Author Interview: Dave D'Alessio

Martinus Publishing’s latest anthology, VFW: Veteransof the Future Wars, is now officially released!  At present, it can be purchased from the publisher, or at Amazon.com in print or Kindle form.  To kick off this new book release, I’ll be interviewing some of the authors who have stories featured in this collection. Today, I'm interviewing Dave D’Alessio, the talented author who contributed “The Prince Who Went up a Hill.”  Thank you for taking the time to be interviewed, Dave.

DAVE D’ALESSIO:  You're welcome. Thank YOU!

MTI:  Starting off, could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?

DD:  Well, my bio sort of implies it. I've butterflied about... apart from chemistry, TV, animation and social science, I've also been in the PR racket, played bass (badly) in a blues band, and worked on assembly lines. If your car has an Aamco transmission from the 1970's, I know why it's broken. There's a chance I worked on it.

MTI:  Now, getting down to business; what first compelled you to weave fiction, and what's your favorite type of story to write?

DD:  I've been writing stories… not necessarily fiction… since second grade. Seriously. My report card said, "David has a vivid imagination. Unfortunately, he sometimes disturbs the other children."

My stories are influenced by the kinds of stories I like, of course. If you don't like what you're writing, why should you have any expectation that anyone else should like them? So, I like speculative fiction and fantasy that focuses on people and how they deal with their situations, and that's what I generally try to write, unless I'm making an experiment of some kind.

MTI:  Tell me, if you had to pick just one author who has influenced or inspired you, who would it be?

DD:  Nope. Can't pick just one.

I'd love to write with the elegance and power of Robert Heinlein. I read a book like Starship Troopers, or Have Spacesuit, Will Travel, or The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, and I say, "Whoa! That's killer!" Then I say, "Dude, I will NEVER be able to write like that!"

I write a lot of space opera, so I, like anyone who writes in that genre, owe a lot to E. E. "Doc" Smith for inventing it. I also love and respect H. Beam Piper… he wrote a lot, and his writing was close enough to mediocre for someone like me to aspire to. Then there's John Carr, who loves Piper more than I do, and has kept Piper's universes going. Plus the collaboration of Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, who said, "Here's a trope… Let's write the quintessential work in it."

Then there are pulp writers of all sorts, guys (most of them guys, at least) who were pounding out words because they needed the three cents each. That includes Piper, but also guys like Dash Hammett and Raymond Chandler and Bob Howard and Horatio Alger and… this list could go on forever.

MTI:  “The Prince Who Went up a Hill” appears in VFW, an anthology of military science fiction that honors soldiers and veterans.  Was there any particular inspiration for this story?

DD:  "Prince" is about a prince. It's about someone who has to grow up if he plans to be king someday. That's an old story.

Buried in that are the race memories of Western Civilization. One of those is the horrors of The War to End All Wars…No one thought it could get worse than the trenches of World War I, and it turned out everyone was wrong. But that sense of trench warfare was what I had in mind, and I think that shows in one of the parts of the story I'm fondest of, the section where we get into the minds of the members of a machine gun crew. The machine gunners are always the steadiest, because they control life and death, at least as long as they live. That's a very World War I perspective; nowadays a B-2 would drop a smart bomb on them from 40,000 feet; they'd never hear it coming.

MTI:  If you could go back to any point in history, when would you visit?

DD:  I don't believe in memories of previous lives or past life regression, but at one point I had a VERY vivid dream of dying at Gallipoli. There's a place I would like to see, if I could see it without living there at that time. Dysentery and machine gun fire do not mix.

I'd also like to go back to the late '50's or early '60's and go out to California or Colorado (depending on the exact date) and shake Bob Heinlein's hand. 

MTI:  I’m sure there are a million other people who would do the same with Heinlein, but if they could, the timeline would be destroyed, as he’d be too busy shaking hands to write!  Moving on, if you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be?

DD:  There's no one answer to this. Washington. Nathanial Greene. (I killed both of them off in an alternative history story once.) Janis Joplin. Jesus Christ. Heinlein. Marilyn Monroe. They're all fascinating people, and there are a hundred more just as fascinating.

The most famous living person I ever met was the folk singer Pete Seeger, who died last night. He was pretty cool, a very nice man.

MTI:  Shifting back to your writing, can you tell us a little about what you're working on right now?

DD:  I've got a number of projects underway. I'm in the early stages of a story I'd like to show you for "Yarr! A SpacePirate Anthology," but it's not ready for prime time yet. I'm also trying to hack my favorite novel (a space opera) into shape for publication, and working on a fantasy story about a unicorn hunter… as everyone knows, you need a virgin to hunt unicorns, so what do you do when your virgin gets lucky?

MTI:  Sounds intriguing.  Other than your contribution to VFW, do you have any other stories coming out in the near future?

DD:  I don't know. Got about a half dozen out there with various editors. Ask me again in six months!

MTI:  On a lighter note, have you watched any good tv lately?

DD:  I love Mythbusters, and they've started a new season. Then there's Gold Rush. I find the mechanics of finding gold fascinating. I just got an HDTV, and it's really cool when they get the close ups of the wash plants working.

MTI:  What sort of music do you prefer?

DD:  Punk/new wave. I was in a punk band before I was in a blues band. I strongly recommend the New York Dolls and the Velvet Underground. I was thrilled on the day I got my acceptance for VFW, but two hours later I was bummed because Lou Reed had died.

John Lee Hooker. Bow ow ow ow. Hey hey. Of people not dead or on social security, I'm fond of Jack White. He may be the last great guitar hero.

MTI:  You have the attention of potential readers.  Are there any great words of wisdom you’d like to share with them?

DD:  Please keep reading. Read and read and read. "There are more worlds in heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." - Wm. Shakespeare. Reading expands your mind. It's good for you!

If you read a lot and feel you have something to say, WRITE! Reading your writing expands OUR minds! But if you write, remember: "If you want to write, write. If you want to be read, rewrite." The Prince Who Went Up a Hill is a fourth or fifth draft.

MTI:  Readers love free samples.  Is there anything you’d like to share with us today, perhaps something new or recent that you’ve written?

DD:  Here are the first three 'graphs from, "The Arizona Republic." Anyone who wants to see the rest of it can let me know. It's a flash piece, less than a thousand words.

Fires were still smoldering in downtown Tucson, and the smoke stung General Montcalm’s eyes and carried the too-familiar stench of death to him. Off to his left, a couple hundred yards away, an M-2 pounded away in bursts of three. Sounded like the Rangers had flushed out another sniper.

“Sure this is a good idea, sir?” Sergeant LeRoi asked. He was driving the combat car carefully and his eyes kept scanning the windows of the buildings they passed, ready to throw the car into reverse at the first sign of some fanatic wanting to take another damned Yankee with him.

The general was watching as carefully. It looked like the rebels were honoring the white flag flying from the car. “We’ve got to get this ended, Mal,” he told the sergeant.

MTI:  Thanks you for that thrilling sample, and thank you for the interview.  It has been a real pleasure.  Readers who want to see more of Dave’s work along with some other exciting military sci-fi can pick up Veterans of the Future Wars today!

Postcard of the Week: Hawaiian Style

Here is one of many Hawaiian postcards 100+ years old in my collection.  It is in very nice condition, and lives inside a translucent paper sleeve.  It is hand-painted, as most of the color postcards in this collection are.

The reverse to this card is different than any of the others in my possession.  It is a bit fancier than the others, as many just have lines and a box for the postage stamp.  This back has some style, as well.

Author Interview: Mary Pletsch

Martinus Publishing’s latest anthology, VFW: Veterans of theFuture Wars, is coming out in February 2014.  To kick off this new book release, I’ll be doing interviews with some of the authors who have stories featured in this collection. Today, I'm interviewing Mary Pletsch, an exceptional author who contributed the story “The Last and the Least.”    Thank you for taking the time to be interviewed, Mary.

MTI:  Starting off, could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?

Mary Pletsch: I joined the Royal Canadian Air Cadets when I was 14 and got my glider pilot’s license at 16 and my private pilot’s license at 17.  I love video games like Halo and Mass Effect, and I collect 80’s toys.  I don’t collect cats; we just happen to have four of them.

MTI: I know how cats are, more like they collect us.  Now, getting down to business; what first compelled you to weave fiction, and what's your favorite type of story to write?

MP:  I don’t remember when I first wove fiction, but I know that I was too young to make letters.  I’d grab a pen and fill pages and pages with up-and-down zig-zag lines.  When asked what I was doing, I said I was writing a story.  When asked to read what I’d written, I promptly recited an original story.  My ability to read the same story every time improved immensely when I learned to print.

As for what’s my favourite type of story to write, I’d say a story that lets me experience the way the world looks through a character’s eyes.  That’s why I write tight third person point of view– the story is told from the character’s point of view, and everything in the descriptions, the events, what’s noticed and what isn’t, is affected by the way that character perceives the world.  I don’t want to write characters who think and act just like I do.  I want to explore how it feels to live someone else’s experiences.

MTI:  Tell me, if you had to pick just one author who has influenced or inspired you, who would it be?

MP:  Karen Traviss, author of “City of Pearl.”

MTI:  “The Last and the Least” appears in VFW, an anthology of military science fiction stories that honor soldiers and veterans.  Was there any particular inspiration for this story?

MP:  I was visiting the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbour, standing in front of the shrine where the names of all those killed on the Arizona are inscribed, and I saw a plaque off to the side.  The plaque holds the names of Arizona survivors and veterans who’ve chosen to have their ashes interred within the ship (or in the cases of veterans who served on the Arizona but were not posted to her on the day she sank, their ashes are scattered on the water over the ship).  I thought about those survivors who went on to fight through the war, lived for decades after the war, and then chose to come back to the ship in death, to join their shipmates.  And I hoped those men were able to find something good in those decades, that they didn’t spend their whole lives waiting to go back.  “The Last and the Least” ended up being about when your unit becomes your family, and survivor’s guilt, and how heroism sometimes doesn’t feel heroic from the inside, and why veterans need society’s support and understanding.

MTI:  Quite profound.  Now, if you could go back to any point in history, when would you visit?

MP:  I’ve always loved First World War air combat stories.  I adored Captain W.E. Johns’ “Biggles” books as a teenager.  To get the chance to fly an Albatros D.V. or Sopwith Camel for myself... I couldn’t turn that down.

MTI:  If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would it be?

MP:  Probably Captain W.E. Johns. 

MTI:  Shifting back to your writing, can you tell us a little about what you're working on right now?

MP:  2014 is going to be my novel year.  I’ve written a lot of short stories and novellas, and this year my main goal is to complete a longer work.  That being said, there are a few short story calls for submissions that are very enticing...

MTI:  Other than “The Last and the Least”, appearing in VFW, do you have any other stories being published in the near future?

MP:  I’ve got a horror story called “Mishipishu:  The Ghost Story of Penny Jaye Prufrock” that came out in January 2014, in a collection called “Fossil Lake:  An Anthology of the Aberrant” by Daverana Press.

MTI:  Your biography says you are a graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada.  Would you be able to elaborate a little about that experience?

MP:  Sure.  Mine wasn’t the usual experience, going in as a recruit.  I did my undergraduate elsewhere and went to RMC for a master’s degree in War Studies as a civilian student.  My thesis was about the ground crew of 6 Group during the Second World War; there’s been a lot of research about the flight crews, but very little about the ground crew, who played such an essential role. 

MTI:  On a lighter note, have you watched any good tv lately?

MP:  I actually don’t watch TV very much.  I saw the Doctor Who Christmas Special with my family... yes, I know that was a month ago.  I could talk about comic books?  I’m reading James Roberts and Alex Milne’s phenomenal Transformers: More than Meets the Eye series.  The characterization is absolutely delightful, and the storytelling is top-notch. 

MTI:  What sort of music do you enjoy?

MP:  My music collection’s a strange mix of metal – Sabaton, Iron Maiden; East Coast – Rawlins Cross, Great Big Sea; and 80s classic rock.

MTI:  And if you would, name three movies that you could watch over and over again and not be bored.

MP:  Top Gun, Memphis Belle and Stalag 17. 

MTI:  Three excellent choices.  Memphis Belle is an underrated classic.  You have the attention of potential readers.  Are there any great words of wisdom you’d like to share with them?  Perhaps something that would persuade them to purchase your work?

MP:  I think all I can do is go back to the themes in “The Last and the Least.”  If a country asks for volunteers to serve in its military, to fight in its name, I think that country and that society have an obligation to take care of their veterans.  Support for those who come home with mental as well as physical injuries has to be there.  It’s our responsibility as citizens to demand this of our policy makers. 

MTI:  Indeed.  Readers love free samples, so on that note here is the first paragraphs of “The Last and the Least.”

            If we had only known.  That’s what all the politicians’ speeches said, and all the calls to arms, and these decades later the holograph documentaries and the history books.  If we had only known what the colonials had been planning, we would have been ready.  If they’d had any honor, they would have declared war with digital signatures.  Instead, their proclamation was written in the wreckage of Her Eminence’s Starship Canada, in the sleepy quiet of a Saturday morning on the Milky Way Hub.

            If we had only known, I wouldn’t be lying here now, an old woman who can’t sleep through the night, watching my chronograph glowing softly in the dark and asking myself, what if.  It is the same question the holodioramas and webstreams ask, except they ask what might have been if various Terran heroes or key political figures had discovered the Colonial plan before their attack took us all by surprise.  I ask what if I—only I—had been granted precognition.

This has been a thoroughly enjoyable interview.  I’d like to thank Mary Pletsch for taking the time to answer these questions.  Those of you who want to check out some thrilling, insightful, and imaginative military sci-fi, check out VFW: Veterans of the Future Wars today!

Postcards: Noge Hill, Yokohama, Japan

To kick off the last week of January, here are a few fascinating specimens from my postcard collection.  These are of Noge Hill, Yokohama, Japan.  It’s hard to find any information on this little suburb of Yokohama, and the best I could dig up on short notice via the internet is here, which gives a brief footnote of its post-WWII history and current status.  It would be interesting to see more of what it looks like today, and know if the temple is still there.

So, going back to the turn of the 20th Century, here are four views, mostly of the “Temple” area at Noge Hill.  These cards date circa 1900-1910:

Cherry Blossom at Noge Hill, Yokohama

Stone steps, Noge Hill, Yokohama

Noge Hill, Yokohama

Temple at Noge Hill, Yokohama

You may notice the coloring on these postcards. They pre-date color photography, and each one of these was hand painted.  They would take the black & white cards and color in different parts of them for this unique look.  I have quite a few unpainted, as well, which will be displayed as time goes by.

Postcard of the week: GE Lampworks 1914

For the foreseeable future, each week I will be sharing a scan of an “antique” postcard.  I have hundreds of these old things, most of them over 100 years old, many from India, Japan, Indonesia, and all over the pacific.  A few, like today’s example, are from here in the United States.

The value of these postcards are unknown.  I’ve never sought to appraise them, and I am really not interested in making a fast buck that way.  Most of these came from my father, and they’re little pieces of history which I intend to cling to, and pass on to my posterity.  The rarity of these postcards is also unknown, but it’s quite possible that some of these are unique, or among a handful of examples still surviving.

Today’s example is probably more common than most of the others in this collection.  It’s the Lamp Works of General Electric in Fort Wayne, Indiana, circa 1914:

Martinus Books for Soldiers

In February, the VFW:Veterans of the Future Wars anthology will be released, becoming Martinus Publishing’s 4th short story collection and the first release of 2014.  This collection was first envisioned to be a tribute to the men and women of America’s armed forces (and allied soldiers worldwide).  The stories contained in this collection are respectful of the soldiers and veterans who serve.  Some are exciting and adventurous, others are insightful and introspective, examining the hearts and minds of future soldiers and veterans.

I’ve known many veterans over the years, and always held the greatest respect for those who have served in the armed forces.  That was the impetus for this collection; an anthology to both honor veterans and to showcase entertaining military science fiction.  I expect this will satisfy on both counts.

Now, I would like to go one step further in helping to get these stories, and other Martinus titles, into the hands of our soldiers and veterans.  To that end, I will need your help.  There is only so much a single man and a small press publisher can afford to do, but with your assistance we can spread the word.

There are many good groups out there who help to supply the wants and needs of active duty military personnel.  One in particular is www.booksforsoldiers.com, where military personnel post requests for various books and other items.  Some want specific titles, others ask for various genres or themed material.  There are many American soldiers across the globe who would enjoy reading VFW or other Martinus titles, if only someone would send those books.

If you’re involved in donating books to soldiers yourself (or decide you want to start doing it), you can purchase books from MartinusPublishing to send.  If you purchase multiple copies of any title, there will be a discount.  Just email info (at) martinus.us regarding bulk pricing.

If, on the other hand, you’d like to help but don’t want the hassle of packing and shipping books yourself, considering buying Martinus titles and asking that they be donated.  Any book purchased from our website can be “gifted” to the troops.  Just put a note in the comment box during the paypal checkout, saying you want your purchase to be a donation.  Any books purchased in this manner will be given to soldiers or veterans desiring the reading material.

Regardless of the number of sales/donations that come in from this request, I will personally be sending Martinus titles to soldiers.  They’re fighting for us, and they deserve every bit of support we can send them.  The momentary escape of a good book could make a world of difference in their lives.

A New Year and New Anthologies

It’s 2014, and the fun has just begun!  I still have a final “Ice Storm Chronicles” post to share at some point, along with some very pretty pictures of the icy devastation, but that will have to wait.  Right now, it’s about time we got back to Martinus Publishing and the anthologies that will be coming out in the next couple of months.

Over the last 48 hours, I have burned my eyes and brain, reading through the last flood of submissions that came in this past week.  I have only 1 more story to read for Altered America, and the pile will be filed.  I still have quite a few stories for the other anthologies (Life of the Dead, To Hell with Dante, & We Were Heroes), but after this last batch of slush I may take a break tomorrow.

So, how are things shaping up?  Well, the Veterans of the Future Wars anthology is now in the middle of formatting, with the final stories added, bringing the total to 16 stories, 234 pages, and just shy of 88,000 words in length.  The submissions for this anthology weren’t as heavy as Altered America, but many of them were a bit longer, as military sci-fi often is.  I expect to have the final formatting for the manuscript done next week, and pre-orders will be accepted after that.  We’re looking at a February 14 publication date for VFW.

Altered America, meanwhile, is currently sitting at 21 stories.  The word and page count will be known once I get to the formatting process, which will probably be later in the month.  Probable release date for Altered America will be the end of March.  This anthology will see several recurrent Martinus authors, including Bruno Lombardi, Lauren A. Forry, and Edmund Wells, among others.  We also have some exceptional new talent contributing to this collection, so it’s bound to be a hit.  There will be plenty of time to share teasers of the various alternate histories contained within this tome, so keep your eyes peeled for future updates!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I am in need of a well-earned break.  The rigors of editing can be exhausting.

For our open anthologies, see Martinus Publishing Submissions Guidelines

Christmas Update

Ice Storm Chronicles, day four...

It’s Christmas day and the electricity is still out.  Additionally, the phone has gone out, so nobody can call.  My mother-in-law was due to phone in as the kids opened their presents, but can’t.  Nor can the few others who generally call to say hello on this special day.  So much for that.

Still, we are much better off than a lot of folks this Christmas.  Without power, a lot of people run into real trouble.  So many houses have been switched over to automated heating systems that require electricity to operate.  No power, no heat, and it’s about fifteen degrees Fahrenheit for the high today.  How many have had to flee their homes, and will return to broken water pipes at best when the power is restored?  It is a sad thing that so many people have become helpless in the face of a minor disaster.  While I’m not shaking the value of modern conveniences, it is best that everyone possible be prepared, and have a backup in place to provide the essentials in case of such an outage.

I suppose I’m fortunate to be in a position where loss of power is merely an annoyance, rather than life and death.  A generator gives power for a few hours here and there (no sense wasting fuel or burning the thing out), and heat is all still wood supplied by hand.  Everyone here is warm and well-fed, while we wait for the crews to get the lines cleared.

Now for updates.

With the generator running, I finally got the chance to watch Enemy of the World on Christmas eve.  I was so hyped to see it that I was worried that it might not live up to my expectations.  Many other fans seem to have had the opposite reaction, as the story was held in low regard in general.  The surviving audio and telesnaps hadn’t done it justice, or so goes the consensus amongst fandom.  I, on the other hand, have always liked the story, and after seeing the actual episodes I must say it lived up to my expectations for the most part.  Still, I don’t know if my father will ever appreciate it.  He’s never liked Patrick Troughton’s portrayal of the Doctor for whatever reason.  Oh, well, you can’t please everybody.

This morning (Christmas morning) I went outside and took a few pictures of the ice.  I’ll be sharing those in the next few days when I get around to uploading them to my computer and formatting them for the blog.

With the amount of ice damage, there’s no telling when they’ll have power restored to my house.  It’s slowly coming on here and there, though it will take some time for them to get down every side road.  On that note, I’d like to take a moment to thank all of the crews who are braving the elements to fix the lines and remove the trees.  I’m sorry that many of them will be missing out on Christmas for the sake of our electrical infrastructure.

Enemy and the Ice Storm

Merry Christmas, and Humbug too!

It has been far too long since I posted to this blog, and in the new year I will endeavor to do so with more regularity.  Perhaps once a week, I will seek to share something, though it may be longer depending on family commitments and the various jobs I have to handle.  The work of an editor is never done.

Anyway, as the ice subsides and clear skies reign again—though for how long, no one can tell—I would like to impart a quaint little tale, regarding the storm, myself, and Doctor Who.

This all started back in October, with the exciting announcement that nine previously-missing episodes of Doctor Who had been recovered.  For those of you who may  be scratching your head right about now, back in the sixties and seventies, the BBC had this short-sighted habit of “junking” their old programs, in many cases destroying the only known copies of broadcast material.  All episodes of Doctor Who from the 1960’s were lost in this manner, though thankfully many still exist today thanks to copies that returned from foreign broadcasters and private collectors.  Following the latest 9-episode discovery (in Nigeria of all places), there are currently 97 episodes of Doctor Who still missing.

The recovered episodes recovered were the 6-episodes of Enemy of the World (1 of which had previously existed prior to the recovery) and 5 of the six episodes of Web of Fear (1 of which had previously existed, 1 part still missing).  Being a big fan of the old Black and White Doctor Who stories, I was really thrilled by this news, and eager to see the material for myself.  There is where this story truly begins.

After the announcement of the recovery, the episodes were put on itunes, but I can’t use their player because of the nature of my 7-year old computer system (trying to load the itunes player nearly blew my CPU).  So, I had to patiently wait for the DVD release.  The UK (Region 2) and Australian (R4) versions of Enemy of the World came in November, but as of this writing there is still no word on a US release.  This was very frustrating, as I have been waiting many years to see this lost story!  An alternative could have been to buy a Region-2 compatible disc player and to then import the British version, but that would have been costly and I’m pretty strapped for cash right now.  It seemed I would have to suffer for untold months.

Then, a curious development arose.  It seems there was a limited release of Enemy of the World Region-1 discs in several Canadian stores.  This presented a possible opportunity!  There had to be a way to acquire one of those Canuck DVD’s!  Hanging out on Gallifrey Base (the web’s pan-ultimate hang-out for “Whovians”), I was fortunate enough to encounter someone offering to pick up copies of the DVD for fellow US fans for a very reasonable price.  I jumped at the chance, and all went well.  Friday afternoon, he had the DVD in the mail to me.  I hardly expected it to arrive by Monday, yet there it was, delivered so quickly!

Here is where the story gets “interesting.”  On Sunday, and into Monday, Maine experienced a major ice storm, knocking out electricity and making it slick and dangerous on Monday afternoon as I headed out.  A thick coating of ice covered everything.  Trees were bent over and breaking.  My half-mile driveway was blocked by obstructions and more slippery than a skating rink, yet I braved the elements on foot, to examine the disaster and to discover what may await at the post office.  During my journey, I encountered electric company workers cutting trees off of the power lines, yet it was only the beginning for them.

Reaching the post-office, I had no idea what to expect, and after checking my box I saw the little yellow slip.  Retrieving my package from the window, a jolt of joy flowed over me, as I knew what I was holding.  The Enemy of the World, at last!

I made my way home with the loot, eager to finally see this story.  Yet, coming home, I found the power to still be out.  With all the devastation of the storm, it was doubtful it would be back soon, but Enemy had been missing for forty-five years, so it could wait a little longer for my eyes and ears.  Then, as the hours ticked by, the cosmic joke sank in.  After the lengths I’d gone to in order to retrieve the DVD, I now had no power to watch it!  Some might say, I could have used The Power of the Daleks.  A generator would suffice, though would have to be set up in the morning.

This DVD was a Christmas present to myself, and there I sat, waiting, writing these words by the light of a kerosene lamp.  By the time I transcribe this onto my computer and then onto the blog, I expect I will have finally seen the episodes.  I cannot wait!

QCV Kindle Smoldering

Quests, Curses, & Vengeance has been out for 2 months now, and sales have been well below expectations.  This massive collection of Fantasy and Sci-Fi stories had an initial sales price a bit higher than other Martinus Publishing releases, though considering it is about 150,000 words the price wasn't unreasonable.  The $3.99 Kindle version has thus far done horribly, which is a real shame considering the quality of the stories and the talent of the authors involved.  This volume deserves greater exposure.

Kindle Edition

To help facilitate a larger market share, the price of this anthology will be cut down.  At $3.25, perhaps more people will be willing to give it a try.  This will mean lower profits per copy sold, but hopefully that will be offset by the increased sales.  I have also enrolled this book in the "Kindle Matchbook" program, giving anyone who purchases the print version off of Amazon a free copy of the Kindle version.  That should appeal to buyers, as well.

Thus far, Martinus Publishing has not performed all that well, though I wasn't expecting a massive profit margin to begin with.  That's why a lot of small presses don't last; their editors go into it thinking they'll make money hand over fist, when in reality it is a very uncertain industry.  Most of the small publishers these days have to understand that it is largely about the art of writing, and doing your best to bring new pieces of fiction to light as best you can.  In time, it will either pay off, or not, but the quest is the thing!

I assure you, Martinus Publishing is here to stay.  Money may not be forthcoming at the moment, but if things get tight we'll just slow down, not give up.  I will always make sure that there is enough in the bank to cover basic publishing expenses, but if an anthology has to wait for publication because money isn't available, that's just the way it is.  On the bright side, we now have paid cover art for all of our currently announced anthologies (one of the biggest expenses), so there should be no interruption in the release of any of them.  We just might have to hold off on announcing some new anthologies until I can divert more of my personal funds into the coffers.

Of course, this could all turn around tomorrow.  Bookstore X might call up and order 100 copies of MP titles, thus bringing some much needed capital into the company.  Well, at least it would be a good story.

The Wrath of Carthage

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) takes place in November, and after failing to write anything of substance all year I'm finally going to sit down and commit myself to putting down another 50,000 words on a novel.  I've done it the last 3 years in a row (successfully), and I'm trying for a four-time win.

This year's novel is tentatively entitled "The Wrath of Carthage," and it is a continuation of my "West of the Warlock" series, and a direct sequel to last year's "Unforsaken," which is finished in a rough-draft cliffhanger fashion.  In fact, the story of "Unforsaken" leaves so many loose ends and unfinished threads lying around that I may end up merging these two books into one volume when it's all over, but for the moment I'm writing this as a second "novel."

So, what's this one going to be about?  Well, I don't want to give away too much, as it also continues some unresolved issues that are revealed in "The Man Who Shot Thomas Edison," the 3rd West of the Warlock novel that has yet to be released (details about its prospective 2014 release will be revealed in the Martinus Publishing Newsletter in November; to sign up, go to www.martinus.us and click the "Newsletter Sign-Up" button on the left side of the page).

Here's a quick blurb for The Wrath of Carthage:

The "West of the Warlock" saga continues into the roaring 20's. An ancient relic is uncovered, the key to unleashing an untold evil upon history. The mystic allies of fallen Carthage lay trapped in the past, and the unwitting meddling of elven mobsters could change the fate of the world. Earth's only chance lies in the hands Joella Talus, Boron Grimes, their ragtag band of allies, and some old foes. Failure means slavery and slaughter, yet to assure success, it could mean the demise of one of their own.  Dare they make the ultimate sacrifice to assure their future's survival, or will love condemn their world to oblivion?

This two-book set (Unforsaken/Wrath of Carthage) is not so much a departure from the "Fantasy Western" format as a continuation.  We get to see some old favorites like Joella Talus and Ron Grimes in old age, and see what the last 46 years have done for our heroes.  It's fun to explore what magic in the twenties would be like, and—as you might expect from a West of the Warlock novel—we'll have appearances from some famed historical figures (including J. Edgar Hoover and Presidential candidate Al Smith).

So, November's going to be a busy month for me.  I plan to have the backlog of Martinus Publishing anthology submissions read and decided upon by the end of October, so my calendar will be clear.  Sometimes I miss the days when I could just focus on my writing, and extraneous distractions didn't stand in the way.  Oh well, at least I'll get something done next month.  See you in the trenches.

Big Blue '54

It's been a little over a year since a 1954 Chevy Bel-Air rolled into my yard.  Of course, back then it was a derelict, little more than a junkyard special.  It wasn't running, half the glass was broken, and the interior was dreadful.  It was mostly complete, and it had spent its entire life in Arizona, so rust wasn't a big issue.  For the preliminary work on this beast, you can check out last year's post about it.

"Big Blue"

My initial intent was to have this thing road ready for the spring of 2013.  As these sort of things go, that didn't happen, but I am pretty sure that I can have it on the road in 2014.  There are still quite a few things to do to it, but things are progressing, as you will now see.

Due to various other commitments, I didn't really do much to the car this spring.  Later in the summer, I began picking away at it again, finished giving it a first coat all around, stripped much of the dash and painted that, as well as the entire interior floor.  I reupholstered the seats, put together new door panels, and recovered the door post molding.  I then installed new windlace, which is the round bead that rings the interior of the doors, just in case you're wondering.

Rear seat floorboards, cleaned and freshly painted.

Laying the carpet took me half the day, and part of getting that down was trying to cut holes for the pedals.  Of course, to do one of these perfectly, you would want to have the pedals totally removed, and then carve neat little holes to feed the metal rods through.  If I ever get to do a frame-off restoration on one of these, that'll be the way to do it; get the carpet down before anything's in the way.  The other nasty thing I had to do was cut a big hole for the master cylinder access.  Unlike every car made today (or since 1955), the 1954 and earlier Chevrolets had the brake master cylinder under the driver's side floor.  If you want to be able to check your brake fluid, you need to tear up the carpet, or have an access hole.  I ended up carving one out.  Again, in retrospect, I could have been neater about it, and perhaps glued a hunk of carpet onto the access plug to hide it.

Back seat, reinstalled.

With the carpet in, I reinstalled the seats.  That left one major interior project left: the headliner.

Of course, getting to the headliner would have to wait, as it turns out I got quite sick directly after installing the carpet.  When I first started feeling ill, I thought it might be a reaction to the spray adhesive I was using, but it wasn't.  I ended up having 2 different viruses, and one left me unable to do much of anything for over a week.  I'm finally feeling better, so this morning I decided to tackle that headliner.

It was damp when I went out at 8:30AM, and there was the threat of showers all morning.  I took down the old metal bows that are used to hold the headliner into place, and I cleaned them off with a small wire brush.  Bits of the old headliner were still glued to the metal rods, and a little surface rust was present.  I made sure to number the bows with tape, as each one is unique in its placement, even though they look nearly identical.  Once they were removed and cleaned, it started to rain, so I went inside and fed them through their appropriate sleeves in the new headliner.  By the time I had that done, the shower had passed, and I proceeded to set the bows back into place.  It's a time-consuming process to set the cloth just right, and tack it along the windshields (of course, I had the foresight to glue new tack strips above the windshields beforehand, as the original strips had rotted away long ago).  I eventually got the thing into place, and then got around to reinstalling the metal trim that rings the inside of both windshields, and helps to hold the cloth in place.  Then it was a matter of attaching things like the dome light assembly and the sun visor brackets.  By the time it was all over with, it was 4PM, and I hadn't stopped for anything, not even lunch.  But it was done!  Mind you, I could have gotten it smoother, but it didn't turn out too bad.

That clock actually runs!

The interior work has been made easy thanks to my purchase of a complete interior last fall from National Chevy Association.  They've supplied most of the parts for my restoration, and I recommend them for anyone with a 1949-54 Chevy car.  Most of their prices are as cheap as you'll find anywhere, and since they're specialists in these cars you know you'll get the right part.  Of course, a lot of the stuff for these cars hasn't been made in 50 years, so there are times where you have to work with an "almost" right part.  There is a certain amount of fitting and figuring that goes into this, but that's all part of the process.

One minor thing that wasn't part of the "complete interior" kit was a pair of triangular panels that sit on either side of the back seat.  The original cardboard panels were rotted out of my car, so I had to fabricate new ones.  To do it right, I ordered some waterproof cardboard, and covered them with the same vinyl material that came with the interior.  I have enough left over cardboard to make a few new door panels, so I may try my hand at making those from scratch sometime.

There are still quite a few things to tackle.  I still have to put the heater back into the car, and then install the new glove box.  I have new kick panels (the little cardboard triangles that go by your feet under the dash), and I have an original radio to put in it, though I don't know if it works (not that you can get much on AM around here).  There are still a few minor mechanical things to do, but for the most part it is good to go.  The only two things it needs that I don't have right now are a front windshield (there is a small crack at the bottom center which is spreading), and an exhaust.  That will all have to wait, as money is an object at this point.

A question of seat-belts:  This is something I'm still pondering.  In 1954, there were no seat belts.  Zero Chevrolet cars came with seat belts in 1954, though some were refitted years later with aftermarket belts.  While it wouldn't look bad with belts, and I personally prefer to have one buckled whenever I'm driving, it wouldn't be truly original if I installed them in this car.  The other thing to consider is that Maine is an original equipment State, meaning if your car didn't originally come equipped with some part, then you do not need to add it.  Even though Maine law requires you to buckle your belt, if you own an antique car that doesn't have them, then you don't have to wear what isn't there.  It may be appealing to some people to have a car that they could legally drive without the restriction of a seat belt, though I'm just not sure if that's for me.  I know I wouldn't be driving the kids around without belts, so this won't be a "family car" if I choose to go the no-belt route.  It would probably stay cleaner that way.

I mentioned last year that I may want to sell this thing when I'm done with it, but that'll all depend.  I don't need to sell it.  That is, I may let it go for the right price, but I won't be chiseled, and if nobody wants to give me what I've actually got in it, I'll just keep it and use it myself.  The only reason I'd want to sell it is because I could then restore another one.  Right now, my "restoration budget" is tied up in this 1954.  If somebody wants a decent driver with a ton of new parts and a complete, new interior, this is the car.  If they want a spotless show car they'd only take out once or twice a year, it isn't.

So, there you have it.  This car has acquired the name of Big Blue—at least, that's what my oldest daughter dubbed it (it's actually teal, but close enough).  It seems like a decent enough name.  It's better than "rust colored piece of crap," which was its name before I got it.  With any luck, Big Blue will be rolling down the road sometime in 2014.

Fevered Musings and Altered America

I've been sick on and off the past week, and right now I have a moderate fever and half the muscles in my body are burning with knots.  Don't worry, I'll survive, and if not there's nothing your worrying can do to stop it.  Seriously, though, I've had worse, and I hope to be back on my feet in a day or two.

Now, while I'm trapped at my desk and unable to do much else, I'm reading through the latest batch of submissions for Altered America.  A lot have been pouring in over the past week, and that was a welcoming sign, as I've been facing a shortage of submissions to this collection.  However, as I pick through story after story, I find a lot of stories that simply aren't want I'm looking for.

I hate to reject otherwise good stories, but the vast majority of the newest batch are not right for this collection.  It seems a lot of writers have overlooked or ignored the entire premise of the anthology:  "Tales of Alternate History and Forgotten Possibilities."  Apparently, they skim over the "Alternate History" section and focus on "Possibilities," and have submitted a lot of interesting stories that just don't fit what I'm trying to create here.  In a few cases, writers put together stories that may qualify as "Alternate," but they don't explain the history sufficiently to make it work.

Maybe this is my fault, for not being more explicit in saying that I'm after "Alternate History," for this collection.  I thought saying it was a collection of "Tales of Alternate History..." would have been plain enough, though apparently a lot of people don't understand what that means.

Is Alternate History a genre that is so hard to write?  I have to wonder.  Perhaps those who write it are simply above my pay grade?  I'm sorry I can't afford to pay you professional rates and spend millions of dollars promoting authors like I wish I could. I'm not working for a big New York firm.  I'm just trying to produce fiction that is worth reading, based on specific themes that create some uniformity and hopefully market appeal.  The fact that I'm deep in the Red right now isn't the point, but I'd hope that people would refrain from sending me nasty letters, mocking me for trying.  Yes, I've gotten a few unsolicited notes over the past year, condescending comments complaining that I'm "trying to rip people off" because I'm not offering 6 cents a word, and deriding me for "not helping to advance their careers."  As if I'm raking in a living off of this!  It is pretty pathetic for someone to waste their time to attack a small publisher like this.  I'm glad it is infrequent, but it should be never.

Okay, enough ranting.  I have a lot to consider.  So many good stories that just don't fit; it's a damn shame, but I can't compromise the contents of the anthology too much.  It wouldn't be fair to the consumers who will buy this expecting to get "Alternate History."

Check out the Altered America submission guidelines.