Eric James Stone's Blog, page 19

Monsters & Mormons Virtual Launch

I'll be participating in tonight's virtual launch event for the Monsters & Mormons anthology. From 8:10-8:30pm Mountain Time, I'll do an author chat at Writechat.net.  Just create a free chat account there and go to the Monsters & Mormons room.

To see what other events are planned, check for updates on A Motley Vision.

Sorry

Sorry, I was so busy yesterday that I forgot to blog about the fact that Daily Science Fiction was going to send out one of my stories last night.  If you already have your free email subscription to DSF, then you should have received the story.  I hope you like it.  If you're not subscribed, then you can avoid missing out in the future by subscribing now.

Why was I busy?  Because I decided to go occupy the BYU Bookstore:

Fortunately, the BYU Bookstore gave in to our demands.

Machine Readable podcast interview

While I was at MileHiCon a couple of weeks ago, I was interviewed for the Machine Readable podcast of the Arapahoe Library District.  We talked about various things, but spent the most time talking about "That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made" and religion in science fiction. Note that the long beep partway through was not because I was swearing up a storm, but rather marks the point at which they had some technical difficulties.

Monsters & Mormons anthology now available

My story "That Leviathan, Whom Thou Hast Made" has been reprinted in a new anthology, Monsters & Mormons.  The ebook is only $4.99, while a 600-page trade paperback is available for pre-order for $23.99.

Now, some of you already have a copy of my story, so some of you may be asking yourselves, "Eric, why should I buy Monsters & Mormons?" (Those of you named Eric, at least. You know who you are.)

Well, in addition to my story, there are 29 other stories/poems, most of which you have not read:

"Other Duties" by Nathan Shumate

Sometimes LDS bishops get special callings; sometimes that means being the agent bishop for battling demons.
"The Living Wife" by Emily Milner

Newly married for time and all eternity, a young wife must deal with the meddling ghosts of her two dead predecessors.
"Baptisms for the Dead" by C. Douglas Birkhead

Two Mormon missionaries continue to pound the pavement after a zombie apocalypse.
"Pirate Gold for Brother Brigham" by Lee Allred

Pirate ghosts have been spotted on the Great Salt Lake—and they want something.
"First Estate" by Katherine Woodbury

The story of Ruth is reenacted in space—with an alien Boaz.
"Fangs of the Dragon" by David J. West

Porter Rockwell finds intrigue and strange creatures while on assignment in Logan, Utah.
"Between Husband and Wife and the Late Bram Stoker"

"I Lie in Bed Reading from Mosiah Chapter Three and Think of You, Lon Chaney, Jr." by Will Bishop

Two poems mesh the Mormon with the monsterish.
"Charity Never Faileth" by Jaleta Clegg

A gelatin salad runs amok at Relief Society enrichment night.
"Recompense of Sorrow" by W. H. Pugmire

The H.P. Lovecraft mythos ensnares a Mormon brother and sister.
"Mormon Golem" by Steve Morrison

Joseph Smith fashions a golem—a Porter Rockwell golem.
"Bichos" by Erik Peterson

A Mormon couple honeymooning on the Amazon encounter the beasts in the jungle.
"The Blues Devils" by Terrance V. McArthur

A Mormon musician goes the time-honoured route of making a deal with the devil.
"Brother in Arms" by Graham Bradley

In a post-apocalyptic near future, a pair of Marines must turn to their Mormonism in order to have a chance of fighting the enemy.
"George Washington Hill and the Cybernetic Bear" by George Washington Hill and EC Buck

A pioneer journal entry takes a cybernetic turn.
"The Baby in the Bushes" by S.P. Bailey

Things turn noir for a Mormon PI investigating a murder in Salt Lake City.
"Bokev Momen" by D. Michael Martindale

An abducted young Earthling provides a key to understanding the universal god.
"The World" by Danny Nelson

The World invades the kitchen of a spunky old lady.
"Water Spots" by Terresa Wellborn

A poem mixes the domestic with the horror.
"A Letter from the Field" by James Paul Crockett

Every missionary feels homesick now and then. Is it worse if you never even see the sun?
"Let the Mountains Tremble for Adoniha Has Fallen" by Steven L. Peck

After centuries of no contact the Mormon colony on Mars hears from the Earth it thought it had left behind.
"Allow Me to Introduce Myself" by Moriah Jovan

A Mormon nun battles demons and insecurity in the Louisiana bayou.
"Traitors and Tyrants" by John Nakamura Remy and Galen Dara

Erasmus Snow and his four wives battle ninja monkeys…and something strange.
"Experimenting with Life at Extraordinary Depths" by Bridgette Day Tuckfield

A young woman, now back in the fold and struggling to reacclimate to life as a young single adult, faces her fears on Utah Lake.
"I Had Killed a Zombie" by Adam Greenwood

A young man prays to know which Zombie Battling Organization is true.
"Out of the Deep Havi I Howled unto Thee" by Scott M. Roberts

Battling the spirit of a wolf, a man wanders out into the Utah desert only to find a young woman bleeding to death.
"The Mission Story" by Bryton Sampson

A missionary's new companion appears to have a bit of the mad scientist in him.
"The Eye Opener" by Brian Gibson

This is why we close our eyes when we pray, children.
"The Mountain of the Lord" by Dan Wells

Not all testimonies are solid as a rock.

I read an early version of Scott M. Roberts's story "Out of the Deep Have I Howled unto Thee" and (unless he totally messed it up with revisions out of sheer evilness1) it's a fantastic story.  I haven't read Dan Wells's "The Mountain of the Lord," but I read his blog posts in which he outlined it and talked about his writing process, and I have no doubt it's going to be excellent.

1For those who don't know, Scott and I have history of accusing each other of being evil. He points to my goatee as evidence, while I point to his self-confessedly despicable actions with a spoon. Which evidence is more convincing is left to the reader to decide.

Which flash story should I nominate?

Apparently I'm allowed to nominate one of my flash fiction pieces published this year for the 2011 Micro Award.  Since I have three eligible stories and it's tough for me to judge which of them is my best, I figured why not let my readers decide?

The stories are:

"Waiting for Raymond" (Daily Science Fiction, January 6)
"Girl Who Asks Too Much" (Daily Science Fiction, March 24)
"They Do It with Robots" (Daily Science Fiction, May 19)

You can click on the links above to read the stories. Once you've decided which is your favorite, you can vote below:

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

For your Halloween reading

Blood Lite 2: Overbite, which contains my humorous horror story "American Banshee," is now available in mass market paperback [$7.99 at Amazon|$7.99 at B&N].  Amazon also has some bargain priced trade paperbacks in stock.  It's also available in ebook formats [$7.99 for Kindle|$7.99 for Nook].  My story's about a banshee working for a mob family who gets replaced by an enchanted iPod.  There are also stories by Heather Graham, L. A. Banks, Allison Brennan, Kelley Armstrong, Kevin J. Anderson & Janis Ian, Sam W. Anderson, Mike Baron, Edward Bryant, Amy Sterling Casil, Derek Clendening, Don D'ammassa, Brian J. Hatcher, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Nancy Kirkpatrick, J. A. Konrath, John R. Little, Sharyn McCrumb, Scott Nicholson, Mark Onspaugh, Aaron Polson, Daniel Pyle, Mike Resnick & Lezli Robyn, Jeff Ryan, DL Snell, Lucien Soulban, Jeff Strand, Jordan Summers, Joel A. Sutherland, Steve Rasnic Tem, and Christopher Welch.

The original Blood Lite, with my story "P.R. Problems," is also available in print [$7.99 at Amazon|$7.99 at B&N] and ebook [$7.99 for Kindle|$7.99 for Nook]. My story's about a ghoul who's annoyed that vampires and werewolves get all the good P.R.  There are also stories by Kelley Armstrong, Joe Lansdale, Lucien Soulban, Christopher Welch, Matt Venne, Don D'Ammassa, Mark Onspaugh, J.A. Konrath & F. Paul Wilson, Charlaine Harris, Steven Savile, Will Ludwigsen, Janet Berliner, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Mike Resnick, D.L. Snell, Nancy Holder, Nancy Kilpatrick, Jeff Strand, Sharyn McCrumb, and Jim Butcher.

Various Interviews

Over the past couple of weeks, a few sites have posted interviews with me:

Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America
Odyssey Writing Workshop
Diabolical Plots

"The Price of a Dagger"

My short story "The Price of a Dagger" is now available at StoryPortals.com.  (Free registration required to read it.)  The story is part of Story Portals' Katya, Lady Assassin, series.  It's a sword-and-sorcery-style adventure in which Katya gets hired to take out a death mage.

It's the first story I've written that takes place in someone else's universe, and I had a lot of fun writing it.  I hope you have as much fun reading it.

E-books Autographs through Kindlegraph

Someone's come up with a way to do e-book autographs, so I've listed a few of my ebooks over at Kindlegraph.

Story Portals

Today is launch day for a new website called Story Portals.  They are using short stories to develop several characters, including Katya, Lady Assassin.  Why am I telling you this?  Because I wrote one of the Katya stories: "The Price of a Dagger."  Unfortunately, that story isn't available on the site yet, but they'll be releasing new stories on a regular basis, so its time will come.