Welcome, dear listener. We’re all scraps and fancies today. John Linwood Grant speaks to YOU, and coming up in the next few weeks we should have Edith Nesbit’s Amazing Flying Machine; a feature and interview with Nicole Petit, fantasy author and editor of After Avalon, a post-Arthurian anthology; more of the Lurchers for Beginners series Training Your Human; an interview with Benjamin Holesapple, publisher/editor of the new weird fiction magazine Turn to Ash, and loads of other goodies.
We also plan to talk to editor Christopher Banham about his book Skeleton Crew, the full, annotated text of a classic Victorian Penny Dreadful, speak to writer John Paul Fitch on his work, and on the televisation of stories through the series Fragments of Fear, tell you more about the new anthology concept Imperial Weird, have some more Sherlock Holmes, and cover a French occult detective you may not know. Greydogtales, your one-stop site for the weird. You never know what you’ll get – and neither do we.
As an extra, Sam Gafford’s site on William Hope Hodgson recently brough up the subject of a Spanish comic based on William Hope Hodgson’s work. If you go to his place, you can see some of the black and white interior art – see Sam’s excellent site william hope hodgson .
We recently spoke to the talented artist, Jose Aviles, and hope to have a feature on this and some of his other great work, including The Enceladus Anomaly, in the near future.
Greydog in Action
So it’s a heck of a busy time. The old greydog himself has been inundated with work. You may not know – and you may not care – that he’s been editing and writing his little socks off this Summer and Autumn. He’s been interviewed for podcasts again, with an extended witter about Sherlock Holmes, occult detectives and period writing for the TV Crossover Universe broadcast, and for his thoughts on William Hope Hodgson for Henrik Möller’s Swedish Udda Ting podcast series on weird literature.
You can listen to jlg muttering away on TVCU from about minute eight below (if you must hear him)
John Linwood Grant stories expected to come out in the New Year include:
- MY HEART SHALL SPEAK NO MORE. A dark folk-tale of lost love and Suffolk legend, related to the Tales of the Last Edwardian series. A standalone short ebook coming from Frith Books.
- HOODOO MAN. In the heart of twenties Harlem, Henry Dodgson drinks and broods on his losses until his assistance, however reluctant, is required. A story in the Tales of the Last Edwardian series. In the anthology Speakeasies and Spiritualists, from 18thWall Productions.
- ON ABYDOS, DREAMING. A damaged man seeks redemption in his visit to the Fane on Abydos, a place where souls are lost or won. Part of the Technosophy series. In the anthology Survivor, from Lethe Press.
- AN AGE OF REASON. Science fiction adventure (and some curious aliens) in the Technosophy series. In the anthology The Stars at My Door, from April Moon Press.
- A PERSISTENCE OF GERANIUMS. A couple of unexpected visitors hear a story which may not be entirely to their taste – and leave having to question their beliefs about the supernatural. A standalone Edwardian chap-book, from the Ravenwood Quarterly stables.
- WITH THE DARK AND THE STORM. Igbo villagers in colonial nineteen twenties Nigeria are forced to deal with the awakening of old powers. Short story in the Africa Weird sequence, to be announced.
Wearing a bent and battered editorial hat, he’s finally finished editing the accepted weird fiction for the first issue of Occult Detective Quarterly. He is now, with co-editor Sam Gafford, puzzling over the remaining list of submissions for later issues. How much great fiction can you squeeze into a journal without breaking the postman’s back?
Imperial Weird Opening Soon
Working with writer Matt Willis, he’s also putting the final touches to the guidelines for Imperial Weird, a new anthology which will explore the dark side of the British Empire. From the draft:
“On her Dominions, the sun never sets, for she brings her Darkness with her.”
The British Empire was the largest empire in history and, for over a century, was the foremost global power, with a presence on every continent and many hundreds of millions of subjects, willing or unwilling.
Imperial Weird is seeking strange stories which are steeped in the history of the British Empire from around 1885 to 1905, no later. These must be tales which capture the feel of the mid to late Victorian Period, before the first real shadows of World War One.
Crucially, every submission must contain an element of the weird, the uncanny, the supernatural or the paranormal. This may be in the form of spirits, hauntings, monstrosities, folk-lore and folk-horror from the region in question, or simply the completely inexplicable. Dark, foreboding, or unsettling are good keywords, though positive endings (for someone) are fine.
Characters may be of any culture, ethnicity or allegiance. The lost, bewildered British soldier or colonial administrator; the embittered Indian servant or Rajah; the scorned Egyptian woman and the dying Boer farmer. What we do not want are period cartoon or pulp stereotypes – purely noble natives or plucky white adventurers – without humanity or context. Think real people in strange situations, not stereotypical goodies and baddies. This isn’t Boys’ Own Adventures – and it isn’t Steampunk either.
Matt Willis also co-edited this Autumn’s Stalking Leviathan: A Bestiary of Tales anthology, which we hope to cover in more detail soon (i.e. when we’ve had time to finish it). It’s looking good so far.
stalking leviathan ukMore New Stuff
Other news? Lots, but some of it will have to wait. As far as weird fiction goes, out today is Ted E Grau’s novella They Don’t Come Home Anymore. Given the high quality of his collection last year, The Nameless Dark, we’ll definitely be poking our noses into this.
they don’t come home anymore uk
As we mentioned After Avalon above, also recently launched is a new series of urban fantasy meets post-Arthurian tales, the Veil Knights. We understand that ‘Rowan Casey’ is actually a collective of authors which includes our old friend and legendary storyteller Willie Meikle. Book Two, Hound of Night, is just out, and they’re only £0.99 on Kindle, so a browse wouldn’t hurt.
hound of night ukOh, and The Arte Mephitic, which we featured a fortnight ago, has more than met its Kickstarter campaign goals, and should be a solid little gem next year, so many congratulations to Phil Breach and Russell Olson, the creators.
How to Survive Mephitis: Clark Ashton Smith & The Arte Mephitic
greydog’s magnificent and pointless dark follies based on the Yorkshire Wolds continue, both in the J Linseed Grant journal entries on Facebook, and in all sorts of sporadic productions, including Sandra’s First Pony. Here’s a little reflection of the parish of St Botolph-in-the-Wolds, if you missed it.
And don’t forget, tell your children about the Christmas Wasp. Less than a month to go, and they’ll thank you one day…