Anthony Lowe's Blog, page 2

ANTHOLOGY ANNOUNCEMENT: My Battery Is Low and It Is Getting Dark (July 1, 2020)

I'm finally able to announce that I'll be contributing a short story to another ZNB anthology this year on July 1st! The story is called "Ain't Done Haunting" and it'll be published in MY BATTERY IS LOW AND IT IS GETTING DARK, a sci-fi anthology about various forms of technology finding renewed purpose in obsolescence.

Here's the synopsis for the collection:

A military attack drone turned shepherd. A train on the London Underground evolving into something new and wondrous. A troupe of robotic actors struggling to find meaning when the audience has disappeared. Explore the myriad ideas of what happens when out-of-date and abandoned technologies are given a second life—one that takes them in a new direction, far outside their intended programming and beyond their original purpose.  

MY BATTERY IS LOW AND IT IS GETTING DARK features fourteen stories of quiet hope, heartbreak, creation, and death from fantasy and science fiction authors Dana Berube, Merc Fenn Wolfmoor, Jacey Bedford, Anthony Lowe, Chris Kocher, Brian Hugenbruch, William Leisner, José Pablo Iriarte, Alethea Kontis, Kari Sperring, Edward Willett, John G. Hartness, Alexander Gideon, and Stephen Leigh. You may never look at your smart speaker the same way again.

I was very excited to be able to work with Zombies Need Brains again. They are just a well-oiled machine at this point after so many successful projects and they put out quality products by unique voices.

And "Ain't Done Haunting" is a story I'm particularly proud of, so I'm glad it was able to find a home here.

You can preorder the anthology right now, either directly through the publisher or through Amazon. It'll also be available through the usual suspects (Nook, Scribd, Kobo, Baen, etc.) on the release date. If you're all about physical copies (like me), those will be available, as well.

Hope you'll consider giving the anthology a look when it's released on July 1st !

MY BATTERY IS LOW AND IT IS GETTING DARK
Zombies Need Brains Official Store(Supports the publisher directly)
Kickstarter Paperback EditioneBook (Epub, Mobi, PDF)Cover Art Print
Amazon
Kindle Version

UPDATE (4/2/20): The sale went over well! I've donated 10...

UPDATE (4/2/20): The sale went over well! I've donated 100% of what I made to United Way of San Joaquin County and also purchased a batch of stories from the sale. Here's what I got! Looking forward to checking these out.

Twelve Ways to Die in Galadore, Coleman AlexanderFire in the North, Richard J. Lowe (No relation

Author Bryce O'Connor has put together one heck of a cool...

Author Bryce O'Connor has put together one heck of a cool charity event called LOCKDOWN READFEST.

From March 30th to March 31st, 60+ authors have pledged to lower the prices of their books/short stories to 99 cents and donate 50% of their proceeds (more, in some cases) to charities relating to COVID-19 relief.

In my case, I've pledged the revenue from the two novels and three short stories I have available through Amazon. When Lockdown Readfest has concluded, I'll be donating to United Way of San Joaquin County .

San Joaquin County borders two of California's most densely populated counties and, as a result, has begun to feel the impact of COVID-19 and shelter-in-place order. Funds donated to United Way of San Joaquin County will be directed to local non-profits and shelters, and will help provide relief to folks in our county's most vulnerable communities.

I'll also be going through and picking up a bunch of stories from some talent authors in the hopes they'll be able to help out their own communities, as well!

For more information about Lockdown Readfest, as well as the authors who have pledged to the event, CHECK OUT THE REDDIT POST HERE.

Check out some fantastic stories, buy some on the cheap, support some worthy causes that'll bring relief in these stressful times!

LOCKDOWN READFEST Information and Author/Story ListUnited Way of San JoaquinBryce O'Connor Official Website

NEW RELEASE and STORY SALE: "We Suffered Such a Man as This" via Mystery Weekly Magazine

One of the short stories that I wrote in Japan, about an eccentric old west detective in Calaveras County, now has a home at MYSTERY WEEKLY MAGAZINE.
Here's the synopsis of "We Suffered Such a Man as This":

Arriving in the small mining town of Copperopolis in fall of 1899, Georges Armadale, self-proclaimed detective extraordinaire, has taken it upon himself to solve a murder recently committed in a local church. At the standard rate, of course.

As part of my ongoing fight to write more stories around or near the San Joaquin Valley in California, I decided to try my hand at detective fiction and set it in one of my favorite little towns in the foothills at the turn of the century. Copperopolis is a small town wrapped around Lake Tulloch with a long history of mining for, as one would imagine, copper. Much of what was mined during the 1860s was sent east to be smelted for ammunition during the Civil War.

Copperopolis is also located in Calaveras County, where Mark Twain spent much time working with family and friends during the Gold Rush. His time here inspired the story, published by Bret Harte, that would become his first real success: "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" Nearby Angels Camp is, as the story goes, where the story's narrator first heard of this frog competition. And Jackass Hill, where Mark Twain spent his time working, can also be visited and plays host to an old replica of what his cabin would've looked like (and is old in its own right, despite being a replica).

Hope you'll consider checking out this month's issue for the story!

Mystery Weekly Magazine | Amazon

And I can also announce that I've sold another story! Can't get into details, but it's one that I really enjoyed writing. Will drop more details the closer we get to publication.

NEW RELEASE (Kinda): Brigands: A Blackguards Anthology

A lot going on these days! I'm back from Japan and I've got a new-ish project to talk about!
The first story I ever published was "The Lonesome Dark" back in BLACKGUARDS by Ragnarok Publications. Since then, Outland Entertainment has taken over publication duties, and their first act was to take all of the BLACKGUARDS stories (even those of us published in the e-book and extra digital material) and give the whole thing a proper physical re-release. Pretty exciting!
So while you couldn't get a physical copy of "The Lonesome Dark" before, you absolutely can now!
It currently seems to only be available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble, but I'll update this post and the My Books section if I track down any further marketplaces.
"The Lonesome Dark" is a fantasy western set in Ariasun County, a secondary world where a lot of my current projects are taking place. The main character, Evaline Cartwright, is a bounty hunter/hand-for-hire in a part of the world where it's really hard to find work that doesn't end in some kind of betrayal or undue violence. She takes a job bringing the body of a Sharath boy back to a commonage, which sounds innocuous, but the trip starts to unravel as she draws closer to her destination.
Hope you consider checking it out!
Amazon | Barnes & Noble

What Have I Been Up To?

Hello!

So, this blog hasn't seen an update in a while. The writing has continued and I plan on releasing some more stories in the near-future. Likely over the summer when I'll have more time to sit down and give everything a thorough edit and begin formatting.

But the main reason I haven't been able to update:

I'm in Japan!

Last August, I started working as an ALT at a high school in Japan. Specifically, it's a school in our sister city, which has provided me a tremendous opportunity to explore a culture I've always been fond of, get some first-hand teaching experience by working alongside other teachers, and facilitate a cultural exchange between our two cities as best as I can.

So, while I've had plenty of time to write, and while I've actually been able to complete a few projects that will either get shopped around or self-published in the short-term, my ability to get things self-published out here is not at a comfortable level.

In the meantime, if you're at all interested in my adventures over here, please give my Instagram a look!

@amlowe1123
This will be my primary social media account going forward. I'll still have Facebook, but it won't be getting much attention.

Looking forward to sharing what I've been working on this year!

"All the Stars in My Eyes" and "In the Land of Dead Dragons"

And they're up! The last of the three short stories that I planned on putting up before the summer.

Just like "Alive," these are two stories that I just had a ton of fun writing. Both in the first person, both characters who could safely be accused of being a little heartless.

The first, "All the Stars in My Eyes," is a near-future sci-fi story about a doubler, someone who uses state-of-the-art tech to take the place of celebrities when they have to tap out for a bit. Seems like the need for the actual actor/actress to be on set is diminishing over time, so this is about a time when the need to actually be at their own meet-and-greets and on their own press tours is tenuous.

Here's the synopsis:

She's a doubler. Hired to take the place of imperiled celebrities.

She lives in the spotlight that isn't hers, revels in adoration she never earned. A composite of a failed actress and state-of-the-art disguises, she's lived the celebrity life for so long that she's starting to believe she deserves it.

The second story, "In the Land of Dead Dragons," is a LitRPG short story about a woman trying unriddle her brother's lifestyle. In the absence of anything to go on in realspace, she dives into the most popular VR-RPG in the world, The Realm of Avarill, and tries to find anyone who might have encountered her brother in the years that he played the game.

And the synopsis:

Orin the Dragonslayer has vanished from The Realm of Avarill -- the most popular VR-RPG in the world. In his place, Valystra de Fere approaches.

She comes seeking Orin's legacy, tales of his heroics, and the cold trails he left behind. All so that, back in realspace, she might better understand the brother she fell out of touch with so many years ago.

I added a series title, because I'd genuinely like to write some more stories using this setting. The one I'm starting to outline probably won't be nearly as silly!

Thanks and enjoy!

Alive in Obsolescence: A Cyberpunk Short Story

It's up! The first of three short stories I'll be self-publishing through Kindle for now, each of which will feature cover art from my talented sister.

This is a story I wrote about a year ago as a return trip to a post-apocalyptic setting, this time with a cyberpunk slant. Here's the synopsis:

The world is dying. Thick smog chokes the skies and the oceans are acrid and toxic. As a pleasant alternative to riding out extinction, humanity is retreating into battery-powered VR simulations.

Unfortunately for Shilo, his battery has run out -- and hard reality awaits.

The other two will be up within the next week or so, with one being a litRPG story and the other a kind of sci-fi take on celebrity worship. I'm wrapping up final edits on them now.

Enjoy!

Evaline Cartwright makes a return trip!

"The Lonesome Dark" was the first short story I ever got published. I had a fantastic time during the process and was very thankful Ragnarok Publications tossed me into a volume with other authors that I respect immensely.

While I continue plotting out further adventures with Evaline Cartwright, the magick-scarred gunslinger of "The Lonesome Dark," the original short story will be making a comeback thanks to Outland Entertainment.

The new volumes, entitled Brigands and Scoundrels will have all new cover art by Daniel Rempel, and editing will be done by Alana Joli Abbott and Melanie R. Meadors (with first edition credit going to JM Martin). The books will have stories in them by Bradley P. Beaulieu, Lian Hearn, Rob J. Hayes, Anthony Lowe, Anthony Ryan, Linda Robertson, Cat Rambo, Erik Scott de Bie, and many more. Not only will the books have stories that appeared in the original anthology, but each volume will feature a brand new story from fantasy authors not included in the original volume or the ebook companion.

Excited to see how it turns out! Check out the full post here: https://outlandentertainment.com/206648-2/

Stuff on the way!

It's been a while, but with my time as an undergrad coming to an end this summer, I have some more stories on their way towards merry self-publication!

Without getting into details (yet), it will be a batch of three short stories that I'll be making available through pretty much as many sites as possible. Kindle will be a certainty, but I'm looking into others such as B&N, Kobo, and Drive Thru Fiction. All of it will depend on which ones accept short fiction.

Beyond that, I'm looking to get an unpublished piece LORE OF THE RELUCTANT short fiction up on Kindle as a free purchase. The Weird Western Anthology thing is still in progress, though, with graduation on the horizon, I'm guessing that one won't see completion until winter. I'd also love to get more movie reviews up on the blog. I love writing them, but I can rarely keep them brief. If I can keep up with it, I'll post some in the short term.

Until next time!