Plexico Brings Military SF/Space Opera to the world of New Pulp!

THE SHATTERING: LORDS OF FIRE

Plexico Brings Military SF/Space Opera to the world of New Pulp!

Stripped of his authority by the Emperor of Mankind and assigned to duty in deepest space for failing to prevent the greatest robbery in history, former Colonel Ezekial Tamerlane believes his career as a soldier is over.  But strange forces are at work, urging the Emperor to set out on a journey fraught with dangers into a nightmare realm a universe away from our own; and Tamerlane, like it or not, is going along for the ride.  What he and his high-tech super-soldiers find along the way will shake the Empire to its very foundations, and unleash a crisis of galactic proportions that not all the armies in creation can hold back...

"Plexico is the master of space opera." --Pulp Fiction Reviews

LORDS OF FIRE begins a new galaxy-shattering adventure from the author of HAWK: HAND OF THE MACHINE and LUCIAN: DARK GOD’S HOMECOMING, and bridges the divide between those two novels and universes.  Here we see the fallout from the war of the gods in LUCIAN, and the growing crisis that will lead to the creation of Hawk and the other Hands of the Machine.  Futuristic armies clash, godlike beings manipulate empires, and the gateway to the Underverse of the Below is reopened, unleashing slavering demonic hordes upon an unsuspecting galaxy!

“I wanted this book to kick off the new “Shattering” saga with a bang—with action from start to finish,” says Plexico of LORDS OF FIRE, “and that’s exactly what it does.  I have no doubt that my loyal cadre of longtime readers will enjoy it, and I’m confident it will appeal to a new readership of bold Military SF enthusiasts who like a mash-up of high-tech combat and supernatural menaces in the vein of the Warhammer 40,000 books.”

THE SHATTERING, LEGION I: LORDS OF FIRE is a $15.95, 6x9 format trade paperback from White Rocket Books.
316 pages.
ISBN-13:  978-0-61575-419-2     ISBN-10:   0-61575-419-8   (6x9” Trade Paperback)
On Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Legion-Volume-Van-Allen-Plexico/dp/0615754198

[Link] Outlining in Reverse

by Aaron Hamburger

In my experience, one of the surest ways to kill the creative energy of a work of fiction at its inception is with an outline. The very word takes me back to fourth-grade English class, with all those confusing Roman numerals and capital letters.

During my early years as a writer I dutifully worked with the outlines of my youth. However, the longer I wrote, the more loose the structure of those outlines became. The numbers and letters gradually transformed into bulleted key words or bolded phrases, little Hansel and Gretel bread crumbs I left for myself to find and expand during revision. Later on, I wrote in stages, first blocking out the general parameters of my piece, then going back to fill in the details. It’s much the same way a figure sculptor begins by carving into a hunk of raw clay with broad strokes to determine the proportions of the limbs before going into muscles, veins and fingernails.

Over the course of my 17-year writing career, I began to give up on outlining — that is, before I write. I’ve come to prefer a more organic approach to creation, first laying out my raw material on the page, then searching for possible patterns that might emerge. But now, after I’ve completed a first draft, I compose an outline. I’ve found that this is the surest way to make sense of the work. I originally thought I was a genius for having invented reverse outlining, but I’ve since learned that many writers do this in some form or another.

Continue reading: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/21/outlining-in-reverse/

MONSTER EARTH Has Arrived!

Contact: James Palmer
palmerwriter@yahoo.com
www.mechanoidpress.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MONSTER EARTH Has Arrived!

Atlanta, GA—Mechanoid Press, a new New Pulp publisher, is pleased to announce the publication of their first anthology, MONSTER EARTH!

Welcome to a world where the Cold War was fought not with the threat of nuclear destruction, but with Giant Monsters.

Watch as the denizens of this Earth that might have been learn to harness the power of these legendary creatures for good and ill. In these seven tales you'll witness first hand as…

--A young boy learns the value of sacrifice when the Japanese use a giant monster to attack Pearl Harbor…

--An Inuit confronts his heritage to harness a frightening creature of the Great White North…

--A false guru's greed endangers 1960s Boston…

All this and more await you in the pages of MONSTER EARTH!

Join editors James Palmer (Slow Djinn), Jim Beard (Sgt. Janus, Spirit-Breaker) and some of the most talented voices in New Pulp, including Nancy Hansen (Prophecy's Gambit), Edward M. Erdelac (The Merkabah Rider series), and I.A. Watson (Blackthorn: Dynasty of Mars) as they take you on a guided tour of a frightening vision of Earth…

MONSTER EARTH!

Monster Earth is an original giant monster anthology containing almost 75,000 words of monster mayhem.

MONSTER EARTH harkens back to the classic giant monsters of yesteryear like Godzilla, Mothra, Gamera, and King Kong, while focusing on the human element and what it would be like to live in such a world where giant monsters terrorize the Earth.

“There have been a few other giant monster anthologies over the years,” says Palmer. “But our book is going to be a bit different. It has a unifying concept, as well as a solid pulp style of storytelling.”

Developed by MONSTER EARTH co-editor Jim Beard (writer, Captain Action and the Riddle of the Glowing Men), each story in the book takes place in a different decade of the 20th century, which leads to a Cold War fought with giant monsters rather than the threat of nuclear weapons.

“I really wanted all the stories to have an underlying thread that weaves between all the stories, and Jim really came up with a winner.”

The stories in MONSTER EARTH have a strong human angle as well.

“Focusing in on the human beings living in this world is important to me,” says Palmer. “The monsters are like forces of nature, with the humans trying to control them. But don’t worry, these aren’t just regular human interest stories with a monster thrown in for window dressing. There are plenty of great monster battles and more than enough citywide destruction to please the most discerning kaiju fan – and anyone who loves a good tale.

The book sports an awesome cover by Eric Johns inspired by the American release of the Godzilla film Destroy All Monsters.

MONSTER EARTH is available in print via Createspace and Amazon. It is also available as an e-book from Kindle and Smashwords.

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

ALL PULP TAKES ON THE NEW PULP BESTSELLER LIST!

All Pulp endeavors to bring Fans of Pulp of All Types News, Reviews, and more about the medium/genres/style/method of storytelling we all love.   We are proud to announce that not only will we be doing just that, especially for fans of New Pulp, with the addition of a new weekly feature, but this feature is one that has its own special impact on the New Pulp field and was developed and started by one of New Pulp’s best creators!

Barry Reese, veteran Pulp Author known for The Rook, Lazarus Gray, and many other characters and stories, began a compilation of best selling New Pulp titles based on Amazon rankings in October, 2011.  Every Monday, Barry posted the top ten best sellers from various New Pulp companies on his blog and various pages, sites, and blogs picked it up.   Very quickly, The New Pulp Best Seller List became a weekly standard and provided many titles with more publicity, a boost in sales, and a hallowed place in the New Pulp world.

Due to other commitments and demands on his time, Barry has decided that he will no longer be compiling and posting the New Pulp Best Seller List.  Recognizing, however, the impact his endeavors have had and the importance placed on the list, Barry asked All Pulp if it would be a project that we would take on and continue, giving All Pulp the ability to make adjustments and changes if we saw fit.

All Pulp is proud to announce that beginning the Monday, February 4, 2013, The New Pulp Best Seller List, created and initiated by Barry Reese, will become a regular Monday feature on our site.  All Pulp will use the same figures that Barry has used, those being the Amazon sales ratings as they appear each Monday morning.  Although there will be some changes to Barry’s original rules, in essence, All Pulp will endeavor to continue the work Barry has done for over a year and to spotlight the current sales trends, taken with Barry’s grain of salt of course, of New Pulp titles.

"I loved doing the list,” Barry stated, “and I appreciate that it seemed to add something to the New Pulp community for many people. In the end, the weekly time commitment just became too much. I'm glad to see that the list is going to live on in another form and I'll be checking it out each time, just like everyone else!"

Stay tuned to All Pulp for other announcements concerning the New Pulp Best Seller List, including possible expansions and ways Publishers and creators can make sure their books get noticed!

Mothership: Tales from Afrofuturism and Beyond looking for submissions!

When we look up at the night sky, space is black as far as the eye can see. Yet, when we read novels about it or watch something on TV or in the movie theater, it is white beyond all comprehension. With this collection, we hope to give space some much needed ... color, shall we say (and other genres, of course).

A call for Submissions:

Co-editors Bill Campbell and Edward Austin Hall seek donated submissions for the first in a series of anthologies comprising original and reprinted genre material by, for, and/or about persons of color.

The genres in question include (but are not limited to) science fiction, fantasy, horror, slipstream, weird fiction, and speculative fiction.

Length requirements range from microfiction/flash fiction (approximately 100 words to 450 words) to novelette (7,500 to 17,500 words).

Continue reading: http://www.mothershipconnect.com/index.html

THE MASKED MANHUNTER OF THE SKIES RETURNS!

AVAILABLE NOW IN PRINT! 

 Pro Se Productions, a leader in Genre Fiction and New Pulp adventures, proudly announces the long awaited newest volume of its Pulp Obscura line!  THE NEW ADVENTURES OF THE GRIFFON!

 

Pulp Obscura, an imprint of Pro Se Productions in conjunction with Altus Press, brings yet another rare and classic Pulp Character back to life from Pulp's Golden Era! Kerry Keen is a young millionaire playboy by day to hide his nocturnal adventures as a costumed airborne crime fighter! From a secret underground hangar on his Long Island estate in the Graylands, The Griffon takes to the skies in the Black Bullet, his supercharged and heavily armed seaplane on missions of justice and vengeance!  

The Griffon was created by Arch Whitehouse and appeared in Flying Aces MAgazine, his adventures beginning in the June 1935 issue.  

These new tales take Kerry and his companions, Barney O'Dare and Barbara "Pebbles" Colony back into the skies for six terrific flights of danger and intrigue!

This stunning collection features an incredible cover by Mike Fyles as well as fantastic format and design by Sean Ali! Six Tales of Action, Excitement, Mystery and Amazing Arial Adventure take flight in this collection from writers Van Allen Plexico, Chuck Miller, Phil Bledsoe, S. E. Dogaru, Don Thomas and R. P. Steeves! 

 

Beware THE VENGEANCE OF THE VIPER!  Fight alongside The Griffon against THE DEVIL AND THE BLOODY BARONESS!  Fly into the HELL ABOVE US!  Encounter TERROR OVER THE PACIFIC!  Solve THE CASE OF THE DANGEROUS DIRIGIBLE! Uncover THE CLOCKWORK PLAN OF HERR DROSSELMEYER!  All in THE NEW ADVENTURES OF THE GRIFFON! Climb into the cockpit of the Black Bullet with Kerry Keen and fly off into THE NEW ADVENTURES OF THE GRIFFON from PULP OBSCURA!

Get your print copy today from Amazon at http://tinyurl.com/asmx9ew or from Pro Se's own Createspace store at http://tinyurl.com/aqzjqd3 for $15.00!  Coming soon for your Kindle, Nook, and Ebook Readers!

For more from Pro Se-www.prosepulp.com!  

For The Complete Adventures of the Griffon Volume 1 Reprints from Altus, go HERE!  And Volume 2 HERE!

HOLMES RETURNS!

Airship 27 Productions proudly announces the release of the fourth volume in its most successful anthology series to date; SHERLOCK HOLMES – CONSULTING DETECTIVE.  “These are the books our fans keeping demanding more of,” reported Ron Fortier, Managing Editor of Airship 27.  “Readers around the world just can’t seem to get enough of the Great Detective.  Considering the popularity of shows such as SHERLOCK on BBC and ELEMENTARY on NBC, it’s clearly obvious that the crime solving team of Holmes and Dr. Watson are still as popular as ever.”

The time and place, Victorian England on the cusp of a new century where the marvels of science will spur the Industrial Revolution to new heights of cultural wonder. And yet amidst this societal upheaval, the dark elements of human kind continue to worm their way through the streets of London and its surrounding countryside.  Murder and mayhem remain and thus the work of Sherlock Holmes continues; his powers of deductive reasoning the crucial bulwark to stem this tide of villainy.

Here are five new adventures of Holmes and Dr.Watson written in the traditional style of his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.  Writers I.A. Watson, Aaron Smith, Bradley H. Sinor, Bill Thinnes and Andrew Salmon deliver a quintet of truly memorable cases to challenge the famous crime fighting duo.  From the murder of a man who collects clockwork automatons to the theft of a valued Japanese sword, our heroes are once again called into action confronting a diverse set of mysteries guaranteed to entice the world’s greatest Consulting Detective.

Fortier relishes the debut of this new volume considering the overwhelming acclaim of the first three in the series.  “Amongst those books were four Pulp Factory Award winners,” he recalls happily.  “Two for Best Pulp Short Story of the Year, one for Best Pulp Cover and another for Best Interior Artwork.  The literary and artistic bars for this series have been set extremely high and we would have it no other way.”

The Pulp Factory Awards denoting the best pulp story and art from the previous year are voted on by the members of the Pulp Factory Yahoo Group and presented to the winners each year at the Windy City Paper & Pulp Show.

Sporting a cover by Chad Hardin with interior illustrations and design by Rob Davis, the

fourth volume in this bestselling series also features a fascinating essay, “The Mystery of

Mr. Holmes,” by I.A. Watson.  Here is grand adventure as Sherlock Homes fans around

the world have come to expect from Airship 27 Productions. 

 

PULP FICTION FOR A NEW GENERATION! 

 

Now Available at Create Space – (https://www.createspace.com/4137813)

At the Airship 27 Website – (http://robmdavis.com/Airship27Hangar/index.airshipHangar.html)

At Amazon & Kindle within a week.

Then at Indy Planet (http://indyplanet.com/store/)

PULP ARK ROOM RATE EXTENDED!

www.pulpark.blogspot.com

Pulp Ark 2013, The leading Pulp Culture Convention in the South will be held in Springdale, Arkansas April 26-28, 2013 at the Holiday Inn Springdale Hotel and Convention Center in Springdale, Arkansas, 1500 South 48th Street, phone number- 1-479-751-8300. For a peek at the venue, click HERE!

"Pulp," Tommy Hancock, Pulp Ark Organizer and Partner in Pro Se Productions, the company sponsoring Pulp Ark, "is a marvelous, massively diverse field...a style that has transcended its origins in the early 20th Century in cheaply printed magazines and found its way into every medium available to modern fans. Classic characters and stories are finding new life with readers and enthusiasts today and new tales centered around original characters are exploding onto the scene as well. This year, Pulp Ark 2013 will celebrate the variety that is Pulp in many ways. Comics, Film, Audio Drama, Costumes, Books, Performances, and More! All at Pulp Ark 2013!"

Any and all who plan to attend Pulp Ark 2013 and want to take advantage of the Special Pulp Ark rate of $84.00 a night. To reserver your room online, please click HERE!

PULP ARK 2013-Springdale, Arkansas! For further information, go to www.prosepulp.com or contact Hancock at 870-834-4022 and/or proseproductions@earthlink.net.

[Link] More on Characters & Plot

by Jeff Sherwood

Earlier this week I was perusing my usual FaceBook pages and I came across a post asking about characters and plot. They wanted to know if the two are tied to each other or if one is more important than the other. The person also asked how are both developed. This really got me thinking, am I giving proper attention to my characters and my plot? What is the right amount of attention for my characters and my plot?

I first thought about the relationship between characters and plot. I decided the two are intricately woven together. You simply cannot have one without the other. Things are going to happen in a story that affects your character. These affects will change what the character believes and feels. These affects will also change how the character acts, which leads back to the story. How the character acts will affect the plot and could change the direction of the story.

Continue reading: http://fifthwood.blogspot.com/2013/01/earlier-this-week-i-was-perusing-my.html

[Link] Building Your Author Platform in 10 Hours a Week (Including Writing Time!)

by Chris Robley

What is an author platform?

The “author platform” is a fancy buzzword folks in the book business use to talk about an author’s fan engagement, their social media and web presence, the size and dedication of their readership, and their connectedness to other authors, bloggers, critics, agents, publicists, publishers, etc.

By building your author platform BEFORE your next book launch, you’ll be able to harness the power of all those potential buyers, all those industry contacts, and your entire web community to increase your chances of success. After all, the only thing worse than not publishing your book is to publish it and get ignored entirely.

So how do you build your author platform?

One day at a time, of course. Just like writing, building an author platform is hard work; it takes daily dedication and organization. But the benefit of that labor is your writing will actually have an audience!

For the purposes of this article, I’m going to assume a few things about you (if any of these assumptions are incorrect, adjust accordingly):

• You are not a full-time author yet, but you’re building towards it (i.e. you still have a day job)
• You have other personal or family commitments that prevent you from spending every waking hour on your writing goal
• You are able to set aside 2 hours a day (M-F) for your writing and platform-building work

Only Monday to Friday? Well, at times the drudgery of this platform-building is gonna feel like a “real” job — so you deserve a weekend. If you can sneak in a few extra hours to write on Saturday or Sunday, that’s great, but leave the author platform stuff for the workweek.

Your weekly writing and platform-building schedule

A few notes before you start building your author platform...

Continue reading: http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/01/building-your-author-platform-in-10-hours-a-week/

Frontier is here!

Author Bobby Nash’s newest BEN Books release, FRONTIER, a collection of pulpy sci fi and space opera themed stories is now available as an ebook for Kindle (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B0FZ9MI) and Nook (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/frontier-bobby-nash/1114134017?ean=2940015992618). It is also as a paperback from BEN Books direct (https://www.createspace.com/4122999). Paperbacks will be available from Amazon and Barnes and Noble within a week.

About Frontier:

Frontier collects 9 sci fi short stories from Bobby Nash, author of Earthstrike Agenda, Evil Ways, and Deadly Games! Some of the rare tales presented in Frontier are reprints and others are in print there for the first time. The stories that make up Frontier happen on Earth, on alien planets, and in the deepest recesses of space. There’s action, adventure, horror, and even a little romance.

Stories included in Frontier:

SAMARITAN

In deepest space, a research vessel rescues a survivor who asks to be returned home. The catch: her planet lies at the center of a black hole.

DREAMWEAVER

Nathanial “Doc” Dresden wakes up in space, free floating above the moon. But he is not alone.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE MONSTERS GONE?

Nathanial “Doc” Dresden and his team investigate bizarre happenings. 

MIDWAY

A meteor storm damages Midway station, a museum storage facility and frees an ancient creature from its icy tomb.

JUST ANOTHER SATURDAY ON OUTPOST 9

When war breaks out between neighboring worlds, the Outpost 9 space station is caught in the crossfire. Dr. Erin Moonshadow tries to save lives as chaos reigns around her.

THE DROP

War. Ground troops are dispatched. Dropped from their starship, the troop transport is attacked and one of the soldiers is lost. Then things get strange.

NIGHTMARE IN AMBER

Are a young man’s dreams of an interstellar war a product of his imagination or a prophecy of things to come?

THE GARDEN

A survey crew discovers a veritable Garden of Eden. Is this paradise or is there a serpent in hiding, waiting to strike?

A JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY

A one-page story that was doubled as an advertisement for a convention where Bobby was a guest. A fun experiment.

Illustrations in Frontier are by Bobby Nash and Jeff Austin (http://pencilbrushblog.blogspot.com/)

The author shares the contents of the book as well as an essay on the making of the book on his website. You can read Bobby’s thoughts on Frontier at http://ben-books.blogspot.com/2013/01/what-lurks-beyond-frontier.html.

Learn more about Bobby and hiw books at www.bobbynash.com

Learn more about BEN Books at http://BEN-Books.blogspot.com

Get your free Frontier ebook AuthorGraph at www.authorgraph.com/authors/bobbynash

If you wish to be removed from Bobby Nash's mailing list, please send an email to bobby@bobbynash.com

Marrying Plot and Character

Do you, Plot, take Character to be
your lawfully wedded concept?

We've long held that a story is that baby produced when plot and character get together and raise a family. 

Think of all the great stories you remember vividly. Now think about why you remember them so well. Chances are it's because the characters and the plots are a perfect mess of (overused word alert) synergy, or as we like to think of it, a marriage. 

But how does one make that marriage work? We went to a few of our favorite creators to find out.

How important to you are plot and character? Do you develop them separately or simultaneously as you work on a story?

James Ritchey III: Character informs plot, plot strengthens character -- if it doesn't you're doing it wrong. I start out with backstory strong enough to make the characters effectively REAL PEOPLE, who will tell me how they react. Being a keen observer of human behavior helps fill that in. Plot should put a notable rise in the anxiety levels of a protagonist. People aren't math.

Reginald Eric Brown II: Plot and characters are the story to me! Characters drive the plot. As I work out a potential story the main characters come in before the plot is really hashed out. The plot is a series of key events (usually with a start, middle and end in mind) with not much threading them together.

Selah Janel: They're both crucial to an interesting story. You have to care about the people involved in what's going on, but you also want to see them doing something fascinating. Plot makes characters react in ways that are unique unto themselves, and in turn those reactions can further the plot. They really go hand in hand.

Bobby Nash: Character is usually more important to me because I have to know the character to understand how he or she will react to the plot I place the character in the middle of to tell the story. Not all characters will handle situations the same way so I have to know my characters first.

Lee Houston Jr.: Plot and characters are very important, because they're the two main components of any good writing. Your characters should be as close to "real life" and believable as possible, despite whether they're superheroes, private detectives in the far flung future, or whatever. Plot is the story itself, be it a fantastic adventure, suspenseful mystery, or something in between. And while I don't have a specific style of developing either side, you want to reach a point where readers will wonder what their favorite creations of yours are up to and how they will react to a particular situation, survive the latest escapade, etc. 

Save these for cookies, not for stories.

Erwin K. Roberts: With a new character, I'd say development would be hand in hand with the plot. Unless I had long term plans for the character, then I might tweak the plot to fit the character's road map.

With an established character plot should not / must not drive major changes to the character. For example, I could put Dr. Watson on a horse and hand him a blazing six-shooter because the story was set in Deadwood. That worked well. Dr. Watson galloping thru central London like Dennis Weaver's McCloud character, is probably not going to work out well.

What are the dangers of using a "put character tab A in plot slot B" type of plotting? What are the advantages?

James Ritchey III: 'Cardboard' is the outcome. No advantages. You start with an outline, but if Johnny doesn't make you stop and change it if it's not fitting with Johnny's personality and reaction, it's a routine--a D&D session--not an intelligent plot.

Reginald Eric Brown II: One danger is you'd probably have a lot of characters doing things out of character. But if you are just trying to drive the plot forward and the action itself is something 'anyone' would do...who knows? I think most actions should be pretty character specific (at least how the character does it).
Selah Janel: For me, I feel like over-outlining or formula writing reduces the chance of discovering some excellent subplots or really cool possibilities. Some of my stronger stories or more favorite sections came about because what the characters were doing suddenly gave me new ideas. You can't rule out that sudden line or activity that might see trivial, but could lead to some really amazing plot twists. You really reduce the opportunity to do new things or gain reader empathy if you view your characters as just a type to stick in at some point of the plot to move it along. However, for some people I do realize that it keeps them moving ahead, and for certain genres I can see the benefit of it, especially if the story is shorter. If the story needs a brisk, narrative style, then I can see where it would be beneficial, maybe even favorable.

Bobby Nash: I’d say that method can lead to a big danger in possibly having cookie cutter characters. Now, that’s not to say there aren’t some really talented writers out there that could probably take this scenario and make it sing. Of course, the flip side of that is that if you know your characters, you can put character A in Plot Slot B and get one type of story. You can then drop Character B in the same plot slot and have a completely different story.

Not so fleshy, are they?

Lee Houston Jr.: Hollywood, especially television, does this all the time. How many characters suddenly get rich, only to discover that money can't buy happiness? Or finally discover true love, despite the fact they're currently with someone else?

The only true "advantage" is that it gives the writer a launching pad, plot-wise, for a story. But since every character should be and hopefully is different, this should create a different reaction/story every time.

Erwin K. Roberts: During the "let's get a bigger body count than Mack Bolan" days of the 1970's and early 1980's Leisure Books had a sister paperback imprint whose name escapes me at the moment. Both imprints had the exact same series characters. You know, the Bolan clone, the Dirty-Harry-Is-A-Wimp cop, and so on. And mostly the same guys wrote for both series. That ended up, thanks to lax editors, with the Marksman being sometimes called the Sharpshooter. And vice-versa.

Some entries in both tough cop series were written by a young Nelson DeMille. A few years ago someone brought out an anthology of his contributions to both series. The brief introduction made it clear that the only editorial changes involved a search and replace so that the cop was called "Keller" in all the stories.

How important is it to you that you couldn't replace a character with another without significantly changing the plot?

James Ritchey III: The 'hero's journey' guy or gal will behave one way, the 'Thomas Covenant'-type with dismal personal integrity will behave another. I cross that road when my chicken has hatched.

Reginald Eric Brown II: If the mechanisms for the story could allow for swapping characters without much of an explanation (i.e. a cop story: the protagonist just gets assigned a new partner) but otherwise..if the structure isn't there in the story itself it may seem jarring. But the writer could be going for jarring.

Selah Janel: It's very important to me that all my characters are different. Just like as people, we're unique in the story of our lives, I want my characters are like that in books. I want there to be options of different types of people for readers to connect or feel empathy for. I'm not into cranking out "the love interest" "the villain" "the tragic hero with a slight problem but it's okay because he's secretly Cthulhu's offspring." That works for a while, but eventually people want to know what drives the characters...the best stories make you wonder what a character is doing outside of the plot of the book. Each character has their own contributions, but those spring from who they are, not that they happen to fill a certain role.

But I really love the old bird!

Bobby Nash: Again, it all comes down to character. If the character of Bobby Nash was in a story and was taken out and replaced by the character of Sean Taylor, the characters would not approach the problem they same way so the story would be different depending on which character used. [And now, dammit, I have the urge to write the adventures of Bobby Nash and Sean Taylor. :) ]

Lee Houston Jr.: Very. Granted, the basic personality types (like heroes versus villains) will always follow similar ethics within their respective moral codes (good versus evil), but if every character reacted exactly the same to any given situation, the literary world would be pretty boring. It's up to the writer to avoid the cliches, even if they are using a "cookie cutter plot" for some reason.

Erwin K. Roberts: For an ongoing series good plot is a good plot, unless it it completely tied into the hero's circle of friends, family and associates. Small things, like Doctor Octopus renting a room from Aunt May, can be left out if you have to move the story to Daredevil's title. Doc Ock engaged to Aunt May is a much bigger hurtle.

I have successfully transferred a plot originally intended for funny animals to a post 9-11 human hero. Sure, the tone changed quite a bit. And some characters did, too. But a five-hundred word synopsis of both stories would read much the same.

What techniques do you use to ensure that your plots grow our of your characters -- or perhaps the inverse, your characters grow out of you plot -- in a organic, natural way that benefits the overall story? 

James Ritchey III: An example: I'm working on a story right now about a kid murdered by crooked cops.This is an amazing kid, a dreamer, poor but talented--and literally the future hope for billions of people. This very important child's dreams are ended over seeing a drug dealer being gunned down and robbed, that he hated in the first place--and his life is ended by an authority figure given great responsibility and trust, but who is a terrible person. I go full-on 'Rube Goldberg'. The character are fully developed, the basic plot informed and a metaphor for every life being sacred. But it's a loose framework, with details readily mutable--patterns can emerge that enhance the message, and if I try to force it, it can stall--but it's never written in stone, and you get to go back. Just...BE PREPARED, This is the way I do it, WHEN I do it, True Believer.

Reginald Eric Brown II: I like to use character alignments when I think about my characters and how they interact. Character alignments come from geeky things like Dungeons & Dragons and other games. It is a short way to be clear about what a character would or wouldn't do. There are two categories: Lawful/Chaotic and Evil/Neutral/Good. There is also true neutral (as in neutral/neutral). ex: Leia is lawful-good. Han Solo is Chaotic-good. Palpatine is Lawful-evil.

Great for catching mice and story ideas.

Selah Janel: I start with a basic plot or idea of where I want the story to go. Usually I have a definitive ending place, but as I start to write and gain insights to the characters, I'm more than willing to let them 'contribute.' If I get a sudden idea about something they might say or do, even if it makes things meander away from the outline for a bit, I'll gladly incorporate it if it either helps develop the characters or makes the whole story more interesting. A person's life isn't just point a to point b to point c in a pre-planned manner, so I'm not going to ignore tangents and other ideas as I'm writing about characters, either.

Bobby Nash: I follow my characters and see what they do. Then I write it down. That is, of course, oversimplifying things, but I don’t have a formula that I use for everything I write so it’s difficult to explain. Certainly, starting out with a good knowledge base of who the characters are helps.

Lee Houston Jr.: I think of my characters as real people, and treat them as such. Each story is another look at their respective lives. While the reader may not have read all the previous stories in chronological order, I write from the perspective that the characters are continuing from having experienced all the previous events of their life, even if I don't reference any specific details of the past in the current project.

Kerlak annouces a story call for the new pirate story anthology!

A Tall Ship, A Star, and Plunder.

Story Call for the new pirate story anthology!

Get out your quill and parchment and give us your best. Following the success of many other anthologies at Dark Oak Press / Kerlak Publishing, we are swashbuckling our way into a new genre.

If you are not familiar with the history and literature associated with piracy, please take a look at what is current as well as what is classic, such as Robert Louis Stephenson's Treasure Island, to get an idea of what we are after. Don't limit yourself to classical, argh, Caribbean pirates as the history of piracy has been around as long as there have been ships plying the seas with anything that might be valuable enough to take by force. Piracy was already old when a young Julius Caesar was held hostage by pirates in the Mediterranean and will likely still be around when merchant vessels are traveling the galaxy with cargoes of potential plunder. Piracy is equally probable on other worlds and galaxies and could easily cross into a variety of genres be it steampunk, scifi, fantasy or what have you. Be inventive, but if you choose to place your story in an historical era, and I hope many of you do, be historically accurate. Also remember that the story must be primarily about pirates or piracy. Don't let the particular setting carry you away from the theme of the anthology.

Please do not make references to or use copyrighted characters from other known sources. We will only accept unpublished, original works, characters, and plots. Please keep the stories relatively clean.

We aren't looking for content that is gory, sexually explicit, or rife with expletives and profanity, think of pirates for all ages.

Due to the massive number of submissions, please pay very close attention to all the submission guidelines. Any submission with excessive formatting, spelling, grammatical, or editing issues will be disqualified as soon as the errors are evident.

Good luck, and may the wind be in your favor, blowing you toward good pickings.

Story Call Deadline: June 15, 2013
Please include on the front page of your manuscript:
Name (and pen name, if you desire)
Address
Phone Number
E-mail Address
Number of words (2,000 min. - 9,000 max.)
Short bio of 350 words or fewer.

Submissions should be made in standard, double-spaced, manuscript format, using only one font (preferably Times New Roman 12pt).

Stories are to be e-mailed to request@kerlakpublishing.com as a MS Word .doc or .rtf (rich text format) attachment.

See original posting at: http://kerlakpublishing.com/storycall.html

THIS MONSTER EARTH!

New Pulp Publisher, Mechanoid Press has announced that the new anthology, Monster Earth is now available on Kindle with other ebooks and a print version coming soon.

PRESS RELEASE:

Welcome to a world where the Cold War was fought not with the threat of nuclear destruction, but with Giant Monsters.

Watch as the denizens of this Earth that might have been learn to harness the power of these legendary creatures for good and ill. In these seven tales you'll witness first hand as…

--A young boy learns the value of sacrifice when the Japanese use a giant monster to attack Pearl Harbor…

--An Inuit confronts his heritage to harness a frightening creature of the Great White North…

--A false guru's greed endangers 1960s Boston…

All this and more await you in the pages of MONSTER EARTH!

Join editors James Palmer (Slow Djinn), Jim Beard (Sgt. Janus, Spirit-Breaker) and some of the most talented voices in New Pulp, including Nancy Hansen (Prophecy's Gambit), Edward M. Erdelac (The Merkabah Rider series), and I.A. Watson (Blackthorn: Dynasty of Mars) as they take you to frightening vision of Earth…

MONSTER EARTH!

Monster Earth is an original giant monster anthology containing almost 75,000 words of monster mayhem.

You can find Monster Earth on Kindle here.

About Monster Earth:
MONSTER EARTH harkens back to the classic giant monsters of yesteryear like Godzilla, Mothra, Gamera, and King Kong, while focusing on the human element and what it would be like to live in such a world where giant monsters terrorize the Earth.

“There have been a few other giant monster anthologies over the years,” says Palmer. “But our book is going to be a bit different. It has a unifying concept, as well as a solid pulp style of storytelling.”

Developed by MONSTER EARTH co-editor Jim Beard (writer, Captain Action and the Riddle of the Glowing Men), each story in the book takes place in a different decade of the 20th century, which leads to a Cold War fought with giant monsters rather than the threat of nuclear weapons.

“I really wanted all the stories to have an underlying thread that weaves between them all the stories, and Jim really came up with a winner.”

The stories in MONSTER EARTH have a strong human angle as well.

“Focusing in on the human beings living in this world is important to me,” says Palmer. “The monsters are like forces of nature, with the humans trying to control them. But don’t worry, these aren’t just regular human interest stories with a monster thrown in for window dressing. There are plenty of great monster battles and more than enough citywide destruction to please the most discerning kaiju fan – and anyone who loves a good tale.

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

[Link] 5 Common Synopsis Mistakes That Fiction Writers Make

Writing a synopsis for a novel is difficult work—no doubt about it. Writers, especially new ones, are prone to make synopsis mistakes. But don’t worry! We at Writer’s Relief have got your back. We read many, many synopses from the writers who submit their novels to our Review Board. And we’re happy to share a list of the most common synopsis problems we regularly see popping up in novel submissions.

Synopsis Mistakes: Don’t Make These Five Common Errors When Writing The Synopsis For Your Novel

Continue reading: http://www.writersrelief.com/blog/2013/01/5-common-synopsis-mistakes-that-fiction-writers-make/

The Best Graphic Novels Ever #9 -- V for Vendetta

9. V for Vendetta
by Alan Moore and David Lloyd
Published by Vertigo Comics

Yes, it's yet another Alan Moore book on the list. And while I don't think of myself as a huge Alan Moore fan, I do seem to have several of his books on this group of "the best ever," don't I? Oh well. Talent will out itself, I suppose.

I have to come clean and admit that I liked the movie too. And not just because a bald Natalie Portman was way cuter than I expected. Nope. It was V.

Regardless, the book runs circles around the movie. Period.

Subversive, this is another of Alan's works that plays fast and loose with what it means to be a hero in a world gone mad. What does a hero do when injustice masquerades as justice and anarchy is the best rule to follow? 

The Best Graphic Novels Ever #10 -- Maus

10. Maus
by Art Spiegelman
Published by Pantheon

Welcome to the Top Ten, after almost a month of counting down the best graphic novels of all time!

Topping off the top ten is Art Spiegelman's anthropomorphic historical biography Maus. The Holocaust re-envisioned with cats and mice. This is perhaps the most taught, most studied, most famous, and most important of all graphic novels.

Spiegelman's story is both universal and personal, focused not just on the life of his father but also on the idea of the legacy that history creates in the son whose father endured such a life. Maus is perhaps the truest example of a classic literary graphic novel we have in the medium.

Does it mean everyone will love it? By no means. Not everyone enjoys Faulkner, nor should they, and Maus may be overly cumbersome to readers more used to the monthly stylings of Superman and the Captain America (just like As I Lay Dying might be to the average reader of John Grisham). But that doesn't mean it's not worth the effort.

The Best Graphic Novels Ever #11 -- Bone

11. The Complete Bone
by Jeff Smith
Published by Cartoon Books

Wow. Bone. Fone Bone. Phoney Bone. Smiley Bone. Rose. Ted. Grandma. And of course, the Stupid, Stupid Rat Creatures. Aw. The memories.

While this is a collection of the entire run of Jeff Smith's amazing fantasy comic book series, I'm letting it count as a graphic novel in the same way that a 3-in-1 set of Lord of the Rings would count as a "novel."

With Bone, Jeff Smith redefined all-ages comic books in ways that the core mainstream publishers had forgotten. Rather than simply catering to a watered-down, kids-only version of what adults thought kids would and could read, he simply stuck to his guns (or magic spells) and told a fun story. Complete with epic battles, the pain of loss, danger, intrigue, and even a great cow race (which you have to see to believe), Bone has all the stuff required for both young and old imaginations.

I referenced Lord of the Rings earlier, and I believe Bone clearly falls into that same camp of classics, you know, the ones that can be read by adults and kids and enjoyed equally by both, along with such wonderful, imaginative works as The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, A Wrinkle in Time, and The Hobbit.

This is the graphic novel for people who insist they don't like comic books. It takes a rare reader to be able to start Boneand put it down unfinished, I think. And I also think that reader is lessened by the ability to do so.

FROM FANTASY AUTHOR NANCY HANSEN COMES PROPHECY’S GAMBIT!

FROM FANTASY AUTHOR NANCY HANSEN COMES PROPHECY’S GAMBIT—THE SEQUEL TO FORTUNE’S PAWN, HER DYNAMIC DEBUT NOVEL! 

Left to pick up the pieces of a life in upheaval after her harrowing adventures in FORTUNE’S PAWN, young Callie makes a disconcerting discovery: she is carrying the child of a clandestine and forbidden union. While the mundane existence of a barmaid in a frontier town holds its own challenges, the world around her is realigning in a most sinister and dangerous way. Calculating eyes, benevolent and malicious, are now turned in her direction; and Callie finds herself in the midst of ever-increasing intrigue to control her destiny. Will this headstrong and courageous young woman—who has within her the spark of life that could bring together a diverse legion of defenders—survive long enough to carry this pregnancy to term? Or will Callie forfeit her place in legend and history to protect the shameful secret of her unborn child’s heritage and unknowingly sacrifice everyone else’s hopes and dreams in the process? Find out in PROPHECY'S GAMBIT by Nancy Hansen-part of her Hansen's Way imprint from Pro Se Productions!

NOW AVAILABLE IN PRINT AT www.amazon.com! Ebook Coming Soon 

A writer of fantasy and adventure fiction for over 20 years, Nancy Hansen is the author of the novel FORTUNE’S PAWN, and anthologies TALES OF THE VAGABOND BARDS and THE HUNTRESS OF GREENWOOD— all available from Pro Se Press under her imprint Hansen’s Way. Her short stories have been featured in many issues of Pro Se Presents. She is also Assistant Editor and head cheerleader for the company. She has contributed stories to both Airship 27 and Mechanoid Press anthologies as well. Nancy currently resides in beautiful rural northeastern Connecticut with an eclectic cast of family members, and one very spoiled dog.

The Best Graphic Novels Ever #12 -- The Building

12. The Building
by Will Eisner
Published by W. W. Norton & Company

"Especially troubling to me was the callous removal of buildings. I felt that, somehow, they had a kind of soul … And I wonder what is left behind when a building is torn down." —Will Eisner, The Building

This quote from the book captures for me why the book is such an amazing piece of both writing and art. In the stories contained in this graphic novel (or collection of graphic short stories) cut straight to the soul of the building in question. It becomes an extension of the very people who live inside it and call it home. It returns the favor and helps to shape those who occupy it.

In short, it becomes a part of them as much as they become a part of it.

This is another of Eisner's masterpieces of storytelling, getting right to the heart of what makes common people tick, and it should be required reading for anyone who wants to write or draw comics.

The Best Graphic Novels Ever #13 -- Blankets

13. Blankets
by Craig Thompson
Published by Top Shelf Productions

Let's get back to the countdown after our little New Year's break. Up next is Craig Thompson's Blankets.

What can I say about this true graphic novel (perhaps the truest form of the format on this list) that hasn't already been said by Publisher's Weekly, Entertainment Weekly, Time, or the New York Times Book Review? Well, not much to be honest, but I will say this: Blankets is perhaps my favorite "biographical," slice of life comic book ever. Period.

Charming. Nostalgic. Beautiful. That's what it is.

ATTENTION REVIEWERS!

ATTENTION REVIEWERS! If you are a Reviewer for a Site, a Newspaper, a Magazine, or are a reviewer of books with your own blog, Pro Se Productions announces that SAVAGE NOIR by Greg Norgaard is now available for review! This omnibus features the complete Wild West adventures of Frank Savage, a man cut as rough and hard as the country around him! Presenting two previously novels self published by the author as well as a brand new, never before published short story, SAVAGE NOIR is the West like you've never seen it before!

Scheduled for release in early February, SAVAGE NOIR is now available to reviewers in .pdf format! If interested, please email proseproductions@earthlink.net or post here and a copy will be sent to you! Thanks in advance for being a part of the debut of SAVAGE NOIR!

A Pulpy New Year!

Kick some butt, Baby New Year!

by I.A. Watson

New Year is probably the most popular specific time of year for pulp fiction. That’s when Honest Jack Action huddles in the corner of a smoky bar, lost in booze and the past, almost oblivious of the classy dame shimmying towards him. It’s exactly when Dr Destructo intends to set off his Mindworm Devices to conquer the Earth. It’s when Vic Valiant has to chase the villain across the snowy rooftops while Big Ben tolls midnight and the fuses burn down around the Commissioner’s daughter.
 
Christmas is a competitor too, because it’s fun to juxtapose those warm log fires and yellow-lit interiors with the bleak blizzard outside, and dark deeds seem that much darker against a cosy yuletide backdrop. But even Christmas can’t match the pulpy power of the year ending and a new one starting for good or ill.
 
Most stories set on Earth either ignore the season or generalise. Maybe the weather had to be bad for plot reasons, or there’s a specific season for a pathetic fallacy; falling leaves are excellent for that, and so is frozen earth (especially round graves). But I’m hard pressed to think of any story that takes place on New Year’s Eve or at Christmas by accident.
 
That’s because fiction has to be more believable than real life, and because writers need to focus their readers on only those things relevant for the story they have to tell. In the same way that the hero doesn’t bump into a neighbour who’s on his way to the laundry and get into a chat about his maiden aunt’s lumbago unless it fiendishly turns out to be somehow plot-relevant in the end, so remarkable weather and notable times of day distract from the story and are thus omitted.
 
For example, how would “Farewell, My Lovely” been improved by Christmas trees? In what way would “The Problem at Thor Bridge” have been bettered by occurring at New Year? Any stories accidentally happening at Easter, Hallowe’en, or any solstice or equinox are simply impossible.
 
That’s because some holidays and some extreme weather forms are so distinctive that they have a narrative pull all of their own. New Year’s Eve can never be a neutral backdrop. The characters simply have to react to it or seem unrealistic. Unless the hero spends a moment with his old regrets or the villain is motivated by a burning resolution to wreak vengeance before the calendar turns, the time seems like a distraction, a nagging plot thread that doesn’t fit. If it’s New Year, or Christmas, or thunderstorming, or blizzarding, or a heatwave then it has to either be plot relevant or mood-setting. Literary convention insists on no less.
 
On the other hand, stories that do avail themselves of readers’ expectations of an intimate family Christmas or of the countdown to the next millennium have a powerful tool. The problem is it’s a much-used tool. If the writer wants to present a Christmas ghost story then the Ghost of Dickens Past peers over his shoulder. Any fictional teens who decide to spend a night making out in the old abandoned mansion on Hallowe’en must beware cliché as much as the mad old groundkeeper. And archvillains about to launch the New World Order as the year turns had better book their place in the rota early, because there’ll be a queue.
 
As 2013 approaches, we ignore the fact that our calendar is somewhat arbitrary and take the opportunity to reflect upon joys, sorrows, and sins past, upon achievements and failures, upon lost friends and precious memories. We’re also drawn to the future, to hopes or fears for the days ahead, to new resolutions, to changes that the coming days must mark. New Year is a birthday that the whole world shares, with similar celebrations and self-analysis. And so it is for our characters, with all the dramatic potential that offers. A writer’s challenge is to use the setting as skilfully as any other pulp trope – the driving rain, the teeming railway platform, the unrelenting desert heat, the funeral of a friend etc – and make that countdown… count.
 
Let the world tremble. The hours comes! 

Oh, and Happy New Year.