Tag Archives: superversive press

Rising from the Ashes: Two SciFi Tales Accepted for Publication!

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Promotional image for Tuscany Bay Books Planetary anthology series

Once upon a time, there was an indie publisher called Superversive Press. It was based on the quaint idea that science fiction, fantasy, and even horror didn’t have to present an unending stream of tales rooted in subversiveness, nihilism, and fatalism. This downward spiral was certainly the direction science fiction began taking in the 1960s, and then became firmly cemented in by the 1970s (and since I’m an old school fan and have been reading SciFi since that period AND am currently reading a history of science fiction from the 1960s through the 1990s, I should know).

I’ve become acquainted (online) with a number of “superversive” authors and editors for the past several years, and since my initial decision to begin writing fiction, have always wanted to be published by and with them.

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Livesteam of the Authors of “Impossible Hope” on YouTube

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Screen capture from YouTube

A.M. Freeman and the other fine folks from Superversive Press who organized the Bonnie Oliver anthology Impossible Hope, written for the benefit of Bonnie who suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, invited all of the contributing authors to a livestream last Sunday.

I wasn’t able to make it for scheduling reasons, but each of the available writers were briefly interviewed by Ms. Freeman, talking about their stories and why they became involved.

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The Superversive Press Anthology “Impossible Hope” is Available Now!

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Proposed cover for “Impossible Hope” anthology

The Superversive Press anthology “Impossible Hope” is now available, but not at Amazon or any other well-known retailer.

28-year-old Bonnie Oliver was diagnosed with Complex Chiari Malformation, Craniocervical and Atlanto-axial Instability and Ehlers Danlos Syndrome type three in 2018. It has been a long and wearisome road to these answers, and her family has watched her health decline for over a decade, with a marked downturn over the past six years. She can’t leave her home without help from a walker and preferably one or two helping hands, and even with that level of support she cannot be out for long.

In order to help Bonnie and raise funds for research into these terrible disorder, A.M. Freeman organized the “Impossible Hope” project. She asked any author who was willing to donate a short story to the anthology which would be sold to raise such funds. That’s why you can’t find this book on Amazon or Barnes and Nobel. You can only get it by donating on Bonnie’s GoFundMe. Donate to help us reach the goal of $110,000 for her surgery, and then download a digital copy of the book. Couldn’t be simpler.

A.M. Freeman

A.M. Freeman as found on her blog.

I’m actually pretty honored. My first introduction to the idea that it might actually be possible to be published was through Superversive Press (though this is the first of their books in which a story of mine is featured). I finally get to share a table of contents with my teacher L. Jagi Lamplighter and her husband John C. Wright. Others with whom I’m acquainted who have donated of their talents are Dave Higgins, Frank B. Luke, Ben Wheeler, Denton Salle, and particularly Sam M. Phillips from Zombie Pirate Publishing (one of the two indie publishers which first published one of my works).

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Interviewed by L. Jagi Lamplight Wright from Superversive Press

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Promotional image of author and editor L. Jagi Lamplighter Wright

A few months ago, I wrote about being interviewed by Jensen Reed, co-owner of Pixie Forest Publishing.

A few days back, I was interviewed again, this time by L. Jagi Lamplight Wright at Superversive Press. One of the differences here is that I participated in Jagi’s “Guinea Pig” fiction writing class, a curriculum she was experimenting on last November, so she knows my writing in a different way.

Click on this LINK to read the full interview, which includes a brief excerpt from the first chapter of my WIP novel.

Planetary Anthologies Call for Submissions!

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Cover image for Jupiter planetary anthology

As my regular readers know, so far in 2019, five of my short stories have been accepted for publication, with three of them being currently available. Sadly, as of this morning, seven of my submitted stories this year have been rejected. The most recent rejection stung a bit more than most because it’s Biblical SciFi, which doesn’t have much of a market in mainstream publishing (if you’re interested in finding out more, ping me).

However, I just found out about a few new opportunities and in fact, they need your help.

Superversive Press (yes, you read that right) is a small publisher dedicated to featuring Fantasy and Science Fiction short stories and novels that are uplifting and positive, as opposed to the general trend of “subversive” and dystopian tales typically found in mainstream SF/F. Continue reading →

Book Review of “Escaping Infinity”

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Cover art for Richard Paolinelli’s novel “Escaping Infinity”

I’ve wanted to read and review one of Richard Paolinelli’s novels for quite some time now, since I previously reviewed his short story The Last Hunt which was featured in last year’s Superversive Press anthology To Be Men: Stories Celebrating Masculinity. I finally got my opportunity with Escaping Infinity, a 2017 Dragon Award Finalist.

As I got into Paolinelli’s book, I found it had some similarities to Australian SciFi writer Matt Reilly’s 2000 novel Contest. In both books, an innocent couple is thrown into a highly unlikely environment where they must solve a series of challenges in order to survive. In Reilly’s case, it was the location was the main branch of the New York City Public Library, and in Paolinelli’s novel, it’s a seemingly five-star hotel located in the middle of the Arizona desert, miles away from where any such structure has a right to be.

Peter and his friend and co-worker Charlie are driving to Phoenix for a business trip and become lost. Running out of gas and miles from nowhere, they come across an incredibly futuristic and opulent hotel called “Infinity.” Once inside, they realize the hotel and casino can provide a virtually unlimited supply of pleasures and experiences, enough to keep them there for a lifetime, which seems to be the idea.

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Going to Writing School

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Found at typinglounge.com – No image credit given

So I signed up for a writing class called The Art and Craft of Writing led by L. Jagi Lamplighter Wright. You can find out more about her books at Amazon.

The class will last throughout the month of November, I suppose to coincide with National Novel Writing Month or “NaNoWriMo” (though we won’t be writing a novel).

There’s a private, dedicated Facebook page for the class, as well as a discussion list where students can communicate with each other and Jagi.

We’ve been teamed up in small groups of writers who are attracted to similar genres (in my case, science fiction and fantasy). We receive an assignment each week, and after we respond to the assignment, we share it with our other group members. We make suggestions on each other’s work, edit our own work accordingly, and then turn it in to Jagi.

Oh, one of the group members doesn’t have Word, so we’re collaborating using Google Docs, which is an interesting experience, since it’s totally new to me.

I have no idea what happens after that, because we’re still in the middle of the first assignment.

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The Last Hunt: A Short Story Review

to be men

Cover image of the soon to be published book “To Be Men: Stories Celebrating Masculinity.”

I’m in the process of reading for review the Superversive Press anthology To Be Men: Stories Celebrating Masculinity. I plan on writing both an Amazon review and a much more detailed one on this blog when I finish.

But I can’t wait. I’m going to create a wee preview highlighting one of the short stories enshrined therein.

But first things first. Why an anthology about “celebrating masculinity” when so much of what has been traditionally defined as masculine (for good or for ill) has been deemed toxic, not the least of which by third wave feminists and progressives?

Here’s an answer I found in the descriptive “blurb” for the book on Amazon:

Tired of stories about men as bumbling idiots? Of fathers as incompetents? Of masculinity as “toxic”? Tired of misandry? Ready for some real masculine role models? Stories about heroes and men who do the right thing? Stories about real men? The kind that provide for their families, love their wives and children, and make sacrifices. And save the world. A collection of seventeen stories and two essays, To Be Men: Stories Celebrating Masculinity pays homage to men and masculinity. Fun. Action-packed. Thought-provoking. Whatever your tastes, you will find enjoyment in these pages.

In other words, as I wrote about here almost a year ago, Not All #menaretrash.

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