Blackthorn of Mars rides again!

Blackthorn, Princess Aria and Oglok ride again! A young man desperate to save his sister from the raiders who kidnapped her to slavery... An ancient undead released after half a millennium... Four sorcerous First Men who will kill half a world to keep their darkest secret... And three champions who will stand for Mars against horror and tyranny--or die trying! Join Earth General John Blackthorn, Princess Aria of Mars, Oglok the Mock-Man and an ever-expanding cast of rebels, monsters, magicians and villains battling to solve the mystery of the ancient Harmony Spires. From award-winning author, I. A. Watson comes a new novel in Van Allen Plexico’s Blackthorn universe, where magic and technology are one and Humanity must face its ultimate challenge.

Longtime denizens of the Pulp Factory may recall the multi-author SF setting put together by Van Plexico when we were all much younger. It's post-apocalyptic Mars by way of Kirby and Burroughs, and there was an anthology. Then Van made me do a novel. Then I wrote some weekly (or was it daily?) promotional shorts for the novel. Then the shorts became a novel. Then Van threw away his computer with it on (this is extreme editing). Now, much revised and again expanded, said novel has appeared to drag you back to the Red Planet where science and sorcery meet swords and swashbuckling.

Anyway, if your SF taste runs to matinee-cliffhanger and warring arch-villains vs a princess and her hero then you may wish to give this a look. It's there on Amazon.

Talking Byzantium with I.A. Watson

I.A. Watson's new eBook is releasing today. So we figured now was as good a time as any to talk to the prolific author about his new work (and some of his older stuff too). 

So, your new series for Pro Se’s Single Shot Signatures e-books range is out about now. What’s the pitch for your BYZANTIUM series?

Image an alternative history where Christianity never happened. Where Rome fell because of the rise of sorcerer-kings and ancient wyrms. Where mediaeval Europe is a ruin of scattered fiefdoms separated by ghost-haunted forests and bandit-plagued roads. Where the ancient city of Byzantium is the last refuge of civilisation.

Our first five-volume arc, starting with BYZANTIUM: DEAD MEN’S ROAD, tells the story of a caravan wagon train making its way to the big city across that wilderness desolation. Unfortunately they discover themselves in the middle of a civil war, stalked by raiders and a growing undead army, with terrible enemies behind them and traitors within.

And in the best tradition of “beleaguered traveller” stories, almost everyone on the road has a secret.

What made you want to tell a story like that?

Tommy [Hancock, Pro Se Editor in Chief] pointed out that I’d never really developed signature characters of my own as many writers do. I’ve written half a million words or more of Sherlock Holmes and Robin Hood, plus plenty of stories using other people’s pulp characters, either classics like Richard Knight and Armless O’Neil or new franchises like Blackthorn or Gideon Cain. I’ve never taken the time to develop an ongoing cast all of my own.

And Tommy, diabolic arch-salesman that he is, then suggested his new Single Shot imprint as being the ideal way to fix that.

I decided to look at a fantasy series because I’ve not published that much in the genre. I wanted the fun of imagining and building a world in an alternate history where some things were the same and some were very different from our own past. Dungeons and Dragons meets Wagon Train. Mystical medieval realpolitik interrupted by zombies. Thieves, warriors, princesses, and pagan priests facing a disaster movie. I wanted a disparate bunch of characters pushed together for an extended period of time so they could rub up to each other and secrets could come out.

Did you manage to get your new characters in there, then?

Our story starts as a swashbuckling interfering wanderer joins up with a long-distance caravan because he senses trouble – and fun. The train’s moving out across uncertain territory carrying an imperial army payroll. There’s a royal courier delivering urgent diplomatic messages. There’s a sleazy slaver dragging a bunch of captives to the Byzantium auction block. There’s a very large, very direct Viking security guard with a very large war-axe, and an eccentric humming trail-scout with a pet war-pig. Most significantly from our adventurer’s point of view,  there’s a dazzlingly beautiful lady mage of the Invisible College travelling alone on some mysterious errand pursued by terrible enemies.

You know how disaster movies establish a whole bunch of people of different kinds who then get pushed together when the crisis happens? That’s what I was going for here. The fun is seeing how they interact and who survives.

The main characters were designed to work at least two different ways. The challenge was to use archetypes of the genre – I could tell you the main cast’s Skyrim statistics and their approximate levels – and then make them proper rounded people suitable for a novel.

Is writing fantasy very different from historical adventure like your ROBIN HOOD trilogy, or from detective fiction like the SHERLOCK HOLMES: CONSULTING DETECTIVE books, or from high space opera SF like BLACKTHORN?

Each form has its own requirements but all have similar needs too. Every story has got to have a hook, compelling characters, an unfolding plot. They must all provide a satisfying reading experience. Of the examples you mention, the mystery stories are the ones that require the most unique approach. I plot those and structure them quite differently to the way I put together the adventure-based material. Sometimes there are diagrams.

I’ve done a bit of each kind of story recently. I’ve turned in my story for CONSULTING DETECTIVE volume 7, plus a different take on Holmes for a forthcoming anthology of Holmes stories without Watson for a different publisher. I’ve completed the most dense, complicated mystery I’ve ever written, “Murder at Barrowbrocks” for a forthcoming anthology of ‘cosy’ detective stories. Writing those is a bit like laying out a jigsaw puzzle. Nothing can be wasted in a fair-play mystery. Even the irrelevant is relevant as a way of obscuring the vital. Every story can be read twice for very different experiences, first time to solve the mystery, the second to see how the author slipped in the clues and to enjoy the characters struggling while we know the awful truth.

I’ve sent off the manuscript for the all-I.A. Watson anthology ROBIN HOOD: FORBIDDEN LEGEND. BLACKTHORN: SPIRES OF MARS is ready to go. Both of those required a sort of free-wheeling action vibe. The key elements were character, interacting with a distinctive environment, against a larger plot. A lot of heroic fiction depends on establishing a compelling narrative and threading the cast through it. There the writing starts with getting all the dominoes lined up, then knocking them down to thrill the reader.

Somewhere between the two extremes is a property like RICHARD KNIGHT: RACE WITH HELL, my forthcoming novella using Donald Keyhoe’s US agent airman detective. The blend there is between solving a mystery and surviving a peril. It’s James Bond with added whodunnit.

With BYZANTIUM, which is structured as stand-alone novellas within an initial five-volume story arc, the writing is most similar to Hood and Blackthorn. Adventure is adventure whether it’s in Sherwood Forest, dystopian future-Mars, or fantasy alternate-Europe. The other challenge was making sure that each book offered a stand-alone story with its own bang, so that folks go away satisfied (and hopefully come back again next time to be satisfied some more).

You intend to return to the Byzantium series, then?

As time allows, I probably will. We’ll see how the initial five novellas do as proof-of-concept. I enjoyed writing them, as evidenced by the fact that I started out expecting to produce a single novella, then proliferated to a trilogy, then ended up with five parts before I could reign myself in. And after all that we still only got the core cast to the city gates! Five volumes called Byzantium, and we’ve not even got inside the walls yet! More work is clearly indicated.

The five parts so far are: BYZANTIUM: DEAD MEN’S ROAD, BYZANTIUM: STONE AND FIRE, BYZANTIUM: REBEL’S RUN, BYZANTIUM: GHOST ARMIES, and BYZANTIUM: SHATTERED BONDS. It’s a bit early to say, but I think that might get followed by BYZANTIUM: FORTUNE’S FOOL.

Anything else on the writing desk?

My self-imposed task this summer is to get lots of finished things properly packaged and sent off to publication. Next up is SIR MUMPHREY WILTON AND THE LOST CITY OF MYSTERY, a World War II adventure in the Saturday-matinee tradition of Indiana Jones. A couple of other novels are in the queue after that when time allows.

Next time I sit down to do a long piece will be a full-length Sherlock Holmes novel that’s been commissioned. I need to get some of the clutter cleared so I can get a clear run at that.

Also due out sometime soon-ish is my first non-fiction book, the essay volume WHERE STORIES DWELL. I’m looking forward to that one, even though it did nearly kill the publisher.

I.A Watson’s publications are listed at http://www.chillwater.org.uk/writing/iawatsonhome.htm along with free stories and additional materials.

PULP ARK NOMINEES ANNOUNCED - And that Sean Taylor guy is listed in there too!

The 2013 Pulp Ark Award nominations were announced today and I'm proud to announce that I was nominated for a few of the coveted awards. The awards will be presented at the 2013 Pulp Ark convention in Springdale, Arkansas April 26-28, 2013.

The ballot for this year's awards was composed based on nominations called for beginning December 15, 2012 and ending January 15, 2013.   Only those who nominated in at least one category in that time period are allowed to vote. The original intent was to have voting begin January 15 and end February 15, 2013.  Due to an unforeseen number of ballots and a tremendous variety of nominations, the ballot was not completed until February 5th, 2013.  Therefore, all eligible voters have until March 1, 2013 to complete a ballot and email that to proseproductions@earthlink.net.

Winners will be announced on or after March 1, 2013 once all votes are compiled and winners are determined.  Awards will be given on April 27, 2013, at Pulp Ark 2013.

The most comprehensive Pulp award today, the Pulp Ark 2013 Ballot features over 40 publishers represented by nominated creators and works.

For more information on Pulp Ark 2013, go to www.pulpark.blogspot.com.

The nominees for Pulp Ark 2013 are as follows (my projects in bold, my actual writing or creation work in bold-underline):

BEST NOVEL
The National Maul- A Misty Johnson Mystery by RP Steeves, Seven Realms
The Sting of the Silver Manticore by PJ Lozito, Pro Se Productions
Riddle of the Glowing Men: A Captain Action Novel by Jim Beard, Airship 27
Productions
Dillon and the Pirates of Xonira by Derrick Ferguson, Pulpwork Press
Blood of the Centipede by Chuck Miller, Pro Se Productions
Die Glocke by Barry Reese, Pro Se Productions
Drowning in Red Ink by James Mullaney, James Mullaney
Devil May Care by James Mullaney, James Mullaney
Project Alpha by Lee Houston Jr., Pro Se Productions
Death’s Dark Domain by Will Murray (Kenneth Robeson), Altus Press
The Destiny of Fu Manchu by William Patrick Maynard, Black Coat Press
Once Upon a Time in Afrika by Balogun Ojetade, MVmedia
Murder Most Faire by Teel James Glenn, Post Mortem Press
Hawk: Hand of the Machine by Van Allen Plexico, White Rocket Books
Legends of Darkness by Georgia L. Jones, Blackwyrm Publishing
Prohibition by Terrence McCauley, Airship 27 Productions
Know No Fear by Dan Abnett, Games Workshop
The Song of Kwasin by Philip Jose Farmer and Christopher Paul Carey, Subterranean Press.
Prague Fatale by Philip Kerr, Putnam
Earthstrike Agenda by Bobby Nash, BEN Books
Green To Go by John Cunnigham, Green St.
Dinosaur Jazz by Michael Panush, Curiosity Quills Press

BEST NOVELLA
The Lone Ranger: Vendetta by Howard Hopkins, Moonstone
Moses: the Chronicles of Harriet Tubman (Bookx 1 and 2) by Balogun Ojetade, Balogun Ojetade
The Looking Glass Gambit from The Further Adventures of Maxi and Moxie by Teel James Glenn, Booksforabuck.com
Unearthed  by William Preston, Isaac Asimiov’s Science Fiction Magazine, 9/12
Play the Way Home by Jessica McHugh (as EJ McCain), P. Mortem’s Tall Tales
Exiles of Kho by Christopher Paul Carey, Meteor House Press
Savage Song by Warren Murphy, Destroyer Books
Outlaw Blues by Percival Constantine, Pulpwork Press
Dragon Kings of the Orient by Percival Constantine, Pulpwork Press
The Sons of Thor by Erwin K. Roberts, Pro Se Productions
The Knockout by Robert J. Randisi, Fight Card Productions
Sinbad and the Voyage to the Land of the Frozen Sun by Derrick Ferguson , The Adventures of Sinbad, Airship 27 Productions

BEST COLLECTION/ANTHOLOGY
Blood-Price of the Missionary’s Gold: The New Adventures of Armless O’Neil by Various, Pro Se Productions
Nightbeat: Night Stories by Various, Radio Archives
Mystery Men (and Women) III by Various, Airship 27 Productions
The Huntress of Greenwood by Nancy Hansen, Pro Se Productions
Tales of the Rook by Various, Pro Se Productions
Sgt. Janus Spirit Breaker by Jim Beard, Airship 27 Productions
The New Adventures of the Eagle Volume 1 by Various, Pro Se Productions
The Adventures of Lazarus Gray Vol 2: Die Glocke, by Barry Reese Pro Se Productions
Sinbad: The New Voyages By Various, Airship 27 Productions
The Green Hornet: Still at Large by Various, Moonstone Books
The Ruby Files By Various, Airship 27 Productions
Headline Ghouls: The Further Adventures of Maxi and Moxie by Teel James Glenn, Booksforabuck.com
Monster Aces by Various, Pro Se Productions
The Adventures of the Pulptress by Various, Pro Se Productions

BEST SHORT STORY
Armless O’Neil and the Chase for the Kuba Mask by RP Steeves from Blood: The Price of the Missionary’s Gold: The New Adentures of Armless O’Neil, Pro Se Productions
The Chicago Punch by Paul Bishop from Nightbeat: Night Stories, Radio Archives
Doc Panic by Dave White from Pro Se Presents 16, Pro Se Productions
The Killing Games by Barry Reese from The Tales of the Rook Volume 1, Pro Se Productions
Lucky by Tommy Hancock from Nightbeat: Night Stories, Radio Archives
Doctor Fear by Jarrod Courtenmanche, Secret Agent “X,” Volume 4. Airship 27 Productions
The Coming Storm by Teel James Glenn from New Adventures of the Eagle, Pro Se Productions
Lady Madeline’s Dive by Terrence McCauley from Thuglit #1, Thuglit
The Feast of Stephen by R P Steeves from An Undead Christmas, Undead Press
The Abominable Myra Linsky Rises Again by Chuck Miller from Pro Se Presents #13, Pro Se Productions
Making of a Hero by Barry Reese From The Adventures of Lazarus Gray: Die Glocke, Pro Se Productions
The Keener Eye: The Web of Life by Nancy A. Hansen from Pro Se Presents 12, Pro Se Productions
Death of a Dream by Christofer Nigro from Tales of the Shadowmen, Volume 9, Black Coat Press
Tulsa Blackie’s Last Dive by William Patrick Maynard from The Ruby Files, Airship 27 Productions
The Portrait by Terry Alexander from The Adventures of the Pulptress, Pro Se Productions
The Hellmouth by Barry Reese from The New Adventures of Thunder Jim Wade, Pro Se Productions
Extraction by Jessica McHugh from Fear the Abyss, Post Mortem Press
The Wild Hunstman by Win Scott Eckert from The Worlds of Philip Jose Farmer 3: Portratis of a Trickster, Meteor House Books
Hand of the Monster by Jim Beard from Monster Aces, Pro Se Productions
Red Lily and the Oriental Flower by D. Alan Lewis from Nashville Noir
The Curse of Baron Samedi by Percival Constantine from Tales of the Rook, Pro Se Productions
The Ghoul by Ron Fortier from Monster Aces, Pro Se Productions
Paranoia by Kevin Rodgers from Pro Se Presents March 2012, Pro Se Productions
Die Giftig Lillie, Sean Taylor from The Ruby Files, Airship 27 Productions
The Butcher’s Festival by Ron Fortier from The Adventures of the Pulptress, Pro Se Productions
Crown of the Cobra King by Frank Shildiner from Secret Agent X Vol. 4, Airship 27 Productions


BEST COVER ART
Witches, by Larry Elmore, Blackwyrm Publishing
Gil Murillo, The National Maul-A Misty Johnson Mystery, Seven Realms
Tales of the Rook, Volume 1 by Bob Hall, Tales of the Rook Vol. 1, Pro Se Productions
Mystery Men (And Women) III, by Marco Turini, Airship 27 Productions
Monster Aces byTerry Pavlet, Pro Se Productions
Sentinels: Metalgod by Chris Kohler, White Rocket Books
Lazarus Gray: Die Glocke by George Sellas, Pro Se Productions
The New Adventures of the Eagle Volume 1 by David L. Russell, Pro Se Productions
The Ruby Files by Mark Wheatley, Airship 27 Productions
Pro Se Presents #13 by Sean Ali, Pro Se Productions
Drowning in Red Ink by Micah Birchfield, James Mullaney
The Wild Adventures of Doc Savage: The Infernal Buddha by Joe DeVito, Altus Press
The Destiny of Fu Manchu by Christine Clavel, Black Coat Press
Once Upon a Time in Afrika by Stan Weaver, Jr., MVmedia
Doc Claus by Teel James Glenn, Pulp Empire
Blackthorn: Dynasty of Mars by Adam Diller, White Rocket Books
Pro Se Presents 14 by Sean Ali, Pro Se Productions
Sting of the Silver Manticore, David L. Russell, Pro Se Productions
Prohibition by Rob Moran and Shannon Hall, Airship 27 Productions
The Green Hornet Still at Large by Doug Klauba, Moonstone
Three Against the Stars by Laura Givens, Airship 27 Productions
Nightbeat: Night Stories by Doug Klauba, Radio Archives
The Family Grace by George Sellas, Pro Se Productions
Dragon Kings of the Orient by Percival Cosntantine, Pulpwork Press
Exiles of Kho: A Tale of Lost Khokarsa by Mike Hoffman, Meteor House
The Horn by Mike Fyles, Uchronic Tales
Huntress of Greenwood by David Russell, Pro Se Productions
Project Alpha by Marc Guerrero, Pro Se Productions
Captain Action: The Riddle of the Glowing Men by Nick Runge, Airship 27 Productions

BEST INTERIOR ART
The Ruby Files Volume 1 by Rob Moran, Airship 27 Productions
Mystery Men (And Women) III by Rob Davis, Airship 27 Productions
The Adventures of Lazarus Gray Volume 2: Die Glocke by George Sellas, Pro Se Productions
Robin Hood: Arrow of Justice by Rob Davis, Airship 27 Productions
The Moon Man Volume 1 by Ralf van der Hoeven, Airship 27 Productions
Sentinels: Metalgod by Chris Kohler, White Rocket Books
Sgt. Janus, Spirit Breaker, Airship 27 Productions
Tales of the Rook Volume 1 by George Sellas, Pro Se Productions
Exiles of Kho: A Tale of Lost Khokarsa by Mike Hoffman, Meteor House
The Baron’s Revenge by Rob Davis, Airship 27 Productions

BEST PULP REVIVAL
Armless O’Neil by Various, Pro Se Productions
Doc Savage by Will Murray, Altus Press
Thunder Jim Wade by Various, Pro Se Productions
Richard Knight by Various, Pro Se Productions
The Moon Man by Various, Airship 27 Productions
Secret Agent X by Various, Airship 27 Productions
Ki-Gor in Jungle Tales by Various, Airship 27 Productions
Doctor Death by Tommy Hancock, Pro Se Productions

BEST NEW CHARACTER
Camille Boucher in The National Maul by R. P. Steeves, Seven Realms
The Silver Manticore in The Sting of the Silver Manticore by PJ Lozito, Pro Se Productions
Rick Ruby in The Ruby Files, Vol 1 by Sean Taylor and Bobby Nash, Airship 27 Productions
Kiri in Mystery Men (And Women) III by Curtis Ferlund, Airship 27 Productions
Doc Panic in Pro Se Presents 15 by Dave White, Pro Se Productions
Hawk in Hawk: Hand of the Machine by Van Allen Plexico, White Rocket Books
Sgt. Janus, Spirit Breaker  in Sgt. Janus, Spirit Breaker by Jim Beard, Airship 27 Productions
Dr. Dana Unknown Jr in Pro Se Presents 13 by Chuck Miller, Pro Se Productions
Jimmy Dolan in Tales of the Hanging Monkey by Billy Craig, Airship 27 Productions
Bob Howard, The Crusader from Cross Plains in Adventures in Otherwhen: Tales of Pulpfantastique by Teel James Glenn, Booksforabuck.com
Samoda in the Remnants of Life Series by Georgia L. Jones, Blackwyrm
The Pulptress by Tommy Hancock in The Adventures of the Pulptress, Pro Se Productions
Terry Quinn in Prohibition by Terrence McCauley, Airship 27 Productions
Carl Flint in Outlaw Blues by Percival Constantine, Pulpwork Press
Sun Wukong in Dragon Kings of the Orient by Percival Constantine, Pulpwork Press
E-31 in Modern Pulp Heroes by Terry Alexander, Pulp Empire

BEST AUTHOR
Van Allen Plexico
William Preston
RP Steeves
PJ Lozito
Barry Reese
Chuck Miller
Dan Abnett
James Mullaney
Howard Hopkins
Will Murray
William Patrick Maynard
Teel James Glenn
Ron Fortier
Bobby Nash
Derrick Ferguson
Warren Murphy
Jessica McHugh
Win Scott Eckert
Percival Constantine
Nancy Holder
Andrew Salmon
Christopher Paul Carey
Gary Lovisi
Michael Panush
Joshua Reynolds

BEST PULP COMIC
Masks, Dynamite Comics
The Black Beetle, Dark Horse Comics Presents
Rocketeer: Cargo of Doom, IDW
Price of the Asking, Twilight Star Productions
The Shadow, Dynamite Comics
The Once and Future Tarzan, Dark Horse Comics
Atomic Robo: The Ghost of Station X, Red 5 Comics
Fatale, Image Comics
Robyn of Sherwood, Redbud Studio Comics

BEST PULP MAGAZINE
Pro Se Presents
Weird Tales

BEST NEW WRITER
Curtis Fernlund
David White
Jim Beard
Balogun Ojetade
Greg Daniel
Georgia L. Jones
D. Alan Lewis
Ashley Mangin
Andrea Judy

Blackthorn on sale for less than a buck!

White Rocket Books’ award-winning anthology, Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars is on sale for only $0.99 on Kindle for a limited time.

Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars features stories by Bobby Nash, Sean Taylor, Mark Bousquet, Ian Watson, James Palmer, Joe Crowe, and Van Allen Plexico with interior illustrations by Chris Kohler under a cover by James Burns.

Get all the details at www.bobbynash.com
Amazon Kindle link: www.amazon.com/Blackthorn-Thunder-on-Mars-ebook/dp/B006FBRHG8

New Blackthorn Review!

Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars edited by Van Allen Plexico 2011 White Rocket books.

Review By Brad Mengel- New Pulp Reviewers Round Table

I’ve long been a fan of the planetary romance; an Earthman travels to another planet and has adventures. Van Allen Plexico’s Blackthorn is a fun addition to the genre.

Plexico’s introduction tells us about the inspiration of the character, mixing Burroughs with Kirby to create a new hero with a contemporary twist.  John Blackthorn is a United States Army General who is killed in duty on a mission in Afghanistan, he and two of his men awaken on a post-apocalyptic Mars in new bodies through the magic or science of The Black Sorcerer.  Blackthorn escapes the custody of The Black Sorcerer and begins adventuring with two Martian companions Princess Aria and Oglok The Mock-Man (a sort of Lion-Human hybrid) .

The three travel around inciting rebellion against The Black Sorcerer and the other three First Men who ruled Mars as well as any number of petty tyrants and warlords.  This is concept that can be played out across any number of volumes as this future post-apocalyptic Mars has become a collection of feudal states.

The eight stories in this volume are exciting and interesting adventures. Series creator Plexico opens and closes the volume.  “Bastion OfThe Black Sorcerer” introduces John Blackthorn and his companions in a way that gives us all the information that we need to understand the stories and is still an exciting adventure.  The other story “Epilogue: Red Planet Blues” finishes the collection and hints at the direction that the series will continue if there are future volumes.

Each story manages to explore some facet of Martian society and coheres together with no detail in one story contradicting another story.  “Quest for the Eye” by Joe Crowe is the shortest story in the collection but tells a funny side adventure and “Ghosts of Acheron” by I.A.  Watson offers a major revelation about one of Blackthorn’s companions as well as a dangerous new enemy.   I like the fact that the series has the scope to allow for these different types of stories. 

Indeed the concept allows itself open to any number of books and stories with Blackthorn and his allies travelling Mars.  The fact that this future Mars has been terraformed makes me wonder if other planets in the solar system  have been similarly transformed and colonised  if so the series might travel the solar system.  I look forward to future books in the series.

Buy now: Amazon | B&N

Blackhorn invades The Kirby Museum!

Kirby-Vision (The Kirby Museum) salutes Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars cover artist, James Burns - http://kirbymuseum.org/blogs/kirby-vision/2012/08/08/blackthorn/

 

The Watson Report: Getting to know Aria, a Princess of Mars (no relation to that Thoris woman)

To quote the great Pythons, "And now for something completely different" -- an interview with the princess of Mars herself, Aria.

(thanks to I.A. Watson for facilitating the interview)

Sean: Well, we’ve interviewed quite a few authors on this website by now, but I think this might be the first time we’ve ever interviewed a character here.

Aria, Princess of Mars: Just because some of the Earthmen of your time happen to have visions of the actual future wherein all life on your planet has ended in devastating war and Mars has been terraformed as humanity’s new home there is no need to confuse me with some fictional heroine. Proceed with your interview, barbarian.

Sean: Um, okay, right. So you’re the, er, the Princess of Mars who appears in the BLACKTHORN: THUNDER ON MARS anthology edited by Van Allen Plexico, and most recently in the novels DYNASTY OF MARS and SPIRES OF MARS by I.A. Watson…

Aria: That much is evident. As a contributor to the chronicling of my adventures in your account “City of Relics” you are presumably familiar with the rudiments of my situation. Be astute in your questioning. The Ancients’ technology that allows this temporal conversation is unstable and may fail at any moment. Also there are several hundred genetically altered rat/human hybrids trying to break through into the Chamber of Chronal Insight.

[Sound of muffled squealing and the shriek of an enraged Mock-man in the background]

Sean: Let’s get to it then. Could you tell us a little bit about future-Mars, your highness?

Aria: In my time the red planet has long been transformed into a habitable, diverse terrain. But the god-like technologies that accomplished this have been lost to civil war, long decline, and finally the Great Burn. Mars is now a divided feudal world where recovered technologies and magic dwell side-by-side and monsters roam.

Sean: Magic? Where did the magic and monsters come from?

Aria: Monsters are the side effects of long dirty wars with genetic, radiation, and arcane weaponry. Magic… the same great machines that preserve life on Mars, that alter its gravity and atmosphere, project an energy cocoon across the planet, an arcanosphere. Those with sensitivity to that field can store and project the power as magic-like effects. Those are the mages, witches, tekes, sorcerers and so forth.

Sean: And sorceresses like yourself.

Aria: There are no sorceresses like myself, Sean Taylor. I am unique and puissant, tuned from birth to the arcane fields of Mars by descent from the very Ancients who set it there, enhanced by the careful addition of thaumaturgic wetware grafted to my nervous system, honed through many hours of diligent study.

Sean: Of course. Sorry. You got your, your wetware from your father, right? He’s one of the rulers of Mars.

Aria: The Black Sorcerer is one of the four First Men who rediscovered some of the Ancient secrets and rose to power as puissant users of magic and science. Each is a very different kind of tyrant. Lord Ruin believes that endless war will winnow the weak. The Sorcerer of Night is obsessed with undeath. The Lord of Fatal Laughter works his insane cruel humours on a planetary scale. The Black Sorcerer tends towards weird science and Byzantine plots.

Sean: You know, we’re pretty fond of bad-girl villain’s daughters on this site.

Aria: Control yourself, barbarian. It is true that I was raised by one of the absolute despots of our troubled world, and that I opposed him by commissioning the champion John Blackthorn to stand against him. That does not make me any kind of ‘bad-girl’. My plots and manipulations are entirely benevolent and… excuse me…

[Sound of arcane bolts roasting something that squeals as it dies]

Aria: Blackthorn, do you think you could possibly take your friends outside to fight them? I’m trying to commune with the past here. Oglok, kindly block that doorway. It’s about time we found some use for you other than as a museum of odours. Now… what were you saying, barbarian?

Sean: I was just asking about being a villain’s daughter, and I guess why you ended up fighting on the side of good.

Aria: Mars is oppressed and dying. Someone has to stand for it. If not the Princess of Mars then whom? When prophecy singularly failed to provide the promised champion I took it upon myself to acquire one by other means.

Sean: You’re referring to two-star U.S. General John Blackthorn, who died in a military conflict sometime in the early twenty-first century only to have his consciousness rehoused in new flesh on future-Mars.

Aria: Indeed. Another barbarian, although useful when things need to be blown up or smitten. And… to be honest, he does seem to have a way of getting people to follow him. Perhaps it is those antique notions from your time, of life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness, of justice by law, of universal franchisement and so on. Or perhaps he’s just very good at plans that upset my father and the other First Men.

Sean: He’s not the only twenty-first century human to get zapped to the future though, is he?

Aria: When my father attempted to recruit him as his warlord there were three barbarians shifted to new flesh. Blackthorn’s comrade General Yuen elected to have no part in the Martian conflict – although that did not work out as he had hoped. Colonel David Morningstar, Blackthorn’s second, was the one who betrayed him to his original death. Obviously, David and John have a few differences to settle.

Sean: And all this is covered in the BLACKTHORN volumes?

Aria: I imagine so. You’d have to ask the various Earthmen who produce them. There are several apart from yourself, I’m given to understand. Each of them has also produced other literary works, so one can only hope that they have some level of competence at chronicling our struggle.

Sean: That’s Blackthorn’s exploration of Mars to recover old tech that could be used in his fight against the First Men, and the building of an alliance intended to eventually mobilise the planet in war against the ruling Sorcerers?

Aria: Crudely speaking, yes. We have a duty to the people of Mars to save them.

Sean: That’s you, Blackthorn, and the genetically-engineered Mock-man Oglok?

Aria: It is all men and women of conscience in every age, who are called to stand against those who oppress the weak and use force to supplant freedoms. Hmph. Now I sound like John Blackthorn. The man is pervasive.

Sean: And rumours about you and him having something of a spark…?

Aria: Are none of your business. I am certain that your chroniclers would not have such poor taste as to refer to such matters, nor their readership any interest in any romance should it occur. Which it does not. And shall not. At all. Next question.

Sean: Why are the books called THUNDER, DYNASTY, and SPIRES OF MARS?

Aria: You’d have to ask your fellow barbarians. I presume the Thunder refers to the wild lightnings my father used to draw energies to bring Blackthorn to Mars, or else allegorically in. regards to the growing revolution. The Harmony Spires are the crystal towers which maintain our world, and they prove central to the narrative of the online serial novel currently being released twice weekly in your time period. The Dynasty refers either to my father’s ill-considered attempts to wed me to some unsuitable minion with whom I might breed more magic-viable offspring or else to my Ancient lineage on my mother’s side. I imagine you’d have a better idea if you perused the chronicles in question and so would your audience.

[Sound of heavy machinery nearby, of a wall collapsing, and of something exploding]

Aria: It appears that I will have to curtail our conversation, Earthman, and go assist John and Oglok in bringing down one of Lord Ruin’s mobile chain cities. I’m setting this device on overload now so it does not fall into the hands of a First Man. You may want to cover your ears and eyes.

Sean: Well, thanks for taking time out of your busy, um, revolution to talk to us, Princess Aria. I’m sure we all…

[Explosion]

Sean: Aaaaghh! Aaagh! My ears!!! My eyes!!!

[Static…]

BLACKTHORN: DYNASTY OF MARS is now available in paperback through Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Blackthorn-Dynasty-I-A-Watson/dp/0615676545/ and at good bookshops, and in Kindle at http://www.amazon.com/Blackthorn-Dynasty-Mars-ebook/dp/B008NYCVLQ

BLACKTHORN: SPIRES OF MARS is posted free online at the Blackthorn website every Monday and Thursday at www.whiterocketbooks.com/blackthorn

I.A. Watson takes responsibility for facilitating this interview with Princess Aria.

BLACKTHORN: DYNASTY OF MARS Continues the Apocalyptic Saga!

Award-Winning Author I. A. Watson’s New Novel—in Paperback and on Kindle 

White Rocket Books proudly announces the release in trade paperback and Kindle e-book formats of I. A. Watson’s BLACKTHORN: DYNASTY OF MARS, a new novel that reveals the shocking secrets of Princess Aria while continuing the bold and exciting adventures of John Blackthorn, PulpArk Award winner for “Best New Character of the Year.”

Eldest child of her world’s ruling dynasty, Aria is also the daughter of the evil Black Sorcerer—one of the dreaded First Men of Mars—and has been imbued with his sorcerous might. Rebelling against her father’s tyranny, Princess Aria has joined forces with a human soldier and a savage Mock-Man, and now dares to challenge the First Men’s rule. Will Aria’s power be enough to tip the balance in John Blackthorn’s favor, and free her world—or will she betray the rebels to her father—or worse—and bring all they have fought for crashing down?

BLACKTHORN: DYNASTY OF MARS, by award-winning author I. A. Watson (Robin Hood; Sherlock Holmes) and with a spectacular cover painted by Adam Diller, takes the saga of John Blackthorn and his brave companions to the next level—and beyond—with a grand adventure stretching down the centuries and across the war-torn face of post-apocalyptic Mars!

Created by Van Allen Plexico (Sentinels, Lucian) in the spirit of “Thundarr the Barbarian” and “John Carter of Mars,” the Blackthorn Saga has already been nominated for seven PulpArk Awards and one Pulp Factory Award.  Now, says Plexico, “ Ian Watson has pulled back the curtain and given readers the chance to dig into the rich history of future Mars, and to witness the rise of Princess Aria from pampered aristocrat to powerful leader of a planet-wide rebellion—along with a couple of guys named Blackthorn and Oglok. If you thought you knew the Blackthorn story, you ain’t seen nothing yet!”

White Rocket Books is a leader in the New Pulp movement, publishing exciting action and adventure novels and anthologies since 2005, in both traditional and electronic formats.   White Rocket books have hit the Amazon.com Top 15-by-Genre and have garnered praise from everyone from Marvel Comics Vice-President Tom Brevoort to Kirkus Reviews.

On sale as of July 28, 2012, BLACKTHORN: DYNASTY OF MARS is a $15.95, 6x9 format trade paperback from White Rocket Books, and a $2.99 e-book for Kindle.

250 pages

ISBN-13: 978-0-61567-654-8  (paperback)
ASIN: B008NYCVLQ  (Kindle)

On Amazon.com:
Trade Paperback : http://www.amazon.com/Blackthorn-Dynasty-I-A-Watson/dp/0615676545 
Kindle edition:  http://www.amazon.com/Blackthorn-Dynasty-Mars-ebook/dp/B008NYCVLQ

BLACKTHORN: SPIRES OF MARS Online Serial Adventure!

Press Release – For Immediate Release

BLACKTHORN: SPIRES OF MARS Online Serial Adventure!

Continuing the Adventures of the Award-Winning New Pulp Warrior and his Allies!

(July 10, 2012)  A young man desperate to save his sister from the raiders who kidnapped her into slavery…  An ancient undead released after half a millennium… Four sorcerous First Men who will kill half a world to keep their darkest secret…  And three champions who will stand for Mars against horror and tyranny—or die trying!

Award-winning author I.A Watson’s online novel set in the futuristic Martian world of BLACKTHORN offers readers a serial adventure in the tradition of old-time pulps, showcasing the vibrant characters and lush settings of this popular and successful series. 

 Join Earth General John Blackthorn, Princess Aria of Mars, Oglok the Mock-Man and an ever-expanding cast of rebels, monsters, magicians, and villains as the mystery of the ancient Harmony Spires is explored.  Following on from BLACKTHORN:  THUNDER ON MARS and meshing with the upcoming BLACKTHORN: DYNASTY OF MARS novel, also by Watson, this stand-alone full-length serial adventure offers a glimpse of a future where magic and technology are one and humanity must face its ultimate challenge.

“This serial adventure gives readers everything they could ask for,” says White Rocket Books Publisher Van Allen Plexico.  “An award-winning character, written by an award-winning writer—and set in the fantastic world of post-apocalyptic Mars.  It’s an absolute grand slam!”

Jump in on the ground floor at www.whiterocketbooks.com/blackthorn with Chapter 1: “A Night in the Deadlands.”  A desperate young man must cross the wasteland where everything dies – but nothing stays dead!

Tune in for new chapters every Monday and Thursday!

White Rocket Books is a leader in the New Pulp movement, publishing exciting action and adventure novels and anthologies since 2005, in both traditional and electronic formats.   White Rocket books have hit the Amazon.com Top 15-by-Genre and have garnered praise from everyone from Marvel Comics Editor Tom Brevoort to Kirkus Reviews.

Find new installments of the series and links to buy copies of the original THUNDER ON MARS anthology by visiting www.whiterocketbooks.com

The Writer Will Take Your Questions Now (#139) - Blending Genres in Pulp

Do you prefer to keep a genre pure when you write? What about blending genres in pulp stories? 

Oh no. I like to put all my genres and ideas in a story blender and hit the pulp button.

Romantic awakenings of snake women on Mars? Did that in Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars.

Zombie horror stories that examine the marriage commitment? Did that twice already, once in Zombiesque and once in Pro Se Presents #1.

Fairy tales with inter-dimensional war and demons from the vast beyond? Check. Already done that too, in the pages of Classics Mutilated.

Super hero adventures mixed with fable and mythology? Not a problem. Check out Fishnet Angel in Show Me a Hero.

About the only time I stay pure is when I'm writing a straight up hard-boiled detective story.

[Link] Ron Fortier reviews Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars

Why on earth would a writer/editor like Van Plexico want to take a 1980 Saturday morning cartoon television show and meld it with a classic Edgar Rice Burroughs fantasy series? The answer to that perplexing question is found in this book, which by the way, is the result of that odd pairing.  In the introduction, Plexico tells of his love for an old Jack Kirby created TV series called “Thundarr the Barbarian” and how, for whatever twists of the muses, it seemed to plague his thoughts over the years.  Enough so that he decided to one day do something with the concept, adding a new and fresh spin to the plot.  It would be another few years for that final element of this eclectic brew would reveal itself to him when one day he started thinking of Burroughs legendary Martian series. 


Continue reading: http://www.pulpfictionreviews.blogspot.com/2012/02/blackthorn-thunder-on-mars.html

It's a bird. It's a plane. It's Van Allen Plexico!

Van Allen Plexico knows genre writing. And he knows that genre isn't a dirty word in writing circles. From space adventure to superhero epics to football nonfiction, Van's done it all.

Needless to say, it's an honor he set aside a few minutes to chat with us here at Bad Girls, Good Guys, and Two-Fisted Action.

(And congrats to Van on his win in the Pulp Ark Awards Best New Pulp Character category with Blackthorn.)

Tell us a bit about your latest work.

Just putting the finishing touches on HAWK: HAND OF THE MACHINE, a 105,000-word Military SF Action Pulp novel. It's the story of Hawk, a sort of "US Marshall in Space," who awakens naked and with no memories, in a space station being assaulted by horrifying hordes of alien creatures. From square one he's on the run, trying to figure out what in the world is going on while fighting for his life--and for the galaxy! The novel will be out from White Rocket sometime this summer. PRO SE PRESENTS will be running a two-part story that kicks the thing off, starting this month.

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

Identity, duty, and memory. How the role you play in life defines who you are as a person. My best characters-- Lucian, Ultraa, Hawk, Vanadium-- all reflect this search for understanding and acceptance of who they are trying to be, vs who they actually are inside.

What would be your dream project?

To write a 20-volume superhero space opera saga with dozens of major characters and vast battles and aliens and androids and gods and cosmic beings and regular humans, all mixed together amidst vast carnage, and presented alongside deep introspection and character development and evolution. And, hey--I'm doing it and it's called the Sentinels novels!

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

Every time the first volume of the Sentinels series has been reprinted or published by a different publisher or included in an omnibus or hardcover, I've rewritten or at least tweaked some portion of it. It's the introduction to the whole series so I want it to be the best it can be, and I've never been entirely happy with it--which I suppose is natural, because most everyone who's read it liked it a lot and most of them kept reading the rest of the books. Whew.

What inspires you to write?

Reading, mainly. Movies and TV, too, and comics. But mostly just walking through any section of Barnes and Noble and just looking at the books there will get my blood pumping and send me hurrying home to the keyboard. And of course receiving feedback from readers always makes you know it was worth it--that someone else enjoyed your work, too.

What writers have influenced your style and technique?

Roger Zelazny is my lord and master. He died of cancer in 1995 and how I wish I could have met him. His work is overwhelmingly the major influence on my writing. My novel, LUCIAN: DARK GOD'S HOMECOMING, was written mainly as my homage to just how much he influenced me--right down to the poetic language (I tried!) and first-person POV from a shady and unreliable protagonist.

Jim Starlin had a massive impact on how I think in "cosmic" terms, with vast empires and themes of life and death and the mystic side of all of that. Kirby did, too, but probably more Starlin than Kirby. Just the "flavor" of Starlin's writing-- his characters with their anguished soul-searching and conflicted natures--that really shaped my work.

Lately it's been Dan Abnett (of the Warhammer 40K novels and comics like Guardians of the Galaxy and Nova) that has helped me to get a nice handle on how to write even better action scenes and strange, outlandish settings and battles. He's so good at that stuff.

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

Oh, I probably come down about 50/50. You have to get the "science" part pretty much down. Of course, there are always new things to learn, and I'm always looking stuff up, along the lines of grammar and style and structure and the like, so it's a continual process. The "art" part is, I suppose, partly your own natural talent and partly the impact of various influences upon you. Whatever "art" dwells within my writing is a direct result of spending a lifetime reading and re-reading Zelazny and Starlin and Herbert and Tolkien and Varley and Niven and Howard and on and on, absorbing the parts that seem to me to work the best and sound the best.

Any other upcoming projects you would like to plug?  

Two fairly new ones: my highly acclaimed LUCIAN novel (mentioned above) has just come out in a new paperback edition from White Rocket Books, now at a much lower price than before, along with a Kindle edition. And a project you know all about, on account of you have a great story in it, is BLACKTHORN: THUNDER ON MARS, an adventure anthology which came out at the end of the year. If you like JOHN CARTER or THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN, this book is for you! Action and adventure with a warrior, a sorceress, and a savage beast-man in a post-apocalyptic Mars! I wrote the origin story and several other very talented writers continued the saga. It's been nominated for an astonishing SEVEN PulpArk Awards. Everyone should check this book out asap!

Learn more about Van and his work at: www.plexico.net and www.whiterocketbooks.com.

[Link] The Book Cave Episode 159: Blackthorn Thunder On Mars

Van Plexico chats with the Book Cave crew about his latest series.

http://thebookcave.libsyn.com/webpage/the-book-cave-episode-159-blackthorn-thunder-on-mars

ALL PULP INTERVIEWS BLACKTHORN: THUNDER ON MARS WRITERS

All Pulp interviewed several of the Blackthorn: Thunder On Mars writers Van Allen Plexico and writers Joe Crowe, Bobby Nash, James Palmer, Sean Taylor, I. A. Watson, and Mark Beaulieu to talk about the new anthology.

You can read the interview at http://allpulp.blogspot.com/2011/12/all-pulps-blackthorn-thunder-on-mars.html

BLACKTHORN: THUNDER ON MARS from White Rocket Books and is now on sale.

Print Edition - $15.95:
http://www.amazon.com/Blackthorn-Thunder-Van-Allen-Plexico/dp/0984139265

Kindle Edition - $2.99:
http://www.amazon.com/Blackthorn-Thunder-on-Mars-ebook/dp/B006FBRHG8/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1322503101&sr=8-15

For more information about White Rocket Books, visit www.whiterocketbooks.com.

BLACKTHORN: THUNDER ON MARS now in paperback!

BLACKTHORN: THUNDER ON MARS now in paperback!

Trade Paperback Edition Follows the Very Successful Recent Kindle Release

(December 3, 2011)  White Rocket Books proudly announces the release in trade paperback format of BLACKTHORN: THUNDER ON MARS, a science fiction action-adventure anthology set on far-future post-apocalyptic Mars.

http://www.amazon.com/Blackthorn-Thunder-Van-Allen-Plexico/dp/0984139265

Created by Van Allen Plexico (Sentinels, Lucian), the book features stories by New Pulp luminaries Mark Bousquet, Joe Crowe, Bobby Nash, James Palmer, Sean Taylor, I. A. Watson, and Plexico, along with six full-page illustrations by Chris Kohler (Sentinels).  Cover art and design are by James Burns (Lance Star: One Shot).

In the spirit of “Thundarr the Barbarian” and “John Carter of Mars” comes the gripping saga of US General John Blackthorn.  Betrayed and left for dead on the battlefield, Blackthorn awakens many thousands of years later to find himself trapped amidst the ruins of a post-apocalyptic Mars, his only companions a savage Mock-Man and a mysterious sorceress.  They battle together to free this strange new world from oppression, but it won’t be easy, for arrayed against them are the deadliest foes imaginable: mutants, monsters, and robots, as well as treacherous teammates.  And lurking behind it all are the fanatical forces of the First Men:  the Black Sorcerer, the Sorcerer of Fatal Laughter, Lord Ruin, and the Sorcerer of Night—masters of magic and technology alike—the dreaded Sorcerers of Mars!

“The awesome array of talent assembled on this book really speaks for itself, and guarantees a fun time will be had by all,” promises Editor Van Allen Plexico.  “Each of the writers jumped on the project with huge enthusiasm and each brought something unique and very exciting to the table.  And there’s no question Chris Kohler, who is also interior artist on my Sentinels superhero novels, has done some of the best work of his career here with BLACKTHORN.”

Says noted New Pulp author Wayne Reinagel, “BLACKTHORN is one of the best sword-and-sorcery spaceman anthologies to arrive on Earth, or Mars, in the last century or more.  Clearly inspired by an equal combination of Hanna-Barbera’s ‘Thundarr the Barbarian,’ DC Comics’ ‘Kamandi,’ and Edgar Rice Burroughs’ ‘John Carter of Mars,’ BLACKTHORN is an original, entertaining, action-packed saga.”

The new trade paperback edition follows on the heels of the successful Kindle launch, which immediately zoomed into the top rankings of all SF anthology e-books on Amazon.  It presents all seven stories in their entirety, including the double-length origin, along with Chris Kohler’s interior artwork.

White Rocket Books is a leader in the New Pulp movement, publishing exciting action and adventure novels and anthologies since 2005, in both traditional and electronic formats.   White Rocket books have hit the Amazon.com Top 15-by-Genre and have garnered praise from everyone from Marvel Comics Editor Tom Brevoort to Kirkus Reviews.

On sale as of December 2, 2011, BLACKTHORN: THUNDER ON MARS is a $15.95, 6x9 format trade paperback from White Rocket Books.

232 pages; 6 full-page illustrations

ISBN-10: 0984139265

ISBN-13: 978-0984139262

On Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Blackthorn-Thunder-Van-Allen-Plexico/dp/0984139265

That's quite a debut, Mr. Blackthorn!

As of now, it FIRST day of release, BLACKTHORN: THUNDER ON MARS is #79 on Amazon's bestselling SF anthologies list.

It's around #24,000 out of 700,000 books on Kindle.

BLACKTHORN: THUNDER ON MARS debuts first on Kindle!

Press Release – For Immediate Release

BLACKTHORN: THUNDER ON MARS debuts first on Kindle!

General Blackthorn and his Companions Battle Evil-- on Amazon’s Popular e-Reader

(November 28, 2011)  White Rocket Books proudly announces the release
in Kindle format of BLACKTHORN: THUNDER ON MARS, a science fiction
action-adventure anthology set on far-future post-apocalyptic Mars.

Created by Van Allen Plexico (Sentinels, Lucian), the book features
stories by New Pulp luminaries Mark Bousquet, Joe Crowe, Bobby Nash,
James Palmer, Sean Taylor, I. A. Watson, and Plexico, along with six
full-page illustrations by Chris Kohler (Sentinels).  In addition, the
Kindle edition includes two bonus stories not included in the upcoming
trade paperback edition, by Mark Beaulieu and Danny Wall.  Cover art
and design are by James Burns (Lance Star: One Shot).

The book will debut in trade paperback format later in December of this year.

In the spirit of “Thundarr the Barbarian” and “John Carter of Mars”
comes the gripping saga of US General John Blackthorn.  Betrayed and
left for dead on the battlefield, Blackthorn awakens many thousands of
years later to find himself trapped amidst the ruins of a
post-apocalyptic Mars, his only companions a savage Mock-Man and a
mysterious sorceress.  They battle to free this strange new world from
oppression, but it won’t be easy, for arrayed against them are the
tyrannical First Men:  the Black Sorcerer, the Sorcerer of Fatal
Laughter, Lord Ruin, and the Sorcerer of Night—masters of magic and
technology alike—the dreaded Sorcerers of Mars!

“The awesome array of talent assembled on this book really speaks for
itself, and guarantees a fun time will be had by all,” promises Editor
Van Allen Plexico.  “Each of the writers jumped on the project with
huge enthusiasm and each brought something unique and very exciting to
the table.  And there’s no question Chris Kohler, who is also interior
artist on my Sentinels superhero novels, has done some of the best
work of his career here with BLACKTHORN.”

Says noted New Pulp author Wayne Reinagel, “BLACKTHORN is one of the
best sword-and-sorcery spaceman anthologies to arrive on Earth, or
Mars, in the last century or more.  Clearly inspired by an equal
combination of Hanna-Barbera’s ‘Thundarr the Barbarian,’ DC Comics’
‘Kamandi,’ and Edgar Rice Burroughs’ ‘John Carter of Mars,’ BLACKTHORN
is an original, entertaining, action-packed saga.”

The Kindle edition presents all seven core stories in their entirety,
including the double-length origin, along with two bonus stories not
included in the upcoming trade paperback, plus Chris Kohler’s
artwork—and all at the incredibly low price of only $2.99.

White Rocket Books is a leader in the New Pulp movement, publishing
exciting action and adventure novels and anthologies since 2005, in
both traditional and electronic formats.   White Rocket books have hit
the Amazon.com Top 15-by-Genre and have garnered praise from everyone
from Marvel Comics Editor Tom Brevoort to Kirkus Reviews.

On sale as of November 28, 2011, BLACKTHORN: THUNDER ON MARS is a
$2.99 e-book from White Rocket Books.

www.whiterocketbooks.com

On Amazon Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/Blackthorn-Thunder-on-Mars-ebook/dp/B006FBRHG8

Promo video clip:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRvtgCzEY6s

Front cover image:
http://www.whiterocketbooks.com/blackthorn/blackthorn_front_mock.jpg

BLACKTHORN: THUNDER ON MARS EXPLODES ONTO KINDLE!

 Just in time for Cyber Monday, the Kindle Edition of White Rocket Books’ new anthology series, Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars is now available for purchase at Amazon for the low, low price of $2.99.
Direct link: http://www.amazon.com/Blackthorn-Thunder-on-Mars-ebook/dp/B006FBRHG8/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1322503101&sr=8-15
Print editions will follow in about two weeks.

ABOUT BLACKTHORN: THUNDER ON MARS:
Betrayed and left for dead on the battlefield, US Army General John Blackthorn awakens many thousands of years later to find himself trapped amidst the ruins of a post-apocalyptic Mars, his only companions a savage Mock-Man and a mysterious sorceress.

Their war to free this strange new world from oppression won’t be easy: Arrayed against them are the four tyrannical First Men--masters of magic and technology alike--the dreaded Sorcerers of Mars!

BLACKTHORN: THUNDER ON MARS is a post-apocalyptic adventure saga in the spirit of "Thundarr the Barbarian" and "John Carter of Mars," featuring original stories by New Pulp luminaries Mark Bousquet, Joe Crowe, Bobby Nash, James Palmer, Van Allen Plexico, Sean Taylor, and I. A. Watson, and illustrated by Chris Kohler.

"Original, entertaining, action-packed!" --Wayne Reinagel, author of the Pulp Heroes and Modern Marvels novels.

BLACKTHORN: THUNDER ON MARS
Cover by James Burns
Interior art by Chris Kohler
Stories by Mark Bousquet, Bobby Nash, James Palmer, Van Allen Plexico, Sean Taylor, and I.A. Watson. Bonus e-book stories by Mark Beaulieu and Danny Wall.
Created and edited by Van Allen Plexico.

In the spirit of "Thundarr the Barbarian" and "John Carter of Mars," it's action and adventure as General Blackthorn and his companions battle the tyrannical Sorcerers of Mars!

 Blackthorn: Thunder On Mars features the story "City of Relics" by Sean Taylor.

More teaser images released from Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars

Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars comes to Kindle (well, it does tomorrow)

The Blackthorn: Thunder on Mars book hits Kindle tomorrow! 

Print and other ebook versions to follow. 

Stay tuned for more info. 

And check this spot tomorrow for your Kindle link.