Maybe I've Been Slacking

 Maybe, I've been slacking, but I've got an excuse, any of you heard about Covid? Well, I got it a few months back and while I only had things taste off and I only really felt couch-ridden a few days, the brain fog has lingered. So writing has been a slog and I lost out on being part of a Sword & Planet anthology that my friend Christopher Ruocchio is putting together. 

That was a blow because I was really excited about being able to have a story in there with my friends like Chris and Dave Butler for example - who I'm already in about a dozen antho's with. 

Anyhow, my wife sent me to the witch doctor she likes to get me on a regimen of minerals, vitamins and other supplements to get me back on track. At the same time, I'm pushing to get the responsible author system moving, so getting my newsletters up and running for me and the pen name = James Alderdice. 

Speaking of which, there is a giveaway going on now with Butler for multiple copies of several books - sign up now and you've got a great chance for some signed print books! Click HERE

And I'm gonna make a supreme effort to be better at the responsible author thing and post here sooner than a whole year!

A Mighty Fortress

I've got a short weird western tale in the newly released A Mighty Fortress anthology.

It is a Porter Rockwell short titled, The Tears of Nephi.

Its a little light on steampunk, but I put in a little - the collection as a whole has the unexpected grouping of being Mormon Steampunk tales, and was initially inspired by the incredibly awesome Dave Butler. He wrote City of the Saints which I highly recommend, and then later down the road put forth the idea for a collection of more tales set in a semi-similar vein and there were so many submissions that was to be one antho became two and then as of today 4!!!

I have the honor of having the closing tale of this collection.

Thanks as always to my editor and friend Holli Anderson.

Check it out if you have a mind too.

Year in Review

I can't believe it's gone, 2017, so full full of hopes and dreams and yet there were plenty of people ready to kick it in the balls like a mule, just for existing. Plenty of bad news and yet, it was pretty good for. Its been my most successful year yet as far as writing goes, beginning with great success for SCAVENGERS, the sequel CRAZY HORSES and then my first pen name novel BRUTAL which surpassed the other books easily. Audio-books (both Scavengers and Brutal - should be out withing a month or so) are coming early in the new year and I'm very excited for that, and I had quite a few short stories out this year too - always a good sign, there no money in them to speak of, but shorts have a dear place in my heart.

Things have been great with the family and I have had a blast with my writing friends at the cons and such. I am planning on really kicking things into gear in the new year - I know I always say that, but this time I mean it. I feel like I now know enough about marketing and such to crank up the success meter with writing and all I've got to do is produce, produce, produce = write, write, write!


So for the rest of Year in Review, I'll talk about things I liked.

Favorite movie? Hell if I know, I'm trying to think of anything I saw, worth a damn. I probably enjoyed the Marvel movies most.

Favorite food? I had a lot of steak this year, the more expensive cuts I get used to the more I need to keep having them and not worrying about price- ah the joys of success.

Favorite trip/travel this year? I did have a good Christmas vacation to see my folks with the kids but the best trip this year was definitely my wife and I's getaway to Maui - it was awesome, beautiful, romantic and I even got quite a bit of writing in too.

Favorite Music? New/Current music is getting harder and harder for me to enjoy, though I do like Sir Sly, Portugal the Man, and Atlas Genius. Instead I've been listening to a lot of old school funk because my 2 year old loves it so much, I'm talking Earth, Wind and Fire, Kool and the Gang, Ric James, The Commodores, Sly Stone, Parliament Funkadelic, Chic, Marvin Gaye etc etc

Oh and I have been enjoying the instrumental score work of Daniel Pemberton from King Arthur Legend of the Sword and The Man from Uncle. Good writing mood music.

Now the real reason you're here Books:

I can't narrow it down to any one but I can talk about the ones that really grabbed me.

Kings of the Wyld, by Nicolaus Eames
Bear in mind that this book is actin movie fun, its adventure, ts monsters, its funny and so on, never mind that this fantasy world couldn't really exist geopolitically and there are numerous anachronisms in there - its still a very enjoyable read with great characters and dialogue. I might have said it would be better if it was a little more realistic? serius? but then it wouldn't be Kings of the Wyld.

Blackwing, by Ed McDonald
This is where you complain that there is no pleasing me. I loved Blackwing, wonderful sorcerous grit  and surprises, but what do I think would have made it even better? - If it had just a little more humor it could have been a classic. So there, too much in Kings, not enough in Blackwing, maybe if Eames and McDonald collaborated??? Again, this is all just a reflection on me and my eclectic tastes.

The Burning Isle, by Will Panzo
It has a premise similar to mine in Brutal, stranger comes to town and starts tearing it up - playing the bad guys against each other = Yojimbo, Fistful of Dollars, Red Harvest etc etc
This is a little different in that it is magic duels instead of samurai or gunfights, but still, great characters and motivations, there were some good surprises and one thing I just loved - there is a character that its totally Karl Edward Wagner's KANE. I mean its not Kane, nobody ever calls him Kane but between you and me = ITS KANE! I even asked Will on twitter about it and he pretty much confirmed.

Witchy Eye, by Dave Butler
Dave has been my friend for a long time and I knew this book was coming like five years ago! = Traditional publishing schedules people - anyhow, it is a dense fantasy world in what might have been America. I don't know of anyone else working today with as many layered nuances begging for continual rereads to catch all the depth as Butler, I'm going to have to dive in again before the sequel comes out.

There are quite a few other books I'm forgetting in the moment and several from friends I meant to get to and haven't yet, - BUT I WILL.

So, in closing, I hope you all have a great New Years and I'll see you on the other side.

p.s. Some shots of things to come

All the Cons

I didn't get much writing done this last month, as I had two cons I was at as a guest, Salt Lake Comic Con and the first annual Snake River Comic Con.
Salt Lake is great as it is so big and has some phenomenal guests and I always enjoy being there and hanging with friends and meeting new people, but at Snake River I had one of the best times with friends in forever.

Me and the Space Balrogs (D.J. Butler, Jason King, James Wymore, Holli Anderson and Daniel Swenson - not pictured Bob Defendi and Craig Nybo) spent a whole lot of time together laughing and selling books and speaking on panels and then we even got a makeshift game of Dungeons and Dragons together for Holli's benefit - she had never played before and I gotta tell you I haven't laughed so hard in a very long time. It was a great con and we met some great people and I can't wait to go back next year.

So I'll throw in a swath of pics from both. Here ya go.

Mirages and Speculations

A short weird western of mine has just been reprinted in Mirages and Speculations: Science Fiction and Fantasy from the Desert - available here

Many of you are likely as not, already familiar with it - Garden of Legion - a weird western about Porter Rockwell dealing with the evil spirits of Legion inhabiting an ocean of tumbleweeds.

It is a favorite of mine and I'm pleased to see it out in another collection of local authors. Thanks to Jay Barnson for recommending me to the editor and thanks to the editor Lyn Worthen for enjoying it enough to include it.

Thus far, I think the only other tale I have read yet is Dave Butler's, SEVEN STARS because I got  to read it at least two years ago, when we were talking about stories for a Western Eldritch collection that still has not happened - poke, poke, poke at Nathan Shumate.

Its delightfully weird and creepy, and I highly recomend it to any and all who like a little Lovecraft in the american west.

I personally know at least half of the other authors but haven't read any of the others as yet. I'll remedy that soon.

Til next time.

States of Deseret

I love alternate history. And of course I love my peculiar faith, so I have to be all about a bizarre mixing of the two whenever possible. So, just like he was a driving force behind Monsters and Mormons - William Morris put together this alternate history collection States of Deseret featuring tales of what if featuring the Mormon Church.

I wanted to do something different than the usual - so no Porter Rockwell tale this time. (though one is hinted at) I let my mind wander when the call for submissions asked for different ways of telling alternate history. I was struck with the idea of an obituary as a framing device and luckily - William and Theric liked it enough to include The Electric Apostle.

I've always been fascinated with Nikola Tesla, so this was a good place to mess around with a What IF. I even found out a bit more interesting history while I was in the middle of double checking my research.

I'm sharing the table of contents with some great writers including my good friend Dave Butler, here is the TOC.

Forwrd by Theric Jepson

The Guns of Perdition by D. J. Butler

Latter Day Confederacy of Nations by Lori Taylor

Richard Meets the Missionaries by Anneke Garcia

Not Even the Names Have Been Changed by Marion Jensen

Another Meadow by Eric A. Eliason

The Father by Inari Porkka

The Electric Apostle by yours truly

Subject to Kings by Lee Allred

Cover by Casey Jex Smith

If you get a hankering for some weird fiction by a peculiar people - Check it out!

FanX 2017 Recap

I'm a week late, that's life. But hey, in that last week, the dictation software = Dragon, I have talked about for years now - is actually working for me. So I'll do a post about that very soon.

Back to the Con. It went pretty well, I signed a lot of books and even sold out of my copies of Redneck Eldritch, The Mad Song and Weird Tales of Horror.

The Saturday panel I did with the Space Balrogs was a lot of fun. I was the Undead and while I had some super dedicated fans and really enjoyed my last minute art round of demonstrating how death works to people = its eerily similar to duck, duck, goose. - James Wymore was dragons and had a singalong with some friends that was awesomely bad yet Dave Butler won with a phenomenal round doing an audience induction to becoming an elemental sorcerer via the Hokey Pokey - maybe you just had to be there.

Oh and that's me, a confused dinosaur and my the friend up and coming movie star, Wren Barnes.

Looking forward to the next one this September. And of course, here are some pics of the con.

This was the Space Balrogs on the panel.

Twilight Zone classics.

Me and the fantastic fitness model Dana Tracy. I first met her as Red Sonja at FanX two years ago.

Awesome Willow cosplay.

I don't know who she was but she looked fantastic.

the Lone Ranger turned up!

Jedi

I told them I was Dave but they were confused.

Me and rising cosplay superstar Joanie Brosas.

My son Mathias and one of his favorite Dr. Who episode folks.

Swedish Chef!

Ragnar and Lagertha.

Amazing Spawn and Angela.

Agent Carter

Odin and Son.

Chewie Dude and Walter Solo.

Poison Ivy just as I first reached my signing table.

View from the Green Room

Got my Flash Gordon poster signed by the man himself! Sam J. Jones!

Sam J. Jones - such a cool dude. I got to talk with him for a bit. Awesome guy!