Home Stretch

I'm down to the last 75 pages of the novel I'm copy editing for Permuted Press. It's a story of superheroes vs. zombies in the burned out ruin of Los Angeles. I'll admit that the description sounds kind of lame, and would have been a train wreck in the hands of most authors. But this author has done something remarkable with it.

The supers are fully realized characters with their own weaknesses and virtues. They're a complicated lot and you really feel for them. Likewise the merely human characters trapped in a nightmarish situation. He has neatly side-stepped the clichés of both the zombie story and the superhero story and created something that is relentlessly intelligent, emotionally real, and always intense. (I read the scene where the zombies in this world are explained last night, and it gave me the chills more then anything I've read in a long time).

At this stage in development I'm not sure I can give out the name and title, but I will when I can. I'm seriously looking forward to seeing this one in print.

The Avenger Chronicles

I got my contributor copies from Joe Gentile today!

Joe and I share that we read this series when we were young and loved it. The Avenger is Rivchard Henry Benson, a pulp hero who is the combination of super athlete, super inventor, and super detective (think Batman without the spiffy costume). His wife and daughter were presumed murdered by criminals and he vowed to protect others from the same sort of loss. The terrible shock of losing hs loved ones also turned Benson's hair and face white and gave him an odd paralysis that allows him to mold his flesh like clay. This makes him a natural master of disguise.

I haven't read the stories yet but an impressed by the talent they have brought in. I'm excited to have my story "In Forgetfulness Divine" (many thanks to Richard for the title and overall help with this one) alongside the sotries of such talented authors. The list is:
Tom DeFalco
Win Scott Eckert (an old friend!)
Joe Gentile (A newer friend!)
Clay and Susan Griffith
Ron Goulart (Who worked on the Avenger paperbacks in the 70's!)
CJ Henderson
Howard Hopkins
Paul Kupperberg
Max McCoy
Christopher Mills
Will Murray
Mel Odom
Gary Phillips
Martin Powell
Robert Randisi
James Reasoner
Richard Dean Starr (A friend and colaborator with all kinds of Moonstone projects!)
& Dan Wickline.

It's strange and humbling to work on a character I loved as a kid! It's amazing to see it out in print.

The Avenger

I'm doing a couple of other colaborations for Moonstone's THE AVENGER CHRONICLES with Richard Starr. These weren't meant as colaborations originally. Richard was pressed for time so I helped him with his story "Tides of Justice" and he returned the favor with my story "Images of Yesterday".

I'm looking forward to this collection with great anticipation! I'm also enjoying all the opportunities that Moonstone is talking about coming up. They're publishing new adventures of many of my all time favorite characters and that's very exciting to be involved in, plus Richard and Joe have been great to work for. :)

Shadowmen

Jean-Marc Lofficier just posted the cover for TALES OF THE SHADOWMEN vol 4 on the Black Coats Press website. http://www.blackcoatpress.com/talesshadowmen04.htm

In addition to the story I mentioned earlier, he is including a flash fiction piece of mine. This is part of a series of flash stories by different authors build around a villainess named Madame Atomos. She is a sort of female Fu Manchu type created by French author André Caroff. Unlike so many Aisan supervillains who just wanted to rule the world, Madame Atomos had a more compelling motive. She was seeking revenge on the United States for the destruction of Niroshima and Nagasaki. http://www.coolfrenchcomics.com/atomos.htm My story reflects on the desire for revenge and what it does to a person.