Altered Images - 8

One of those updated Daleks that look more like the new Mini, if you ask me.

Photography update

On the photography front, I have a spread of photos in the 2013 World Fantasy Convention Souvenir Book, images taken at a previous WFC. And I shall be exhibiting some photographs in the art show, too.

Activity at the Alchemy Press

It’s about time I added another post to this blog. Trouble is, even though I am officially retired I seem to be busier than ever. That’s a good thing though, isn’t it? After all, it should help keep the mental processes ticking over nicely. Anyway, I should mention some of the Alchemy Press stuff I’ve been up to of late. In no particular order...

This autumn (or fall, if you prefer) The Alchemy Press is launching three anthologies at The World Fantasy Convention, held in Brighton over the Halloween weekend. These are:

Astrologica: Storiesof the Zodiac edited by Allen Ashley

The Alchemy Press Bookof Pulp Heroes 2 edited by Mike Chinn (a follow up to last year’s volume)

The Alchemy Press Bookof Urban Mythic edited by Jan Edwards and Jenny Barber (a ‘sort of’ follow up to 2012’s Ancient Wonders)

The editors have now selected their stories – for details check out the links.

The Alchemy Press has published another e-novella: “In the Broken Birdcage of Kathleen Fair” by Cate Gardner. As soon as I read this novella I knew we had to publish it. If, like me, you prefer your fiction to touch on the weird, the strange, this should be right up your street. Available for the Kindle and other e-readers.

And we’ve announced a new anthology to be published in July 2014: Kneeling in the Silver Light – Stories of the Great War. This book will commemorate the outbreak of the First World War; editor Dean M. Drinkle will open the submission window later this year.

There are a few more items in the pipeline. I don’t believe in jinxes and the like but ... well, I rather not say too much right now.

Playlist for 2013 -- Part 5

May's tracks:

121      Cat Power – Salty Dog

122      Who – My Generation

123      Loudon Wainwright III – Glad to See You've Got Religion

124      Forest – A Glade Somewhere

125      Walkabouts – The Light Will Stay On

126      Pixies – Monkey Gone to Heaven

127      Kirsty MacColl – There's a Guy Works Down the Fishshop...

128      Vapours – Turning Japenese

129      Pink Floyd – Astonony Domine

130      Thin Lizzy – Roisin Dubh (Black Rose)

131      Fisher Z – Pretty Paracetamol

132      Motorhead – Ace of Spades (acoustic)

133      Girls – Vomit

134      Creedence Clearwater Revival – Ramble Tamble

135      Beatles – Strawberry Fields Forever

136      SAHB – Gambling Bar Room Blues

137      Cream – White Room

138      Joni Mitchell – Big Yellow Taxi

139      Supergrass – Caught by the Fuzz

140      Kaiser Chiefs – I Predict a Riot

141      Doors – People Are Strange

142      Sparks – Amateur Hour

143      Joy Division – Transmission

144      dEUS – For the Roses

145      Fall – How I Wrote Elastic Man

146      Dr Feelgood – Roxette

147      Faces – That's All You Need

148      Loving Spoonful – Younger Generation

149      Arlo Guthrie – Alice's Restaurant

150      Seeds – Can't Seem to Make You Mine

151      Ralph McTell – Streets of London

The World Fantasy Awards

It feels only like yesterday – okay, a few months ago – when I was one of the judges for the World Fantasy Award. In fact, it was in 2008, five years ago. When I agreed to do this I expected to receive a pile of books to read ... but what a pile! In the end, I reckon we (the judges) did a good job. The awards were presented at the World Fantasy Convention held, that year, in Calgary. Alas, I was unable to attend. My fellow judges were Robert Hoge, Dennis L. McKiernan, Mark Morris, and Steve Pasechnick

Here are the winners:

Life Achievement: Leo & Diane Dillon and Patricia McKillip

Novel: Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay (Viking Canada/Penguin Roc)

Novella: Illyria by Elizabeth Hand (PS Publishing)

Short Story: "Singing of Mount Abora" by Theodora Goss (Logorrhea, Bantam Spectra)

Anthology: New Tales of Terror and the Supernatural edited by Ellen Datlow (Tor)

Collection: Tiny Deaths by Robert Shearman (Comma Press)

Artist: Edward Miller

Special Award – Professional: Peter Crowther for PS Publishing

Special Award – Non-professional: Midori Snyder and Terri Windling for Endicott Studios Website

The runners-up can be found on the WFA website.

Blue Horses

Lizzie Prendergast of the Blue Horses

Photo taken at The Robin 2 in Bilston, in the West Midlands

Small presses

I run the small press The Alchemy Press. It’s a small “small press”: we only publish a few titles per year. This is because of time constraints and, importantly, trying to keep the costs to a manageable level. Last year we published two anthologies, The Alchemy Press Book of Ancient Wonders and The Alchemy Press Book of Pulp Heroes. This year we will be publishing three anthologies:

Astrologica: Storiesof the Zodiac edited by Allen Ashley

The Alchemy Press Book of Pulp Heroes 2 edited by Mike Chinn

The Alchemy Press Book of Urban Mythic edited by Jan Edwards & Jenny Barber

The line up for these three books is amazing ... and doubly so, because we – The Alchemy Press – only pay a nominal fee. But we do pay something. We also supply a copy of the book (print and ebook editions) to all contributors.

It surprises me when I see other small presses that take stories without offering payment and, worse, without offering contributors’ copies. The small press I've seen – I won’t mention its name here – looks to be, in fact, much bigger than The Alchemy Press. (Apparently there are no royalties, either).

I just checked on Amazon. One of their paperback books will cost you and me and the contributors over £10 to buy. I have to ask: Who gets to keep all the profit? No wonder they are bigger if they have hardly any expenses.

I accept that there are many markets for short stories that do not offer payment in terms of £ or $, but at the very least they provide contributors’ copies. By not offering money or copies I feel that they let down the small presses that attempt to do it properly.

In the Broken Birdcage...

As you may know, I wear the publisher’s / editor-in-chief’s hat for The Alchemy Press. And if you didn’t know before, you do now.

The Alchemy Press began in the late 1990s, was active for a few years, and then went into hibernation. We started publishing again in 2011 with Rumours of the Marvellous by Peter Atkins. 2013 saw two anthologies and a novel. Our first item for 2013 is a brand new novella, initially only available as an ebook. Once we’ve published a number of these we’ll collate them into a print anthology.

In the Broken Birdcage of Kathleen Fair by Cate Gardner

When the mirror released Kathleen into the unknown, for the briefest of moments she giggled and realised that she’d never laughed before. She had been a blank canvas, sitting and waiting in a room and occasionally bouncing from wall to wall desperate for freedom - and now she was out. White walls no longer surrounded her. In this new place, a thousand mirrors spun reflecting worlds.

Available in Kindle format via Amazon. Only £1.35

For the ePub version contact The Alchemy Press

alchemypress [at] gmail.com

Altered Images - 7

Here's another Photoshop-enhanced photo. The dragon was made by Sue Burns out of bits of copper and other scraps. Very fine piece, it was.

If people are interested in acquiring hi-res versions of these pictures please get in touch.

Playlist for 2013 -- part 4

Here are my selected tracks for April:

91        Who - Won't Get Fooled Again

92        Donovan - Universal Soldier

93        Tindersticks - Drunk Tank

94        Radiohead - Creep

95        Barry McGuire - Eve of Destruction

96        Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen in Love

97        Luxuria - Redneck

98        Love Sculpture - Sabre Dance

99        Camper Van Beethoven - Take the Skinheads Bowling

100      Decemberists - The Mariner's Revenge

101      Undertones - Teenage Kicks

102      VCs - Residual Energy of the Broken Hearted

103      Locomotive - Mr Armageddon

104      Ten Benson - The Claw

105      Specials - Gangsters

106      Members - Flying Again

107      Robert Wyatt - Ship Building

108      Drugstore - The Funereal

109      Hawkwind - Silver Machine

110      Free - Mr Big

111      Family - Weaver's Answer

112      Comsat Angels - Total War

113      Richie Havens - Here Comes the Sun

114      Leyton Buzzards - Saturday Night under the Plastic Palm Trees

115      Hazel O'Connor - Will You?

116      Procol Harum - A Salty Dog

117      Simon Dupree & the Big Sound - Kites

118      T Rex - Elemental Child

119      Echo & The Bunnymen - All My Colours (Zimbo)

120      Cure - Primary