Showing posts with label Announcements. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Announcements. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 28, 2024

Yes, Zombies Need Brains!


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Every year, Joshua Palmatier holds a kickstarter for his SF&F anthologies from Zombies Need Brains, his imprint. This year, times are tough and things are running a bit behind, pledge-wise. Please check out his Kickstarter page to see if there is anything that sparks an interest. There are lots of perks for pledging!



Here's a little bit about the project:

This project will fund THREE science fiction and fantasy anthologies, titled WERE-2, SKULL X BONES, and AMPYRIUM: MERCHANT WAR. Each anthology will contain approximately 14 all-original (no reprint) short stories from established SF&F authors in the field and new voices found through an open call. The books will be edited by S.C. Butler & Joshua Palmatier (WERE-2), David B. Coe & Joshua Palmatier (SKULL X BONES), and Joshua Palmatier (AMPYRIUM: MERCHANT WAR).

WERE-2:

It’s the night of the full moon, but there are more than mere werewolves skulking the streets. In WERE-2, we return to the back alleys in the dead of night to discover what other were-creatures might see you as prey. A were-raven? Were-squirrel? Were-octopus? You won’t know until you hear that rustle of feathers next to your ear or smell the brine of the sea in that gust from the window. Writers are asked to give us their most creative were-creature, with only one rule: No werewolves allowed!

Edited by S.C. Butler & Joshua Palmatier, WERE-2 will contain approximately fourteen stories with an average length of 6,000 words each. Anchor authors include: 

    • Randee Dawn, 
    • Auston Habershaw, 
    • Gini Koch, 
    • Gail Z. Martin & Larry N. Martin, 
    • Harry Turtledove, 
    • Tim Waggoner, and 
    • Jean Marie Ward.

SKULL X BONES:

Avast, ye scurvy dogs! It’s time to plunder! Pirates have enchanted and haunted readers for generations, from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island to the ill-fated Firefly. Whether it’s Blackbeard, Mal, or Han Solo, we love our swashbucklers, our One-Eyed Willies, and our scruffy-looking nerfherders. In SKULL X BONES, we want writers to give us their best science fiction or fantasy pirates, whether they be on the sailing ships of the deep wide ocean or the spaceships of the black void!

Edited by David B. Coe & Joshua Palmatier, SKULL X BONES will contain approximately fourteen stories with an average length of 6,000 words each. Anchor authors include:

    • R.S. Belcher,
    • Alex Bledsoe,
    • Jennifer Brozek,
    • C.C. Finlay, 
    • Violette Malan,
    • Misty Massey, and
    • Alan Smale.

AMPYRIUM: MERCHANT WAR:

The city of Ampyrium is bustling with trade…in the midst of a Merchant War! In AMPYRIUM: MERCHANT WAR, we return to the city that’s the hub for eight portals to other worlds, where the streets are shadowed on the brightest of days, the wares exchange hands both above and beneath the table, and all of it happens under the Eyes of the enigmatic Magnum. In AMPYRIUM: MERCHANT WAR, we invite writers to come play in this shared-world city of magic and mayhem, saintliness and sin, established by the seven authors in last year’s AMPYRIUM. What nefarious plans will you perpetrate…or foil?

Edited by Joshua Palmatier, AMPYRIUM: MERCHANT WAR will contain approximately fourteen stories with an average length of 6,000 words each. Anchor authors include:

    • Patricia Bray, 
    • S.C. Butler, 
    • David B. Coe, 
    • Esther M. Friesner, 
    • Juliet E. McKenna, 
    • Jason Palmatier, and 
    • Joshua Palmatier.

Backers of this project will essentially be generating the base funds needed to produce these three anthologies—including payment for the contributing authors, payment for the cover artist, production costs for producing the anthology, etc. There will be a special mass market Kickstarter edition produced for backers who help fund the project at the paperback level. This special edition will have a limited print run to cover the orders made by the backers and will not be printed again after the Kickstarter print run. After that, there will be a trade paperback edition issued to the general public that will have an unlimited print run. So get in on the Kickstarter now and get the special mass market Kickstarter edition!

I see Joshua every year at the annual Shore Leave convention. He also attends other conventions when he can. He is always willing to talk about writing and help other budding authors. Here is a chance to return the favor!


 
© 2024 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Sunday, May 2, 2021

Upcoming X6 Anthology (Wait for it...)


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Note: This is a re-post of a public Patreon post concerning a story and poem I have in an upcoming anthology. There are some folks who still check for my updates here, so I thought I'd add make it easier for those who do.




Yes, that's what I've been doing for some time now. Let me explain.

If you've read my earlier post, you know I've had a story and a poem accepted for publication for quite a while now. And while the X6 anthology in which they will appear is not out yet, it is moving along. Slowly.

But the cover is now available! 

Allow me to pause here to give a woo-hoo.

WOO-HOO!

Okay, thanks.

So, without further ado, here is the cover.



Yes, this is the full cover - front, back, and spine. My name is on the fourth line where the authors are listed. I have to say, it is a step up in quality from previous Thirteen O'Clock Press / Horrified Press covers. I hope that's a good sign.

I'm not sure the stories 'defy definition' as the blurb states, however - they were just left over or didn't fit into one of the themed anthologies. That may not be a bad thing. There should be a lot of variety here, so the reader won't get tired of yet another zombie, vampire, serial killer, etc., story halfway through.

So, that's where it all stands at the moment. I'll let you know when it is available!



© 2021 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Tuesday, July 2, 2019

It's Alive!


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It took a while to get here, but the Lonesome Train anthology has finally arrived!





Do you hear that train a-comin'? Comin' round the bend...? Our authors did! Step into an anthology filled with demonic trains and disastrous encounters. Ghosts, time travel, giant spiders, wagon trains, space-transport--whatever you are interested in, we've got you covered. Sit right back and enjoy the ride.

My story in this anthology is called Momma Knows Best. It's a Southern Gothic tale about a young woman having difficulty accepting her mother's advice. Kids can be like that, you know. But when a photographer drops by to take pictures of the old train station where she's hanging out, things take a dark turn.

At the moment. it's only available in paperback on Lulu (check for coupons or promotional codes). If (when, I hope) that changes, I'll post an update on my My Works page.

I'll be giving away a couple of copies at the Shore Leave sci-fi convention in Hunt Valley, Maryland this year, but if you can't make it there, check it out on Lulu!


© 2019 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Sunday, September 30, 2018

ZNB Anthologies Funded - Call For Submissions



For the last few weeks you've seen this at the top of my blog posts:
Please consider donating to the Zombies Need Brains Sci-fi/fantasy anthologies Kickstarter! There will be three books! Lots of perks and, if funded, there will be an open submission! If you're a writer, that's a good thing! You can reach the Kickstarter by clicking HERE.
Well, I can stop posting that now!

The three anthologies ( Portals, Temporally Deactivated, and Alternate Peace ) have been funded (and exceeded their target) with $25,854 pledged towards $25,000 goal as of 11:30 pm EST on September 30, 2018!


Now comes the fun part. There is an open submission call to fill out the anthologies in addition to the tales from the pre-selected authors. You can find the submission guidelines here:  Submission Guidelines: Portals, Temporally Deactivated, and Alternate Peace. So get writing and pass the word!


© 2018 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Kickstarter - Zombies Need Brains SFF Anthologies


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While at Shore Leave 39 this year, I talked with author/editor/publisher Joshua Palmatier for a while. Eventually the discussion got around to future projects. He mentioned he was going to do a Kickstarter for three new anthologies, but he hadn't come up with any solid ideas yet. He said to watch his website for a notice in August.

So I did.

He now has the Kickstarter up and running. Here are the subjects for the books!

This project will fund THREE science fiction and fantasy anthologies, titled THE RAZOR'S EDGE, GUILDS AND GLAIVES, and SECOND ROUND: A RETURN TO THE UR-BAR, containing approximately 14 all-original (no reprint) short stories each from established SF&F authors in the field. The books will be edited by Patricia Bray & Joshua Palmatier (SECOND ROUND: A RETURN TO THE UR-BAR), S.C. Butler & Joshua Palmatier (GUILDS AND GLAIVES), and Troy Bucher & Joshua Palmatier (THE RAZOR'S EDGE).


Joshua has a number of quality books out already, and if you'd like to help out with the next round of anthologies you can donate here (there are a lot of different levels and rewards!):


You can do more than just give money to the effort. If all goes as planned, you can submit your stories, too!

As we did in our previous anthologies, we plan to include the very best stories we can find, spanning the gamut from bestselling authors to new, previously unpublished voices, including an open submission window if the Kickstarter is successful, where anyone can submit their stories featuring the current themes for a chance to be part of the anthologies. And new this year, Zombies Need Brains is officially a "qualifying market" for the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA)!

So, check it out! Maybe you'll want to donate and get some new reading material—or perhaps you'll get published in a quality anthology!


"The Razor's Edge" by Justin Adams, Varia Studios
"The Razor's Edge" by Justin Adams, Varia Studios


© 2017 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Tuesday, October 4, 2016

Terri Deno's New Book: Haunting Melody


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Terri Deno has a new book out titled Haunting Melody. It's not a lengthy story, but it should be good for quick read! It's a mix of romance. mystery, and suspense that's built on the Kindle Worlds  "The Callaways" platform.

Here's the blurb from Amazon:
Pop star Melody is getting ready to work on her next album with the help of musician Sean Callaway at Ashbury Studios. She feels like she has it all: a great career, a fabulous love life with dancer Austin Eckhart and friends she can rely on. But strange things are happening at the studio—equipment failures, accidents and strange voices. Rumors start spreading that Ashbury Studios could be haunted. Will Mel be able to help her friends figure out what's going on before something bad happens?

Cover of Haunting Melody by Terri Deno


It's available on Amazon (US) for only $1.99.


© 2016 K. R. Smith All rights reserved