Tuesday, July 31, 2012

PulpFest is on the way!

PulpFest is quickly approaching. It's a great convention, which grew out of the original pulp convention, PulpCon.

I'll be at PulpFest this year with a stack of Jungle Tales Volume 1 and a stack of Where Legends Ride, the anthology published by Express Westerns that includes my story, "Pretty Polly." But the main point is to reconnect with friends and talk about pulp magazines, old movies, illustrators and cover painters, and a whole argosy of topics related to popular fiction and the great magazines in which it appeared.

Pulp fan Walker Martin describes the wonder that is PulpFest in a short passage that's better than I could manage:

August 9 through August 12 in Columbus Ohio (pulpfest.com).  If you love old magazines, vintage paperbacks, pulp reprints, artwork, then you have to attend.  The evening panels are amazing, probably the best I've ever read about in all the years I've been going to Pulpcon.

This convention is not to be missed if you are crazy about back issues of SF, detective, western, hero, and adventure pulps.  Hell, I know what I'm talking about.  I've been going to pulp shows since 1972.  I'm basically a reader, 24/7 and I would not waste my time attending if it was not a special and necessary event.  If it was the usual SF convention nonsense that they hold nowadays, I would say stay home and read a good book!


But fellow readers and collectors, this is heaven for a reader and collector.  Over a hundred tables, a great hotel, great friends, and interesting panels.

You can learn more about PulpFest by clicking here.

As Walker says, " A summer event not to be missed!"

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Jungle Tales Vol. 1 in print and performing well

My first story for Airship 27 has enjoyed a nice launch!

"The Devil's Nest" is a Ki-Gor story published in Jungle Tales Volume 1, which is now available as a print edition from Amazon.  (Click here for more info.) It arrived in print format just about one month ago.

According to Barry Reese's informative New Pulp Best Seller List, the anthology--which also features stories by Aaron Smith and W. Peter Miller -- debuted at Number 5 on the top 10 list for June 25.  It's dropped off the list one week since that time and now, but Barry's most recent list (for July 23) has Jungle Tales hanging on at the 10 spot. I think that's pretty good, considering the competition, which includes a new Hard Case Crime release (False Negative by Joseph Koenig) and the most recent Doc Savage adventure (The Infernal Buddha) penned by Will Murray.

Part of the appeal of this Ki-Gor collection is, I think, the Tarzan Centennial. Pulp fans are in the mood for some fresh jungle action, I think. Dinosaurs and jungle action--what's not to like?

By the way, the dandy black-and-white illo accompanying this post is by Kelly Everaert, who provided the very nice interior illustrations for the book.

I have some other Ki-Gor projects in the works. I'll let you know when the news is ripe.

Many thanks to those who have bought and read Jungle Tales Volume 1!