So!What I have for you today is our newest anthology calls (part 1). Since we've announced ten, count them, ten, new anthologies, this will be a two part post, one this week, and one next. I'll throw out the call, and then we'll talk a little about why we chose this particular option and what we expect to see from it.
Drumroll please!
Have Quest, Will Travel
Deadline: June 15, 2015
With a strong arm, keen eye and fierce determination, the warrior heads into battle against impossible odds and terrifying magic. Heroic fantasy is the order of the day with this anthology, whether your protagonist is a battle-hardened mercenary, a barbarian, or a highly trained member of the city guard. Send them out to face the worst spell-slinger to ever blight the skin of the world, for whatever goal they seek, whether fame, fortune, power, or just their one true love.
Pairing: Any (M/M, F/F, M/F, Trans* inclusive)
Happy Ending or Happy for Now Required.
Expected Release: September 1st, 2015
So. we got into a discussion of what constituted 'Heroic Fantasy' as opposed to other types of fantasy. The Boss explained that it was usually considered a pretty narrow definition: The hero relies only on his body and mind, goes up against magical big bad for king, country, and true love. A thousand images sped through my head. With slight variations, it was some of my favorite fantasy. So I made the suggestion - why don't we run an anthology? Imagine the worlds people will come up with, and I'm the one of us who believes in human greatness and the underdog. I'm really excited about this one.
Winter Shivers
So. we got into a discussion of what constituted 'Heroic Fantasy' as opposed to other types of fantasy. The Boss explained that it was usually considered a pretty narrow definition: The hero relies only on his body and mind, goes up against magical big bad for king, country, and true love. A thousand images sped through my head. With slight variations, it was some of my favorite fantasy. So I made the suggestion - why don't we run an anthology? Imagine the worlds people will come up with, and I'm the one of us who believes in human greatness and the underdog. I'm really excited about this one.
Winter Shivers
Deadline: September 15, 2015
Traditionally, winter is a time for weird and creepy tales, stories to pass the long, dark nights. So, give us creepy and chilling, sending a shiver down our spines as we huddle near the fire and turn the yellow lamplight up a little brighter against the darkness. Ghosts, spectres, unearthly creatures and things that go bump in the night lurk just outside that lit window, and sometimes...they look inside.
Pairing: None (Non-Erotic)
Happy ending not required.
Expected Release: December 1st, 2015
This one's not really mine. The Boss loves horror stories. She mentioned that telling horror stories used to be a Christmas thing, long ago. People would try to scare each other on the longest night of the year because they did not yet have internet...or Netflix. Frankenstein and Dracula are examples of stories told on long, lonely nights, and they've been haunting us for a century. Winter Shivers is her baby, and we're hoping to get some really chilling tales.
Badass
Deadline: December 15, 2015
Cowboys, Space Marines, Soldiers, Swashbucklers of all types! Badass gives us heroes and adventure of a slightly different bent. Explosions! Excitement! Brawls and badassery abound in this action-adventure anthology with a twist. Whether your hero is a master of mayhem or a thinking cowboy, a pirate, a treasure hunter or a spell-binder, show him doing what he does the best for the reward he wants the most.
Pairing: M/M erotic
Happy ending required (Happy For Now perfectly fine).
Expected Release: March 1st, 2016
This one is absolutely mine. I went on a rant. "Why," I asked, "is it that you always see M/M romance swirling around boring people who can't save themselves? Where are the real manly men? The gay community isn't just librarians and models and occasionally stock brokers. They're soldiers, and policemen, and badasses too. Why can't we have those?" This gave birth to the idea of an anthology. We want the rough n' ready guys, the hardcore men. Gladiators and Bucklers of Swash, if you catch my drift. It's time to show what your men can do. This is my pet baby, and I'm dying to see what everyone comes up with.
Xenophile
Deadline: March 15, 2016
They come from outer space and they want our bodies! Give us your sexiest story of alien lovers, in any combination with humans or all by themselves. Whether a close encounter on Earth or a first contact of a very personal sort, show us how the aliens of your imagination live and love, whether a dual or triple sexed spiecies, or something even more unusual.
Pairing: At least one alien lover, all genders welcome.
Happy ending required (Happy For Now perfectly fine).
Expected Release: June 1st, 2016
Oh, let's be honest. This one's mostly fan service. It's a bit of a throwback to some of the racier stories that used to be in pulp fiction, because it's apparently a rule that porn tends to go places before fiction does and that was the first thing we asked ourselves. The greats like Asimov and Bradbury and Lewis asked, "Who's out there beyond the stars?" and we replied with, "How good would they be in bed?" This is an anthology made of sexy dreams and fantasy, coming up with new forms of pleasure and strange love. This one should have some wild variety.
Mythos for the Modern Age
Deadline: June 15, 2016
Myths exist to expain the world to people. But the world has changed since the old myths were created. We know where rainbows come from now, and science has replaced mythology on many fronts. So now, we need new myths to explain new ideas. Examples would include Neil Gaiman's American Gods and Ananzi Boys or Harlan Ellison's Deathbird stories. Whether new stories with old gods or entirely new ones, give us your interpretation of deity in the modern age.
Pairing: None required (Non-erotic, though romance is fine).
Happy For Now required.
Expected Release: September 1st, 2016
In all honesty, I'm hoping for a better title sometime in the next two years. It's a decent one (I wrote it), but it's just not catchy enough. Still, it gets the point across. I grew up telling myself stories of mythology, figuring someone told them first, so telling new ones was an awesome idea. As a druid, it's my job to remember the old stories and invent the new ones. So for me, this call was eventually inevitable. Telling new stories, with old gods or ones we invent, explains things in new and interesting ways. I know I want to write for this one, even with one of the stories I used to tell myself when I was small.
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Well, ducklings, that's all for this week. Tune in next week while I announce the Kink Line, a sequence of five anthologies for Kink, BDSM, and other sexy things. Get to your keyboards - the lab's waiting.
I'll be in tow!
Gabriel Belthir
First Mate and Mad Scientist
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