A.L. Butcher's Blog, page 166
July 1, 2015
Polish your swords! Joe Bonadonna, an author of heroic fantasy is here!
A great interview
Originally posted on AUTHOR JENNIFER LOISKE:
I’m pleased to introduce you to Joe Bonadonna, one of the authors in Doctors in Hell, a heroic science fiction and fantasy writer that has so many interesting books available, that after this interview I’m gonna run to Amazon and buy them all! Yes, I’m not ashamed to admit I do judge book by the covers and Joe’s covers definitely hooked me…I’m especially interested to know what’s hidden between ‘THREE AGAINST THE STARS’ covers.
Joe has thus far published three books: the heroic fantasy, Mad Shadows: The Weird Tales of Dorgo the Dowser, published by iUniverse; the space opera, Three Against The Stars, published by Airship 27 Productions; and Waters of Darkness, a sword and sorcery pirate adventure, (in collaboration with David C. Smith), published by Damnation Books. He also written stories for several fantasy and sword & sorcery anthologies: Azieran: Artifacts and Relics, published by Heathen Oracle;Griots:…
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June 28, 2015
Sunday Surprise
Joe Bonadonna’s Heroika Post.
Originally posted on creative barbwire (or the many lives of a creator):
Last guest of the month! Another Heroika author! Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Joe Bonadonna!
Where do you live and write from?
I live and work where I was born and raised — Chicago, IL, USA.
Why do you write?
I’ve always been something of a natural-born fabricator and exaggerator of the truth — I’ve enjoyed telling tall tales ever since I was a kid. Starting as far back as I can remember I was a fairly voracious reader. I really have no memory of learning to read and write, of when and how that happened; it just seems as if I’ve always been able to do both. My Dad worked next door to a book bindery called Spinner Brothers, and was friends with the manager there. So Dad always brought home these wonderful books for me back in the late 1950s and early 1960s, many of them educational books…
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June 20, 2015
Giveaway! Heroika: Dragon Eaters – win a free copy
We are delighted to announce a chance to win a copy of Perseid Press new release Heroika: Dragon Eaters. The competition runs until 21st JUly 2015.
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Dragon Eaters
by Janet E. Morris
Giveaway ends July 21, 2015.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
The art of dragon killing: Dragons have been eating humans for centuries. Now heroes throughout history stalk their legendary foe. Learn how to hunt, kill, and eat the wild dragon. Never before has revenge tasted so good. A literary feast for the bloody-minded. In Janet Morris’ anthology on the art of dragon killing, seventeen writers bring you so close to dragons you can smell their fetid breath. Tales for the bold among you. HEROIKA 1 — DRAGON EATERS, an anthology of heroic fiction edited by Janet Morris, features original stories by Janet Morris and Chris Morris, S.E. Lindberg, Jack William Finley, Travis Ludvigson, Tom Barczak, JP Wilder, Joe Bonadonna, Milton Davis, A.L. Butcher, William Hiles, M Harold Page, Walter Rhein, Cas Peace, Beth W. Patterson, Bruce Durham, Mark Finn.
June 7, 2015
Sunday Surprise
Here’s an interview with Heroika: Dragon Eaters author Walter Rhein.
Originally posted on creative barbwire (or the many lives of a creator):
And it’s a guest! Remember that anthology about dragons, Heroika? He’s one of them authors, as promised! Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Walter Rhein!
Where do you live and write from?
I live in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. My family and I have a small house and we rent out the first floor. This is sort of a variation on the “micro-home” movement. I love the flexibility you get when you live in something small and you don’t have to be terrified about finding the mortgage money every month. That’s an important consideration when you’re addicted to writing. I don’t really take notice of my immediate environment anyway since I’m usually daydreaming (but I know my wife would prefer more living space).
Why do you write?
It’s a good way to sort out what I think about things. Writing can be something of a thought experiment. You create characters, conceive of…
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Returning Author Victoria Zigler – Announcement
The Great Degu Round-Up: https://www.createspace.com/5493760
A Very Degu Christmas: https://www.createspace.com/5493860
My name is Victoria Zigler, and I’m a blind author of children’s
fiction and poetry.
In April 2012, I began publishing my books as eBooks via Smashwords,
who then distribute them to multiple eBook retailers, including – but
not limited to – Apple, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.
Since then, I’ve received several requests to make my books available
in paperback format.
I’m pleased to announce that I am finally able to grant these requests!
The first two of my books are now available to buy in paperback from
CreateSpace and Amazon, with the rest of my backlist of books
following as soon as it can be arranged.
The paperback versions will also be made available to request from
other retailers and bookstores, as well as from your local library,
though this will take a little longer to arrange.
“The Great Degu Round-Up” and “A Very Degu Christmas” are the titles
already available to buy in paperback.
~*~
Victoria “Tori” Zigler
(Children’s author and poet)
*~*~*
Website: http://www.zigler.co.uk
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/toriz
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/toriz
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tori.zigler
Facebook author page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Victoria-Zigler/424999294215717
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/victoriazigler
Blog: http://ziglernews.blogspot.com
June 2, 2015
A Week with the Dragon Eaters – Bruce Durham
Here’s the last interview (for now) with the authors and characters featured in Heroika: Dragon Eaters. Today I welcome Bruce Durham.
Character questions (choose from):
*Who are you? I’m Mackenzie Secord, though my friends call me Mac. I captain an ice-clipper and hunt food.
Why are you embarking on this quest? Quest? I wouldn’t call what I do a quest. We hunt to survive.
Where are you from? (Tell us about it) I’m originally from Newmarket, near Toronto, but that’s a lifetime ago. Now what few of us remain live in an abandoned military base in the Arctic. It’s a good location, some natural defences, and the wyrms aren’t near as abundant as they are in the warmer climes. At least, for now.
*Tell us about dragons in your world. We call them wyrms. They don’t fly, just crawl and burrow. Tough as all hell, too. They only have one real weak spot.
What is the political system of your world? These days? Chaos. I have no idea how many of us are left on this world. Sometimes we make contact with other settlements via shortwave. But that’s just sometimes. Doesn’t usually last long.
Do you have a family? Not any more. Next question.
Do you see yourself as a hero? What is a hero? Haven’t got a clue. I’m a survivor. I look after my crew and pray I can get them home safely. If that makes me a hero, then so be it.
What is the technology level of your world? I don’t right know anymore, though we’re probably a generation away from barbarism, if we live that long.
Where do dragons come from? Apparently through a series of portals. Scientists theorized it was some kind of alternate dimensional thing. Frankly, it’s above my pay grade.
Are there other such monsters in your world? God, I hope not!
Author questions (choose from):
*Who are you? Bruce Durham. Author of some thirty plus short stories. Sometime artist. Now currently semi-retired from the working world.
Why did you choose this world/era to write in? I’ve always had a fascination with the Arctic. This theme allowed me to explore an idea of mine, how remnants of mankind would chance settling in some remote, seemingly inhospitable part of the planet just to prevent their extinction.
Give us a couple of lines about your characters. All of my characters are survivors. Mackenzie captains the crew of an ice-clipper in search of food for her settlement. Before that she was in the army, and when the wyrms arrived, become one of the first females to pilot a Mühle, a construct designed to fight the invaders.
How much research did you need for your story? I did a fair amount on the Arctic, primarily the abandoned DEW line bases and some of the geography in northern Canada.
Have you written for anthologies before? How does it differ from writing a novel? I’ve been involved with several anthologies over the years. I enjoy writing short stories. Themed anthologies can be especially fun, though challenging, but worth it when a story is accepted. Unlike novels, short stories force you to get right down to business and (hopefully) hook the reader from the get-go.
Are you a plotter or a pantser? I’m definitely a plotter, though the pantser takes over while doing the actual writing. It’s a trade-off, so long as I stick to the story I’ve outlined.
What other novels/short stories have you written? No novels yet, but I’ve appeared in several publications and anthologies over the years. My very first sale, The Marsh God, was published in ‘Flashing Swords’. It placed first in the annual Preditors & Editors poll that year for best SF&F in the short story category. It was subsequently adapted into a graphic novel. Some anthologies I’ve appeared in are: Valley of Bones in ‘Return of the Sword’, Yaggoth-Voor in ‘Rage of the Behemoth’, Deathstalk in ‘Sha’Daa: Last Call’, Plains of Hell in ‘Lawyers in Hell’, Colony in ‘Rogues in Hell’ and Hell-hounds in ‘Poets in Hell’. Anezka appeared in ‘Paradox: The Magazine of Historical & Speculative Fiction’ and I have a couple of stories in the ‘Lovecraft eZine’: The Crane Horror and The Case of the Galloway Eidolon. The latter was a Sherlock Holmes/Lovecraft crossover with a serious shout-out to The Dark Man by Robert E. Howard.
What book(s) are you currently reading? The Invasion Year by Dewey Lambdin and Monster Hunter International by Larry Correia.
Tell us one unusual fact about yourself. I walked away from a plane crash back in the early 70s.
Author website/blog: www.brucedurham.ca
Twitter: @BJDurham
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bruce.durham
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4505352.Bruce_Durham
Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/Bruce-Durham/e/B004NMV5HS
May 31, 2015
Review – Theogony – Hesiod
Theogony – Hesiod.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B009XH63MK/
3.5 stars.
3.5 stars.
(4 for value – ancient text and useful insight)
(3 for readability)
(3.5 for interest)
(3 for technicalities – formatting)
I’m not totally sure how to rate this – as an ancient work (8th Century BCE) it’s importance is supreme. It’s a great insight into the pantheon of the Ancient Greeks and their religion but it must be said it is NOT an easy read. This is partly as it is so old – these deities are alien to most of us, with unfamiliar names, roles and lives, if that is the right word, which are also rather fantastic. Mostly it reads as a list – so and so begat so and so. There’s a lot of that – sex is everywhere, as is violence, intrigue, deception, family squabbles and much more. From the modern view all the incest, patricide, misogyny and so forth is hard to deal with – although pretty standard for ancient religious text. The stories of Prometheus, of Earth and Sky and Earth’s revenge, plus the birth of Athena are the most outstanding accounts. In many ways it reads like a modern soap opera.
I’d say it is a great book for background information to the gods and supernatural beings of the period, but as a straight through read, or an adventure such as the Odyssey it is not nearly as exciting. The misogyny of the text is obvious – although to some extent reflects the ideas of the time.
The formatting on this version was a bit suspect – with large gaps, words running into one another and repeated phrases, which MAY have been intentional but maybe not. After a while it became fairly hard to read because of this. Some more notes to this particular version would be very useful.
Overall – I’d say a useful reference for study if one wants background into the deities of the Odyssey or Iliad, but not an especially interesting one – at least in this particular translation.
May 29, 2015
A Week with the Dragon Eaters – Tom Barczak
Yes, yes I know it’s been more than a week. There ARE seventeen authors so what did you expect?
Here’s today’s interview with Ton Barczak and his character Lucretia
Character questions:
Who are you? “My name is Lucretia. I’m the daughter of Erdot, the blacksmith.”
Why are you embarking on this quest? “I didn’t know I was, really. I was seduced by the spell of the village priest, or at least that’s what I thought he was.”
Where are you from? (Tell us about it) “We live, or at least we used to live, just outside the village of Cornwallace, all of my life. But I don’t think I can go back there now now.”
Tell us about dragons in your world. “Secretive. And very, very, dangerous. They are to be left alone, unless they try to hurt someone you love. Then you kill them without mercy.”
Do you have a family? “Not anymore. My father raised me until the black dragon killed him. My mother, she died when I was very young.”
What is the best way to kill a dragon? “A hammer down it’s gullet.”
Do you see yourself as a hero? What is a hero? “No. But my mother and my father were. They were very brave, if that makes you a hero. They weren’t afraid to love. They weren’t afraid of anything.”
Are there other such monsters in your world? “Can I go?”
Author questions:
Who are you? Tom Barczak. I am an author, architect, and artist.
How do you define a hero? Someone who serves others without any thought of themselves.
How much research did you need for your story? Don’t know if this is research but I did have 2 odd personal goals for this story.
First was to describe a character with poor eyesight and no vision correction. You never see that in medieval fantasy. Everyone must have had 20/20 vision back then. I think I got to do that with this, describe an impairment without doing so from a modern point of view. My next story I’ll take on hearing. What?
The second was just my homage to my Dungeons and Dragons roots while still avoiding copyright infringement. That’s where the black and gold dragons come in.
Have you written for anthologies before? How does it differ from writing a novel? I love writing short stories. I tend to write in small pieces. Short stories are a bit more manageable, that way. They allow me to cover more ground.
Are you a plotter or a pantser? I’m a little bit of both. A structure must be had first to build off of. But beyond that, the story will write itself if you listen. Sometimes the hardest part is just listening.
What other novels/short stories have you written? Veil of the Dragon
Some of my shorter works are in the following:
Dreamers in Hell
Poets in Hell
Nine Heroes
Terror by Gaslight
Tell us one unusual fact about yourself. I can sometimes see sounds and hear colors. I can even taste even smells. I think I have a mild case of synesthesia.
Author website/blog
Twitter: https://twitter.com/barczaktom
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thomas.barczak
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C&query=Tom+Barczak
Amazon page: http://www.amazon.com/Tom-Barczak/e/B006SOKHMI/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1432735471&sr=8-1-fkmr1
Provide a tidbit:
Dragons taste like chicken.
May 28, 2015
Book Blast – Perfectly Straight – Jacqueline Campos #PStr8Blast
Title: Perfectly Straight
Author: Jacqueline Campos
Publication Date: May 11, 2015
Genre: Erotic Romance
Synopsis
Stevie Ramsey, America’s Sweetheart, is an actress who enjoys phenomenal popularity and success. She has one significant secret that she guards fiercely—she is a closeted lesbian who is in a relationship with her personal assistant, Kylie Winston. Kylie, a former model, maintains the position in title only as suggested by Stevie’s svengali-like manager. Eventually Stevie caves to pressure to have an affair with Fletcher Coleman, a hot up-and-coming actor as a ruse to fool her public. However the plan explodes in Stevie’s face and a heart-broken and betrayed Kylie leaves her.
But the actress pines for her gorgeous ex-lover, Kylie Winston who has moved to New York where she has resumed a successful modeling career. Stevie resolves to win back Kylie, but also decides to finally dedicate herself to her craft and takes charge of her career for the first time.
Perfectly Straight follows Stevie Ramsey as she struggles to find her way through life and love exploring relationships with women and men until finally accepting her identity. Can Stevie resolve the conflict between her public and private persona?
Author Bio
Jacqueline Campos is the author of the celebrity-based erotic books, “The Arrangement” and “Perfectly Straight.” When not writing books and screenplays she can be found vowing to take up yoga and guitar lessons on the guitar that was given to her by her mother many Christmases ago. She is usually searching for an inspiring view of nature, simplicity, and peace. Although she lives in Southern California, she always has Texas and Chicos Tacos in her heart. Jacqueline found herself writing to create stories that were entertaining but not necessarily the norm. She would like her novels to be exciting and to contain messages of love, kindness, and respect—and of course, sex with no holds barred.
Excerpt #1
The private jet vibrated from the roar of the crowd that had gathered to meet Stevie Ramsey at the Santa Monica Municipal Airport. They shrieked in anticipation as stairs were rolled into place for disembarking. “Stevie! Stevie! Stevie!” a mob of sobbing teens chanted in unison. Tom Frances, her middle-aged agent, appeared first—waving to the fans. Kylie Winston, Stevie’s personal assistant, followed.
“Come on, girl. Let’s get out of the way. She’s on!” Tom said. Hand in hand they scurried down the steps and then disappeared into a waiting limousine. Stevie was next to appear at the door. The crowd went wild. As she stood at the top of the stairs her legs felt like cement blocks. She was still taken aback by the hysteria that seemed to accompany her public appearances. She had trouble accepting that all these people had turned out to see her. This was supposed to happen to groups like New Direction, not a twenty-four-year-old Latina from Odessa Texas, she told herself.
“Get her into this car right now! All hell is about to break loose!” Kylie pleaded to Tom.
“She knows how to work a crowd. This security team excels at this sort of situation.”
Stevie breathed deeply and exhaled a movie star attitude. She forced her legs to begin the procession down the stairs as she waved Miss America-like. Sobbing teenagers shoved autograph books at her when she reached the ground. She scribbled SR in one book before the crowd forged forward—knocking a few of the police officers off balance, who were attempting to control the crowd. A single arm towered over the mob, grabbed a hold of Stevie’s hair and yanked hard. A blood curdling scream escaped from the actress’s mouth that sent the young fans further into frenzy. An enormous bodyguard clutched the anonymous wrist and forced it free from Stevie’s mane.
“Do something! They’re going to tear her apart!” Kylie begged.
“Are you crazy? She has wanted this all of her life!”
“Tom, she’s really in danger!”
“Got enough?” Tom yelled out to a paparazzi right outside of the limo. The paparazzo flashed him a thumbs up. Tom turned to a security guard. “That’s enough. Get her in here!” The guard wrapped his immense arm around Stevie’s waist and cleared a straight path to the car. Instantaneously Stevie dove into the limo headfirst, landing on Kylie’s lap.
“Floor it!” Tom yelled at the shaken driver.
Kylie held Stevie’s hands in her own. “Oh my God, are you okay, baby?”
A sharp stinging pain above her right ear pulled Stevie out of her shock. She held her head, “That hurts!”
“Okay, that’s enough! Come over and sit by me,” Tom demanded of Stevie. “We don’t know where the paparazzi will pop up. They may even be camped in your bushes again.”
“I don’t give a shit anymore, Tom!” Stevie exploded. “I’m sick and tired of this!”
“Stevie, not now!” He signaled with his eyes towards the limousine driver. “Now get your ass over here next to me!” Dutifully, Stevie maneuvered her body beside him where she sat in silence.
After a few minutes Tom began to speak to Stevie in a fatherly whisper. “Aren’t you the biggest movie star at the box office because of me? Tell me what other woman’s films have broken every box office record in the world! Hell, tell me what man has done that! Kiddo, you’re golden!” Stevie looked blankly out of the window. Tom patted her knee, “You know the press wouldn’t call you the hottest Latina bombshell of all time for no reason at all.” Stevie was unresponsive. “You couldn’t possibly want to risk all of that.”
“You know, that’s really something, isn’t it Tom?” Stevie fumed. “I mean, especially after you made me change my name from Ramirez to Ramsey.”
Excerpt #2
“This is my secret place,” he said. The tiny carpeted room was barren. Fletcher tugged at a sheet hanging on the wall to reveal sliding glass doors. He slid the door open and exposed a tiny terrace that overlooked a pool surrounded by lit-up palm trees. The lights from outside dimly penetrated the room, making it unnecessary to turn on additional lighting. He went to a mini-refrigerator in the corner of the room and took out two bottles of dark ale. Fletcher took off his tuxedo jacket and laid it on the floor and then sat next to it. He pulled her down on his jacket. “I used to come here and dream about making it big,” he said, opening a bottle and handing it to her. She took a long swallow that she instantly proceeded to spray over both of them.
“What the fuck is this! Horse piss?” she uttered. They laughed. She wiped the beer off herself and from his face. They stopped laughing and looked into each other’s eyes. He looked away and took a long gulp from his bottle. Stevie took another drink, knowing what to expect this time. “So, tell me about this room.”
He guzzled again from his beer bottle then spoke. “I worked at this hotel delivering room service not too long ago. You can’t imagine the things I’ve seen!”
“Oh, do tell!”
He shook his head. “No, I was raised not to talk about things like that around a lady.”
“Does anyone else know about this?”
“I don’t think so. It’s like a forgotten room. I was delivering room service once and I opened this door by mistake. After a while I noticed no one ever used it. So I brought in the little fridge. I slept here many nights during my lean years.”
“Come on, I’m sure you have some steamy stories to tell about what has happened to you in this room!”
He cracked a grin. “One story. I only brought one woman here and it was actually after my career got going. It’s not that exciting of a story, really.”
“Well, your career is exciting!”
“Yeah, I just wrapped my first film where I’m the lead. It’s just an action film. I play a bounty hunter trying to keep the streets safe.”
“Just an action film? I’m sure there were millions spent on it!”
“That may be true, but I want my films to mean something. I’m not crazy about rehashing the same formula over and over. My next film, whatever it is, will be relevant, no matter how long it takes me to find,” he said.
“Then I doubt we’ll ever be working together! From what I understand, my films weren’t very good. The next one, whatever it is, I’m sure will be the same. I basically show up and say and do as I’m told. Somebody is doing something right because I’ve made a lot of money for other people—and for myself as well.”
“They might be fluff Stevie, but I think you’re really good in them! I can’t take my eyes off of you when you’re on screen. Nobody can! You have what they call it —something that can’t be taught.”
Stevie smiled. “Thank you, Fletcher. That’s very sweet.” Her eyes were drawn to his massive biceps as he raised his arm to take another drink from the beer bottle. They continued talking about everything and nothing in particular, drinking bottle after bottle of beer. With each sip she wondered why he did not attempt to make a move. She studied him as he spoke of his passion for his profession. So far, he was one of the nicest men she had met. Tom’s words rang in her head like church bells. She uttered under her breath, “Tom hasn’t been wrong yet. It might as well be you.”
“What was that?”
“Nothing . . . just drunk.” The more she anticipated his move the more she found herself wanting him to make it. She might have even been looking forward to making out with a man for real for the first time. Inevitably, Stevie knew that it would be up to her if anything were to happen between them that night, in that little room. She also knew that if he was a healthy heterosexual male, it wouldn’t take much encouragement. “You know, if this were a movie, this would be the part when the leading man would kiss his leading lady,” she whispered.
On cue he leaned in and kissed her. She instantly felt the difference between kissing a man on a bright soundstage, with a large crew looking on, and alone in a dark little room, drunk. Although he handled her as if she were a porcelain doll, it was more forceful than kissing a woman. She felt his male energy taking the lead and directing the action. Without a doubtshe was the one being kissed. The barely-there hair stubble around his mouth burned her skin a little. But his lips were soft, and when he parted them his tongue felt cold from the beer. His tongue sought out hers and she took it in her mouth, sucking on it delicately.
Excerpt #3
When Stevie awoke at dawn, she glanced over her shoulder at Julianne who lay sleeping next to her. A slight sense of guilt swept over her. The sex had been hot and thrilling, yet for reasons unbeknownst to her, it did not feel right. Why did she feel guilt she wondered, she was single—nothing tied her down. Stevie feared this would change her relationship with Julianne. Stevie turned her body to face Julianne and studied her angelic face as she slept. The same stunning face she had become infatuated with the day she first saw it. Now this beauty lay next to her after a night of blazing sex. She relived every movement in her mind. Surprisingly, Julianne had been totally uninhibited and full of wonderment about experimenting lovemaking with a woman for the first time. She had been like a child who had received her very first puppy, eager and insatiable to play with it. The woman knew what pleased her and was not shy about letting her partner know it. Even though there was no question that Julianne had been sexually satisfied, Stevie wondered if Julianne knew exactly what she was getting herself into. Julianne opened her eyes. “Good morning,” Julianne whispered.
“Good morning.” Stevie hopped to her feet and dressed. “You know, Carney and I planned to work some more with the horse and wagon. She agreed to come back early from Mazatlán today and help me on it. I want to get really good at it.”
“Stevie, this doesn’t have to be awkward. I knew what I was doing when I came here last night. There is nothing wrong with having a little fun while we’re out here, is there? I think we both know it’s a no-strings-attached thing . . . nothing more.”
Returning author Juliet B Madison – Crime/Thriller
Today I’m pleased to welcome back Crime Author Juliet B Madison to talk about her latest DI Frank Lyle related project Alternate Voices. Over to you Juliet.
Last year my friend and fellow crime writer, Andrew Scorah put together an anthology to raise money for the UK charity Women’s Aid and to raise awareness of the thorny issue of domestic violence. In this day and age, where same sex marriage is legal, domestic violence is not necessarily confined to heterosexual relationships. I contributed a story to Andrew’s anthology, Shadows and Light, and am pleased to have been associated with the project.
Those who know me well will be aware that my long term partner, David, died of renal cancer in 2008. Taking care of him was tough, both emotionally and financially, but we had a Macmillan nurse who gave us both tremendous support and enabled us to get access to resources we could not use ourselves given that we did not have a computer or internet access. I decided to try and collect stories for a similar anthology and donate some of the proceeds to Macmillan to enable them to continue their great support of people living with cancer as well as their relatives and carers.
You can learn more about Macmillan cancer support and the work they do here
I launched an online appeal for stories, but this is the twist, the stories are not run of the mill. I wanted to set people the challenge of writing a DI Frank Lyle story of their own. The story does not need to be crime based, it can be in any genre as long as it utilises characters from the main DI Frank Lyle Mystery Series. All stories, as long as I’m not inundated with responses, will find their way into the anthology, which I have titled Alternate voices as this does not only echo the fact that the contents are written by other authors, but it also reflects the multiple first person POV of the series itself. You can write in British or American English and use first or third person. You can read more about the requirements here.
I have to admit that the entries I have received thus far have really captured and done justice to the fiction series I have created. It’s quite fun to see what people have done with my characters. The closing date for submissions is 1st July 2015 so still plenty of time. Even if you have never read a DI Frank Lyle book before you can get plenty of fan fiction scope from my DI Frank Lyle efanzine and my website
I am extremely impressed with the calibre of stories received so far and look forward to reading many more DI Lyle fan fiction pieces in the next few weeks.
At present the provisional release date for the anthology is 23rd September 2015. I chose this date because it’s the seventh anniversary of David’s death and as such a bad day for me. I thought I would give myself something more positive to focus on to help me through. The anthology will be dedicated to David’s memory.
If you feel like checking out a DI Lyle book or two then please visit Amazon’s Juliet B Madison page
![Anthology test copy[1]](https://libraryoferana.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/anthology-test-copy1.jpg)
