Joshua Reynolds's Blog, page 89
December 2, 2012
New THE EXECUTIONER: BORDER OFFENSIVE Review
My contribution to Don Pendleton’s Executioner mythos, The Executioner: Border Offensive, has received it’s first review, and it’s a good one.
Pretty good right? I’ve spoken briefly about the book before. If you’re interested in seeing what all the fuss is about, why not pick up your own copy? It’s available in print and in Kindle format.
TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN (Vol. 9) Now Available
Volume 9 of the long-running Tales of the Shadowmen anthology series from Black Coat Press is now available from the publisher!
My contribution, “Nestor Burma Goes West”, sees French sleuth Nestor Burma hunt down a runaway girl only to run into a certain Super Detective during his investigation, and to run afoul of Les Vampires and their deadly queen, Irma Vep.
You can purchase the book from the publisher, or via Amazon.
December 1, 2012
PROFESSOR CHALLENGER: NEW WORLDS, LOST PLACES TOC Announced
Charles Prepolec, one of the editors of the forthcoming EDGE Science-Fiction & Fantasy Publishing anthology, Professor Challenger: New Worlds, Lost Places, has announced the TOC. The complete list is available below the cut.
Professor Challenger: New Worlds, Lost Places
Trade paperback and eBook published by EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing in 2013
Edited by J. R. Campbell & Charles Prepolec
Introduction - Charles Prepolec
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“Hind and Horn” by Wendy N. Wagner
“The Shug Monkey” by Stephen Volk
“The Crystal Minders” by John Takis
“King of the Moon” by Lawrence C. Connolly
“The Dinner Party” by J. R. Campbell
“The Fool’s Sea” by Simon Kurt Unsworth
“The Eye of the Devil” by Mark Morris
“Professor Challenger & The Crimson Wonder” by Guy Adams & James Goss
“Time’s Black Gulf” by Josh Reynolds
“Out of the Depths” by Andrew J. Wilson
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I’ve talked about my contribution to this anthology before, but to reiterate, “Time’s Black Gulf” sees Carnacki the Ghost-Finder, Lord John Roxton, Edward Malone and Professor Summerlee attempting to discover the truth behind Professor Challenger’s sudden and hideous change of personality. Hint: You should probably read HP Lovecraft’s “The Shadow Out of Time”.
November 30, 2012
ATOMIC AGE CTHULHU TOC Announced
Editors Brian M. Sammons and Glynn Owen Barrass have announced the TOC for the forthcoming Chaosium anthology, Atomic Age Cthulhu. A complete listing is available below the cut.
From Facebook:
The table of contents, in no specific order:
“Bad Reception” by Jeffrey Thomas
“Fallout” by Sam Stone
“Little Curly” by Neil Baker
“It Came to Modesto” by Ed Erdelac
“The Terror That Came to Dounreay” by William Meikle
“The Romero Transference” by Josh Reynolds
“Within the Image of the Divine” by Bear Weiter
“Names on the Black List” by Robert Price
“Yellow is the Color of the Future” by Jason Andrew
“Eldritch Lunch” by Adam Bolivar
“Professor Patriot and the Doom that Came to Niceville” by Christine Morgan
“Fears Realized” by Tom Lynch
“Unamerican” by Cody Goodfellow
“The Preserved Ones” by Christopher M. Geeson
“Rose-Colored Glasses” by Michael Szymanski
“Day the Music Died” by Charles Christian
“Putnam’s Monster” by Scott T. Goudsward
“Operation Switch” by Peter Rawlik
“The End of the Golden Age” by Brian M. Sammons & Glynn Owen Barrass
Barrass and Sammons are also the editors of the forthcoming anthology, Steampunk Cthulhu, of which I have spoken before.
November 29, 2012
BEAST WITHIN 3 Cover Sneak-Peek
Jennifer Brozek, editor of the forthcoming anthology, Beast Within 3, which includes the St. Cyprian and Gallowglass story, “The Wedding Seal”, has released a look at Shane Tyree’s stunning cover art. Cover art and more information below cut. 
For a full run-down of the table of contents and the release date, visit Jennifer’s site. ”The Wedding Seal” finds St. Cyprian and Gallowglass dealing with a selkie under domestic duress and her fierce kin in the Orkney Islands in 1922. Excerpt HERE.
November 26, 2012
Coming to a Table of Contents Near You…2013 Reprint Edition
Two of the first St. Cyprian and Gallowglass stories, “The Artist as Wolf”and “Iron Bells”, will both be reprinted in 2013!
“The Artist as Wolf”, which sees St. Cyprian and Gallowglass locking horns with an artistically inclined lycanthrope in London in 1920, was first published by Pill Hill Press in the 2011 anthology, Leather, Denim and Silver: Legends of the Monster Hunter which is available via Amazon. It will be reprinted by Atlantean Publishing in a 2013 issue of Monomyth. Excerpt HERE.
”Iron Bells”, which has St. Cyprian and Gallowglass investigating horrors in the Underground, and worse things waiting in London in 1922, was published by Pill Hill Press in the 2011 anthology, The Trigger Reflex: Legends of the Monster Hunter II which is available via Amazon. It will be reprinted by Static Movement Press in the 2013 anthology, Ghoul Saloon. Excerpt HERE.
For more on the ‘Legends of the Monster Hunter’ anthology series, including the forthcoming third volume, Use Enough Gun, please visit the site of editor Miles Boothe, as well as the ‘Legends of the Monster Hunter’ Facebook page. And while you’re on FB, why not check out the St. Cyprian FB page as well?
November 21, 2012
THE NEXT BIG THING (or ‘Blame Jonathan Green’)
Last week, Jonathan Green tagged me on a blog post of his (and Derrick Ferguson did as well, albeit much earlier–sorry Derrick!), adding my esteemed self to an ongoing chain of book/author recommendations called The Next Big Thing. So today, I’ll be answering the ten questions put forth by Paul Magrs and then pass on this infectious, self-promotional bug to five more lucky souls in a week’s time. But, as I’m a contrary cuss, I’ll be talking about a work-in-progress, rather than one of the several books coming out this year and next that I’ve already talked about. So, here we go…
♦WHAT IS THE WORKING TITLE OF YOUR NEXT BOOK?
BEASTS OF BLACKHEATH. Nice and evocative right?
♦WHERE DID THE IDEA FOR THE BOOK COME FROM?
The main source of inspiration would have to be Elliot O’Donnell’s Strange Cults and Secret Societies of Modern London. That, combined with a pressing need to write something not related to tie-in fiction, and the selfish urge to share certain characters with the larger audience that a novel can provide, merged into a central, motivating geist of a germ of a plot that even now slouches towards the Bethlehem of completion.
♦WHAT GENRE DOES YOUR BOOK FALL UNDER?
It’s horror-ish. Horror-adventure? Historical-horror? Is that a thing? Pulp-horror? It’s got occult detectives in, and panther-people and it’s set in 1920′s London. Also, flappers.
♦WHAT ACTORS WOULD YOU CHOOSE TO PLAY THE PART OF YOUR CHARACTERS IN A MOVIE RENDITION?
All the actors I like are dead, so whoever could guarantee the most ticket sales.
♦WHAT IS THE ONE SENTENCE SYNOPSIS OF YOUR BOOK?
Did you not read that answer above? Let’s go all-caps for this: AS PANTHER-CULTISTS PROWL THE STREETS OF INTER-WAR LONDON, SINISTER OCCULT FORCES GATHER, AND ONLY THE ROYAL OCCULTIST AND HIS PLUCKY (AND INCREDIBLY MURDEROUS) SIDEKICK CAN STOP THEM!
♦WILL YOUR BOOK BE SELF-PUBLISHED, OR REPRESENTED BY AN AGENCY?
Ideally, the book will be sold to a publisher–as to which one, your guess is as good as mine. One with many monies, I am hoping, but I’ll settle for some monies. While I have self-published before (and likely will again), I’d like this book and these characters to have a larger potential audience than I, hawking them from the back of my wee interwebz wagon, can supply at the current time.
♦HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO WRITE THE FIRST DRAFT OF THE MANUSCRIPT?
Ask me in about…eight weeks? I should be done then. If I am, then ten weeks. Otherwise, twelve.
♦WHAT OTHER BOOKS WOULD YOU COMPARE THIS STORY TO WITHIN YOUR GENRE?
Well, ideally, if you’re a fan of the stories found HERE, you’ll really enjoy this book. Too, if you like the work of Justin Gustainis, Bob Freeman, William Meikle, Seabury Quinn, Manly Wade Wellman, Dorothy L. Sayers, M. R. James, or PG Wodehouse, you’ll like this story. If you like humor, it’s got that. If you like romance, its got that too. If you like horror, there’s plenty. Action? Adventure? Occult jiggery-pokery? Historical Easter-eggs? All of that.
There’s even a kitchen sink.
♦WHO, OR WHAT, INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE THIS BOOK?
Necessity? The urge to capitalize on a burgeoning trend? I just sort of want to? All of the above?
♦WHAT ELSE ABOUT THE BOOK MIGHT PIQUE A READER’S INTEREST?
Did…did you not read the bit about the panther-people? But seriously, there’s a bit of everything for everyone in it. Snappy banter, a sinister mystery, night-time rooftop chases, gunfights, high-speed pursuits, magical duels, drug-use, history, romance, and a fist-fight with an ancient and incredibly evil entity of eldritch mien. A good gumbo of pulp-entertainment at its finest.
And, as I said above, if you find ANYTHING at http://royaloccultist.wordpress.com/ of interest, then you’ll like this book.
But that’s it for me. So, now, who to pass it on to? I’ve got to tag five other authors for next week, so let’s go with the ones I’ve spoken to most recently, hmm? So, let’s go with Mark Bousquet, William Meikle, Sarah Cawkwell, Nicola Vincent-Abnett and Joel Jenkins.
November 20, 2012
PULPWORK PRESS CHRISTMAS SPECIAL 2012 Cover Sneak-Peek
Joel Jenkins, editor of Pulpwork Press, has revealed the stunning cover for the upcoming Pulpwork Press Christmas 2012 special, which will include my story, “Feast of Fools”, which sees Charles St. Cyprian and Ebe Gallowglass facing down the sinister Saturn Society on a bothersome Boxing Day in 1922. Image below cut.
The special will include stories by Joel Jenkins, Derrick Ferguson and Russ Anderson. It will be released in December. You can find an excerpt from “Feast of Fools” HERE.
November 12, 2012
New NEFERATA Review
On the heels of Friday’s post, yesterday saw the arrival of a nice review of Neferata: Blood of Nagash over at ‘The Founding Fields’.
Pretty good for a book I wrote in a six-week caffeine fugue, if I do say so myself. If you’re interested in seeing what the fuss is about, why not check out the ongoing discussion about the book over at the Black Library Bolthole or even order your own copy?
November 9, 2012
Queen of Mysteries (Or ‘The Book That Is’)
Following on from my post about Knight of the Blazing Sun (and to some degree, from yesterday’s Dracula-related post), I thought I’d do something similar concerning Neferata: Blood of Nagash. More than one person (i.e. anyone at the Black Library Weekender) has likely already started reading it (or even finished it), but for the rest of you, it won’t be out for a month, so feel free to skip this post until after you’ve read it.
When I was offered the task of writing about the characters collectively known as ‘the Ancient Vampires’ I knew very little about them, other than that one had eaten a dragon, one had been eaten by his apprentice and the other was Neferata. The Undead have never been my thing, at least where WHF was concerned. Mostly because my thing was orcs and who needs anything else, right?
But I’m a quick study, and Mike Lee had done most of the hard graft already in his ‘Rise of Nagash’ trilogy. As I’m a fan of doing as little work as possible and still getting paid for it, this suited me quite well.
And then I saw the timelines in the various editions of the Vampire Counts army books, and I cried a little. Still, I persevered and, with significant aid from the ever-helpful BL editors, I managed (well, Graeme Lyon managed–I’m stealing the credit, though! That should count for something!) to create a strange Frankenstein of a chronology.
Incidentally, ‘Strange Frankenstein’ is the name of my horror-core band.
Neferata is an odd book. Time speeds up and slows down in it, like a herky-jerky film reel. It moves forward in fits and starts, and entirely from the perspective of a protagonist who is, at best, unreliable. Said protagonist–Neferata–is a monster and an unrepentant (though not lacking in self-awareness) one. Those she fights are monsters as well, and they use their followers and those caught in the middle like pieces in a savage game.
And it IS a game to them–Neferata, W’soran, Abhorash and even poor, doomed Ushoran–a game that they’ve played since before Cursed Lahmia fell and a game they’ll play until long after the Old World is dust. Empires rise and fall, the pieces change, but the game goes on.
Chronologically, the series falls fairly well into place between the ‘Rise of Nagash’ series and Graham McNeill’s ‘Legend of Sigmar’ series, and features characters from both fairly prominently (one of the benefits of immortal protagonists). Ever wondered what happened to Alcadizzar after he lopped off Nagash’s hand or where Khaled al Muntasir came from? What about Morath? It’s all in there. There are ties to ‘The War of Vengeance’ and ‘The Black Plague’ as well, if you look closely enough.
If that all sounds interesting to you, well, why not order your copy today? And be sure to check out the tie-in stories “Master of Mourkain” (from this year’s Games Day anthology, and soon to be an e-book, apparently) and “The Fangs of the Asp” as well.
And if you’ve read it and have questions, or want to know more about it (or Knight of the Blazing Sun for that matter) why not visit the Black Library Bolthole and drop me a line in the ‘Ask the Authors’ section?
