The Vaults of Caladrex

What I've Been Wasting My Time On

2012-02-04T07:02:00.000-08:00

I've just finished up a trio of short stories featuring legendary Native American gunman Lone Crow and will be editing them shortly to submit to various Weird West anthologies. I've already had Lone Crow stories published in each of the three How the West was Weird anthologies, Showdown at Midnight, and Six Guns Straight from Hell. There seems to be a pretty good demand for those sort of stories at the moment. On the other hand, I've just started a Gantlet Brothers short story/novella called Sold Out, and there's just about zero market for stories falling into the guns and guitar genre--a genre so obscure that I had to invent a name for it. Ah well, if I were doing this for the money I'd be writing paranormal romance.

Pulp Factory Awards 2011

2012-02-02T07:21:00.000-08:00

PulpWork Press author (and long time friend), Derrick Ferguson, has been nominated in the category of Best Pulp Short Story of 2011 for the Pulp Factory Awards for writing Storms of Blood and Snow. Storms of Blood and Snow is Derrick's long-awaited return to the weird west with gunfighter and swordsman Sebastian Red. This story appeared in How the West was Weird 2.

Pulp Ark Nomination

2012-01-20T07:02:00.000-08:00

I've received a Pulp Ark 'Best Short Story' nomination for my story Gunmen of the Hollow Earth which appears in How the West was Weird: Campfire Tales (99 cents on Kindle) and features Native American gunfighter Lone Crow. Also, two anthologies which I contributed to (How the West was Weird II and Four Bullets for Dillon) were nominated in the 'Best Collection/Anthology' category.

Even cooler, my fellow PulpWork Press authors Derrick Ferguson and Joshua Reynolds are nominated for the 'Best Writer' award, and Percival Constantine is nominated for best novel due to his work on Myth Hunter. MD Jackson, the cover artist extraordinaire for a number of my novels has been nominated for his awesome work on the cover of Strange Gods of the Dire Planet.

Shaking the Six Demon Bag

2012-01-13T06:21:00.000-08:00

An interview with me is posted over at Joshua Reynold's Hunting Monsters blog and reveals such secrets as what project I'm currently working on and my beverage of choice.

Outlaw Blues

2012-01-09T08:03:00.000-08:00

Pulp Work Press's latest contribution to the guns and guitars genre is Outlaw Blues by Percival Constantine.

Carl Flint was once an assassin, until a mistake on the job led to disastrous consequences. Years later, he’s a broken man, living out his days playing music in a dive bar. He’s convinced by Dante to come out of retirement to kill one more person — Agency operative Christian Pierce.

Now on the run from Pierce’s former partner, Flint has to flee what’s left of his former life. But in his quest to find peace, he’ll have to face off with a Colombian drug cartel. Is this the redemption he’s been searching for, or the final nail in his coffin?

Outlaw Blues is available in print for $8.95 at Amazon. You can also find the e-book from Smashwords for only $0.99!

Coming in 2012

2012-01-02T12:46:00.000-08:00

I've got two books scheduled for release in 2012: Lost Tribes of the Dire Planet (the 5th book of the sword and science fiction series featuring displaced astronaut Garvey Dire) and The Island of Lost Souls which tells the stories of the brother knights Balin and Balan as they combat the duplicitous dealings of a very villainous Merlin.

Running Down 2011

2011-12-31T19:07:00.000-08:00

I've compiled a list of my writing misadventures for 2011. Here's the rundown...

January my space opera novella The Artificial Woman starring the crew of Barclay Salvage appeared in Startling Adventures #2. (Still available for just $6.66 at Amazon)

In February I nabbed a Pulp Ark 'Best Author' nomination. Alas, another worthy writer, Barry Reese, took the final honors when the winner was announced in May.

In July I had two weird west tales featuring Native American gunman Lone Crow published: The Lost Vale and Gunmen of the Hollow Earth in How the West was Weird 2 and in How the West was Weird: Campfire Tales, respectively.

$14.99 for a hard copy and $3.99 for a digital download at Amazon.

Campfire Tales is available as a 99 cent digital download at Smashwords.

In July Lone Crow, Porter Rockwell, and a doughty fellow that goes by the name of Josh Reynolds appeared in The Shadow Walkers which was published in Showdown at Midnight. (Hard copy for $15.99 or Kindle download for $4.95)

Also in July came Strange Gods of the Dire Planet, the fourth novel detailing the adventures of displaced American astronaut Garvey Dire. ($12.95 at the PulpWork Press store or $3.99 kindle format)

A couple of days later Dark Worlds summer issue came out, carrying a short story entitled The Remnant Band--a fantasy tale set in the city of Bathos where my previous novels Escape from Devil's Head and Through the Groaning Earth take place. (Dark Worlds is available in hard copy format for $14.59, or you may want to pick up the bargain digital download for $4.99)

Things slowed down until November when The Gantlet Brothers Greatest Hits came down like a ton of heavy metal. (Available in Epub and Kindle formats for just $2.99 or in hard copy for $11.95).

Then to round out the year The Christmas Eve Killers was released in the PulpWork Christmas Special 2011. For a few more days this is available as a free download. Get it before the Christmas spirit evaporates and PulpWork posts it for actual hard-earned money for Nook and Kindle.

Phew...that was exhausting! On an upcoming post I'll share a couple of things that are coming down the pike for 2012.

Gantlet Brothers on the Book Cave

2011-12-23T05:53:00.000-08:00

I recently chatted with Ric Croxton and Art Sippo on the Book Cave Podcast about my latest literary/pulp endeavor The Gantlet Brothers Greatest Hits. You can listen in here. Pick up a hard copy of The Gantlet Brothers Greatest Hits at PulpWork Press ($11.95) or digital copies at Amazon and Barnes and Noble (just $2.99)

Z7 Reviews Campfire Tales

2011-12-20T07:42:00.000-08:00

Tim Mayer of Z7's Headquarters Reviews Campfire Tales, which contains a quartet of western tales guaranteed to make you quiver with fear. Check out the review here and pick up a digital copy at Smashwords or on Kindle for a mere ninety-nine cents.

PulpWork Christmas Special 2011

2011-12-16T06:32:00.000-08:00

Until the end of the year Pulpwork is offering free downloads of the PulpWork Christmas Special 2011. This features a spectacular cover by MD Jackson and two tales of Christmas deviltry and destruction by Josh Reynolds and Joel Jenkins.

First, occult investigator Charles St. Cyprian uncovers the ancient Christmas evil behind the legend of merry John Mock and then icy-hearted assassin Monica Killingsworth undertakes a Christmas Eve killing with treachery lurking around every corner.

Note: The free files for the PulpWork Christmas Special have been removed. Check on Amazon.com to purchase a Kindle copy for just 99 cents.

Campfire on Kindle

2011-12-02T07:04:00.000-08:00

How the West was Weird: Campfire Tales is now available on Kindle and in various other electronic formats at Smashwords. The cool thing is that it's only 99 cents!

Here's what's in it:

Four novellas combining the western with sci-fi and horror. This new addition to Pulpwork Press's best-selling HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD series includes cowboys in a lost world, robot Pinkertons fighting sky pirates beside Teddy Roosevelt, and zombies - lots and lots of zombies.

CAMPFIRE TALES includes the following stories:

MR. BRASS AND THE CRIMSON SKIES OF KANSAS by Josh Reynolds. The robot Pinkerton is all that stands between President Teddy Roosevelt and an attack by sky pirates and Mr. Hyde.

HELL'S OWN by Russ Anderson. Zombies overrun a small western town, and the town's lone sheriff is the only one that's armed. Will anyone survive?

THE TALE OF THE BARON'S TRIBUTE by Derrick Ferguson. When a foe from Sebastian Red's past attacks him through his friends, Sebastian must undo the damage done to his loved ones and do battle with a foe who is, for once, in every way his equal.

GUNMEN OF THE HOLLOW EARTH by Joel Jenkins. Lone Crow, Doc Holliday, and Morgan Earp lead the surviving members of the Wild Bunch into a lost world at the center of the Earth, running afoul of dinosaurs, a tribe of barbarian women, and a posse of silver-hungry banditos who have followed them from the surface world.

Greatest Hits on Nook and Kindle

2011-11-30T07:24:00.000-08:00

The Gantlet Brothers Greatest Hits is now available in Epub and Kindle formats for just $2.99.

Excluding the novel The Nuclear Suitcase, this book contains all the previously-published and hard to find adventures of the Gantlet Brothers, and includes two never-before-published stories.

Cyber Monday Special

2011-11-28T06:57:00.000-08:00

One day only, get 30% off my just-released book, The Gantlet Brothers Greatest Hits. Normally, you're looking at $11.95 (still a bargain in my completely biased estimation), but if you follow this link and use the discount code 5YRZ6A8W you get 30% off the cover price.

So what's the book about? Here's the back cover blurb:

From the broken and dusty terrain of Egypt's Qattara Depression to the grimy underbelly of New York City, erstwhile rock musicians and guns for hire, the Gantlet Brothers, use charm, blades, bullets, and fists to plow a path through amorous starlets with ill intentions, bounty hunters, a deranged serial killer and terrorists hell-bent on bringing down nuclear annihilation.

These are the Gantlet Brothers' greatest hits collected for the first time and including two never before published stories.

This book is just released so there are no reviews out yet. However, Pulp Fiction Review wrote a piece on the previous Gantlet Brother novel, The Nuclear Suitcase which you can still find at the Pulp Fiction Review Website.

Weird Review

2011-11-24T10:04:00.000-08:00

The Big Al's Books and Pals blog has posted a brief review of How the West was Weird (Book One) in which I have a tale about Native American gunslinger Lone Crow coming face to face with a monstrous wyrm from the outer darkness. Yep, that's why it's called the weird west.

Showdown at Midnight

2011-11-16T06:56:00.000-08:00

Here's a brief review/synopsis of Showdown at Midnight in which Native American gunfighter Lone Crow makes an appearance. This review is extracted from Black Petals Issue #57

I found editor David B. Riley’s Western horror collection quite a contrast to the modern and urban. SHOWDOWN AT MIDNIGHT (Tales of Horror and Dark Fantasy from the Weird Weird West) features stories by a wide variety of authors. Although not as polished as Cassiday’s work, it was definitely worth reading. The book goes way beyond "cowboys and Indians" out West, although not quite as far as the summer box office success, "Cowboys and Aliens." Pull up a stool, sip a sarsaparilla, and dig in.

Don D’Amassa’s "The Incorruptible" centers on a Choctaw belief in a haunt that kills and eats up ignorant innocents. The Devil’s bounty hunter plays his cards right in Bill Craig’s "A Ghost of a Chance." Comanche phantoms and murdered miners go for the gold in Joel Jenkins’ "The Shadow Walkers." Sam Kepfield mixes Civil-War era science and superstition in the wolvishly clever "Lycaon Unbound." The cover with zombie gunman derives from Henrik Ramsager’s humorous "Low Noon." Another ironic piece, about Annie Oakley on vacation, proved to be my favorite—"The Great Ghost Train Robbery" by Jennifer Campbell-Hicks. This was followed by the morose but satisfying haunted-sword tale, "Samurai Blade," by John M. Whalen. "Wolves of the Comancheria" by Carol Hightshoe is a poignant narration by a female warrior ghost, Wolf Shadow, who delivers vengeance. M. H. Bonham warns us about the dangers of "The Banshee Mine." The final three offerings are: Jennifer Brozek’s "A Promise Made," with a ghost sheriff helping another ghost settle a score; Aaron B. Larson’s "Belfry’s in Your Bats," about an unholy attack on General Grant; and the editor’s "Night Thunder," about a hellish horse.

Cover art for SHOWDOWN AT NIDNIGHT is by Russell Morgan. Print and layout are nice, and Mr. Riley did a good job with the bios in back.

Four Bullets for Kindle

2011-11-14T06:26:00.000-08:00

Four Bullets for Dillon is now available on Kindle for $2.99. This book includes four adventures of global instigator and troublemaker Dillon and includes a team-up (co-written by me and Derrick Ferguson) with erstwhile rock guitarist Sly Gantlet where they battle against a group of mercenaries who lead them into a trap baited by their own titanic egos.

"The prose equivalent of Tango and Cash"

2011-10-31T07:34:00.000-07:00

Mat Nastos (who has writing credits for both Marvel and DC and is the instigator of the great New Pulp debate of 2011) has written a review of Four Bullets for Dillon and refers to the story Dead Beat in La Esca, which co-stars Derrick Ferguson's character, global instigator Dillon, and my own character, rockstar and erstwhile gun for hire Sly Gantlet, as "the prose equivalent of Tango and Cash." He points to the buddy action movies of the eighties an example of the tone of the story.

You can find Dead Beat in La Esca in Four Bullets for Dillon. Derrick Ferguson and I co-wrote the story. You can also find three other very cool Dillon stories inside Four Bullets.

The Dillon/Joel Jenkins Team Up

2011-10-12T07:20:00.000-07:00

The hosts of the Pulped! podcast interview Derrick Ferguson about the mythical Dillon/Joel Jenkins team-up as well as his new Four Bullets for Dillon, which is 144 pages of action-packed coolness. It includes one story co-written by me which co-stars rock musician Sly Gantlet (not me--despite the assertions of the Pulped! hosts)

Strange Gods Reviewed

2011-10-01T08:20:00.000-07:00

Ron Fortier of Pulp Fiction Review shares his take on Strange Gods of the Dire Planet. I'm pretty pleased with this review. I should probably quit while I'm ahead.

Four Bullets for Dillon

2011-09-26T06:21:00.000-07:00

Four Bullets for Dillon is now available at Amazon:

A lost city in the Cambodian jungles run by a pint-sized tyrant wearing a gem-encrusted belt buckle; Beautiful women who lure Dillon and his rival, rock musician Sly Gantlet, into a clash of alpha males and a deadly set-up; a deceitful queen and a backstabbing friend; a quest for an evil artifact linked to the betrayer of Christ. Four Bullets for Dillon includes four hard to find and never before seen stories ripped from the life of global adventurer and instigator, Dillon.

Four Bullets includes a story, Dead Beat in La Esca, which I co-wrote with Derrick Ferguson. It's ten bucks at Amazon.com.

James Bond Meets Cthulhu

2011-09-09T18:12:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago I used the phrase "James Bond meets Cthulhu" to describe a Dillon novel called Dillon and the Golden Bell, which is written by Derrick Ferguson. Garrison James kicks off his Pulp Magnet article on Dillon with my quote. You can check it out here.

The Lost Vale

2011-09-07T13:25:00.000-07:00

Author Mark Bousquet has posted a short interview with me on his blog. Mostly it discusses my latest weird west horror tale featuring Native American gunslinger, Lone Crow. Check out the interview here.

All Pulp Reviews Exiles of the Dire Planet

2011-08-25T05:59:00.000-07:00

All Pulp has posted a review of my novel, Exiles of the Dire Planet. Read the review at All Pulp and/or pick up a copy at PulpWork.com. Electronic versions are available at Barnes and Noble (Also, I notice that they've got the hard copy of Strange Gods of the Dire Planet for sale at just $9.32 at the moment!) and Amazon.

Strange Gods of the Book Cave

2011-08-05T20:58:00.000-07:00

Book Cave hosts Ric Croxton and Art Sippo interviewed me about Strange Gods of the Dire Planet (with a few tangents and digressions) for the 138th episode of the Book Cave. Listen to the PODcast here.

Until the 10th of August you can get a 20% discount on Strange Gods by punching in the code ZUEEWBQV when purchasing the book at the PulpWork Press website.

Joel Jenkins gets Pulped!

2011-08-02T06:56:00.000-07:00

I did a PODcast interview with the folks at Pulped! Here's the announcement below:

It's another release day episode as Derrick Ferguson and Tommy Hancock talk with Joel Jenkins, author of STRANGE GODS OF THE DIRE PLANET available today! Tune into hear what swords, women warriors, time travel, and Mars have to do with Joel predicting the Kindle before it existed!!

www.pulped.libsyn.com

Strange Gods Discount

2011-08-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

Purchase Me

As of today the fourth book of the Dire Planet series, Strange Gods of the Dire Planet is released. In conjunction with the Pulped! and Book Cave Podcasts, Pulpwork Press is continuing its pre-order sale and until August 10th anyone ordering a copy can get a 20% discount by punching in the discount code of ZUEEWBQV before completing the order. This discount is only available if you order the book through the Pulp Work Press website.

The Remnant Band Preview

2011-07-23T08:14:00.000-07:00

The Dark Worlds website has posted an excerpt from my latest short story, The Remnant Band. This is an all fantasy issue of Dark Worlds and has a great line-up of authors. (And it's not me that I'm talking about).

Dire Planet in the Bargain Basement

2011-07-22T06:23:00.000-07:00

As part of Amazon's Big Deal sale where they've got 900 ebooks on sale in the range of .99 to 3.99, they have marked Dire Planet down to $1.99. With the release of Strange Gods of the Dire Planet coming down the pike on August 1st, now might be a good time to pick up a Kindle copy of the first novel in the series.

The sale lasts through the 27th of July.

The Remnant Band

2011-07-19T07:31:00.000-07:00

Azark, the impetuous outlander hailing from the cliff-dwelling Arcasians, finds a clue to the whereabouts of the man who slew his father. His quest for vengeance sends him headlong into the tower fortress of Governor Icarod where he finds himself face to face with the remnant band--the surviving vestiges of the destroyed Assassins Guild.

The Remnant Band is a tale from the City of Bathos and picks up where my novel Through the Groaning Earth left off. You can find The Remnant Band and a host of other great stories by excellent authors in issue six of the Pulp-Ark Award nominated Dark Worlds.

Dark Worlds is available in hard copy format for $14.59, or you may want to pick up the bargain digital download for $4.99.

Strange Gods of the Dire Planet

2011-07-16T11:05:00.000-07:00

Purchase Me

At long last the fourth book of the Dire Planet series, Strange Gods of the Dire Planet, has a hard release date--August 1st. Yes, just two weeks away. Pre-order copies are available at the Pulp Work Press website. Until August 1st anyone ordering a copy can get a 20% discount by punching in the secret (at least it's a secret if you don't happen to be reading my blog or Facebook postings) discount code of ZUEEWBQV before completing the order. This discount is only available if you order the book through the Pulp Work Press website.

Two of a Kind

2011-07-07T06:24:00.000-07:00

You might not expect to see these two hanging out together in a London tea room, but how about in the California wilderness? Author, Joshua Reynolds, appears in the latest Lone Crow story, The Shadow Walkers. Read his comments about his role in The Shadow Walkers at Reynolds' Hunting Monsters Blog.

Showdown at Midnight

2011-07-05T08:32:00.000-07:00

A missing bag of gold, an encampment full of dead miners, two of the weird west's most infamous gunslingers, Lone Crow and Porter Rockwell, and a trio of murderers that is neither wholly dead nor wholly alive. Science Fiction Trails has just released their latest anthology, Showdown at Midnight, which has The Shadow Walkers--a story written by me--inside of its covers.

This book is available at Amazon, but if you order it direct from the Science Fiction Trails store and punch in the code 2BWNDXLZ when you're ordering you'll get a 20% discount on the purchase price.

Myth Hunter

2011-06-07T05:59:00.000-07:00

Below is a brief interview I conducted with Percival Constantine about his new book The Myth Hunter:

Q: The heroine of Myth Hunter is drawn in the vein of such artifact hunters as Indiana Jones and Lara Croft. What differentiates Elisa Hill from Croft and how did you put your own spin on the genre?

Percival: I think what differentiates Elisa from Lara is that she’s more developed as a character. In the Tomb Raider games, comics and movies, there was never that much development behind Lara—she was a thrill-seeker, pure and simple. And everything always seemed to come easy for her. With Elisa, you see her struggle a lot—she struggles not only in the physical and mental challenges she faces, but emotionally as well. She’s dealing with the specter of her past and her parents’ legacy hanging over her and how that drives her in the present.

Q: The genre you are working in has roots in the classic cliffhanger serials and pulp novels of the 1930's. What sort of inspirations did you draw from for Myth Hunter and how were you introduced to the pulp ethos?

Percival: My biggest source of inspiration for The Myth Hunter definitely comes from the Indiana Jones films. That was my first real introduction to pulp and I was raised on those films, so it’s no wonder I draw on them a lot. I also did a lot of research on various myths and legends, which I drew a lot from. The book focuses on the search for the lost continent of Lemuria and in the story, there’s mention of James Churchward and his book, Mu: The Motherhood of Man. Churchward was a real person and his book does exist—that hoax was the springboard of my theory. There’s also mention of the Yonaguni Monument, which is a real thing as well and is rumored to be relics from Lemuria/Mu.

Q: In the pages of Myth Hunter, Elisa battles against a mysterious and powerful sect known as The Order. Are there any parallels here between The Order and any actual or rumored conspiratorial groups and are you secretly a member of said group?

Percival: I could tell you if I’m part of a secret society, but then you’d suddenly end up a victim of a freak accident, so best if I keep quiet, haha. There are parallels between the Order and other rumored conspiratorial groups. I find conspiracy theories extremely fascinating fiction, so I do draw a little bit from them.

Q: Elisa's quest takes her to Japan. You've spent quite a bit of time in Japan, yourself. How did this help you in drawing the location and culture?

Percival: Actually, the only thing about Elisa’s time in Japan I’ve taken from my own experience is a very brief exchange the characters have in Japanese. While researching Lemuria, I discovered information about the Yonaguni Monument and did some more research on the island of Yonaguni and some of its culture. So while it may come as a surprise, the only thing related to Japan in the book which comes from firsthand experience is the language aspect.

Q: Though you live in an area that is not close in proximity, how have you seen the Fukushima nuclear melt down affect life in Japan?

Percival: I live quite far from Fukushima, so I haven’t seen anything firsthand. My area wasn’t affected by any blackouts or natural disasters or anything like that. The only thing that really affected us was the shock of the whole situation, just like everyone else in the world. I do have some friends who live further north and for them the situation was a bit more tense. But fortunately, no one I know suffered anything.

The Myth Hunter is available in hard copy for $11.95 at Amazon or pick up a Kindle edition for $2.99.

The Lost Vale Character Roster

2011-06-06T03:30:00.000-07:00

It's been pointed out that The Lost Vale, my short weird west tale that is included in the upcoming How the West was Weird Two anthology, has a fairly extensive character roster for a short story. I thought it might be interesting to gather photos of the cast so it would be a simple matter to keep the players straight.

The Good Guys: (top to bottom) Asuncion Ramirez, Doc Holliday, Lone Crow, Morgan Earp, Warren Earp

The bad guys: (top to bottom) Butch Cassidy, Jorje and Javier, Kid Curry, the Sundance Kid, The Tall Texan, William 'News' Carvey.

Granted, this cast is winnowed down considerably for the follow up tale, Gunmen of the Hollow Earth, which can be found in How the West was Weird: Campfire Tales. How do you get a copy of these stories? Just pre-order How the West was Weird Two and you get free shipping and a free PDF of Campfire Tales. Pre-order your copy here:

Campfire Tales Bonus Book

2011-06-04T07:38:00.000-07:00

On July 1, HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD VOL. 2 will be available to the whole wide world, through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords, and a host of other places, both offline and on. Twenty stories by some of the top names in New Pulp, mashing the western with horror, sci-fi, and fantasy - and all wrapped in a gorgeous new cover by Jim Rugg--and I happen to have written one of those stories; a delightful little tale that includes a couple of the Earp brothers, Doc Holliday, Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, the Wild Bunch and the taciturn Native American gunslinger known as Lone Crow.

The cool thing is that Pulpwork and Anderfam Press is offering this 368-page blockbuster for presale--and if you pick up a copy of How the West was Weird Two before the official release dates

you get with your pre-order:

The book, of course.
Free shipping.
A free bonus e-book: HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD: CAMPFIRE TALES. This e-book, available in just about any format you like, includes weird west stories by Josh Reynolds, Joel Jenkins, Derrick Ferguson, and Russ Anderson. These are stories that aren't included in either of the HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD books, and this is the only way you're going to get your hands on them. Here's the cover.

The story I wrote for Campfire Tales, Gunmen of the Hollow Earth, includes all the survivors of the story that I wrote for How the West was Weird Two, The Lost Vale, and picks right up where the first story leaves off.

HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD VOL. 2 is $14.99. To order, click the "Add to Cart" Paypal button below.

The Dark Worlds of Summer

2011-04-23T15:13:00.000-07:00

This summer, I've got a short story appearing in the all-fantasy issue of Dark Worlds magazine. The Remnant Band features Azark, the surly Arcasian warrior who appeared in my novel Through the Groaning Earth which was published last year by Pulp Work Press. In pursuit of a lovely stew sway, Azark finds himself in Governor Icarod's tower, and discovers the answer to the riddle of his father's murder. But a remnant band of assassins has gathered and Azark may not live long enough to exact his vengeance...

I'll pass on more information when I receive a firm publication date.

How the West was Weird Too

2011-04-20T06:09:00.000-07:00

Editor, Russell Anderson, has announced the line-up for the impending How the West Was Weird Vol. 2 anthology of strange tales from the wild, woolly, and extremely weird West. Fortunately, I've got a story in slot number four. It features Native American gunslinger, Lone Crow, Morgan and Warren Earp, Doc Holliday, Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, and just when you think it might be impossible to include any more awesomeness in one story it also includes a...

I better not say. That might be ruining the surprise.

Here's the spectacular line-up.

1. Desolation by Barry Reese
2. The Rag Doll Kid by David Boop
3. They Call Him Pat by Ian Taylor
4. The Lost Vale by Joel Jenkins
6. The Yellow Dog by Ron Fortier
6. Mr. Brass and the Devil's Teeth by Josh Reynolds
7. Thunder Pursued by Tom Deja
8. Walker on the Wind by Desmond Reddick
9. Velvet Scourge by Grahm Eberhardt
10. The Demon Wrestler by Dale Glaser
11. Werewolf of Bent Elbow by Tracy Evans
12. Unhallowed Ground by Stacy Dooks
13. Train Comes a-Burnin' by Mark Bousquet
14. Testimony of Constable Fraser by Kevin Thornton
15. Raid at Razorfang Ranch by David Golightly
16. Witch Hole by Matthew Mayo
17. West of Fort Smith by Tommy Hancock
18. Beast of the Black Hills by Tony Wilson
19. Storms of Blood and Snow by Derrick Ferguson
20. Terror in Toyland by Mike McGee

Sly Gantlet and Dillon Meet

2011-04-15T08:30:00.000-07:00

Author Derrick Ferguson discusses the first meeting of rock star and erstwhile mercenary, Sly Gantlet, and world-wide adventurer Dillon at his Dillon blog. The story that details this fateful encounter is called Dead Beat in La Esca and will be appearing this year in Four Bullet for Dillon which will be released by PulpWork Press.

Ferguson even likens Dillon and Sly Gantlet to Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. Check out his comments here.

Pulp-Ark Spotlight

2011-02-21T07:17:00.000-08:00

Tommy Hancock, the mastermind behind the Pulp-Ark awards, conducted a brief interview with me last week in regards to my nomination for the best author category of the Pulp-Ark awards. He has posted the results on the Pulp Machine website for anyone who would like to take a look.

Pulp Ark Nomination

2011-02-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

I recently received the happy news that I was nominated for the category of Best Writer for the 2011 Pulp Ark Awards. This news was even better because it came as a complete surprise. I had no idea that I was even in the running. Though, considering the stiff competition (including fellow Pulpwork Press author, the illustrious Derrick Ferguson), I don't have any illusions about actually nabbing the top prize I'm just going to enjoy the fact that I was even nominated.

Barclay Salvage is Back in Action

2011-01-10T07:19:00.000-08:00

Aaron Barclay and his intrepid crew of interstellar salvagers come across an empty freighter being sucked into the orbit of poisonous planet. What they discover leads them to a secret prison station that has been wiped out by a deadly plague...

Find this 15,000 word story in the pages of Startling Adventure #2, which is now available on Amazon!

The Artificial Woman, which appears in Startling Adventures, is my second crack at a Barclay Salvage space opera and I had a lot of fun returning to the characters (and adding in a few new ones). This story takes place prior my first Barclay Salvage Story, The Investment, which appears in the first issue of Dark Worlds magazine.

I've had a publisher request another Barclay Salvage story for an anthology, so I hope to be getting to work on that one soon!

Dire News

2010-12-11T08:12:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I finished writing Lost Tribes of the Dire Planet and it now stands at 128,000 words of pure pulp sword and science fiction. This books ran somewhat longer than the other Dire Planet novels as I had a multitude of plot threads and story lines which needed some resolution.

Between Strange Gods of the Dire Planet and Lost Tribes of the Dire Planet I've been living on the Dire Planet for over a year. Now the hard work begins--the brutal editing and revision process. Because the two novels are closely knit together I'll be editing them consecutively before submitting them to Pulpwork Press--after which they will undergo yet further editing.

Strange Gods is slated for a 2011 release and Lost Tribes of the Dire Planet for a 2012 release. Of course, the first three Dire Planet books are available at PulpWork.com, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.

The Sea Witch Visits the Book Cave

2010-11-25T11:55:00.000-08:00

The other day I spent some time with Ric Croxton and Art Sippo of the Book Cave chatting about my latest novel, The Sea Witch. Find out the inside scoop and discover just which famous actor was my visual and attitude model for the character Seth Armstrong. Check out The Book Cave podcast by clicking here!

Also, feel free to pick up a copy of The Sea Witch at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or direct from the PulpWork Press website.

Lost Tribes of the Dire Planet

2010-11-04T07:09:00.000-07:00

I'm currently 104,000 words deep and in the midst of wrapping up multitudes of plotlines for book five of the Dire Planet series.

"Book Five?" you say. "Your publisher hasn't even released book four--Strange Gods of the Dire Planet--yet!"

That's right. This whole publishing racket takes time. Look for Strange Gods in 2011 and Lost Tribes in 2012.

Blood Vault Art

2010-11-03T07:09:00.000-07:00

Artist Noel Tuazon has posted a few of his awesome black and white illustrations for the Blood Vault at his blog Ribs Inc. This includes one never before seen illustration that wasn't used for the final print product because it was just a bit too graphic. My publisher realizes I've got impressionable youth reading my stories...

Dracula Lives

2010-10-28T06:54:00.000-07:00

Just in time for Halloween, Pulpwork Press has released Dracula Lives by Joshua Reynolds. There are currently two reviews of this horror extravaganza available for your perusal: The first at Percival Constantine's Blog and the second at a website its owners quaintly refer to as Hellnotes. Dracula Lives is now available on Amazon.

Sea Witch Review

2010-10-25T12:54:00.000-07:00

Percival Constantine is the first reviewer out of the gate and has posted a review of my latest book, The Sea Witch, at his blog.

Through the Groaning Book Cave

2010-10-08T19:46:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I spent some time being interviewed by the indubitably well read Dr. Art Sippo and Ric Croxton for the Book Cave PODcast which is now available. We talk about my dark fantasy novel, Through the Groaning Earth and its predecessor, Escape from Devil's Head. Give it a listen and if you like what you hear pick up a copy of Through the Groaning Earth at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or on Kindle.

Six-Guns

2010-10-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

My latest story about Lone Crow, the famous Native American gunfighter, has been published in the Six-Guns Straight from Hell anthology which is now available on Amazon. There's one review up and it's favorable--even singling out my story (in a good way).

All Pulp Interviews Me

2010-10-01T05:43:00.000-07:00

To mark the release of my new novel, The Sea Witch, the All Pulp website interviewed me about all the sordid details. Give it a read!

28% Discount

2010-09-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

It just came to my attention that Barnes and Noble has my books The Sea Witch, and Through the Groaning Earth on sale for a 28% discount. That means that the Sea Witch is $7.88 and Through the Groaning Earth is $8.60. If you've been waiting for a good deal to pick them up now might be the time.

The Groaning Earth in Digital

2010-09-16T05:45:00.000-07:00

Fictionwise, a website that traffics in electronic versions of literature, regularly has Through the Groaning Earth listed at $2.99, which I--egotistically--think is a pretty good value. However, since it's a new release they currently have it listed at just $2.54.

An unnatural storm arises with great fury and breaks the spine of a foreign warship upon the reefs of Bathos, casting the few survivors into the merciless machinery of the City of Corruption; A silver mine haunted by the vengeful dead; An Assassins Guild that will stop at nothing to slay one that was formerly their own--the woman known as the 'siren of slaughter'; a perilous journey through the bowels of a mountain where lurk the half-breed children of man and demon. Welcome to the City of Bathos!

Available eBook Formats [MultiFormat - What's this?]: eReader (PDB) [356 KB] , ePub (EPUB) [305 KB] , Rocket/REB1100 (RB) [308 KB] , Portable Document Format (PDF) [932 KB] , Palm Doc (PDB) [356 KB] , Microsoft Reader (LIT) [352 KB] , Franklin eBookMan (FUB) [342 KB] , hiebook (KML) [772 KB] , Sony Reader (LRF) [382 KB] , iSilo (PDB) [291 KB] , Mobipocket (PRC) [365 KB] , Kindle Compatible (MOBI) [438 KB] , OEBFF Format (IMP) [473 KB]
Words: 109559
Reading time: 313-438 min.
Microsoft Reader (LIT) Format: Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud ENABLED
Portable Document Format (PDF) Format: Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud ENABLED
All Other formats: Printing DISABLED, Read-aloud DISABLED
ISBN: 97814505005116

The Sea Witch on Sale

2010-09-15T06:44:00.000-07:00

When Olympic fencer Max Damage inherits the family business, Damage Inc, he finds messy bookkeeping and a number of mysterious projects, and when a long-legged Russian woman breaks into the offices late one night he finds himself the target of the president of Murmykia--the self styled chess-master and ruler of a splintered Russian state. As the pile of dead bodies and the mysteries grow deeper, Max fights to unravel the tangled skein of his own shadowed past until he comes face to face with his own twisted alter ego.

The Sea Witch is slated for general release at the end of September, but you can pre-order a copy at http://www.pulpworkpress.com and get free shipping.

Through the Groaning Kindle

2010-09-14T06:13:00.000-07:00

My dark fantasy novel, Through the Groaning Earth is now available for the Kindle and for only $2.99. If you've got a Kindle pick up a copy of Through the Groaning Earth at Amazon !

Nook Review

2010-09-09T16:24:00.000-07:00

In the year 2000, in writing Dire Planet, I envisioned a 'Clip Pad' device created by NASA technology which enabled marooned astronaut Garvey Dire to store a library of thousands of books and movies. Ten years later the general public has access to the 'Ipad' which can do just that.

Though I easily imagine cutting edge technology it some times take me longer to adopt it. Being slightly behind the technological curve gives one the advantage of a lower price and an opportunity for the bugs to be worked out. For a long time I've been resisting the purchase of an electronic reader, but the falling prices of ereaders finally lured me in and I purchased a Nook from Barnes and Noble. Instead of a long-winded examination of the product I'll list some pros and cons and then make a summation.

Pros:
Good size for reading and portability
Capable of reading the standard Epub files and PDF files.
Lots of free public domain Epub and PDF files available for reading.
Barnes and Nobles offers a listing of free classic book downloads every Friday- more good books than you can possibly read in a week.
You can load up your music collection (MP3) and listen via a tiny speaker or headphones
Upgradable from 8 Gigabytes to 40 gigabytes by adding a 32 gb chip which you can get for $25 on Amazon.
Low eyestrain
Long battery life
You can fit hundreds or even thousands of books on your Nook and carry them with you.
The Nook has a small touch screen at the bottom
If you accidentally wipe out your memory you can redownload your books from Barnes and Noble at any time.
It handles black and white illustrations quite well.
It's the right size. It's easy to lounge about and read your Nook just as if you were reading a book.

Cons:
Speed of navigation: It takes time to switch between books or to find specific passages. A search function helps, but is very slow and not always effective. I've got scriptures on my Nook and it is time consuming to look up a specific passage. The Nook is not designed for any casual or serious scriptorian--only for lateral reading.
If the power goes out for three or four days the Nook will be useless
It requires a light source to read. The Nook is not backlit.
Color illustrations are sometimes translated into black and white quite well, but other times they confuse the Nook and end up looking like fuzz.
The formating on the PDF files sometimes comes out odd depending upon the size of font you choose.
Not good for visual books like graphic novels

All in all I'm quite pleased with the Nook. I've got hundreds of books loaded onto it and most were public domain and cost me nothing. There are also a number of publishers that offer very reasonable prices on their books. Largely the way I choose between hard copy and digital copy is economics. If I can purchase an electronic copy for less than half the price of a hard copy I'll go with the electronic copy.

However, the Nook is not all that I hoped. I had anticipated being able to cruise from scripture to scripture at least as fast as I could manage with paper scriptures. This was not the case. It has molasses-like navigation functions. Despite this I find the Nook a useful gadget that I'll be able to get lots of use out of--just not as much use as I was hoping.

The other day I went out of town and I took my Ipod in case I wanted to watch an old episode of Star Trek, my Nook for reading, and a AlphaSmart so I could do some writing. I realized that one compact gadget that could do all three of these things would be preferable. Turns out that Samsung's already got something on the way that's more compact than the I-Pad but has a larger screen than the Ipod touch.

The future is not this particular Nook, but barring nuclear war, it is inescapable that more and more people will be doing their reading on electronic devices. Those devices will change and evolve and each person will settle with something that fits their pocket book, their need, and their desires. The idea of a handheld gadget that does only one thing is already outdated--and there is some room for improvement on the one thing that the Nook is designed for: reading books.

Oh, there's one development that I predicted in Dire Planet which still hasn't come to pass: the 'Clip Pad' was rechargeable with solar energy. An astronaut stranded on Mars doesn't always an electrical outlet handy. Once Apple comes out with an Ipad that you don't have to plug in to keep charged up they'll really have something.

The Expendables

2010-09-08T16:19:00.000-07:00

Derrick Ferguson has a review for the movie The Expendables posted at the PulpWork Press website.

Long Night in Little China

2010-09-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was finally able to deliver on a promised Lone Crow Story, Against the Gathering Darkness, which is now available in Dark Worlds magazine #5.

It seems that Lone Crow isn't through with his adventures yet, though. An upcoming anthology, Six Guns Straight from Hell, has decided to pick up the Lone Crow story, Long Night in Little China. This story finds Lone Crow in gold rush San Francisco, at odds with the tongs that rule Little China and hold a lot of sway in the rest of the criminal-ridden city.

It will be a long stretch before Long Night in Little China sees print, so in the meantime get your fix of weird western by reading Against the Gathering Darkness.

Lone Crow & Wyatt Earp

2010-09-06T20:07:00.000-07:00

I know I teased this story, Against the Gathering Darkness, a long, long time ago but sometimes that's how long it takes to get a story published. But it's finally here! Famous native American gunslinger Lone Crow and another guy named Wyatt Earp join forces to look for a lost archeologist up north of Skagway Alaska and discover a little more than they bargained for lurking at the bottom of a played out mine. This sucker is about 12,000 words long--room enough for some heavy-duty storytelling and an action-packed ending--and you can read it in Dark Worlds #5. If you've got an electronic reader that can handle (PDF) Portable Document Files or you don't mind reading on your computer you can save a bundle by picking up the $3.99 download.

However, some might be tempted to pick up the hard copy just because of the awesome M.D. Jackson cover. But besides the cool cover you're going to get the following line up of nifty pulp-style stories:

"Of Kings and Servants" by C.J. Burch (Sword and Sorcery)

The Hook by J.F. Gonzalez (Horror)

The Black Grave of Deception by Peter Welmerink (Sword and Sorcery)

Body of Work (A Mythos Horror 'Book Collector' story)

The Cryo Game by Jack Mackenzie (Space Adventure)

Black Destiny of Ys by David A. Hardy (Historical Fantasy)

Against the Gathering Darkness by Joel Jenkins (Historical Western Horror/Adventure)

An Interview with C. J. Burch: A Chuck the Barbarian Cartoon

The Soundtrack to Your Life

2010-07-31T13:06:00.000-07:00

Finding snippets of music and song that have taken on a meaning in your life or recall some event or place in time has become much easier with the advent of Itunes. In a few minutes I can download a particular Led Zeppelin song and Ted Nugent's 'Stranglehold' and remember driving home late one hot summer night twenty years ago.

Other songs are not so easily recovered, but are perhaps more meaningful to me since I helped create them. 'Blood Adonis' from the band Dreamer's Eye is forever lost as is 'Shotgun' from Count Zero. Maybe there's a poor quality recording of these in a box lost in a former bandmate's garage...but probably not. These songs exist only in my memories and in the memories of a few others.

However, some songs have been recorded and saved. I found a couple of master tapes from the band Static Condition and through the technical expertise of Flow Motion Media I now have newly digitized version of Chemical Corruption , Maddas, Rollin' On, and Satan Dog.

What do these songs mean? Well, they have different meanings to the writer and to the listener--but for me, beyond my initial intended meaning, they are an audio snapshot of the energy, excitement, and even the budding disillusionment of my lost youth.

The Savage Bathos Primer

2010-07-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

For those of you not familiar with the City of Bathos, the background--and it should be said, truly the main character--for my novels Escape from Devil's Head and Through the Groaning Earth there happens to be a handy primer available at SavageBathos.com.

The State of Fantasy Fiction and Through the Groaning Earth

2010-07-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

Derrick Ferguson, author of the most excellent Dillon series (Dillon and the Legend of the Golden Bell, and Dillon and the Voice of Odin) has written an essay about my novel Through the Groaning Earth which, among other things, discusses the state of modern fantasy fiction.

Check it out at Derrick Ferguson's Notebook.

Coming Attractions

2010-07-28T08:04:00.000-07:00

Through the Groaning Earth is now blurbed at the Coming Attractions website. This website specializes in previewing products that feature pulp characters from the pulp magazines of the thirties and forties or publications that are written in a style characteristic of the pulps of that era.

What, you might ask, qualifies as pulp-style? Ask any number of pulp-aficionados and you might receive any number of different answers, but they will all probably agree that the pulps were known for their fast-paced storyline that included plenty of action.

Does Through the Groaning Earth have plenty of fast-paced action? You better believe it. It's also got plenty of paranoia, intrigue, and characters you'd never want to meet in a dark alley--or anywhere else, for that matter.

Copies of Through the Groaning Earth are available at Amazon or cruise over the the Pulpwork Press website and if you order quickly enough you might be able to pick up a free copy of the prequel, Escape from Devil's Head. The free copy of Escape from Devil's Head is largely unadvertised and is only good until supplies run out.

The City in Darkness

2010-07-26T06:42:00.000-07:00

In discussing my new book, Through the Groaning Earth, author Joshua Reynolds gives an interesting treatise on The City in Darkness and its place in fantasy. I only wish I would have had this treatise earlier. I think it would have made a great introduction to Through the Groaning Earth. Maybe if I ever get around to writing a third novel set in the City of Bathos...

Aaar! A Mistake.

2010-07-23T05:04:00.000-07:00

Typos, grammatical errors--they're the author's worst enemy. Recently, a grammatical error slipped through on the back book cover of a handful of proof copies for my newest children's book (for children of all ages, naturally) Pirates of Mirror Land.

If you can spot the plural possessive problem on the back cover shoot me an email at joel dot jenkins at gmail dot com (just convert the dots and at to form a proper email address), and I'll award your grammatical prowess by sending you a free copy of the problematic pirate book.

Summer of Fun Cowboy Contest

2010-07-21T16:37:00.000-07:00

Derrick Ferguson, fellow Pulp Work Press author and co-host for the Better in the Dark movie review Podcast posted this information about the Summer O'Fun Cowboy contest that Better in the Dark is sponsoring:

How to enter the Summer of Fun Cowboy Contest-

First of all, go on over to the BETTER IN THE DARK MESSAGE BOARD. Then what you’re gonna do is write a 1000 word essay on your favorite western movie or TV show. Or if you’re in a more creative mood, a 1000 word weird western story. Please, no 30-page epics, okay? There’s a Summer O’Fun Cowboy Contest thread on the message board for you to post your entries. That’s why you’ve gotta sign up, okay?

Affiliates of PulpWork Press and Earth-2.net are not eligible.

So what do you get if you win? Thought you’d never ask. The Prize Package contains:

GRIMJACK OMNIBUS #1: The original GrimJack stories by creators John Ostrander and Timothy Truman gathered together in one kick-ass 400 page volume. Collected are stories from ‘Starslayer’ #10-#17 and ‘GrimJack’ issues #1-#13 as originally published by First Comics between 1983-1985.

But wait! There's more!

You also get an autographed copy Derrick Ferguson's first novel, DILLON AND THE VOICE OF ODIN

And Moly Hoses! There's STILL more!!!

You’ll also get a copy of HOW THE WEIRD WAS WEIRD, an anthology of weird western stories edited by Russ Anderson and written by Joel Jenkins, Barry Reese, Mike McGee, Joshua Reynolds, Ian Taylor, Ian Mileham, Chris Munn, Bill Kte’pi and others.

But wait! Believe it or not there’s still more…

You’ll also get a copy of the ultra rare, ultra hard to find FRONTIER PUBLISHING PRESENTS #1 which features among other things “Dillon And The Escape From Tosegio” the legendary 10 page comic book story illustrated by Alex Kosakowski and scripted by Russ Anderson. Also in FPP#1 is “The Skiff” a story by the co-creators of The World’s Most Awesome Comics Magazine: EL GORGO! That’s right, we’re talkin’ about Mike McGee and Tamas Jakab and if you’ve been diggin’ EL GORGO! There here’s your chance to get your hands on one of their earliest masterworks.

Any winning weird west short story entry will be forwarded to the attention of editor Russ Anderson who compiled the PulpWork Press anthology How the West was Weird.

WHEW!

Now if that ain’t enough to get you crackin’ then I dunno what will. Get busy writing those essays and stories and get ‘em in, pronto. The deadline for the contest is August 31, 2010.

Buy One Get the Prequel Free!

2010-07-10T15:57:00.000-07:00

Through the Groaning Earth is slated for release the 30th of July, however if you're the kind of person who likes to get a head start on things or the antithesis of a procrastinator there are a couple of ways you can beat the release date.

I did a quick search at Amazon and it looks like Through the Groaning Earth is already posted for sale. I personally have no problem with anyone who is sneaky enough to order it before the release date.

Or for those who live by the maxim 'The early bird gets the worm' and don't like to make their purchases through massive internet conglomerates cruise on over to the Pulp Work Press website and purchase Through the Groaning Earth. Do it now, though, because the first NINE purchasers not only receive a copy of Through the Groaning Earth but they receive a free copy of Escape from Devil's Head which is the prequel to Through the Groaning Earth.

Now that you've been informed of this secret bit of insider information you're probably saying to yourself, 'sounds like a great deal' but what is Through the Groaning Earth about?

I'm glad you asked. Here's the cover blurb:

An unnatural storm arises with great fury and breaks the spine of a foreign warship upon the reefs of Bathos, casting the few survivors into the merciless machinery of the City of Corruption; A silver mine haunted by the vengeful dead; An Assassins Guild that will stop at nothing to slay one that was formerly their own--the woman known as the 'siren of slaughter'; a perilous journey through the bowels of a mountain where lurk the half-breed children of man and demon. Welcome to the City of Bathos!

You can check out a preview of the first chapter right here.

The Nuclear Kindle

2010-07-10T15:39:00.000-07:00

The Nuclear Suitcase is now available on Amazon.com for Kindle download. It's only $2.99 and I get nearly as much royalty on a sale as if you bought a hard copy at four times the price!

The Nuclear Suitcase is my love letter to the 1980's. It's got cold war warriors, guns, guitars, pop starlets, and heavy metal icons. If you've got a Kindle please pick up a copy!

Breaking the Silence

2010-07-10T06:15:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted, but don't take my silence as meaning I've got nothing to say. I've got a lot to talk about...really. It just seems that I've been too busy to do much talking.

I've got a review of the Barnes and Noble E-Reader, the Nook, which I'd like to share. A contest for free copies of The Pirates of Mirror Land, an announcement about a Better in the Dark Podcast Weird West Fiction or Essay Contest, a pre-order give away for my new novel Through the Groaning Earth, more Dire Planet compendium entries, and even an announcement about The Nuclear Suitcase. And for a sneak peek into my wasted youth, I've even got newly digitized song versions of my old band Static Condition which I'd like to share.

I'll get to all these just as soon as I can!

The Dire Book Cave

2010-06-21T15:09:00.000-07:00

Ric Croxton of The Book Cave Podcast interviewed me the other day, at length, about the Dire Planet trilogy and pumped me for information about upcoming Dire Planet novels. You can listen the interview here.

Dire Planet Compendium #7: The Hilt has Turned

2010-06-12T18:03:00.000-07:00

Many Martian tribes play a game called mupleg in which opponents stand across from a sword on a spindle, which is attached to a variety of ropes wound around that spindle. The opponents pull at the ropes attempting to turn the hilt in their direction and halt the spinning so that they can leap forward and grab the sword. Unlike the Muvari tribe, who plays with a dull edged or a wooden sword, the galbran play the game with a real sword and the spinning edge can sever finger and limb if a player is unfortunate. A player is considered to have the advantage if the hilt is turned in his direction and from thus springs the phrase 'the hilt has turned'.

Copyright 2010 by Joel Jenkins. All Rights Reserved.

Pick up the Dire Planet books at Amazon or PulpWork Press.

Dillon and the Pulp Fiction Review

2010-06-10T07:22:00.000-07:00

Scoot on over to the Pulp Fiction Review site and read Mr. Ron Fortier's Review of Derrick Ferguson's Dillon and the Legend of the Golden Bell from Pulpwork Press. Mr. Fortier seems to like it.

Dark Worlds Five

2010-05-29T11:34:00.000-07:00

Here's the cover of Dark Worlds #5 with another awesome M.D. Jackson cover. This will be coming at you this summer chock full o' cool stories.

One of those cool stories will be Against the Gathering Darkness, recounting the story where famed Native American gunslinger Lone Crow meets up with Wyatt Earp in Alaska while searching for a missing archeologist doing field work for Miskatonic University.

I've had one previous Lone Crow story published in How the West was Weird. If you haven't picked up a copy of that you can grab one here.

Dire News for the Dire Planet

2010-05-26T06:48:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when a writer gets caught in the muddle and muck of battling through the writing process strange things happen. In this case the strange thing results in both good news and bad news for fans of the Dire Planet tales.

I was hoping that the latest (fourth in the series) Dire Planet, which I tentatively titled Lost Tribes of the Dire Planet, would see print by the end of this year. However, it will not see print this year, but has been rescheduled for 2011. Also, the name of the novel has been retitled to Strange Gods of the Dire Planet.

The good news is that hot on the heels of Strange Gods of the Dire Planet will be a fifth Dire Planet novel entitled Lost Tribes of the Dire Planet. This is projected for release in 2012.

How far along are these projects, you might ask? I've finished the first draft of Strange Gods of the Dire Planet and am about 20,000 words (approximately 1/5 of the way) into Lost Tribes of the Dire Planet.

Beyond 2012 I'm not making any promises or predictions. However, I can see the possibility of a sixth (and maybe final) Dire Planet novel: Immortals of the Dire Planet.

Devil Take the Kindle

2010-05-24T08:39:00.001-07:00

My hard-boiled horror thriller, Devil Take the Hindmost, is now available on Kindle for less than a buck! If you've got a Kindle pick up a digital copy now. Heck, at that price even if you don't have a Kindle you may want to pick up a copy.

The Secret Life of Love and Bullets

2010-05-21T06:12:00.000-07:00

By now, perhaps, you've heard about the latest PulpWork Press release, Love and Bullets. Maybe you haven't heard about its secret origins. Before it became a full length prose novel it was originally developed as a comic book entitled Code Name: Black Widow, and I've prevailed upon author Percival Constantine to share some of that artwork with me and also a copy of that original comic book script, which you can download here.

Dire Kindle

2010-05-17T05:57:00.000-07:00

Dire Planet and Exiles of the Dire Planet are now available on Kindle at the amazing prices of only 99 measly cents for Dire Planet and $1.99 for Exiles. Download them at Amazon.com.

Dire Planet Compendium #6: The Wings of Mars

2010-05-11T05:53:00.000-07:00

The wings used by the Martian Tribes are constructed from hollow wooden tubes stretched tightly with elastic fungal membranes harvested from dank caverns beneath Mars which grow thick with stuff. They are sometimes stretched with arshen skin, which is actually preferable to the fungal membranes--but harvesting arshen skin is a difficult task. The framework for these wings are generally constructed from a bamboo-like species of wood, called Gejassoas, the cane of which is sealed with arshen pitch. The Gejassoas wood is hollow and very strong. Though it is the reduced gravity of Mars that makes flight possible, the buoyancy of the flyer is often increased by pumping these pitch-sealed tubes with a buoyant gas.

The Galbran Tribes are known to stud the edges of their wings with razors. When they attack their foes they swoop low and slice them down with the edges of their wings. This tactic hasn't widely been adopted by other tribes, since the maneuver is nigh on suicidal. If the wings become entangled or the momentum of the flyer is abruptly halted it usually means injury or death for the galbran strapped into the wings.

Mothers Day Madness

2010-05-03T06:39:00.000-07:00

This weekend at the Toronto Comics Art Festival artist Noel Tuazon will be on hand to premiere two new book projects which he and myself (Joel Jenkins) were involved with.

The first is a promotional chapbook, The Blood Vault, which contains the fully-illustrated short story which was the precursor to my novel, Devil Take the Hindmost. This story features Damon St. Cloud as he hunts down a missing congressional intern and uncovers an unholy alliance of the undead and politics (really a natural mix, when you think about it). There will be a limited number of copies available, but these will be free at Noel's table.

Also, you'll find copies of The Pirates of Mirror Land--which is my debut in the field of children's literature. At night the stuffed animals in Chase and Destiny's bedroom come to life and Imo, the gopher, and Floppy, the bunny, chase an errant hamster into the lost realm of Mirror Land in an effort to find her. Noel did a fantastic job on the illustrations and he'll have copies of hand in Toronto.

So what if you aren't in the neighborhood of Toronto this coming weekend? Well, it so happens that Amazon has jumped the gun and Pirates of Mirror Land and The Blood Vault chapbook (which also contains sample chapters of other novels) are available via their website. If you order now, just perhaps, you'll be able to get your hands on these books by Mothers Day.

How the West was Weird and Lone Crow

2010-04-19T06:29:00.000-07:00

How the West was Weird gets reviewed over at Pulp Fiction Reviews. Swing on over and check out Ron Fortier's critique...

And in response to Mr. Fortier's question, it does look as though there will be further adventures of Lone Crow seeing print. It appears that a Lone Crow story (with Wyatt Earp) will be showing up in the next issue of Dark Worlds. I'll keep you apprised when I have further information.

In the meantime, copies of How the West was Weird are available at Pulpwork Press or Amazon.

Countess Oblivion

2010-04-17T20:43:00.000-07:00

Josh Reynolds serialized tale, Countess Oblivion, is off to an intriguing start. It stars a version of the ubiquitous Countess Felluci.

Check out the first chapter.

Dire Planet Compendium #5: Arshen

2010-04-12T05:28:00.000-07:00

The arshen is a large slug-like creature which dwells in subterranean pits. They exude a thick pitch-like substance which the Martian Tribes use to waterproof clothing, boats, and wings. The skin of a slain arshen is difficult to remove, but is semi-translucent and naturally waterproof. It is used for tent, tarpaulin, clothing and for covering the gejassoas frames that form the wings that so many tribes use for travel. The arshen seem ponderous and placid, but they have an unpredictable temperament that makes them dangerous. They can move more quickly than most imagine and they are capable of swallowing large animals or humans whole, and their corrosive gastric juices quickly break down their meals.

Copyright 2010 by Joel Jenkins. All Rights Reserved.

Pick up the Dire Planet books at Amazon or PulpWork Press.

Dire Planet Compendium #4: The Rotteliver

2010-04-03T06:59:00.000-07:00

The humble rotteliver is a Martian insect pest with twelve legs and a hard carapace that makes it notoriously difficult to kill. These like to invade grain stores and supplies, tainting them and making them unfit for consumption. This gives rise to the comparisons, "as tenacious as a rotteliver" or "as resilient as rotteliver."

Certain species of these insects are omnivorous and will eat carrion or flesh. In fact, some healing shamans use them to treat infections, by setting the rottelivers in the wound and letting them eat the infected and necrotic flesh.

However, this treatment is best performed only by skilled shamans as there are some species of rotteliver that have a taste for living flesh just as well as dead flesh and are not so selective about what they eat. There are reports of entire scouting parties that have been devoured by rottelivers after they had the misfortune of stumbling into a colony.

Copyright 2010 by Joel Jenkins. All Rights Reserved.

Pick up the Dire Planet books at Amazon or PulpWork Press.

I Go Spelunking

2010-03-26T06:38:00.001-07:00

I'm appearing on a recent episode of The Book Cave with hosts Ric and Art. I discuss my book The Nuclear Suitcase, The Gantlet Brothers, and they track down a Gantlet story from ten years ago and expose a continuity error on my part. Good Fun!

Also we discuss upcoming projects and book releases. Check out the Book Cave PodCast here.

Dire Planet Compendium: Geltar & The Geltar Whip

2010-03-24T06:03:00.000-07:00

The geltar is a cold-blooded, scaled creature which is sometimes domesticated for use as a beast of burden. They are thick-skinned, slow-witted, but incredibly strong and sometimes incredibly stubborn. The geltar whip is braided with diamond chips that can lacerate even the thick hide of the geltar, and is a most effective tool in making the geltar more submissive. They are slow to anger, but there are more than a few tales of a "geltar pushed too far" which has turned on its master and made a meal of her.

The geltar are used among the steltic ice mines of the Rathuri Tribe and also as beasts of burden among the agricultural tribe of the Fejuvisi. Geltars are not commonly used among the Muvari Tribe.

Copyright 2010 by Joel Jenkins. All Rights Reserved.

Pick up the Dire Planet books at Amazon or PulpWork Press.

Scorpions Throw Down the Gantlet

2010-03-19T06:08:00.000-07:00

On March 23rd the Teutonic rockers, The Scorpions, throw down a new (and reportedly their final) album, Sting in the Tail, which my sources tell me includes a tribute to Slatko 'Sly' Gantlet. Indeed, a perusal of the Scorpions official website confirms that track number 10 is entitled Sly.

Though the Scorpions and the Gantlet Brothers were initially from opposite sides of the wall--The Gantlet Brothers escaping over the Berlin Wall in 1982--they considered each other as fellow Germans, double-billed a number of shows, and even celebrated the fall of the Berlin wall together. Though former Scorpion drummer Herman 'the German' Rarebell and drummer Mitz Gantlet were said to have a few moments of friction on their tour, these were invariably ironed out the next day.

Anyway, it's very cool to see The Scorpions honoring their lost brother. Of course, you can read further about the life and adventures of Sly Gantlet in my book The Nuclear Suitcase which is available at PulpworkPress and Amazon.

The Last Sudden Silence

2010-03-15T06:52:00.000-07:00

I enjoy author Josh Reynold's work, but there are a couple of his characters that I particularly enjoy reading stories about. One is his masked ambassador, Ulrich Popoca, and the other is Mr. Brass who is the remnants of a human brain in a clockwork body.

So, good news for me--a new Mr. Brass story has been released through A Thousand Faces magazine. The Last Sudden Silence is the case of a missing girl, the Parisian sewer system, and Frankenstein and the Phantom of the Opera even show up. Good stuff and you can read it at the Thousand Faces website.

For Whom the Bell Tolls

2010-03-13T05:54:00.000-08:00

Derrick Ferguson visits the Book Cave for an in-depth interview about the creative process behind Dillon and the Legend of the Golden Bell. Also, find out why he regrets mentioning the Gantlet Brothers and Damage Inc in the pages of that book.

The Gantlet Brothers are, of course, the main focus of my book, The Nuclear Suitcase, and erstwhile guns and guitars for hire. You may not be familiar with Damage Inc unless you were former followers of Electronic Tales, when a pair of my Damage Inc stories were serialized on that website and via their email service. However, you will be hearing more from Max Damage and his companions in adventure, Minnie Zhinov, and Seth Armstrong when Pulpwork Press releases the novel, The Sea Witch, later this year.

For the record, I think it's great that the Gantlet Brothers and Damage Inc make a brief appearance in the ink of The Golden Bell.

The Book Cave Gets Weird

2010-03-10T06:25:00.000-08:00

On episode 64 of The Book Cave, hosts Shayne and Ric speak with the wonderfully weird Russ Anderson, editor of How the West was Weird, the devilishly handsome Joshua Reynolds (he pays a small stipend each time someone addresses him that way), and the brilliantly deranged Barry Reese about how How the West was Weird came into being.

Also, in searching out the likenesses of these estimable gentleman I have discovered some unlikely alter egos. It seems that Russ Anderson is also the Lead Singer of a band called The Forbidden (yes, that's him in the middle), Josh Reynolds is also a skater of some renown, and Barry Reese is a notorious rapper. These folks lead interesting and varied lives--and are apparently, also, masters of disguise!

Reviewing the Weird West

2010-03-08T05:08:00.000-08:00

Mike Exner continues his review of How the West was Weird, click here to read part three.

If you haven't already, you can pick up a copy of How the West was Weird at Pulpwork Press or Amazon.

Dire Planet Compendium: A Skelk in the Cake

2010-03-06T07:29:00.000-08:00

The skelk is the Martian equivalent of a rat, and it is particularly agile and nimble because of its six legs. These pesky rodents are often found in unlikely and unwanted places and the phrase 'a skelk in the cake' is likely derived from one or more situations where a skelk was actually found in the cake. This expression, however, has developed to signify any number of unwelcome or inopportune events, much in the same way that an inhabitant of Earth might say that someone has 'thrown a wrench in the works'.

Fistful of Devils

2010-03-04T06:12:00.000-08:00

Mosey on over to author Joshua Reynolds' blog and ponder his ruminations on the Weird Western genre and for a bonus short, short story.

When you're done with that you might be interested in checking out Mike Exner's blog for his second part of the How the West was Weird review.

Diablo Canyon

2010-03-03T04:00:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Diablo Canyon, Arizona. Two hundred and fifty-five feet deep and blistering hot. During the summer of 1881 the Pacific and Atlantic Railroads ran out of financing and the rail crews holed up at Two Gun, a small town about 2 1/2 miles away, waiting for work to resume.

Two Gun was a shack town with two lines of buildings facing each other on the way to the yellow-painted depot, and it was full of too many people with too much time on their hands. Murder was a regular occurrence, and newcomers were frequently mugged and robbed for everything that they owned.

Eventually work resumed on the rail and the fantastic trestle that you see above was constructed. However, there were sinister forces working behind the completion of this railroad, which was in fact a conduit formed along mystical ley lines to gather dark energies.

How Lone Crow, renowned Native American gunslinger and erstwhile investigator for Miskatonic University, stumbled into this conspiracy is told in the pages of the Pulpwork Press How the West was Weird anthology--more specifically in Wyrm Over Diablo.

You'll also find some other interesting tales of the wild, weird west which your teacher didn't dare tell you about when you were in school.

First Weird Review

2010-03-02T12:26:00.000-08:00

The first review of How the West was Weird is out and you can check out Mike Exner's thoughts on the first three tales at his blog. I have a vested interest in his review since a story I wrote, Wyrm Over Diablo, is one of those first three stories. So click on over and check it out.

Cover Story

2010-03-02T06:11:00.000-08:00

If you've been following my blog you might already be aware of Pulpwork Press's second release for 2010, How the West was Weird. And you might also be aware that I have a story in it called Wyrm Over Diablo.

However, you might not be aware of the process of creating and choosing cover art. So head on over to cover artist Jim Rugg's sketch pad/blog and peruse a few of his sketches and alternative ideas that are just now seeing the light of day.

Oh, and you can pick up a copy of How the West was Weird on Amazon or at the PulpworkPress website.

Shattered Illusions

2010-02-27T15:42:00.000-08:00

My wife makes a mean Mongolian Beef dish, and it so happens that she was whipping up some of her Mongolian Beef magic when we had a pair of sister missionaries over for dinner (and I don't mean that in a cannibalistic sense).

Coincidentally, one of these sister missionaries was from the far flung land of Mongolia. I couldn't resist asking her if she was familiar with the dish.

She was very emphatic that she had never tasted anything like it in her homeland. This left two possibilities 1) either I needed to readjust my world vision to accept the idea that Mongolian Beef really has nothing to do with Mongolia or 2) That sister missionary was an imposter.

After much consideration I was about to sensibly settle on the second option, but I told this story to an acquaintance to ask her opinion and she informed me of a friend of hers who was also from Mongolia. It seems this friend was at a Chinese Restaurant and was curious enough about the Mongolian Beef to order it. After it came she immediately jumped to her feet and began chewing out the waitress for daring to malign her country by serving such a dish.

Fortunately, the sister missionary who visited our house was very polite about our slight on her country's culinary prowess. She ate every single bite and even thanked us for it. Though my illusions have been shattered and it turns out that all this time I've been eating faux Mongolian Beef...I've discovered that I don't care if it's real or fake--I still love eating it.

The next thing you know, I'll discover that French Fries aren't really French.

Martian Audio

2010-02-24T05:27:00.000-08:00

I have no copyright on Mars-related fiction and Joshua Reynolds has turned out a great story entitled The Strange Affair of the Martian Engine. This story features the lovely, ubiquitous, daring and sometimes morally ambiguous Countess Felluci. Yes, the same Countess Felluci that appeared in Josh's The Strange Affair of the Artisan's Heart.

It so happens that Rachel Beveridge of Cossmass Productions has done a reading of The Strange Affair of the Martian Engine and it makes for great listening. So if you've got a high speed connection and a few moments head over to Cossmass Productions and start downloading. It's free!

Dire Planet Compendium: Farona's Girth

2010-02-19T05:58:00.000-08:00

"Farona's Girth"- Farona is a legendary Muvari warrior of both incredible battle prowess and incredible girth and over the centuries the term "Farona's Girth" has fallen into common Muvari usage as a mild epithet or exclamation. There are historical incidents of serious oaths that have been sworn "By Farona's Girth", most notably Elri Shancumar who swore by "Farona's Girth" that she would not lie again with her husband until a looting band of exiles was driven from the land. Elri's husband took this oath so seriously that, in violation of Muvari custom, he strapped on a sword blade and single-handedly routed the exile bandits.

Farona is one of the trio of warriors-- that included Thavunye of the Spear from the Rathuri Tribe and Ardahla of the Munothi Tribe-- who fought valiantly against overwhelming odds beneath the shadow of Golem Rock and drove back the Brecknar armies who had formed a league with the spiderous sinthral.

Some legends say that three warriors swore a pact that united their tribes for all time but the symbol of this pact has been lost and the oath largely forgotten--each of the tribes becoming independent and isolated from each other.

The Winner is...

2010-02-17T06:02:00.000-08:00

Take a gander at Jair Trevino's newly-revised version of The Blood Vault artwork that will be appearing on the Blood Vault chapbook which will be released this coming May. This chapbook will contain the complete short story, The Blood Vault, and various samples of other released and soon to be released novels.

Thanks to all who made name suggestions for my new blog feature which will feature footnote-style entries relating to the denizens, people, customs, culture, and etymology of the Dire Planet. There were some great sounding suggestions like Dire Planetology, and Dire Planetarium that I didn't go with because the meanings weren't quite right. However, I've settled on The Dire Planet Compendium which Triton suggested. Somehow, it seems appropriate that someone named after a planetary body made the winning suggestion.

Noel Tuazon has sent me some wonderful artwork, so I'll post the first installment of The Dire Planet Compendium later this week.

Hunter and Triton, I do appreciate your participation in my impromptu contest. Shoot me an email, that contains your mailing address, at Joel dot Jenkins at Gmail dot com and once The Blood Vault chapbook is released I'll mail each of you a signed copy.

New Blog Feature

2010-02-10T04:38:00.002-08:00

I've decided to introduce a new regular feature to the Vaults of Caladrex. For the rest of this year I'm aiming for a weekly feature (more or less) that will be an entry (illustrated by no less than the talented Noel Tuazon) on the denizens, people, and etymology of Mars, also known as the Dire Planet.

Those who have read Exiles of the Dire Planet and Into the Dire Planet will have noticed a number of footnotes detailing certain customs, legends, phrase origins, and practices of the people of the Dire Planet. In this new feature I will be adding and expounding upon those footnotes.

However, I've yet to come up with a name for this new blog feature and I'm looking for some suggestions. Encyclopedia of the Dire Planet doesn't quite have the right ring to it, and Dictionary of the Dire Planet, though it's a great alliteration, doesn't quite do it for me either. Bestiary of the Dire Planet sounds great but the beasties of Mars are only going to be a small portion of the entries--so it's not quite accurate.

Anybody who makes a suggestion that I decide to use gets a free copy of the upcoming chapbook release of The Blood Vault, which will be released Mother's Day weekend at the Toronto Comic Arts Festival. After all, when one thinks of Mother's Day one thinks of vampires-right? No? At any rate, I'll be posting more about The Blood Vault chapbook in later blog postings. Make some suggestions!

The West Gets Weird

2010-02-09T05:52:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest press release from Pulpwork Press. You may note that How the West was Weird contains a story by me. In Wyrm Over Diablo a secret organization conspires to build railroad tracks along mystical ley lines, so to draw the energy into one position and release a horror from its prison in outer darkness. Once again, Lone Crow, on loan to Miskatonic University for occult investigations, and a gunslinger of some renown, finds himself in the middle of trouble--but on to the press release!

On March 1, the history books get a lot more interesting...

Aztec vampires gorge themselves on a small Mexican village. A masked hero of the 1940s stumbles onto a town that time forgot. A gunslinging exorcist works to save a boy from demonic possession. These are the stories of the American West your history teacher never told you about... because she was scared!

Edited by Russ Anderson and published by Pulpwork Press (www.pulpworkpress.com), HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD is an anthology featuring nine original, genre-mashing stories of cowboys, Indians, aliens, exorcists, and tentacled horrors from other worlds... all wrapped in an original cover by Jim Rugg (STREET ANGEL, AFRODISIAC).

Those stories? Glad you asked, pardner.

Camazotz, by Josh Reynolds (available as a free preview at the Pulpwork Press website)
Wyrm Over Diablo, by Joel Jenkins
Space Miners, by Ian Taylor
Don Cuevo's Curative, by Thomas Deja
The Town With No Name, by Mike McGee and Chris Munn
Sins of the Past, by Barry Reese
You Need to Know What's Coming, by Ian Mileham
Of All the Plagues a Lover Bears, by Derrick Ferguson
Out South of Borachon Creek, by Bill Kte'pi

Cover price is $11.95 - that's peanuts for this kind of entertainin'.

HOW THE WEST WAS WEIRD will be available for order on Pulpwork and Amazon on March 1. But if you'd like to get a jump on everyone else, it's available for pre-order right now on the Pulpwork Press website. Order before March 1 and get free shipping in the US!