Friday, October 2, 2015

Rock and Roll Pulp/Noir Anthology Looking for Submissions

See, even Gene Autry gets it!
BEEN A LONG TIME: STORIES INSPIRED BY ROCK AND ROLL CLASSICS
A Pulp/Noir (yes, there’s a difference) Anthology
Edited by Sean Taylor (yep, your friendly, neighborhood blogmaster is editing a new book)

Theme:
I was driving home last night listening to some music, and it hit me that Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer" would be a great starting point for a 1950s jazz noir story. Poor musician has to sell his guitar while his girl works in a diner, all the while trying to salvage their strained relationship. Then they get caught up in a local kidnapping with ties to the mob (okay, it takes a turn there...).

Which only made my mind wander into this territory: What other great rock and roll songs would make equally great pulp or noir tales if recast to some time between the 1920s and 1960s? 

Details:
We’re looking for stories set in a historic noir or pulp mood and tone between the 1920s and 1960s. No fantasy. No sci-fi unless it’s clearly pulp or noir in tone (a la Blade Runner). Horror is fine as long as it doesn’t go too far into elements of the fantastic (hinted supernatural is fine, but don’t have imps and devils and monsters running around New York or Chicago; think a Lovecraftian story inspired by "Hotel California," for example).

Do not simply retell the story of the song. The song must serve as a “jumping off” point to create your story. If you have questions about what that means, just ask.

The key word here is CLASSIC. It must be a known song, no obscure indie “hits” only hipsters know. And we’re talking about rock and roll, not so underground, so alternative it doesn’t even sound like music anymore stuff. Deep cuts are welcome, as long as they’re from a classic album.

MOST IMPORTANT DETAIL: Do not quote the song lyrics in your title or your story. That would constitute copyright infringement. Each story will begin with a line that reads:

Inspired by Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer”

And each will close with a line that reads:

“Living on a Prayer” written by Desmond Child, Jon Bon Jovi, and Richard Sambora.
© Sony/ATV Tunes LLC, Aggressive Music, Bon Jovi Publishing, Universal Polygram Int. Publishing Inc., Polygram Int. Publishing Inc., Universal Polygram International Publishing.

Word Count:
We’re looking for a pretty solid 6,000 words per story.

Deadline:
March 31, 2016 for final draft versions of stories.
Proposed publishing date of June 1, 2016.

Payment:
Royalties will be paid to all contributors.

What to do if you’re interested:

1. Send your paragraph synopsis to staylor104@aol.com, and tell me clearly which song you’re using as inspiration.
2. That’s it. I’ll get back to you within a week to let you know if you’re in or if I need changes or alternate suggestions.

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