Kneeling in the Silver Light: new anthology announced

Editor Dean M Drinkel (Phobophobia  - Dark Continents Press; The Demonologia Biblica - Western Legends Press; Cities of Death - Static Movement) and Alchemy Press present Kneeling In The Silver Light: Stories From The Great War - a horror / dark fantasy anthology commemorating the 100 year centenary of the outbreak of the Great War (World War One) - to be published: 28th July 2014.

We are looking for the very best stories set in / during / around the Great War. Originality is key and we are not particularly looking for run-of-the-mill war stories, though tales can be set on European battlefields, trenches, war-rooms, etc, etc. As a “heads up”: whilst we will accept Zombie / Vampire / Ghost stories, these need to be original in style and must have the “wow” factor. Make them stand out!

We are also very keen in reading stories from non-English writers (so looking for French, German, Italian writers) but stories must be written in English. Fully realised characters are a must and solid plots extremely desirable.

We are seeking original fiction: reprints only accepted by agreement with the editor. No simultaneous or multiple submissions. Contributions between 3,000 and 6,000 words (firm). Submission period runs from 1 August to 1 December 2013. Do not submit outside of those dates.

Give your story a head start by reading both these guidelines and the Alchemy Press style-guide. Electronic submissions only, sent as email attachments in standard manuscript format (rtf, doc or docx). Email subject line should take the form Title/ Author’s Name/ Word count (i.e. My Great Story/John Doe/5,000 words). Submissions included in the body of the email, or without the correct subject header, may be rejected unread. Full contact details must be included on the mss front/ first page.

Please avoid fiction aimed at the YA reader.

No acceptances or rejections will be made until after the deadline, and we will endeavour to report back to you six to eight weeks after that. If you have heard nothing after nine weeks you may query at the email address. All style and submission guidelines are absolute. Accepted submissions may be edited (with the author’s approval).

Kneeling in the Silver Light: Stories From The Great War will be a paperback edition published in 2014, to be followed by an ebook edition. Successful contributors will receive a nominal fee of £10 minimum, royalties. plus a copy of the book on publication.

Send all submissions and correspondence to Dean M Drinkel at dean@ellupofilms.com

Ancient Wonders reviewed

Pop over to the Ginger Nuts of Horror website and read a rather splendid review of The Alchemy Press Book of Ancient Wonders edited by Jan Edwards and Jenny Barber. Jim McLeod says:

"The Alchemy Book of Ancient Wonders, is one of those anthologies that really does live up to the title. This is fourteen stories of pure magic, that will whisk to lands full myth, magic, and adventure."

Q&A: Pauline E Dungate

PAULINE DUNGATE answers the questions this time around about her story in The Alchemy Press Book of Ancient Wonders:

Tell us a little about yourself, and what you like to write?

I spent all of my working life as a teacher but ended up as the resident teacher at Birmingham Nature Centre with a classroom full of exotic animals. I spend a lot of time reading, writing and reviewing when I am not in the garden. I take my camera on exotic holidays looking for wildlife. Last year it was Ecuador.

What inspired you to write “One Man's Folly”?

Every year there is a Middle Earth Weekend at Sarehole Mill in Hall Green, Birmingham. Because of the Tolkien connection, the local paper often runs articles about his influences around this time. On the photo of Perrot’s Tower, an octagonal building, I noticed that the corner stones of the topmost floor looked very different from the rest of the brick built building. That led to the question of what they were made of. What if it was a stone circle in the sky. The story grew from there.

If the TARDIS could drop you off to any one site in its heyday, where would you go?

It would probably have to be Hadrian’s Wall – either that or British Camp, the hill fort on the Malvern Hills.

What appeals to you most about ancient sites/landscapes?

The mystery. We know so little about them so there is much that can be imagined and no-one can tell us we are wrong.

What do you have coming out next?

I am working on a near future thriller set in Birmingham plus a number of stories. I write reviews and poetry as Pauline Morgan and there are plenty of my reviews around. The writers’ group I belong to has recently put out a pamphlet called Grapeshot which has three of my poems in it.

[Pauline E Dungate’s stories have appeared in anthologies such as Skin of the Soul, Narrow Houses, Swords Against the Millennium, Beneath the Ground, Merlin, Victorious Villains and Under the Rose. She has won prizes for poetry and has been a judge for the Arthur C Clarke Award. She reviews for SFCrowsnest and runs workshops covering all areas of creative writing. She lives in Birmingham with husband and fellow writer Chris Morgan.]

Photo (c) Peter Coleborn

Astrologica: the final line up

Editor Allen Ashley has now fixed the final line up for the forthcoming Alchemy Press anthology Astrologica: Stories of the Zodiac. Allen says: “That’s it! I have made my final three acceptances and the book is now full. The last trio to announce are ‘Broken Horn’ by Doug Blakeslee for Capricorn; ‘The Third Face of Virgo’ by Adam Craig for Virgo; and ‘Deep Draw’ by Neil Williamson for Aquarius.

Doug Blakeslee lives in Portland, Oregon. His interest in books started early thanks to his mom and hasn't stopped since. A heavy fan of SF and fantasy, it came as a pleasant surprise that his first sale was the suspense short story ‘Madame’ to the anthology Uncommon Assassins. He recently started a blog, The Simms Project, where he talks about writing and other related topics. He can be reached via the blog or Facebook.

Adam Craig lives in the hinterlands of Staffordshire. Although he’s been writing for an embarrassingly long period of time, on and off, Adam has never had any fiction published until this year. Adam says that he’s quite staggered to find one of his stories in such distinguished company.

Neil Williamson will be familiar to many in the BFS. His fiction has been published in a variety of magazines and anthologies, including Allen Ashley's The Elastic Book Of Numbers. Neil's short story collection, The Ephemera, is still available from Infinity Plus Books, and his first novel, The Moon King, will be published in 2014. Neil is a veteran of the literary fight club known as the Glasgow Science Fiction Writers Circle. For more information visit his website."

So, without further ado, here is the full running order for Astrologica: 

• Aries – Aspects of Aries by David Turnbull
• Taurus – The White Bull Ranch by Christine Morgan
• Gemini – The Sun and the Moon by Bob Lock
• Gemini – Star-crossed by Stuart Young
• Cancer – Ragged Claws by Joel Lane
• Leo – The Yellow Fruit by Ralph Robert Moore
• Virgo – The Third Face of Virgo by Adam Craig
• Libra – The Order of the Scales by Storm Constantine
• Scorpio – Cookie by Jet McDonald
• Capricorn – Broken Horn by Doug Blakeslee
• Sagittarius – Dark Matters by Megan Kerr
• Aquarius – Deep Draw by Neil Williamson
• Pisces – The Prize by David McGroarty
• Pisces – The Fishman by Mark David Campbell

Sex, Lies... reviewed

Sex Lies and Family Ties by Sarah J Graham has received a four-star review on Goodreads. The reviewer, Jan Ruth, says: "the author handles all of these issues with sensitivity and great insight ... well written and full of poignancy."

Available in print and ebook formats from Amazon and other online dealers.

Urban Mythic

Here is the provisional cover design for The Alchemy Press Book of Urban Mythic, edited by Jan Edwards and Jenny Barber. The fabulous artwork is by Ben Baldwin.