Zine publishing schedule update; slight delay with issue #22

Publication date for issue #22 will be moved from the expected November 1 to November 6. I'm not even calling this "late," just re-scheduled. A few days ago, as I was trying to finalize the content for the next issue, I found that I did not have what I feel is a sufficient quantity of appropriate items for it. So I considered either putting out a short issue on 11/1 or reading some more submissions that I might not have otherwise gotten to this week and delaying publication a few days. It's an odd situation: I have received more submissions than ever in the last month or so (a trend that seems to continue from month to month lately), but the batch hasn't contained a lot of items that have grabbed my attention. I've considered that the problem may lie with me. One night, as I was whittling down the submissions, I realized that in less than two hours I had sent several dozen items to the "no" box without a single one being sent to the "maybe" box. That never happens, so I stepped away and decided I'd better look again later. But whatever the deal is, I think it's best to work on this issue a few days longer.

In other "delay" news, M-Brane Quarterly #1, the fancy print-only omnibus which contains the stories from electronic issues #19-21 plus some bonus items, is done but I am awaiting my proof copy from the printer. As soon as that is here (was expecting it today), I can put it up for sale. I'd hoped to have that out in the world at least a week ago, but life intervened. Stories from electronic issues #22-24 will be in the Quarterly #2 in January, which will also mark the zine's second anniversary. I'll probably have some extra-specialness in store for that auspicious occasion.

2020 VISIONS US pre-order begins

Last night we began the pre-order on the forthcoming anthology of next-decade science fiction 2020 Visions, edited by Rick Novy. Information, including the table of contents and a preview of the cover art is here at the Press page. The more I look at this book (and I have been doing a lot of looking at it lately as we complete the final edit and formatting) the more convinced I am that this is not only a very cool collection of short fiction but also an Important Anthology of This Year. This is some really good work, y'all. People will be impressed. Some doubt may surround it because of the fact that I am a micro-publisher of no real great reputation, but once some people finally read it, the truth will be obvious: 2020 Visions is a really fine book and will soon accrete around itself great gravitas and high stature. The authors in the ToC are no slouches either--we have the likes of Mary Robinette Kowal, Jason Ridler, Alex Wilson, Cat Rambo and many others (even David Gerrold, the inclusion of whom just about makes me swoon). These stories are not conventional, run-of-the-mill stuff either. There's some real adventure and risk here in concept and execution. I'd go so far as to say that some of the stories will appear in this book, rather than in one of the pro mags or in a major publisher's antho, because they are too good, too ahead of the curve, too dangerous for the majors. In a few weeks, readers will be thrilled.

Site construction update

Though I took down the obnoxious "SITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION" banner a couple days ago, I am still entirely unsatisfied with the design and functionality of this site. But it has fallen to deep into the basement of priorities during the past couple months. So I guess it's not "under construction"until I do something to it again. After the next couple book projects are put to bed and the day job gets a little less hectic (both things to happen quite soon), I will probably attempt another redesign and finally make this thing do the stuff I want it to.

LITTLE DEATH available in print

I have been sufficiently swamped with activity lately, that a lot of things that I should have posted about or promoted already have been piling up on the to-do list. Last week, a lovely print version of Little Death of Crossed Genres became available here on Amazon. Electronic versions (in a multi-format bundle) can be had directly from Crossed Genres for a mere ninety-nine cents. Little Death is a publication of erotic genre fiction edited by Jaym Gates and me. It features fine work by Lorna D. Keach, Jason S. Ridler (an M-Brane SF alum), Wendy N. Wagner, Jennifer Brozek (who's also appeared in M-Brane), and Shanna Germain. This was intended as a quarterly zine, but has since been placed on an indefinite hiatus. If this first issue should prove to be the only one ever, then at least it's a terrific one.

Here are my introductory comments from it:


I love with great passion both speculative fiction and sex. That the two can be combined with writing of fine, beautiful quality was a formative revelation to me as a very young man when I first encountered the eroticism in science fiction stories by the likes of Alice Sheldon (James Tiptree, Jr.) and Samuel Delany. I was at an age when I was too young and inexperienced to really understand these writers’ subject matter but old enough to know that I wanted to understand it. I’d pore over certain fascinating passages again and again, trying to absorb their meanings and implications, awed that writers could say something like that like this. 
Many years have passed since I first discovered that intersection of literary speculative fiction and sex, but it still turns me on just as deeply, and so it was easy for me to accept Bart and Kay’s invitation to participate in The Little Death. Honestly, I probably didn’t really have time in my schedule to add another project, but I felt I would have been a fool to pass on this one. Now that our inaugural issue is complete, I am proud to join Jaym in presenting the five fine stories within, which range across genres and occupy the unclassifiable spaces between them. I hope you will join me in being enticed, thrilled, creeped out, turned on, delighted, seared by words, and seduced.


I much enjoyed this little project, and hope many readers will treat themselves to it.

Pre-order THE AETHER AGE

Hadley Rille Books has begun a pre-order special for The Aether Age, our awesome shared-world, alternate history anthology. Eric is offering discounted prices on both the paperback and hardcover editions, with free shipping. Publication date is November 29. When you go to the Hadley Rille site to order your copies (the holidays are coming soon, yo), take time to browse the rest of this fine publisher's great titles and pick up a few more of them. Publication of The Aether Age happens to coincide with Hadley Rille's fifth anniversary, and we hope that they will sell 5000 copies of their various titles (or 5000 copies of The Aether Age..ahem!)

As an added bonus, I will give anyone who pre-orders The Aether Age a free 12-month subscription to the electronic (PDF) edition of M-Brane SF. Just forward a copy of your PayPal e-receipt to mbranesf at gmail dot com, and you're on the subscrips list.

Go here for more info on this book and to see the cool trailer.

M-Brane #21 RELEASED

The new issue is available in PDF form right now, featuring great new work by Cesar Torres, Therese Arkenberg, Kaolin Fire, Ian Sales, Fredrick Obermeyer and Sunny Moraine, with cover art by Mari Kurisato. It's a really good issue. If you are not already a subscriber and would like to see it, the single issue may be purchased right here for only two dollars, and funds thus raised support future issues. Allow about a day for receipt of your copy (copies are delivered by way of an email containing a link).