Over at Black Gate: Sometimes a Good Hero is Hard to Find

 This week at Black Gate, I ask the question: Must every story have a hero? Go over there and find out the answer.

Free short story over at Blackgate

 This week over at Blackgate appears my short story "Deep in the Land of Ice and Snow," originally published in Rogue Blades Entertainment's collection The Return of the Sword. Enjoy!

At Blackgate: Recalling a fantasy hero

This week over at Blackgate, I talk about my 40+-year love for the fantasy character Hanse Shadowspawn.

It's a time for Heroes

Over at Black Gate this week, I talk about the current crazy state of the world, role playing games, and how we need heroes.

A night with Kevin Smith

Yes, that's Kevin Smith.

Over the Black Gate site this week, I talk about seeing Kevin Smith live and how that relates to the mission of the Rogue Blades Foundation, where we promoted the heck of heroism.

Awesome Gang interview

It's another online interview with your's truly, this time over at the Awesome Gang site.

Featured author at Book Reader Magazine site

Yes, that's me
at the NC Renaissance Festival.

Hey! Today I'm the featured author over at the Book Reader Magazine web site where I answer some interview questions. Go check it out!

Brief interview with me for The Awakened Modern

I have a short story appearing in the upcoming The Awakened Modern anthology, and today there's an interview with me over at the publisher's site.

Interview at Kindle Author

David Wisehart of Kindle Author recently interviewed me through e-mail and the outcome is now available at the website.

All I have to say about this is ... WOW!

The interview had mostly pertained to my epic fantasy novel City of Rogues, and its two sequels, but those folks at Kindle Author know how to treat an author right. Included on the interview page are images and Amazon links to all my current e-books.

So, yeah, I'm quite thrilled!

Thanks, David.

City of Rogues in the Indie Spotlight

My epic fantasy novel, City of Rogues: Book I of the Kobalos Trilogy, is featured today at The Indie Spotlight. Over there, I talk a little about the book, but also some about the process of writing and some of my inspirations. There's even a short excerpt from City of Rogues.

Win a free Kindle from author Zoe Winters

Want a Kindle? Without having to pay for it?

No tricks. No gimmicks. Just help to promote indie author Zoe Winters' new book and e-book Blood Lust.

It's simple.

And you can win a free Kindle. It's even one of the new fancy Kindles with 3G.

How to get started? What are the rules? Check out Zoe's blog post about her Kindle giveaway contest. Heck, she might even give away two Kindles.

What are you waiting for? Get to promoting!

Book Review: Demons: A Clash of Steel Anthology

The best of heroic fantasy short fiction is being brought to readers today by Rogue Blades Entertainment, and the publishing company doesn't disappoint with its latest release, Demons: A Clash of Steel Anthology.

Within the 224 pages can be found 28 short stories of sword-slinging action, demonic villains, dastardly wizards and heroic warriors battling it out with the forces of evil.

Among all the stories, there is not one stinker. All bring a different take on the demonic subject matter within the genre of heroic fantasy. Some stories are stronger than others, however, and three in particular are favorites.

The Sacrifice, by Jason Irrgang

Three strong warriors, all members of a religious clan but different from one another, stand toe to toe against the ultimate evil. Can they survive against such seemingly unstoppable power, let alone win? This fine tale provides the answer, but it is not a simplistic answer and it is one that comes with sacrifice, thus the title. This tale, perhaps stronger than any other in this collection, examines the bonds of brotherhood in combat. Quite surprisingly, this was writer Jason Irrgang's first published short story. With such talent, more can be expected from him in the future.

Born Warriors, by TW Williams

Perhaps the darkest of the stories collected here, "Born Warriors" is a tale of a military leader given a choice in his and his men's own fates. He has lead his unit into strange, foreign lands where they have become lost, and to escape those lands this captain is tempted by the offerings of a demon. What will he decide? And once his decision is made, what will be the outcome? It is quite the unexpected ending, and veers into horror literature. Author TW Williams has numerous stories published in print and digital markets, and it's understandable why after reading this tale.

By Hellish Means, by Bill Ward

Imagine a world having been overrun by demons. That is the type of world found in this story. There are few places to hide, and those are safe only temporarily. Monsters roam the land tearing and slashing and eating everyone in site. But within this land remains one last hero, a woman who is the final survivor of a cult of priestesses who have sworn to stand to the last against the demonic foes. She brings skill, power and a quick blade to the war against evil, but will that be enough? The ending brings about a nice surprise, but it doesn't necessarily leave the reader with a feeling of hope. But that's not a bad thing. That's the type of story this is. Only someone as skilled as Bill Ward, the Contributing Editor to Black Gate magazine who is known for many published fantasy stories, could have pulled off such a marvelous story. Well told!

There are plenty of other great tales to be found within the pages of Demons: A Clash of Steel Anthology, and Rogue Blades Entertainment also has to offer several other short story collections of fantasy literature as well as upcoming other projects. If you have a yearning for some action reading, turn to Rogue Blades Entertainment. You won't be disappointed.

Why I publish independently

Today is blog carnival day!

What is a blog carnival, one might ask? A blog carnival is when a bunch of different bloggers decide to write upon a particular topic on a particular day, and then do so. Generally there is a host blog where readers can go to find links to all the blog posts about that day's topic. This particular blog carnival was the brain child of Chris Kelly.

Today's topic: Why I publish independently, or as I call it, "How the hell did you become an indie writer?"

Today's host blog: Dun Scaith, Home of Scathach Publishing

So, how did I become an indie writer?

First, let me say right off the bat that until very recently (as in the last couple of weeks), I've never thought of myself as an indie writer or a self-published writer or whatever you want to call it.

I was just a writer. Until a year ago, I had never self-published anything of my own. For years my short stories had found their way into print or online markets, and I have a print contract with a small book publisher for some of my fantasy work.

If anything, I thought of myself as a traditional print writer.

Then along comes Amazon with the Kindle, and thus was born the capability for writers to publish their works directly to a digital audience without having to go through a publisher. It also doesn't hurt that the money is pretty good if you can make sales.

At first I was hesitant. I had some of the fears and concerns a lot of traditionally-published writers still have. Self-publishing is a sign of giving in and giving up. Self-publishing means no traditionally print publishers will ever touch you. Self-publishing means your work sucks.

I remained hesitant for at least six months, trying to make up my mind whether or not I would go ahead and begin publishing my work on Amazon.

Then several things happened over about three months. These were events that forced my hand on self-publishing.

I lost my job.

Okay, so I got another job. Then I lost that job.

And my wife lost her job. She got another job. Then that job fell away, too.

Blame it on the bad economy, if you will. I had been a professional newspaper editor for nearly 20 years, and suddenly not only was I without a job, but my whole career seemed gone. Sure, there are still newspapers out there, but their readership is dropping like flies (literally in some cases since the average newspaper reading audience is older) and the advertising dollars are no longer there.

Of course I kept trying to get another job, but it never worked out. My wife tried, too, but it wasn't happening.

So, call it a matter of desperation, if you want. I call it, "How I pay the damn bills every month." I had already been writing fiction in short and long forms for as long as I'd been a newspaper editor, so why not go ahead and make some money from it?

I've chatted with a number of other indie authors over the last year or two, and many tell me they became indie writers because they wanted complete control or they felt their work was unusual enough that traditional print publishers would never publish them.

That's not me. My newspaper career was over and I needed money. It's that simple.

I still work with print publishers, and will continue to do so on some projects. But I'll also keep right on doing my digital thing, publishing on Amazon, Smashwords and at other online venues.

Oh, and the reason I recently came to think of myself as an indie writer has to do with all the naysayers. Actually, that's not accurate. I don't mind naysayers. The truth is I began to think of myself as an indie writer because of all the "assholes" out there trashing indie writers, many of those assholes being involved somehow or other with the traditional publishing industry.

I don't mind people disagreeing with me. I don't mind people thinking something I'm personally doing is stupid. But to go out of your way to verbally assault myself and others in such a nasty fashion as I've seen done numerous times on other blogs ... that's too much.

So, if you're one of those people who hates the idea of self-publishers and indie writers and digital publishing and the Kindle and everything that goes along with it, you can thank your fellows for adding one more to the ranks of indie writers.

In other words, it's a big F-U to those assholes.

I have bills to pay and mouths to feed. I don't have time to wait six months for a print publisher to decide whether or not they want my latest book, then a year before the book is released, and then perhaps another year for my first royalty checks to start rolling in.

I don't have time to be concerned that someone's itty bitty feelings have been injured over my doing something that has no effect whatsoever on their life, and that they're scared the traditional print publishers are all going to go away or that books will no longer play an important role in the world, economically and artistically.

SCREW. ALL. THAT.

I've started a business. Don't like it? Don't buy my products.

Besides, print books are going to be around, at least for a long, long time if not forever. Far too many people have their panties in a bunch over nonsense that doesn't really matter. To borrow (steal) a line from fabulous paranormal romance indie author Zoe Winters, "We aren't curing cancer or feeding Ethiopian children. It's just publishing."

And as I've said before, "I've seen what happens to the print industry when digital publishing comes along. I was in the newspaper business for far too many years not to recognize the signs. Not this time. Not to me."

Abandoned Towers has new look

I've been meaning to mention this one for a while, but Abandoned Towers Magazine has a fresh, new design over at their website.

I love the new look. Very professional and pleasing to the eye.

And if you're not familiar with Abandoned Towers Magazine, it's time you familiarized yourself. There's some mighty fine science fiction and fantasy reading to be found there, as well as tales in other genres, comics, poetry and much more.

Geocities is dead

It's a sad, sad week. After years of service, Yahoo has killed Geocities where I had my old Web page for the last 12 years, including my pages about beer.

But all is not lost. My beer rankings have been saved and I have something special planned for them.

Expect an announcement in coming weeks!

Cindy Pon's Silver Phoenix released

Yep, my online buddy writer Cindy Pon finally has her first novel, Silver Phoenix, hitting bookstores today. Yep, today!

Check out the cover at right. Fantastic, isn't it? And I've read the blurb on the back. If the cover and the blurb aren't enough to get you reading the book, I don't know what will.

My copy of the novel is in the mail, having shipped from Amazon on Saturday.

And if you'd like a free, signed copy of Silver Phoenix, and other goodies to boot, check out Cindy's contest.

Or go online and order the booker here or here or here.

Sword and Sorcery lives!

It's out! That's right, the second edition of "Return of the Sword" has been published. For those who might not know, this collection of Sword and Sorcery short stories contains my tale, "Deep in the Land of the Ice and Snow."

But wait! There's more! This second edition has a new book design, and this is the first official publication from Rogue Blades Entertainment. Expect more in the coming year from RBE, much more.

I know the editor/publisher, Jason, is quite excited about all this, as am I. "Return of the Sword" was formerly published by another company, but Jason Waltz took the big leap of his own and started RBE. His first anthology publication as an editor is now his first anthology publication as a publisher!

Congrats, Jason! And congrats to all the fine authors who have stories in this one.

Publisher Rogue Blades Entertainment now on Youtube

Check it out!
My favorite publisher has its first online YouTube promo.

Sharp pointy things

If you are interested in weaponry, specifically bladed weaponry and unusual bladed weaponry, check out this blog:

The Realm of the Dark Blade

The author of this blog does a pretty good job of telling you what would work, what won't and what's complete garbage. And, regardless of whether a particular bladed weapon is practical or not, there are plenty of pictures of some cool looking knives, swords, etc. One of the things I like best about the blog is that it focuses upon the reality of bladed-weapon use, not video games or movies or fiction of any sort. One of my pet peeves in fantasy fiction is swords, and to some extent sword fighters, who manage to do the impossible or implausible, especially multiple times; I give some leeway for magical blades, and magical fighters, but sometimes things get ridiculous.

Getting with the times

Okay, I've gotten hip and done what all the kids today do. Oh, the peer pressure. Yes, I've opened a Facebook account. You can see my profile right here.