"The Tsar's Treasure" and Astonishing Adventures #8

First, here is the magnificent illustration by Joanne Renaud, which accompanies my chef-d-oeuvre, "The Tsar's Treasure."



Please, take it in for a moment...and please, pardon me if I seem like a braggart, because it was really Joanne that brought my story's lovely antagonist to vivid color, right before your very eyes. It is one of the greatest thrills in life, to have an idea from your mind, manifest itself in such a way as this. A magazine is a collaborative effort, and this? This is the icing on the cake.

The first time that I got to experience this, is when Katherine's late sister Mary, did the illustration for my story "Tit-ForTat" in the premiere issue of Astonishing Adventures Magazine. It was just a rough sketch, but it was sensational to experience someone else's interpretation of a notion that had previously existed, only in your own head. So it is fitting that Joanne did such a tremendous job in ushering the last issue of Astonishing Adventures, with both this picture, and the cover for the last issue ever.

And please, don't get the impression that it is as simple as someone types a story and another person puts ink and paint to paper, and voila, "you have magazine!" No, first it takes an icon, and this man wanted to bring back the pulp magazine to 21st Century...John Donald Carlucci was that man. John shared editorial duties first with Tim D. Gallagher, and then Super Editor Katherine Tomlinson took over from Issue #2, onward.

Tim and Katherine had the difficult task of taking the errant ramblings of the other writers and me, and turning those words into a cohesive narrative. How difficult was it? Let's just say Hercules had it easy with his Twelve Labors...and no, working with John was not like serving under Eurystheus...more like Pluto ; )

Joy Sillesen put the final touches together and she made it a true magazine, then John would battle...er, work, yes, that's it, work with Amazon. Yes, Amazon was sooo helpful. At any rate, Astonishing Adventures Magazine was a labor of love, with all of us doing this for the experience, and for you, the reader.

Author Kelli Stanley answered my many incoherent emails that I sent her, and she turned them into a wonderful interview, because she's that good of an author.




The format of the interview was limited, because this was going to be the first of an ongoing series of modern crime and mystery authors talking about pulp. Kelli gives us superior insight into her favorite noir films and pulp authors. Then she finishes the interview up with insight into her novel "Nox Dormienda," and her two upcoming novels, "City of Dragons," and "Cursed," which is the sequel to "Nox."



Also in this issue, the identity of Kat Parrish is finally revealed in this issue. Oh, and uh, I bring the pain, and I bring the pulp. Here's an excerpt from "The Tsar's Treasure," the story in question-

The red man jerks and tries to get a hold of his blackjack as he sits up, and I reflexively pull the gun out. He shakes the blackjack out of his hand and goes for his gun. We both have pistols pointed at each other’s head and I’m wondering if they even know what a Mexican stand-off is in Hungary.

Of all the weapons you can pull on somebody, guns are the most problematic. Once you have the gun out, if other guy has any sense, he’ll back down. Of course, if he has one too, he’s thinking the exact same thing. Unlike with other weapons, you can’t deflect a bullet…especially this close.

I finally get a good look at Mihály and I want to call up J. Edgar and the G-Men, because some way, somehow, a church is missing a gargoyle, and he’s sitting right here just a couple feet away from me.

So that's just one except, though there will be a couple more to come this January. Check out the biggest, and the very last issue of Astonishing Adventures Magazine on

Mediafire: http://www.mediafire.com/?hhdd55fxhdw

And on

Issuu: http://issuu.com/snapesgirl/docs/astonishing_adventures_8

The print issue on Amazon is coming soon!