The King Must Fall – in conversation with Adrian Collins

I'm a huge fan of Grimdark Magazine. They bring out a lot of awesome material, so it goes without saying that I sat up and noticed with editor Adrian Collins told me about his project, The King Must Fall, which has a stellar ensemble – go check out the Kickstarter page when you have a moment. I can't wait to read the anthology when it's out. In the meanwhile, Adrian has stopped by my blog for a quick Q&A...

Nerine Dorman (ND): Was there a particular creative brief that you put together for the authors for The King Must Fall? 

Adrian Collins (AC): Definitely. For The King Must Fall I asked each author to write a story about a king or authority figure being deposed. I didn’t specify if they had to be simply removed, or killed, or if the attempt even needed to be successful – I can’t wait to see what they all come up with.

However, I think the most interesting part of this story is that the theme wasn’t my idea. I was trying to think of how to follow up Evil is a Matter of Perspective and just wasn’t having anything cool coming to mind. Out of the blue I received an email from Bradley P Beaulieu telling me about an idea he’d had for an anthology, but just didn’t have the time to drive – and because I love stuff like this, The King Must Fall was born!

ND: That's quite the stellar cast you've got going for your contributors. Which are the stories you’re most looking forward to? 

AC: That’s a hard one to pick. Just because I haven’t published them before, I’m really looking forward to seeing Daniel Polansky and Kameron Hurley’s short stories. 

ND: Did you think that certain themes will come through – I find this fascinating as an editor of anthologies myself, that there are often ideas that echo in the submissions – as if they have inadvertently drawn from the same well.

AC: I’m with you! One of the things I love most about building and reading anthologies is seeing how each creator puts their own angle or spin on the theme. Sometimes there will be similarities, and sometimes an idea completely out of left field will blow you away.  

For The King Must Fall I’ve received four first drafts, and a few of the other authors have sent through their ideas on what their stories will be, so I’m feeling really confident that they will all be thematically on point. And based on the authors we have, I know they are going to be dark AF and diverse in delivery. 

ND: What have you, as editor, enjoyed the most about putting together the anthology?

AC: I actually love the process of it. Pulling together all of the authors by leveraging years of author and artist relationships, speaking with printers and distributors and shipping companies, deciding how it’s going to look, planning out the financial requirements, timeframes, etc – all of the tiny pieces of a publishing project that eventually turn into a book. This is the stuff that I love doing. We already have stories coming in, and I’m loving reading them. I can’t wait to show the final product to our customers.

ND: Congratulations for funding this via Kickstarter – what, in your opinion, makes a Kickstarter campaign so successful? 

AC: In short, a clean, clear product that’s marketed really well makes a successful Kickstarter. Compelling content, an engaging video, rewards that can be grown upon through stretch goals, and consistent market engagement through advertising.

There’s also so many things that can go wrong during a process that’s often 6-9 months long. I’ve listed five key learnings from the three Kickstarters I’ve run over on Booknest.eu.

ND: Things in the industry have been, well, weird of late. What are some of your tips and tricks for keeping your publishing endeavours alive?

AC: GdM has experienced a pretty solid period of growth throughout the pandemic, to be honest. Key to where we are at the moment has really come down to a key structure change we implemented about 18 months ago: we split GdM into two arms – the publishing side, and the online content team – and got the right people in place to drive both.

The online content focus drives web traffic to our site and products. It’s created additional and improved revenue streams and grown our brand in the market, which has helped us thrive.

Other than that, the article I wrote for Fantasy Hive, called Starting and Running an Ezine in a few Simple, Soul-destroying Steps covers it in the further detail. 

ND: In the stories that you publish in GdM, what are the elements that you are looking for specifically? What makes you perk up when you read a submission?

AC: I’ve been looking for and finding the same thing for seven years: a grim story told in a dark world by a morally grey protagonist. Authors will blow me away with an anti-hero story that matters. A perspective that perhaps makes me recoil at first, and makes me want to engage more by the end. There doesn’t have to be a single drop of blood, but you need to show me grey morality.

And I can’t reiterate that enough: blood, guts, and sexual violence do not a grimdark story make (especially that last one, just leave it out please). It’s the anti-hero and the grey morality that win me over.

ND: Who are three up-and-coming voices in the grimdark genre you believe people should pay attention to?

AC: This is actually a hard question for me to answer. Before GdM I used to have time to read 50-60 books a year. Now I’m lucky if I get through ten. I’ve fallen behind the times on new authors I’m afraid! 

I will say that P Djèlí Clark, RF.Kuang, and Anna Smith Spark are three authors where I can’t wait to see what they release next.

ND: What do you love about grimdark fiction?

AC: I love that it feels more human. It feels like a story with somebody I know at the helm – like actual people and not indestructible superheroes are involved. I can relate to these characters because I can be and have been a screw up, and grimdark heroes are generally just bigger screw-ups trying to do better, but screwing up more.

More about Adrian...

Adrian Collins runs Grimdark Magazine and loves anything to do with telling darker stories. Doesn't matter the format, or when it was published or produced – just give him a grim story told in a dark world by a morally grey protagonist and this bloke's in his happy place. Add in a barrel aged stout to sip on after a cheeky body surf under the Australian sun, and that's his heaven.

Adrian and his team are currently working on The King Must Fall through Kickstarter.

In Conversation with Raymond Elenwoke

I've recently had the pleasure of being included in a horror anthology of fabulous African authors, Lights Out: Resurrection that was edited by Wole Talabi, so I thought I'd take a little time to get to know my fellow authors. Today it's Raymond Elenwoke who's over for a little Q&A...

I realise we know very little about each other. Tell me more about you and what you love writing.

My name is Raymond Elenwoke, and I am a Nigerian writer. I am also an auditor and financial consultant, currently residing in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. I love writing stories that explore a variety of genres, mainly horror, thriller, speculative fiction and sci-fi.

How does living in Africa inform your writing? Tell me more about your environment, and a day in your life.

For me, the phrase “living in Africa” feels very vague, because Africa is too big and diverse to be classified as a single place. I live in Port Harcourt in Rivers State, Nigeria, and even then, living there is very different from living in, say, Elele, in the same Rivers State, because these towns/cities have very distinct personalities.

Having said that, living in Port Harcourt is an exercise in patience, both with yourself and your environment. This has affected my writing in more ways than one. In the sense that I am (still) learning to infuse the identity of the town I set my stories into the story, no matter the genre. My environment helps inform my thinking, both in terms of character development and in terms of setting. Being someone who learned his trade from consuming books and writing advice from foreign (Western) authors/movies, living in Port Harcourt helps me realise that the police procedures in Phoenix, Arizona or Luton, United Kingdom are very different from the police procedures in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. This helps me also realise that my characters will have certain challenges unique to not just the environment in which I set them, but also unique to the culture of the place AND time the story is set in.

My environment is quite dynamic. I may start the day at my desk and end it in a client’s office halfway across town, or in class, studying for my professional exams. My day usually starts at about 4.30 am, and after my morning devotion, I have to study for a bit before training/exercising for a few minutes, and then leaving the house for work. If I get to work early enough, I can write a bit, if not I have to wait until the close of work to be able to let my imagination run wild. In between this, when I am on break I could read a story or two, or watch a show to relax.

What are you reading at the moment?

At the moment, I am studying for the final round of my professional exams, so this has limited my literature reading time. However, one I am reading now is Breakers by Edward W Robertson, which is a surprisingly good book about the end of the world. Before this I read the amazing Doctor Sleep by the effervescent Stephen King, and I also reviewed the excellent Rosewater by Tade Thompson, published by Apex Publications, the smartest story about an alien invasion I have ever come across. Pre-order it as it comes out in November 15, 2016. You can read my review of it here.

So is it courage or strength, And is that what I’m waiting for… I once said Rosewater would make me wax lyrica...

In addition to my professional reading, I am reading, you guessed it, Lights Out: Resurrection. Amazing collection. Seriously.

Tell us more about your story as it appears in Lights Out: Resurrection.

My story is titled "Koi-Koi". The title is derived from the sound any person who attended Boarding School in Nigeria will most likely recognise. The story revolves around Lady Koi Koi, the Secondary School Legend.

When I was approached to write a story for the collection, I had no idea what I was going to write, to be honest. I saw the email on Monday morning at the office, and realised that I had until Friday to write and submit a story. Even though I had nothing, I joyfully accepted the story, because I had been waiting for the literary event. I had a story that had been swimming beneath the surface,so I started writing. 80% into the story and about two to the deadline, I realised this was not the story for the collection, so I left it unfinished, and spent most of the day letting the story tell itself to me. When it was ready, I set about discovering it.

Koi-Koi is an imagining of origin of the Lady Koi Koi mythos, because why not? When I first heard the tale, all I could picture were legs in a pair of black heels. No body. Just from the knees down. There were more ghostly/supernatural tales from my time to choose from, but this one…this one had a silent menace about it. You always seemed to hear it, only in the dark, only at night, but you never saw it. Those who did…well, I would imagine they were either dead or too far gone t really tell us about their experience….

*sinister laugh*

What are you writing at the moment?

At the moment, I am working on a number of projects.

First off I am working on a serial story I started writing when I was studying in London a few years back. It is time for the story to come home.

I am also working jointly on a project with another amazing writer friend of mine, Seun Odukoya. The project involves Sango and Amadioha, the Yoruba and Igbo gods of thunder.

I am also finishing my novel, Rising Night, a story that has detectives, angels, demons and yes, ninjas.

Bloody Parchment's Icy Sedgwick

Today another Bloody Parchment veteran, Icy Sedgwick, stops by to chat a little more about herself and her writing. Welcome, Icy!

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I'm a Geordie born and bred, and I live and work in Newcastle. By day I teach graphic design, and by night I'm either working on fiction, or working on my PhD, which looks at set design in contemporary haunted house films. If I'm not doing that I'm knitting or crocheting. People laugh at me but hey, can their hobbies turn string into clothing using just two sticks?

What gives in your story? 

I've got a lifelong fascination with mummies, and I wanted an excuse to work one into a story! I'd had the title in mind for ages, and I never really knew what to do with it, so I just sat down and started writing. It ended up turning into a story about an evacuee, sent to an isolated country house (because it has to be isolated, or it's not Gothic) to stay with her aunt, but all is not as it seems, especially since she's acquired a mummy in a case, and something keeps talking to her when it's quiet...

What do you love about reading and writing speculative fiction?

I love the ease with which you can just dive into the unknown. It's the 'what if?' nature of speculative fiction. But then it's not just plot-driven, or escapist - speculative fiction can deal with huge themes and really important issues, but it does so in such a way that you actually find yourself invested in them, while more literary forms can sometimes make you feel patronised or preached at.

Is there a novel or movie that you feel has been the most influential on you, that you keep coming back to? 

I can't think of a specific singular book or film, it's more been about genres or authors, but I do think Neverwhere would be an influence. I love the way Neil Gaiman used real parts of London, and I won't lie, I did used to hope I'd stumble across the entrance to London Below when I lived in the capital. As far as I know, I never did.

How do you approach the writing process?

From an angle ;-) In all seriousness, I try to approach it with a sense of whimsy because when you look at it, the whole process is slightly silly. You're essentially making things up - there are few other times in life with doing that is acceptable, unless you're a politician. So I have my idea, which either comes from something I've (often) misheard, or a 'what if?', and then it's a question of following the rabbit hole to see how far it goes.

LINKS
Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, The Guns of Retribution, The Necromancer's Apprentice.

Bloody Parchment's Chris Limb #interview

The SA HorrorFest Bloody Parchment anthologies have a few veterans who've appeared among the finalists regularly, and one of these is Chris Limb, who needs very little by way of introduction here on my blog. His tale appears in the most recent Bloody Parchment anthology: Beachfront Start Home, Good Bones and Other Stories, and without any further ado, I hand over my blog to him.

Welcome, Chris, and for those readers who haven't met you before, tell us a little bit about yourself.

I live by the sea in the UK. I left my day job and have been working as a freelance web developer and graphic designer for the past year or so which has been simultaneously liberating and isolating. Luckily I have my twin passions of writing and music to keep me busy and entertained.

I'm the bass player in a band called Das Flüff who play "sexistential electro post-punk twisted disco cyber filth"! The only thing better than going to a gig is playing one, although I still love both.
I've been writing on a more regular basis since 2007 but my first break came when my story Alibi was published in the Bloody Parchment 2012 anthology. Since then I've had a few more stories published in anthologies and online magazines.

I also have two complete novels I am continuing to try and find homes for...

What gives in your story?

I am a social media junkie and find the way it all works and add an extra dimension to human existence fascinating. Twitter is my medium of choice so I suppose it was only a matter of time before I decided to explore it in fiction.

The seed of the story itself came from an article I read on cyber-bullying the details of which I won't share here for fear of spoiling the story. I was also inspired by the discovery of a Twitter account that I imagined looked as if it had been set up just to follow me. Just like the account in the story, it followed me plus a selection of celebrities and information services. Plus one other account I suspected of being the primary account of the person who had set it up. Its timeline consisted entirely of retweets.

All in all it was a very strange set-up. Why not just follow me from the primary account? Twitter is by its very nature a bit stalkery.

In reality I was probably imagining the more sinister implications and it was all a coincidence. The human brain is very good at looking for patterns and worrying about any potential danger they may present.

Either way, the idea for the story came to me fairly quickly after that.

Why do you love about reading and writing speculative fiction?

I love the sense that anything can happen. Things can genuinely surprise the reader because normal rules don't apply. I love the "what-if" of speculative fiction, stepping outside the mundane.

As I get older it seems as if the world is becoming increasingly unimaginative in what is permitted. Reality is being reduced to the lowest common denominator.  For example, back in the early nineties I was certain that by 2016 space travel would be commonplace, that we'd have already established a Moon base and have landed on Mars. Instead these fantastical dreams are retreating before us like desert mirages.

When I was growing up there were often documentaries on TV about the paranormal and the strange; as a child these indicated to me that the world could be exciting and unknown. Now the discussion of such things in the respectable media is almost taboo.

For me, writing and reading speculative fiction captures the excitement of when the world was a more interesting place full of potential and mystery. A way of returning to youth, however temporarily.

Is there a novel or movie that you feel has been the most influential on you, that you keep coming back to?

I can't think of any one novel or movie that looms large enough to say is the most influential.
However, there are a number of writers I really enjoy and find inspiring in that after I finish reading one of their novels I want to write something of my own.

Michael Marshall Smith is one of them – when I read his first novel I was astonished that there was someone out there who seemed to be writing in what up until that point I had assumed was my own inner voice...

William Gibson is another. He seems to be able to get ideas and emotions across with a surprising economy of words. Mona Lisa Overdrive is one of my favourite novels and yet despite its scope and how embedded its world I felt, it's only just over 80 000 words long.

In general though I find discovering new novels more exciting and inspiring than revisiting old favourites - over the past couple of years I have enjoyed and been inspired by novels by Claire North, Ramez Naam, Emmi Itäranta, Sarah Pinborough and Ben Aaronovitch.

How do you approach the writing process?

With short stories what tends to happen is that I will get the germ of an idea that I will make a note of on my phone (it's usually when I am out and about). Occasionally these are a bit too cryptic and I forget what the idea was!

Part of my daily routine for the past six years has been writing every morning using the online service at 750 Words. If one of the story ideas I've made a note of is nagging at me I will start it during this session and then keep writing approximately seven hundred and fifty words or more a day until a very rough draft is finished.

I then leave it a few days and go back and start severely editing it. After a while - and often it can now be half the length of the rough draft - I am satisfied and so I look for somewhere to submit it on Duotrope. With the last novel it was more or less the same process but much longer; a case of keeping going until I'd finished and only then going back and editing it.

Links/URLs
Web page, Das Fluff, Twitter, International kindle links for non fiction 80s pop memoir.

Not all Gloom and Doom… A Moment with Tunes of Dawn

My mate Carrie Clevenger has a habit of turning me onto new music. This is one of the many reasons why I absolutely adore her. One of the bands she introduced me to last year was a German outfit called Tunes of Dawn, and I am once again forever grateful for this new musical adventure. Then again, any band that covers the immortal Gloomy Sunday gets a serious kick-ass badge from me. So, naturally, I had to track frontman and bassist Hagen Schneevoigt down so we could shoot the breeze a bit. And at the end of this interview there will be a question you can answer by commenting on this blog (leave your name and email address so we can pick a winner). One lucky sod will win Tunes of Dawn goodies.

Now, over to Hagen…

I had to know what prompted the band to cover Gloomy Sunday. After all, there’s a bit of an urban legend attached to the song that suggests folks commit suicide after listening to it. The band plays on this theme in the music video.

Hagen responds: “Well, we always liked that song. And the legend is true. Gloomy Sunday was written by Hungarian musician Rezs Seress in 1933. It’s about how he lost his big love. It was said that many people attempted suicide after listening to it. We liked that story very much, even if it’s a sad one. But the song fit perfectly into the world of Tunes of Dawn, and so we did the cover.”

Watching that Gloomy Sunday video, and listening to the band’s music in general, it’s clear there’s quite a bit of a homage to Type O Negative, and perhaps even hints at Rammstein in more lyrical moments, even.

Hagen says: “Well, of course Typo O Negative is an influence. We always loved this band. But, in general, we have so many influences, like old Black Sabbath, Elvis and all the classic rock stuff. It goes from classic, jazz to pop and, of course metal. We all have different tastes, so in every song is a bit from everyone’s personal taste. But the main inspiration is life and all its up and downs. We prefer the sad and melancholic things. But always with a glint in the eyes.”

So, to poke at those wonderfully "sad and melancholic things" I had to ask Hagen one of my favourite questions: What songs from your past, do you look to for inspiration?

He responds: “It’s very hard to say ’cause there are so many beautiful songs we would like to do. Just to mention a few... two would be definitely Type O Negative: Love you to Death and Anesthesia.”

Then, the question I throw at all my vic— erm, interviewees… Now, you’re in a situation where you need to explain to someone who’s never heard of your music and who you are, and you have EXACTLY 16 words to do so...

Hagen says: “We are painting tragic but hopeful light with music, where others only paint shadows and darkness.”

Nice! Now, if Hagen had to pick one Tunes of Dawn song that really encapsulates what he thinks the band is all about… the lyrics, the choice of arrangements for the instruments. Why must listeners care about this song?

Hagen says, “If I must pick one, I would pick A Warm Sigh at 6°. The lyrics range between past, present and future. From sadness, hope and romance. From life, death and to dreams. Musically it is one of the more heavy songs, even it is not that fast. The melodic line and heavy guitars combined makes the song powerful, I think. We are better creating songs like that, than faster ones.”

Bands’ first-ever live shows often result in unintended hilarity. Whether this is due to Random Acts of Chaos or the wicked sense of humour belonging to the Heavy Music gods, we’ll never know. Hagen relates his own experiences with Tunes of Dawn: “Our first live show ever took place in June 1994. We were so excited, we did not dare to drink a single beer. Instead we drank lots of energy drinks by mistake. But at least everything went good. We still have some video footage of that show. Mostly we are laughing our asses off, because we look like teenagers playing death metal.”

Tunes of Dawn back in 1994

LOL, so they must have been like a bunch of Energizer bunnies on stage… But beyond musicians behaving themselves well, like musicians… The audience is also capable of behaving strangely. Hagen elaborates: “Well, strange things happen almost every time, more or less. But I remember one very funny thing back in 2008 when we had our record release show in Berlin. Some people made a huge banner out of underwear, about 10x4 metres. They took everything off that banner and threw it on stage. So the whole stage was covered with bras and panties and so on. It must have been about a 100 items.”

Undergarments aside, but staying with the clothing industry, as for what lies ahead, Hagen concludes: “At the moment we are doing a song for the Berlin-based designer Kilian Kerner for his new collection 2013. We will also perform the song at the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week this month. Furthermore we are currently writing new songs for our next album. The release is planned for fall this year.”

Now, be awesome little minions and go check out the Tunes of Dawn website here where you’ll find all their social networking links and more (go check out that music video already, will you?).

As for the question, name one Type O Negative song you’d love to see covered. (Answer by leaving a comment with your name and email address where we can contact you.) Entries will be open until January 17, 2013.

Leon Botha: artist

Some folk reading this blog may already know Leon Botha, who featured in Die Antwoord’s music video Enter the Ninja. I first encountered him on that social networking site we all love to hate but can’t seem to stay the hell away from, when I saw some of the enigmatic art he creates.

When Leon and I started chatting, we fast realised we had a lot in common with regard to some of our interests and, how’s this for a piece of synchronicity, we both had almost-identical tattoos completed independently within weeks of each other, at the same tattoo parlour. While I sport the Egyptian Neteru Set and Horus on my left and right wrists respectively, Leon has paid homage to Thoth.

Not long ago, Capetonians could also view another aspect of Leon’s art, when he collaborated with South African photographer Gordon Clark to present the Who Am I? exhibition, which challenged people to examine the perceptions, preconceptions and values.

I’d like to thank Leon Botha for stopping by my blog and share some of his thoughts.

Tell me more about your creative process and how you approach painting.
It depends… Generally I mostly live in my head. I am always drawing parallels between things in my head, working on some concept or interpreting some thought or feeling I get from anything such as music, books or some other experience, visually. (It’s not really as exciting as it sounds, it’s just how my mind works.) Usually, at some point I would deem any one of them ready, and I will attempt to “bring it” into this realm. As I’m doing this, of course it takes on a life of itself as it suddenly needs to abide to certain laws, and the difficulty for me is usually to shape it into a compromise. It can be very frustrating, but it is also why I don’t plan things or draw them out too thoroughly beforehand.

I can also simply desire to use a specific colour, subject or theme, and will just flow with it.
Technically, I use a lot of strong colours, as well as darkness, sharp lines and many layers as a sort of “dry brush” technique. So acrylics work fine for me because it’s so quick drying. I mostly use canvas, and generally don’t do any drawings beforehand.

So, when and where did you meet Gordon Clark?
He saw me in town and wanted to work with me, but somehow lost sight of me. Later he mentioned me to a friend who is a curator of a gallery in town. Ironically I was about to open my second solo exhibition there and she gave him my details and we set up a meeting.

What went into the creative process for the Who Am I? exhibition?
A lot of conversations… We generally had a similar idea as far as direction, in which we wanted to go, and we just pulled a whole lot of ideas from conversations regarding all aspects of life.

Sometimes, adapting the idea, and sometimes coming up with new ones while working on location. We were not restricted or limiting ourselves in any case. So the whole flow or creative process went very harmoniously.

What do you like about hip hop?
It is kind of like the melting pot of all music genres. It is not limited in scope, and in its essence, not really a genre at all.

It is as much a question as a definition.

Although my musical taste is certainly not limited to it, it has the certain “edge” of all other music that I enjoy.

As I say, it is not just a genre of music, but a way of life, a certain edge, attitude and way to view the world, which opened my perception to a lot of things, and influenced practically everything that I do.

And Die Antwoord? What have some of the after-effects of Enter the Ninja been?
Locally people seem to remember me from “that video”, and globally there has been a rise of interest to me/my work online. I have sold a few paintings overseas since then, as well.

Tell us a little about what you’re reading at the moment.
I’ve been reading a lot about Alchemy in the last years. The symbols and archetypes, and how the relativity of reality (our perception) can always be used in a way that “purifies” our thoughts, or enables us to grow as individuals (however one may see this). And not to see things as simply “good” or “bad”, “yin” or “yang”, but to merge them. To over-stand that our greatest blessing, is often inherited in what we perceived to be our greatest curse.

How do you approach time?
I try to grab it with both hands. So much, to the extend that I always go to bed way into the AM, and as the pendulum swings, I wake up way too late as well. (I will never be bored, and honestly don’t understand how one can claim to be that in this day and age).

All there ever is, or will be, is the present moment. Whenever I am able to really be aware of this, I am harmonious. And whenever I am not, I am only on my way to realise it again. There is nowhere else to go… The past was once the future, and the future will at once be the past. And while the transition happens in this moment, it is way too quickly to fully embrace or define anyway. This is why time is an illusion. I try to be less logical in my approach, and more receptive or acting on feeling, because things seem to be speeding up more and more to me, and I can’t keep up.

What, in your opinion, is the most important aspect of being human?
I think the ability to interpret our thoughts and experiences in such a way that it adds things like meaning, value, purpose, etc. and that we continue to evolve or grow in our interpretations of these. It enables us to always expand our universe, both inner and outer. We can always look forward to something exciting, as the ratio between our questions and answers continue to evolve (and in essence provide for itself) as we seek and find, into the beautiful mystery that is life. Yeah, life is beautiful when I stay in its mystery as oppose to it’s “know” –ledge.

Useful links:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/solarize-liquidswords/
http://www.myspace.com/solarize_liquidswords

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Nerine Dorman' s blogging news...

Book one and two of my Khepera series are now available IN PRINT, in South Africa. No excuses about not reading on screen. Support a starving author so she can create more mayhem as a full-time occupation.
http://www.kalahari.net/page_templates/searchresults.aspx?searchText=Nerine+Dorman&navigationid=632&displayShop=books

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Call for submissions. I'm currently on the prowl for fiction across all genres for a Titanic-inspired line of novellas and novels. See the link below for further information.
http://nerinedorman.blogspot.com/2010/05/call-for-submissions-titanic-inspired.html

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And, if you reckon you've got what it takes to write a good horror or dark fantasy short story, we'd like to hear about it for the SA HORRORFEST's Bloody Parchment short fiction competition. Details here: http://bloodyparchment.blogspot.com/