Welcome back. What are you currently reading? Feel free to comment! Or are you listening to S&S themed music like the Pillage People? (grin) On with the roundup!
New and Upcoming S&S Projects
+ New Paperback: Cirsova Magazine of Thrilling Adventure and Daring Suspense Issue #19 / Summer 2024 (178 pages) featuring Mark Pellegrini, Andrew Majors, Joseph W. Knowles, Jim Breyfogle, Blake Carpenter, J. Manfred Weichsel, Misha Burnett, and more.
+ Also in paperback: Savage Realms Monthly #28: May 2024: A collection of dark fantasy sword and sorcery adventures featuring stories by Steve Dilks, Johnathan DeLaughter, and Matthew McConkey.
+ Introducing! Elak, Warrior of Atlantis (UK link) by Adrian Cole (Jim Pitts, illustrator, and intro by David C. Smith) from Parallel Universe Publications. Book One in a planned trilogy from Adrian Cole. Check out PUP’s announcement here.
Who is Elak? From the blurb: “Elak was introduced to the world by Henry Kuttner in the legendary Weird Tales in 1938. Now Elak returns in this first volume of a sword & sorcery trilogy that is a celebration of the classic genre and a homage to such grand pulp masters as Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E Howard.”
+ New Magazine: Battleborn. Sign up for their free newsletter to get updates as to their release date. An “action packed sword and sorcery magazine curated by Sean CW Korsgaard and published by IronAge Media.”
+ Coming Soon: Sidearm & Sorcery Volume Three from Storyhack - A Magazine of Action and Adventure. Twelve stories by writers like JD Cowan, Jason McCuiston, Misha Burnett, Julie Frost, and more. For all the issues, click here.
New S&S on Amazon
+ William Joseph Roberts Presents (3 books so far) in the same vein as the "Jim Baen Presents" series. The latest (June 2024), Heathens & Heroes, is 300 pages and features stories by Steven L. Shrewsbury, Mark Mellon, Z.M. Renick, Seth Taylor, and more.
+ Recent Releases: Immaculate Scoundrels and Times Never Change - The Scaleborn Series by John R. Fultz. “A shining empire more than 5,000 years old, built on the might of its swords and its sorcery.”
+ Book 4 Just Dropped: Hollow Empire (The Hollow Realms Series - 4 books so far) by Jordan Allen. “A world of dark fantasy sword and sorcery tales, taking inspiration from the pulp classics of old. [Most] are standalone and can be read in any order.”
+ Another cool looking series: The Pulsifer Saga (2 book series) by Wm. Michael Mott. “The outrageous adventures of Pulsifer the Rogue in a frozen, monster-haunted and wizard-infested world.”
+ Not S&S but it looks rad - Exile War (7 book series) by Bowen Greenwood. Genetic engineering unleashes telepathy and mind control on the world and the resulting war kills billions. Book 7, Armageddon, just dropped.
+ Reign of Extinction: Book One of the Burning Seasky Saga by Frank Borrelli (400 pages). “One abused girl can save our races from extinction, but she just wants the wicked world to burn. Pray she changes her mind in time...”
Interesting News, Links, and Miscellanea
+ Opinion: Evolve or Die: Is this the End for Sword and Sorcery? Column by Alec Worley. See also Alec’s latest - Mapping the Labyrinth: A No-Mucking-About Beginner’s Guide to Starting Out as a Writer.
+ Another Opinion: Swashbucklers Are Dead…Or Are They? by Cindy Vallar at Historical Novel Society. Another interesting article there: Incorporating firearms into your historical novel by B.J. Sedlock.
+ Interesting article for writers and other creatives at Black Gate on "The Double-Edged Blade of Social Media" by S. M. Carrière.
+ David Gemmell on the Art and Craft of Writing from Mark Kirby at DMR Blog.
+ Art: Have you seen some of the S&S art by Kubo Art? On Facebook as well.
+ Did you read Swords & Heroes E-Zine Story #2, ‘Korvix and the Heart of Darkness’ by Matt Hilton. Check out the upcoming ToC as well at the end of the story.
+ Download Issues of “Weird Tales” (1923–1954): “The Pioneering Pulp Horror Magazine Features Original Stories by Lovecraft, Bradbury & Many More”
+ Ten Years Ago: Are you familiar with the Dyscrasia Fiction Series by S.E. Lindberg - the series “fictionalizes the alchemical humors and explores the choices humans and their gods make as an imbalance in the humors (dyscrasia) corrupts their souls.”
Pulp, Conan, and More
+ Old Time Comics: G. W. Thomas at Dark Worlds presents: Boris Karloff’s Tales of Heroic Fantasy and the follow-up, Grimm Ghost Stories Tales of Heroic Fantasy.
+ At Rough Edges & James Reasoner: Famous Fantastic Mysteries, August 1950.
+ Book review at PorPor Books Blog: The Crystal Empire by L. Neil Smith.
+ Grognardia reviews Polyhedron #30 (July 1986).
+ Paperback Warrior highlights REH’s “Sea Curse” in Weird Tales (May 1928).
+ Brief Howard Days report from Gary Romeo at Sprague de Camp Fan. Another update coming from Howard Days Blog soon.
Call for Submissions
Sword & Scandal: Anthology of NSFW Heroic Fantasy (July 1 to 31, 2024).
Submissions for Witch House #4 are OPEN through 21 July 2024!
Schlock! is now open to all submissions. For guidelines, visit here.
Peasant Magazine - submission guidelines are here.
Swords & Sorcery Magazine - new guidelines page is here.
Swords & Heroes E-Zine open to subs through June. Then again in Oct.
Savage Realms Monthly has submission guidelines here. (send only first 3 pages)
BFS Horizons writers’ guidelines are here. (May open in July.)
Heroic Fantasy Quarterly will open for subs in July 2024.
Two More Roundups
Links of Steel from DMR Books (May 26)
Sensor Sweep from Castalia House (June 17)
S&S and Adjacent Podcasts
The Cromcast - Season 19 Episode 2: The Broken Sword, Part II (June 3)
Dark Worlds Podcast: Robert J. Sawyer (June 10)
Rogues in the House - The 13th Warrior Movie Review (June 6). Also, read Brian Murphy’s take at The Silver Key.
Monsters, Madness and Magic Podcast - EP#263: The Nightmare Before Fright Night - An Interview With Chris Sarandon (June 18); also EP#262: Out Of Ammo - An Interview With Michael Gross (June 16).
Baen Free Radio Hour - BFRH 2024 06 14 - The Thermopylae Protocol.
Dungeons & Damsels - “The Ghost House” S4E4 (May 16)
Strange Shadows - SS3 10 The Boiling Point (June 2)
The Worldshapers - Ep 173: Ann Charles – Time Reaping in Deadwood (June 17)
Crowdsourcing & Kickstarters
+ COMING SOON: Even More Tales From the Magicians Skull from Outland Publications - “A magazine of all-new swords & sorcery fiction in the classic pulp style! Issue 12 shipping soon and issue 13 is in the works!”
+ 3 Days Left: Hero of Legend #1 - A Fantasy Adventure: “A fantasy comic for fans of The Legend of Zelda” from Reed Hinckley-Barnes.
+ 4 Days To Go: Cthulhu FhCon: Short Stories Starring Cthulhu, Fans & Frenzy: “An insanely fun horror & dark humor short-story anthology” from Esther Jones.
+ The Curse of Cthulhu - Strange & Deadly Shores Gamebook: “A branching narrative game set in Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos - infiltrate a deadly cult and find the idol - or die trying!” From Simon Birks.
+ On Backerkit - from Crystal Lake Comics: Joe Ledger & Violin - Hearts and Minds Graphic Novel. “Jonathan Maberry delivers an action-packed graphic novel featuring Joe Ledger and Violin from his popular series of techno-thrillers.”
Around the Substack World
+ At Rediscovered Realms - Lone Wolf: The Huntress Gamebook Trilogy and Author Interview with Jonathan Stark.
+ Talking Pulp Press: Rob Rimes reports Massive Progress This Week...as the 2nd Act of the next book reaches its end.
+ Story Podcast from Faenon's Fantasy Fiction - Huld, The Monk.
Finally, A Word from Our Sponsor… (Me!)
If you want to show your support for this roundup project, and you haven’t gotten your personal copy of Swords & Heroes anthology yet, I have 6 paperbacks left ... and I can sign them if you want, only $18 each - that includes shipping to USA only. (Sorry!) They are $20 on the ’zon, btw. Pick your cover. You can let me know which one and your address and all that at my PayPal.Me page. Thanks for your support! And yes, I have a zebra pattern futon. (grin)
Until next time, keep swinging!
Hey, I missed this announcement:
Conan: City of the Dead released today. It contains both Conan and the Emerald Lotus (last published 25 years ago) and its follow-up, Conan and the Living Plague (never published until today).
Very good. The characters are captivating (even kuda) and the plots always have heart-pounding battles and an intriguing twist in them.
Sword of the barbarian is a real page-turner.