Grave's Daughters, a commission fulfilled by Bastien Lecouffe Deharme for a cover of Dyscrasia Fiction tales due out in about a year.
This focuses on Beauty in Weird Fiction, with interviews. S E Lindberg is the creator of Dyscrasia Fiction, a Managing Editor at Black Gate, once an intern for Tales from the Mag.’s Skull & moderator of the Goodreads Sword and Sorcery Group
Monday, December 23, 2024
Friday, November 29, 2024
Holiday Card 2024 from the Lindbergs
Happy Holidays 2024!
2024 Card Notes
- Heidi has some of her illustrations on Instagram (link)
- Lindberg Holiday cards made since ~1998 are viewable on Team Lindberg Crafts - Blog (which often does not load at workplaces, but it's just a Google Photoblog).
- Individual posts about all the previous ones are tagged/listed on SELindberg's blog.
2023 and 2024 cards
30secs time sequence (click to play; click 2x for full screen)
3min sequence (click to play)
Sunday, November 10, 2024
Besting the Beast and Other Fantasy Tales: Scott Forbes Crawford’s Weirdly Accessible Adventure
2024, Oct 27, Simulcast on Black Gate: Besting the Beast and Other Fantasy Tales: Scott Forbes Crawford’s Weirdly Accessible Adventure
Besting the Beast is Grimm-like tales for Grimdark readers
Fantasy readers often seek escapism and encounters with the
unknown, but those adventures can become too weird to be accessible. Shorter
forms help. Incorporating some grounding in history or reality helps too. One
of the most accessible styles is the fairy tale, and Scott Forbes Crawford
delivers five remarkable fun, and easy-to-read, adventures bridging the short
story and fairy tale form in Besting
the Beast (Aug 2024). All are rooted in Asian history/myth and
feature relatable human protagonists to lead the way.
The cover art by Ben Greaves is appropriately derived from
“Recovering the Stolen Jewel from the Palace of the Dragon King” (1853) by
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861). Don't let the friendly style fool you. The
beasts herein are pleasantly weird and gory. Excerpts from all the stories are
below so you can get a flavor of the horrific creatures and antagonists you'll
experience. Sword & Sorcery and Grimdark fiction fans will enjoy these
(indeed, Besting the Beast is Grimm-like fairy tales for Grimdark
readers).
The contents of Besting the Beast have all been published before (in SNAFU:
Holy War, Bards and Sages, Sword and Sorcery Magazine,
and more). Also, expect more of these characters in future publications since
Crawford has a few acceptances brewing for other Sword & Sorcery venues. My
favorites are "The Carving of a Warrior" and "Half-baked
Hero" since I am fascinated with weird art and human sculptures. I am
thrilled that the character Janza from "Half-Baked Hero" has more
stories penned in her honor.
Crawford's blending of weird adventure and global
history/myths is expressed in his other books like Silk Road Centurion
(which had an excerpt inside Besting the Beast) featuring a 53 B.C.
Roman soldier Manius Titinius who is held captive by a warband of nomadic
Xiongnu, and The Phoenix and the Firebird that explores a realm of magic
and monsters inspired by Chinese and Slavic folklore (The Han-Xiongnu War: 133
BC–89 AD). What inspires Crawford? Well, he's been traveling the world during
his life, including stints in Japan and China.
Don’t let the friendly, fairy tale style fool you. Crawford's beasts are pleasantly weird and gory
Besting the Beast: Table of Contents & Excerpts
The Carving of a Warrior (first published in Bards and
Sages, 2020)
A young woman named Resh desires to be an artist when she
grows up but must cross a monster-infested forest to sculpt a new destiny.
More leaves crunched. Nearer now. Before Resh’s eyes grew a
hulking, barely comprehensible form. Humanoid – vaguely – its bulbous torso was
a purple shade and it lumbered nearer on limbs of black chitin. Four tentacles
swelled from its chest in place of arms. Two organic tubes, the hue of
intestine, stemmed from its back and bent over its shoulders, belching a stream
of the lavender gas. No features contoured its face; utterly flat, the head
served only to host a single mammoth eye, white but for some speckles of red,
like blood-spattered milk...In a hollow of her mind, Resh sensed the Imps were
nothing more than phantasms born of the gas. This demon, though, was all too
real as it stood before her father and wreathed him in gas. The creature’s
tentacles embraced his head and chest. He dropped the spear without a fight,
his empty hands savagely clawing air until they froze and he flopped beside the
useless weapon, his head pulped, a rotten melon.
Heart of a Samurai, (first published in Pulp Modern
2019)
In the tradition of Japanese ghostly tales, a proud warrior,
Kokoro Kenzo, learns the limits of his purity, courtesy of the cat Scrapper
...he spied a furry lump outside the first hut – what was
that? He moved closer: a large, floppy-eared dog, torn into ragged, gory
thirds. There, at the next hut – three more, and there, beside the well, seven
bodies of cats, sworn enemies, who had in death become brothers and sisters.
Loosening his katana in its scabbard, Kokoro quickened his step – and then he
froze. A stack rose ahead of him, like of firewood. A stack so tidy and
geometrical and perplexing, Kokoro took a moment to recognize it was made of
men. Children, grandmothers, sun-browned farmers. What had happened to their
chests?
A Thief’s Work (first published in The Society of
Misft Stories, 2020)
A novelette of intrigue and conspiracy in a city enslaved to
the magical drug Sorcel (zombie-like drug addicts are called Droolers). Can a
burglar recruited into the resistance free her people?
... a gauntlet closed around her throat and lifted her.
Choking, she stared at the blank eyes of the Drooler, her mind flailing for
some action to take. The edges of her vision darkened. Another moment and the
dark would swallow her. But an idea sparked. The Drooler hadn’t fully locked
her right arm. Slowly, she reached for his wrist and with fingers made cunning
by years picking pockets, she untied the lacings which fastened the gauntlet to
his forearm. Her vision clouded and she felt consciousness dwindling away, but
finally she undid the last lacing. The gauntlet fell and she tumbled free,
rolling as the Drooler tried sweeping her up. Shaking off a woozy head, she
leaped into the mill wheel, folding herself in the cramped hollow between the
wheel’s blades as it swooshed her down and away.
Besting the Beast (first published in SNAFU: Holy War,
2021)
The titular tale covers the aftermath of a demonic invasion;
a bandit orphan Kai is one of the few survivors of a grand melee with winged
demons. He seeks revenge for his lord and family in a confrontation with the
mother of evil gods.
On an impossibly long, spindly arm, a hand shot from the
water, snatched a Jomon trooper from the front rank and yanked him screaming
into the pool. A red cloud mottled the surface. Another arm whizzed out.
Another. Long fingers raked in Guardians. Now the water swirled and frothed. A
head broke the surface and swooped up on a lengthy, sinuous neck.
The whole of the chamber released a collective, ecstatic
sigh. Kai reeled at what hovered above the water – a woman’s head, in some
demented fashion, with strings of blue-black hair. Eyes like moons filmed in
the hue of blood, a jumble of sharp teeth set in an outsized mouth. What form
of body lurked beneath the surface?
Half-baked Hero (first published in Sword and Sorcery
Magazine, 2019)
When the female bodyguard Janza encounters an outlandish
client, she faces a choice between her past and future, vengeance and honor.
Kong parted his robe.
Waist up was immense flab, the flesh of his belly coarse,
grainy, gloppy. Incongruously, his legs rippled with muscle. Kong
began massaging his stomach and chanting ancient words. Cruel, bestial
words Janza had never heard, yet somehow, her blood recognized them, recognized
and feared them. Janza could only lie there, frozen and terrified, until the
sorcerous, blood-thieving assassin had his final say.
Yet with every bead of sweat wetting Kong’s brow, more
disgusted heat blasted through her body. Rage warmed her. By inches her limbs
began melting free.
Kong rubbed his paunch furiously . . . and he dug his
fingers in and tore away bloodless wads of paunch. These he piled on the floor.
Silk Road Centurion - Novel Excerpt (Published by Camphor
Press., 2023)
The book chronicles a 53 B.C. Roman soldier making a life on
the ancient Chinese frontier. However, Manius Titinius falls captive to a
warband of Xiongnu, nomadic horsemen who rule the seas of grass between the
Gobi Desert and the Mountains of Heaven.
Hooves pounded nearer. They were almost on top of Manius. He
snatched the two pila javelins he kept on his horse, just as the enemy rounded
the bend. The lead rider now was a squat man wrapped in furs, not that giant.
Judging his speed, Manius drew back a pilum, coiling his muscles like a tensed
spring before whipping forward and launching. The javelin arced true, striking
the horseman to the dirt.
Manius readied his throw against the next man. No, only a
beardless boy, unarmed. From his speeding horse he looked up at Manius and
their eyes locked, the boy’s seeming to register in that split second his life
had been spared. Around the bend came the giant. Manius sent his last javelin
soaring up and as it arced, he knew it had its victim’s scent. The barbarian
seemed to freeze, gazing stupidly at the onrushing projectile, at his end
foretold. ... Mouthing a curse, Manius clawed out his gladius, dashed at his
surprised foe and thrust for his ribs. In one fluid motion the giant drew his
sword. There was a clang and a silvery flash as the barbarian’s curving steel
batted away the short, straight Roman sword. Manius was open now to a follow-on
strike and braced to receive the killing blow...
About the Author
Scott Forbes Crawford is the author of the historical novel
Silk Road Centurion, the history book The Han-Xiongnu War 133 BC – 89 AD, and
co-author, with his wife Alexis Kossiakoff, of the Middle-Grade historical
fantasy novel The Phoenix and the Firebird. His short stories and articles have
appeared in a range of magazines and anthologies. After spending many years in
Beijing and Taipei, Crawford now lives in Japan with his wife and
daughter. You can learn more about Scott Forbes Crawford at the author's website, his Facebook page,
or his newsletter site.
S.E. Lindberg is a Managing Editor at Black Gate, regularly reviewing books
and interviewing
authors on the topic of “Beauty & Art in Weird-Fantasy Fiction.”
He is also the lead moderator of the Goodreads
Sword & Sorcery Group and an intern for Tales from the Magician’s Skull magazine. As
for crafting stories, he has contributed eight entries across Perseid
Press’s Heroes in Hell and Heroika series,
and has an entry in Weirdbook Annual #3: Zombies. He
independently publishes novels under the banner Dyscrasia
Fiction; short
stories of Dyscrasia Fiction have appeared in Whetstone, Swords & Sorcery online
magazine, Rogues In the House Podcast’s A Book of Blades Vol I and
Vol II, DMR’s Terra Incognita, and the
9th issue of Tales From the Magician’s Skull.
Wednesday, October 23, 2024
Mortal Dogs, Celebrate the Day of Might, this Oct 23rd
2021 Day of Might Video and Skull Speaks
Go Fund Me for Howard Andrew Jones - Aid the Skull in his time of need (link)
Hi, friends. This is C. S. E. Cooney, John O'Neill, Sean CW Korsgaard, Greg Mele, James Enge, Mark Rigney, Scott Oden, and Seth Lindberg, representing the hordes of family, friends, fans, and followers of the marvelous writer, beautiful human, husband, father, mentor, editor, and friend Howard Andrew Jones.In August, many of us received this update from Howard and his family:"Dear Friends and Colleagues,I have been diagnosed with brain cancer––multifocal glioblastoma. People I trust––my doctors and my family––inform me it will be fatal, and we are deciding now on a course of action to make the most of the time I have left.Many of you have been reaching out with well wishes, and I am greatly appreciative. It’s heartening to know that so many people are cheering me on. I am surrounded by family and friends, and they’re taking good care of me.For now, if you are looking for updates and details about my condition, you should contact John O’Neill, whom most of you know, or Mark Rigney, whose contact information is below. Between them, they will serve as a conduit to me and my wife, Shannon.Thank you all for your support, not just now, but down the years, and I hope this message finds you well.Howard"Since this message, our community is gathering its loving might to help Howard and Shannon and the Jones family in this time of great stress and financial burden. This GoFundMe shall go to forthcoming medical bills in the months to come and any other funding the family might need.Please, help if you can. Please spread the word, share this link, or buy Howard's wonderful books. We thank you: for Howard is a true wizard among dragons, and we love him very, very much.Yours truly, C. S. E. Cooney (Claire)
Swords Together!
Monday, October 21, 2024
Teaser Reveal - Interior art for a Collection of Tales in the Works: Grave's Daughters
Teaser Reveal
Samuel Dillon crafted this beauty, the most revealing portrait of Dr. Grave and his three daughters ever made. It will be part of a collection called "Grave's Daughters" due out sometime in 2025.
Monday, September 30, 2024
Book Blurb for B J Swann - Good vibes from reviews

I am currently reading Scott Crawford's Besting the Beast and Other Fantasy Tales which is a collection of grim fairy tales.
Enjoying that, I recalled the uber-grim Crimson Crown tale by B J Swann [reviewed on Black Gate Fringe Grimdark: Crimson Crown by BJ Swann [2021], so I went to check out his collection [Aeon of Chaos which contains Crimson Crown] and was honored to see my review incorporated into the description.
Praise for B.J. Swann's The Crimson Crown
"The Crimson Crown is Intense, Emotive, Dark Fantasy; Equally Enjoyable and Discomforting." - S.E. Lindberg, author of Lords of Dyscrasia and Helen's Daimones
Saturday, September 28, 2024
Grimnir personally insults S.E. Lindberg! Or perhaps just the Fat One is slandered
Cheers to Scott Oden (and his live-in companion, Grimnir)! I've reviewed his books over the years (see below) but those were all electronic versions. Having the chance to get signed copies from him (apparently known as the "fat one" by Griminir), I pleaded for Grimnir to contribute.... and the orcish bastard delivered. I am proud to have been personally trolled by the brute.
Scott Oden wished me "All the best!" but Grimnir expounded on that:
- "Nar! All the Best What? Wine? Women? The fat one [Oden] makes no sense!"
- "Bah, You Wretched Kneeler! This is the good one! This will put hairs on your arse!"
- "Faugh! The fat one [Oden] said you wanted an insult!? Ha! Only an idiot would give good coin for this tripe!"
My reviews of Scott Oden's Grimnir Series:
- Goodreads A Gathering of Ravens - Grimnir #1 [April 2016]
- Black Gate The Doom of “Oden”: Twilight of the Gods (Grimnir #2) [April 2020]
- Black Gate Lord of a Shattered Land and The Doom of Odin: Howard Andrew Jones and Scott Oden Deliver High-octane, Euro-Mediterranean Adventure [June 2024]
Sunday, September 22, 2024
Gen Con 2024 Table of Contents
Here's a list of my Gen Con 2024 post-coverage (all are links):
- Gen Con 2024 - Writers Symposium Behind the Scenes Photos
- Gen Con 2024 - Deep Madness
- Gen Con Panels 2024 - Sword and Sorcery, Pulp, & Horror (aka Beautiful Nasty stuff)
- Swords Together - Gen Con 2024 - Reflections of Sword & Sorcery with a focus on Howard Andrew Jones
- Gen Con 2024 Moderating 10 Panels
Chilling with brother Scott (who champions Free Market Kids board games and more) at St. Elmo's Steakhouse.
Swords Together - Gen Con 2024 - Reflections of Sword & Sorcery with a focus on Howard Andrew Jones
Click here for my Gen Con 2024 coverage table of contents.
This post collects a bunch of Sword & Sorcery bonding at Gen Con 2024. The event was legendary and haunting, and this post collects some of my thoughts & experiences so I do not forget them.
TOP: Howard Andrew Jones, Matt John, Jason Ray Carney, Gilles Plantin, Sean CW Korrsgaard, SE Lindberg BOTTOM: Seeking peace away from the chaos, we found a Mexican bar and was assaulted by a mariachi band!
Archiving the King’s Blade Champion: An Interview with John C. Hocking
Archiving the King’s Blade Champion: An Interview with John C. Hocking
Originally posted Feb 4, 2022 on Goodman-Games website
Written by S.E. Lindberg
Archiving the King’s Blade Champion: An Interview with
John C. Hocking by Seth Lindberg
John C. Hocking is a nigh-obsessed reader and writer of
lurid pulp fiction, the author of Conan and the Emerald Lotus,
“Black Starlight” serial, and their time-lost companion, Conan and the
Living Plague, as well as an obedient thrall of Tales From the
Magician’s Skull. Recently Black Gate reviewed John C. Hocking’s Conan Pastiche; then they cornered him to learn more about
his pastiche and weird fiction muses in an interview. That post is a companion
with this interview and we hope you’ll brave the Black Gate and check it out.
Here we focus on Hocking’s original Archivist and King’s
Blade series — now to the interview!
You’ve had six [now seven! — ed.] Benhus tales (The
King’s Blade series) that appeared in each of the Tales From the Magician Skull
magazines. The first one appeared in 2019, and is called “The Crystal Sickle’s
Harvest: From the World of the Archivist.”. Tell us more about the Archivist
series and how it informs the King’s Blade.
John C. Hocking: The Archivist stories take
place in the same world, the same city, as those about Benhus. They just occur
12 or 15 years later. The Archivist sprang from my desire to keep writing sword
and sorcery but step away from using a mythic warrior character like Conan.
Hocking’s King’s Blade Series in Tales From the
Magician’s Skull by issue number:
- I.
“The Crystal Sickle’s Harvest”
- II.
“Trial by Scarab”
- III.
Tyrant’s Bane”
- IV.
“Guardian of the Broken Gem”
- V. “In
the Corridors of the Crow” *read the preview*
- VI.
“Calicask’s Woman”
- VII.
“The Gift of a Poison Necklace” *read the preview*
The Archivist series these seem difficult to track
down. Any comment about readers with OCD/completionism that desire to read
these?
JCH: Right now, there are 8 stories about the
Archivist and his friend Lucella:
- ‘A
Night in the Archives’ appeared in the Flashing Swords ezine
Vol1-#2. available online
- ‘Web
of Pale Venom’ appeared in Flashing Swords #3 and was
recently reprinted in Goodman Games ‘Cubicles of the Skull’. available online
- ‘The
Lost Path Between the Worlds’ appeared in the Flashing Swords ezine
#4 . available online
- ‘A
River Through Darkness & Light’ appeared in Black Gate #15 (last
print issue of BG).
- ‘Vestments
of Pestilence’ was featured, and available for reading on Black Gate.
- ‘Pawns
in a House of Ghosts’ appeared in Skelos #3.
- ‘With
a Poet’s Eyes’ appeared in Weirdbook #38.
- “From
a Prison of Blackened Bone’ is awaiting publication by Weirdbook.
I imagine I’ll eventually try to assemble a collection of
all the Archivist yarns. I’d like to add a few more entries before then,
though. I outlined a novel about the character but can’t say if I’ll ever write
it.
Can you compare/contrast the Archivist with Lucella
& Benhus?
JCH: The Archivist is an unlikely hero, a more
cerebral and self-absorbed character than most you’d see in Sword &
Sorcery. His ability to fill a heroic role in the dangerous environment of a
S&S tale is boosted by his connection to the lady soldier, Lucella.
Although the Archivist is unselfconsciously brave when the occasion calls for
it and can throw a mean dagger, Lucella is the real fighter of the two. Odd as
it may sound, Lucella’s attitude toward violence, and how fighting affects her,
are as realistic as anything in my work, as I patterned it after the only
people I’ve known who really, truly loved a serious fight. The Archivist is wry
and often pre-occupied, but a thoroughly decent fellow with a strong sense of
justice. Lucella is more pragmatic but tends to follow his lead. I find the
relationship between the Archivist and Lucella more satisfying than much of my
work. The two basically combine to form one functional hero.
The Benhus character is an attempt to create a Sword &
Sorcery character in the mold of hardboiled crime fiction. He lacks the
experience, knowledge, skill set and sense of justice that the Archivist and
Lucella bring to the table. Benhus is very young, but tough, determined and
possessed of few scruples, especially when it comes to self-preservation. His
occasionally callous behavior can be alienating to readers not expecting it.
The fact that the guy is in so far over his head, is so isolated from any substantial
assistance or understanding, that he is surrounded by people vastly more
powerful and better informed than he is, that he must watch his every step to
avoid losing his position or his life—I hope all this leads readers to identify
with the guy, even if they might find him a less than delightful dinner
companion.
Juxtaposing the Archivist and Lucella with Benhus was great
fun. For anyone who might care to know, the Archivist encounters an older and
more seasoned Benhus in ‘Pawns in a House of Ghosts’.
Let’s focus on Benhus now. In the TFTMS 2021
Kickstarter updates & interviews, you revealed that his name was a tribute
to Ben Haas. He was a writer who wrote westerns under several
pseudonyms [(1926 – 1977) aka John Benteen, Thorne Douglas, Richard
Meade)]. Please expand on Ben Haas, and how Benhus may embody some aspect of
his writing/characters?
JCH: I admire the work of Benjamin Leopold Haas
as one of the most polished and seemingly effortless pulp writers of the
1970’s. He spun formula men’s adventure fiction into gold over and over and
over again. If I’ve tried to adopt anything from his writing style it would be
a ceaseless forward movement and a steady, zero-padding approach to
storytelling. But one of the things I admire most about his work is the one I
will never even be able to approach—his remarkable coupling of prolificity and
solid, satisfying storytelling.
Each of the TFTMS issues come with illustrations. Can
you comment on these depictions?
- I.
Jennel Jaquays: I wrote a whole essay for the first Tales from the
Magician’s Skull Kickstarter about how happy I was to have
Jaquays illustrate one of my stories. That is one elegant image.
- II.
Russ Nicholson: This one explodes off the page. One of the most
spectacular single page monster images I’ve seen, and I was delighted to
have it attached to my story.
- III.
Matthew Ray: I loved the tight depiction of the three main characters
(four if you include their undead foe). That’s a particularly good King
Numar Flavius right there.
- IV.
Samuel Dillon: Lushly detailed, almost pointillist, illustration captures
a good likeness of Benhus.
- V.
Doug Kovacs: This one startled me because it’s such a serious attempt to
illustrate a specific scene from the story and do so with as much accurate
detail as possible. The artist even gets Zehra’s tattered hand restraints.
- VI.
Jennel Jaquays: Lucky me—a second Jaquays illustration. I worked hard to
make the creatures in the Wall of Demons as nasty as I could. The artist
made them nastier than I imagined. That white eel/serpent horror is
ingeniously disgusting.
And each story, true to TFTMS form, comes with DCC
stats (thanks to Terry Olson). What are your thoughts on gamifying your world?
Have you had the pleasure of reenacting a story?
- I.
Crystal Sickle Wraith (creature) & Nobleman’s Comfort (wand)
- II.
Great mud scarab…knockout powder, message vial= (magic item)
- III.
Blind sight (spell), nobleman’s comfort (more wand abilities), Silver
risen (a spell?), Tyrantsbane dagger (weapon)
- IV.
Nobleman’s Comfort (wand, even more abilities) and Scimitar Nemesis
(creature weapon)
- V.
Carapaced Mauler (creature)
- VI.
Gray Umbra Guardian (creature)
JCH: I haven’t been in a real RPG in 20 years,
so I’m not really qualified to comment intelligently on the stats. But I’m
delighted with the idea that fragments of the stories appearing in The
Skull might find their way into gamers’ adventures. I wish the Skull
had a space where anyone who saw any of our statted creations showing up in a
game could tell us how it went.
Generally, S&S spawned in the short story form,
and characters did not necessarily develop (i.e., as much as they may in a
novel). The Benhus short stories are stand-alone episodes, but there is
definite progression of character (especially with the titular “king” of the
King’s Blade branding, issues #3 and #5 ramped up the relationship). Do you
have a long-term vision for a collection/novel?
JCH: Yes and no. I want to keep telling an
unspooling, chronological series of stories about Benhus. I have plenty of
ideas for what happens to the character and how it affects him and those around
him. In his near future I’ve plotted a story that could probably be presented
as a novel but will more likely be broken into shorter narratives that I’ll
submit piecemeal to Tales From the Magician’s Skull. Writing a
novel is such a difficult, sustained and uncertain effort that I’m more
comfortable wrestling with short fiction these days.
Be sure to check out the companion interview on Black Gate to learn more about
Hocking’s Conan pastiche and weird fiction influences. And for the the latest
story in the King’s Blade series, be sure to pre-order a copy of (the soon to be released) Tales
From the Magician’s Skull Issue 7!
Saturday, September 21, 2024
What is Helen's Daimones all about? A 6min conversation
Monday, September 16, 2024
Gen Con 2024 Moderating 10 Panels
Click here for my Gen Con 2024 coverage table of contents.
Moderated 7 Panels on "new books and new releases":
New Book! New Games! New Release Panels with S.E.
Join our panel of authors as writer and host S.E. Lindberg asks each about the inspirations and challenges behind their new books, games, and works. This fun experience back from last year by request!
(Session E)
(Session C)
(Session F)
(Session A) Thurs 12:00 PM EDT Annye Driscoll (Maker Fishmeal), Briana Lawrence, Gini Koch
(Session D)
(Session G)
(Session B)
3x Panels on Genre Fiction
Writing the Beautiful Nasty
[this feeds into my BlackGate/com interview series on "Beauty in Weird/Horror Fiction"]. Join our panel of experts as they explore writing scary or repulsive matters in attractive and beautiful ways within the complex realms of horror. Featuring: S.E. Lindberg, Akis Linardos, C. S. E. Cooney, Jason Ray Carney, Jeri "Red" Shepherd
Sword & Sorcery for Contemporary Audiences Friday10:00 AM EDT
Join our panel of writers as they discuss Sword & Sorcery for a modern world: what does it look like, what could it look like, and what's out there to devour. Featuring: S.E. Lindberg, Dedren Snead, Howard Andrew Jones, Jason Ray Carney, Sarah Sharp
Pulp Fiction for Contemporary Audiences
Join our panel of writers as they discuss pulp fiction for a modern world: what does it look like, what could it look like, and what's out there to devour. Featuring: S.E. Lindberg, Gini Koch, Howard Andrew Jones, Jason Ray Carney, Richard Lee Byers
Friday, September 13, 2024
Gen Con 2024 - Writers Symposium Behind the Scenes Photos
Click here for my Gen Con 2024 coverage table of contents.
Opening Ceremony
Chris Bell had very kind words regarding my previous Chair roles and passing the torch to him. He rocks as a leader.
Tuesday, September 10, 2024
Gen Con 2024 - Deep Madness
Tuesday, September 3, 2024
Gen Con Panels 2024 - Sword and Sorcery, Pulp, & Horror (aka Beautiful Nasty stuff)
Click here for my Gen Con 2024 coverage table of contents.
Thanks to Sean CW Korsgaard, (editor/author/S&S-aficionado) who filmed a bunch of Gen Con 2024 panels, you can listen in on two of the panels I moderated.
Monday, September 2, 2024
Janet E. Morris - Memorial Tribute
Perseid Press recently announced the passing of author, editor, and publisher Janet E. Morris (JEM) in August 2024. A group of us who have known and written for her and published by her, decided to honor her memory and her legacy with this group memorial.
Janet E Morris Memorial Tribute - Black Gate Article (link)
This ad-hoc remembrance has organically turned into a virtual shrine. This post initially has ~17 contributions, but collecting testimonials can be chaotic and more comments may be added. Janet and Chris Morris made a remarkable creative couple, and our deepest condolences extend to Chris.
S.E. Lindberg's Reflections
I will miss JEM’s love for elevating other storytellers’
craft and her uncanny ability to seamlessly blend myth, fantasy, &
history in her writing.
- REVIEWS:
We first met ~2013 as I moderated the Goodread’s Sword & Sorcery Group
and she challenged a statement I made that Lovecraftian-Cosmic-Horror
differed from elements of classical myths. She schooled me, her insights
of ancient myths proved more expansive than my views. I was early into
reviewing, so I read/reviewed (link) her Beyond
Sanctuary book (Sacred Band series) and,
beyond enjoying the story and feeling like I was living within the Baroque
style cover, I was struck by not being able to discern between history,
myth, and fantasy.
- INTERVIEWS:
This prompted me to go beyond reviewing books and start an interview
series on “Art & Beauty in Fantasy Fiction” with Janet
being the first up to bat (link) (I plan to repost that on Black
Gate soon). She pushed people’s expectations of sexuality and
the role of women in fantasy fiction since 1976, and having her
perspective was eye-opening. That interview was Jan 2014, and the decade
since I’ve interviewed 27 others (including Carol Berg, C.S. Friedman,
Darrell Schweitzer, Anna Smith Spark, C. Dean Andersson…). Black
Gate started broadcasting this series ~2018.
- WRITING: As I was beginning to independently publish, she invited me to contribute to Perseid Press, and I’ve been honored to have over seven stories published across the Heroes in Hell and Heroika series (listing on Perseid Press site).
- ROLE
MODEL: as much as I am honored to have known JEM, learned from her and
developed by role in the writing community, my experience is not unique.
Testimonials from dozens of aspiring and veteran authors are being posted.
Her legacy is admirable, and she serves as a beautiful role model.
- A
TOAST: Cheers, dear JEM. Thank you for sharing your passion and igniting
mine. “Life to you and everlasting glory!”
Sunday, August 25, 2024
Writers Symposium Image Prompt Contest Winners
Click here for my Gen Con 2024 coverage table of contents.
Just posted the winners for the Gen Con Writers' Symposium Image Prompt Contest
https://genconwriters.org/prompt-contest/
Last year we tried out an image prompt contest, and it was a blast. The addition of art in our hallway plus the engagement of authors was overwhelming–in the best way! Check out the 2023 contest in the Archive.
For 2024 we lured in two more artists with ties to the Writers Symposium, Ava Kelly (author) and Alex Steffen, the artist who created the cover for the 2024 Anthology.
Like last year, each piece of art was put on a poster with a QR code to enable submission of (a) micro fiction (300 words or less) inspired by the art or (b) a “caption” to explain it. Winners of the contest were promised to have their entries posted on this website and a copy of the artist-signed poster (winners elected via a selection process that involved the artists’ input and feedback from some of the organizational committee.)
Everyone who submitted is a winner, since the goal was merely to promote a creative atmosphere. We highlight the poster-award winners and runners-up in separate announcement posts (below links). Yet everyone who submitted can claim bragging rights since the PDF below has the list of all the submissions–i.e., you all have your caption posted on this website!
Thank you to the artists and the creatives who replied!