Who Doesn’t Like A Good Anthology?
Here’s the dirty: I’m sprinting towards the finish line of this Novella I’ve been working on the past week tentatively named Nemesis. It’s something shy of 30,000 words and I can see the finish line in sight. So, no long, well thought-out blog posts (ha, as if any of my posts are well-thought out) today.
Writing shorter fiction this past week has gotten me in the mood for some anthologies, and what do you know? There’ve been a couple really cool ones dropping this month. Without any further adieu, I present to you The Anthologies You Should Most Definitely Check Out Because I Say So!
Dragons. They are more than a memory from an age of wizards and heroes. These winged, fire-breathing beasts soar through the traditions of many lands, and through our dreams. In their many guises – Western or Eastern, reptile or lizard or serpent, wyvern, hydra, basilisk – dragons embody everything that we humans call magic.
In this volume of the acclaimed ‘Future Chronicles’ anthology series, twelve authors invite you to journey to very different worlds – lands of fire and fury, of legend and lore – but all worlds where dragons roam unshackled from myth, freed from the imagination, and real.
Well, actually, you’re gonna have to wait for this one ’cause it doesn’t drop until the end of the month, but the list of authors on this anthology is outstanding. You’ve got some big hitters like Daniel Arenson, Elle Casey, and Samuel Peralta, plus a story from a friend of mine, Ted Cross. Woot!
If you like Dragons, then do yourself a favor and get this, ’cause I’m guaranteeing it’s gonna be good.
Tales of Tinfoil: Stories of Paranoia and Conspiracy
It is a dark and fictional reimagining of every conspiracy theory that ever lived. It is the JFK assassination, Area 51, the moon landing, the surveillance state. It is a French spy posing as Abraham Lincoln, it is a video game designed by the CIA, it is “Suicide Mickey.” It is Adolf Hitler and it is Elvis Presley.
In this bizarre and wonderful short story collection, today’s top fiction authors pull back the curtain on the biggest conspiracies of all time. Who really killed JFK? What happened in Roswell, New Mexico? Is Elvis still alive? With stories that run the gamut from touching to thrilling to utterly deranged, Tinfoil will take you on a tour of paranoia you won’t soon forget.
Twelve short stories, twelve conspiracy theories, twelve twisted rabbit holes.
I got a review copy of this a few weeks back from one of the authors Lucas Bale and I’m slowly working my way through the stories. So far they are excellent, which is no surprise, with contributions from big names like Nick Cole and Michael Bunker. Also, this anthology has the best “Book Trailer” I’ve ever seen. Watch it below.
Alrighty, time to squeeze some more words onto the page. Have a lovely end of the weekend everybody!
The Dragons anthology looks interesting. Okay, I finished the graphic novel. It was interesting, something definitely new for me. I can’t say that I was blown away – I think I was expecting something something more erudite (sort of like Classic Comics) and less cartoonish but then I kicked myself and remembered it was a graphic novel. The idea of this Last Man series is interesting but there were some silly spots in this first part- Republican women assaulting the government for example, and Amazons burning off one breast. Well, I can say I tried it…
I have to agree with you, Noelle. There are a couple points in the story that really don’t make sense. Psychotic amazons into self-mutilation being one of them. Crazy republicans being the other. I like the idea of the story as a whole and the artwork, but I can see how those negatives could really detract from your reading experience. At least you tried!
I’ll have to look in my Kobo library but I’m almost positive I have one of the Dragon stories. I will have to check out Tinfoil though. I don’t know enough about any one conspiracy theory so I would definitely like to see others thoughts on them.
If you’re looking for a beta reader I’m offering. Just sayin’.
Upon closer inspection, I believe some of the stories in the anthology have been previously released. I may be wrong, but that’s what it looks like at first glance. Hopefully that’s not true, ’cause I don’t really like it when people republish short stories and call it a new anthology. Also, I hate it when people call it an anthology of short stories when all it is is the first chapters of their novel. I admit I haven’t read the Dragon Chronicles yet, but hopefully it’s not that either.
If you’re offering to beta read for my short story, well, then I might just take you up on that. Shoot me an email at anthony@onelazyrobot.com and I’ll put you on the list! If you’re looking to beta read for Tales of Tinfoil, I can get you in touch with some of the fellas and probably get a copy of the anthology in your hands. Let me know either way!
Hi, I’m the creator of ‘The Future Chronicles’ series, and publisher of “The Dragon Chronicles”. Thanks very much for spotlighting the book!
“The Dragon Chronicles” is currently on pre-order, and doesn’t come out until April 30, as mentioned in your article — so it’s not possible, prior to that date, for folks to know yet what the Dragon stories are, unless that person has an ARC or was a beta reader for one of the stories or the full anthology, much less compare them to stories in other venues. Moreover, if anyone sees any of the Dragon stories in Kobo even in the next couple of months, alas, that’s a violation of the author’s contract.
I’m very proud of the stories in “The Dragon Chronicles”, and of all the authors invited to the anthology. Ellen Campbell did a wonderful job as editor for this title in the series, and if readers find more than a few stories in the book to enthrall them, we’ve done what we set out to do. Thanks again!
Howdy, Samuel! Thanks so much for stopping by. First, let me just say that I think The Future Chronicles as a general idea is fantastic, so kudos for that. I’ve especially enjoyed The AI Chronicles and The Telepath Chronicles. Both were very strong anthologies as a whole.
I think The Dragon Chronicles, from what I know about the authors involved, will be a fantastic edition.
I want to clarify a previous statement I made because I would hate for it to be misconstrued as casting doubt on the chronicles. There was an anthology about a year ago, not part of The Future Chronicles, that was more or less the first few chapters of about 15 different novels. There were no original stories in the volume, unfortunately. The whole thing was, pure and simple, a cash-grab. Very disappointing. Since then I’ve been wary of anthologies, which was the impetus for my comment previously. If that came across as me targeting The Future Chronicles in any way then I sincerely apologize.
As for the stories being posted on Kobo, I don’t know anything about that, but I will clarify the comment I made suggesting that it looked as though certain stories had been reprinted. As it turns out, this was an entirely unsubstantiated claim on my part. I was visiting the author site for one of the contributors to The Dragon Chronicles and noted she’d submitted a story for another soon to be released anthology. That story featured the same main character as in The Dragon Chronicles and in my mind I made the subconscious leap to connect the two. That was my mistake.
The lesson here, people, is to disregard everything I say in the comments section of this blog because I’m probably drunk and in need of some fact checking!
Anyhoo, thanks again Samuel for stopping in. It’s cool seeing a bigger named author chiming in! Best of luck with the launch!
Thanks Anthony!
And may I say, your other choice for an anthology to read — “Tales of Tinfoil” — is a worthy anthology, definitely a must-read.
We’re seeing a renaissance of the short form in mainstream and genre literature, and I’m very happy to be a part of it.
Screw that. Finish your book. I’ll read it. Not such a lazy robot.
I do like short story anthologies though , so, thanks for the review.
I shall do what I can. *fingers jab madly at the keyboard in a desperate attempt to finish this story!*
I totally understand. I liked your FB page with notifications. Looking forward. May the muse be with you. Coffee works too. And a good nights sleep. And maybe a cookie.
The stories in the Dragon anthology are supposed to be stand alone (though they can exist in a world from an author’s works), and I am not aware that already published stories were allowed. That would be discouraging. I know my story hasn’t been published before.
Excellent, Ted! I was hoping you’d stop in and shed some light on that. I’m glad to hear that all the stories are intended to be unique to the anthology. I’m excited to read your story, Ted. Am I right in assuming it’s set in the same world as The Shard?
No, though my story was derived from a part of The Shard. I loved this one section in particular and how it dealt with dragons, but I reworked it into a story about Viking youths on an alternate Earth. I hope it turned out well, as my kids enjoyed it.
Thanks for highlighting The Dragon Chronicles, Anthony! As Ted wrote, this anthology contains only original fiction. And while some of the stories are set in existing fictional worlds, they all stand alone. I’ve read half of the stories so far, and they’re excellent. (Admittedly, I’m biased, since I have a piece in the collection.)
Thanks for chiming in, Monica! Im looking forward to reading the collection!
By the way, a little bias never hurt nobody! Best of luck with the launch!
I have read about half myself, and I am not biased at all since my story is way at the end! *wink* And yes, it is a great anthology so far!