MARCH NETGALLEY LISTINGS

Do you like free books? I guess I already know the answer to that one…

Do you have a NetGalley account? If so, great! If no, they are free to sign up for, and once you have one, you can request all kinds of books to review, some of them before they’ve even been released! From large publishing houses and small. Here’s a link to NetGalley in case you want to sign up. 

I am a little late in posting this, for reasons. We have another Systema Paradoxa volume listed for February, Out for Blood by Jorie Rao. You can learn more about the book below. Once you do, we hope you will click the link to head over to NetGalley and request it.

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Esprit de Corpse

Ef Deal

What secrets lay beneath Parisian Streets? And who will kill to keep them?

When a malfunctioning automaton runs full force into their locomotive on the new Paris-Orléans railway, Jacqueline Duval and her bohemian twin sister Angélique Laforge become embroiled in a mystery deeply rooted in their tragic past.

A polytech and famed engineering prodigy, Jacqueline is fascinated by the metal man, even more so when she discovers it is powered not by steam, but by the supernatural. Her investigation puts the sisters on a path both dangerous and mysterious as they must foil a plot to employ the dead to power a mechanical army aimed at international conquest. 

Aid comes from unexpected sources as the twins rush to avert this engineered war, but will they be in time?

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A Curse of Ash and Iron

Christine Norris

All The World’s A Stage, As They Say

In 1876 Philadelphia, Benjamin Grimm knows real life is much like the theater—people play their parts, hiding behind the illusion of their lives and never revealing their secrets. When he reunites with his childhood friend Eleanor Banneker, his delight turns to dismay. On learning she has been under a spell for the past seven years, forced to live as a servant in her own home, he realizes how sinister some secrets can be.

Ellie has spent the long years since her mother’s death under her stepmother’s watchful and unforgiving eye. Bewitched and hidden in plain sight, it seemed no one could help Ellie escape. Not even her own father, likewise bespelled. When she encounters Ben one evening, he seems immune to the magic that binds her. Her hope rekindles along with their friendship.

But time is running short. If they do not find a way to break the curse before midnight on New Year’s Eve, both Ellie and her father will be bound forever.

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AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – HEATHER E. HUTSELL – GREASE MONKEYS

The end draws nigh on Full Steam Ahead!

There are many, many bonuses to be had, and an amazing prize pack to be won, not to mention fantastic stories in the books themselves. Here is where you get to meet the authors. Heather was actually a stretch goal bonus, contributing to Grease Monkeys: The Heart and Soul of Dieselpunk, taking a look at the mechanics that keep the tech running and even mod it out beyond its original capabilities, striving for efficiency and peak performance or just keeping things going.

The other two books funding through the campaign are Grimm Machinations – the sequel to Gaslight & Grimm, bringing you even more steampunk faerie tales; and A Cast of Crows, a Poe-inspired steampunk collection created in conjunction with the Tell-Tale Steampunk Festival.

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eSpec Books interviews Heather E. Hutsell, contributor to Grease Monkeys: The Heart and Soul of Dieselpunk, edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail and John L. French.

eSB: Grease Monkeys is a collection of dieselpunk stories, a genre that doesn’t seem to get as much attention as its older sibling, steampunk. What challenges did you face transitioning from one to the other? What did you find similar, and what was different?

HH: Dieselpunk is brand new to me as a genre to write about. I love the aesthetics of the decades it covers, so I’m already very familiar with those, but the punk aspect was something I had to explore. Steampunk has always felt more natural and familiar to me, so I haven’t found it as difficult to write. Between the two, I’ve found that the characters who share those worlds also share the inability to stand still. There’s so much drive to invent more, improve more, and, for better or worse, change more. And as gritty as both genres can get – literally and figuratively – there is still some element of elegance maintained, and that’s something I can identify with.

eSB: What was your favorite aspect of writing for this collection and why?

HH: I really love the challenge that comes along with writing a dieselpunk story. Again, it’s so new to me that I’ve really had to stretch my wings and get into it; see what it’s all about. I’ve probably been aware of it for about a decade and have no idea why it’s taken me so long to get a closer look. I also love just being a part of a collection with other authors. We all come at a contained vision like this from so many different backgrounds and approaches and bring such rich ideas – it’s just great fun to see what everyone has come up with, and have those, ‘Whoa! I never would have thought of that!’ moments.

eSB: Did you base your story on your own previous literary setting or did you embrace the faerie connection? Or hey, did you do both?

HH: One of my original ideas for this story stemmed from my steampunk series, The Case Files. There is some time travel that puts a few of the prominent characters right in the middle of the dieselpunk world, and as tempting as it was to lean into that, I just couldn’t settle on a vignette that could be made short enough. The Case Files get a little… complicated!

eSB: No spoilers, but what was your inspiration for your story and did you introduce any easter eggs for either the dieselpunk aspect or your own body of work?

HH: This is a tough one to answer without giving anything away! I had a few loose ideas when first asked to contribute to Grease Monkeys, but after some brainstorming, things really fell into place quickly! Part of the inspiration for my story comes from a real-life event that happened to a close friend of my paternal grandfather, who also happened to be friends with a major icon from the late 1920s. The event itself is only mentioned as something upcoming in my story, but I felt compelled to put this family friend in there because he is such a great bridge between a few key elements. Coincidentally, a story my mother recently shared with me about her father and his role in the military also plays a part. It’s really sort of amazing how the two completely unrelated events could be so easily woven together to create something I’m really excited about.

eSB: Are there any interesting details that you incorporated in your story to harken to the historic period of the genre? Are you the kind of ’punk who reveals in the period-appropriate technobabble, or do you dig deep into the research to include period-accurate touches?

HH: This definitely required some research so I could get the timing and setting just right. Since there’s an element of the occult going on in my storyline, and a handful of true events playing a role, I needed to make sure I kept the chronology of those in mind. As it turns out, I could not have written history itself more perfectly to suit my story. I also needed to know the details of certain technological elements, and both of those for the circumstances of the story also happened to work out just so.

eSB: What is your favorite dieselpunk fiction? What is your favorite dieselpunk movie? Share with us why.

HH: I have seen The City of Lost Children described as both steampunk and dieselpunk, and regardless of which it is, it has been one of my favorite films, even long before I ever heard of either genre. It’s simply gorgeous, humorous, thought-provoking, disturbing, and it has inspired many fascinating and unsettling dreams-turned-stories of mine. If Jungpunk ever becomes a thing, that movie will be the epitome of it.

eSB: What advice would you give aspiring authors considering participating in a themed anthology?

HH: It’s great to participate in an anthology on a subject you love. Even better if it’s one that challenges you, or even makes you uncomfortable. The ones that make you feel like, ‘I don’t know if I can do this’ – definitely do those. The anthologies I have written for so far – sci-fi, pulp, superhero, and this one – have all terrified me at the onset, but I ended up loving, not only the stories, but the process involved for approaching and writing them.

eSB: Could you tell us about one of your most amusing experiences promoting your books?

HH: As someone who is terrible with marketing, and just can’t seem to sit down and really invest the time necessary to make social media work for me, I make sure that I make the best use of marketing time at conventions. I’ll do readings, speak on panels, and appear at every meet & greet and book fair I can, just so I can speak to people about my books in person. I have had several people ask to buy whatever book I was reading from right out of my hands, before I can even leave the room – or sometimes, the panel. I am both amused and fascinated by it every time it happens. To have someone say, “Oh, my gosh! I want that book right now – can I buy that copy from you?” – it never gets old.

eSB: What is one thing you would share that would surprise your readers?

HH: I don’t actually enjoy writing vampire or werewolf stories – but that didn’t stop me from still doing it four times! And since I have a sequel in mind for one, and plans to complete a trilogy for another storyline, it looks like I’ll be doing it again at some point. There are a few people out there who will be thrilled to know that.

eSB: What are some of your other works readers can look for?

HH: On the subject of ’punk writing, the first five of eight books of The Case Files are available. As mentioned, I also have a few romantic horror novels and novellas (By Blood, By Moon and By Heart, By Sun; In the Clothing of Wolves and Blood Mettle), and my first gothic, paranormal romance (Nevermore, Inc.) is available. Or, if you just don’t know where to start, 366 Tales: Stories Year-Round is exactly that – a one-page story for each day of the year, spanning all genres.

eSB: What projects of your own do you have coming up?

HH: Having recently finished book five for The Case Files, I’d like to get moving on the next one, though I’ve had requests to do more paranormal stories and another collection of mixed-genre short stories, so which one I go with next is a little up in the air at the moment. As long as I’m writing, I’m pretty happy.

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Heather E. Hutsell is the authoress of over twenty titles, including the steampunk mystery series The Case Files, short story compilations The Doll Collection Volumes 1 & 2, and an epic poem, The Merry Widow of Frankenstein. Her other works include fantasy, romantic horror, absurdist fiction, dystopia, and fairytales gone awry. Her most recent publications are the paranormal novella Nevermore, Inc., and 366 Tales: Stories Year Round, a collection of flash fiction. Heather has also written two historical documentary series for Lionheart Productions, LLC, contributed numerous articles to OneUnitedLanaster.com, and has stories in three anthologies put out by Crazy 8 Press. You can learn more about her projects at www.heatherehutsell.com. 

Learn more about Heather E. Hutsell here:

Website  *  GoodReads

Follow Heather E. Hutsell on social media: 

Facebook  *  Instagram  *  Pinterest

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – JOHN L. FRENCH – GREASE MONKEYS

We are at it again! Kicking off the year with a brand-new campaign: Full Steam Ahead!

While we are not the first to explore the realm of dieselpunk, it is fair to say there isn’t a lot out there. And I can say with full confidence no one else has gone in this direction! Grease Monkeys: The Heart and Soul of Dieselpunk takes a look at the mechanics that keep the tech running and even mod it out beyond its original capabilities, striving for efficiency and peak performance or just keeping things going.

The other two books funding through the campaign are Grimm Machinations – the sequel to Gaslight & Grimm, bringing you even more steampunk faerie tales; and A Cast of Crows, a Poe-inspired steampunk collection created in conjunction with the Tell-Tale Steampunk Festival.

Over the course of the campaign, we will be featuring these spotlights so you can get to know our authors—and the projects—better.

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eSpec Books interviews John L. French, contributor to Grease Monkeys: The Heart and Soul of Dieselpunk, edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail and John L. French.

eSB: Grease Monkeys is a collection of dieselpunk stories, a genre that doesn’t seem to get as much attention as its older sibling, steampunk. What challenges did you face transitioning from one to the other? What did you find similar, and what was different?

JLF: This is my first time writing about either, although as an editor I have edited some steampunk novels and stories. As for the difference, Let me compare the two subgenres to types of crime fiction – steampunk is closer to the cozy mystery while dieselpunk is closer to hardboiled.  

eSB: What was your favorite aspect of writing for this collection and why?

JLF: I generally don’t write either dieselpunk or steampunk fiction. So writing for this collection was a way to try something new, to stretch my writing muscles so to speak.

eSB: As an author, what drew you to participate in a collection of dieselpunk fiction?

JLF: I was invited to do so by my co-editor, who had faith enough in me to believe that this was something I could do.

eSB: Did you base your story on your own previous literary setting or did you embrace the faerie connection? Or hey, did you do both?

JLF: Neither. I did some research into both steam and dieselpunk and some of the aspects of the latter and as I did, I suddenly had the story. It was not one I expected to write. After I wrote the first one (“No Man’s Land”) another idea occurred to me and I wrote the second one (“The Return of the Diesel Kid”).

eSB: No spoilers, but what was your inspiration for your story and did you introduce any easter eggs for either the dieselpunk aspect or your own body of work?

JLF: I love putting Easter Eggs in my stories. There is a series of them in “No Man’s Land” that relate to a novel Patrick Thomas and I write if anyone gets them, it should tell them where the story is going.

eSB: Is this your first time writing for a themed anthology? If so, how did you find the experience? If not, what draws you to them?

JLF: No, I’ve been contributing to and editing themed anthologies for almost as long as I’ve been writing. I like them because the theme will not only suggest a topic about which to write but act as a challenge to take a topic like zombies or mermaids and write about it a way no one else has. I also think that readers take to themed anthologies because they know what to expect.

eSB: What advice would you give aspiring authors considering participating in a themed anthology?

JLF: First of all, read the guidelines. If the anthology is about police detectives, don’t write a story about a dog-walker who stumbles on a murder unless the dog-walker is an off-duty police detective. If it’s a topic with which you’re not familiar, do some research. If it’s a well-known subject like Sherlock Holmes or the Lovecraft mythos, go to the source material, read the original stories rather than rely on what you think you know. Once you do that, don’t be afraid to do something different.

eSB: What other events are you doing this year—dieselpunk or otherwise?

JLF: Several conventions of various kinds, Monster Mania, the Balticon (hopefully), the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, the Frederick Comic Con, and the Pulp Adventure Con. It’s always fun doing conventions, meeting old friends and fans and making new ones.

eSB: What is one thing you would share that would surprise your readers?

JLF: While it’s no secret that I was once a CSI for the Baltimore Police Crime Lab, I also “worked” for Captain James Gordon of the Gotham City Police in that city’s crime lab. I provided forensic advice to C. J. Henderson when he wrote a few Batman comics and as a thank you I was drawn into the comic as myself.

eSB: What are some of your other works readers can look for?

JLF: There are the novellas I wrote as part of Systema Paradoxa’s ongoing Cryptid series – When the Moon Shines, which features snallygasters and dwayyo, and Chessie at Bay, which features Chessie the Chesapeake Bay sea serpent. There’s also my Bianca Jones series about monster hunting in Baltimore (Here There Be Monsters, Monsters Among Us, and The Last Monsters. And a two-book (so far) series about a CSI who becomes a private eye then goes to work for the Baltimore City State’s Attorney.

eSB: What projects of your own do you have coming up?

JLF: Hopefully, I will have a few books coming out in 2023. My first fantasy collection from Padwolf Publishing (In the Ruins of Caerleon), a hardboiled detective collection from Bold Venture Press (The Wages of Syn), and a novel set in Patrick Thomas’s Agents of the Abyss series (The Detective of the Abyss). 2024 will see the release of Daylight Comes, my third book in my cryptid series, which features the return of the dwayyo along with at least one other monster.

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JOHN L. FRENCH is a retired crime scene supervisor with forty years’ experience. He has seen more than his share of murders, shootings, and serious assaults. As a break from the realities of his job, he started writing science fiction, pulp, horror, fantasy, and, of course, crime fiction.

John’s first story “Past Sins” was published in Hardboiled Magazine and was cited as one of the best Hardboiled stories of 1993. More crime fiction followed, appearing in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, the Fading Shadows magazines and in collections by Barnes and Noble. Association with writers like James Chambers and the late, great C.J. Henderson led him to try horror fiction and to a still growing fascination with zombies and other undead things. His first horror story “The Right Solution” appeared in Marietta Publishing’s Lin Carter’s Anton Zarnak. Other horror stories followed in anthologies such as The Dead Walk and Dark Furies, both published by Die Monster Die books. It was in Dark Furies that his character Bianca Jones made her literary debut in “21 Doors,” a story based on an old Baltimore legend and a creepy game his daughter used to play with her friends.

John’s first book was The Devil of Harbor City, a novel done in the old pulp style. Past Sins and Here There Be Monsters followed. John was also consulting editor for Chelsea House’s Criminal Investigation series. His other books include The Assassins’ Ball (written with Patrick Thomas), Souls on Fire, The Nightmare Strikes, Monsters Among Us, The Last Redhead, the Magic of Simon Tombs, and The Santa Heist (written with Patrick Thomas). John is the editor of To Hell in a Fast Car, Mermaids 13, C. J. Henderson’s Challenge of the Unknown, Camelot 13 (with Patrick Thomas), and (with Greg Schauer) With Great Power …

John’s Amazon Author Page  *  John’s Facebook Page

FEBRUARY NETGALLEY LISTINGS

Do you like free books? I guess I already know the answer to that one…

Do you have a NetGalley account? If so, great! If no, they are free to sign up for, and once you have one, you can request all kinds of books to review, some of them before they’ve even been released! From large publishing houses and small. Here’s a link to NetGalley in case you want to sign up. 

I am a little late in posting this, for reasons. We have another Systema Paradoxa volume listed for February, Out for Blood by Jorie Rao. You can learn more about the book below. Once you do, we hope you will click the link to head over to NetGalley and request it.

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Out for Blood

Jorie Rao

There are creatures lurking in our world. Obscure creatures long relegated to myth and legend. They have been sighted by a lucky—or unlucky—few, some have even been photographed, but their existence remains unproven and unrecognized by the scientific community.

These creatures, long thought gone, have somehow survived; creatures from our nightmares haunting the dark places. They swim in our lakes and bays, they soar the night skies, they hunt in the woods. Some are from our past, and some from other worlds, and others have always been with us—watching us, fearing us, hunting us.

These are the cryptids, and Systema Paradoxa tells their tales.

***

Prudence Ann Wells grew up believing the things that went bump in the night were just fairy tales. Until the night a slathering beast with all-to-intelligent eyes breaks down their door.

She freezes as the creature rushes her and her mother, convinced it can’t be real, as she and her sister, Justice, had always been told.

Only they had been raised on lies.

Prue survives the attack; her mother does not.

Driven by guilt and revenge, she and Justice set out to stop the beast, but can Prue end the nightmare without becoming a monster herself?

 

 

 

 

 

 

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – MISTY MASSEY – GREASE MONKEYS

We are at it again! Kicking off the year with a brand-new campaign: Full Steam Ahead!

While we are not the first to explore the realm of dieselpunk, it is fair to say there isn’t a lot out there. And I can say with full confidence no one else has gone in this direction! Grease Monkeys: The Heart and Soul of Dieselpunk takes a look at the mechanics that keep the tech running and even mod it out beyond its original capabilities, striving for efficiency and peak performance or just keeping things going.

The other two books funding through the campaign are Grimm Machinations – the sequel to Gaslight & Grimm, bringing you even more steampunk faerie tales; and A Cast of Crows, a Poe-inspired steampunk collection created in conjunction with the Tell-Tale Steampunk Festival.

Over the course of the campaign, we will be featuring these spotlights so you can get to know our authors—and the projects—better.

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eSpec Books interviews Misty Massey, contributor to Grease Monkeys: The Heart and Soul of Dieselpunk, edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail and John L. French.

eSB: As an author, what drew you to participate in a collection of dieselpunk fiction?

MM: I’ve written about fantasy pirates for so long that jumping into a much more technological world was a treat. Like being allowed to eat ice cream for dinner because I finished all my homework – writing about the mechanic and the metal girl was a new experience that gave me a thrill.

eSB: Did you base your story on your own previous literary setting or did you embrace the faerie connection? Or hey, did you do both?

MM: Golly, no! My Kestrel novels take place on wooden pirate ships in a fantasy world, and the story for this anthology had to be set in pre-WWII Washington. Night and day!

eSB: No spoilers, but what was your inspiration for your story and did you introduce any easter eggs for either the dieselpunk aspect or your own body of work?

MM: Originally, I was going to write about a troupe of mechanical dancers, an idea that came from my experience dancing in troupes over the last decade or so. But once I got started, I realized I’d built much too large of a cast of characters for a short story, and I wasn’t going to be able to do it justice. Besides that, I found that I enjoyed the intimacy of the mechanic having a single metal friend to care for instead of a crowd.

eSB: Are there any interesting details that you incorporated in your story to harken to the historic period of the genre? Are you the kind of ’punk who reveals in the period-appropriate technobabble, or do you dig deep into the research to include period-accurate touches?

MM: I’m definitely not someone who knows much about how machines work, so I tried not to go overboard explaining the metal girl’s internal arrangement. (I did run it past a more mechanically minded family member to make sure it wasn’t completely nonsense.) For me, diving into historical research to add the appropriate touches is my jam. Even an era so close to the present can feel like a long-ago past when we study language and customs. I made sure to pepper everyone’s speech with believable slang, for instance, and included mentions of the uncomfortable political situation of the time. I also read lyrics of popular songs from that period to familiarize myself with their cadence and vocabulary so the metal girl could sing without my editors having to worry about licensing issues for printing someone else’s lyrics.

eSB: What is your favorite dieselpunk fiction? What is your favorite dieselpunk movie? Share with us why.

MM: I’m a big fan of Richard Kadrey’s The Grand Dark. Unlike his Sandman Slim series, this book is heady and lush, filled with the thrill of post-war opportunity and shadowy dealings that underpin every connection. And my favorite movie is Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s a wonderful example of secret magic hiding just out of sight in the comfortable industrial world we think we’ve tamed.

eSB: What advice would you give aspiring authors considering participating in a themed anthology?

MM: Don’t look at the big names who are sharing a table of contents with you and start thinking you aren’t up to snuff with them. Your story has every right to appear and could very well end up being some reader’s favorite one in the whole collection. Believe in your work and yourself. 

eSB: What other events are you doing this year—dieselpunk or otherwise?

MM: I’ll be appearing at Ret-Con (Cary, NC), SAGA (Winston-Salem, NC), Atomacon (Charleston, SC), and ConCarolinas (Charlotte, NC) this spring. There may be other events added later, so you can check my website for updates!

eSB: What is one thing you would share that would surprise your readers?

MM: Well, I was a performing belly dancer for over ten years and belonged to a couple of professional troupes. Readers from the Carolinas might have even seen me on stage at the Carolina Renaissance Festival. I was the 1980 TriCounty spelling champion in high school. I look like a middle-aged mom, but I’m a big fan of bands like Rage Against the Machine and Rise Against. Oh, here’s something that might surprise people – I can write my name in cursive, forward with my right hand and backward with my left, at the same time. Ta da!!

eSB: What are some of your other works readers can look for?

MM: I mentioned the pirates earlier, so you can look for Mad Kestrel and the recent sequel, Kestrel’s Dance, from Loreseekers Press.  If you’d like to check out some of the other themed anthologies I’ve been involved with, you can try The Weird Wild West (e-Spec Books), Lawless Lands (Falstaff), Submerged (ZNB), or Cinched (Falstaff).

eSB: What projects of your own do you have coming up?

MM: I’m releasing the Dead Man series, a three-novella weird western saga featuring Doc Holliday returned from the dead later this year from Falstaff Books, and a fantasy-noir tale, The Big Smush, as part of the Shingles collection. And, of course, I’m hard at work on the third of Kestrel’s pirate adventures, with any luck coming in 2024 from Loreseekers Press.

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Misty Massey is the author of the Mad Kestrel series of rollicking fantasy adventures on the high seas. She is an editor for several small presses, and an instructor for the Speculative Fiction Academy. When she’s not writing or editing, Misty appears on the Authors & Dragons podcast sister show, Calamity Janes, as the cheerful, sundrenched cleric, Malibu. She’s a sucker for ginger snaps, African coffee, and anything sparkly. You can keep up with Misty at mistymassey.com and on Facebook and Twitter.

Learn more about Misty Massey here:

Website  *  GoodReads  * Amazon Author Page

Follow Misty Massey on social media: 

Facebook  *  Twitter

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – KEN SCHRADER – GREASE MONKEYS

We are at it again! Kicking off the year with a brand-new campaign: Full Steam Ahead!

While we are not the first to explore the realm of dieselpunk, it is fair to say there isn’t a lot out there. And I can say with full confidence no one else has gone in this direction! Grease Monkeys: The Heart and Soul of Dieselpunk takes a look at the mechanics that keep the tech running and even mod it out beyond its original capabilities, striving for efficiency and peak performance or just keeping things going.

The other two books funding through the campaign are Grimm Machinations – the sequel to Gaslight & Grimm, bringing you even more steampunk faerie tales; and A Cast of Crows, a Poe-inspired steampunk collection created in conjunction with the Tell-Tale Steampunk Festival.

Over the course of the campaign, we will be featuring these spotlights so you can get to know our authors—and the projects—better.

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eSpec Books interviews Ken Schrader, contributor to Grease Monkeys: The Heart and Soul of Dieselpunk, edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail and John L. French.

eSB: Grease Monkeys is a collection of dieselpunk stories, a genre that doesn’t seem to get as much attention as its older sibling, steampunk. What challenges did you face transitioning from one to the other? What did you find similar, and what was different?

KS: For me, the biggest challenge was the tone of the story. Steampunk, particularly in dialogue, has a more formal feel to it. There’s a kind of luster to the world, gaslight shining off all the polished brass. Dieselpunk is closer to the modern time. It’s showing the wear and tear brought on by technological advancements. For the first time, you’re putting the words “Machine” and “Gun” together, and the world can’t help but change after that. The brass has a bit of tarnish. There’s a dent or a chip in the paint and a vague smell of exhaust. Both genre’s will let you play wonderfully fast and loose with what’s possible technologically, but where they differ is that Steampunk is, generally speaking, a hopeful genre, whereas the folk in a Dieselpunk story have gotten knocked down a few times and have had to get back up… and it’s starting to show.

eSB: What was your favorite aspect of writing for this collection and why?

KS: This was a foray into a genre that I hadn’t written in before. Sure, I’ve seen Dieselpunk films (more on those later), but this had me diving deep into the art, and the aesthetics of Dieselpunk, to really get a clear picture of what was going on under the hood. I really liked what I found there, and while this may have been my first Dieselpunk story, it won’t be my last.

eSB: No spoilers, but what was your inspiration for your story and did you introduce any easter eggs for either the dieselpunk aspect or your own body of work?

KS: There is a lot of Dieselpunk art out there, and while I didn’t nod directly at any particular piece of work (Art, Book, Movie), I did draw upon visuals from movies like Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow and The Rocketeer show me a world that was similar, but fantastically different to our own.   

eSB: Are there any interesting details that you incorporated in your story to harken to the historic period of the genre? Are you the kind of ’punk who reveals in the period-appropriate technobabble, or do you dig deep into the research to include period-accurate touches?

KS: I did do research when necessary to keep myself properly – if not exactly – on the timeline. Specific mentions of technology or machines are either period appropriate or appeared on the scene a few years later. Some details I researched, while interesting on their own, didn’t specifically get mentioned in the story but helped me with the underlying logic.

eSB: What is your favorite dieselpunk fiction? What is your favorite dieselpunk movie? Share with us why.

KS: I had to think about this one for a moment, and, as it turns out, I get most of my Dieselpunk from movies. Favorite Dieselpunk movie? The hands-down winner there is Raiders of the Lost Ark (Which also counts for fiction since I’ve read the novelization). True, the story takes place a little bit later than the typical Dieselpunk range, but I think it fits in there quite nicely, and it revived the kind of action stories that been on the wane at that time.  

eSB: What advice would you give aspiring authors considering participating in a themed anthology?

KS: Find a theme that speaks to you and go for it. It’s a good way to get those initial publishing credits, you’ll get experience working with editors, the opportunity to learn is immense.

eSB: What other events are you doing this year—dieselpunk or otherwise?

KS: I’ve got applications in to be a panelist at Ravencon (April 21-23), Balticon (May 26-29), and ConCarolinas (June 2-4).

eSB: What are some of your other works readers can look for?

KS: You can find my story, “Haven” in eSpec Books’ Weird Wild West anthology.

My story “The Price of Power” is in the Trials anthology.

My story “Brimstone” is in the Predators in Petticoats anthology.

eSB: What projects of your own do you have coming up?

KS: My novella Crimson Whisper will be coming out later this year as part of the Systema Paradoxa Series in conjunction with the Cryptid Crate monthly subscription box.

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Ken Schrader writes Science Fiction, Fantasy, Weird Westerns, and anything else he can get away with. He’s a shameless Geek, a fan of the Oxford comma, and he makes housing decisions based upon the space available for bookshelves.

He sings out loud when there’s no one around, enjoys a good grilling session, and loves a powerful drum beat. He can also procrastinate so well you’d think it was a superpower.

He lives in Michigan, and despite the seasonal allergies, he always enjoys mowing the lawn.

Learn more about Ken Schrader here:

Website  *  GoodReads  * Amazon Author Page

Follow Ken Schrader s on social media: 

Facebook  *  Twitter

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT – MARIA V. SNYDER – GREASE MONKEYS

We are at it again! Kicking off the year with a brand-new campaign: Full Steam Ahead!

While we are not the first to explore the realm of dieselpunk, it is fair to say there isn’t a lot out there. And I can say with full confidence no one else has gone in this direction! Grease Monkeys: The Heart and Soul of Dieselpunk takes a look at the mechanics that keep the tech running and even mod it out beyond its original capabilities, striving for efficiency and peak performance or just keeping things going.

The other two books funding through the campaign are Grimm Machinations – the sequel to Gaslight & Grimm, bringing you even more steampunk faerie tales; and A Cast of Crows, a Poe-inspired steampunk collection created in conjunction with the Tell-Tale Steampunk Festival.

Over the course of the campaign, we will be featuring these spotlights so you can get to know our authors—and the projects—better.

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eSpec Books interviews Maria V. Snyder, contributor to Grease Monkeys: The Heart and Soul of Dieselpunk, edited by Danielle Ackley-McPhail and John L. French.

eSB: What was your favorite aspect of writing for this collection and why?

MVS: My favorite aspect of writing Under Amber Skies was creating the various gadgets that Zosia’s father invented to help with everyday life. I loved how they became almost characters themselves. The crabs were my favorite and I would love to have an army of them at my disposal—the best possible home security system! Plus, they were a touching reminder of one of Zosia’s fondest memories from her childhood with her father.

eSB: No spoilers, but what was your inspiration for your story and did you introduce any easter eggs for either the dieselpunk aspect or your own body of work?

MVS: The inspiration for this story came from when I visited Poland. I was on a Baltic Sea cruise with my family, and we stopped in Sweden, Finland, Russia, Latvia, and Poland. During the trip we visited a number of amber museums and we also saw the Amber Room in Catherine the Great’s palace (not the original, as the amber panels were stolen by the Nazis and never found). Over 45 millions of years the sap from a vast coniferous forest transformed into amber. It can be found throughout the area. After I learned all this, I knew I needed to write a story about the amber, or as the locals called, it Baltic Electrons.

eSB: Is this your first time writing for a themed anthology? If so, how did you find the experience? If not, what draws you to them?

MVS: This isn’t the first time I’ve written for a themed anthology. I enjoy writing for various anthologies because I view them as a challenge. I don’t write diselpunk, so this gave me an opportunity to explore a new sub-genre to put my toe in the water. It’s always a wonderful experience, and I enjoy having an excuse to go outside my comfort zone.

eSB: What advice would you give aspiring authors considering participating in a themed anthology?

MVS: To go for it! It’s a chance to play in another’s sandbox. It is also an opportunity to take the typical genre conventions and put your own spin on them. For example, I was invited to write for a werewolf-themed anthology. I don’t write about werewolves but thought it might be fun. However, I had a hard time coming up with a unique premise until I sparked on the idea of a homeless young woman who was good at finding lost dogs. She survived on the streets by returning them to their owners and collecting the reward money. Until she found one big dog that didn’t have an owner.

eSB: What other events are you doing this year—dieselpunk or otherwise?

MVS: I’m the Keynote Speaker for the Greater Leigh Valley Writers Group’s annual writing conference, The Write Stuff. It’s the weekend of March 23-25 and I’ll also be teaching a number of writing workshops. It’s in Bethlehem, PA.  I’m doing a release party for my new book, The Study of Poisons, on April 15 at Cupboard Maker Books in Enola, PA, from 1-4 pm. I’ll also be at ApollyCon in Washington, DC, the weekend of April 28-30. All my appearances can be found on my website.

eSB: Could you tell us about one of your most amusing experiences promoting your books?

MVS: My publisher sent me on a small book tour when Poison Study was first published. I visited Phoenix, AZ, Seattle, WA, Los Angeles and San Deigo, CA, and Birmingham, AL. Now which one of these cities doesn’t match? Birmingham! I was supposed to go to Denver, but there was a last-minute change, and my publisher wanted me to go to a sales conference in Birmingham. No problem. It was a lovely event. There was a stack of my books to sign and hand out to the sales teams, and a four foot by three foot poster of my book cover and my head shot behind me.

At the end of the conference, I asked about the poster, which was mounted on thick foam board. What were they going to do with it? Throw it away! I asked if I could take it, and they said yes. Fast forward to the airport. I’m carrying this huge poster and, when I get to TSA security, I’m stopped for a special screening. Since my flights had been changed last-minute, it was deemed suspicious. So there I am, holding this poster and being screened, entertaining the large group of people who are staring at me as they wait for their turn through security. I turn to them and say, “I guess my ID isn’t big enough for them.” Everyone laughed, even the TSA agents, who then waved me through with my giant poster. I still have that poster hanging on my wall!

eSB: What are some of your other works readers can look for?

MVS: I’ve twenty-two science fiction and fantasy novels published, which encompasses six different series. I also have a short story collection titled, Up to the Challenge. It has fifteen science fiction and fantasy short stories, and one horror story. Two of the stories are brand new to the collection. You can find a list of all my books plus excerpts on my website.

eSB: What projects of your own do you have coming up?

MVS: My next release is The Study of Poisons. It is a companion novel to my first fantasy novel, Poison Study. My readers have been bugging me for years to write Poison Study from Valek’s POV. I was always too busy, but when FairyLoot decided to release my first Study books as hardcover special editions this May, I thought it would be a good time to write Valek’s story. It was a great deal of fun, but it was also challenging trying to figure out what Valek was up to while not with Yelena. I’m excited for its release. There will be two maps: one of world and another of the castle complex where most of the story takes place. And another surprise.

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When Maria V. Snyder was younger, she aspired to be a storm chaser in the American Midwest so she attended Pennsylvania State University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology. Much to her chagrin, forecasting the weather wasn’t in her skill set so she spent a number of years as an environmental meteorologist, which is not exciting…at all. Bored at work and needing a creative outlet, she started writing fantasy and science fiction stories. Twenty-two novels and numerous short stories later, Maria’s learned a thing or three about writing. She’s been on the New York Times bestseller list, won a dozen awards, and has earned her Masters of Arts degree in Writing from Seton Hill University, where she is now a faculty member for their MFA program. 

 

Maria’s favorite color is red. She loves dogs, but is allergic, instead she has a big black tom cat named…Kitty (apparently naming cats isn’t in her skill set either). Maria also has a husband and two grown children who are an inspiration for her writing when they aren’t being a distraction. Note: She mentions her cat before her family. When she’s not writing, she’s either playing pickleball, traveling, taking pictures, or zonked out on the couch due to all of the above. Being a writer, though is a ton of fun. Where else can you take fencing lessons, learn how to ride a horse, study marital arts, learn how to pick a lock, take glass blowing classes and attend Astronomy Camp and call it research?  Maria will be the first one to tell you it’s not working as a meteorologist. 

Learn more about Maria V. Snyder here:

Website  *  GoodReads  * Amazon Author Page

Follow Maria V. Snyder online:

Facebook  *  Instagram

2022 NEBULA AWARDS – ELIGIBLE TITLES

It is award season once again. For those interested, here is a list of our qualifying titles by publication month. For those eligible to nominate and vote for the Nebula Awards, files have been posted to the relevant SFWA forums, or you can contact the publisher.

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February

NOVEL CATEGORY –
The Clockwork Solution by Michelle D. Sonnier

The Legacy of the Sortilege Line

Treated with disdain by her family her entire life for not living up to their expectations—or prophesy—Arabella Leyden forges her own path and attains her greatest wish: to join the Sisterhood of Witches, doing so in a manner no one ever anticipated.

As the first-ever technomancer, the way before her is fraught with peril. Can she survive the machinations of her order, or be ground between the gears of reluctant progress?

More important yet, can she succeed at her first assignment: find the root cause of the famine sweeping through Ireland? And end it. A task that has already claimed two witches of the Sortilege line.

Her future hangs in the balance… perhaps even her very life…

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NOVEL CATEGORY –
Daire’s Devils by Danielle Ackley-McPhail

Give the Enemy Hell!

At the ass-end of the galaxy, Allied Forces—including the 142nd Mobile Special Ops Team, better known as Daire’s Devils—stand ready to defend the contested colony planet Demeter from military invasion and corporate exploitation.

But when the ranks are infiltrated by those determined to secure the top-secret designs of AeroCom’s new prototype flagship, the Cromwell, the newest member of the Devils, Corporal Katrion Alexander, finds herself facing off against an unexpected menace, synthetic operatives indistinguishable from living beings.

She and the Devils must neutralize this new threat, but how when the enemy wears a trusted face?

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April

NOVELLA CATEGORY –
Systema Paradoxa: Chessie At Bay
by John L. French

Same ol’ Syn, all new mischief…

Just when Theodore Syn starts thinking about sinking roots, the military comes calling, needing a man with his… unique qualifications to deal with a need-to-know problem that’s cropped up in the Chesapeake Bay.

Something is out there, frightening fish and fishermen alike.

But that’s not the real problem. Someone is masquerading as a military official on American soil, and with war on the horizon, steps need to be taken to safeguard the East Coast, before the Axis Powers drive a U-boat—or something more unexpected—right up the mouth of the Bay.

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NOVELLA CATEGORY –
Systema Paradoxa: Eyes of the Wolf
by Robert E. Waters

When a sudden trail of death and desolation sweeps through south and central Texas, elements of the case trigger an alert with a division of the FBI that tracks possible supernatural influence.

Agent Chimalis Burton, a specialist in cryptids of the Americas, has a history of vanquishing such monstrous creatures. When she is assigned the case, she scrambles to find answers before the situation worsens.

Evidence begins to suggest an evil that has festered for centuries; an evil that now rises to reclaim its power.

An evil that rests in the soulful eyes of a wolf.

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NOVELLA CATEGORY –
Systema Paradoxa: Alone in the Muck
by Anton Kukal

After what felt like a lifetime in the sewers, Inspector Max Dalton would have thought he’d seen everything. He would have been wrong. When his trainees discover something inexplicable in the muck, life changes radically for all of them, including Max’s granddaughter, Gwen.

News of their discovery gets out and bounty hunters invade the tunnels beneath the city, forcing Max’s cooperation in their search. With life and love and liberty in the balance, Gwen will need help from an unexpected source to evade those looking to capture her new friend.

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NOVELLA CATEGORY –
Systema Paradoxa: Forget Me Not
by Carol Gyzander

What is legend? What is truth?

A monster is said to lurk beneath the waters of Lake Erie. Jane and her twin brother Rob are haunted by just that. As children, they lost half their family to a terrible boating accident. They haven’t left dry land since. Only, at the age of sixteen, they allow friends to lure them onto the lake.

But should they have held their ground?

When something nearly swamps their boat, years of secrecy are swept away and the children’s father shares their family history with the supposed Monster of Lake Erie.

Will the tale bring closure or just more tragedy?

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NOVELLA CATEGORY –
Systema Paradoxa: Found Footage
by Mary Fan

The camera doesn’t lie… but it has been known to hold a secret or two.

High-school student Jenny Chen captures a glimpse of an unbelievable creature when filming a student movie in the woods near Princeton, New Jersey. Despite her proof, only her best friend believes her.

Determined to reveal the truth about the strange creature, Jenny returns to search the woods, only to end up in a terrifying game of hunt and chase. Someone wants her discovery silenced…but who?

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July

NOVELLA CATEGORY –
Systema Paradoxa: The Play of Light
by Danielle Ackley-McPhail

Life and Death and Family Secrets…

Sheridan Cascaden faces more than memories when she receives a call in the darkest hours summoning her home.

Sent away five years prior to safeguard her from the evil that claimed her mother, Sheridan hasn’t been back since. She returns to find her childhood home in a disturbing state and her father straddling the Veil, with nothing to explain what happened. Now not only must she deal with her own demons, but she will have to delve into his if she is to unlock the mystery and save Papa’s life.

But wherein lies the line between truth and madness? Sheridan must find out before it’s too late… for both of them…

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August

NOVEL CATEGORY –
Rags by Ty Drago

Atlantic City, 1982

One cold December night, sixteen-year-old Abby Lowell and her foster sister are rescued by a mysterious and deadly figure in rags and a large hood. Abby never learns his name and never sees his face, but he’s obviously good with that black-bladed knife of his, very good.

Abby dubs him “Rags.”

But Rags isn’t done, not by a long shot. With her foster family under threat from the ruthless Bernards, who are determined to tear down their dilapidated hotel in favor of yet another casino, Abby finds herself in desperate need of a defender. A part of her is relieved when Rags returns to protect her again. And again. And again.

Now, with an army of thugs and a terrifying Voodoo witch hunting her, Abby must not only understand the dark truth behind Rags. She must accept that truth, frightening as it is, before it’s too late.

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November

NOVELLA CATEGORY –
Systema Paradoxa: Hell’s Well
by Sean Patrick Hazlett

Astrophysicist Dr. Kate Gavin Weaver’s life was hard enough fighting for tenure at Caltech while raising a four-year-old daughter as a single mother. It was even harder living under the shadow of her estranged father, Mack Gavin, the host of the wildly popular television series, The Cryptid Hunter.

But when Mack disappears while researching the subject of his next episode in a secluded wilderness town in California, Kate decides to leave the relative safety of Pasadena to find her father.

What she uncovers there shakes the very foundation of her reality and forces her to grapple with an adversary she could’ve never imagined.

eSPEC WEEK IN REVIEWS

I haven’t done one of these in a while. Life gets in the way and you never know when some kind soul will post a review. Delighted with those that have appeared recently.

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Rosenberg’s tongue-in-cheek approach charms, creating an endearing, hirsute hero. Readers are sure to be entertained.

Publishers Weekly

Splendid urban fantasy – shy, retiring Yeti who appreciates modern comforts (toilet paper!) is forced to relocate to the city.

Julian White, GoodReads

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“Readers should add Even in the Grave and Other Terrors to their bookshelves next to copies of Lovecraft’s tales and Victorian authors’ macabre stories. […] Readers will enjoy both anthologies’ bloodcurdling, thrilling tales — stories that will make them lock their doors and check underneath their beds before drifting off to sleep.”

Lindsey Carman Williams, The Los Angeles Review of Books

“The stories here are unique and well-written. This book really has that eerie atmosphere a good horror anthology has.”

GoodReads

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“Steampunk, werewolves, spirits, and romance. All the ingredients a reader needs for a fast-paced, action-packed adventure.”

Maria V. Snyder, New York Times bestselling author of Navigating the Stars

(Advance Review Blurbs)

“A wild, steampunky adventure with laugh-out-loud moments and a perfect set of heroines. Hold on and enjoy the ride!”

Gregory Frost, author of Rhymer and Shadowbridge

“A rollicking steampunky romp through post-Revolution France. Most delectable!”

Tiffany Trent, author of The Unnaturalists

“A meticulously-built world awaits readers in this delightful steampunk mystery.”

A.C. Wise, author of Wendy, Darling and Hooked

“A truly delicious story. Deal confidently establishes her world and characters with small historical details and revealing turns of phrase, and leads you through the story’s twists to a satisfying end. *Chef’s kiss!*”

Miriam Seidel, author of The Speed of Clouds.

“A fun steampunk adventure that fans of Indiana Jones are sure to love.”

John L. French, award-winning author

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“I loved this book! I love the idea of cryptids being so aware, so available and they make for exciting adventures and stories.”

Alejandra Ivanez, LibraryThing Early Reviewer

“If you like mystery, intrigue, and good old gumshoe stories with a unique twist, this one is for you.”

A.L. Kaplan, LibraryThing Early Reviewer

DECEMBER EARLY REVIEWER LISTING

Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of this before. LibraryThing, a free personal library management site, has been around for a while. I believe it even predates GoodReads, but it wasn’t as flashy or as easy to use, so it didn’t take off as well. But you know, it’s still around and constantly improving its game. In some ways, it’s better than GR, now that the great Zon has taken over. Signing up is free, and the platform has gotten much easier to use, though still a little difficult to navigate, in comparison.

Anyway, earlier this year, they started Early Reviewers, a new program where authors and publishers can offer new titles to reviewers anywhere up to six months after publication. This month we have only one title on offer, but snap it up. It’s a good one!

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Hell’s Well (Systema Paradoxa Volume 13) by Sean Patrick Hazlett

There are creatures lurking in our world. Obscure creatures long relegated to myth and legend. They have been sighted by a lucky—or unlucky—few, some have even been photographed, but their existence remains unproven and unrecognized by the scientific community.

These creatures, long thought gone, have somehow survived; creatures from our nightmares haunting the dark places. They swim in our lakes and bays, they soar the night skies, they hunt in the woods. Some are from our past, and some from other worlds, and others have always been with us—watching us, fearing us, hunting us.

These are the cryptids, and Systema Paradoxa tells their tales.

***

Astrophysicist Dr. Kate Gavin Weaver’s life was hard enough fighting for tenure at Caltech while raising a four-year-old daughter as a single mother. It was even harder living under the shadow of her estranged father, Mack Gavin, the host of the wildly popular television series, The Cryptid Hunter.
But when Mack disappears while researching the subject of his next episode in a secluded wilderness town in California, Kate decides to leave the relative safety of Pasadena to find her father.

What she uncovers there shakes the very foundation of her reality and forces her to grapple with an adversary she could’ve never imagined.

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Sean Patrick Hazlett is a technologist, finance professional, and science fiction, fantasy, horror, and non-fiction author and editor working in Silicon Valley. He is a winner of the Writers of the Future Contest, and over forty of his short stories have appeared in publications such as The Year’s Best Military and Adventure SF, Year’s Best Hardcore Horror, Terraform, Galaxy’s Edge, Writers of the Future, Grimdark Magazine, Vastarien, and Abyss & Apex, among others. He is also the editor of the Weird World War III and Weird World War IV anthologies. He is also an active member of the Horror Writers Association.

In graduate school, Sean assisted future Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter at the Harvard-Stanford Preventive Defense Project where he developed strategic options for confronting Iran’s nuclear program. For this analysis, he won the 2006 Policy Analysis Exercise Award at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Sean also worked as an intelligence analyst focusing on strategic war games and simulations for the Pentagon, where he drew on his experience training the US military as a cavalry officer in the US Army during the Iraq and Afghan wars.

Sean holds a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and bachelor’s degrees in History and Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.

 

NEW RELEASE – HELL’S WELL

This has been a busy month for us, so I am late in posting this, but we are excited to announce that  Hell’s Well by Sean Patrick Hazlett (a tale of the Lone Pine Mountain Devil) released on November 21. This volume was featured as an exclusive bundle in the November Cryptid Crate. Copies can also be ordered via the eSpec Books online store.

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There are creatures lurking in our world. Obscure creatures long relegated to myth and legend. They have been sighted by a lucky—or unlucky—few, some have even been photographed, but their existence remains unproven and unrecognized by the scientific community.

These creatures, long thought gone, have somehow survived; creatures from our nightmares haunting the dark places. They swim in our lakes and bays, they soar the night skies, they hunt in the woods. Some are from our past, and some from other worlds, and others have always been with us—watching us, fearing us, hunting us.

These are the cryptids, and Systema Paradoxa tells their tales.

***

Astrophysicist Dr. Kate Gavin Weaver’s life was hard enough fighting for tenure at Caltech while raising a four-year-old daughter as a single mother. It was even harder living under the shadow of her estranged father, Mack Gavin, the host of the wildly popular television series, The Cryptid Hunter.

But when Mack disappears while researching the subject of his next episode in a secluded wilderness town in California, Kate decides to leave the relative safety of Pasadena to find her father.

What she uncovers there shakes the very foundation of her reality and forces her to grapple with an adversary she could’ve never imagined.

---

Sean Patrick Hazlett is a technologist, finance professional, and science fiction, fantasy, horror, and non-fiction author and editor working in Silicon Valley. He is a winner of the Writers of the Future Contest, and over forty of his short stories have appeared in publications such as The Year’s Best Military and Adventure SF, Year’s Best Hardcore Horror, Terraform, Galaxy’s Edge, Writers of the Future, Grimdark Magazine, Vastarien, and Abyss & Apex, among others. He is also the editor of the Weird World War III and Weird World War IV anthologies. He is also an active member of the Horror Writers Association.

In graduate school, Sean assisted future Secretary of Defense Ashton B. Carter at the Harvard-Stanford Preventive Defense Project where he developed strategic options for confronting Iran’s nuclear program. For this analysis, he won the 2006 Policy Analysis Exercise Award at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Sean also worked as an intelligence analyst focusing on strategic war games and simulations for the Pentagon, where he drew on his experience training the US military as a cavalry officer in the US Army during the Iraq and Afghan wars.

Sean holds a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School, a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and bachelor’s degrees in History and Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.

DECEMBER NETGALLEY LISTINGS

Do you like free books? I guess I already know the answer to that one…

Do you have a NetGalley account? If so, great! If no, they are free to sign up for, and once you have one, you can request all kinds of books to review, some of them before they’ve even been released! From large publishing houses and small. Here’s a link to NetGalley in case you want to sign up. 

eSpec has two offerings in December, adding James Chambers’ Vox Astra: When Clouds Die, the second collection of his transformative science fiction stories and Sean Patrick Hazlett’s Hell’s Well, Systema Paradoxa Vol. 13. You can read more about these books below. Once you do, we hope you will click the links below to head over to NetGalley and request them.

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Vox Astra: When Clouds Die

James Chambers

The Stars Will Sing Our Songs Long After We Are Gone… 

…but who will remain to listen? Who will hear the stories they tell of the wisdom of species dying to protect worlds against a cosmic threat, to witness the crisis of warriors faced with unconscionable acts and soldiers determined to cling to hope amidst violence and despair?

Open your ears to these tales of heroes both fantastic and ordinary, who travel among the planets or dwell deep in the canyons of city streets. Hear the voices of the stars as they speak of lost loves, long-slumbering guardians, brutal conflicts, wars beyond time, and the powerful ties that hold people together in the face of violence. Though humanity may one day vanish, the stars forget nothing. We can only hope they will be kind when they tell our stories. 

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Hell’s Well

Sean Patrick Hazlett

There are creatures lurking in our world. Obscure creatures long relegated to myth and legend. They have been sighted by a lucky—or unlucky—few, some have even been photographed, but their existence remains unproven and unrecognized by the scientific community.

These creatures, long thought gone, have somehow survived; creatures from our nightmares haunting the dark places. They swim in our lakes and bays, they soar the night skies, they hunt in the woods. Some are from our past, and some from other worlds, and others have always been with us—watching us, fearing us, hunting us.

These are the cryptids, and Systema Paradoxa tells their tales.
***
Astrophysicist Dr. Kate Gavin Weaver’s life was hard enough fighting for tenure at Caltech while raising a four-year-old daughter as a single mother. It was even harder living under the shadow of her estranged father, Mack Gavin, the host of the wildly popular television series, The Cryptid Hunter.

But when Mack disappears while researching the subject of his next episode in a secluded wilderness town in California, Kate decides to leave the relative safety of Pasadena to find her father.

What she uncovers there shakes the very foundation of her reality and forces her to grapple with an adversary she could’ve never imagined.

 

eSPEC BOOKS AUTHOR READING SERIES

Yes, we’re still doing this, it’s just been a while since we’ve had new content. Hope you enjoy!

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Ef Deal reading from her debut novel Esprit de Corpse (Funding now on Kickstarter, final days!)

What secrets lay beneath Parisian Streets? And who will kill to keep them?

When a malfunctioning automaton runs full force into their locomotive on the new Paris-Orléans railway, Jacqueline Duval and her bohemian twin sister Angélique Laforge become embroiled in a mystery deeply rooted in their tragic past.

A polytech and famed engineering prodigy, Jacqueline is fascinated by the metal man, even more so when she discovers it is powered not by steam, but by the supernatural. Her investigation puts the sisters on a path both dangerous and mysterious as they must foil a plot to employ the dead to power a mechanical army aimed at international conquest. 

Aid comes from unexpected sources as the twins rush to avert this engineered war, but will they be in time?

About the Author

Ef Deal is a new voice in the genre of speculative steampunk with her debut novel, Esprit de Corpse, but she is not new to publishing. Her short fiction has appeared in various magazines and ezines over the years. Her short story “Czesko,” published in the March 2006 F&SF, was given honorable mention in Gardner Dozois’ Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy, which gave both her and Gardner great delight. They laughed and laughed and sipped Scotch (not cognac, alas) over the last line.

Despite her preoccupation with old-school drum and bugle corps ~ playing, composing, arranging, and teaching ~ Ef Deal can usually be found at the keyboard of her computer rather than her piano. She is Assistant Fiction Editor at Abyss & Apex magazine and edits videos for the YouTube channel Strong Women ~ Strange Worlds Quick Reads.

Esprit de Corpse from eSpec Books is the first of a series featuring the brilliant 19th-century sisters, the Twins of Bellesfées Jacqueline and Angélique. Hard science blends with the paranormal as they challenge the supernatural invasion of France in 1843.

When she’s not lost in her imagination, Ef Deal can be found in historic Haddonfield, NJ, in a once-haunted Victorian with her husband and two chows. She is an associate member of SFWA and an affiliate member of HWA.

Keith R.A. DeCandido reading from his latest novel Phoenix Precinct (Funding now on Kickstarter, final days!)

Humans and elves, dwarves and gnomes, wizards and warriors all live and do business in the thriving, overcrowded port city of Cliff’s End, to say nothing of the tourists and travelers who arrive by land and sea, passing through the metropolis on matters of business or pleasure—or on quests. The hard-working, under-appreciated officers of the Cliff’s End Castle Guard work day and night to maintain law and order as best they can.

A fire in the neighboring city-state of Barlin has resulted in hundreds of refugees pouring into Cliff’s End, forcing the creation of a new neighborhood—Albinton, which everyone calls “New Barlin”—and a new police precinct—Phoenix Precinct. Violence against the refugees is on the rise. Lieutenants Danthres Tresyllione and Torin ban Wyvald are called to the latest act of brutality, which has resulted in a vicious murder. But what appears to be a simple hate crime turns out to be far more complicated, as Danthres and Torin’s investigation leads them to corruption in the Castle Guard—and in the castle itself!

An all-new adventure of the Cliff’s End Castle Guard!

About the Author

Keith R.A. DeCandido is a white male in his late forties, approximately two hundred pounds. He was last seen in the wilds of the Bronx, New York City, though he is often sighted in other locales. Usually he is armed with a laptop computer, which some have classified as a deadly weapon. Through use of this laptop, he has inflicted more than fifty novels, as well as an indeterminate number of comic books, nonfiction, novellas, and works of short fiction on an unsuspecting reading public. Many of these are set in the milieus of television shows, games, movies, and comic books, among them Star Trek, Alien, Cars, Summoners War, Doctor Who, Supernatural, World of Warcraft, Marvel Comics, and many more.

We have received information confirming that more stories involving Danthres, Torin, and the city-state of Cliff’s End can be found in the novels Dragon Precinct, Unicorn Precinct, Goblin Precinct, Gryphon Precinct, and the forthcoming Phoenix Precinct and Manticore Precinct, as well as the short-story collections Tales from Dragon Precinct and the forthcoming More Tales from Dragon Precinct. His other recent crimes against humanity include A Furnace Sealed, the debut of a new urban fantasy series taking place in DeCandido’s native Bronx; the Alien novel Isolation; the Marvel’s Tales of Asgard trilogy of prose novels starring Marvel’s versions of Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three; short stories in the anthologies Aliens: Bug Hunt, Joe Ledger: Unstoppable, The Best of Bad-Ass Faeries, The Best of Defending the Future, TV Gods: Summer Programming, X-Files: Trust No One, Nights of the Living Dead, the award-winning Planned Parenthood benefit anthology Mine!, the two Baker Street Irregulars anthologies, and Release the Virgins!; and articles about pop culture for Tor.com and on his own Patreon.

If you see DeCandido, do not approach him, but call for backup immediately. He is often seen in the company of a suspicious-looking woman who goes by the street name of “Wrenn,” as well as several as-yet-unidentified cats. A full dossier can be found at DeCandido.net

Carol Gyzander reading from Forget Me Not (Volume 10 in the Systema Paradoxa series)

What is legend? What is truth?

 A monster is said to lurk beneath the waters of Lake Erie. Jane and her twin brother Rob are haunted by just that. As children, they lost half their family to a terrible boating accident. They haven’t left dry land since. Only, at the age of sixteen, they allow friends to lure them onto the lake.

But should they have held their ground?

When something nearly swamps their boat, years of secrecy are swept away and the children’s father shares their family history with the supposed Monster of Lake Erie.

Will the tale bring closure or just more tragedy?

About the Author

Carol Gyzander read classic science fiction and Agatha Christie mysteries non-stop as a child. Now that her own kids have flown the coop, she writes and edits horror, suspense, dark fiction, and sci-fi stories from the outskirts of New York City. Twisted tales that touch your heart!

Her story, “The Yellow Crown,” was nominated for the HWA Bram Stoker Award® for Superior Achievement in a Short Story. It can be found in the Stoker-nominated anthology, Under Twin Suns: Alternate Histories of the Yellow Sign from Hippocampus Press.

Carol has stories in over a dozen other anthologies, including Stories We Tell After Midnight from Crone Girls Press; Across the Universe: Tales of Alternate Beatles from Fantastic Books (amidst stories by Cat Rambo, Spider Robinson, and David Gerrold); Cat Ladies of the Apocalypse from Camden Park Press; and The Lost Librarian’s Grave: Tales of Madness, Horror, and Adventure from Redwood Press.

As editor-in-chief and one of the founders of Writerpunk Press, she’s edited four anthologies of punk stories inspired by classic tales, including Merely This and Nothing More: Edgar Allan Poe Goes Punk and Hideous Progeny: Classic Horror Goes Punk. She co-edited the Even in the Grave anthology of ghost stories, with James Chambers, from the NeoParadoxa line of eSpec Books.

She works with James Chambers as Co-Coordinator of the Horror Writers Association New York Chapter and as co-host of the HWA-NY Galactic Terrors online reading series (on the second Thursday of every month—see HWANY.org for details). She is also one of the overall Chapter Program Managers for HWA.

Carol’s a member of Horror Writers Association, Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, Broad Universe, and Historical Novel Society. Find her at http://www.CarolGyzander.com or on Twitter and Instagram @CarolGyzander.

OCTOBER EARLY REVIEWER LISTING

Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of this before. LibraryThing, a free personal library management site, has been around for a while. I believe it even predates GoodReads, but it wasn’t as flashy or as easy to use, so it didn’t take off as well. But you know, it’s still around and constantly improving its game. In some ways, it’s better than GR, now that the great Zon has taken over. Signing up is free, and the platform has gotten much easier to use, though still a little difficult to navigate, in comparison.

Anyway, earlier this year, they started Early Reviewers, a new program where authors and publishers can offer new titles to reviewers anywhere up to six months after publication. This month we have only one title on offer, but snap it up. It’s a good one!

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Chessie at Bay as accounted by John L. French

Same ol’ Syn, all new mischief…

Just when Theodore Syn starts thinking about sinking roots, the military comes calling, needing a man with his… unique qualifications to deal with a need-to-know problem that’s cropped up in the Chesapeake Bay.

Something is out there, frightening fish and fishermen alike.

But that’s not the real problem. Someone is masquerading as a military official on American soil, and with war on the horizon, steps need to be taken to safeguard the East Coast, before the Axis Powers drive a U-boat—or something more unexpected—right up the mouth of the Bay.

 About the Author

JOHN L. FRENCH is a retired crime scene supervisor with forty years’ experience. He has seen more than his share of murders, shootings, and serious assaults. As a break from the realities of his job, he started writing science fiction, pulp, horror, fantasy, and, of course, crime fiction.

John’s first story “Past Sins” was published in Hardboiled Magazine and was cited as one of the best Hardboiled stories of 1993. More crime fiction followed, appearing in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, the Fading Shadows magazines, and in collections by Barnes and Noble. Association with writers like James Chambers and the late, great C.J. Henderson led him to try horror fiction and to a still growing fascination with zombies and other undead things. His first horror story “The Right Solution” appeared in Marietta Publishing’s Lin Carter’s Anton Zarnak. Other horror stories followed in anthologies such as The Dead Walk and Dark Furies, both published by Die Monster Die Books. It was in Dark Furies that his character Bianca Jones made her literary debut in “21 Doors,” a story based on an old Baltimore legend and a creepy game his daughter used to play with her friends.

John’s first book was The Devil of Harbor City, a novel done in the old pulp style. Past Sins and Here There Be Monsters followed. John was also consulting editor for Chelsea House’s Criminal Investigation series. His other books include The Assassins’ Ball (written with Patrick Thomas), Souls on Fire, The Nightmare Strikes, Monsters Among Us, The Last Redhead, the Magic of Simon Tombs, and The Santa Heist (written with Patrick Thomas). John is the editor of To Hell in a Fast Car, Mermaids 13, C. J. Henderson’s Challenge of the Unknown, Camelot 13 (with Patrick Thomas), and (with Greg Schauer) With Great Power …

 You can find John on Facebook or you can email him at jfrenchfam@aol.com. 

SEPTEMBER NETGALLEY LISTINGS

Do you like free books? I guess I already know the answer that one…

Do you have a NetGalley account? If so, great! If no, they are free to sign up for and once you have one, you can request all kinds of book to review, some of them before they’ve even released! From large publishing houses and small. Here’s a link to NetGalley in case you want to sign up. 

Anyway, thanks to the folks at SFWA, we can list our books on NetGalley for a nominal fee, without paying a substantial monthly subscription. For September, we have two more of our Systema Paradoxa titles, created in conjunction with the Cryptid Crate monthly subscription box. You should check them out. The series is great fun (and so is the box!). Click the titles below to request a free review copy on NetGalley.

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Found Footage, as accounted by Mary Fan

The camera doesn’t lie… but it has been known to hold a secret or two.

High-school student Jenny Chen captures a glimpse of an unbelievable creature when filming a student movie in the woods near Princeton, New Jersey. Despite her proof, only her best friend believes her.

Determined to reveal the truth about the strange creature, Jenny returns to search the woods, only to end up in a terrifying game of hunt and chase. Someone wants her discovery silenced…but who?

About the Author

Mary Fan is a sci-fi/fantasy writer hailing from Jersey City, NJ. She is the author of the Jane Colt sci-fi series (Red Adept Publishing), the Flynn Nightsider YA dark fantasy series (Crazy 8 Press), the Starswept YA sci-fi series (Snowy Wings Publishing), and Stronger Than A Bronze Dragon, a YA steampunk fantasy (Page Street Publishing).

She is also the co-editor of the Brave New Girls YA sci-fi anthology series about girls in STEM (proceeds are donated to the Society of Women Engineers scholarship fund). In addition, she has had numerous short stories published in collections including MINE!: A celebration of liberty and freedom for all benefitting Planned Parenthood (ComicMix), Magic at Midnight (Snowy Wings Publishing), Tales of the Crimson Keep (Crazy 8 Press), and Thrilling Adventure Yarns (Crazy 8 Press).

In her spare time, when she has any, she can usually be found in choir rehearsal, at the kickboxing gym, or tangled up in aerial silks.

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The Play of Light, as accounted by Danielle Ackley-McPhail

Life and Death and Family Secrets…

Sheridan Cascaden faces more than memories when she receives a call in the darkest hours summoning her home.

Sent away five years prior to safeguard her from the evil that claimed her mother, Sheridan hasn’t been back since. She returns to find her childhood home in a disturbing state and her father straddling the Veil, with nothing to explain what happened. Now not only must she deal with her own demons, but she will have to delve into his if she is to unlock the mystery and save Papa’s life.

But wherein lies the line between truth and madness? Sheridan must find out before it’s too late… for both of them…

About the Author

Award-winning author, editor, and publisher Danielle Ackley-McPhail has worked both sides of the publishing industry for longer than she cares to admit. In 2014 she joined forces with Mike McPhail and Greg Schauer to form eSpec Books (www.especbooks.com).

Her published works include eight novels, Yesterday’s Dreams, Tomorrow’s Memories, Today’s Promise, The Halfling’s Court, The Redcaps’ Queen, Daire’s Devils, The Play of Light, and Baba Ali and the Clockwork Djinn, written with Day Al-Mohamed. She is also the author of the solo collections Eternal Wanderings, A Legacy of Stars, Consigned to the Sea, Flash in the Can, Transcendence, Between Darkness and Light, and the non-fiction writers’ guides The Literary Handyman, More Tips from the Handyman, and LH: Build-A-Book Workshop. She is the senior editor of the Bad-Ass Faeries anthology series, Gaslight & Grimm, Side of Good/Side of Evil, After Punk, and Footprints in the Stars. Her short stories are included in numerous other anthologies and collections. She is a full member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association.

In addition to her literary acclaim, she crafts and sells original costume horns under the moniker The Hornie Lady Custom Costume Horns, and homemade flavor-infused candied ginger under the brand of Ginger KICK! at literary conventions, on commission, and wholesale.

Danielle lives in New Jersey with husband and fellow writer, Mike McPhail and four extremely spoiled cats.