granite State Romances anthology is now open for submissions! Rick Brousssard’s NEW HAMPSHIRE PULP FICTION series continues with volume IV, devoted to romance. Guest Editor Elaine Isaak seeks a variety of love stories that will showcase the richness of relationships and explore the boundaries of New Hampshire. Stories may be up to 8000 words long, double-spaced, 12-point type, with the author’s contact information on the first page. Stories may be any sub-genre of romance–historical, paranormal, suspense, inspirational—as long as they feature a New Hampshire setting. Sexy stories are fine, but please no erotica. Submissions will be accepted until July 31, 2013, but submit early for your best chance. The book is planned for publication in February, 2014. Send your story as a .doc or .rtf format to: Hpulpromance@gmail.com For more details, go here:

http://lovefreeordie.wordpress.com/
http://lovefreeordie.wordpress.com/how-you-could-write-the-title-story/
http://lovefreeordie.wordpress.com/publication-specs/

Pays $50/story.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

The End Of The Comics World Is Nigh

New York Post writer Reed Tucker is on a mission to explain what’s wrong with the comics industry.

Did you miss the good news? According to ComiChron, comic book sales in 2012 were at their highest level in two decades. It was a good year, with funnybook publishing raking in some $715 million. Add that to the other mainstream media stories popping up (regrettably with a headline containing the word “Biff!”) about the rebounding market and the superhero’s growing presence in mainstream culture, and geeks should be popping the bubbly.

So why doesn’t it feel like a time to celebrate? Why does it feel like it’s one of the worst eras to be a reader since the days of The Clone Saga — at least when it comes to the big-two titles? Inflated prices, desperate reboots, an even greater flood of tie-ins, crossovers and other publishing gimmicks have become the order of the day.

Overall sales may be getting better (though when you take into account inflation, that’s debatable), but in the end, it hardly matters. Comic books long ago became a niche hobby reaching few outside the circle of hardcore Wednesday crowd. The frustrating thing is, DC and Marvel seem to have thrown in the towel on this point, and most everything they publish has become in service of that ever-narrowing crowd.

In Business 101, you learn that there are really only two ways to make more money as a company: You can sell to new customers, or you can squeeze more money from your existing customers. Increasing ARPU, they call it: average revenue per user.

The publishers (Marvel more-so than DC) seem to have decided that broadening the audience just ain’t gonna happen, so they’ve opted for the latter, raising prices and gambling that their current customers will shell out more money each month for an ever-expanding line of branded books or for big events that promise to break the Internet in half.

Do you like Batman? Well, you’re gonna love him in 13 other monthly books. Or, were you moved when that one character actually died back in the 1980s? Well, we’ve got a boatload of shocking new deaths for characters that will definitely not be resurrected in six months with some plot fudge involving a time gun.

So far the strategy seems to have worked, in that it has helped the publishing market rebound slightly and allowed the big-two publishers to pump up their bottom lines. But these are most likely only short-term gains. This is not the way to build an audience for the long-term, and this is certainly not the way to ensure that comic books exist as anything other than a niche hobby.

Sales are supposedly up, but anecdotally, it sure seems like a lot of long-time readers are fleeing the pastime. “I love me some comics, but I finally had to quit this addiction,” wrote one commenter recently on Ain’t It Cool News, whose opinion was quickly echoed by others.

Now is the time to fix it, lest it goes the way or the dodo or the pet rock. A few decades from now, a kid will find a dusty copy of The Weird #3 in grandpa’s attic and wonder what the hell it is.

If someone were to put me in charge of DC or Marvel for one day – Anyone? Anyone? – here’s what I’d do.

Continue reading: http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/05/06/the-end-of-the-comics-world-is-nigh/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

Monday, May 6, 2013

Pro Se Press announces new submissions at the Pro Se Open!


The Pro Se Open is a list of Anthologies that Pro Se plans to do in the future. This is an open call on all the books listed in the Open, that is anyone can submit a story for any of the books in the list. For some of the anthologies, there is no deadline essentially, that is until all the slots open in any given book are filled. However, some will have deadlines attached and these will be noted by each individual title.

The Process will be as follows-

1. An upcoming Anthology is listed in the Pro Se Open.

2. Submissions are accepted (a 2-3 paragraph proposal for the story and at least a two page writing sample if you are a new writer submitting to Pro Se)

3. When the slots for the collection are all filled, a deadline for story completion will be set of approximately ninety days from the closing of the anthology. This will give writers time to complete their tales, artists time to do covers, etc.

Even though the deadline will be 2-3 months out once a book is closed, Editors assigned to these projects will follow up, monitor, and make sure work is being done. Steps will be taken to move the anthology along as planned if work is not being done in a timely manner. This means, however, that until all the slots are filled on an anthology in The Pro Se Open, it will remain open, but it is Pro Se's commitment that once all the works are in for a particular collection, that that collection move into high gear toward publication, regardless of current publishing schedule.

The Pro Se Open will be updated periodically as to adding new collections and removing ones that have been filled.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE ANTHOLOGIES LISTED BELOW MAY NOT PUBLISH UNTIL 2014 UNLESS THEY FILL QUICKLY.

New Anthologies to the Pro Se Open are as Follows-

ONCE UPON A SIX GUN- Jesse James and the Three Bears… The Little Gunfighter….The Sheriff and the Pea… Little Billy the Kid…Get the picture? Blend REAL western characters in with ACTUAL fairy tales, we don’t care what country the tale comes from, but it must be authentic and it must include a real Western cowboy type. These are not retellings in a Western setting….We want Fairy Tales meets Cowboys! 10,000 word stories, 3 slots open. TWO STORIES SUBMITTED/APPROVED, ONE MORE SLOT OPEN

PULPTERNATIVE!- This is your chance to write Pulpy tales based in completely alternate histories! Have Julius Caesar discover America. Have a milk truck run over Hitler when he’s three. Have Montezuma take over most of the known world. Whatever you want to have happen that isn’t what our history says it is, do so…but here’s the rule…These have to be clearly Pulp tales. No grand philosophizing or comment on society today (unless you can slip it into a pulp cover and get it past us), just pure grade Pulp in histories that might have happened. 10,000 word stories, 3 slots open.

THE DAME DID IT- This is an anthology aimed at Writers interested in the Hard Boiled and/or the Noir. Time period and setting do not matter, but these stories must be two fisted, gun shooting hard core action with one other rule. The Hero and/or the Villain must be female. In other words either the Dame solves it or She is the source of the crime/problem. And no gals playing second fiddle to the male hero or villain either. A woman must take center stage as either the protagonist, antagonist, or both. 10,000 word stories, 3 slots open.

For more info, visit prosepulp.com or prose-press.com.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Happy Birthday to me!

The old writer man turns 45 today, and I feel like I've earned every one of those years. Thanks to all my readers for your support, and I look forward to at least 45 more years together with you!

Not nearly enough candles... not by a long shot!