Nigel P. Bird's Interviews

Over at Sea Minor, Nigel P. Bird came up with a unique idea. Why not let people interview themselves and he would post it?

He has already put up some fine ones with Keith Rawson and The Drowning Machine's Naomi Johnson. Not to mention that ones with Jedidiah Ayers and Megan Abbot are forthcoming. Today, he is one with writer, columnist and super editor, Katherine Tomlinson.

Check it out.

Dark Valentine's "Through A Lense Darkly" Flash Fiction Contest

From editor/author Katherine Tomlinson comes this item-

I always enjoy photo story prompts, so we've put another one up at Dark Valentine. We're looking for flash (under 1000 words) inspired by the photo. Here's all the info.

We don't pay for the stories published on the site but Dark Valentine is a paying market for stories published in the magazine. Our first issue will be available in mere weeks, but we're open for submissions to issue #2 now. Here's a link to our guidelines. Dark Valentine is looking for any sort of dark fiction--you pick the genre.

"The House of Half A Hundred Cats" is up at A Twist of Noir!

Katherine Tomlinson's "The House of Half A Hundred Cats" is up at A Twist of Noir!

Think...

...then get amnesia, what is wrong with you? Forget about all that bad face painted, crappy leotard costumed and hackneyed musical nonsense! We're talking about Katherine Tomlinson, and we're talking about A Twist of Noir! Think...

...and you will be in the right frame of mind.

Dark Valentine Magazine is here!

Image from http://www.myspace.com/odbal-imaging

Katherine Tomlinson is one of my favorite authors and certainly one of my favorite editors.

Joanne Renaud is one of the artists that I admire the most, and if you are a regular reader of this blog, you already knew that.

Well two of the driving forces of Astonishing Adventures Magazine have gotten together with Editor Joy Sillesen to form Dark Valentine Magazine. Katherine shot me an email with all the details-

The first issue will be in May, deadline is April 1.

We’re soliciting entries for our THROUGH A LENS DARKLY (they’re not paid) and we will pay $10 for stories and $10 for illustrations that run in each of our quarterly issues of DARK VALENTINE. We know that’s not much but it’s coming out of our own pockets.) Web design is by the multi-talented Sarah Vaughn, whose stories and art you may remember from Astonishing Adventures Magazines #7 and #8.

We will be specializing in dark fiction—mystery, horror, romance, slipstream, urban fantasy, fantasy, sci fi, cyberpunk, you name it. Our influences range from E.A. Poe to Tanith Lee. We know you’ve got a story to tell us.

Here’s where you send it: submissions@darkvalentine.net.

If you look over the FAQ, you will notice that they are taking both story submissions and illustrations.

Get Plugged In #6

Oh, I have links, but first comes a lecture. You see, you kids have so easy today. You have A Twist of Noir, Beat To A Pulp, Crime Factory, Pulp Metal, Thrillers Killers 'n' Chillers, Yellow Mama, (hopefully still) Astonishing Adventures, and many more places to submit your work to. In this sense, we are now living a golden age of crime fiction, where there are several venues for you to perfect your art and for you to have an audience.

Go all the way back to January 2007 and most of the magazines and sites mentioned above didn't exist. And the ones that did exist were expired, or on the verge of expiring. In stepped a man with a vision, Aldo Calcagno. He started Powder Burn Flash and the rest is history. So many of the writers in my links section and the aforementioned zines, have Aldo to thank for where we all are today.

Paul D. Brazil interviewed Aldo, and you really should read it. Not just because I say so, but also becuase it is an insight into the ever-changing world of crime fiction, and its existence on the Internet.

Katherine Tomlinson has updated her links and all of her works that can be accessed through the Internet, are at the top right of her page.

Last but certainly not least, while on holiday in Britain, Quin has met up with my favorite fiction couple, Margaret and Neville. Their latest tale has started off with a cliffhanger, and the next two weeks should get real interesting.

Get Plugged In #5

John Donald Carlucci has the third episode of Fierce Cravings up on YouTube!

Katherine Tomlinson makes her Powder Burn Flash debut, with "Dangerous Chartreuse."

Last, but not least, Chad Rohrbacher comes to A Twist of Noir.

Links and the return of Astonishing Adventures Magazine

Well, first things first. John Donald Carlucci emailed me from the road to tell me that Scarlett is coming back!

No, this has nothing to do with Hester Prynne, we are talking about Scarlett, the mascot of Astonishing Adventures Magazine. John has had a change of heart. He's decided to resurrect AAM, and that he will again take up the mantle of Editor.

Keith Rawson and company are readying a crime magazine that will be ready any minute. It will be called "Crime Factory Zine," and if you love crime fiction like I do, you know that Keith's name means quality.

The one announcement that has held this post up for a couple of days will have to wait for another day, no problem. Think Rod Serling, think Ray Bradbury and now think Katherine Tomlinson, with "The Sin Eater."

"A Red Lipstick" Is Up At A Twist Of Noir

From Astonishing Adventures Issue #5, "A Red Lipstick" is up at A Twist of Noir. This version is unique to A.T.O.N. Christopher Grant made a couple of changes here and there, so that it reads a little smoother than the original.

On a personal note, if a writer or an author is entitled a little self-indulgence every once in a while? This is my favorite story of all of my work, in terms of how it was plotted out. Katherine Tomlinson had me pare down some extraneous subplots and characters, because sometimes less is truly more.

"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!

The Last Links Of The Year

I'm waaayy behind in terms of blogging, and I'm not going to have my Top Ten Books of 2009 up before the end of the year. Still, let me get in the last links of 2009 and go from there...

Editor and Author, Katherine Tomlinson has a new story up at A Twist of Noir, called "Fair-weather Friend," that will change the way that you behave at a bank.

Sandra Seamans was nice enough to include one of my yarns in her Top Ten Short Stories of 2009. Not only that, she turned me on to Flash Fire 500, the site that it was on in the first place. Also on her list is one of my favorite stories from Paul D Brazill, "The Tut," which gives Edgar Allan a run for his money.

Turn about is fair play, so if you haven't checked Sandra's work out yet, let me recommend Sandra's "Midnight Showdown," which was also featured on Beat To A Pulp. It's one of the best westerns that I've read, and it will definitely surprise you.

To finish things off with an awesome dessert, Sandra defends, sci-fi, genre writing and fiction, in general.

Katherine Tomlinson owns The Internet

Katherine Tomlinson is all over the Internet.

At A Twist of Noir, she gets you ready for the holidays, with a Pulp Christmas.

For all my people from The Twelve Tribes, she has a Do-It-Yourself Chanukah at Bier Magazine. Of course, we goyim can enjoy these good noshes, too.

If the holidays aren't your thing, I'll bet you chocolate is. Katherine has a chocolate truffle recipe, and an even easier fool-proof recipe for idiots like me, who tend to mangle desert.

She does this while editing Astonishing Adventures Magazine, writing her own fiction and covering movie scripts. That, is why I call her the "Super Editor."

Katherine Tomlinson comes to Blogdom

Author, Super Editor and my friend, Katherine Tomlinson has started her own blog. Please drop by and welcome her to Blogdom.

Get Plugged In #4

Jean-Paul Sartre said that, "Hell is other people."

Super Editor and author, Katherine Tomlinson has a brilliant story up at A Twist of Noir called "Another Day In Paradise," that says Sartre was only half-right.

But that's not all, she also the Chocolate Editor for BellaOnline. Her article not only has recipes, but everything that you can think of that is chocolate-related. Health links, Vegan links, books, how you can prepare it sans sugar, and gifts for chocophiles.

Last but certainly not least, Johnny Dollars a.k.a. Editor JDC a.k.a. Publisher JDC a.k.a. John Donald Carlucci, has made the leap to webisodes.

I've already checked out the first episode of "Fierce Cravings," and it's good stuff...along the lines of a certain low-budget, super successful film from the 90's. Check out his press release for more details-

MANITOWOC, November 19, 2009 – Darke Media, the film production studio and producer of the digital magazine “Astonishing Adventures,” today announced the release of the new webserial “Fierce Cravings.”

Looking to explore online sources for distribution, Darke Media is releasing the entirety of “Fierce Cravings” for free through sources such as YouTube and iTunes. Plans are in place to launch a second serial, starring the mascot Scarlett, of Astonishing Adventures, in mid 2010.

“Uncertain where the horrific changes to his body and mind are leading, the masked man begins documenting his descent into Hell.”

“Fierce Cravings” tells its chilling tale in the same cinematic style utilized by hits like “Paranormal Activity”, “The Blair Witch Project”,and “Quarantine.”

For more information on Darke Media please visit the dedicated website at http://darkemedia.wordpress.com/

For the online in-story diary of “?” from “Fierce Cravings” http://fiercecravings.wordpress.com/

Beat To A Pulp has "They Come From Above"

Some people have no vision at all. Not only can they not see the forest for the trees, they possess the tunnel vision of a mole on the darkside of the moon. I am fortunate that David Cranmer is not such a person. He saw a piece of microfiction that two other editors had rejected and he decided that it could be more, and that it could have a greater audience.

With plenty of encouragement from David, Elaine Ash, and Katherine Tomlinson, that piece of microfiction is now a fuller, richer story that is now up at Beat To A Pulp.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you "They Come From Above," at Beat To A Pulp.

"Proof Of Life" is up at A Twist of Noir!

Many crime writers (including yours truly) tend to see crime fiction in just two dimensions and thus, on some levels, it becomes predictable. Now Katherine Tomlinson told me that she wrote a tale for Thug Lit a couple of years ago and I told her that I had absolutely no idea.

Her story "Proof of Life" was in Issue #19 of Thug Lit and it is probably one of the most unique crime fiction stories that you will ever read. Katherine truly gave my favorite genre a third dimension, so please see for yourself with "Proof of Life." Todd Robinson really got it right when he chose it for that issue.

Yet, she's not one toot her own horn and so the work that should be recognized, almost becomes a strange version of that koan about the forest.

Two years later, Christopher Grant enters the picture, because that's the beauty of his site, A Twist of Noir. The stories that didn't find their proper audience the first time, can reach a new one and the reader benefits this time. Because not only do you get a chance to discover or rediscover a story, the artist gets a chance to do the little things to improve that story.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Christopher Grant gives you the revised and improved version of Katherine Tomlinson's "Proof Of Life."

My chili recipe made Bier Magazine

Super Editor and author Katherine Tomlinson saw a chili recipe of mine and asked me if she could submit it to a magazine.

Lo and behold, Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, commies and conservatives, Cormac's San Francisco chili at Bier Magazine!

Get your Shiner Bock out...

...or if you are out this way, Fat Tire or Anchor Steam!

Issue Number Seven Of Astonishing Adventures Is Here!

From The Official Press Release-

Astonishing Adventures Magazine, the prominent ePulp magazine, today announced the release of their seventh adventure-filled issue.

Have some crazy fun with the wonderful stories from writers like Mike Hughes, Christine Pope, Katherine Tomlinson, Sidney Harrison, Roger Alford, Brian Trent, Sarah Vaughn, Kat Parrish, Michael Patrick Sullivan, G. Wells Taylor, and Cormac Brown.

Soak in the amazingly beautiful images by artists like Joanne Renaud, Larry Nadolsky, G. Wells Taylor, Sarah Vaughn, and Susan Schader.

These are tales that will thrill and chill you well after you finish reading them.

Purchasers of the print copy will receive a free audio version of “The Dark” adventure by John Donald Carlucci and read by vocal j*hadist Robert Page.

Six issues into its amazing run, AAM and the Darke Media Group continue to provide the highest quality free fiction eZine on the Net while exploring ways to redefine the traditional publishing mode. Darke Media is launching a new web serial with a second serial, starring the mascot of AAM Scarlett, scheduled for early 2010.

Astonishing Adventures social network
http://astonishingadventuresmagazine.ning.com/

Astonishing Adventures Magazine issue 7 - available print version at
Amazon: ISBN1448687330 $10.00 - http://tiny.cc/WV4OZ

To read online or download
Issuu: http://issuu.com/astonishing/docs/aam7

To download if the Issuu link does not work
Mediafire: http://tiny.cc/ai2st.

Ladies and Gentlemen, there it is. Please, by all means, check it out.

Please, also if you get a chance, check out my story "Le Chat Noir."

Issue #7 Will Be Live 9-15-09!

Editor JDC sent an email to all of the involved authors saying that Issue #7 of Astonishing Adventures will be ready on September 15th!

And as always, when we are talking about AAM, we are talking-

Adventure!

Excitement!

Science Fiction!

Horror!

Strange Tales!

Thrillers!

Crime!

Noir!

Oh, and speaking of noir, look for my story "Le Chat Noir."

The Cover Of Astonishing Adventures Number Seven

Check it out.

Click the jpeg and blow it up.

I believe that the Editor JDC did a fantastic job and if you agree, please tell him so.

Self plug time: look for "Le Chat Noir." In many ways it is as different a story as I have ever written.

An inside look at Super Editor Katherine Tomlinson via Inside Look Magazine

When she's not putting Astonishing Adventures Magazine together or handling coverage for production companies from virtually every corner of the world, Super Editor Katherine Tomlinson writes as well.

The May/June issue of Inside Look features sacred places and Katherine wrote a wonderful article about Machu Picchu. Go to the bottom left and click "Machu Picchu, Emerald City In The Clouds."