August 29, 2010

Publication and pancakes

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Let this serve as a warning. This is a dual-purpose post.

I recently received news that I story I submitted to the Human Tales anthology by Dark Quest Books, edited by Jennifer Brozek, had been picked up for publication. This is happy news, as it continues a recent string of anthology sales.

This is one of those all-too-frequent instances of a title informing the story. The original title (which will have to be changed for the anthology) was “Damn, It’s Hard Out Here for a Brownie.” Without that title, I wouldn’t have had a story. Originally had considered a completely different piece, abandoning the idea of a story about cobbler elves until it was pointed out that “Medusa isn’t exactly a fairy tale,” thus forcing THAT story idea onto a back-burner.

So there I was, nothing but a title and a vague idea about cobbler elves having a difficult time fitting into the new economy of disposable culture. Then I found my hook and oh what a bitter, dark hook it turned out to be. The ending was completely re-written at the editor’s request, which was a first for me, and more edits will be dictated. I’m fine with that. No story is perfect, and I’m sure this one can use some more work. But while I understand the need for a different ending, I still found the process fascinating. The new ending fits perfectly well with the needs of the anthology, and with the story itself. And it’s dark — just a very different kind of dark than what I originally intended. I’ve held onto that file with the original ending. It might see the light of day sometime in the distant future. One never knows, and I never throw ideas away.

The other news involves pancakes. Yes, you heard me right.

Next year I’m going on an exodus with a photographer friend in tow. We’re going to chart a course using pancake houses as our guides, and travel the heartland fork by fork. Our goal is to create a document in words and pictures chronicling our journey as a Short Stack of Americana, a bit of a love-letter to the American pancake house. We took a test run this morning, and it went pretty well. The logistics of our trip will be sorted out by the end of the year, including (fates willing) some kind of way to finance the journey. By some time in summer of 2011, we’ll be taking to the road for a month to do the legwork.

Look for Human Tales sometime in late 2010 or early 2011. Look for updates on the pancake journey on its own page.

 

August 26, 2010

Cobalt City Timeslip – the trailer

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In case I ever suffer a head trauma and forget what amazing people I’ve partnered with for Timid Pirate Publishing, I don’t need to look much further than this. Created by our art director, my long-time friend and frequent co-conspirator, Jeremy M. Matthews, this book trailer is like candy. Not just any candy…little liquor-filled bon bons made with artisan chocolate.

Between him and my other friend and frequent co-conspirator, C. Dombrowski, we’re prepared to take the Cobalt City brand to new heights. But we’re not stopping there. Oh no! Our next anthology has nothing to do with Cobalt City at all, and is going to be a collection of Biopunk stories with our first open call (and paid) submission.

Exciting times, my friends. Exciting times!

 

August 22, 2010

We OWNED that place

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A few years ago, I went to Gen-Con for the first time. It was an incredible experience on many levels, but what really stuck with me was this feeling of “rightness.” There was a real feeling wandering around Indianapolis that the Geek truly did inherit the Earth. We OWNED that town, at least around the convention center. It was a feeling of acceptance for the sub-culture I’d embraced on an unprecedented scale.

Flash to last night’s “Night of Authors” at the Wayward Coffeehouse. Now, the Wayward has always been a sort of Geek-Central. A regular Browncoat rally-point, the owner’s love of sci-fi and fantasy is evident in the decor and the menu. Where else can you get a Wash bagel or Jayne plowman to wash down with a Devil’s Trap Latte? I’m partial to the Sheppard plowman — hummus and peppers — with maybe a Kryten Mocha. But last night was a celebration on a literary level that I’m not used to seeing.

Organized by the lovely and talented Jennifer Brozek, she managed to pull in close to a dozen readers for a three hour block, and fill the house. Sci-fi, fantasy and horror were represented there with names such as Cat Rambo, Jen Brozek, Jeremy Zimmerman, Steven J. Scearce, R. Schuyler Devin, and more I’m sure I’m forgetting. The new Rigor Amortis anthology was well represented, and 3 stories from there were shared. I got to read twice, covering for someone in the first slot who was unable to attend unexpectedly, and closing out the evening with my regularly scheduled slot. I pimped for the Rock is Dead anthology and for Cobalt City Timeslip — both pieces being well received. I was also able to hand out my new Publisher business cards, along with flyers for the Biopunk anthology which will start accepting submissions in just over a week.

It’s weird knowing how many anthologies I’m going to be appearing in over the next quarter or so. And more might be around the corner, as I have a few more stories out and few more to submit. The year of the anthology continues unabated.

 

August 20, 2010

Soundtrack to Writing – Counting Crows

Posted by Nathan Crowder under Music, Short Fiction
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Before you judge me, consider this. The first Counting Crows album, August and Everything After, came out in 1993, and when “Mr. Jones” got heavy rotation on MTV (back when they played videos), it catapulted them into instant stardom. The album became the fastest selling album since Nirvana’s Nevermind. The band has since sold over 20 million albums, which is no small feat.

Now, that doesn’t make them Beethoven or The Beatles, but it don’t make them Justin Beiber, either. The music is tightly crafted and honed by a focus on live performance rather than studio trickery. Take a listen to rhythmic structure of “Anna Begins,” the interplay of instrumentation in “Perfect Blue Buildings,” or the crisp build of “Round Here,” which never feels forced or muddy.

And let’s look at the lyrics. Sharp and insightful, they have so much more to say than, “Oh baby, I want to be with you.” They do say that, on occasion, but usually with the weight that comes from knowing, “Yes, I want to be with you, but we’re both broken, and will we fix each other or just be two broken people limping through the world?” I paraphrase, of course. But consider “Round Here,” one of my favorites on their first album.

I walk in the air between the rain
Through myself and back again
Where? I don’t know
Maria says she’s dying
Through the door I hear her crying
Why? I don’t know

For a lot of writers I know, they find inspiration in the writing of others. I had a conversation with a friend last week who is reading Robert E. Howard’s Conan books for the first time, and I could hear the inspiration in his voice. I can hardly wait to see what that spurs him to write. It’s no different with me, but I find myself being sparked by song lyrics as much as anything else. I recently had a story picked up for the Rock is Dead anthology that illustrates that truth quite well.

My story “Memory in the Time of Bones,” available as a free 13 minute audio podcast on the wonderful Wily Writers website, was inspired entirely by the Crow’s “American Girl” song off Hard Candy…specifically the line “…she has porcelain under her skin.”

There is also a line from the Counting Crows song “Mr. Jones” buried in Cobalt City Blues, and I’ll buy a coffee for anyone who finds it.

Good writing is good writing is good writing. It doesn’t matter to me where it comes from. And if you keep your ears open, you’ll find gems where you least expect them.

 

August 19, 2010

Two releases, one day

Posted by Nathan Crowder under Anthologies, Short Fiction
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October is now my official favorite month.

Ok, not like that’s changed much. I’ve always been an autumn kind of guy. I love the sounds, smells, and temperatures of September-November, (back-to-school to Christmas, actually). I even got married in October once. That didn’t stick, but my love of the season did.

But now, I have another reason to cheer. October 1st of this year sees the release of not one, but TWO anthologies in which I have a story I’m pretty proud of.

One of those I’ve known about for a while, since I’m publishing the Cobalt City Timeslip anthology. I set the date, and even though I’m going to have a few copies before the official release to sell at Foolscap 12, the actual release has been the 1st since the project was conceived.

So imagine my joy when I find out that the Rigor Amortis anthology from Absolute X-press is coming out the same day. Check out that link. Drink in the glory of that cover. It makes a fella swoon, yes indeedy. My story even got mentioned in the description…unless someone else wrote about honkey-tonk zombies.

So mark your calendars. Two stories with a musical bent (honkey-tonk and disco — one with amorous zombies, one with the reincarnation of Norse gods) will be there to brighten your October. And if you’re going past the kitchen, can you snag me a piece of pumpkin bread?

 

August 17, 2010

Nightmares to some, plot ideas for others

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It’s a horrible mental image…stuck trying to get a locker combination to work in a school hallway, a building you don’t even know, and then you get hit with a premonition. No, not a premonition, but a vision that knocks you to your knees: fire erupting from the blacked brick doorway of a school, children running from the door, burning as they run. Maybe if you can get the locker open, you can stop it. Maybe you will find yourself trapped in the impending conflagration.

And still the numbers on that dial refuse to line up. The lock refuses to budge. And you’re trapped. Helpless.

Trust me from first-hand experience: having that play across your inner silver-screen first thing in the morning is a crappy way to wake up. But in telling the nightmare to a friend later that morning, she reminded me of something. “Yes, it’s a bad dream, but it could make a good story.”

Thank you subconscious. You give me horrors, I give you horror stories. Now to make it work…

 

August 16, 2010

Upcoming reading – Saturday, August 21st

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It’s that time again — shameless self-promotion time.

I will be taking part of the Wayward Coffeehouse Evening of Authors this coming Saturday. Scheduled to run for 2 hours, there is an impressive list of authors taking the mike, including myself, Jennifer Brozek, Cat Rambo, Alma Alexander, Jeremy Zimmerman, R. Schuyler Devin, Leah Cutter, and Angela Korra’ti.

I, for one, have no clue what I’ll be reading. I have a few stories coming out in anthologies over the next several months. As I only have about 10 – 15 minutes to read, there’s only one story I can do in it’s entirety — and that’s zombie erotica. As much as I’d love to pimp that story and the anthology (the brilliant and soon-to-be-released RIGOR AMORTIS), the last time I did a reading at the Wayward, I was starting at a 7yr old in the front row. Not exactly for graphic zombie sex, you know?

So instead, come and enjoy a cup of coffee and settle in for some truly fabulous fiction. I’ll read a cutting from something, either from the ROCK IS DEAD anthology from Bloodbound Books, COBALT CITY TIMESLIP from Timid Pirate Publishing, NIGHT-MANTLED, BEST OF WILY WRITERS VOLUME ONE, or something else I’ve submitted and haven’t heard back on yet.

Join us and prepare to be surprised. I know I will be. :)

 

August 12, 2010

A bit of musical digression

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This musical interlude is brought to you by a steady diet of Marty Robbins on my headphones recently. I sang the first line for this “interpretation” on the fly as I headed to my desk yesterday. It then turned into a full on song. I’m not partial to the word “filk,” but that’s painfully apt in this case. Sung to the tune of the Marty Robbins classic “Big Iron,” I present “The Word-slinger’s Ballad.”

The author he went writing, cup of coffee by his side
Looking for a plotline that would keep him satisfied
Eight novels lay behind him, many more he’d yet to write
And he knew that with his coffee he’d work late into the night
Late into the night.

He started with the characters in which to place his hooks
It was how he found the conflict to propel his early books
As he bound their fates together and gave them a shared past
A sound came from the kitchen; Mr. Coffee’d brewed his last.
Mr. Coffee’d brewed his last

That twenty dollar coffee maker, his companion through the years
It had seen him through the laughter, through the dialogue and tears
And even though it pained him, he knew he’d have to walk
To the late-night coffeehouse that was open down the block
Open down the block

He walked up to the counter to get a venti cup
Then the author found a table and fired his laptop up
If he wanted to get writing done, he knew he couldn’t stop
Drinking paper cups of coffee for which he paid two bucks a pop.
Paid two bucks a pop.

He dove into the writing, throwing words up on the screen
But several pots of coffee caught up halfway through the scene
And he knew he was in trouble, that his bladder was full up
And he’d have to use the restroom before he drank another cup
Drank another cup.

The author left his laptop and he scurried for the door
Of the coffeehouse’s bathroom that’d not been cleaned since ’94.
But after dealing with the restroom for as long as he could stand,
He came out to see a thief, the author’s laptop in his hand
Laptop in his hand.

It wasn’t just the hardware had him shaking like a pup;
It was the twelve unfinished manuscripts he’d neglected to back-up.
As the thief prepared to run, and crouched into his shoes,
The author made a quick assessment of what would his hero do?
What would his hero do?

The fury of the author is still talked about today
And if you touch his babies, then he’s sure to make you pay.
For if you take the written words that he has yet to save
Then with a scalding pot of coffee, he’ll send you to your grave.
Send you to your grave.

 

August 9, 2010

Cobalt City Timeslip — Table of Contents

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Times, they are a changin’ — especially in Cobalt City, home of the heroes. With a tradition of capes and cowls that dates back to before the town’s founding, any time is a good time for adventure!

History comes alive with a time-swept agent of an invasive corporation, zap-gun wielding alien princess, faceless spy-smashing vigilante, Norse gods, young archer facing down steamwork ex-presidents, and a bitter heroine trying to recapture her youth.

There has never been a better time to visit the city!

Anthology contains –
A Newer Shade of Blue – Michaela Hutfles
Vengeance on the Layover – Erik Scott de Bie
Girl’s Night Out – Jeremy Zimmerman
I Blame Management – S. Aarron Kemp
The War at Home – Nathan Crowder
Daddy’s Little Girl – Dawn Vogel
Claws of the Dragon Queen – Rosemary Jones

Cobalt City Timeslip will be available October 1st, 2010. Limited copies will be made available at Foolscap Convention 12, September 24-26th at the Redmond Town Center, Redmond, Washington.

A handful of ARCs will be be available for review in PDF format by September 1st.

 

August 5, 2010

Sharing the Sandbox

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Cobalt City has been, from the very start, a shared sandbox kind of experience. The bulk of the Protectorate were created by friends and family. The stories we created together were never written down, the magic of temporary art and shared creativity. But the sandbox of Cobalt City remained when those stories stopped. And there were so many stories left to tell — more than I could ever hope to tell on my own.

That is why I started the Cobalt City anthologies. It was my way of inviting writer friends and fans of Cobalt City to play in the sandbox. They were welcome to use existing characters or bring their own creations in to play with. The whole point is to have fun, and to tell a story that the readers enjoy as well.

I’ve seen what’s on tap for this next anthology, and let me tell you — it’s going to be a blast. We have old friends returning, like Jeremy Zimmerman, and new friends like Dawn Vogel and the superlative Erik Scott de Bie. We even have a few brand-new talents between the covers.

But my biggest joy is a story featuring a character I sort of dropped in to Cobalt City Blues more as a plot point than anything else. While I always liked the look and the style of the Wrecker of Engines, I didn’t ever know what to DO with him. I needn’t have worried. Rosemary Jones took the character and gave him a story that took my breath away.

Honestly. I felt like Bob Dylan hearing Hendrix play “All Along the Watchtower” for the first time. I might have created the blank-faced pulp mystery man, but she made him come alive. And far as I’m concerned, he’s there in the sandbox anytime she wants to use him.

After all, isn’t that the point?

 

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