James Dorr's Blog, page 174

Meddling Appliances and More! — Pre-Sale Opens for Robots, Cyborgs, and Martians’ Space Bar

The pre-sale for A ROBOT, A CYBORG, AND A MARTIAN WALK INTO A SPACE BAR (cf. December 1, September 26, et al.) has begun, according to Editor J. Alan Erwine.  The print book will list at $10, with an e-book version for $3.99.  To quote the announcement further, the anthology “includes stories from Francis W. Alexander, Lou J. Berger, Wayne Carey, James Dorr, Laura Givens, Alan Ira Gordon, John Grey, Carlos Hernandez, Gilda A. Herrera, Ahmed A. Khan, Sheryl Normandeau, Robert Lowell Russell, John Skylar, Glen R. Stripling, and Scott Virtes.

“You’ll be taken to alien bars, alien planets, and any funny place these authors could come up with. You’ll meet meddling appliances, aliens with strange habits, and aliens trying to live on or visit Earth. There are even time flies and a cloned genius. This collection has everything you need to tickle your funny bone.”

My entry in this comes into the meddling appliance milieu, titled “Toast” and having to do with a robotic toaster with its own ideas.  For more, though, you’ll just have to read the story, orderable from a choice of vendors by pressing here.

(Also, for those interested, there are still a few days left to join publisher Nomadic Delirium’s kickstarter, for which press here.)

From Britain With Love: Flute and Harp in BFS Journal 12; A Brief History of Le Grand Guignol

“Inside this issue of the BFS Journal, then, you will find fiction, poetry, and features showcasing the fact that fantasy, perhaps more than any other literary form, can and should be open to all forms of LGBTQ expression.  From trans-forest dwellers lusting after a sultry demigod in Sarah Newton’s ‘The Treeleaper’, to gender-preferences being thrown out of the window in between some classic sword-and-sorcery in Lea Fletcher’s ‘The Last Man of Rowandale’, fantasy’s secondary world structure allows for the examination of alternate norms in a unique way.  Further, it reminds us that no matter how we identify we are all people, and we can all understand each other in that way.  After all, what is fantasy for if not to look at reality in a different way?”

So says BRITISH FANTASY SOCIETY JOURNAL #12 Editor Max Edwards, the call having gone out a half year before for “some of the material in #12 to reflect the theme ‘LGBT & Fantasy’.  This could be fiction or poetry featuring LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) characters or non-fiction concerning LGBT authors or writing.”

On Monday the issue arrived in my mailbox with, sandwiched among the stories cited above, my tale of “Flute and Harp” (cf. May 27), about two doomed musicians and their mutual love.  Originally published in the anthology WHISPERS & SHADOWS (Prime Books, 2001), “Flute and Harp” is set in my far-future, dying-Earth universe of the “Tombs” where love, above most things and regardless of details, is highly valued .*

And then for something a fair bit different.  A few days ago, with a tip of the hat to Joan Hawkins (cf. post just below) via Nate Carroll on Facebook, I, Francophile (and theatre maven — well, sort of) that I am, came across a piece on an interesting phase of theatrical history.  I speak of Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol, Paris’s infamous precursor of splatterpunk from 1897 to a little bit after World War II, as described briefly — but with pictures — in a post on dangerousminds.net by Paul Gallagher, for which press here.

Or for more on le Grand Guignol, since I wasn’t going to let it go at only that, a more complete history by Agnes Peirron (translated from French by Deborah Treisman) can be found here.  Other links can be found on this page too, along with this description of the almost sad ending of live theatre’s possibly most outré era. “In an interview conducted immediately after the Grand-Guignol closed in 1962, Charles Nonon, its last director, explained:  ‘We could never compete with Buchenwald. Before the war, everyone believed that what happened on stage was purely imaginary; now we know that these things — and worse — are possible.’”

 

*For a special “Flute and Harp” fun fact, the story had also been accepted in 2003 by Laurajean Ermayne for the late Forrest J. Ackerman’s upcoming SCIFI LESBIANTHOLOGY, as by Jamie Dorr.  However, to my knowledge, the anthology has never been published.

Writers Guild First Sunday Reading Stars Santa

Well, sort of, though actually what I read opened with someone tied up in a bag, with no memory other than that his head hurt, apparently having been struck when he had been running from something.  But exactly what?  Well, the story’s been sent out somewhere but no word as yet whether it’s been accepted so we’ll just have to wait to find out.

This was at the latest Bloomington Writers Guild First Sunday reading (cf. November 3, October 5, et al.), which also included a mini-going away party for coordinator Kamil Khan who, getting his degree at the university, will be replaced by Joan Hawkins in January.  Thus, in addition to regular snacks, we had a cake and sparkling cranberry juice (also grape, I think, but I stuck with the cranberry).  We also had a larger than usual crowd to listen to featured readers Hilda Davis, a first year M.A. candidate in the Indiana University Department of African-American and African Diaspora Studies, who read two fictionalized personal essays; local writer Julia Karr and author of XVI, a young adult futuristic thriller, and its sequel TRUTH from Speak/Penguin Books for Young Readers, reading a pair of unrelated short stories (the second having to do with the Devil!); and recent Department of African-American and African Diaspora Studies PhD Abegunde reading from a portion of her dissertation that also is part of a novel in progress on African ancestry and the middle passage.  This was followed by the usual open mike session of short readings by about ten people, including me with a Christmas horror piece — including Santa — called “He Knows When You’re Awake.”

Also announced by incoming coordinator Joan, there may be a change in set up for at least the first two sessions for 2015, involving longer, 10-to-12 minute open mike readings.  This could be fun too — at least I have an idea already of what I may read for the New Year’s first Sunday.

Year’s End — New Year’s Anthology Special Sale through January 5

The tales to follow are a bit more psychological in horror than gory, something for which I’ve always had a preference in the stories I read.  What’s particularly exciting for me with this anthology is that not only do I have the opportunity to work with many current Untreed Reads authors, I also became exposed to the works of writers brand new to me.  It’s a chance to ring out the old and ring in the new with familiar faces and new faces alike.  (From introduction, YEAR’S END)

Happy New Year early this season!  Untreed Reads Publishing has announced a special sale for their New Year’s Eve anthology only, YEAR’S END:  14 TALES OF HOLIDAY HORROR, to be in effect through Monday, January 5 2015.  YEAR’S END is available in a variety of electronic formats, for $2.99 instead of its usual $4.99, and can be obtained from a number of supporting vendors.  Just choose your favorite from the list below, click on its name, and then take it from there.  This is a special sneak peek promotion (and you’re on the list because I’m an author in the anthology — see, we have privileges) which will be announced by Untreed Reads in a general emailing some time in the week between Christmas and New Year’s.  However, by using the links below you can qualify for the sale price now!

So to get YEAR’S END for $2.99 (instead of $4.99), just take your pick of the following vendors and press its name:

The Untreed Reads Store

Amazon

Apple

Barnes and Noble

Kobo

DriveThruFiction

To quote Editor Jay Hartman:  New Year’s Eve isn’t all champagne and confetti.  For some, it’s filled with regrets, the changing of the day dragging them kicking and screaming into a year for which they aren’t prepared.  This year, some people will be screaming, but they may not make it to the New Year at all.

Join 14 horror authors as they reveal the dark side of our end-of-year celebrations.  This anthology of a holiday gone horrifyingly wrong contains stories by James S. Dorr, Richard Godwin, Nicky Peacock, John Stewart Wynne, Steve Shrott, Leah Givens, George Seaton, Kathryn Ohnaka, Jeremy K. Tyler, Betsy Miller, Byron Barton, Steve Bartholomew, Ali Maloney and Foxglove Lee.

Mine in this is the leadoff story, “Appointment in Time,” a tale of what happens when steampunk and tribal magic join (hint: it’s not pretty). And after that there are thirteen more stories, one each for the twelve days of Christmas and more, available now at a this-anthology-only special bargain price.

Halloween Forevermore Offers Top Five Pre-Christmas Movie Picks

‘Tis the season with Halloween over, Thanksgiving done, and now the slog to the joy of Christmas, the last of the gloom or even the pain of gluttony past — what is the horror lover to do?  Enter Terry M. West and HALLOWEEN FOREVERMORE with five answers for your viewing pleasure, five recommended films to help bridge the gap between screaming terror and jolly old Saint Nick.

Shall we visit the cinema palace together by pressing the magic button?

Cyber Monday Reminders; Also A Robot, Etc. Kickstarter Open for Two More Weeks

‘Tis the season to be commercial, but sales are sales, so a quick reminder that Untreed Reads Publishing’s Cyber Monday sale, including my chapbooks PEDS, I’M DREAMING OF A. . . ., VANITAS, and the YEAR’S END New Year’s Eve anthology with my story “Appointment In Time” are being offered at a 1-day only forty-percent off Cyber Monday discount on all titles (cf. November 25 – discounts will appear on the payment page during checkout).  For more info press here.  Also Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing’s Thanksgiving Weekend sale ends today (see November 29, et al., below), with a twenty-percent off discount on THE TEARS OF ISIS included, for more on which press here.

Then, on a slightly different note, A ROBOT, A CYBORG, AND A MARTIAN WALK INTO A SPACE BAR Editor J. Alan Erwine (see September 26, et al.) has announced that a kickstarter to help defray costs for the anthology will continue for two weeks more.  He stresses that the anthology will definitely be published in any case, but a successful drive will help with (ahem!) payments to the authors.  More information can be found here.

And who might these authors be?  To quote publisher Nomadic Delirium:  “A ROBOT, A CYBORG, AND A MARTIAN WALK INTO A SPACE BAR is a serious literary work of science fiction and fantasy stories that look to delve into…no, not really.  This book is a collection of comedic science fiction and fantasy stories written by some truly talented authors.

“The book includes stories from Francis W. Alexander, Lou J. Berger, Wayne Carey, James Dorr, Laura Givens, Alan Ira Gordon, John Grey, Carlos Hernandez, Gilda A. Herrera, Ahmed A. Khan, Sheryl Normandeau, Robert Lowell Russell, John Skylar, Glen R. Stripling, and Scott Virtes.”

My story in this is a romantic reverie concerning a sentient robotic toaster called, oddly enough, “Toast.”

Flightless Rats Scheduled for January 12; SF Super Pack Finally Makes an Appearance

Two quick items for a Sunday morning:  first, Saturday’s doings included electronically signing the contract for T. GENE DAVIS’S SPECULATIVE BLOG (see November 26), followed shortly by payment via PayPal, recently raised from a $50.00 to $75.00 flat rate per story.  Mine, a vampiric romance gone sour titled “Flightless Rats,” shakes out at a tad less that 1000 words which makes that a handsome amount indeed in terms of a word rate.  More important for readers, though, I also received an email saying it’s scheduled for posting Monday January 12, at which point look here for a link as well.

Then in the non-electronic realm, my mailbox groaned under Saturday’s long-awaited receipt of two author’s copies of FANTASTIC STORIES PRESENTS SCIENCE FICTION SUPER PACK #1 from Positronic Publishing (originally Wilder Publications, cf. August 22, et al.)  At 784 pages per book, my slightly less than 2000 word story, “No Place to Hide,” is pretty well buried on pages 497-502  amongst authors the likes of, to quote from the cover, “Philip K. Dick, Isaac Asimov, Harry Harrison, Ray Bradbury. Theodore Sturgeon, R. A. Lafferty, and much, much more!”   “No Place to Hide,” a tale of space battles between the stars, was originally published in the Summer 1991 SCIENCE FICTION REVIEW and was one of my first professional sales.

I make no pretense that one would wish to pay the nearly $20.00 price (for the paperback, much less for Kindle) just for my story, but what company it keeps!  Alfred Bester, Frederik Pohl, Leigh Brackett, Edmond Hamilton, Philip José Farmer, Poul Anderson. . . .

To see the whole list, and more, press here.

Perpetual Motion, Bram Stoker(R) Nominee THE TEARS OF ISIS Sale Extended Through Cyber Monday

I don’t know if too many people bought books, or not enough, but Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing liked its Black Friday sale so much (cf. just below) that it’s been extended through Monday, the first of December.  To hear Publisher Max tell it like it is:  “Good morning, everybody.  We hope you had a great Thanksgiving.  And if you don’t live in the US, we hope your Thursday went as well as Thursdays go.  But now it’s Saturday.  And we have a bunch of books we no longer have room to hold.  Seriously, our house is bursting of books.  We need your help.  Starting a few days ago and ending this Monday night, we’ll be giving every book in our webstore a 20% discount.  That includes both paperbacks and ebooks.

“PROMO CODE: BLACK14″

So if you’re a book lover, you know what you have to do.  Give these orphaned books a good home!  For Wednesday’s sake, cf. two posts down — and Wednesday, a shelter cat, in her time needed a good home too.  (So she ended up here in the computer cave, but you know what I mean.)  And what better place to start than by buying the 2013 Bram Stoker Award(R) Fiction Collection finalist THE TEARS OF ISIS — at twenty percent off — by pressing here?

(Well, this seems to be getting a little commercial!  Seriously, though, books make good Christmas presents, as well as good reading any time of the year.)

Last Chance for TEARS with a 20 Percent Discount; Gothic Blue Book Paperbacks Haunt Computer Cave Mailbox

Might one note two reviews of THE TEARS OF ISIS, below, both from the other side of the Earth — from Australian author Natasha Ewendt and New Zealand artist William Cook (excerpt) respectively.  Both can be found on Amazon’s pages for THE TEARS OF ISIS as well, but better yet, if one acts quickly there’s still time to buy the book for yourself at a 20 percent discount direct from the publisher.  Just press here and add the code BLACK14 when you check out, but do it by midnight since (as also posted just below “Wednesday’s” Thanksgiving greeting) PMMP’s special Black Friday sale will be over tomorrow.

Is there anything better than a short story collection that pulls you in from the very first line? The Tears of Isis is intelligently written, evocative and engrossing.  James Dorr is a fabulous wordsmith who weaves words in such a way that you can’t help but be lulled into the story.  His ability to take on new perceptions and POVs and drag the reader inside them in such a short space of time is exceptional. All these unique, surprising stories are different to each other yet subtly threaded together.  I like a different spin on dark themes and mythology and every story has one.  Each tale has a killer twist, deep dark intrigue and/or something disturbing to make you shiver.  The Tears of Isis features inventively told modern takes on ancient myths and classic legends along with all-new original ideas.  Inspiring.

James Dorr’s third collection of short fiction, `The Tears of Isis,’ is a fantastically varied and eclectic selection of some of Dorr’s finest work.  His last collection, `Darker Loves: Tales of Mystery and Regret,’ was excellent also, although I do prefer `Tears . . .’ for its diversity and almost poetic use of prose.  The stories therein range from the grotesque, the Gothic, and the almost beautiful depiction of the dark and tragic soul of humanity.  This collection is rich with allusion and aestheticism at every corner; the astute reader will realize that Mr Dorr is taking us on a tour of his own labyrinthine gallery, with an emphasis on the Gothic and the moribund.  The homage to Edgar Allan Poe that precedes the first piece should give you fair indication that there will be darkness, requiring no less than a blood-red candle to light your way.  . . . 

Then, speaking of Gothy stuff, today also brought two author’s copies of GOTHIC BLUE BOOK IV:  FOLKLORE EDITION to the postal mailbox here at the computer cave.  My offering in this is the flash story “School Nights” (cf. October 29, September 8), but there’s much, much more, including a mini-collection of appropriately autumnal verse by Bruce Boston.  So, even though Halloween may be over, you might want to take a look at this one by pressing here — an excellent companion volume for your discount copy of THE TEARS OF ISIS.

For All, A Happy Thanksgiving Day 2014!

Wednesday the Cave Cat, Once Upon a Time (Wednesday’s webpage can be found here)