Joshua Reynolds's Blog, page 77
September 4, 2013
PSYCHOPUNK Now Available
Artifice Comics’ newest anthology, Psychopunk, is now available. The book includes two (count ‘em, two) stories by me–”Mr. Brass and the Seven Plagues of the Devil” and “The Adventure of the Albigensian Agent”. Both steampunk, but both very different, if you were concerned.
From the blurb:
“Mr. Brass and the Seven Plagues of the Devil” is a reprint. The story sees Mr. Brass, the American Automaton, and Professor Van Helsing battle seven deadly vampires in the wake of the San Francisco Earthquake. And “The Adventure of the Albigensian Agent” finds the Countess Francesca Felluci fighting clockwork Cathars and feline French agents in order to escort an English spy to safety.
The anthology is available for the Kindle on Amazon and its various international affiliates.
August 29, 2013
New Story–”The Vociferous Kai”
So, I wrote a little thing for Talk Wargaming called “The Vociferous Kai”. It’s my first run at non-Black Library related sword and sorcery, other than “Mordiggian’s Due”, in quite a while.
“The Vociferous Kai” is a weird little story, about rival religions, murderous bravos and a demonic parrot. It’s also fairly short, so you can read it pretty quickly. The protagonists, Vetch and Vash, have appeared before, and more than once. They’ve popped up in a number of stories I’ve written and two that were published (“The Doom of Wolves” and “The Singer in Darkness”, if you were wondering), but they’re different every time, bar the basics of their personalities.
Essentially, if I want to write a sword and sorcery story, but I don’t have a specific idea, I just retrieve Vetch (or Svetch) and Vash out of my bag of tricks, dust them off and see what they’ve been up to. They’re pretty enjoyable to write and, I hope, pretty enjoyable to read.
If you enjoy the story, be sure to share it via the social media outlet of your choice, or leave a comment. And if you’d like to see more of Vetch and Vash, be sure to let the good folks of Talk Wargaming know.
August 25, 2013
New BEST OF HAMMER AND BOLTER V. 2 Review
There’s a new review of the recently-released second volume of The Best of Hammer & Bolter over at a site called Conclave of Har. They seemed to enjoy my quartet of contributions, which is always nice to see.
From the review:
I encourage you to check out the full review. And if perks your interest, why not grab a copy of this gi-normous anthology for yourself? Seriously, after you read it you can use it as a doorstop, or for a speed-bump, or to kill rats. That’s what I use mine for!
August 23, 2013
‘The Black Between the Stars…’
I’m pleased to report that my short story, “Eliza” managed to elbow its way onto Ellen Datlow’s Honorable Mentions list for The Best Horror of the Year, Volume 5. While not as good as actually being in the aforementioned anthology, I takes what I can gets. Besides which, given the other stories on that list, and the authors, I’m in good company.
Interestingly, this is the second or third time I’ve been one of Ms. Datlow’s honorable mentions in the past handful of years. If nothing else, that alone would convince me that I’m not wasting everyone’s time with my incoherent scribblings.
If you’re interested in reading the story in question, you can check it out in issue 10 of the Lovecraft eZine. Read it online for free or listen to a wonderful reading of it by Xan Nyfors.
August 15, 2013
BENTO BOX #11 Now Available
Issue 11 of Bento Box is now available, courtesy of Artifice Comics. Fourteen stories, by some of today’s weirdest writers, and all for free! Check it out!
From the blurb:
As you might have guessed, “The Maida Vale Mummy” is, as mentioned previously, a new Royal Occultist story, which sees St. Cyprian and Gallowglass some decidedly risible Roman remains in a Maida Vale wine-cellar. It’s a short, punchy little story, involving a mummy and a rabbit.
It also happens to be the first chapter of the first Royal Occultist novel, The Whitechapel Demon! More on which later…
August 6, 2013
Manann’s Own
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you might recall a little book I wrote a year or two back called Knight of the Blazing Sun. Then again, you might not. That’s okay. Poor old Goetz and co. don’t really get any attention compared to Neferata and Gotrek. That said, one character from KotBS managed to shove his way into the extreme edge of the limelight and stay there.
Erkhart Dubnitz, Knight of the Most Holy (and Violent) Order of Manann (Bless His Scaly Nethers), despite wearing armour and riding a horse, isn’t so much a knight as a very well-armed thug. He’s Falstaff without the cowardice, or Porthos without an Athos or Aramis to keep him in check. He’d rather drink and whore and gamble than fight, and he’d rather fight than go to church, and rather go to church than be dead.
He got to help Goetz, the main character from the aforementioned novel, fight a castle full of death-traps and book passage on a boat. Strangely enough, despite his limited screen-time (though perhaps unsurprisingly given that he’s a fairly lethal cross between and ) turned out to be the most popular character from the book.
So much so that, not long after the book came out, I was asked by my editor to write a story featuring Dubnitz in the starring role. That story, “Dead Calm” introduced several supporting cast members who subsequently appeared in the three stories that were swiftly commissioned after the first. Among these was Esme Goodweather, a priestess of Manann, who popped up again in the second story, “Stromfels’ Teeth” to help Dubnitz fight a city full of demonic shark-men.
Other characters, such as the apoplectic, trident-handed Grandmaster Ogg and the frighteningly cunning one-eyed Master of the Marsh-Watch, Aloysius Ambrosius (both of whom appeared in Knight of the Blazing Sun), drop in and out of the stories as well, netting a mention if not an appearance. Enemies abound as well–the Cult of Stromfels, the Massacre-Monks, Franco Fiducci the necromancer, Uli Tassenberg AKA Tassenberg the Slaver and Otto Schelp, the Sewer-Wolf, to name but a few.
There are currently four Dubnitz stories available, and the whole lot are available in The Best of Hammer & Bolter, Volume 2, a simply massive brick of a book that collects issues 12-24 of the late, lamented Hammer & Bolter magazine. The book is available from the Black Library, or from diverse and sundry book retailers, including Amazon, Waterstones and Barnes & Nobles.
There has been one more Dubnitz story written, but as to when or where it’ll appear, I can’t say. It’s a bit longer than the others, and a bit more epic in scope (there are landships in it!), and if it’s the last one ever to appear, I think it makes a fitting capper for the series.
The series, and where you can find them, are listed below:
“Dead Calm”
The Knights of Manann battle an undead crew of pirates, looking to plunder Marienburg!
2011 Hammer & Bolter issue 13 (Black Library)
2012 Hammer & Bolter: Year Two (Black Library)
2013 The Best of Hammer & Bolter Vol. 2 (Black Library)
“Stromfels’ Teeth”
The Knights of Manann protect Marienburg from an invasion of shark-creatures, servants of the dreaded storm god Stromfels!
2012 Hammer & Bolter issue 17 (Black Library)
2012 Hammer & Bolter: Year Two (Black Library)
2013 The Best of Hammer & Bolter Vol. 2 (Black Library)
“Lords of the Marsh”
Sent to secure warhorses for his order, Erkhart Dubnitz of the Knights of Manann finds himself dealing with angry Averlanders, plundering pirates and monstrous marsh-daemons!
2012 Hammer & Bolter issue 20 (Black Library)
2012 Hammer & Bolter: Year Two (Black Library)
2013 The Best of Hammer & Bolter Vol. 2 (Black Library)
“Dead Man’s Party”
A wealthy benefactor has pledged his entire fortune to the Knightly Order of Manann. With assassins lurking at every corner, can Dubnitz and Van Taal keep the old duffer alive long enough to collect?
2012 Hammer & Bolter issue 21 (Black Library)
2012 Hammer & Bolter: Year Two (Black Library)
2013 The Best of Hammer & Bolter Vol. 2 (Black Library)
New LOST TALES Review
The fine folks at Fifty Shades of Geek have reviewed Gotrek & Felix: Lost Tales, and luckily for myself, David Guymer, Jordan Ellinger and Frank Cavallo, they seemed to have, on the whole, enjoyed it.
From the review:
I encourage you to head over to the site and check out the whole review. And if what you read interests you, why not check out the anthology for yourself? It’s available in print and ebook from Black Library, and in print from a variety of booksellers. including Barnes & Noble and Amazon.
July 30, 2013
STRANGE TRAILS Now Available
Strange Trails, the new weird western anthology from Mechanoid Press, is now available. It includes stories by Barry Reese, James Palmer, Ed Erdelac, Tommy Hancock, Morgan Minor, Joel Jenkins and me, which is a fantastic lineup, however you slice it.
From the blurb:
Strange tales from the Weird West
I’ve talked about the anthology and my contribution in an earlier post, but just in case you need reminding, “Mr. Brass and the Master of Serpents” sees the American Automaton join forces with US Marshal Bass Reeves and the South Carolina mystic, Harley Warren, in an attempt to stymie the sinister machinations of the eponymous Master of Serpents, Juan Romero. Think ’3:10 to Yuma’ mixed with ‘Santo Contra Los Zombies’, with a dash of ‘Robocop’ and ‘Lethal Weapon’. If that sounds like your kind of thing, why not grab a copy today?
Recent Sale-”Seven Heart Beats”
Sometimes, good news comes in threes. Hot on the heels of last week’s duo of short story sales, a third has been accepted for publication, and this time its NOT a Royal Occultist story. Because I can write something other than Royal Occultist stories. Like Ghost-breaker stories, for instance.
“Seven Heart Beats”, the newest John Bass, Ghost-breaker story, will appear in Strange Critters: Unusual Creatures of Appalachia from Woodland Press. This was an interesting one to put together. For the Bass stories, I’ve always had an unstated rule: Nothing But Ghosts. After all, what sort of ghost-breaker fights vampires? But sometimes you just got to break a rule for a good cause, i.e. money. So this time out, Bass faces off with something a bit different–a monstrous spirit out of Cherokee lore. I was quite pleased with the way the story turned out. It’s a bit of a sequel to “Rattlesnake Eyes”, in that it features the same (unlucky) family and Appalachian setting, and while you don’t have to read the one to enjoy the other, I encourage you to do so.
And while we’re on the subject of Woodland Press, this’ll make the third time that Bass has appeared in one of the publisher’s anthologies (“Prodigal Spirits” in Stories from the Hearth: Heartwarming Tales of Appalachia and “Glory Hand” in Mountain Magic: Spellbinding Tales of Appalachia), and the fifth time they’ve published a story of mine. That’s sort of cool, don’t you think? Why not grab the latest of those, Hills of Fire: Bare-Knuckle Yarns of Appalachia, and read a selection of fine pulse-pounders?
July 25, 2013
Recent Sales-”Mordiggian’s Due” and “The Roaring Ship”
I’m happy to report that even though I’m eyeballs deep in the edits for one book and the writing of another, I’ve still managed to find the time to fast-talk my way into a pair of forthcoming anthologies. If that sort of thing is of interest to you, by all means read on.
“Mordiggian’s Due”, a story of the Dreamlands, involving ghouls, mummified wrestlers and thieving necromancers, will appear in Libram Mysterium from Pulp Mill Press. This was a fun story to write–I’ve played with plenty of Lovecraft’s toys, but I’ve never set foot in the Dreamlands. I’ve also never written a story with ghouls as protagonists, which is surprising, considering my love of all things ghoulish.
“The Roaring Ship”, a Royal Occultist story which sees St. Cyprian and Gallowglass go up against a ghostly Zeppelin, crewed by the dead and damned, will appear in a volume of Raus! Untoten! from Fringeworks Press. This also marks the fourth Royal Occultist story sold this year. Two years ago, I set myself an unofficial goal of selling between four and six new Royal Occultist stories a year, just to see if I could. As of 2011, I’ve sold TWENTY.
That’s pretty swell, however you slice it.
