Phil Giunta's Blog, page 53
June 21, 2017
“So Hungry…” Gets Honorable Mention in BWG Contest
About a month ago, I mentioned that my paranormal short story, “So Hungry…” made it into the final round of judging in the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable annual contest.
I was alerted today that my story won an Honorable Mention and will be published in the Fall edition of the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable online magazine. Not too shabby!
Since I am permitted to republish the story 90 days after it is released by BWR, expect to see the story in print and illustrated in the next volume of the Middle of Eternity series next year or so. Stay tuned for more info!
Now I wait until August to hear how well I fared in the Rehoboth Beach short story contest. Here’s hoping that, at the very least, my story makes it into the anthology. I took second place last year, but I don’t dare think lightning will strike twice.
June 18, 2017
Book Review: Harlan Ellison’s Memos from Purgatory
For ten weeks in 1954, then twenty-year-old writer Harlan Ellison adopted the alias of teenager Phil “Cheech” Beldone and joined a NYC street gang called the Barons all in the name of research—an endeavor that nearly cost Ellison his life on more than one occasion, from the gang initiation ritual to the final savage, bloody rumble against a rival gang in Prospect Park.
Fast-forward seven years to 1961 when Ellison attended a gathering in NYC and encountered an old “friend” named Ken Bales to whom Ellison had loaned a typewriter—which Bales promptly hocked. While at the party, Ellison took the opportunity to demand compensation from Bales. A few days later, two detectives arrived at Ellison’s apartment based on an anonymous report of drug parties and illegal weapons. Was Bales the caller? Ellison seemed to suspect as much.
Known for this vociferous anti-drug lifestyle, Ellison explained to the detectives that there were no illegal narcotics in his apartment and the weapons, taken from a street gang, were now used as part of his popular lectures on juvenile delinquency. After allowing the detectives to search his apartment, Ellison is relieved to learn that no charges will be filed for narcotics—but they will have to arrest him on possession of an unregistered firearm, as a .22 caliber pistol was among the gang weapons.
Thus begins the second part of this memoir—Ellison’s vivid and dramatic description of his 24 hours in jail. Here is where the narrative runs longer than necessary and I can understand why many readers consider it whiny.
Memos from Purgatory is an unflinching, up-close-and-personal examination of street gangs and the callous NYC legal system of the times. It was one of Harlan Ellison’s bestselling books for nearly 25 years. While the material is obviously dated, the color of Ellison’s honest and raw narrative has not faded. I think the same can be said for most of his work.
Of course, what Harlan Ellison book would be complete with an expository introduction? In this case, my 1983 ACE paperback edition contains three intros, one written for this book and two from each previous printing. Ellison’s commentaries are nearly as enjoyable his stories!
Local Author Event at The Sands Outlet in PA on August 5!
Folks, if you are in the Lehigh Valley area, there will be 24 local authors, myself included, selling and signing copies of their books at The Sands Outlets in Bethlehem, PA on August 5. See details below.
If you decide to come out and support local authors, note that not all of us take credit cards yet. As soon as time permits, I might break down and get the Square because, as we all know, it’s hip to be square.
Come out to The Sands Outlets in August and see us! Much gratitude to Larry Deibert for organizing this marvelous event.
June 12, 2017
Of Home Renovations, Writing Contests, and Audio Books…
For me, this summer has begun with a challenging and exhausting home renovation. We’re repainting an area of the house that has not been touched in 14 years—specifically, our library.
With five packed bookcases, two recliners, two tables, and more “stuff”, and the fact that the library shares ceiling space with the adjoining stairwell and hallway, it’s no wonder that we left it alone for as long as we did. However, the carpet is in dire need of replacement and I thought that since we’ll need to move furniture to make that happen, I might as well repaint these areas.
As of this writing, I have patched and sanded where needed, primed, and applied the first coat of paint. The second coat of paint will be applied tomorrow evening and then I can clean up. After that, it’s touching up the window trim and inside the hall closet. The carpet installer will be out next Monday to measure for the estimate and provide samples. It’s a family-owned business and we had them out last June to replace the carpet in our bedroom–which I also repainted a few days in advance. They did a fantastic job and as such, we called them first.
On top of this, two high-profile projects at my FT job are keeping me busy and will consume part of my upcoming weekend and well as my summer. As you might have guessed, I have not written at all this week and probably won’t next week either, but over the past two to three months, I did manage to write three more chapters in the first draft of my SF novel-in-progress while also editing submissions for Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity, the third volume in our series of speculative fiction anthologies.
The first volume is called Somewhere in the Middle of Eternity (released in 2014), and the second, Elsewhere in the Middle of Eternity, was released last August. Our third collection has a tentative release of summer 2018.
On the short story front, I have two submissions out into two separate contests. The first is the Rehoboth Beach Reads Short Story Contest in Delaware, sponsored by Cat & Mouse Press and Browseabout Books. I won second place last year and my story was published in the resulting anthology, Beach Nights.
I already had a new story ready to go by the end of 2016 for this year’s contest, which is themed Beach Life. Winners will be announced around August 7-8. Watch this space for updates!
The second story is a paranormal tale set in New Mexico and was submitted to the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable annual contest. I was informed last month that the story made into the final round of judging and is now in the hands of NYT bestseller Carrie Vaughn to select the top three winners. Winners will be announced by July 1, which would make a marvelous birthday present for me! Stay tuned.
Lastly, when Podiobooks merged with Scribl.com, I was disappointed to see that the reviews for my audio books did not migrate over… then I stumbled upon my audio books at LibriVox and not only do they have the older Podiobooks reviews, but new reviews that I had not seen before. My exciting discovery for the week!
Click here to listen to Testing the Prisoner.
Click here to listen to By Your Side.
June 11, 2017
Book Review: Galactic Creatures edited by Elektra Hammond
Galactic Creatures is a fun collection of eleven short stories with a common theme of spaceships or satellites constructed in the form of birds, dragons, fish, and other animals. My favorites included “Dragon Child” by Leona Wisoker, the late, great C.J. Henderson’s “Lawn Care,” and Patrick Thomas’s novella, “Crossing Roads,” which concludes the book.
There were only a few editing issues that caught my attention. On my copy of the trade paperback, both the title and the editor’s name are misspelled on the spine and “Lawn Care” is interrupted three pages before the end by a brief excerpt from what appears to be a story outline that is completely unrelated to the theme of this anthology. Beyond those minor glitches, this is a fine collection of light and quick SF/Fantasy tales.
June 6, 2017
Local Authors Day at the Sands Outlets – Bethlehem, PA
Thanks to the efforts of Larry Deibert, I am pleased to announce Local Authors Book Signing at The Sands Outlets in Bethlehem, PA. Saturday, August 5th, 2017 from 10AM-4PM.
The purchase of a book from one of the authors listed below will include a coupon book for discounts at The Outlets Stores. Thank you for supporting local authors! More info to follow. Stay tuned!
Larry L. Deibert-Vampire, Paranormal, Time Travel, Fantasy-Christmas, Military Romance
Janet Stafford-historical Fiction (American Civil War era) & Contemporary Romance.
Phil Giunta-Speculative Fiction (science fiction, paranormal, and fantasy).
Christina Paul-historical and Contemporary Romance.
Barbara Wall Steingas-Self-Help, Inspirational & Children’s Books
Mary Ellen Springsteen-Young adult, Adult Suspense Mystery
Paige Dearth-Horror
Ellwyn Autumn-Children’s Fantasy and Picture Books
Jack Hillman-Young Adult
Barbara Morgan-Illustrated Children’s Books
Jocelyn Cordes (Plum McCauley)-Children and Fantasy
Sharon Villone Riccione-Adult Literary Fiction
Michael Pogach-Dystopias & Thrillers
James Hockenberry-Historical Thrillers
Fritz Sprandel-True Adventure
Mary Shafer-Historical, Weather and How-To Non-fiction
Othy Jones-Historical Fantasy Adventure
A.E. Decker-Young Adult Fantasy
Sally Paradysz-Memoir
Carol L. Wright-Bethlehem Writers Group Anthologies Mystery
Sonya Christman-Mystery Thriller
K. Edwin (Keith) Fritz-Horror, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Psychological Thrillers
Brenda Havens-Children’s Picture Books
Kate A. Brandes-Women’s Fiction with an eco-bent.
June 3, 2017
Book Review: The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Ever since I purchased and reread my autographed replacement copy of Nicholas Meyer’s Sherlock Holmes novel, The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, and then went on to read Murder at Sorrow’s Crown by Steven Savile and Bob Greenberger, I felt compelled to go back and indulge once again in some of the original tales by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
It had been so long since l last read this collection that I’d forgotten most of them, although I remembered that at least two—”The Adventure of the Six Napoleons” and “The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton”—were used as source material for the BBC series, Sherlock.
So great was the demand for Sherlock Holmes stories that Doyle, 
tired of penning tales about the master detective by the turn of the 20th century, was compelled to resurrect Holmes from the dead after what was thought to be his demise in “The Final Problem” wherein Holmes and his arch-rival, the nefarious Professor Moriarty, had together plummeted from Reichenbach Falls in Germany.
Of the 13 marvelous stories detailing some of Holmes and Watson’s continuing investigations, my favorites include…
“The Adventure of the Empty House,” in which Holmes describes to an astounded Watson how he managed to escape death and travel about Europe and Asia for a few years before returning to London, compelled by an intriguing and high-profile murder of the son of an Earl.
In “The Adventure of the Dancing Men,” Holmes and Watson are called into decipher a series of encrypted messages consisting of dancing stick figures. The messages are being left in chalk on the walls of a nobleman’s manor as well as on notes around the property. Could they be a warning… or a threat?
In “The Adventure of the Priory School,” a frantic headmaster calls upon Holmes to investigate the missing son of a local Duke. Did the boy flee the school of his own accord, or was he led away for a fiendish purpose?
In “The Adventure of Black Peter,” Inspector Stanley Hopkins requests Holmes’s assistance on the peculiar murder of Peter Carey, a former ship’s captain and a miserable drunkard, who built a small cabin on his property where he often stole away for days—until one morning when his body is discovered impaled by one of his own harpoons!
Holmes is once again called in by Scotland Yard when a series of cheap plaster Napoleon busts are senselessly and randomly smashed all over England. However, when one of these incidents leads to murder, Holmes suspects that there is something more to the matter than a mere dislike of the legendary emperor in “The Adventure of the Six Napoleons.”
When an elderly professor’s intern is brutally murdered in the professor’s own study, Holmes and Watson are called into investigate. The only clue to the killer’s identity are spectacles clutched in the victim’s hand and one-way footprints in the grass outside a set of french doors. In “The Adventure of the Pince-Nez,” could the killer still be close at hand?
A college athlete from Cambridge implores Holmes to help find his missing teammate, rugby star Godfrey Staunton. Upon receiving a hand delivered note, Staunton simply disappeared on the eve of their match against Oxford. Holmes and Watson track the missing student to a cantankerous and clever physician who manages to elude Holmes for a short time before he and Watson finally discover the tragic truth in “The Adventure of the Missing Three-Quarter.”
When the brutal and abusive Sir Eustace Brackenstall is murdered in his mansion, Holmes and Watson are once more called in by Scotland Yard. However, by the time they arrive, Inspector Hopkins seems to have the case already classified as a burglary gone wrong. As it happens, a trio of master thieves had already been seen in the area and the Lady Brackenstall identified them as the ones who bound and gagged her before murdering her husband. However, a cursory inspection of the crime scene leaves a nagging doubt in Holmes’s mind in “The Adventure of the Abbey Grange.”
In “The Adventure of the Second Stain,” a former British Prime Minister and the Secretary for European Affairs seek Holmes’s help in recovering a stolen letter from a foreign potentate that, if exposed, could lead to war in Europe. However, Holmes comes to learn that the situation is far more personal to the Secretary than the young man realizes.
June 1, 2017
And the Awards for Beach Nights Just Keep Coming!
Just when I think the saga has reached its end… Many of you recall that last year, I took second place in the Rehoboth Beach, DE short story contest with my paranormal tale, “Tower Sixteen.” That story, plus 22 others, were published in the anthology, Beach Nights by Cat & Mouse Press in November 2016.
Last month, the Delaware Press Association bestowed four awards on Beach Nights including best anthology, best edited collection, as well as two awards for individual stories.
Well, yesterday I learned that Beach Nights and editor Nancy Day Sakaduski just won two awards from the National Federation of Press Women: First place for anthology and second place in the editing category!
Here is a statement from the judges wherein, I am proud to say, my story “Tower Sixteen” is specifically called out along with “Flight of the Songbird”, which took first place in the initial Rehoboth Beach contest last year.
“What a fun and inviting collection! A wide range of stories nicely presented (including typography) and well edited. I realize judges chose the stories, but I can see your development and guidance as well. It seems while there is great variety, these are nicely edited and of high quality. These stories overall have excellent, memorable first lines – unlike collections where the reader feels the story could have started 2 pages in! Keep watching for that with your authors – that they show characters and actions, rather than describing them in exposition to set the scene. The very best of these do that. I was particularly taken with Flight of the Songbird and Tower 16, actually – I would agree with your judges on the strength of those stories. I also loved how you ordered the stories for flow, so the award winners are sprinkled throughout. Very interesting for the reader to discover those along the way. Nice work!”
May 28, 2017
A Marvelous Review from the Land Down Under!
I just happened across this recent Goodreads review for my novel By Your Side from a reader in Australia. It made my weekend!
Indy Fernandez rated it Five Stars – It was amazing
Shelves: read-2017
This book has chills, thrills, suspense and even light hearted humour. Will keep you engaged from start to finish, a very well written novel, I applaud the author Phil Giunta as the story is intriguing with characters that are portrayed with so vividly you are caught up in their nightmares.
