J. Manfred Weichsel's Blog

Back to the Beginning: Jungle Jitters

With Space Escapades, the third book in the Action Girls trilogy, set to launch next month, I thought now would be the perfect time to reintroduce readers to the book where the saga first began.

In Jungle Jitters (2021), the Action Girls, Jennifer, Stephanie, and Jackie, three wannabe starlets from Hollywood, all glamorous in their own chaotic ways, are trafficked into the Congo by a cult of mad scientists hidden deep in the jungle. These aren’t just any mad scientists though. They’re the descendants of a Soviet genius who disappeared a hundred years ago, and they’ve inherited his grotesque mission: to create a new race of hybrids by mating humans with apes.

What follows is a nightmare of savage trials, grotesque experiments, and a fight for survival against enemies both human and inhuman.

Jungle Jitters received some very thoughtful reviews when it first came out, such as this one, from Dave Higgins, who recommends the book “to readers seeking satire that accepts no boundaries but does not use that liberty to shock for the sake of it.”

https://davidjhiggins.wordpress.com/2023/10/27/jungle-jitters-by-j-manfred-weichsel/

And this one, from Benjamin Espen, who writes that Jungle Jitters “is one of the most horrifying pieces of social commentary I have ever read.”

https://www.benespen.com/2021-7-20-jungle-jitters-by-j-manfred-weichsel-book-review/

When Jungle Jitters book first came out in 2021, I threw Jennifer, Jackie, and Stephanie headfirst into danger. But in marketing the book, I failed to prepare readers for was just how transgressive, shocking, and violent the story is.

This led to some negative reviews from readers who weren’t expecting what was coming.

So, let me be clear: Jungle Jitters isn’t a safe or cozy pulp adventure. It intentionally pushes boundaries in ways that are designed to horrify and sicken. This book is bizarre, grotesque, and completely unhinged. There are moments of raw violence, moments of dark comedy, and moments where you just have to lean back and say, “Did that really just happen?”

Jungle Jitters is also, as should be made apparent by all three reviews, like all of my books, a satire. And it’s not satire in the modern sense of the word, either. This is a book that harkens back to crazy old days of Lucian, Rabelais, Sterne, and Swift. If you don’t know what that means, look over this list of characteristics of Menippean satire. You can find all these characteristics in my books.

Looking back, I realize Jungle Jitters is the perfect introduction to what the Action Girls are all about: they’re thrown into the most outrageous situations imaginable, and they face them with a kind of reckless ineptitude.

If you missed Jungle Jitters when it first came out, now’s the perfect time to get started on the Action Girls trilogy. The girls’ world only gets bigger and stranger in Into the Bush (2024), and coming October 3rd, in Space Escapades. But it all starts here, in the jungle, with three women, a nightmare cult, and a fight for survival like no other.

Jungle Jitters is available now, so catch up before Space Escapades blasts off! https://amazon.com/dp/B0996BY7P6

Space Escapades Cover Reveal and Release Date

Dear readers, I can finally share this with you,the cover reveal for The Action Girls in Space Escapades! With original art bySteven Stahlberg and design by Godless.com owner Drew Stepek, this is my wildestcover yet. This is it, the third and final installment in the Action Girlstrilogy that began with Jungle Jitters and continued in Into the Bush. The wildride comes to an epic conclusion on October 3rd, so mark your calendars now! Thank you so much for reading. If you are coming here for the first time andhaven’t read the Action Girls books yet, you have plenty of time to before therelease. Just follow the link to learn all about the first two book, JungleJitters and Into the Bush:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CK52W77Q?binding=kindle_edition&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_pc_tkin

Jungle Scandals is live!!!

Dear readers,

It’s here! Jungle Scandals has officially launched!!!

Twelve steamy, pulpy, no-holds-barred jungle adventures by a killer lineup of authors, plus twelve gorgeous, NSFW illustrations by the incomparable erotic comics legend Elena Ominetti.

If you backed the Kickstarter, thank you. You’re part of the vanguard.

If you didn’t, there’s good news: it’s not too late to swing into the madness.

The anthology is now available in eBook, paperback, and hardcover, and trust me, you don’t want to miss this one. Readers are already raving. Jungle fever is spreading.

Buy it now, and join the expedition:

Get it on Amazon:

https://kdp.amazon.com/amazon-dp-action/us/dualbookshelf.marketplacelink/B0DWNG1LP2

Or get the eBook for a buck off at Godless:

https://godless.com/products/j-manfred-weichsel-presents-jungle-scandals-1

Thank you for reading!!!

Sincerely,

J. Manfred Weichsel

Jungle Scandals Kickstarter is live!

Dear readers,

I am thrilled to announce that the Kickstarter for Jungle Scandals, an anthology of NSFW jungle adventures, is now live. This is the follow-up to Sword & Scandal, which was an anthology of NSFW heroic fantasy.

I don’t want to say too much here because everything you need to know is on the Kickstarter page:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/j-manfred-weichsel/jungle-scandals

Back Jungle Scandals now and help bring NSFW jungle adventures to life in a way that's never been seen before!

Announcing Jungle Scandals

Dear readers,

I am thrilled to announce that the pre-launch page for the Jungle Scandals Kickstarter is up! This is the follow-up anthology to Sword & Scandal, but while that book was NSFW heroic fantasy, this one will be NSFW jungle adventures. It will have an open call for submissions just like the last anthology. It will also be illustrated just like the last one, but this time by erotic comic book artist Elena Ominetti.

Thanks for reading J. Manfred Weichsel’s Substack! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

The Kickstarter will launch in January, but you can head to the pre-launch page now and follow Jungle Scandals by clicking the button that says, “Notify me on launch”. My goal is to have 100 followers by launch date, so please head over to Kickstarter and follow now!

In other news, Sword & Scandal is a huge hit! You can read a great review of the anthology by David J. Higgins, or read an interview I gave to Nicholas Diak on a cool Sword & Sandal blog. Or, if you are very daring, you can watch a two-hour long interview with Bastien Pilon on YouTube:

If you haven’t already, pick up your copy of Sword & Scandal now! It’s a real fun book, and a great gateway into the Scandal Anthology Series!

I know it's been a while since I published a novel that I wrote. I spent the year developing new skills like running a Kickstarter and editing an anthology, and it all took up more energy and mental bandwidth than I expected. I have also been doing a lot of background acting in NYC. You can see me here on Law & Order as a Jewish funeral mourner. You can’t really tell in the picture, but I am wearing a black kippah:

If you live in the US, you can watch the episode the above screencap is from here:

https://www.nbc.com/law-and-order/video/truth-and-consequences/9000392634

But, in spite of all I’ve been doing, I am happy to say that I am finally working on the next Action Girls book, and hope to release it in the spring. I should be ready to announce it soon, so stay tuned!

And once again, if you haven’t already, BUY SWORD & SCANDAL!!! It’s really fucking awesome!

That’s all for now! Thanks for reading!!!

Sincerely,

J. Manfred Weichsel

Sword & Scandal is live!

 

Dear readers,

Today is the day! Sword & Scandal is live! If you didn’t back the Kickstarter, and didn’t pre-order the book, because you wanted to wait to be able to buy it, that time has come!!!

So pick up Sword & Scandal now at Amazon in eBook, paperback, or hardcover: https://kdp.amazon.com/amazon-dp-action/us/dualbookshelf.marketplacelink/B0DLH3RYTR

Or get the eBook for a buck off at Godless: https://godless.com/products/sword-scandal-1

This is an incredible book with 12 NSFW (that means sexually explicit) heroic fantasy stories by an amazing group of authors. It’s also a beautiful book, with each story getting an NSFW black and white illustration. Check out the video above for a sneak peek of one.

Be sure to pick up Sword & Scandal today!

Thanks!

Sincerely,

J. Manfred Weichsel

Sword & Scandal available for preorder

 Dear readers,

Happy Halloween!!! I’m just writing to let you know that Sword & Scandal is available for preorder. This is an anthology of NSFW heroic fantasy with 12 stories by amazing authors. The book comes out November 12th. Preorder now to be one of the first to read it:

https://books2read.com/Sword-and-Scandal

Sincerely,

J. Manfred Weichsel 

Sword & Scandal official lineup

I’m excited to announce the lineup for Sword & Scandal, the first of what I hope will be many books in the Scandal Anthology series. These amazing tales represent 66,000 words of the most scandalous fiction out there. I can’t wait until you get to read the book. The stories are:

The Gateway of Pleasure by Jim Lee

A knight and a lady from warring kingdoms have an erotic encounter in the feudal land of what is today Vietnam in this dramatic historical fiction story.

Shaven Beards by Ross Baxter

A man and a woman sell sword learn more than they wanted to know about the secret lives of dwarves in this bawdy comedy.

The Snow Princess by Pip Pinkerton

A magical princess teaches her special friend Annie new uses for ice in this porn parody of Frozen.

Vermina's Creature by Bitter Karella

A malevolent sorceress keeps a manservant as a pet in this gothic comedy where nothing is as it seems.

The Baron with a Thousand Cats by Gary Every

A groom must save his bride from suffering prima notte with a grotesque baron in this bawdy retelling of a classical Italian folk tale.

Windblades by C. L. Werner

A comfort woman summons killer demon weasels in a most uncomfortable way in this samurai horror story.

Flesh and Ink by Rebecca Buchanan

A female assassin’s tattoos hold a deadly power in this sensuous epic fantasy.

Confessions of a Wicked Harpastum Player by J. Manfred Weichsel and Alexander Joyner

A sadistic inquisitor accuses a female Harpastum player of witchcraft and sapphism in this tortuous tale.

Kai-zur the Godless by David Carter

A warrior becomes a lover only to learn that love is war in this sword & sorcery story.

Abduction from the Seraglio by David J. West

A sell sword gets himself into several awkward situations after being hired to abduct a woman from a harem in this adventure comedy.

The Harem of Al’Azeri by Jasiah Witkofsky

A gentleman out for a night on the town has a serious mishap in a brothel in this pulp tale inspired by the world of 1,001 Arabian Nights.

He Who Sows by Austin Worley

Two female thieves break into a temple to steal the phallus of a stone fertility god but get a little too excited by it in this bawdy sword & sorcery adventure.  

And that's it. I am so excited for this anthology, and I can't wait to share it with all of you! 

Only one week left to back Sword & Scandal

 

Hey everybody,

Just a quick note that there's only one week left to back Sword & Scandal on Kickstarter. Please help this anthology happen by backing the book for NSFW heroic fantasy by following the link: 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/j-manfred-weichsel/sword-and-scandal

Thank you all! 

Kickstarter alert: Sword & Scandal

 

Dear readers,

I’m hard at work on the next books in my famed Action Girls series, which you all asked for!!!

In the meantime, I just launched a Kickstarter campaign for my next anthology as editor, Sword & Scandal. Not only is this going to be an amazing book, but it’s also going to be a new paying market for writers! Please visit the link below to learn all about this exciting new anthology, and consider making a contribution to help make it happen:

Sword & Scandal Kickstarter Campaign

Thank you so much! With your help, Sword & Scandal will triumph!