Tagged: Pro Se Productions
FEAR, MYSTERY, AND THE OCCULT-THIS MONTH IN PRO SE PRESENTS #14!
Featuring Stunning Cover Art as well as Interior Art by Sean E. Ali, this issue is a sight to see!
PRO SE ONLINE PROMO PARTY-ROOK VOLUME 1 RE RELEASE AND MONSTER ACES!
Following the tremendous success of its first online promotion party with Shindig, Pro Se Productions proudly announces its next Promo Party for upcoming releases!
October 27- From 2:00 PM- 3:30 PM EST
PRO SE PRODUCTIONS PROMO EVENT- THE ROOK VOLUME 1 SPECIAL EDITION
AND MONSTER ACES!
Professional Author Barry Reese is perhaps best known for his seminal New Pulp Creation, The Rook! Join Barry as he discusses all things Rook to promote the re release of The Rook Volume 1 as a Pro Se Productions Special Edition! Giveaways, readings, and more! Also, Join Barry Reese as well as concept creator Jim Beard to talk about the all new MONSTER ACES anthology featuring great heroes against classic monsters out in time for HALLOWEEN!!
Get your mike ready and your webcam, too (if you have one) and enjoy the fun!
To RSVP, go to www.shindig.com/event/prose2 and sign up today!
PRO SE OPEN UPDATED AND NEW ANTHOLOGIES ADDED!
TALL PULP– Although every country has its mythologies, none quite have the same flavor as that of that infant of a nation, The Good Ol’ US of A. Instead of Gods and such, a whole crop of larger than life type heroes and characters have popped up throughout American history, collectively known as ‘Tall Tales’… TALL PULP (tentative title) will focus on characters who populate American Folklore, such as Paul Bunyan, Mike Fink, Pecos Bill, and more! These stories, each 10,000 words in length, will be Pulp minded tales that focus on one Tall Tale figure (either completely fictional or the tall tale version of a real person, such as Davy Crockett). These stories may either be retellings of the original legends with a Pulp flavor, set in the original time period of the characters themselves, or can be completely new updatings of these characters into other settings (John Henry in 1930s Chicago for instance) Three stories, 10,000 word stories
COVERT OPS: GEMINI– Not all spies are actors, models, or…spies in their off mission time. Under a particular program in the United States, active since the 1950s, hundreds, maybe even thousands of America’s top secret operatives live the majority of their lives as housewives, plumbers, teachers, garbagemen, and other ordinary, even mundane existences. But when they receive a message with their own personal codename followed by a single word- Gemini- then they leave suburbia or the rat race and become America’s only hope for survival. Outside of their ‘real’ lives, these spies show skills and talents not ever apparent in their daily existence. Guided by a voice known only as ‘Officer James’, C.O.G. Team Leaders stand ready to pull the best and most devious spies available to the US out of the humdrum and plunge them straight into danger. Three stories, 10,000 words each (If interested, request bible).
BADGE CITY– This collection is all Police Procedural, but with a slight twist. Set in an unnamed metropolis, referred to by the local cops and even crooks as Badge City due to the tenacity of the police force, the three stories in this collection will be set in three different time periods and each story will focus on a member of the Connors Family, each one serving on the Police force in some capacity. Starting in the 1930s-50s, then moving onto the 1960s-80s, and ending in the 1990s-now, three writers get the opportunity to write true police procedurals as written in the eras covered while building the history of a family and a city! Think Dragnet meets 87th Precinct meets Blue Bloods. Three stories, 10,000 words each (If interested, request bible.)
THE BLACK FEDORA-A BOOK OF VILLAINS– This is just what it says it is, an anthology dedicated to stories about the bad guys we love to hate. These stories will focus on original villains and of course the heroes they face, these tales similar in style to the FU MANCHU stories of the past. But this isn’t only for yellow perils!! Any type of villain that populates pulp is welcome to try on THE BLACK FEDORA! VOLUME ONE OF THIS ANTHOLOGY IS CLOSED PENDING ACCEPTED STORIES BEING TURNED IN, ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR VOLUME TWO
NINTH CIRCLE-VOLUME ONE, This collection centers around a crime ridden precinct and borough in a city that shuffles its misbegotten and forgotten to THE NINTH CIRCLE. Three Slots-10,000 word stories (If interested, request short bible for this one) TWO SLOTS OPEN, 12,500 WORD STORIES
PRO SE OPEN UPDATED AND NEW ANTHOLOGIES ADDED!
The Pro Se Open is a list of Anthologies that Pro Se Productions, a leading publisher of Heroic Fiction and New Pulp plans to do in the future. This is an open call on all the books listed in the Open, that is anyone can submit a story for any of the books in the list. For some of the anthologies, there is no deadline essentially, that is until all the slots open in any given book are filled. However, some will have deadlines attached and these will be noted by each individual title.
TALL PULP– Although every country has its mythologies, none quite have the same flavor as that of that infant of a nation, The Good Ol’ US of A. Instead of Gods and such, a whole crop of larger than life type heroes and characters have popped up throughout American history, collectively known as ‘Tall Tales’… TALL PULP (tentative title) will focus on characters who populate American Folklore, such as Paul Bunyan, Mike Fink, Pecos Bill, and more! These stories, each 10,000 words in length, will be Pulp minded tales that focus on one Tall Tale figure (either completely fictional or the tall tale version of a real person, such as Davy Crockett). These stories may either be retellings of the original legends with a Pulp flavor, set in the original time period of the characters themselves, or can be completely new updatings of these characters into other settings (John Henry in 1930s Chicago for instance) Three stories, 10,000 word stories
COVERT OPS: GEMINI– Not all spies are actors, models, or…spies in their off mission time. Under a particular program in the United States, active since the 1950s, hundreds, maybe even thousands of America’s top secret operatives live the majority of their lives as housewives, plumbers, teachers, garbagemen, and other ordinary, even mundane existences. But when they receive a message with their own personal codename followed by a single word- Gemini- then they leave suburbia or the rat race and become America’s only hope for survival. Outside of their ‘real’ lives, these spies show skills and talents not ever apparent in their daily existence. Guided by a voice known only as ‘Officer James’, C.O.G. Team Leaders stand ready to pull the best and most devious spies available to the US out of the humdrum and plunge them straight into danger. Three stories, 10,000 words each (If interested, request bible).
BADGE CITY– This collection is all Police Procedural, but with a slight twist. Set in an unnamed metropolis, referred to by the local cops and even crooks as Badge City due to the tenacity of the police force, the three stories in this collection will be set in three different time periods and each story will focus on a member of the Connors Family, each one serving on the Police force in some capacity. Starting in the 1930s-50s, then moving onto the 1960s-80s, and ending in the 1990s-now, three writers get the opportunity to write true police procedurals as written in the eras covered while building the history of a family and a city! Think Dragnet meets 87th Precinct meets Blue Bloods. Three stories, 10,000 words each (If interested, request bible.)
THE BLACK FEDORA-A BOOK OF VILLAINS– This is just what it says it is, an anthology dedicated to stories about the bad guys we love to hate. These stories will focus on original villains and of course the heroes they face, these tales similar in style to the FU MANCHU stories of the past. But this isn’t only for yellow perils!! Any type of villain that populates pulp is welcome to try on THE BLACK FEDORA! VOLUME ONE OF THIS ANTHOLOGY IS CLOSED PENDING ACCEPTED STORIES BEING TURNED IN, ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR VOLUME TWO
NINTH CIRCLE-VOLUME ONE, This collection centers around a crime ridden precinct and borough in a city that shuffles its misbegotten and forgotten to THE NINTH CIRCLE. Three Slots-10,000 word stories (If interested, request short bible for this one) TWO SLOTS OPEN, 12,500 WORD STORIES
PRO SE ANNOUNCES NEW DIGEST SERIES FEATURING CHARACTERS OF CLASSIC PULP AUTHOR!
Pro Se, a growing Publisher specializing in Heroic Fiction, New Pulp, and tales covering multiple genres, announced an open call today for a new series of books from Pro Se that mark the collaboration between the New Pulp Publisher and a classic Pulp Author!
Charles Boeckman, a 91 year old author/world traveler/jazz musician recently self published SUSPENSE, SUSPICION, & SHOCKERS. This collection of 24 stories was written by Boeckman, many of them under the name Charles Beckman, Jr. and were printed in Pulps such as Dime Detective, Detective Tales, Dime Mystery, and others as well as in digest mystery magazines such as Manhunt and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. With a career ranging from the 40s into the modern era in fiction, much of it crime and mystery related, Boeckman is truly one of the last remaining true Pulp Authors today and has crafted characters that, although they only appeared once originally, have potential for further adventures, a potential Pro Se Productions plans to tap.
“This book,” Tommy Hancock, Editor in Chief and Partner in Pro Se, states, “is truly a fantastic read. Mr. Boeckman’s words sing with the huskiness and weight of a torch singer and the stories deliver blows like gunshots from all sides. He breathes life into every character, every locale, and every situation these hard luck heroes find themselves in. And one of the great things about his stories is, although there are definitely heroes between the beginning and end, they’re not cast in bronze or refined from gold. These are bruised, battered, often broken souls who have talents for music, in a lot of cases, or mystery and are almost as talented in getting themselves in trouble that most people would have to die to get out of.”
“After reading his book,” Hancock continues, “I contacted Mr. Boeckman and, following drowning him in compliments and fanboy like sentiments, I identified several characters that I felt like could have life in new stories and would appeal to a modern audience, both for nostalgic reasons as well as the fact that these characters, even the ones written back in the 1940s, were definitely written with a sensibility that makes them viable to modern readers. I requested the permission to put together anthologies and books based around these characters in a series of digests that sport Mr. Boeckman’s name and he agreed to that.”
Pro Se will begin publishing the CHARLES BOECKMAN PRESENTS line of digest sized anthologies and novellas featuring characters originally created and featured in stories written by Boeckman. Although each individual digest may focus on a different theme or character, they will all appear under the CBP banner, and will feature new stories based on Boeckman’s work.
Charles Boeckman |
“This is an open call,” Hancock states, “to any and all writers who might be interested in trying their hand at Mr. Boeckman’s characters. The first step in this process will be for interested writers to look over the brief descriptions of the characters provided and email proseproductions@earthlink.net with any and all they may be interested in. Based on that interest, story bibles and other information will be sent to interested authors who will then be required to draft a proposal for a story, length being minimum 8,000 words to a full novella length of 30,000. The proposal must be no more than a page long and, if the writer has never submitted to Pro Se before, a writing sample of at least 3 pages of narrative must be supplied as well. One thing to note, also. Although these characters were originally created by Mr. Boeckman and Pro Se will be insuring that they remain true to the source material, we are not wanting any writer to ape or copy Mr. Boeckman’s style. We will be great stewards of these classic ideas as well as the skills and styles of the modern writers pouring life into them.”
Charles Boeckman |
Detective Mercer Basous from ‘The G-String Corpse’- A homely 1970s New Orleans Detective who knows three things very well- New Orleans, the people that make it up, and how to do his job.
Big Lip from ‘The Last Trumpet’-A piano player on1950s Broadway who solved the murder of his great friend and one of the greatest horn players the world has ever known who moves onto further tales and adventures in a band in a world without The Earl.
Buddy Gardner and Frank Judson from ‘Blind Date’- Frank, a mid 1960s small town reporter, and Buddy, a deputy in the small town with detective skills to spare, find new stories and cases to follow and crack in Kingsbury after their initial tale, where Frank finds a dead woman in his trunk that all evidence said he had an affair with, then murdered, but he’d never met her before.
Lt. Mike O’Shean and Lil Brown of the Daily Herald from “I’ll Make The Arrest”-Mike O’Shean, a passionate two fisted cop of the early 1950s who sinks his teeth into a case and won’t let go, even if it kills him, and Lil Brown, the reporter who knows her job and city better than anyone…and knows O’Shean better than that. These two are at the beginning of what may be a beautiful relationship if crime and corruption don’t get in the way!
Doc and Sally from ‘A Hot Lick for Doc’-Fresh in 1950s LA from their debut tale, Doc, a washed up clarinet player who found his music again following being involved and solving a murder, and Sally, the recovering heroin addict who accompanied him, would be ready to write new tunes and chop a new life out of whatever life and LA throws at them.
Johnny Nickle from ‘Run, Cat, Run’-A trumpet player who’s claim to fame was having played on a supposedly haunted Jazz Classic that led to him being on the run from a curse and a murderer for years, Johnny Nickle is now back on top in the early 1950s blowing his horn and finding trouble almost everywhere he finds a stage to stand on.
The stories will be set in the periods mentioned for each of the characters. If a writer wishes to go beyond that period, then that must be clearly mentioned in the proposal.
Deadline for initial proposal submissions is November 1st, 2012.
Other characters from Mr. Boeckman’s many stories may be added to the available list to write from at a later date, Hancock points out, but these are currently the only characters discussed thus far.
“This,” Hancock says, “is not only a great opportunity for Pro Se, but it is truly an honor to have not only made the acquaintance of such a great writer and part of Pulp history as Mr. Boeckman, but to have the privilege of giving new life to these classic friends of his, there’s no real words for that except We intend to make him proud.”
For more information on Pro Se Productions, go to www.prosepulp.com. To get a copy of SUSPENSE, SUSPICIONS, AND SHOCKERS go to http://www.amazon.com/Suspense-Suspicion-Shockers-Charles-Boeckman/dp/1479238732/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1350269187&sr=1-6.
PRO SE TAKES THE WORLD BY STORM WITH ONLINE PROMO PARTY!
BLOOD OF THE CENTIPEDE Debuts from Pro Se !
NEW FANTASY PULP FROM PRO SE AND HANSEN’S WAY- THE HUNTRESS OF GREENWOOD!
BULLOCK TALKS NEW PULP CHARACTER DEBUTED IN ‘TALES OF THE ROOK’ FROM PRO SE!
Noted Comic Writer Mike Bullock contributed as one of the authors to TALES OF THE ROOK, the first ever anthology set in veteran New Pulp Author Barry Reese’s universe and featuring his best known character, The Rook!
The Anthology debuted in May under the Reese Unlimited imprint from Pro Se Productions and features works by Reese, Ron Fortier, Bobby Nash, Percival Constantine, Tommy Hancock, and Bullock. Best known for his work on Moonstone’s THE PHANTOM and his own LIONS, TIGERS, AND BEARS, Bullock has jumped feet first into New Pulp as an active member of the New Pulp Movement. His Runemaster Studios is quickly becoming a fantastic source of New Pulp stories and characters, including his latest creation which saw life first in his TALES OF THE ROOK contribution. Bullock joins All Pulp for an interview about the mysterious XANDER!
ALL PULP: Who and/or what is Xander?
MIKE BULLOCK: He is the Guardian of Worlds, a man, a spirit and a legend. Over two thousand years ago, the first Xander stumbled on an ancient tomb in Capernaum. Inside he found a scroll, staff and armband lying in a sarcophagus. When he read the scroll, a transformation took place anointing him as the first Guardian of Worlds, charged with locating and closing the nether-portals opened from worlds below into our own.
Mentored by the spirit of his dead Grandfather, Xander employs a variety of martial and mystical arts to complete his tasks and prevent those who dwell in darkness from wreaking havoc on Earth.
AP: What characters/ideas/creators influenced you in the creation of Xander?
MB: I had just finished reading a few of the Rook novels and had sat down with my beautiful wife to watch Fringe when a feeling of incredible creative inspiration came over me. As the show went on, I recall suddenly picturing Xander in my mind, and his totems of power (the armband and staff). I continued to watch the show but something triggered a memory and I recalled a story I’d seen as a child, where a boy’s shadow had a mind of its own, but was attached to the boy’s feet so they were forever linked. While the shadow wanted to do one thing, the boy wanted something else, which created an interesting tension with the character. I took that and molded it into the ‘legacy hero’ model from Phantom, painted all that on my original bit of inspiration and within 45 minutes had what would finally be named Xander: Guardian of Worlds.
AP: What about this opportunity to be a part of the Tales of the Rook appealed to you enough to introduce Xander into it?
MB: It made perfect sense, since Xander was born out of a moment of inspiration catalyzed by Barry Reese’s work. It’s an honor to have Barry give me the keys to his character and I hope he’s as happy with the outcome as I am.
AP: For you, what is it about New Pulp that draws you in as a creator and inspires you to add characters and tales to it?
MB: I fell madly in love with pulp fiction the first time I laid eyes on A Princess of Mars back in the 70s. Since I have this compulsion/need to write and be creative, it seems only natural that I would do so in the New Pulp field. I love what others are doing in the field and just thank God I get to be part of that.
AP: Any future plans/teasers about what we’ll see from Xander down the road?
MB: Right now I’ve laid the groundwork for his first novel, a series of short stories coming soon from Pro Se. In that, Xander will travel to Texas, New York and abroad hunting down demons, devils and the like in an effort to banish them once more to the hells they crawled from. We’ll learn more about who currently wears the totem, what it means to bear the strain of being the Guardian and maybe get a glimpse of his love life. Oh, and there will be lots and lots of action and adventure.
TALES OF THE ROOK is available at www.amazon.com and www.prosepulp.com in both print and ebook!