Astrologica update

Update from editor Allen Ashley: “I am delighted to announce that three more Zodiac signs are sewn up for Astrologica: Stories of the Zodiac. I have accepted the following:

“Aspects of Aries” by David Turnbull (Aries)

“Star-crossed” by Stuart Young (Gemini)

“The Sun and the Moon” by Bob Lock (Gemini)

“The Prize” by David McGroarty (Pisces)

“The Fishman” by Mark David Campbell (Pisces)

The eagle-eyed amongst you will notice that I have taken two for Gemini (naturally!) and also two for Pisces, which will deliver a big, fishy finish to the anthology. You might also have spotted that it seems to be a good time to be called ‘David’!

David Turnbull was born in Edinburgh and now lives and works in London. He has been widely published in numerous magazines and anthologies, both in print and online. His first novel, a children’s fantasy adventure entitled The Tale of Euan Redcap, was released in 2012 by Pixiefoot Press, an imprint of Essex based Wyvern Publications.

Stuart Young is the author of “Spare Parts”, “Shards of Dreams” and was the BFS award winner in 2006 for his novella The Mask behind The Face. He also featured in Allen Ashley’s anthology Catastrophia (PS Publishing, 2010).

Bob Lock was born on the Gower Peninsular, Wales. He has published horror, fantasy and science fiction tales and articles in a number of publications including SF Crowsnest, Samsdot Publishing, SFF World and SciFi UK Review. He also has a number of novels published in print and ebook format: Flames of Herakleitos, The Empathy Effect, They Feed on Flesh, to name just a few.

David McGroarty was born in Glasgow. His fiction features in the anthology Rustblind and Silverbright from Eibonvale Press (due July 2013); and he has been shortlisted for the James White Award. He lives in London with his partner and their two sons.

Mark David Campbell was born in Canada but now lives mostly in Italy. He is a writer, painter and teacher.

In the Broken Birdcage of Kathleen Fair

Now out from The Alchemy Press

In the Broken Birdcage of Kathleen Fair

By Cate Gardner

When the mirror released Kathleen into the unknown, for the briefest of moments she giggled and realised that she’d never laughed before. She had been a blank canvas, sitting and waiting in a room and occasionally bouncing from wall to wall desperate for freedom - and now she was out. White walls no longer surrounded her. In this new place, a thousand mirrors spun reflecting worlds.

The first in The Alchemy Novella Series

Available in Kindle format via Amazon. Only £1.35

For the ePub version contact The Alchemy Press

alchemypress [at] gmail.com

Astrologica update

Allen Ashley, editor of our forthcoming anthology Astrologica: Stories of the Zodiac, reports:

“I can now confirm more acceptances for the anthology:

‘The Order of the Scales’ by Storm Constantine for the star sign of Libra

‘The White Bull Ranch’ by Christine Morgan for the star sign Taurus

‘Cookie’ by Jet McDonald for the star sign Scorpio

‘Ragged Claws’ by Joel Lane for the star sign Cancer

A note on the authors:

Storm Constantine is a well-known and well-respected figure on the SF/ fantasy scene. She has written more than 20 novels plus several non-fiction books. She is best known for her successful Wraeththu series. In 2003 she launched Immanion Press.

Christine Morgan works the overnight shift in a psychiatric facility and divides her writing time among many genres. A cat-lady in training, her interests include history, mythology, superheroes, crafts, and cheesy disaster movies.

Jet McDonald is a writer, musician and storyteller with big hair. His first novel ‘Automatic Safe Dog’ was published by Eibonvale Press. He likes stories about things on wheels.

Joel Lane lives in Birmingham, England. His publications in the weird fiction genre include four short story collections, The Earth Wire, The Lost District, The Terrible Changes and Where Furnaces Burn – the latter a book of supernatural crime stories set in the West Midlands – as well as a novella, ‘The Witnesses Are Gone’.

I am also very close to selecting the stories to represent the star signs Aries and Gemini. I’m really excited about how the book is taking shape. If you’ve submitted a story and haven’t heard from me, please stay patient as I am getting in touch with everybody systematically. Often with good news!”

New novella due soon

"In the Broken Birdcage of Kathleen Fair" is the quirky story of a young woman imprison in a cage, who manages to escape ... but does she end up in a worse place?

The novella will be released in a week or two as an eBook, initially for the Kindle.

Astrologica update

Update from Allen Ashley, editor of our forthcoming anthology Astrologica: Stories of the Zodiac –

“Two down, ten to go! I'm pleased to report that I have made my second formal acceptance for the anthology. The story is ‘Dark Matters’ by Megan Kerr and is for Sagittarius. Megan will be familiar to you as the winner of last year’s BFS Short Story Competition and is currently working on ‘The Artist and the Mathematician’, a literary slipstream novel for which she has received a Society of Authors Grant. This is a brilliant, bravura story and I'm really glad to have Megan on board. I will be announcing further acceptances very soon.”

Pulp Heroes 2: contributors announced

Editor Mike Chinn has now announced the contents for The Alchemy Press Book of Pulp Heroes 2:

• Cover art – Les Edwards
• Pandora’s Box – Chico Kidd
• The Flier – Bryn Fortey
• Griffon’s Gamble – Arch Whitehouse
• Night Hunter – Pauline E Dungate
• Meeting at the Silver Dollar – Marion Pitman
• The Monster of Gorgon – Ian Hunter
• Dragon’s Breath – Anne Nicholls
• The Law of Mars – Robert William Iveniuk
• The Penge Terror – William Meikle
• Ula and the Black Book of Leng – Andrew Coulthard
• The Sons of Crystal City – Martin Gately
• Kiss the Day Goodbye – Adrian Cole
• Do Not Go Gently – Stuart Young
• The Incarceration of Captain Nebula – Mike Resnik

Publication date and launch at the World Fantasy Convention in Brighton.

Urban Mythic: contributors announced

Jan Edwards and Jenny Barber, illustrious editors of The Alchemy Press Book of Urban Mythic, are delighted to announce the final line-up: and here they are, in alphabetical order. The final arrangement is yet to be determined. As publisher, I have to say: Wow!

James Brogden – The Smith of Hockley

Joyce Chng – Dragonform Witch

Zen Cho – Fish Bowl

Graham Edwards – A Night to Forget

Jaine Fenn – Not the Territory

Christopher Golden – Under Cover of Night

Kate Griffin – An Inspector Calls

Alison Littlewood – The Song of the City

Anne Nicholls – The Seeds of a Pomegranate

Jonathan Oliver – White Horse

Mike Resnick – The Wizard of West 34th street

Gaie Sebold – Underground

Adrian Tchaikovsky – Family Business

Ian Whates – Default Reactions

Selecting the stories

The submission period for our three anthologies is now over and the editors are busy selecting the stories they wish to include. Table of contents will be posted as soon as agreed. Watch this space.

Q&A: Kari Sperring

Today, KARI SPERRING answers questions set by the editors of The Alchemy Press Book of Ancient Wonders.

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

 I'm a mediaeval historian (specialising in Celts) by training and a writer by instinct – I started writing aged seven and I haven't stopped since. I love swashbucklers, ancient mysteries, things and people who are not what they seem, complex worlds and intrigue, which get into everything I write. As does water; I can't account for that, but most of what I write ends up with water as a key element.

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

Oh, goodness, that's hard ... I don't know. Maybe the court of Louis XIII or Louis XIV: I'd love to meet the real d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis.

What appeals to you most about ancient sites/landscapes?

That sense that the past is still there, immanent in every stone and that we are all part of the flow of history.

What do you have coming out next?

I have a sequel to The Grass King's Concubine due from DAW, probably next year. It has no final title as yet, but the working title is Death and the Madwoman

[Kari Sperring grew up dreaming of joining the musketeers and saving France, only to find they’d been disbanded in 1776. Disappointed, she became a historian and as Kari Maund published six books and many articles on Celtic and Viking history, plus one on the background to favourite novel, The Three Musketeers (with Phil Nanson). She started writing fantasy in her teens, inspired by Tolkien, Dumas and Mallory. She is the author of two novels, Living with Ghosts (DAW 2009), which won the 2010 Sydney J Bounds Award, was shortlisted for the William L Crawford Award and made the Tiptree Award Honours’ List; and The Grass King’s Concubine (DAW 2012).] 

Astrologica update

Allen Ashley, editor of forthcoming Alchemy Press anthology Astrologica: Stories of the Zodiac, writes:

“That’s it, folks, the submission window has firmly closed. Firstly, I want to say a big thank you to all the authors who made the effort to get to grips with this challenging theme and who submitted stories. As an editor: without you guys, I’m nothing! In my usual blithe manner, I simply threw the idea out there and I didn’t fully appreciate that my astrological theme was actually quite a bit trickier than your average anthology. So, thank you for all your submissions. I have read all but the most recent at least once and am onto second readings for several of the pieces. I have difficult choices to make for all the signs apart from Leo, which was snaffled up by Ralph Robert Moore way back in January. Often it’s going to come down to fine margins between one story and another for any given star sign. That’s one of the tricky parts of editing, of course. Expect to hear from me during May or June; possibly even later this month if I really get my finger out!”

Meanwhile, Mike Chinn (editor of Pulp Heroes 2) and Jan Edwards & Jenny Barber (Urban Mythic) are finalising their selections -- expect to hear details soon.