The Periodic, Western Flavored Update Post

Hey, everyone!  It’s time for another general check in on what’s going on.

The biggest news is that How The West Was Weird Volume Three, the final volume of bizarre tales of The Old West edited by Russ Anderson and released by Pulpworks Press, will be released as an e-book this Monday, May 12th.  Amongst the stories in this collection is a new El Cuevo story by me that was inspired by the amazing spaghetti western The Great Silence (and if you don’t know about this beautiful, powerful and dark movie, check out my 10 Statements on the film and seek out the DVD!); a new Sebastian Red adventure by my Better In The Dark partner Derrick Ferguson, a spooky tale of hanged men and ghost towns by Dread Media maven Des Reddick and more!  And if you prefer a dead tree version, it will be forthcoming in July.  Check out the cover by Jim Woodring, and if you haven’t read the first few volumes and the spinoff Campfire Tales, be sure to order them from Amazon!

Also, don’t forget that Betrayal On Monster Earth, Mechanoid Press' anthology of stories where giant monsters are the weapons wars are fought with edited by James Palmer and Jim Beard, is still available from Amazon.  This book features my story about corporate dragons, “Giants Of Industry,” and other amazing stories.  Pick it up now!

I’m already hard at work on some new things.  Presently, the thing occupying most of my time is “A Bullet For The Bride,” a new Dreamcatcher story for the upcoming anthology I’m collaborating with Mark Bousquet on, Strange and Cozy.  In this tale, Nocturne’s psychic detective travels to San Christobel for a wedding party and has to solve a locked room mystery in a movie star’s mansion!  “Body of Proof,” the Dreamcatcher story where Maybelle has to figure out why a dead man is acting as if his demise never happened, has been submitted to the occult detective collection A Grimoire of Eldritch Inquests, and is awaiting a decision.  Finally, I’ve just begun another Dreamcatcher story, “Jolly With A Pistol”....can you guess what this uses as a backdrop?  At this rate, there might be a Maybelle Tremens collection coming sooner than anyone thought!

And maybe I shouldn’t say anything...but I have been working not only on the outline for the second Shadow Legion novel, Machina Ex Deus, but I've written a tiny bit of it as well!

There are some other things I’m working on that are Super Top Secret, but once I’m told I can spill the beans, beans will be spilt!  But until then, enjoy How The West Was Weird Volume Three!

WAKE UP ON MONSTER EARTH!

Hey, gang!  Just wanted to let you know that Betrayal Of Monster Earth is finally here from Mechanoid Press in Kindle format on Amazon.com!

This is the second collection of a series where the major super-powers have invested their defense money into the discovery and training of cryptids.  Beginning with World War Two, battles are fought not with nuclear weapons, but with monsters.  This new volume covers the 80‘s and 90‘s, as the recovery of genetic material from a lost dinosaur in the Congo allows countries to tailor make future monsters...but the material also falls into the hands of a secret cabal conspiring to pave the way for something from beyond Earth itself!

My story for this volume, ‘Giants of Industry’ tells of a multinational corporation trying to manipulate world events for their own ends using their own monster...but the leader of this project soon finds out that the agenda of his bosses is much more difficult to carry out than he thought!

And if you haven’t done so, be sure to pick up Monster Earth, the first volume in the series, which chronicles the history of Monster Earth from the 40‘s to the 60‘s.

I’ve got my hand in another secret project from Mechanoid Press which I’m sure fans of The Shadow Legion will love...but more on that when it becomes available!

An Abundance of Dreamcatcher!

So as we’re between the release of New Roads To Hell and the next Shadow Legion book, The Shadow Legion Casebook: The Shape Of Fears To Come, and something unusual has come to light.

Namely, that people want to read more about Maybelle Tremens, the Dreamcatcher.

I honestly did not expect Maybelle to be a breakout star.  New Roads was primarily Nightbreaker and Ferryman’s story.  I did manage to put in some time to sketch out Black Talon’s background, but Maybelle?  Outside of a conversation, not a lot was paid to Dreamcatcher or the Tremens family.  Add into the fact that ‘A Prayer For The Toy God,' the Dreamcatcher story for the Casebook took the longest to write (there’s literally four story fragments representing four false starts, including a baseball-themed tale I’m tempted to revisit), and you’d think our magic wielding maven would be the character least likely to generate interest.

But first Joshua Reynolds, the creator of Charles St. Cyprian and Ebe Gallowglass and author of their first full length adventure The Whitechapel Demon, requested that I provided a story for the anthology of occult detectives, A Grimoire Of Eldritch Inquests.  This resulted in my coming up with a little mystery tale involving greed, murder and the undead that, for some frustrating reason, is untitled.  Once a title becomes apparent, I promise I will reveal it.

At the same time, the great Mark Bousquet and I decided to produce Strange And Cozy.  This is an anthology of cozy mysteries (think of Agatha Christie) written in different pulp styles.  The original idea was for me to contribute a Don Cuevo story, but it became apparent that a Dreamcatcher story would be a better fit.  This resulted in me beginning ‘A Bullet For The Bride,’ where Maybelle and her paramore, Colin ‘Black Talon’ Palmersdale travel to the glamorous city of San Cristobal for a wedding....and end up having to solve a locked room mystery!  I’m working on that right now, and it should be available in the fall.

(And if you’re a writer who wants to contribute to our anthology, you can find more information here.)

So those of you who liked New Roads To Hell and can’t wait to read more Shadow Legion should feel secure--there’ll be more Dreamcatcher stories than you can shake a magic wand at soon enough!

El Cuevo Rides Again In HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD VOLUME THREE!

This week, the esteemed Russ Anderson of Pulpworks Press announced the Table of Contents for the third entry in the How The West Was Weird series.  Check out this line-up!

Sorrowful Are the Souls That Sleep With Gold by Derrick Ferguson
A Night In Deadwood by Ian Taylor
The Steam Devil by Joel Jenkins
Ellie Froggett and the Charnel Pit by Dale Glaser
Sit By the Fire by Thomas Deja
Trail's End by Stacy Dooks
The Bone Picker by Kevin Ross
Pater Syn by Matthew Sylvester
The City of Hanged Men by Desmond Reddick
Death Comes For the Anglerfish by James Pratt
The Pulse by Kevin Thornton

In case you’re wondering, ‘Sit By The Fire’ features the return of frontier exorcist El Cuevo and his beautiful assistant Dolores set in the snowy Rocky Mountains.

If you haven’t read the first El Cuevo story, you can pick up the first How The West Was Weird on your Kindle here.

There’s more exciting news coming, including new stories featuring other members of the Chimera Falls Universe, but that’ll be showing up soon.  Stay tuned!

Do You Wanna Talk To Me Live And Other Updates

Hey, again, my fellow travelers, and Happy New Year!  Sorry for the radio silence.  Here's what's going down....

First off, just a reminder if you haven’t picked it up yet, but New Roads To Hell is still available through Amazon  and direct from Airship27.com.  I hope those of you who bought it enjoyed the first adventure of The Shadow Legion, and rest assured there’s lots more where that came from.

...like The Shadow Legion Casebook: The Shape of Fears To Come!  The book has been finished pending a polish of the last story, ‘A Prayer For The Toy God.’  This is a collection of four short stories, each one highlighting a different hero from the novel.  When you buy this amazing book, you’ll witness The Ferryman fighting a bizarre figure over the fate of a young girl; The Nightbreaker learning about the legacy of super-heroes in Nocturne as an old enemy comes looking for his mentor; The Black Talon facing a cult devoted to destroying the protectors of The City That Lives By Night; and The Dreamcatcher trying to unravel a mystery involving a young boy...and encountering the macabre protector of the city’s children.  If you’re looking for a preview, be sure to pick up Mystery Men and Women V. 4, which features stories by my good friend Derrick Ferguson and Joel Jenkins, and the first appearance of ‘A Waltz In Scarlet,’ the Ferryman story that will appear in The Casebook.

Before that comes out, we should see the appearance of Monster Earth 2 from Mechanoid Press, the anthology about an alternative Earth were the super powers wield giant monsters instead of nuclear weapons.  This book takes place in the 80‘s and 90‘s, and my contribution, “Giants of Industry,” witnesses an attempt to utilize a genetically created monster fabricated by a corporation to manipulate the affairs of a foreign country.  I had the most fun doing research for this story, and I hope you have a much fun reading it.

Also coming up is ‘Sit By The Fire,’ the new El Cuevo story that will appear in the third and final volume of How The West Was Weird from Pulpworks Press.  My hope is to write some more stories featuring my frontier exorcist and his beautiful assistant, with an eye towards producing a new collection in 2015.  If you like westerns with a touch of the strange, be sure to pick up the first two volumes of Russ Anderson’s excellent series, which features stories about El Cuevo and the steampunk scientist Doc Thunder.

And speaking of collections, I have started editing Amazing Alternity Stories, a collection featuring stories about historical personages in unusual roles.  This has been on my desk for literally years, and I am glad that it will finally see print from Pulpworks Press.

I bet some of you might have questions about The Shadow Legion, El Cuevo and the other denizens of The Chimera Falls Universe--and this Wednesday, February 12th, you’ll get the chance!  I’ll be appearing on my friend Viktor Aurelius’ podcast Whispers In The Dark, and I’ll be taking live calls from fans and readers.  The show will be live at 9pm, and if you want to call in, do so at (347) 884-9923.  I can’t wait to talk to some of you readers and find out what you think of my babies.

There’s other stuff in the pipeline, including new characters and adventures, but there’ll be more on that as soon as I know.  So keep watching this space, and be ready for more from The Chimera Falls Universe!

Meet Playmate

Happy New Year, Nocturners!

As you all know, I’ve been hard at work trying to close out The Shadow Legion Casebook V. 1.  Three of the stories are in house at Airship 27, ready to go--and hopefully you’ll see the Ferryman adventure, ‘A Waltz In Scarlet,’ in the upcoming Mystery Men and Women V. 4--and I’m hard at work on the final tale.  I’ve got roughly 8500 words to go before the book is closed out, and I’m really hoping that you’ll have it in your hands by the end of this year.

One of the cool things you’ll be seeing in this collection are some new characters that will add more depth to the city of Nocturne.  Now most of them are villains....but one of them is kinda, sorta a hero.  This was one of the characters I had included in my original pitch document I sent to Ron Fortier all those years ago.  There was no place for it in New Roads To Hell, but I’ve found a place for it in the new book....and now I’d like to give you a small preview of what’s in store for you, from the unvarnished initial draft of ‘A Prayer For The Toy God.’  Enjoy!

Standing over them, however, was the true answer.  It--if it had a sex, Maybelle could not see any indication--stood over what remained of the men who she assumed had arranged the kidnapping.  It was bent over like an animal, but the disturbing thing was how its limbs seemed...fluid.  There were no angles in its stance, just curves, as if there were no bones underneath.  It was dressed in a badly stained children’s costume, a mockery of her lover’s secret identity with the name ‘Black Talon’ written across its chest in a tiger-striped pattern.  The costume was too small, and it was ripped at the seams and frayed at the cuffs.  A thin cardboard mask hung from its too-thin neck, this depicting the Talon channeling Brother Lion, ripped at the eyes and mouth.

It had the head of one of the unfortunate criminals in one long-fingered hand.  The digits unfurled, allowing the corpse’s skull to fall to the concrete floor with a wet thud.  Its head raised up on a stalk-like neck and swiveled around, revealing a mockery of a face, contours fashioned by mismatched swatches and uneven stitches, eyes that could have been black buttons if not for the strange, dim glow within them.  A crooked mouth brightly colored like a crayon gash moved in what could be construed as speech.  

This, Maybelle knew instinctively, was Playmate.

The Periodic Update Post

Hey, again, my fellow travelers!  Sorry for the radio silence.  Here's what's going down....

First off, I want to thank everyone who picked up New Roads To Hell.  The first adventure of The Shadow Legion spent the entire month on Barry Reese’s New Pulp Best Seller list, and contributed to one of the best months in the history of Airship 27!  If you’ve already read the novel, why don’t you take the time to leave a brief review on Amazon to help other people find the book.  Hell--over the next two weeks, I’ll randomly choose a reader who places a review on the Amazon page and gift them with a sampler that contains excerpts from three of the four novellas that will make up The Shadow Legion Casebook!  Just be sure to leave a link to your review in the comments below.

As for The Shadow Legion Casebook itself....a few weeks ago, my present laptop had a bit of a coma (the Best Buy Geek Squad member who helped me called it ‘the Blue Screen of Death’), and had to have its entire hard drive replaced.  This resulted in my losing a slew of data, including 6000 words of ‘The Ascension Of Indio Blaque,’ the Black Talon novella.  I’m presently doing a rewrite of the 9000 words I still have in anticipation of trying to recreate the rest of the story.  Finishing up this book so that it can be released sometime late in 2014 is one of my primary goals.

Remember--members of The Shadow Legion will be appearing in Mystery Men and Women 4 and 5, so if you’re still hungering for more Ferryman, Dreamcatcher and Nightbreaker, be sure to pick those books up.

Then it’ll be time to gear up for writing the next full length Shadow Legion adventure, Machina Ex Deus.  What’s it about?  Maybe knowing a little something about Greek Theater may give you a hint!

I’m presently at the end of my publicity podcast tour.  If you’re not tired of hearing me talk about the novel, you can hear me on The Gentleman’s Guide To Midnite Cinema, Earth Station One  and Dread Media!

There are, of course, other things I’ve been hard at work on.  My new Don Cuevo story, ‘Sit By The Fire,’ will be featured in the third volume of How The West Was Weird, available in 2014.  I also just submitted the first draft of ‘Giants of Industry,’ my contribution to Monster Earth 2, forthcoming from Mechanoids Press.  And I’m going to begin doing research for a novella that will witness my return to writing a blonde daredevil doll I had so much fun writing before!  And that’s just the most immediate stuff.

I hope you’ll keep following the Travel Agency to learn when these and other projects come out.

Secrets Of The Shadow Legion: Their Police Ally's Inspiration Retires!

By now, I'm sure a lot of you have read some, if not all, of New Roads To Hell. 

And I'm sure some of that lot have encountered, at least partially, Detective Munchen, who becomes a friend to The Nightbreaker and an ally to The Shadow Legion in their battle against Rose Red.

And I'm sure some of that smaller sub-group might have a suspicion that our urbane detective is based on another, more famous urbane detective who holds the record for appearing in more television shows than any other television character.

You'd be right.

Today, on the day of Detective John Munch's retirement from his present home as a supporting character on Law And Order: SVU, I can reveal that Detective Munchen was based on Richard Belzer.  I've been a fan of Belzer reaching back to his comedian days, and followed his career as a character actor.  Back when I was writing fanfiction, I needed a detective character based in Baltimore for GREEN LANTERN: YEAR ONE.  Since Belzer was playing John Munch in Homicide: Life On The Streets, I choose to create Munchen as a not-very-subtle tribute to the Belz.  And when I wrote FURY OF FIRESTORM for DC Legends and needed a detective character, it made sense to have Muchen transfer to New York as Munch transfered to L&O:SVU.

Of course, sending my own version of Belz back in time and relocating him to the New Orleans manque that is Nocturne is probably the most audacious thing I've done.  But it seemed right, given that Belzer had appeared on two super-hero shows in the past (Lois And Clark and The Flash), to place him in my own super-hero universe.  And I admit, he seemed to work real well with The Nightbreaker; so much so that he makes an appearance in 'Ghost of Steel,' the Nightbreaker novella that'll appear in The Shadow Legion Casebook V. 1.

I don't know if Belzer is aware of his alternative literary version of himself; I hope that if he is aware, he'll realize it was meant as a fond tribute to a performer I love, and look upon it as further proof that John Munch is the glue that holds the pop culture multiverse together.

Happy retirement, Munch!  Hope you enjoy your new posting in Nocturne!

The Travel Agency Travels To...ZONE 4

As part of the NEW ROADS TO HELL Podcastapalooza, I appeared on Zone 4's most recent episode, where John, Ron and Gordon interview me about the book, the city of Nocturne, The Shadow Legion, and writing in general.  Check out Episode 238 here!

Also, in case you missed it, I talked with Ric Croxton and Lee Houston, Jr. on Ric's Comics here, and did a little prose back and forth with my BETTER IN THE DARK partner Derrick Ferguson here.

Coming up...I'll be talking about the 20th Anniversary of THE X-FILES with the crew of Earth-Station One, and talking about the horrific elements of NEW ROADS with Des Reddick at Dread Media!  And there's more coming soon!  So don't miss out on a single stop on the Nocturne World Podcast Tour!

(And maaaaaybe, if you're in the general New York City area, there might be a chance to meet me in person and get a signed copy--keep watch for more developments!)

Behind The Scenes: The Original Character Notes For The Shadow Legion!

Hey, gang. Since the book is now out (and if you haven’t picked up your copy, why haven’t you)?, I thought I’d share part of the original proposal document I sent to Ron Fortier back when he offered to publish New Roads To Hell. This section outlines our quartet of heroes, and presumed a modern day setting for the novel. As you’ll see, some of these characters went through some pretty radical changes as they made their way to the page; there’s even a reference to two who didn’t make the final version of the novel but might debut in the future.

Hope you enjoy this little behind the scenes glimpse, and don’t forget to leave a review on Amazon if you liked the book!

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Isaiah Copper, The Nightbreaker

Isiah Copper begins his road to being a hero by being what he is not. As a light skinned black man, Isiah passed himself off as white to gain better access to what society could offer him. As a voice actor, Isiah pretended to be The Nightbreaker, a pulp hero who thrilled the children of Nocturne every Wednesday and Friday night on WDSK.

And his practice of wearing social masks worked; WDSK's owner, Alan Dennings, was planning on exploring the idea of syndicating the Nightbreaker show...and to publicize the move, the station threw a charity ball...

And that's where everything went to Hell.

For you see, the ball was targeted for the debut of the woman calling herself Rose Red, obstensively a robbery, but in reality a distraction for the desperate woman to test her abilties. Just as Alan Dennings was blinded attempting to save the life a family, Isaiah was murdered by the ruthless killer in the second between 11:59 pm and midnight...

And Isaiah discovered that, since he died in the literal ticks between days, he was not going to die ever. He slipped out of phase with reality, neither dead nor alive, a physical being who might as well be a ghost. People on the other side of this schism didn't even recognize he existed unless he concentrated, and even then that recognition would fade the moment he left their presence.

Most people would go insane. But Isaiah chose a different method of coping--by becoming something akin to the mask he hid behind professionally, acting to right wrongs an repel evil in a continuing crusade to prove to the world that yes, he still exist. This has been an uphill battle, although recent innovations in video technology has enabled him to be caught on camera as a smudgy, ill-defined form...so the story of man dressed as an old-time radio hero has been added to the library of weird and mystical stories that make up Noctune's heritage.

Luckily, there is another group of people who can perceive and interact with. Those people who are sensitive to mystical energies are able to perceive Isaiah's presence constantly. This is an island of relief to our friend, knowing there are people out there who do recognize he exists as more than a legend. He may become the one member of this Legion who actually thinks this is a formal Legion.

Alan Dennings,The Ferryman

Even though he was left alive after trying to prevent the death of occultist Maybelle Tremens (the grandaunt of April, and maybe one of the reasons her descendant has become the equivalent of a mystical bug zapper) at that Halloween Charity Ball, but Alan Dennings might as well have died.

Yes, he attempted to carry on with his career in spite of his blindness...but the voices started. Voices that registered in the back of his head, voices telling their stories and demanding he deliver vengeance. There were so many, and when Alan tried to ignore them, they just got louder until he couldn't hear what was going on in the real world. Alan quickly was ousted by his investors from WDSK, was evicted from his home and took to wandering the streets....

...where he was found by the retired Black Talon, Colin Palmersdale. Having struggled with the Talon's own curse, Colin was able to train Alan to master his condition, and endeavored to bring him back from the brink of insanity.

Colin Palmersdale failed. All he succeeded in doing was give Alan the means to transcend his mortal form and become something greater...something that allows him to assuage those voices. With each transgression he avenges for them, he lives a little longer, his body held in a sort of mystically sanctioned stasis until every last one of these voices are satisfied.

Alan is...well, he's not well at all...

April Tremens, Dreamcatcher

To the Narrow World, April Tremens is a mentally ill young woman who suffers from one of the most extreme forms of Disassociative Personality Disorder known to man. Psychiatrists have mapped out a staggering amount of personalities in April, almost all of them malevolent. Even with heavy medication, these personalities manifest--but they are at least managable.

The Wide World, the world that the Shadow Legion operates in, know better.

April Tremens' codename is equal parts sarcastic and ironic. Just as a dreamcatcher is supposed to catch nightmares in its web before they get to the dreamer, April Tremens is a giant paranormal scoop, catching demons and other malignant supernatural entities inside her corporeal form before they can manifest on our plane and wreck havoc. Having all these monstrosities rattling around inside her head has driven her hopelessly insane, and only a heroic effort on her part allows her to retain control of her body the majority of the time.

Oddly enough, April is a vital resource to the Legion, as she has a unique insight into the way evil works. I envision her allowing one of the myriad entities to surface so her fellows can gain knowledge that will help them in their battles. Also, I figure having mystical creatures literally dwelling inside her has given April a working practical knowledge of magic. She can do minor spells at will...and as she gains a modicum of freedom through her association with the Legion, those abilities will grow.

I also envision a sort of strange, symbiotic relationship between April, mentally disabled by the constant war she wages in her mind against these unwelcome lodgers, and Playmate, drawn to the delicate young woman due to its instinctive motivation to protect children. This might be what keeps the strange creature around, cooperating with the adults it usually shuns.

Oh, and sadly, Ron--April will most likely be the one Legionnaire who will not have a costume or unform...although I imagine Playmate might try to make one for her, and fail, down the line.

Mawbry Palmersdale, The Black Talon

For centuries, the Black Talon has been the enforcer of The Circle, the strange morphogenetic field that binds all life of earth. The Talon wears a ceremonial tribal mask that allows him to tap into the Circle's abilities, borrowing specific animal traits to give him special abilities. A Talon can briefly become as strong as an elephant, agile like a cheetah or blend into the background like a chameleon. However, accessing a single ability for too long allows the Circle's representative to leave a little of itself in the user, resulting ultimately in physiological changes in the wearer. Each Talon ultimately has to be put down when his body becomes twisted into an impossible patchwork of animal traits.

For the last two hundred years, the custodian of the Talon legacy has been the Palmersdale family, and for the last eighty of those years the Palmersdales have called The City That Lives By Night home. And the Palmersdales have had a rather unique hand in shaping the Legion through the years...

It was a Palmersdale who tried to save Alan Dennings from becoming the Ferryman. It was a Palmersdale who gave shelter to the Tremens family when they fell on hard times in the 80's. It was a Palmersdale sponsorship which allowed Tsura Boswell to go to law school, and a Palmersdale who suggested she use her pyrokine abilities to benefit others. One would almost think that the Circle wants there to be a unified force of protectors in this small Gulf Coast city....

Cap'n Ron Fortier Visits THE NOCTURNE TRAVEL AGENCY!

Just in time for the release of New Roads To Hell, I sit down with the man behind Airship 27, Ron Fortier to talk about his distinguished career as a comic book writer, author and publisher! Listen to it here!

NEW ROADS TO HELL is finally here!

Airship 27 Productions is excited to debut the first of a new line of pulp-superhero books with, SHADOW LEGION – New Roads to Hell as written and created by Thomas Deja.
“Thomas proposed this idea to me last year,” explains Airship 27 Managing Editor Ron Fortier, “and I thought it contained fascinating perspectives on the whole idea of supernatural beings.”

“Every sci-fi, pulp fan knows comic book superheroes evolved from the pulps heroes,” Fortier goes on to say. “The idea of turning the tables and doing prose stories of superheroes isn’t anything new and there have been several publishers who have explored that hybrid world recently. We didn’t want to copy what others had done; which is why SHADOW LEGION appealed to me in the first place.  In creating the city of Nocturne and its unique characters, Thomas has put a decidedly fresh spin on this genre and we think our readers are really going to enjoy these adventures.”

There has always been something strange about Nocturne, Florida; the City That Lives by Night.  It is an entertainment nexus luring tourist from around the world to its night clubs, music venues and other, more adult entertainment venues. But there is a darker side to which these carefree revelers never see; one of dark doings, violence and eldritch evil.

Now a new sinister force threatens Nocturne and only a handful of unique, gifted beings can protect the city’s innocent.

Nightbreaker; a radio star turned vigilante, he exist in a strange limbo world.

The beautiful Dreamcatcher who bends all magic to her will.

The mysterious Ferryman, a living conduit to the world beyond!

And their leader, Black Talon, the embodiment of the unfettered fury of the African Veldt...stalking a jungle of concrete and glass!

Together they are The Shadow Legion, a secret alliance of mystery men and women who battle the fantastic threats that can tear apart the metropolis they call home!

Their saga begins here in New Roads To Hell, a gripping novel by Thomas Deja that reveals the secret origins of Nightbreaker and Ferrymen, and features the menace of Rose Red, a crimson haired devil with a talent for murder!  The book features interior illustrations by Chris Kemple and a cover by Pulp Factory Award winning artist, Mike Fyles with designs by Rob Davis, another PFA art winner.

AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTIONS – New Pulp Fiction for a New Generation!

Now available at Amazon.com & on Kindle.

Be Ready On September 16th....

....because what you've all been waiting for will finally be here.

(And trust me, by 'you' I include me.  Hell, I think I'm the most anxious of all).

See you in about a week.

Sorry For The Delay....

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Periodic Update Post

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

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

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

Now onto things still being worked on...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thus, Alternity Lives!

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

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

Coming Soon....

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

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

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

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

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

Coming To Crush A Major City Near You!

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

Monster Earth 2 Is Coming!

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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About James Palmer

 

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

 

About Mechanoid Press

 

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

ALL STAR PULP COMICS #2 Is Here!

AIRSHIP‭ ‬27‭ ‬presensts

ALL STAR PULP COMICS‭ ‬#‭ ‬2

‭(‬Portion of Profits Goes to‭ ‬Boston Red Cross‭)

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

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

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

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

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


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

Pssssst....Wanna See Something Cool?

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

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

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

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

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

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