Paradigm: Volume One is a Nook Book!

Just a quick note to say that an anthology containing one of my older (but still a favorite) stories  is now available as an e-book, exclusively (as far as I can tell) from Barnes & Noble. It is "Hard Winter," a darkly comedic Beaver Island story with only a couple of survivors. All characters are wholly invented, and any resemblance to actual persons is purely coincidental, just so you know.

It's here! My story, "The Dubious Apotheosis of Baskin Gough," along with 20 other great stories are available in one creepy package known as ARCANE II.. Check out the e-book at Amazon,, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords. The Print edition will be out soon for those of you who, like me, prefer that inky pulpy smell to the ambient glow of a screen. Help spread the word to anyone who you think might dig it. Cheers!

Cover Art for Arcane II Revealed!

Take a look at this amazing image by French artist, Nihil.
Look closely. Blow it up to full size. Soak it in. 

“Le grand ordonnateur”

Let it inhabit your brain a bit.

But not too much--it's pretty damn creepy.

I am thrilled to say that this fine image will reportedly be gracing the cover of Arcane II, the much anticipated second volume in the Arcane Anthology series, edited by Nathan Shumate and published by Cold Fusion Media. “Le grand ordonnateur” apparently translates to "the great architect," or "the main organizer." Both evocative, though I prefer the former. Props to Nathan for his impeccable taste, and to the artist for his unique vision.

Of course, my story "The Dubious Apotheosis of Baskin Gough" will be appearing in Arcane II, so I have particular reason to be excited.

I have always been of the firm opinion that, even when readers know better, cover art can have a huge impact on sales. How many good books have I passed on again and again because of the cover art, only to be surprised when I actually did pick them up at the quality to be found between the covers? Likewise, I've bought more books than I can recall that were great right up until I actually got down to the reading. But not to worry. With all due modesty, I have complete faith that the stories in Arcane II will live up to such a wickedly alluring cover.


On a related note, here is a complete list of the

stories that will be appearing in Arcane II:

Jean Graham, “Nightcrawlers”

Nicole M. Taylor, “The Pianist’s Wife”

Suzanne Sykora, “Palace of Rats”

Michael R. Fletcher, “Fire and Flesh”

Steve Toase, “Fate’s Mask”

Miranda Ciccone, “Orpheus and Eurydice”

Joanna Parypinski, “Lakeshore Drive”

Harry Markov, “Hurricane Drunk”

Brooke Miller, “The Last Laugh”

Gef Fox, “Tree Hugger”

Philip Roberts, “90 Day Notice”

Libby Cudmore and Matthew Quinn Martin, “Convention of Ekphrasis”

Michael Haynes, “In the Paint”

Milo James Fowler, “Beneath the Surface”

Andrew Bourelle, “What It Means to Love”

Priya Sharma, “The Beatification of Thomas Small”

Craig Pay, “His City”

Patrick McGinnity, “The Dubious Apotheosis of Baskin Gough

Adele Gardner, “Triptych”

Eric Dimbleby, “The House That Wept Puddin’”

Be on the lookout for the e-book in Mid-January, and the print version not long after. Of course, I'll keep you updated, so check back often.

Why I have to remember to check out Locus more often -- or Black Gate is back!

I used to have a subscription to Locus Magazine, which bills itself as "The Magazine of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Field" and is, in fact, the premiere news source for anyone interested in the business/writing end of the speculative fiction field. It was a Christmas gift from my wonderful mother-in-law/drinking buddy (when my wife was pregnant the first time, her mother, who we lived with, valiantly stepped in to keep me from having to drink alone). Anyway, long story short, the subscription expired, and I have yet to pony up the cash for another. And boy, do I miss it.

Luckily, Locus also happens to have a really cool and useful website, so one would think that I could stay up-to-date on who's doing what. Except I forget to check it, and important things slip by me. One of those is the super exciting news that Black Gate has reentered the field with an online fiction offering once a week or so. Let me just say, that is awesome news! Best of luck to John O'Neill and the rest of the crew--I'll be reading.

I have loved Black Gate since its inception as a beefy print magazine packed with adventure fantasy, articles, a comic strip, and much more. I have nearly every issue. I even have one really encouraging rejection from John O'Neill from years ago, and I regret not having submitted more to them back then. Black Gate has long been one of the magazines I really want to see my work in, and I even have a quartet of linked stories I started writing with this particular market in mind. The problem is they have been closed to submissions for some time. They have a very active and interesting blog, but the most recent print issue was Spring 2011, and for a while now I have been dreading the announcement that they were closing for good, like so many other good magazines have done (RIP Realms of Fantasy). I've been periodically checking their submissions guidelines for a change, but missed the big news in their blog that they are publishing fiction again. True, they are still closed to submissions, but once the backlog of stories they have already purchased clears, it sounds like they will be reopening.

I guess that means I'd better get cracking on finishing up the quartet (#1 is mostly drafted, #2 is completely drafted, #3 is mostly drafted, while #4 exists only in my mind). Ah, motivation is such a fine thing.

So get on over and check out Black Gate, and take a look at Locus while you're at it. I plan to review Black Gate's first online offering, Jason E. Thummel's "The Duelist," shortly, so be on the lookout for that. Until next time then.