Disquieting Visions – paranormal and fantasy realms

The Weird Wild West anthology from Espec Books rides into town in November looking like big trouble. Saddle up, pardner and discover strange, supernatural, otherworldly and downright weird adventures way out West from some of your favorite authors. Larry and I have a story in The Weird Wild West, so throughout November and December, we asked some of our author friends to prance their ponies over in this direction and share a few lines with us. Enjoy the blog posts—and then order the book please!

eSpec Books interviews Danielle Ackley-McPhail publisher of The Weird Wild West edited by Misty Massey, Emily Lavin Leverett, and Margaret McGraw.

What is your favorite western movie and why? You know, for me it isn’t a movie, though there are plenty of those that are really good. For me it was a TV show: Kung Fu, not only a western in the finest tradition, but thanks to the mystical aspects a bona fide Weird Wild Western! You had all the trademark elements of the frontier life, but also the unique flare of Shaolin mysticism and Asian culture. The fighting was a mix of kung fu and good old fashion gunfight/bar brawl, and the messages have stayed with me for a lifetime.

What does the wild frontier mean to you? The Wild West is a proving ground. An untamed land that tests a person’s soul and mines it to discover what they are made of, often when they don’t even know themselves. You either come out of the wild frontier strong or you come out broken…presuming you even come out alive.

Who would you say is your wild west role model and why? LOL…I think most people would say Calamity Jane 😉 I gets into trouble, but I also gets out again.

What is your favorite spec fic/western mash-up? You know, again I have to say Kung Fu. Between the grittiness of the old west and the mysticism of the Shaolin there were a lot of fantastic things in that series, not to mention a lot of worthwhile lessons. There’s definitely an element of camp to it, but the show stuck with me and brought me back week after week. It’s one of the few shows where the complete box set sits on my shelf.

Which Wild West archetype (Gambler, Outlaw, Saloon Girl, School Marm, Railroad Man, Pioneer, Cowboy, Lawman or Indian) would you chose to be and why? You know, I think I would have to be the prospector…mining literary gold every chance I get, seeing the potential in things and sometimes getting carried away in pursuing that dream. Yes, sometimes I’m worn out, sometimes I’m grungy, and sometimes that claim fizzles out instead of producing the mother lode, but there’s always a dream right behind that one.

Have you written/created anything else in a weird western vein? Please tell us about it. A while back I edited a collection called In an Iron Cage: The Magic of Steampunk. I knew I wanted some variety in the collection so I wrote a piece of my own that took place in the old west. On the Wings of an Angel was meant to be a piece about an early photographer literally stealing souls with his new-fangled camera. Instead it turned into a redemption story for an almost soiled-dove. I don’t want to say much more, because that would be telling, but it was a lot of fun to write and even more fun to read aloud.

What are some of your own works readers can look for? I write a wide range of things so there is quite a variety to check out. My novels are mostly urban fantasy. The Eternal Cycle Trilogy (Yesterday’s Dreams, Tomorrow’s Memories, and Today’s Promise) is basically Irish elves in New York City fighting evil demigods…to start, anyway; The Bad-Ass Faerie Tale novels (The Halfling’s Court and The Redcaps’ Queen) are biker faeries taking on the forces of faerie land; and Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn is a steampunk retelling of Ali Baba an the Forty Thieves. Everything else I’ve published is short fiction and there is way too much to go into here so best to check them out my site at www.sidhenadaire.com/books.htm.

What projects of your own do you have coming up? Right now I’m writing a spin-off series to the Eternal Cycle trilogy. The first book is called Eternal Wanderings and it follows Kara O’Keefe as she seeks out her purpose in her now-immortal life. I’m also working on Daire’s Devils, a military science fiction novel, and Kantasi, an unconventional vampire novel.

How can readers find out more about you? A websearch on “Ackley-McPhail” turns up loads of stuff! Plus there is my website (www.sidhenadaire.com) or most social media platforms.

Award-winning author Danielle Ackley-McPhail has worked both sides of the publishing industry for longer than she cares to admit. Currently, she is a project editor and promotions manager for Dark Quest Books and has started her own press, eSpec Books.

Her published works include five urban fantasy novels, Yesterday’s Dreams, Tomorrow’s Memories, Today’s Promise, The Halfling’s Court: and The Redcaps’ Queen: A Bad-Ass Faerie Tale, and a young adult Steampunk novel, Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn, written with Day Al-Mohamed. She is also the author of the solo science fiction collection, A Legacy of Stars, the non-fiction writers’ guide, The Literary Handyman, and is the senior editor of the Bad-Ass Faeries anthology series, Dragon’s Lure, and In an Iron Cage. Her work is included in numerous other anthologies and collections.

She is a member of the Garden State Speculative Fiction Writers, the New Jersey Authors Network, and Broad Universe, a writer’s organization focusing on promoting the works of women authors in the speculative genres.

Danielle lives in New Jersey with husband and fellow writer, Mike McPhail, mother-in-law Teresa, and three extremely spoiled cats. To learn more visit www.especbooks.com, www.sidhenadaire.com, or www.badassfaeries.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA USER IDs

Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/DMcPhail

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/#!/danielle.ackleymcphail

Amazon author page   https://www.amazon.com/Danielle-Ackley-McPhail/e/B002GZVZPQ/

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/989939.Danielle_Ackley_McPhail

 

The Weird Wild West anthology from Espec Books rides into town in November looking like big trouble. Saddle up, pardner and discover strange, supernatural, otherworldly and downright weird adventures way out West from some of your favorite authors. Larry and I have a story in The Weird Wild West, so throughout November and December, we asked some of our author friends to prance their ponies over in this direction and share a few lines with us. Enjoy the blog posts—and then order the book please!

eSpec Books interviews Misty Massey, editor and contributor to The Weird Wild West edited by Misty Massey, Emily Lavin Leverett, and Margaret McGraw.

What is your favorite western movie and why?  A Fistful of Dollars.  It was the first western I ever paid any real attention to, and I was utterly fascinated by the anti-hero playing both sides against each other.  So much fun!

What is your favorite spec fic/western mash-up? Since someone else has already said Firefly, I’ll go with Cowboy Bebop.  Again, we find that Misty is attracted to the anti-hero, since Spike Spiegel is not really a good guy, but certainly not a villain either.  That ending scene can bring me to sobs every single time.  Bang.

Can you tell us anything about your story/artwork for The Weird Wild West?  At the moment, I’m finishing a western fantasy novel, so the story I’m submitting to the anthology is a prequel, focusing on Durango, a young woman who makes her living as a wrangler of unusual creatures.  None of the secrets of the novel will be given away, and of course readers don’t have to have read the short story to enjoy the novel, but I thought it would be fun to explore the character of Durango a little before releasing the novel.

What interested you in working on this project? Last summer, Emily, Margaret, and I were attending Congregate.  Margaret had presented the first page of a weird western story during a workshop, and we were encouraging her to submit it somewhere.  All of a sudden, the topic shifted to how much fun publishing a weird western anthology would be, and boom!

Describe your idea of a weird western chuck wagon meal. Beans and bread!

Which Wild West archetype (Gambler, Outlaw, Saloon Girl, School Marm, Railroad Man, Pioneer, Cowboy, Lawman or Indian) would you chose to be and why? I’d like to be a Gambler, because in my current life, I am lousy at gambling!  Playing poker has to be fun, because so many people love it, and I’d like to feel that particular thrill sometime.

Have you written/created anything else in a weird western vein? Please tell us about it. At the moment I’m finishing a weird western novel – with any luck, by the time the anthology comes out, there’ll be news about the novel being sold!

What are some of your own works readers can look for?  My first novel, Mad Kestrel, is still available for Kindle and in print.  My volume of short stories, Kestrel’s Voyages, is available for the Kindle as well.  And my short story “Drawing Flame” is appearing in The Big Bad II, coming to e-readers and bookshelves everywhere on December 15, 2014!

How can readers find out more about you?  Visit me at mistymassey.com

Misty Massey is the author of Mad Kestrel (Tor), a rollicking fantasy adventure of magic on the high seas, and Kestrel’s Voyages (Kindle DP), a set of stories following Captain Kestrel and her daring crew. Her short fiction has appeared in Rum and Runestones, Dragon’s Lure and The Big Bad II.  Misty is one of the featured writers on Magical Words (magicalwords.net). When she’s not writing, she studies Middle Eastern dance and performs with Mythos Tribal and Chimera. You can see more of what Misty’s up to at her website, mistymassey.com or find her on Facebook and Twitter.

SOCIAL MEDIA USER IDs

Facebook: Misty Massey
Twitter: @MistyMassey
Goodreads: Misty Massey
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Misty-Massey/e/B001IQXT44/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1418174577&sr=8-1
Blog Address:  https://mistymassey.com/

The Side of Good/The Side of Evil is a book of superheroes and super villains by some of your favorite authors, including Larry and me! It’s available for pre-order now here: https://amzn.com/1942990030  Now enjoy an excerpt from one of our authors!

an excerpt from
Making a Difference
by Robert Greenberger

(from The Side of Good)

Gravel and grit forced their way into his mouth as he felt his boots drag along the street, kicking up the debris as the car picked up speed. He held on tight to the front bumper, willing his hips and legs to swivel into action, letting him scale up to the hood. His mind fought to control multiple inputs, starting with the foul taste in his mouth, the ache in his calves, and the strain in his biceps.

Willing his body to behave, he once more moved into action and somehow wound up exactly where he wanted to be: riding a speeding car, weaving in and out of light Manhattan traffic at three in the morning, with police sirens beginning to fill the air. His gloved hands gripped the sides of the tapered hood and he stared through the windshield at the driver, a greasy-haired, pock-mocked kid of maybe twenty. Normally, he wouldn’t have bothered with a simple car theft except for the other occupant in the vehicle—a screaming infant, safely buckled in the car seat in the rear.

The driver’s eyes bulged and the hero saw his mouth work and finally form the name: “Crusader”.

He hated the name but it had been pinned on him on the very first night he sought to make a difference. When he decided to don the black-and-gold outfit, he had been mulling over names but after stopping a riot in the wake of an unfavorable legal decision, a reporter quipped, “Hey, caped crusader, where’s your cape?” And, that was all it took, suddenly he was the Crusader.

There were worse names, he supposed, and he’d grown accustomed to it, but he’d much rather have had a say in his alter ego’s name.

A sharp swerve to the right shook him from his reverie and he nearly lost his grip on the polished metal surface. With a severe gesture, he made it clear he wanted the panicky driver to pull over and surrender.

Rather than obeying the command, the driver braked hard and came to a sudden stop, the momentum dislodging the hero. Crusader rolled to the street, taking the brunt of the impact on his right shoulder, but the sound of the door opening, sneakers hitting the pavement, and the wail of the frightened infant shocked him into action. With an effort he regained his footing, checked to make certain the infant was still in the car, and took off after the thief, certain the impending arrival of the police would mean the kid would be looked after. The scumbag who stole the car, though, needed some justice. And the way the Crusader felt right then, it would be rough justice.

~ * ~

Harmony looked up in alarm when the Crusader appeared in the doorway to her bedroom. He tended to call ahead or at least knock to alert her of his arrival. Instead, given the late hour, the costumed figure slipped a key from a belt compartment and let himself in, the sound waking her.

“Its 4:30 in the mor…” her complaint trailed off when she saw him somewhat stagger to the edge of the bed where he heavily let himself down. “My god, you look terrible.”

“Feel worse,” he said in a hoarse voice. She turned on the night-table lamp and in the illumination saw the black streaks from his most recent activity. His mouth was bruised and swollen and even the skin was raw, trickling blood, adding a new color to the gold piping on his outfit. She noted that spots were worn through the costume and his boots were scuffed. The stylish outfit was one of the first things she focused on when they initially met. It was thick leather, providing him with some protection, creased and crinkled here and there but being mostly black you needed a strong light to notice. The helmet and faceplate cowl had a gold design that led to piping down both sleeves, disappearing under tight gloves. It was far less garish than some of the outfits other heroes appeared in, especially the women who clearly were using their cleavage to distract criminals from their fists.

“What happened?” She rose and kneeled beside him, totally unconscious that she was wearing her oversized Crusader night shirt, his grinning, cowled face looming large from shoulders to hips.

He began to speak of the evening’s activity but she placed two fingers on his lips, silencing him as she headed into the bathroom and came back with all the usual first-aid supplies. By then, he had peeled out of the leather and Kevlar-fitted jacket, exposing the various older yellow and fresh black bruises that created a pop art image on his body. She deftly applied antiseptic cream and bandages. His breathing slowed and resumed a regular rhythm.

“Was it worth it?”

“I saved a baby, so yeah,” he told her, which caught her attention. Children always do that to heroes and civilians alike, it must be hardwired into humanity, Mike Kinnard thought. Finally loosening his cowl and peeling it away, his brown eyes met hers and they silently communed for a minute.

“You’re a mess,” she said, breaking the silence which had been growing uncomfortable. “You never used to finish the night like this. You must be getting sloppy or…”

“…or old,” he finished for her. This had recently become the centerpiece of their conversations when it came to his colorful alter ego.

She nodded, closing up the first aid kit. “How much longer do you think you can keep this up?” she asked, the anger clear in her tone.

This was far from the first time she raised the question but tonight, this morning, was the first time he actually considered a real response. He ached. Seriously ached and not for the first time this year, he realized. He was not healing as quickly as he used to.

“There’s still work to be done,” he began before she could cut him off. “As long as I can make a difference.”

“That’s a pat, bullshit answer. You’re closing in on forty and are still trying to act like someone half your age. It’s no longer safe. You go out, beat the shit out of the bad guys, and come back here to be patched up. You make time for me as convenient, but even then you’d have to be inside me before you’d consider staying, rather than answer a cry for help.”

“Harm, that’s not true or really fair.”

She pulled a stray lock of hair away from her eyes, tucking it behind her ear. “Fair? Fair is us being together, making a life for ourselves, actually planning more than a few hours out. I fell for you, Mike, not the Crusader.”

“I am the Crusader,” Mike Kinnard told her, some heat of his own in the words. “You knew that from the moment I yanked the rapist off you.” That had been four years ago, when he could still patrol the streets for hours, bust some heads, and go to work without getting tired. He felt strong and vital then; in love, real love, for the first time in his life. Mike could not now imagine his life without Harmony St. James, but she was challenging that idyllic vision and he was not in the mood to consider it. Letting a deep breath out slowly through his nose, Kinnard kept his mouth shut, not daring to let this escalate into something ugly. He was weary and sore and did not need a fight with his lover to finish off a tough night.

“Yeah, I knew you as the Crusader first,” Harmony went on, clearly not reading his mind or his body language. “But I came to love Mike Kinnard and you’re making that very hard right now. Before you, I wasn’t sure I’d ever find someone I could imagine growing old with, but then you swooped in and became my personal hero. But for us to grow old together, you need to stay alive and, you know, healthy.”

He winced at that, much as he winced at the aching muscles that screamed for Ben Gay or a whirlpool. His local gym was a 24-hour place and he wanted to go there before he had to make an appearance at Count on Kinnard, his private accounting company.

“I can’t do this without you,” he began. When she shot him a look, he let the sentence die mercifully.

“Do you want us to stay together? Get married, settle down, skip the picket fence and kids, but experience things as a couple? Answer yes and that will tell you what you need to do. Answer no then you’ve set the timer on our relationship starting tonight.”

He didn’t answer her and he didn’t believe she truly expected an answer at this late hour. She deserved one and he wanted to say the former but knew full well he was not done fighting for his city. The Blockade, Doctor Bizarre, Lightspeed, and the other heroes were still going strong and together, they were keeping Manhattan from becoming more dangerous. It felt like he’d be betraying them but then again, they had their powers to protect them. He was just an extraordinarily gifted athlete with an above-average intellect. Right now, though, he was not feeling particularly smart.

“Mike…you have to slow down. Take some nights off. Make some time for us. I don’t want to make an ultimatum, but we’re getting really close to having that ‘me or the mask’ conversation. The one you told me you never wanted us to get to.”

That conversation started about a year back, after he fought to stem a gang war while still wearing a splint, a trophy from battling the Gentleman. It was then he began to notice the wear and tear on his body and the impending onset of serious middle age. He always joked forty was when the warranty would end and his body would fall apart. What he didn’t realize at the time was that he wasn’t being sardonic but prophetic.

~ * ~

Read the whole thing in The Side of Good / The Side of Evil releasing December 1, 2015.

PROMOTIONAL COPY

Everyone loves a hero…but sometimes we can’t help but root for the villain…

Indulge both impulses with this nostalgic flipbook anthology—The Side of Good / The Side of Evil. After all, everyone is the hero of their own story and sometimes a change in perspective can make a world of difference.

Superheroes inspire us to be more than we can be, and on the flip side, Supervillains are reminders of the potential for darkness within us all. The Side of Good / The Side of Evil looks at the best and worst that über-mankind is capable of.

With stories by comic book and literary masters: James M. Ward, Bryan J.L. Glass, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Aaron Rosenberg, Robert Greenberger, Gail Z. Martin, Janine K. Spendlove, James Chambers, Walt Ciechanowski, Neal Levin, John L. French, and Kathleen David this collection is guaranteed to be super…no matter which side you pledge your allegiance to.

Featuring a never-before-published Furious(TM) short story!

The Side of Good/The Side of Evil is a book of superheroes and super villains by some of your favorite authors, including Larry and me! It’s available for pre-order now here: https://amzn.com/1942990030  Now enjoy an excerpt from one of our authors!

An excerpt from Send in the Clones
A tale of the Super City Police Department by Keith R.A. DeCandido
(From The Side of Evil)

“Who’s in the interrogation room?”

Detective Kristin Milewski, who simply had not had enough coffee yet, stared intently at Officer M.C. Cunningham as she asked the question.

For her part, Cunningham looked very reluctant to answer. “I think it’s the Clone Master.”

“You think?”

“Well, he looks just like him, but he’s dressed up in that silly white outfit that all his henchmen wear.”

“And he just showed up?”

Cunningham nodded. “Came in, went straight to Sarge’s desk, wearing the whole outfit, saying he had to talk to a detective about the Clone Master. Then he took off the mask, and it was the Clone Master. Sarge had me take him up to Interrogation 2, and—well, you two are the only ones here.”

Milewski turned to face her partner, Detective Jorge Alvarado, who held up both hands. “Whatcha lookin’ at me for? I don’t even remember which one the Clone Master is.” Alvarado recently moved to Super City from Baltimore, and he still hadn’t gotten all the superheroes and supervillains straight in his head.

Though he should have recalled this one, as he was the scourge of the homicide squad. “Clone Master’s the one who keeps dying and then coming back. He’s probably the most reckless of the costumes out there, and he’s always getting himself knocked off. Every time that happens, one of us has to perform a death investigation, because the annotated code says that every time a body falls in Super City, the SCPD must perform an investigation. Which, for the Clone Master, is a huge waste of time, because somehow he always comes back.” She turned back to Cunningham. “And he’s in there now?”

“Disguised as one of his henchmen, yeah. I don’t get it, either, but he said he wanted a detective, so…” The uniformed officer shrugged.

Milewski stared at Alvarado, then stared at Cunningham, then declared, “I need more coffee.”

Once she’d poured more of the squadroom sludge into the mug her mother gave her when she made detective, she led Alvarado into the video room. The interrogation rooms all had cameras that fed to monitors here.

In her years on the job, Milewski had never actually encountered the Clone Master in person. The last two times he died and there was the usual abortive investigation, Fischer and Billinghurst had handled it. Both instances were right after she got promoted to homicide from vice. She had seen his face a few times, though, in news reports, and once in the morgue when the M.E. was working on one of his clones.

The person she saw on the monitor for Interrogation 2 matched her memory of that face: large nose, weak chin, beady eyes, and tiny ears. He was drumming his fingers on the battered metal table in the center of the room, and rocking back and forth in the metal chair. That seat was uneven and squeaky and uncomfortable, all of which was quite deliberate, since the people who sat there were intended to be made as uncomfortable as possible.

The one difference was that this one didn’t have a right eyebrow.

“That’s the guy?” Alvarado asked.

Milewski nodded. “And he’s wearing the same outfit his thugs wear. All the guys who help him on his jobs wear that froofy all-white thing that makes them look like low-rent Jedi, plus hoods to hide their faces.”

“That’s gotta fuck up their peripheral vision.”

“Prob’ly, yeah.” Milewski gulped down the rest of her coffee, which burned her throat a bit. “Let’s dig out the casefiles on the last couple Clone Master deaths, and then we’ll see what he’s got to say.”

They went to the file cabinets and retrieved the files in question, and then went into the interrogation room. The Clone Master stopped drumming his fingers and sat up straight. “Finally!”

“I’m Detective Milewski, this is Detective Alvarado. You must be the Clone Master.”

“I’m Markos Balidemaj, yes. Or, rather, I’m Clone Number 78. I mean, I’m both. I’m a clone of the Clone Master.”

Milewski sat down across from him, placing the two folders in front of her, while Alvarado chose instead to lean against the far wall. “So what do we call you. ‘Mr. 78’? Or can we be casual and call you ‘Clone’?”

“I wish I could answer, but I’m having trouble keeping track of who I am.”

“Okay. Well, you came to us, so why don’t you tell Detective Alvarado and I what it is you want to say?”

He took a very deep breath. “I want to enumerate all the crimes committed by all the various versions of Markos Balidemaj since 2007.”

Alvarado asked, “Is that when the Clone Master first showed up?”

“Of course,” the clone said as if it was the stupidest question ever.

“He’s new,” Milewski said quickly. “I remember when he—or you, whatever—first showed up. You took on Old Glory and got your ass kicked, but you got away. Two weeks later, the Bruiser fought you and you were killed. Everyone figured that was the end of it, and nobody understood why you were called the Clone Master.”

“And then another Clone Master arrived to do battle with the Superior Six.”

“When you also died.”

Balidemaj smiled. “Well, I—or, rather, the Clone Master—can afford to be reckless.”

~ * ~

Read the whole thing in The Side of Good / The Side of Evil releasing December 1, 2015.

PROMOTIONAL COPY

Everyone loves a hero…but sometimes we can’t help but root for the villain…

Indulge both impulses with this nostalgic flipbook anthology—The Side of Good / The Side of Evil. After all, everyone is the hero of their own story and sometimes a change in perspective can make a world of difference.

Superheroes inspire us to be more than we can be, and on the flip side, Supervillains are reminders of the potential for darkness within us all. The Side of Good / The Side of Evil looks at the best and worst that über-mankind is capable of.

With stories by comic book and literary masters: James M. Ward, Bryan J.L. Glass, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Aaron Rosenberg, Robert Greenberger, Gail Z. Martin, Janine K. Spendlove, James Chambers, Walt Ciechanowski, Neal Levin, John L. French, and Kathleen David this collection is guaranteed to be super…no matter which side you pledge your allegiance to.

Featuring a never-before-published Furious(TM) short story!

The Side of Good/The Side of Evil is a book of superheroes and super villains by some of your favorite authors, including Larry and me! It’s available for pre-order now here: https://amzn.com/1942990030  Now enjoy an excerpt from one of our authors!

An excerpt from
The Shtick
by Aaron Rosenberg
(From The Side of Evil)

“Those stupid do-gooders will never— aw, come on!” Walter C. Shticklemeyer whined as the costumed duo burst into the heart of his lair. “How’d you even find me?”

“Seriously, Eraserhead?” Twilight the Shade Prince asked, sharing a surprised but amused glance with his mentor and partner, Midnight King. “You stole the second-most valuable gem in the world—Number Two—from the Ticonderoga Museum. And now you’re holed up in an abandoned pencil factory?”

“Let’s face it, chum,” Midnight King added in that distinctive growl of his as he strode across the room toward where Walter cowered behind his desk, “you’re predictable. But then, evil always is.”

“Oh, yeah?” Walter straightened as the dark-clad hero approached. “Well, predict this!” he raised his voice. “Pencil-necks, get them!”

Twlight giggled, arms crossed over his chest. “We already took care of your henchmen,” he reported. “So you can go ahead and write them off.” He laughed at his own joke, and Midnight King joined in with his raspy chuckle.

“Curse you, Midnight King!” Walter cried. The hero reached for him, but Walter managed to pull free, wailing—and punched Midnight King full in the face.

“Owwww!” The skinny little villain cradled his injured hand as the hero dragged him from the room. “That hurt!”

“Crime always does,” Midnight King rasped down at him. “Crime always does.”

~ * ~

“You’re who, now?” The big bruiser who’d just cut in front of Walter asked, peering down at him with beady little eyes. “Erasermate?” Several of the other inmates in the prison cafeteria laughed.

“Eraserhead!” Walter replied indignantly, hands tightening on his lunch tray. “Eraserhead!” he pointed at his hair, which stood up several inches and was still cut in a perfectly circular flat top, thanks to First City’s policy of letting inmates retain their distinctive looks as much as possible. Looking around him, he could see plenty of others with unique hairstyles, face paint, eyewear, and even a certain degree of jewelry. The big guy in front of him, however, had none of those—he was completely nondescript in his orange prison jumpsuit, just another giant slab of muscle as he slowly shook his head.

“Never heard of you,” the bruiser declared, turning toward the cafeteria workers and holding out his tray to receive large scoops of nondescript prison food.

But Walter wasn’t ready to let it go. “Never heard of me!” he practically screeched. “I fought Midnight King! Repeatedly!”

Now the bruiser laughed. “You? Fought Midnight King?” Again the dismissive once-over. “What’d you do, threaten to bleed on him?” That got more laughs. “Listen, pal,” the big guy added, “most of us went up against that cowled clown, or worked for guys who did. That’s how we wound up in here. That don’t make you special.” The conversation over, he took his now-loaded tray and headed toward the row upon row of tables for someplace to eat in peace. Plenty of others moved aside to let him pass.

“I am special,” Walter insisted, but in a much quieter voice, nearly a whisper, as he surrendered his tray to the cafeteria workers. “I’m Eraserhead.”

But even he wasn’t sure he believed it anymore.

~ * ~

“I’m not special,” Walter declared, slumping on the stool in front of a threefold standing mirror. “Hardly anybody’s even heard of Eraserhead, and those who have think I’m a joke.”

“So change,” the woman at the long sewing table against the far wall replied. She glanced over at him and frowned. “You need a new—”

“Don’t say it,” Walter warned. Growing up, all anyone ever called him was “Shtick,” and he hated that nickname, and the word in general. But she was right. Look at how easily Midnight King had found him last time. An old pencil factory? Could he have been more obvious? “I really am a joke,” he decided, slumping even more. “I’m pathetic.”

“Stop putting yourself down,” his companion and hostess snapped. “Every time you do, you owe me twenty push-ups.”

“What?” That made his head jerk up, at least, as he stared across the room at her. “But, Launi—”

Her glare stopped him cold.

“Right, sorry—Seamstrix.” It was amazing how cowed he was by someone who was only five feet tall, but for all her short stature Launi Rombach, seamstress to the super-villains, was no one to mess with. And despite her height, with that long, straight silvery-white hair and her stern expression, not to mention her own costume—a leather dominatrix outfit, all buckles and straps, but covered in pockets filled with scissors and tape measures and needle and thread and lots and lots of pins—she was actually really imposing.

Which made sense. Why would you commission a super-villain costume from someone who couldn’t even make a convincing one for herself?

The Seamstrix was the go-to choice for every super-villain in First City. And Walter had been going to her for years. They’d even developed a sort of friendship. In fact, in a lot of ways she was his closest friend. Which was why, as soon as he’d gotten out—which had only been after a few months, since even with First City’s rather lax view toward costumed vigilantes it had still wound up being one costumed nut’s word against another, because like most super-villains who’d managed to survive, Walter was at least professional enough to blank out all security cameras first, and to wear gloves the whole time—Walter had gone straight to her.

But his days of wearing a striped yellow turtleneck and matching leggings were over. Eraserhead was dead.

That hated word aside, Launi was absolutely right, Walter realized as he wearily climbed down off the stool, stretched out on his stomach on the floor, and began slowly, wretchedly doing push-ups.

He needed something new.

~ * ~

Read the whole thing in The Side of Good / The Side of Evil releasing December 1, 2015.

PROMOTIONAL COPY

Everyone loves a hero…but sometimes we can’t help but root for the villain…

Indulge both impulses with this nostalgic flipbook anthology—The Side of Good / The Side of Evil. After all, everyone is the hero of their own story and sometimes a change in perspective can make a world of difference.

Superheroes inspire us to be more than we can be, and on the flip side, Supervillains are reminders of the potential for darkness within us all. The Side of Good / The Side of Evil looks at the best and worst that über-mankind is capable of.

With stories by comic book and literary masters: James M. Ward, Bryan J.L. Glass, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Aaron Rosenberg, Robert Greenberger, Gail Z. Martin, Janine K. Spendlove, James Chambers, Walt Ciechanowski, Neal Levin, John L. French, and Kathleen David this collection is guaranteed to be super…no matter which side you pledge your allegiance to.

Featuring a never-before-published Furious(TM) short story!

The Side of Good/The Side of Evil is a book of superheroes and super villains by some of your favorite authors, including Larry and me! It’s available for pre-order now here: https://amzn.com/1942990030  Now enjoy one of several interviews as our authors take you behind the scenes!

 

 

eSpec Books interviews Robert Greenberger, contributor to The Side of Good / The Side of Evil, a Superhero Flipbook anthology, https://tiny.cc/SoGSoE.

eSB: What drew you to this project?

RG: Danielle’s winning smile as she explained what the book was about so I asked her if I could come play. After all, I grew up on comics and super-heroics is in my DNA.

eSB: Which side are you writing for?

RG: I’m writing for the side of good. Most super-hero comics are serialized and with the reboots and all, the major heroes never retire, never really question when the time comes. With the freedom of a short story, I decided that would make for an interesting story.

eSB: What got you interested in superheroes/villains?

RG: I was six and home sick with bronchitis. Mom brought me an issue of Superman and I was hooked. Something about the colorful figure, the super-powers, and – I am guessing here – the not being ill was really appealing. Since then I like the larger than life figures, which is why I am also drawn to mythology.

eSB: If you could have one superpower, what would it be and how would it work?

RG: I usually say I want a power ring which can do so many things, great and small. Or, I would love to fly. First, it would cut down on my commute to school and second, it would just be damn cool.

eSB: What would your weakness be and why?

RG: My current weakness is peanut M&Ms. A bag of those and I weaken, my will becomes shot.

eSB: Describe your ideal super suit.

RG: Something akin to speedskaters, sleek in design, not overly colorful. Or something with a cloak so I can hide the paunch from the M&Ms.

eSB: Who is your favorite superhero and why?

RG: I am drawn to many but usually will tell you its Green Lantern. First of all, he’s fearless (save the psychobabble about that for another time) plus out of billions of people, the ring chose him to join this corps that is out to protect the universe. That’s an awesome power matched with an awesome responsibility.

eSB: Who is the villain you love to hate, and why?

RG: I don’t think I hate any one villain, but I do hate the C-list guys who have a cheesy name or poor motivation. They’re badly conceived by lazy or desperate writers then hang on when other writers need cannon fodder.

eSB: In your opinion, what characterizes a hero?

RG: Using power (however it has been derived) for the greater good. Willing to sacrifice yourself for higher ideals. Doing what must be done regardless of the obstacles.

eSB: In your opinion, what characterizes a villain?

RG: Using power (however it has been derived) for selfish gain. Unwilling to serve society and acting entirely against the public good.

eSB: What is your viewpoint on Sidekicks?

RG: Many benefit from having someone to watch your back or someone to talk to. There’s a great deal of loneliness that comes with power so this can help ground the hero. Of course, not all sidekicks should be minors, that brings up other issues.

eSB: What other comic or superhero-related work have you done in the past?

RG: 20 years at DC and 1 year at Marvel mean tons of heroes and villains have crossed my desk. I am particularly proud of a series I helped create, Suicide Squad, now becoming a feature film. As a writer, I have written an Iron Man novel, The Essential Batman Encyclopedia, co-written The Batman Vault and The Essential Superman Encyclopedia; and two young reader Batman books. I’ve also done short fiction with Zorro and Captain Midnight so I get around.

eSB: If there was one comic franchise you could work on, which would it be and why?

RG: Can I say the entire DC Universe? If not, the one series I always wanted was Green Lantern (are you detecting a thread here?).

eSB: Fiction or comics, which is your favorite medium and why?

RG: They both appeal in different ways. Fiction is you and your imagination, using strictly words to bring your reader to other places. Comics is collaborative (which I love) and blends words with pictures which is a unique storytelling experience.

eSB: Please tell us about your non-comic related work.

RG: I am a cofounder of Crazy 8 Press, a digital press hub where I write original fiction. The next work there will be a story in the Pangaea anthology, debuting at Shore Leave. I am also a high school English teacher in Maryland. As an author, I have co-written The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; Murder at Sorrow’s Crown, with Steven Savile, due out in December from Titan Books.

eSB: Please let us know where you can be found on social media.

RG: I can be found at www.bobgreenberger.com or on Facebook or twitter @bobgreenberger

eSB: Thank you for allowing this glimpse beneath your alter-ego. We’re looking forward to more super heroics and evil geniuses to come.

Q:  Why don’t you tell us about your novel?

Bryan Thomas Schmidt: The Worker Prince is the story of Moses with a Star Wars feel. Two groups of colonists, enemies on Earth, wind up by a twist of fate as neighbors in a far galaxy and one enslaves the other. Years later, the prince of the Boralians finds out he was secretly adopted from slaves and is a Vertullian. As he begins to discover what that means, it puts him at odds with friends and family, especially his Uncle Xalivar who leads the Boralian Alliance. Then a tragic accident sends him on the run. And he has to decide who he is and where his loyalties lie. The decisions he makes could change the lives of everyone he knows forever. It’s full of action, political scheming, family drama, a little romance, friendship, rivalries and alien races.

Q: Is it true you came up with the story when you were a teenager?

BTS: Yeah, I spent a lot of time dreaming and imagining stories and ideas in my teens, and I had a dream of writing for television and film. I came up with the idea originally as a TV miniseries and did a lot of story planning but those notes have disappeared. The only things that remained really were the idea of an epic Moses retelling and Lord Xalivar, the name of the antagonist, and Sol, the name of Davi Rhii’s father. Beyond that, when I finally sat down to write it in 2009, I just started from scratch.

Q: This is a rerelease called the Author’s Definitive Edition. The book originally released in 2011 by a micropress. What led to the new release?

BTS: Well, when it came out, the book got some great praise and reviews but the press was a micropress and focused toward a smaller market segment. They were also a Christian press, so I think that may have limited the audience. I always intended the book to be for general market, and since the press fell apart and I wanted to finish the series, I decided to go back and revise the book after finishing the final novel in the trilogy, bring the writing style up to date with my present skills, fix some of the issues critics had pointed out, create better unity to the trilogy overall, and revise it to be sure it was the best fit for general market. It remains appropriate for all ages but it is not a Christian book and was never intended to be one, so I downplayed some religious aspects a lot more and expanded some worldbuilding in ways I hope will make it more appealing. Kevin J. Anderson gave me a chance to publish it with WordFire Press, so I jumped at it.

JB:  The Worker Prince is the first book in a trilogy.  Do you have a schedule for the other 2 books?

BTS: Book 2, The Returning, is being polished and updated as well and will likely show up in Spring 2016. Book 3, The Exodus, is tentatively scheduled for next Summer.

Q:  Who were your favorite authors when you were growing up?

BTS: I love Robert Silverberg. Also grew up a big fan of Stephen R. Donaldson, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Alan Dean Foster, Timothy Zahn, Mike Resnick, Orson Scott Card, David Eddings, W.E.B. Griffin, Nicholas Sparks, John Grisham, Tom Clancy (early stuff),and Stephen King.

Q: The Worker Prince has been compared to Star Wars. Was that a big influence?

BTS: In fact, my goal was to capture the feel of the original Star Wars¸ and according to reviews, I seem to have succeeded. But I also give nods to other influences throughout via snippets of dialogue, plot elements, etc. such as Christopher Reeve’s Superman, the original Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek and more. My goal was to tell the Moses story as a space opera but without the ten commandments, parting of the Red Sea, and other particularly religious elements. The story is just such a great one and I felt would lend itself well to space opera.

Q: You have come to be known more as an editor than an author, I know. How do you think of Bryan Thomas Schmidt?

BTS: I’m both and I have a passion for both, but my first love remains writing and I hope somehow I can have some success at both, maybe even equally. This is a story I have been passionate about for a long time and have spent the last seven years writing, on and off, and 30 years dreaming about. So there is a great satisfaction in finally getting it out there, and I was a bit disappointed that while the original release sold 1500 copies in six months, book two’s launch got delayed and confused and it never really took off. This is my chance to share this story with the world, and to perhaps gain a little respect as a writer not just an editor, so fingers crossed. I’d love to be writing as much as I am editing.

Q:  Do you have a preference between science fiction and fantasy?

BTS: Well, space opera is my first love, but epic fantasy is a close second. But science fiction was what started it for me.

Q: How has your editing work influenced your writing?

BTS: Well, you know, I had not read The Worker Prince for over four years when I went back to edit it so I really had fresh eyes. I had read one scene I use a lot in readings but not the rest more than skimming. It was really a lot like editing a different author, not just from objectivity but from the fact my craft has grown so much. I have written two sequels, two fantasy novels, two other novels and dozens of short stories since I wrote this book, not to mention editing novels and anthologies, so I came back to it with an editor’s perspective. I fixed a lot of first novelist errors and issues, and I was able to also clarify things that needed strengthening, add things that had been called out as missing, and add things I now knew from writing two more books which will add more unity overall to the trilogy, and I can honestly say I couldn’t have done that three years ago, so I think editing as helped me a lot.

Q: You’ve edited some of your favorite writers like Silverberg, Resnick, etc. and you also edited The Martian, which of course is a big bestselling book and smash hit movie. What is that like and how did it come about?

BTS: Networking has made my career. Jennifer Brozek, my co-editor on Shattered Shields, was childhood friends with Andy Weir and he came to her about the novel but she felt they were too close to risk working together and recommended me. So I worked with Andy on it in 2013 and six months or so later heard he’d sold it to Crown and had a movie deal with Ridley Scott. Andy has been sending me business by recommending me, so I have started talking about it. It was the first hard science fiction I edited and it was fun. He is a nice guy and easy to work with. As for Resnick, Silverberg, et al, I just asked. Resnick I met at World Fantasy in 2010 and had corresponded with a bit first. We both have a mutual interest in African culture and I had seen his many African influenced short stories. We hit it off and he took me under his wing. To a degree, Silverberg has done the same after I bought a story from him for my short-lived magazine gig, Blue Shift and my Kickstarter anthology Beyond The Sun, and since then we have started having annual meals every World Con and corresponding. Others came along much the same with me asking and them agreeing and I try and make it a fun experience, so they fortunately keep coming back.

Q: Your latest anthology Mission: Tomorrow released two days after The Worker Prince from Baen and has been getting good reviews. It’s core science fiction, hard science fiction, right? Stories similar to The Martian in some ways?

BTS: Correct. In fact, I tried to get Andy to write a story for it but he was just too busy at the time. The concept was with NASA having been defunded a bit and space exploration downgraded in priority with both the public and government, what will space travel look like in the near future? Private? Corporate? Etc. And so authors wrote various takes on it, some humorous, some tragic, all thoughtful, and I got to work with an incredibly great group. I am thrilled it is being well received. My hope is to do one core SF anthology each year. I missed 2014 but we have Galactic Games coming in 2016, and I am shopping ideas for 2017.

Q: Thanks for making time to sit down with us. To close, if people haven’t read The Worker Prince, why should they give it a shot?

BTS: Well, it did make Barnes and Noble’s Year’s Best Science Fiction in 2011, Honorable Mention, and that was compiled by one of the top speculative fiction critics in the field, Paul Goat Allen. Paul thought it was a blast and retro in feel without being dated. Jonathan Maberry and Robin Wayne Bailey felt the same when they blurbed the current edition. Maberry said: “The Worker Prince breathes dynamic new life into the space opera genre. Rich characters, wild action, and devious plotlines collide in a thoroughly entertaining book!” and Robin described it as  “A brisk science fiction novel full of rich characters and settings, it embodies ‘sense of wonder’ in the best traditions of classic science fiction. Well worth your time!” Those are two New York Times Bestselling authors, far less biased than I am. Those are three reasons. Beyond that, if you like fun, escapist science fiction, then this book is for you. But it also touches a bit on ideological discrimination and themes of bigotry in some very relevant ways as well, without being heavy handed or preachy (so I hope and am told), so I think it also has relevance for those looking for more substantial fare as well. Also, some fun aliens, planets, and good humorous banter as well with lots of action. You won’t be bored, for sure.