Possibly the very best thing for science fiction fans about the so-called digital publishing revolution is the tremendously lowered bar to entry. Concepts and approaches that traditional publishers might deem too risky to fly in the fickle retail market are finding new life on platforms like Amazon Kindle and [[[Smashwords]]]. Take, for example, [[[The Scattered Earth]]] project: three writers (friends of ComicMix Aaron Rosenberg, Steven Savile, and David Niall Wilson), three novels, three worlds in a shared universe that will only later make the links between stories apparent.
I had the chance to read Rosenberg’s [[[The Birth of the Dread Remora]]], the first book in The Scattered Earth cycle, and I have to say – thank goodness for the rise of the ebook, because otherwise this might never have seen the light of day. It’s a rollicking space opera about the adventures of the Remora, the first-ever space vessel designed by a presumably post-apocalyptic Earth-based race of amphibious humans that resembles the Nautilus more than it does the Enterprise.
Growing Up With Monsters: My Times at Universal Studios in Rhymes
By Carla Laemmle and Daniel Kinske, LCDR, USN
Foreword by Ray Bradbury
Illustrated by Jack Davis and Hermann Mejia
A lovely book that tells the true story of how the classic Universal Studios Monsters were born from a centenarian who was there when it happened. Enjoy Carla’s tale of growing up on her uncles Universal Studio Lot from 1921 to 1937 and not only witnessing the filming of such early classics as The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1923, but actually being in The Phantom of the Opera in 1925 and Dracula in 1931, where her “bit” part was that of having the first line of spoken dialogue in that perennial classic vampire film. Beware of vampires and hearses, but enjoy her story’s verses! Wonderfully illustrated by MAD Magazines Jack Davis and Hermann Mejia. Foreword provided by master of horror and SCI-FI, Ray Bradbury.
SEVEN REALMS ANNOUNCES SIGNING OF AUTHOR AND NEW SCI FI THRILLER!
From Seven Realms Publishing-
Publishing is an exciting and wonderful business to be in. Not only do we have the opportunity to work with some of the biggest and brightest stars in the business, but we have the opportunity to discover rising stars as well! And that’s just exactly what Nicholas Tanguma represents for Seven Realms. He is one author that you will be hearing a lot about in the future, we guarantee it and are just absolutely excited to introduce him to you and all of Readerdom!
In the tradition of Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti, Nicholas is bringing to Seven Realms his dark and imaginatively adventurous Sci-Fi Thriller tentatively entitled “SONS OF GOD AND DAUGHTERS OF MEN“!
Here’s a synopsis of the novel:
There is a door to Hell, and it’s about to be opened.
In the not too distant future, the earth is in absolute chaos. Israel and Persia volley nukes after inflation of the Iranian economy hits one million percent. Japan of the Republic of Greater East Asia invades the Arab pipeline fields. The Mullahs of the Middle East are directing chemical jihad for their countries’ dwindling oil reserves. And the United States of North America and the fundamentalist Nation of God are in economic crises after splitting during the Second Civil War.
In the midst of it all is the enigmatic Phaelon, the world’s most secretive and murderous religious synod. But they have discovered something even more terrifying than hydrogen missiles or dirty bombs…something even more diabolical than economic espionage. They have stumbled upon their greatest enemy to date…an undying and demonically invincible woman who has found the doors to Hell itself and isn’t afraid to open them.
The synod, seeking to prevent this from happening, assigns three of their best employees to stop Hell-on-Earth: Jeremiah Nicholas, a wet work asset specializing in linguistics and untraceable weaponry; Sayo Tomo, a scholar whose entire career with the Phaelon has been to hunt their occultic arch enemy; and Tamara St. James, a woman trained in espionage and assignation by Jeremiah Nicholas himself, who was once his lover before her growing skills turned her into a competitor.
To keep mankind from falling prey to a prematurely triggered Judgment Day, the three charge after their target into the world’s international deadzones, where a preternatural weapon has macrobiotically frozen the Balkan States of Europe and nuclear fallout has ravaged the once fearsome mujihadeen of the Turkic Shari’a Nation into mutagenic cannibals.
Sons of God and Daughters of Men combines the neon cyberpunk grit of techno-noir, the pertinence of a smart political thriller, and the rich language textures of beautifully surrealistic weird fiction into a dreamscape that’s never been seen before!
Sounds great, doesn’t it? Well, wait until you read it! In the next few weeks, I’ll be releasing a few excerpts for you to get a taste of this incredibly rich science fiction thriller!
BIO: Nicholas Tanguma attended university to learn to write novels. He then dropped out of university to write novels. This is his first book.
SONS OF GOD AND DAUGHTERS OF MEN will be released early 2012!
PULP AUTHOR PROMOTES LATEST WORKS AND AN OLD FAVORITE!
From Author Kevin Paul Shaw Broden-
FLYING GLORY AND THE HOUNDS OF GLORY
by Kevin Paul Shaw Broden and Shannon Muir
“Flying Glory can Survive Anything…” Or Can She?
You’ll have to read the latest page of “Looking for a Love Song” at http://www.flying-glory.com to find out.
REVENGE OF THE MASKED GHOST
by Kevin Paul Shaw Broden
As the author takes a break to rewrite early chapters return with us to the beginning as a terrifying figure
steps in out of the darkness in: Chapter 1 – “A Ghost out of the Storm”
NINE FOR THE NEW (New Creator Spotlight) NANCY HANSEN-Writer/Creator/Artist
AP: Nancy, welcome to ALL PULP! First, can you tell us about yourself, some personal background?
NH: I’m a fairly simple person; wife and mother of two grown sons, and we live in beautiful, rural northeast Connecticut. A lifelong reader and lover of books, I have a lot of interests and hobbies that feed into my writing. I’m a gardener, crafter, amateur naturalist, and I’ve dabbled in art and music. I collect fantasy and owl figurines. I love to cook and crochet, and I’ve been known to haunt antique shops, flea markets, and yard sales looking for bargains. I have very strong interests in mythology, the occult, and anthropology—actually a lot of the natural sciences. I used to hunt and fish with my Dad and I still enjoy long walks in the woods and countryside. I’ve had a variety of jobs over the years: nanny and housekeeper, mushroom picker, health aide in a nursing home, and a stint as a high voltage tester for a wire and cable manufacturer. I’ve sold hand-tied trout flies and handmade crafts and Christmas wreaths to make a few dollars. I’ve volunteered as a Cub Scout leader and in local school systems, and did online stints as forum moderators for both Sierra software (gardening and landscaping) and Prodigy Internet Communities on their now defunct Books & Writing Bulletin Board. I always have some project going or something in my hands, because I’m one of those people who just can’t sit still doing nothing.
Back when my kids were young, I was a stay-at-home mom by choice and necessity. My oldest son has a neurological disorder and was struggling in school. My mother was recently widowed, depressed, and very dependent on me. We moved her in with us, and once things stabilized I started casting about for some sort of creative endeavor to focus career aspirations on. After playing around with both art and music for a while, and then completely failing at a craft supply selling business, I decided writing was what I really wanted to do. It’s very artistic and challenging, and doesn’t require as much time leaving home to sell your wares, which worked better with raising a family. There were a lot of demands on my time back then, but I was thinking about my own future too. I had a high school diploma and no job training, and money was pretty tight, so going back to school was out of the question. Instead I took a couple of writing correspondence courses from home. Best thing I ever did! Those focused lessons, along with teaching myself how to operate a computer and run a word processing program, really made a huge difference in what I was able to accomplish at the keyboard. Unfortunately I’m not an organized thinker and I’m a rotten typist, so if I was still using up correction ribbons by the case or trying to read my chicken scratch and cross-outs, I’d have given up writing a long time ago. I managed to get a few articles published here and there and took a couple prizes in local poetry contests, but getting my fantasy fiction in the hands of readers was always my passion, and that had been an elusive goal until recently.
AP: As a writer, what influences have affected your style and interests the most over the years? Do you have a particular genre/type of story you prefer to write?
NH: Well, besides the convergent interest areas, I’ve always been a huge fan of speculative fiction, especially epic/heroic fantasy—what is known in the mainstream market as ‘sword & sorcery’. As a kid I loved anything that had to do with Tarzan, The Lone Ranger, Robin Hood, pirates, Japanese monster flicks, classic horror films, and the like. I devoured Jack London’s tales of the north and drooled over JohnSteinbeck’s ability to tell a funny, ironic, or heart-tugging story and still get an important point across. I discovered Sherlock Holmes as a young teen and spent an entire summer reading an omnibus hardcover someone tossed in the town dump! We got a lot of bundles of comic books that way too, and I read all I could. In my late teens, I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy because a dear friend loaned them to me for the summer, and she also passed on some Conan stories written by authors other than Robert E. Howard. Along the way, someone gave me a box of romance novels with a copy of Andre Norton’s Catseye in it. Never read many of the romances, but I’ve worn out two paperback copies of that fantastic book. I had the high school librarians scouring the stacks for anything I hadn’t read, and that’s about the time Anne Rice’s Interview With The Vampire came out. I was the first kid in that school to read it, before it even went on the shelf.can be hard to take, invariably makes for a much better tale.
As soon as my sons were old enough to listen, I used to read bedtime stories to them. The older they got, the more complex books I would read, voice-acting the characters and explaining the tough words and concepts. Once they got involved in PC and console gaming, I would watch them play, and then grab a book for myself and read something to relax with before I went to sleep. Those were sometimes stressful days, and so I learned to select something entertaining to decompress with. I did read a little science fiction or horror, or the very occasional historical romance, but most often it was a beloved epic fantasy. Finding and falling in love with a copy of David Edding’s The Ruby Knight in the cutout bin at the local bookstore and then getting my first Howard Conan omnibus collection and devouring that are what put the idea in my head that maybe I should think about writing this stuff too. By then my bookshelves were groaning anyway, and my head was filled with ideas of how I would handle stories and characters like the ones I was reading.
So I guess it was just meant to be. Those influences were my first introduction to the world of pulp, and while I might not have called it that at the time, looking back I can see how I got here.
AP: What about genres that make you uncomfortable? What areas within pulp are a little bit intimidating for you as an author?
NH: I don’t know that there’s much in the way of writing I’m actually uncomfortable with. There are areas I’m not particularly interested in, and some I’m not all that skilled with—mainly because I don’t have enough reading experience. Slasher horror, hard sci-fi, bodice ripper romances, complex spy/mysteries, westerns, military and police stuff, and the noir kind of suspense stories that wind up being dark period pieces are all somewhat intimidating for me. I can’t stress enough though, if you want to write well in a particular area, you need to read a lot of what’s already been done, and if I ever want to write them that’s what I will do.
AP: Are you a pulp fan? If so, how has that affected you as a writer of pulps. If you aren’t a longtime fan, then why pulp?
NH: You know, if you had walked up to me and asked that question a year ago, I would have said it depends on what you consider pulp. This past year of being steeped in the entire pulp culture has shown me that it’s a pretty broad based definition. But to answer the first part of the question, yes I am a pulp fan because I love to read good stories full of action and adventures with clear cut heroes and villains. In all honesty, I’m not writing any fiction now that is much different than what I always have done. I’ve just picked up the pace of the stories a bit. I always set out to write a story I’d love to read. I see pulp not as a separate genre, but a specific style of writing that encompasses many genres. What sets pulp apart is that it is very fast paced, as much action oriented as it is character driven, with heroes and villains that are distinctly defined. It’s wonderfully entertaining reading, (and darn fun to write too!) and that’s exactly what it was intended for. Pulp is the escapist fiction of the everyday reader-for-pleasure, and that’s why no matter how accepting or not the mainstream market has been, pulp has always managed to survive in one form or another. Like its many heroes, pulp is too hard boiled, direct, stubborn, and beloved by its many fans to go down without a fight.
I came to writing pulp through word of mouth about how a startup publishing group called Pro Se Productions was looking for writers. The attraction wasn’t because it was pulp per se, but because I could write the kind stories I love so much. I had to audition just like everyone else, and sent a total stranger named Tommy Hancock a couple of stories; and wonder-of-wonders, he actually liked them! In fact he said he wanted more, and I sure did want to write for someone regularly, so I signed on as a staff writer. Just a word about writing in general to potential writers reading this… Be a pulp hero too, and never give up.
I’ve been writing seriously for almost 22 years now with limited success in the mainstream publishing industry. I’ve watched that market contract through buyouts and attrition, going from dozens of small companies to like 6 major houses. Getting published with the big houses is now mostly a numbers game involving marketability based on name recognition. The standard and genre fiction magazine and anthology markets that still survive have slush piles clogged with manuscripts from folks like us vying for a few precious pages between the ads and interviews with big names. Fortunately we live in an age where things like print-on-demand and E-copies make indie companies like Pro Se a viable possibility even without the hefty advertising budgets. I’m proud to be involved in what I see as a groundswell of frustrated talent turning to what works best—going directly to the public with what we have to offer. I’ve talked to a lot of self-published authors and other creative people in fields like music over the last few years, and the happiest, most fulfilled ones are doing just that—selling direct so that there are less flaming hoops to jump through to find an audience.
AP: What do you think you bring to pulp fiction as a writer?
NH: Because I haven’t read a lot of what you would consider classic pulp (yet), I’d have to answer that I have few preconceptions about what can be done in any particular way. Since many of my writing influences were in the mainstream market, what I write is very character driven, and you will always find very well defined people in my stories. I’m also big on settings. I want you to see what I visualize in my head. Not that other pulp writers don’t do that, but I came into this with an entire batch of work already established and so I know how these particular worlds work and what to expect from the main good guys and baddies.
Being a woman who happens to write pulp stories gives me a bit of an edge on creating strong female leads. I think that is one area that has been underserved in what we would consider classic pulp—that and positive characters with diverse racial, ethnic, and even gender preference. If you look at the success of the Harry Potter books or Christopher Paolini’s Eragon, you can see that even our younger readers love a good yarn with all sorts of exciting and dangerous things going on. Our audience has grown more diverse over the years, and pulp has more growing to keep up with them. I see a lot of good stuff out there now, and it’s nice to be on the cutting edge.
AP: You’re a staff writer at Pro Se Productions and you have several series going on there. Share a bit about them with us, if you would?
NH: Yeah I have something like eight series going, and I rotate through them. I’ve done a couple of standalone stories too, so this could take a while. Only a couple of stories have appeared in the magazines yet. Several series take place in the same world, just different areas and eras, and I do tend to have some crossover characters. There’s a lot to tell…
Roshanna the Huntress, The Windriders of Everice, The Vagabond Bards, The Sudarnian Chronicles and the brand new By The Wayside Tales are all set in the same world, a sort of classic fantasy good vs. evil, sword and sorcery setting. Each one has a particular set of main characters doing what they do best against that big backdrop.
Roshanna is a frontier ranger type character who is good with a bow or a knife. Because of her triple bloodline heritage of Human, Elf and Dwarf; she is tough, witty, and has a lot of charisma and empathy for others. She lives alone as a warder protecting an enchanted northern forest that has a portal between worlds hidden in it. She gets into all sorts of adventures, and her first story, “Of Kin and Clan”, just debuted in Pro Se’s Fantasy & Fear #3. Of all the characters I’ve written, she’s my favorite and the one I’d most love to be like.
The Windriders sagas take place farther south in a high mountain range, and involve a legion of mounted warriors on flying steeds that protect an area served by the one large pass through those mountains. They are lead by Neoma, the abdicated crown princess of the realm of Everice, and many of her recruits are young adult misfits needing a place to fit in. Think Black Sheep Squadron with warriors on flying horses fighting dragons and gryphons.
The Vagabond Bards are a fellowship of musically talented people committed to being teachers and keepers of the history of the land in a time of great upheaval. These roving bards get into a variety of adventures and each story features one or more of the group off doing what they do best—keeping the populace informed and working to make their world a better place. Picture them as a roving medieval Peace Corps with musical instruments and a penchant for good taverns and dependable transportation.
The Sudarnian Chronicles take place in another, well settled area of that same world, where there are all sorts of magical creatures and beings and plenty of things to keep the four young people who are the main characters busy. This story has a quartet of regular characters: Nicholas and Ethan, two orphaned refugee brothers—one skilled with fighting weapons and the other able to summon creatures and do some elementary wizardry; Sarita, a young girl of another culture who has natural abilities with healing, spirit calling, and clairvoyance; and Lauren, a tomboy of sorts who has a lot of gumption and great skill with a bow. A foursome of abilities that compliment and contrast, like the teams you find in many RPG games.
By The Wayside Tales is an offshoot of my last Vagabond Bards story, continuing the adventures of two guest characters I just fell in love with. Alexandre Louis Edouard Lebeau is a short-statured but feisty count-turned-adventuring cavalier, armed with sharp wit, impeccable style, and a flashing rapier. His half-Elven companion and ardent interest is the lovely and talented pickpocket, cat burglar, scam artist and highwaywoman Danika, AKA The Phantom Rose. They are by association now outlaws trying to do the right thing and clear their names while staying one step ahead of the hangman, sort of like a medieval setting Fugitive series. I dedicated their first standalone appearance “The Reluctantly Betrothed” to the benefit book being put together for Pulp Ark to donate to libraries as a way to get more pulp into the stacks. For now that is where they will remain, making appearances within benefit books, unless they develop a following of their own.
Three other series I have outside of this all encompassing world setting are The Song Of Heroes, the Companion Dragon Tales, and my newest venture, The Silver Pentacle.
The Song of Heroes has a more modern setting, but features the legendary Lorelei the Siren, who has been brought back to the world of the living by the ‘gods’ to find and eliminate some of the scummier villains of the world. As with all sirens, her biggest assets are her lovely good looks and her enchanting voice. Lori, as she is known, is rather a tragic figure in that she is atoning for her past sins as an enchantress who purposely shipwrecked sailors to steal from them. Being immortal, she will outlive anyone who loves her, and because she is bound to this crime busting life, she must always move on after each assignment is completed. She wears a magical bracelet and chained ring that, when disconnected, brings one or more of four very diverse ‘heroes’ who are doing similar penance. At times the differences between her associates and their intended targets are not so very marked, nor are all of the targets human either. Plenty of violence and adult topics implied in this series—still PG 13, but not for the kiddies, with her introductory adventure, “Lori’s Lament” having appeared in Pro Se Presents Fantasy and Fear # 1.
The Companion Dragons Tales are a similar modern setting with lots of magical overtones and all the bad puns you could ever want to read. J Little dragons become the familiar companions of various wizards, witches, enchantresses, and mages, many of which are also writers. Each magical person has a particular claim to fame, and each dragon has specific abilities. The adventures are set in worlds both known and fantastic, and it is the connection between the dragon and the human companion that drives the stories. The first one started as an online spoof by a writing friend, and once I was invited to join in, they kind of evolved into an entire world of their own. (I tend to complicate things…) While my original intention was to target younger readers, there’s plenty of appeal to all ages, as with the Harry Potter stories. What’s not to like about a world where the universal currency is based on chocolate, and you could be saved from attacking hack wordsmiths or evil clowns by ninja nuns and that famous adventurer, Rhode Island Smith? Nothing is sacred and everything possible is lampooned.
The Silver Pentacle is a brand new series for me, and it’s a real departure from anything else I’ve written. Take a post apocalyptic Earth, combine four elemental super beings with an androgynous demi-deity. Toss in some mythological gods and goddesses vying for control against the backdrop of an ongoing war fought by giant mechs, some ecological mayhem, and plenty of rifts in time and space bringing strange creatures and beings alive. Shake well, and give them a cosmic treasure hunt with a measure of steampunk and classic science fiction props, and the occasional cameo of a historical personage. I think you’ll have a lot of fun reading it. It’s been a challenge to write, and I love every moment of it. I’ve been told that the first SP story; “To Kindle A Fire” will be debuting in Peculiar Adventures #4. I’m putting the finishing touches on the second tale, “Where Fair Winds Do Blow”, right now. That one has Atlantean mermen, sea monsters, and pirates…
Whew, that’s all a lot of work, but also a labor of love. I enjoy having something new to pick up on any time I feel jaded by a particular story. And nope, I have no problem keeping them all straight. I write copious notes.
AP: You’re a woman writing fantasy pulp. Does the fact you’re female give you any sort of different perspective on pulp?
NH: I suppose it might, because from what I understand, my gender makes me a bit of an anomaly. But honestly, I think of myself as a pulp writer who just happens to be a woman. I do use a good amount of strong leading ladies and female sidekicks in my stories because I like the idea of giving women something more to do than romp around being hot and sexy or helpless. These ladies I’m writing are not barely clothed, half dressed supermodels or whimpering victims waiting to be saved. They’re gutsy gals from all walks of life muddling through, doing what they do best. I write plenty of male characters too, and a couple of gender conflicted/neutral ones. I’m working hard on getting more ethnicities into the mix, because I want the stories to reflect the diversity of my audience. People in the real world come in a wonderful variety of shapes, sizes, colors, genders, experiences, and backgrounds; and we all want stories to contain characters and settings that feel familiar and comfortable. The tenets of pulp are pretty much the same no matter who you are or what you’re writing: fast paced action in an engaging tale, with heroes you’d be proud to share a victory drink with, and villains you’re glad to see trounced. The rest is in the tale itself, and if it’s done well, it doesn’t make a darn bit of difference who-all wrote it or what the particulars of the character’s dossier are.
AP: You’re an editor also for Pro Se. What do you edit and what do you think you bring to that position that can be of benefit to the writers you edit?
NH: I’ve edited Peculiar Adventures since issue two, but I’m always available if they need something eleventh hour for somewhere else. Editing was kind of a battlefield promotion, but that said, I’ve been doing it for friends for years now. Anyone who writes regularly and wants to be read knows the value of careful editing because no matter how meticulous you are, you’re still gonna miss stuff. As a writer, you tend to get tunnel vision after you’ve worked on something a while and the brain will fill in what it wants to see. It always helps to have a second pair of eyes to pick up those dumb little things that we all tend to overlook in our umpteenth read-through. I did a lot of support editing and encouragement when I worked with the Prodigy group, and some of those friendships have continued well past its sad demise. I’ve also spent a lot of writing time making every mistake in the world over the last 20 years, so I know what to look for. J I do copy edit everything I get, looking for the usual little typos, redundancies, and so on. But I also view those stories as a potential reader, trying to get a feel for what each author does well, where the strengths and weaknesses are, and how this story or series could work best for Pro Se in general and PA in particular. I don’t put myself on any pedestal just because I have an extra position after my name. I get edited too, and believe me, I make plenty of mistakes! From experience I can say that the feedback, though it sometimes
What I like about small companies like Pro Se are the interpersonal exchanges. As an editor, I am not some unseen enigma with a printed signature on a form letter. Most of the writers I deal with know, or should know, I am always there if you need someone to kibitz or kvetch with and bounce ideas off of. I am on Facebook and can be reached via Pro Se or my work email
AP: What’s coming Nancy Hansen in the future? Any projects you want to discuss?
NH: Well, a whole bunch of things! I turned in over 20 short stories to Pro Se last year alone, and there’s more in process as I write this. Most of what I write for Pro Se appears in Fantasy & Fear, but as I said above, the Silver Pentacle series will be debuting in Peculiar Adventures down the road. I have a couple of longer term projects that I can’t discuss right now, but rest assured, I will always have more than one iron in the fire and I’m always open to new projects and collaborations. With the amount of material I have on hand, I’ll be able to write for the rest of my life, and likely never get it all done. Good thing I love what I’m doing huh?
AP: Thanks a lot for taking time to visit with ALL PULP, Nancy!
NH: It’s been a pleasure fellas. This bespectacled gal really enjoys and appreciates all that the ‘Spectacled Seven’ does to report on and promote those of us who are keyboard banging warriors in the world of pulp.
PHANTOM/CAPTAIN ACTION HC(can be found under “action”). Limted edition, will NOT ever be a softcover!
VOLTRON: the official Art Book and more!(“action”) for all the fans of the show, here’s to you!
The SPIDER & DOMINO LADY: (“action”)
The first meeting of these two! SPECIAL EXCLUSIVE INTERNET cover variant! Written by NY TIMES best selling author NANCY HOLDER!
CHICKS IN CAPES PROMOTIONAL INTERVIEW-Jennifer Fallon
AP: Jennifer, what is your writing background, some of the works you’ve published, and your major influences?
JF: My background lies in epic fantasy. I have 13 novels in print around the world, across three series (the six books of the Hythrun Chronicles, the Second Sons Trilogy and the Tide Lords quadrilogy) and a new book coming out in March 2011, which is the start of the Rift Runners trilogy. I have a novella featured in the Legends of Australian Fantasy anthology, edited by Jack Dann, and I have also co-authored a tie-in novel for Stargate SG1. I have contributed a story to the More Tales of Zorro anthology, the Baggage anthology and various other publications with the magic million books in sales looming on the horizon so they tell me. In my spare time, I run the Reynox International Writers’ Retreat near Christchurch, in New Zealand, mentor a number of writers online, work as a practice manager for my daughter’s veterinary practice, undertake public speaking engagements, and — so I found out this morning — I’m about to start a construction company.
My story-telling influences are old-school – Asimov, Clarke, H Beam Piper, Robert Forward, to name a few (note the lean towards sci-fi, rather than fantasy). I like that they wrote ripping yarns, first and foremost. If I had a chance to live my life over, I would be an astrophysicist, put in 20 years with NASA and then retire to write bestselling hard sci-fi. I would also arrange not to flunk math in high school, which I have long suspected is the reason I never became an astrophysicist in this life.
AP: You have a story featured in the Moonstone anthology, CHICKS IN CAPES. Can you give us a bit of a teaser of what readers can expect from your tale?
JF: Hopefully a smile and a bit of entertainment. When I was invited to contribute to the anthology, I jokingly suggested I should give my superhero the superpower I have, which is the ability to find a car park right where I want it, every single time. Imagine my surprise (and consternation) when they emailed me straight back with “Wow! What an awesome idea! Can’t wait to read the story!” Turned out to be a great challenge, but I love the end result. Long may the Violet Valet rule!
AP: What goes into building a heroic tale for you? What makes up a good heroic character?
JF: For me it was getting the tone right. Mine is an origin story so the arch-villain isn’t really the focus of the story. It’s more how the Violet Valet and her sidekick get together. I think what makes a good hero is one who is flawed in some way, but overcomes their flaws to do the right thing. I read somewhere that a fearless person can never be a hero, because there is nothing heroic about charging in when you’re not afraid of anything. The true hero is the one who does what they must, in spite of their fears. I tried to give my characters some flaws. The more super they are, oddly enough, the more human they need to be for the reader to identify with them.
AP: Do you feel like CHICKS IN CAPES is more than just a book about super heroines. Is there a greater statement to be made with this collection?
JF: I think it’s a timely reminder that superheroes are not just for boys. They come in all shapes and sizes. We should judge our superheroes by their deeds, not their gender. Just like real people.
ALL PULP’S A BOOK A DAY- A WHOLE LOT OF DOLLAR!
Over 1200 pages of Dollar!
From 1949 until the end of Radio drama in 1962, Yours Truly Johnny Dollar was a stalwart of radio drama. This book, “The Who is Johnny Dollar Matter” provides a different look at Johnny Dollar – as if he were a real investigator. “The Who is Johnny Dollar Matter” starts with a mini-biography and then provides a detailed recap of each YTJD program.
The detailed case analyses catalogs the details of each story, including cast, expenses, writers and directors, and cross-references to programs that used the same script with a different name and cast.
The detailed index catalogs each story, case location and the cast of each program. The books also contain a detailed listing of cases by insurance company and the expenses for each of the 6 Johnny Dollars updated to 21st century dollars. Also included are recaps of programs which only exist in the KNX collection of the Thousand Oaks, California library.
“The Who is Johnny Dollar Matter” is the definitive reference work for the cases handled by Johnny Dollar, both those currently available electronically, but also those available only in the KNX collection of the Thousand Oaks, California library.
Want to know how this book ties into Moonstone Monday?? go to http://www.moonstonebooks.com/ and type ‘Johnny Dollar” in the search bar..or better yet..read this next review!!
TIPPIN’ HANCOCK’S HAT-Pulp Reviews by Tommy Hancock PARTNERS IN CRIME by CJ Henderson and Joe Gentile Published by Moonstone Books 2009, 187 pages
There are some wonderful things about pulp these days. One of those things is the opportunity to mix and match your favorite classic characters with modern original creations in all new tales. All the writers, artists, even publishing companies are having a grand ol’ time doing just that, spinning their own brainchildren in with the likes of the Black Bat, the Purple Scar, Moon Man, ad infinitem. What makes it even better is when someone not only has those two fields to play in, but they also hold certain licenses to more recent fan favorite characters and throw them into the mix as well. Yup, you heard me.
Moonstone does a pretty good job of that. One of the leading publishers of licensed characters as well as utilizing characters from the public domain, Moonstone has a little gem in its archive by the title of PARTNERS IN CRIME, written by CJ Henderson with an able assist by Moonstone CEO Joe Gentile. There is so much wound into this time spanning cosmic tale with ties into the seedier side of fiction that I’ll let the original copy for the book tell the tale-
An original novel, with spot illustrations, that teams up Kolchak, Johnny Dollar, Boston Blackie, Candy Matson, Pat Novak, Blackshirt, Lai Wan, and Jack Hagee, and Mr Keen all in one great adventure! In the final days of WW2, a sinister plan to defeat the allies using black sorcery orig price thwarted, only to be resurrected today in a form even more terrible than before. Now, over six turbulent decades, across multiple continents, and through the darkest alternate dimensions, a force of unimaginable power stands poised to subjugate all of mankind.
Yeah, you read that cast right..and that’s not even everyone you’d recognize!! Henderson and Gentile put together characters that many people would never think of tangling up and most of us fans would love to see together. And these interpretations stay true to the roots of most of them, even down to Blackie’s original addictions (yeah, if you haven’t read the original books or any of the Moonstone Boston Blackie stuff, you don’t know what I’m talkin’ about!). The plot is good, the interactions between the characters on target for the most part, and the twists and turns thrown in work overall. Henderson and Gentile lend a good voice to the work, making it cohesive even though it was sort of split into parts with ‘teams’ of characters working different angles.
One of the coolest parts of this book, however, is also its greatest weakness. The book, a fast paced action paced pulp thriller, creaks and groans at times under the weight of its sizable cast. Each character here, from Novak to Hagee to Kolchak to Dollar and beyond have carried their own stories previously and very well could carry this plot almost by themselves. Some of the players don’t get the due they should and in places where a couple do share center stage, they almost clash more than blend. The book ties up all the loose ends of the plot, but with so many fully fleshed out characters involved, it does leave one feeling a little untied still.
THREE OUT OF FIVE TIPS OF HANCOCK’S HAT-Definitely worth a read if you like supernatural mixed with your pulp mixed with your action.
NO CLIFFHANGER FICTION TODAY DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES….WILL BE FEATURED AT SOME POINT THIS WEEK AS SOON AS THE SORT OF EIC CAN FIGURE OUT JUST HOW TO FIX THESE DIFFICULTIES HE REALLY DOESN’T UNDERSTAND….
We are a keen group of audio drama fanatics who create podcast and free download stories in audio format.Included in our line up is original fantasy, sci-fi, horror, drama, comedy and fan-works and audio versions of great films (like Planet of the Apes and Logan’s Run) We are always looking for new members who are interested in getting involved or just hanging out with us and joining the discussion on our various projects.
“The Bionic Book earns its definitive title, hands down.”
– Video Watchdog
Before Hiro on Heroes, there was Steve Austin – The Six Million Dollar Man. Before Buffy Summers on Buffy The Vampire Slayer, there was Jaime Sommers – The Bionic Woman. Now, television’s classic wonder people of the 1970s are back and stronger than ever in – THE BIONIC BOOK: THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN AND THE BIONIC WOMAN RECONSTRUCTED, written by best-selling author Herbie J Pilato (Bewitched Forever, The Kung Fu Book of Caine).
Co-billed as the Cybernetic Compendium To TV’s Most Realistic Sci-Fi Superhero Shows, THE BIONIC BOOK is chuck full of commentary culled from Pilato’s exclusive interviews with Bionic stars Lee Majors (who played half-superman/half-mechanical marvel Steve Austin), Lindsay Wagner (Jaime Sommers – Steve’s female counter-part and one true love), series creator (and science fiction novel icon) Martin Caidin, executive producer Harve Bennett (who would later help to ignite the Star Trek feature film franchise), producer/director Kenneth Johnson (The Incredible Hulk and Alien Nation) and actor Richard Anderson, the latter of whom portrayed Oscar Goldman – Steve and Jaime’s stoic but understanding supervisor on both shows (and who has penned the book’s foreword).
Much more than a mere TV trivia guide, THE BIONIC BOOK explores in-depth the social, psychological, medical and scientic influence, appeal and message behind two of the most popular and heroic science fiction television programs of all time.
AP: R. P., welcome to ALL PULP! First, can you tell us about yourself, some personal background?
RS: I taught middle school English for 9 years, and worked for 2 years as an editorial assistant at a puzzle magazine. I have been writing my whole life, starting with plays in high school, radio dramas in college, and short stories recently. Misty Johnson is my first novel.
AP: As a writer, what influences have affected your style and interests the most over the years? Do you have a particular genre/type of story you prefer to write?
RS: I devour just about any kind of fiction. I love mysteries, especially Agatha Christie, whose Poirot novels are a big influence. As a kid, I loved science fiction, and the Wild Cards Series edited by George R. R. Martin was my favorite as well as anything by Douglas Adams. Nowadays I read a lot of fantasy, such as Jim Butcher and Anton Strout, two authors that have greatly influenced my own paranormal detective story. I’ve also been reading comic books since I was a kid, enjoying writers such as Peter David, Mark Gruenwald and Brian K. Vaughan.
AP: What about genres that make you uncomfortable? What areas within pulp are a little bit intimidating for you as an author?
RS: I love just about any genre, though at times, I feel a lot of tension between following the conventions of a genre and pushing the limits. Working within a genre allows a writer to play with archetypes and classic themes, but it can be tough to make a story that doesn’t feel like it’s a carbon copy of what’s come before. I’ve always been intimidated by mystery, and it was a challenge to write one, knowing I had to play by certain rules but still keep my reader guessing
AP: Are you a pulp fan? If so, how has that affected you as a writer of pulps. If you aren’t a longtime fan, then why pulp?
RS: I’ve been a fan of pulp for my whole life without really realizing it. As a youth, I listened to a lot of classic radio dramas, such as the Shadow, which I learned later had his roots in pulp. I also read a lot of comics, gravitating toward Conan and Ka-Zar and the like. And as an adult, I’ve read many classic pulp characters as well as contemporary works in the traditional pulp genres.
AP: What do you think you bring to pulp fiction as a writer?
RS: I like to think that I bring a certain sense of humor and levity to pulp writing. A lot of the classic pulp that I’ve been exposed to had a serious air to it, and I wanted to write a book that had visceral pulp elements but still had room for character based humor and a lighter tone than a typical urban fantasy detective story.
AP: Your first work in the pulp field is also your first novel. Tell us about MISTY JOHNSON, SUPERNATURAL DICK IN CAPITOL HELL
RS: Misty Johnson is a noir detective with a few twists thrown in. She was cursed with eternal life 900 years ago and has traveled the world, immersing herself in the ways of magic. She was a detective earlier in the century, when they were called ‘dicks’ and now she has set up her shingle once again to investigate supernatural crimes in Washington, DC. She and her partner, everyman Dru Chance, catch a case that is tangled up in both national politics and the mystical underworld.
AP: What do you think is the appeal of supernatural stories, not just to pulp fans, but overall to the reading public?
RS: Supernatural stories allow authors and readers to explore common themes from creative angles. A vampire, for example, is isolated from humanity, simultaneously shunning them and relying on them for sustenance. That’s a powerful metaphor for us regular humans who struggle with our place in society. Just about every common supernatural character and situation can be played as a variety of metaphors for the human condition. Also, supernatural stories allow us to read about cool stuff, like magic powers and items, which has a wish-fulfillment element to it.
AP: What is your creative process as far as creating a story and writing? What techniques or steps do you take?
RS: I like to think that my strength as a writer is generating ideas. I have notebooks full of ideas, some of which I’ll actually get around to expanding! I primarily write down character traits and concepts that I want to use, and when I get enough of those, I create a character who has those traits, and go from there. Misty and Dru started out that way, and then I created a world for them to inhabit and a series of challenges for them to face that will help dig deep into their characters. As a reader, I love getting to know interesting characters, so that is the start and endpoint of when I write. I then bang out a first draft pretty quickly, and then spend a LOT of time on revision, where the story itself really takes shape.
AP: What’s coming from R. P. Steeves? Any projects you want to discuss?
RS: Misty Johnson will return! She makes an appearance in an upcoming short story anthology called The Game, which will be published in the spring by Seven Realms. It features stories inspired by “The Most Dangerous Game,” and it fills in a bit of Misty’s past and hints at some challenges she’ll face in the future. The second Misty Johnson novel will be out soon, too, tentatively titles Misty Johnson, Supernatural Dick in the National Maul. It will pick up on the big cliffhanger from Capitol Hell and introduce a few more major players in the DC underworld. Beyond that, I have more Misty in mind, as well as a few ideas for sci-fi novels and a comic book story I am dying to tell, if I have time for it!
A few months ago, Barry Reese interviewed Michael Brown, a noted fan of Pulp. This interview has received many positive comments and nods, so this will be something we will be doing periodically, checking in with the biggest fans of Pulp we can find and getting their thoughts on all things Pulp…so, without further ado, please meet–
STEVEN HAGER-PULP FAN
AP: Steven, it’s always a real pleasure to sit down and interview someone who is a Fan, so thanks for taking the time. First, can you give us a bit of background on yourself?
SH: First, thanks for this opportunity! I was raised on a small farm in PA and have a degree in Chemistry and work as a analytical chemist for a generic drug company. But let’s get to the good stuff! I have many hobbies such as reading comic books, listening to old time radio, 50’s sci-fi/horror movies, and of course pulp fiction. Also I am an actor at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire , write and self publish the comic Dutchy Digest and study paleontology. Like Doc I study many things but I unlike him no doctorates! lol
AP: We’ve already identified that you’re a fan of pulp fiction and other related areas. Before we get into what you like specifically, let’s talk generally. What about pulp fiction appeals to you enough that you’d call yourself a fan?
SH: I believe the escapism is a big part of it for me. We all need to escape from the world and our problems at some point and pulps are an excellent way of doing it. The thrilling adventures set in a different time and in a world that seemed much larger and still in need of exploration really appeals to me. The Pulp heroes also seem more human to me. They are extraordinary which I enjoy but not super human.
AP: What are your some of your favorite pulp characters? Classic or modern, doesn’t matter? Favorite pulp authors?
SH: My favorite classic characters are the mainstays The Shadow, Doc Savage, The Avenger and the Spider, but I also like Green Lama, The Secret Six and Secret Agent X. Like many others I have a deep respect for the work of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E Howard and HP Lovecraft. The Modern writer’s that I have been enjoying are Ron Fortier’s Captain Hazzard, the work of Barry Reese and Gregg Taylor’s Red Panda.
AP: There’s a lot of discussion lately about whether or not classic characters should be updated or simply left as they were originally conceived in any new works based on them. What are your thoughts on this? And more to the point, did you see THE GREEN HORNET yet?
SH: It is important that classic characters survive. Whether they evolve with the times or stay static in their niche it all depends on how well it is handled. I would have never thought Sherlock Holmes could be updated to modern times successfully but after watching the BBC’s Sherlock I changed my mind. It was excellent show and moved Sherlock into the 21st century. I did see Green Hornet and enjoyed it. Could it have been better? Certainly. But now more people are aware of the character and may be interested enough to learn about his history. Without the movie would we have gotten Dynamite’s wonderful series Green Hornet: Year One by Matt Wagner and Aaron Campbell?
AP: Why is pulp still around? A genre that had its golden age seventy or more years ago and has fallen on hard times in the past still persists and now new writers and creators are flocking to it every day. As a fan, what do you attribute the strength of pulp to remain viable to?
SH: People love edge of your seat adventure! I think the current renaissance has a lot to do with the age we are living in. The ease of print on demand publishing, the ability to connect with like minded people on the internet, and the fact that some characters are now in public domain. I love when creators bring us new characters but there is something really cool when an old character is brought back to life.
AP: Any existing pulp characters that you haven’t seen written in new tales yet that you’d like to see?
SH: That’s a good question! Everyone is doing such a great job bring back their favorite characters in their original form or in pastiches. I would like to see more adventures of The Secret Six and perhaps the return Dr Skull from The Octopus/Scorpion series.
AP: You’re also a fan of Old Time Radio and audio drama in general. Does this medium have connections to pulp?
SH: Oh certainly! Old Time Radio was the TV of it’s day. Many characters had their own programs. The Shadow, Doc Savage and The Green Lama first come to mind. Unfortunately only 4 Green Lama shows exist and no recordings of Doc Savage at all. Another favorite that is not adapted from pulps is I Love a Mystery. Great pulp action adventure! And if you like classic science fiction X-Minus One adapted a lot of the classic 50”s stories.
AP: Do you feel that audio drama is a medium that modern pulp writers should be capitalizing on to further their work and expose a larger audience to it?
SH: Certainly! My favorite modern audio drama is Decoder Ring Theater. All I know is that I will buy anything from Gregg Taylor from Decoder Ring Theater/Red Panda fame because I love his podcast! I believe Gregg has done a lot to introduce new people the pulp genre through his well crafted, always on time and definitely pulpy stories. He currently has three novels out and I have them all.
AP: Even though you’re not a pulp writer, you do self publish a rather interesting comic. What can you tell us about DUTCHY DIGEST?
SH: Dutchy Digest is written by me and drawn by Bruce Rosenberger and is based on Pennsylvania Dutch culture. It stars Amos Dingledorffer and his pet chicken Duke as they solve all sorts of farm related mysteries. Currently we have published the case of the Missing Shoo Fly Pie, The Trojan Hay Bale, The Haunted Quilt and The Four Mice Society. Hopefully in 2011 we will be publishing the Auction House of Mystery in which Amos becomes inspired to become a detective after reading some pulp magazines!
AP: As a fan, what would you like to see in future pulp stories, not just characters or storylines, but in the way of techniques, issues addressed, etc.?
SH: Perhaps I would like to see some humor in the future. And I am not talking parody or satire but just fun adventure tales in the style of Robert E Howards’s Breckenridge Elkins stories. But actually I have very little complaints from all the modern pulp stories I have read and I am looking forward to the titles that have already been announced for 2011!
Possibly the very best thing for science fiction fans about the so-called digital publishing revolution is the tremendously lowered bar to entry. Concepts and approaches that traditional publishers might deem too risky to fly in the fickle retail market are finding new life on platforms like Amazon Kindle and [[[Smashwords]]]. Take, for example, [[[The Scattered Earth]]] project: three writers (friends of ComicMix Aaron Rosenberg, Steven Savile, and David Niall Wilson), three novels, three worlds in a shared universe that will only later make the links between stories apparent.
