Ice Vermin Cops Ill-Considered Editor’s Prize

The word came late Thursday evening.  Harking back to the guidelines for ILL-CONSIDERED EXPEDITIONS (cf. August 2, July 23, et al.), stories accepted would, among other considerations, “be in the running for one of five Editor’s Choice Awards,” small money prizes in addition to anything else received.  Hey, money’s money and, if not enough for a filet mignon at a five-star restaurant (at least with wine added), these would be more than enough to invest in a couple of pizzas.  And that’s not so bad, is it?

So Thursday’s email brought the missive from April Moon Books editor Neil Baker to the effect that proofs were just back from the printer and, if all looks well, “you can expect to see the paperback available for sale very soon, first via Createspace, and then Amazon.  Kindle will follow in a month’s time.”  And, “[i]n the meantime, the editor choice awards have been decided.”

Feeling the tension?  It then was explained that these were not chosen by only one person, “but involves two other close friends who are also writers and excellent critics, and who read everything I send them, plus my wife who has extraordinary instincts.”  And so (drum roll, please) the five authors chosen were:  Jess Landry, Josh Reynolds, DJ Tyrer, Paul Feeney, and . . . me!

My story, a reprint that first appeared in CD-ROM form in EXTREMES 5 (Lone Wolf, 2003) and is also featured in my own DARKER LOVES:  TALES OF MYSTERY AND REGRET, is “Ice Vermin,” the saga of an early 1900s exploration of Siberian wastelands.  As for the others, for appetite whetting, their titles at least can be found in the list of contents below.

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ILL-CONSIDERED EXPEDITIONS

Pete Mesling – In the Chillest Land

Matthew Barron – Hell Island

James Dorr – Ice Vermin

John McCormack – Mother’s Grasp

Steve Foreman – The Strange Affair of Bunny Fosdyke

Ahmed A. Khan – The Pulsar and the Planet

Gerry Griffiths – Jonathon Stone’s Swansong

Nicholas Nicario – Povo de Ossos

Rick Leider – The Secret of Bumare-Moto

Jess Landry – The Root

Franklin Marsh – The Wood

Josh Reynolds – An Incident at the Plateau of Tsang

DJ Tyrer – The White Goddess

Stanley Webb – Captain Baxter’s Journal

Patrick Loveland – Ghosts of the Spires

Paul M. Feeney – The Room at the Top of the House