A gang steals a dangerous designer drug in a bid to control the streets of New Old Philly, a demonically-possessed warrior battles hellspawn in a post-cataclysmic world, and a victim of the inevitable zombie apocalypse writes a final letter to his ex-wife. Seems the gods of genre have blessed me with a perfect trifecta of science fiction, fantasy, and horror appearances in the last few months — and so I must do their dark bidding and spread the word through the interwebs.

First up is the UK’s Murky Depths, a richly illustrated quarterly with an edgy and contemporary aesthetic. Murky Depths lucky number thirteen just rolled off the presses, containing my cyberpunkish piece ‘Named in Blood,’ awesomely illustrated by Paul Drummond. This is another story where I have fun with first person voice, and play around with some near future slang. Marks my third appearance in Murky Depths, and you can read about the others here and here.

That re-jigged disposey deck I had back in the days we were on the rise was long replaced by a sweet interlaced Kuztom Sliik that had me data-jacked in style, and I had ’grams enough to wiggle through most gaps in the system. Now, I’m no expert, but I had long since figured out that nothing stays secret for long once it’s networked . . . and what that means is you don’t have to be the guy that can beat the source security to get your peek, you just have to be the one that can beat the guy who did. Usually that’s some Mad Hack running the Shit Impenetrable, and you might as well try to sneak a peek at God’s balls as to get through their codes, but sometimes you get lucky enough to find premium data in the hands of those who can’t protect it. And sometimes you’ve got a backdoor.

And of course Jason Waltz’s Rogue Blade’s Entertainment keeps on rolling like the S&S juggernaut it is, having just launched a new anthology — the first in a new series — Demons: A Clash of Steel. For those of you that remember a trio of fantasy anthos from Carnifex press entitled Clash of Steel, RBE’s latest issue is a resurrection and enlargement of that line. Clash of Steel anthologies are denoted by black covers, and aim for more raw action and heroic fantasy badassery. I never appeared in any of original the Carnifex anthologies, my story for Demons, ‘By Hellish Means,’ being part of the fresh crop of pieces added to the book. It’s the story of the last days of a world overrun by the denizens of hell, where the only hope for human survival lies in the actions of a warrior-woman possessed by an ancient enemy.

Yrisa vaulted the last step, arriving at a landing and the temple’s colonnaded entrance. She spun to confront her pursuers; blade held easily before her, limbs poised in readiness as she had been taught. The first of the shadowy beasts to lope to the top of the stair was the one she had maimed, a demon driven mad with rage. She dispatched it quickly, plunging the dwimmerblade hilt-deep into its chest and ripping outward as the thing’s body dissolved into hissing mist. The remaining three were more careful, and looked at her now with keen appraisal. No mortal could have done what she just had, and some measure of comprehension dawned on the demons. They checked their headlong, rolling charge and instead advanced in cautious unison.

She felt the stirring within her that battle always engendered, the force she could not allow to the surface, that thing to which she was wedded. She was the last of her order on this overrun world, this Hell on earth, and she had only survived because the stolen power within her was greater than that of any Bride who had ever dared tryst with the sons of Hell.

To fight Hell, Mother Superior had said, one must use hellish means.

The shadeforms tore heavy paving stones from the stair and flung them at Yrisa, before clattering up the escarpment in a unified assault. The dwimmerblade blurred before her in defense, gonging a rich bass note with each deflected rock, and Yrisa sang her own song, sweet and high, a song of ritual battles and warrior-women, of sacrifice and of death. The demons closed upon her –

– and were blown back into the stuff of smoke and night with three swift strokes of the enchanted weapon.

Alone, atop the temple steps, with the tomb-hush of night settled upon the lands and the last knife-edge of red in the west to illuminate the world, Yrisa looked out over the dead city of Arghoz Lok that sprawled ruinously beneath her and wept.

To round things up with a bit of horror is a flash fiction story in the form of a letter in the Letters From the Dead anthology from The Library of the Living Dead Press. Edited by Mark M. Johnson, Letters From the Dead picks up on the notion of all those letters to loved ones, journal entries, missed meetings, and final goodbyes that form the epistolary detritus of a world being rapidly devoured by the living dead, and celebrates it with a collection of just that sort of thing. My own story (”document number twenty”) is about a bitter man who finds a second lease on life in the midst of the chaos — and a new talent for violence — but the old ghost of his failed marriage continues to warp his thoughts even as the end of the world, in the form of an undead horde, liberated him from his former self.

It was as if my whole life had led up to this moment. Dad and all his hunting trips and visits to the firing range, me in tow. My love of history, King Arthur, the Crusades, and World War II, remember? “We know who won,” you said, “why sit and read endlessly about a war fifty years done?” The weight lifting you said made me look like an oaf, the running, and even the landscaping job I took after the divorce. And those horrible movies, of course, my favorites. “People coming back from the dead is a stupid idea.” You said that and I remember.

How could anyone have known?

I am a new man. I have saved lives, meted out justice, done things you could never imagine. The rules are different — the world is different. If you could have seen me, a modern-day Grail Knight armed with Mossberg and Sig and chrome-plated hatchet. I did all of it for you, carved a path sixty miles to your doorstep, to the home we once shared.

And you were not here.

Now, given that one day apes will rule over us and hunt us for sport, I think the best course of action would be for everyone out there within blogshot to buy a copy of each of these sterling publications so that we can enjoy them while we have the wit and skill to do so. The gorillas and their nets are just around the corner, and there’s just no betting on a Cornelius or Zira to save our asses. So read, drink and be merry for tomorrow an orangutan just might be lobotomizing you to better accord with his notions of science and religion. Just saying.

A few weeks ago I received some copies of Every Day Fiction’s second annual year’s best anthology, and I’ve been reading a story or two here and there. I’m not done yet, but so far the anthology has proven to be as enjoyable and rewarding as its predecessor. Containing 100 flash fiction stories from EDF’s second year of operations, the book contains such a myriad of voices, styles, techniques, and types of stories that you will never find yourself reading the same thing twice. It’s a  perfect ’slow read’ anthology, the sort of thing you can dip into one little piece at a time for months.

I’m pleased to say that two of my stories, Davy’s Toy Box and The Goon Eternal, were selected for inclusion in the anthology — and, as a matter of fact, The Goon Eternal actually closes out the book. That’s a fantastic honor for a story in any anthology, and even moreso in such a fine collection as the EDF folks have assembled. Hats off to Jordan, Camille, Steven, and the rest of the EDF crew for their continuing success with such a groundbreaking publication — here’s hoping they’ll have many more ‘years best’ anthologies in their future.

So, hot off the presses (er, html) is the news that the Harper’s Pen winner for 2009 is John C. Hocking’s ‘The Face in the Sea,’ appearing in Black Gate #13. Now, as a finalist for the award myself, obviously John wasn’t my first choice for a win . . . but he was a close second. John is a terrific sword & sorcery author (he’s written one of the best non-Howard Conan stories in Conan and the Emerald Lotus), and Black Gate is the best and longest serving source for secondary world and heroic adventure fantasy — and a magazine I have the pleasure of being involved with as a reviewer and blogger. So, having John and BG win is like keeping the prize in the family, so to speak.

Black Gate #14 has just shipped, with a continuation of John’s story in it along with a whole bunch of other fiction and non-fiction. At 384 pages BG14 is bigger than a lot of books you might buy, and contains the cutting edge of what’s going on in the world of fantasy fiction (and a massive amount of terrific art work, like Storn Cook’s illustration for John’s tale above). So, if you want your finger on the pulse of modern fantasy — or just need a giant, perfect bound magazine to cudgel troublesome kobolds — Black Gate is what you are looking for.

Well, this is a surprise. Today I got an email from Jeff Crook telling me that my story appearing in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly’s third issue, The Last of His Kind, is one of eight finalists for the Harper’s Pen Award. The Harper’s Pen Award is the new name for what was once the Ham-Sized Fist Award, which I talked about a while ago, and which focuses on sword & sorcery and heroic fantasy short fiction.

Here is the complete list of finalists, and more about the award can be found at the Sorcerer’s Guild blogsite.

• “Slow Stampede” by Sara Genge (Asimov’s)
• “Where Virtue Lives” by Saladin Ahmed (Beneath Ceaseless Skies)
• “The Face in the Sea” by John C. Hocking (Black Gate #13)
• “Tomb of the Amazon Queen” by Michael Ehart (Dark Worlds 3)
• “Bright Wings in the Ebony Hall” by Dale Carothers (Electric Spec)
• “The Last of His Kind” by Bill Ward (Heroic Fantasy Quarterly)
• “Serpents Beneath the Ice” by Carl Walmsley (Rage of the Behemoth)
• “The Dark Blessing” by James Lecky (Silver Blade)

I’m acquainted with many of the other finalists, their stories and publications– I think I even nominated one of them! I’m also really happy to see an RBE story up there, from an anthology I’m also in, and it feels sort of weird to be competing against Jason Waltz’s company as I’ve had more stories with him than anyone else. The same can be said for Black Gate, where I am a contributing editor. But it looks like a great group of stories, some stiff competition, and I’m going to try to read the ones on that list that I haven’t seen yet.

It’s a great feeling to be a finalist, and I’m sure the guys at HFQ, Adrian, David, and Bill, are excited to see their up-and-coming publication short-listed for an award as well. And that’s what I think is especially great about this award, it’s that it recognizes the publications as well as the authors, and does so as a way to encourage editors and publishers of mostly smaller ventures to keep pursuing their visions. As anyone who has been published knows, a good editorial eye is a boon beyond measure. The guys at HFQ were a pleasure to work with and a real asset in finalizing my story, and I would not be nowhere near as pleased with the final version if it hadn’t been for the errors they spotted, the considerations they raised, and the willingness they had to go through the story with a fine-toothed comb and make it as good as it could be.

And while I’m tooting on my own sackbut, Tangent Online has recently posted a very in depth survey of 2009’s short fiction, and one of my stories, ‘How Antkind Lost Its Soul’ from Kaliedotrope # 7, made their recommended reading list.

Lately I’ve been noticing clicks on an outgoing link to Amazon from my site to a . . . well, a spear. I was baffled, really, as I didn’t remember linking to Cold Steel’s assegai in any posts — and if I had wanted to demonstrate what an assegai was, for instance in a review of Imaro or something, I would have linked to wikipedia, and not a modern reproduction.

However, I was recently shopping for a stout walking stick — something to keep the dogs and orcs at bay during my morning walks. I remember sharing links with a friend about which models I might buy . . . and I had a vague recollection of my selections escalating in absurdity up through war clubs and tomahawks until I was suggesting that perhaps a spear would be the best dog-defense.

Somehow, when I was intending to put a link to my story in the latest issue of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, ‘The Last of His Kind‘ (which got a great review here), I put in the link to the spear. And didn’t notice. So, whenever I kept seeing people following the link to the assegai I kept hunting around my site, wondering what on earth had prompted me to link to it in the first place. So, for anyone that wondered if maybe they had missed the punchline to that particular joke . . . it was just me goofing up.

I also fixed a dead link to ‘20,000 Light Years to Lilliput‘ at Darwin’s Evolutions, which is a story that not only has a mild rejuvenative effect on the reader, but has been shown to partially reverse male pattern baldness.

I’ve been reviewing each issue of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly as it comes out (which you can read here and here), and have been really impressed with both the quality and the variety of the offerings on display. This time around I have the pleasant task of announcing my own inclusion in the issue, with a story called ‘The Last of His Kind.’ It was a tale that was once slated for the sadly defunct Flashing Swords, and it’s great feeling to see it make the cut at one of the few markets for adventure fantasy left to writers of short fiction.

Issue three does not include poetry, but it does include another fine piece of art work, this time from artist Ling Yun.

The issue opens with my own piece, ‘The Last of His Kind.’ It’s the tale of an aging dragonkiller journeying through an unfamiliar desert land in search of the fabled Glasswyrm. On the way he is joined by a local boy, and the two must elude pursuit from a trio of assassins and a worker of spells and find their way to the dragon’s lair — but everything is not as it seems. I’d tell you how wonderful the story is, but that would hardly be impartial, so instead I’ll just say I feel as if the piece has found its perfect home at last.

Josh Wolf’s ‘Dead in the Water’ moves things from the desert to the swamps of Albion in the time of Camelot. An Arthurian-infused piece featuring some familiar — and unfamiliar — characters from the Grail legends, the story deals with a mission gone wrong in the territory of the Fey. Wolf’s blending of mythological elements and those of a modern thriller is nicely done, and his Fey are something out of a deranged Fairy Tale. Madness and magic abound, it’s great stuff.

R. Michael Burns’ piece, ‘Shadows From Firelight’ moves us East, into the realm of the Samurai. In protecting the daughter of his daimyo, the Samurai Hokagé must travel to do battle with the demonic Tengu King. A really great sense of place permeates this story, and Japanese myth and culture is used to good effect. Actually, I remember reading this story a few years ago as slush reader for Pitch Black, where I was favorably impressed (alas, none of the stories I read for PB were to see print, as the press closed before launching its chapbook line). I was glad to see this story found a good home at last, and doubly glad to have a piece alongside it.

The guys at HFQ continue to move from strength to strength — I’m eagerly looking forward to their fourth installment, which will mean of course that they’ve brought out a year’s worth of stories. A notable addition to this issue is the inclusion of donation buttons beneath each story, so readers have an opportunity to support their favorite pieces. And I think by focusing on a steady output of a small number of higher-quality, meatier tales, HFQ might have hit on a lasting long-term publication strategy — I certainly hope so, as this is a zine I’d like to see around for along time.

Shameless brag time — two of my stories, Davy’s Toy Box and The Goon Eternal, have been selected by the brilliant and discerning connoisseurs of all things flash over at Every Day Fiction for their second annual ‘Best of’ anthology. I had the pleasure of appearing in EDF’s first anthology as well, and it’s a really excellent book filled with a huge variety of voices and styles — like a massive buffet with a hundred fantastic dishes.

It’s always great when something that has appeared only in e-form gets set in print — and knowing my pieces will have ninety eight other kick-ass stories for company is the icing on the cake.

While on the subject of shameless bragging — two new anthologies have just found their way onto my vanity shelf (what, like you don’t have one of those?): Shadows & Light from Pill Hill Press, and the long anticipated Dead Souls. Haven’t had a chance to read either, but they look great and I’m ear-to-ear over the fact that I’m in the both of them.

Over at Flash Fiction Chronicles today I have a post that recalls my misspent youth with some fondness. You see, it turns out all that time I spent reading Dungeons & Dragons rulebooks and Warhammer’s White Dwarf Magazine, I was actually learning how to write flash fiction. Yup, it’s true, all those little snipets of flavor text and one-page stories were way ahead of their time and many were perfect examples of what would come to be known as flash fiction. Not only that but some of that ‘fluff,’ as it’s called, went beyond mere vignette status to give us characterization, setting, and a beginning, middle, and end — all in a handful of paragraphs. This was a style of fiction I never saw anywhere else until the advent of the internet.

Turns out, when it came time to write the stuff myself, both the ‘fluff’ of the RPG and wargames world and spec fic of my own devising, I was ready (which is probably another reason to be saying Thank You, D&D).

Click here to read ‘How I Learned to Write Flash Without Even Knowing It’ at FFC.