Lovers in Hell - Book Tour and Giveaway

Lovers in Hell - Book Tour and Giveaway (link) An excerpt of my story "Lovers Sans Phalli" is showcased on this Blog Tour and Book Giveaway for Lovers in Hell! Check it out! **On Sale for Only $2.99 until the end of the month!**  Amazon * Bookbub * Goodreads Lovers in Hell A Heroes in Hell Anthology by Janet Morris Genre: Dark Fantasy Anthology    Only fools fall in love, and hell is filled with fools. Our damned lovers include: Christopher Marlowe and Will Shakespeare, Napoleon and Wellington, Orpheus and Eurydice, Hatshepsut and Senenmut, Abelard and Heloise, Helen and Penelope, Saint Teresa and Satan's Reaper, Madge Kendall and the Elephant Man, and more . . . -- all of whom pay a hellish price for indulging their affections. Shakespeare said "To be wise and love exceeds man's might," and in Lovers in Hell, the damned in hell exceed all bounds as they search for their true loves, punish the perfidious, and avoid getting caught up in Satan's snares. In ten stories of misery and madness, hell's most loveless seek to slake the thirst that can never be quenched, and find true love amid the lies of ages. Includes: Never Doubt I Love – Janet Morris and Chris Morris Love Interrupted –  Nancy Asire Lovers Sans Phalli – S. E. Lindberg Fume of Sighs – Janet Morris and Chris Morris Calamity – Michael E. Dellert Love Triangle – Michael H. Hanson A Hand of Four Queens – A. L. Butcher Devil’s Trull – Andrew P. Weston Withering Blights – Joe Bonadonna Wrath of Love – Janet Morris and Chris Morris Excerpt from Hell Gate – Andrew P. Weston **On Sale for Only $2.99 until the end of the month!** Amazon * Bookbub * Goodreads

Charles Gramlich of The Swords and Planet League highlights Dyscrasia Fiction

Author Charles Gramlich just posted a Dyscrasia Fiction highlight in the Facebook Group: The Swords & Planet League on Feb 17, 2024

Link to post (click here)

One of the most unique voices working in Sword & Sorcery today is S. E. Lindberg. I met Seth a few years back and we’ve corresponded frequently as well as running into each other at such sites as Black Gate and Goodreads. Lindberg has put together a unique setting for what he calls “Dyscrasia Fiction.” Dyscrasia means “a bad mixture of liquids,” which is related to the Greek concept of the four “humors” of Blood, Phlegm, Black Bile, and Yellow Bile. In Dyscrasia fiction, these humors are sources of magical power and often soul and body corrupting influences.

The three novels available now are Lords of Dyscrasia (2011), Spawn of Dyscrasia (2014), and Helen’s Daimones (2017). Although Helen’s Daimones was the most recently published, Lindberg suggests new readers start with it since it sets the tone for the other books. Wherever you start, though, you’ll find a combination of beautiful language and powerful imagination. These works are hallucinogenic, dream-like, full of wraiths and apparitions—and sometimes horrors. Ideas and images pile one on top of another with an intensity that is far from common in fantasy literature. I admire the author’s ability to maintain that intensity throughout his works; his world-building never stumbles, and the result is a unique fantasy vision that rises to the level of art.

A word about the covers for these books. The first was created by Lindberg himself, who also has other artistic skills in addition to writing. Spawn of Dyscrasia has an amazing cover by Ken Kelly, and Helen’s Daimones has a great cover by Daniel Landerman.

There are also a number of short stories tied to the Dyscrasia setting. For more information, check out Seth’s webpage at: https://www.selindberg.com/p/about-s-e-lindberg.html or his facebook page https://www.facebook.com/DyscrasiaFiction

Gen Con 2024

The GenCon Writers' Symposium is getting ready for 2024 (click to go to the main website)

I'm on the committee, but not chairing as I did in 2023.  The team just announced the guest list and special guests Linda D Addison and Mikki Kendall

Gen Con 2024 will be held August 1-4 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

We’ll be on the second floor of the Indianapolis Downtown Marriott (i.e., not the adjacent JW Marriott ). Head to our event at the Indianapolis Downtown Marriott @ 350 W Maryland St, Indianapolis, IN 46225.

The Gen Con Writers’ Symposium is a semi-independent event hosted by Gen Con and intended for both new and experienced writers of speculative fiction. All registration is handled through the Gen Con website.

 

WFC 2010 - Reflections on Convention Attendance and Networking

McKiernan was a draw for me to attend World Fantasy Convention 2010 in Columbus OH (I had seen him in WFC1996).  Also, a draw for me was S.T. Joshi, writer of weird fiction and nonfiction. I tracked him down to sign a copy of Atheism; he was walking with Darrell Schweister in the vendor room. At that time I didn't know who Darrell was. It was years later when I learned to love his weird fiction (he eventually ran the programming for WFC 2016 and got me to moderate a few panels, and I interviewed him too in 2018)

I discovered Howard Andrew Jones here as he talked on a panel about Black Gate Magazine. He got me hooked on it, but it ironically was nearest the end of its print era. I got HAJ to sign a copy of Issue 15 2011 when I met him at GenCon 2017.  HAJ encouraged me to get involved with the GenCon Writers Symposium (I volunteered since then, even chairing the event in 2023) and interned with HAJ's Tales from the Magician's Skull.  Via GenCon and several connections with John O'Neil and HAJ, I took on an editing role at the Black Gate website in 2019.

John R. Fultz was there, but I didn't know him at the time. Fast forward to 2024 and I'd write a foreword to his re-release of The Revelations of Zang.  Found some recordings of his panels (here)

At the time I was beginning to look for markets for my Dyscrasia Fiction worked. I was eyeing ChiZine Publications and EDGE -Tesseracts; the latter invited me to hear readings from their authors. 

Michael Stackpole and Dennis L. McKiernan

S.T. Joshi 

EDGE and Tesseracts reading

WFC 1996 - Selfie with Dennis L. McKiernan

 

Reflecting on my first literary convention, the 1996 World Fantasy Convention.

I was able to have Dennis McKiernan sign my copy of The Dark Tide (Book #1 of the Iron Tower Trilogy).  I'd get to meet him again in Columbus OH at the WFC 2010, where he spent a good portion of his life.

The Alan Lee covers really drew me into that series, as well as the Foul Folks, especially the Ghuls. I read that series before Toliens Lord of the Rings (which inspired McKiernan to write his work).