Lemmings and Zeppelins
It’s long been my intention to write more fiction, and the first fruits of that plan are finally available. As of yesterday, the Stone Skin Press webstore is open for business.
If you haven’t heard of Stone Skin Press, you should check them out. The themes for their anthologies are never less than intriguing, and their people know what they are doing. Right now, four anthologies are available in electronic form, and preorders are open for the dead-tree versions. I have stories in two of their volumes: one features lemmings and the other involves a zeppelin.
The New Hero is a two-volume collection based around the idea of the iconic hero. Distinct from the dramatic hero whose story is a journey, the iconic hero stands firm in what he (or she) is, bringing order to an imperfect world. Think Conan rather than Frodo, or Batman rather than Luke Skywalker. My story “Against the Air Pirates” is a tribute to the airpulp sub-genre: I pitched it as “Disney’s Tale Spin written by Robert E. Howard.” I am, and have always been, a vintage plane geek.
The Lion and the Aardvark is inspired by Aesop’s Fables, and consists of 70 short-short tales with a modern twist. My tale “The Lemmings and the Sea” is about leaders and their visions, and how staying the course might not always be the best idea.
Shotguns v. Cthulhu does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a collection of action-adventure tales set within H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos. If you like Howard’s muscular take on horror – whether or not you also like Lovecraft’s more cerebral approach – you will like this book.
I’m hoping for great things from – and for – Stone Skin Press. In a world full of Major Fantasy Trilogies and sparkly vampires they are taking the road less traveled and returning to the roots of fantasy and horror fiction, the short story. They are people who know what they’re at, and I found them very pleasant to do business with. I would recommend them to anyone who is interested in writing short fiction for themed collections.
But I have to go now. They have just announced a new book titled The New Gothic and issued a call for submissions. A storm is rising, and it’s a long walk across the lonely moor to the dark old house….
Graeme Davis 
When I saw “lemmings and zeppelins,” my first thought was of a story of zeppelins crewed by lemmings, with a vast aerial flotilla of them headed for some sort of “cliff.” You have to do that story. 🙂
And congratulations on the sales! I’m looing forward to reading them. You’re right, short stories are a badly underserved form in recent years, and many of the tedious trilogies on the market these days are really just short stories with a bad case of bloat. I also miss a particular form of short story collection, the shared-world anthology. Granted, Thieves’ World ran itself into the ground after book 3 or so, but there were several other good examples “back in the day.” My memory may be hazy, but I seem to recall their height coinciding with that of roleplaying games in the early 80s and that many of the settings arose from the authors’ games.
Oh, and even though you’re not published in it, you’ve sold me on “Shotguns and Cthulhu.” I love Howard’s Pulp horror stories, and… Cthulhu? Say no more.
Thanks!
As it happens, I’m doing some shared-world fiction right now. I can’t go into details, but it’s a novella (in all but name) for a well-known fantasy property. I’ll say more when I can.
Good news! I’ll look forward to it.