August 3rd, we highlighted the first three stories of The Chain Story 2 – Sword and Sorcery. All these stand-alone stories are “chained” together with a common element (a common magical artifact represented in the logo), with different contributors showcasing their own characters/worlds. They can be read in any order, for free (at least for several months, many times indefinitely)!
Stories will be released every few weeks, so check the Chain Story website continuously! This post highlights the next five!
For many enthusiasts of pulp fiction, there is a rite of passage in which the reader stumbles into H.P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, or Clark Ashton Smith, and as they track down stories or read adjacent publications, they learn about the others and they were pen pals and shared numerous cross-over characters/ideas. People usually discover Howard or Lovecraft first, and are often floored last by the poetic, cosmic madness of Smith. Clark Ashton Smith (1893-1961) was a poet at heart, also a sculptor and artist, and his approach to weird fiction was to introduce lyricism and literary depth. Indeed, he is a major reason I started interviewing authors on their take on "Beauty in Weird Fiction" in 2014, the series hosted by Black Gatesince 2018. Check out the Eldritch Dark website for his fiction, nonfiction, and images of his drawings and sculptures.
He could not tell the duration of the weaving, the term of his enthrallment. Dimly, at last, he beheld the thinning of the luminous threads, the retraction of the trembling arabesques. The globe, a thing of evil beauty, alive and aware in some holocryptic fashion, had risen now from the empty armor of Yanur. Diminishing to its former size, and putting off its colors of blood and opal, it hung for a little while above the chasm...
So, it is with great pleasure that we spotlight a conference dedicated to Clark Ashton Smith, duly hosted in the author's hometown (Auburn, CA, to be held Jan 10th, 2026)! Read this to find out all the details, the amazing panelists, and get an inside perspective from the organizer about the origin of the event.
Saturday August 30th, my son and I passed Aikido testing (now Shodan and Nidan, respectively ... aka 1st and 2nd degree black belts). Thanks for all the support from Mushinkan Dojo (Q, Chris, Daryl Everding and Hanna Everding, and Sensei Dirk Domaschko, and many more). The journey started for us ~2011 give or take, and still continues.
Daryl sports a Dsycrasia Fiction shirt for support
Gen Con 2025 - SELindberg Writers Symposium Panels Review
Remembering Howard Andrew Jones
Thursday, 11:00 AM EDT for 1 hr Marriott: Marriott Ballroom 4
Join us as we honor and celebrate the life, work, and memory of Howard Andrew Jones, one of our own.
Featuring: Bryan Young, C. S. E. Cooney, Carlos Hernandez, Chris A. Jackson, Erik Scott de Bie, Erin M. Evans, Gregory A. Wilson, Katherine Monasterio, Matt Forbeck, Sean CW Korsgaard, Seth Lindberg
- We announced the Howard Andrew Jones Memorial Travel Grants (for enabling BIPOC and first-time panelists/authors to attend); thanks to the 2025 Writer's Symposium organizing committee
- Also, some homeage pictures of the Skull's Zigguratt (Goodman Game's Vendor booth) and of the piano outside the Writer's Symposium green room (this haunts me, but I love it. Miss you Howard)
See previous Memorial Obiturarys, Memorial Panels:
Bar fights, professional fights, ambushes, duels, full-scale battles - how do we do them justice? How do we craft a physical confrontation in our scenes?
Featuring: J.B. Garner, James A. Hunter, Richard Lee Byers, Seth Lindberg, Stephen Kozeniewski
Community Building
Thursday, 4:00 PM EDT for 1 hr Marriott: Boston
Writers who have a community thrive better in their creative work. Come listen to our panelists talk about the communities they participate in, best practices, and how to get started.
Featuring: DaVaun Sanders, Kelli Fitzpatrick, Rob Cameron, Seth Lindberg
Sometimes, it's the monster's turn to be the star of the show. How do you write for when your protagonist is a bloodsucking fiend, an evil genius, or a shambling corpse?
