Page 5 – The Literary Underworld

Her Royal Majesty Alethea Kontis!

The Literary Underworld is delighted to offer a limited selection of titles from our longtime friend Alethea Kontis, New York Times bestseller, princess and storm chaser. Her Majesty has written more than 20 books and 50 short stories, including the wildly popular AlphaOops! children’s series. Alethea has received the Jane Yolen Mid-List Author Grant, the Scribe Award, the Garden State Teen Book Award, and is a two-time winner of the Gelett Burgess Children’s Book Award. She has been twice nominated for both the Andre Norton Nebula and the Dragon Award.

Also, she chases storms. She’s just that awesome.

Below are the Alethea Kontis titles temporarily available at the Literary Underworld, online and at our booths at the fall conventions. When they’re gone they’re gone, so move fast!

BEAUTY AND DYNAMITE

Once upon a time, a young girl walked into a world of wonder and delight. But that’s not where this story starts.

The young woman she became published a nationally recognized children’s book and edited a star-filled collection of stories to benefit the tsunami relief effort. But that’s not where this story ends.

Meet Alethea Kontis, a self-proclaimed Genre Chick whose life is an adventure that tears through these pages like a hurricane. Carrot-a-day cancer cures and Murphy as a guardian angel (yes, that Murphy, the guy with all those irritating laws) are just a part of the daily routine for the Incredible Whirlwind of Beauty and Dynamite, the force of nature masquerading in human form.

Through essays, poetry, and commentary from family, friends, and famous authors alike, a world of Blood Oaths and road trips, broken hearts and mended cars, comes alive with the strength of one woman’s conviction that the world is there to be befriended.

You have now been introduced.

Let your adventure begin.

ENCHANTED

It isn’t easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.

When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland—and a man Sunday’s family despises.

The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past—and hers?

HERO

Rough and tumble Saturday Woodcutter thinks she’s the only one of her sisters without any magic—until the day she accidentally conjures an ocean in the backyard. With her sword in tow, Saturday sets sail on a pirate ship, only to find herself kidnapped and whisked off to the top of the world. Is Saturday powerful enough to kill the mountain witch who holds her captive and save the world from sure destruction? And, as she wonders grumpily, “Did romance have to be part of the adventure?”

As in Enchanted, readers will revel in the fragments of fairy tales that embellish this action-packed story of adventure and, yes, romance.

DARK HUNTER COMPANION

with Sherrilyn Kenyon

Consider this handbook your education. Hunter 101. And don’t go thinking you got off easy just because there’s not a pop quiz at the end. This is the good stuff. The real deal. In here you’ll find out all there is to know about being a Dark-Hunter.

Now for the disclaimer: This book is mutable. It goes with the wind. It changes more often than the mind of a sixteen-year-old Gemini with a closet full of clothes and a date in an hour. Don’t be surprised if you open it up for the thirty-five thousandth time and find something old, something new, something borrowed or. . .well you get the point.

Curl up in a comfy chair with some millennium-old scotch and feast upon the informative banquet I have prepared for your enjoyment.

Welcome to your new life.

ZERO GRAVITY

Alva J. Roberts, ed.

This short story collection features thirteen fantastic adventures set in the cold vacuum of space. Read about rogues, scoundrels, aliens, robots, heroes, junkers and priests as you explore the rich and creative diversity of the following stories: “Junker’s Fancy” By Rosemary Jones, “Leech Run” By Scott W. Baker, “A Space Romance” By Paul A. Freeman, “Hawking’s Caution” By Mark Rivett, “Parhelion” By David Schembri, “To Stand Among Kings” By Kenneth Mark Hoover, “The Unicorn Tree” By Alethea Kontis, “The Beacon of Hope” By Gregory L Norris, “Tangwen’s Last Heist” By C.B. Calsing, “The Stand-Ins” By Gef Fox, “Glacier Castle” By Will Morton, “Rescue” By Margaret Karmazin, and “At One Stride Comes the Dark” By Murray Leeder.

DARK FAITH

Maurice Broaddus and Jerry Gordon, eds.

Some of the genre’s top authors and most promising newcomers whisper horror tales that creep through the mists at night to rattle your soul. Step beyond salvation and damnation in this intense horror and dark fantasy anthology containing thirty stories and poems that reveal the darkness beneath belief. Place your faith in that darkness; it’s always there, just beyond the light.

Experience the spiritual side of the zombie apocalypse in “The Days of Flaming Motorcycles” and transcend both hell and nirvana in “Zen and the Art of Gordon Dratch’s Damnation.” Look into “The Mad Eyes of the Heron King” to find the beautiful brutality written in the moment of epiphany or “Go and Tell it On the Mountain,” where Jesus Christ awaits your last plea to enter heaven—if there is a heaven to enter when all is said and done.

Contains the following stories and poems:

“The Story of Belief-Non” by Linda D. Addison (poem)
“Ghosts of New York” by Jennifer Pelland
“I Sing a New Psalm” by Brian Keene
“He Who Would Not Bow” by Wrath James White
“Zen and the Art of Gordon Dratch’s Damnation” by Douglas F. Warrick
“Go and Tell It on the Mountain” by Kyle S. Johnson
“Different from Other Nights” by Eliyanna Kaiser
“Lilith” by Rain Graves (poem)
“The Last Words of Dutch Schultz Jesus Christ” by Nick Mamatas
“To the Jerusalem Crater” by Lavie Tidhar
“Chimeras & Grotesqueries” by Matt Cardin
“You Dream” by Ekaterina Sedia
“Mother Urban’s Booke of Dayes” by Jay Lake
“The Mad Eyes of the Heron King” by Richard Dansky
“Paint Box, Puzzle Box” by D.T. Friedman
“A Loss For Words” by J. C. Hay
“Scrawl” by Tom Piccirilli
“C{her}ry Carvings” by Jennifer Baumgartner (poem)
“Good Enough” by Kelli Dunlap
“First Communions” by Geoffrey Girard
“The God of Last Moments” by Alethea Kontis
“Ring Road” by Mary Robinette Kowal
“The Unremembered” by Chesya Burke
“Desperata” by Lon Prater (poem)
“The Choir” by Lucien Soulban
“The Days of Flaming Motorcycles” by Catherynne M. Valente
“Miz Ruthie Pays Her Respects” by Lucy A. Snyder
“Paranoia” by Kurt Dinan (poem)
“Hush” by Kelly Barnhill
“Sandboys” by Richard Wright
“For My Next Trick, I’ll Need a Volunteer” by Gary A. Braunbeck

Archon is a smash!

We had so. much. fun. at Archon last weekend – so much fun, indeed, that it’s taken me six days to write it up because I’ve been recovering.

Archon is always one of the highlights of our year, and it’s our home con, so it’s also a family reunion. Literary Underworld authors were out in force, including Sela Carsen, T.W. Fendley, Nikki Lanahan and Michales Joy. At any given time you might have seen any of us at the booth, or our Minions, Cole and Ian – who have actual minion badges now. We’re very proud of that. Our good friends from Pro Se Publishing and Yard Dog Press were also there, and it was great to catch up with them in meatspace. We also launched preorders for A Woman Unbecoming, a charity anthology from our friends at Crone Girls Press to benefit reproductive healthcare advocacy. Click here to preorder your copy.

And, of course, there was the Traveling Bar. As is our custom, we opened our doors both nights to serve drinks and talk shop. Jim served as bouncer with backup from our good friend Scott Cousins, and Sela was our Social Butterfly keeping the conversation light and friendly and alerting either of us if there was a potential problem. At this point, we’ve got it down to a science.

On Friday, we opened the doors at 9 p.m. and I started serving drinks about 90 seconds later. My arm literally did not stop moving until I yelled union break at 11:45 so I could hide in the bathroom and stretch my poor arms for five minutes. Then I was back behind the bar until we yelled last call at 1:30 a.m. Saturday was almost as crazy – there were a couple of five-minute spells where I didn’t have anyone asking for a drink, which did not occur on Friday.

Oh, was I tired. I’m still tired just thinking about it, and I’ve slept since then. But everyone had a fantastic time, and that’s the important part. Well, that and making a living, of which Archon is always a major part. But there’s something really fun about being the bartender at a con party, and that’s the people. Most people are happy when they come in and happier with the drink in their hand, but some people are so happy, so grateful, and greet me so cheerfully, it creates this lovely positive energy that I absolutely love. It really felt like the vibe at Archon was back to normal, or as close to normal as we can get with the spectre of the Voldevirus still looming over us.

And around the corner were our friends at SausageFest, raising money once again for cancer research. Sadly I did not get over there to try this year’s snausages, but fortunately everyone else at the con did, or so it seemed. If you want to kick in a little toward their fundraising, click here. They are the bestest neighbors.

Many thanks to all our friends who greeted us so warmly, to our customers who bought books, to our guests who drank the booze and partied with us, to the Underlords and member presses who were there or who supported us from afar, and especially to Minions Ian and Cole, who hauled all the books and booze back to the van and to LitUnd’s dungeon until the next time. (Okay, it’s a storage unit we like to call the warehouse when we’re feeling grandiose, but “dungeon” suits, don’t you think?)

Click here for the photo array. Because what is Archon without costumes?

The answer is…. a woman unbecoming

By Rachel A. Brune, Editor, Crone Girls Press

The question was: how to channel the anger, rage, despair, more anger, frustration, and once more, anger, at the news that Roe v. Wade had been toppled by a Supreme Court filled with privileged beings far removed from the pain and suffering they were about to cause?

It’s not that we didn’t see it coming. Those who feared and those who rejoiced in the prospect of reproductive healthcare and bodily autonomy rights being stripped from half the population saw it coming. And in the days and weeks after, as fingers pointed and tempers flared, there were those who placed the blame on previous administrations, Congresses, for not encoding those rights into law, as if it were realistic in the past partisan twenty years to take up an issue as polarizing as reproductive healthcare and find some way for everyone to enshrine it in law.

Those same blame-makers were often those who would never have to hear a medical professional tell them that their lifesaving procedures could not be enacted due to a strict law enacted by old, righteous men. Nor could they, apparently, envision their loved ones bleeding slowly to death, with sepsis poisoning their body. Those images had been out of the mainstream for so long. But not anymore.

Take a look at the headlines. If you have a uterus, and want to see how far your particular state cares about your health and welfare, all you have to do is read about miscarriages that could be easily treated with a D&C, but are now subject to so much legal threat that the doctors who could perform them don’t want to take the risk to their license by giving their patients the medical care they need.

I could go on. And I do. But words aren’t enough.

Or rather, words are the weapon I choose for the next phase of this struggle.

Thus was born the anthology, A Woman Unbecoming.

This project came from a post that I made in the Crone Girls Press private authors’ Facebook group. Comment by comment popped up from authors who stated not only their interest, but their desire to contribute to making the barest hint of an idea of a charity anthology for reproductive healthcare an actual reality.

The race was on to get this project put together, and while there were and are a number of speedbumps, it was almost alarming how quickly and subtly things came together to make it happen. A catching-up lunch with an old friend led to her coming onboard as co-editor. I had worked with Carol Gyzander before on a series of charity anthologies for Writerpunk Press, and I knew that she was creative, organized, able to work under pressure and, better yet, had the same affinity for spreadsheets that I do.

A few days after that, Lynne Hansen sent out her newsletter. The monthly pre-made cover art she included for that month was so perfect for this project, I immediately replied and asked to purchase it before anyone else could snatch it up.

All throughout, authors that I’ve worked with, and authors that I’ve always wanted to work with, sent us stories to read and consider. And over and over, we heard the same refrain: Writing (or revising or contributing) this story gives me a chance to do something.

And that’s what this project is. A chance to do something. Proceeds from the anthology will be donated to an organization that has already been established and working to guarantee access to reproductive healthcare. Hey—even when it was legal across the U.S. didn’t mean it was accessible to everyone. We will also be donating half the proceeds to an organization supporting candidates in political races, as the mid-terms are almost upon us.

And so that is A Woman Unbecoming. Not merely an anthology of fierce and ferocious horror stories, but a chance to do something. To step out of the feelings of anger and hopelessness, and act. But this is not the end of action—it is the beginning. Elections are rolling around. Have you registered to vote? Have you confirmed your registration is active? There is also a list at the end of the anthology of books and articles for further reading. Check them out.

Or, you may be tired and overwhelmed and unsure of what to do or where to get the energy to do it. Perhaps buying a book and putting it on your TBR pile is what you have the time for right now. If that is the case, we thank you, and hope that your TBR pile, unlike ours, is short enough that it won’t threaten to topple over and smother you in the night (and if so, then just push it a little farther away from your bed, I’m sure it will be fine.)

For those who have already picked up a copy—thank you. And to those organizations and people out there working to restore the rights we have lost due to this decision—we thank you, we see you, and we support you.

Welcome to the Disunited States

By Angelia Sparrow

In November of 2005, I won NaNoWriMo for the first time. The result was a novel that is now called Nikolai: Revenant.

It’s undergone a lot of revision and character changes since the initial draft. The world has expanded and shifted with each new projection of the future. Now, we are four books, a gaming manual, several short stories, and a couple of rough drafts into the series. My now-coauthor, Gabriel, went from my biggest fan to my loyal conspirator, and brought his own brand of creativity to the world.

The series is set at the end of the twenty-first century. America balkanized into eleven countries, with Hawaii and Alaska becoming independent. Some countries have moved forward from the DisUnification and others have chosen to move backward.

I started this as a reaction to a lot of trends I was seeing in the mid 2000s. It has aged eerily, as I’ve watched some of my predictions come to fruition in some ways, but it remains solid. My dystopia is not supposed to be more comforting than my reality, but it has become more so as the years go on.

Most of the series occurs in Memphis, with occasional excursions to Italy, Kansas, Pacifica and other places. The Confederated States are fascinating, and rather terrifying. Based on the trends in Christian Nationalism, including the Christian Exodus movement, the CS is a fascist theocracy with an absolutely free market. Church attendance is required by law, and the law enforces modesty codes. Education is limited to white boys, and only available through private schools. Racial segregation is law, and most crimes are capital ones.

Half of the titular Nikolai’s education is unlearning erroneous history from his three years of formal schooling. Nick Boyd is a Memphis street rat, who took the name Nikolai when he became a member of the Revenant gang. Smart, vicious, and self-assured, he caught the eye of James Ligatos, one of the Eight, the cabal that rules the world behind the scenes.

James turns promising young criminals into world leaders. In Anthony: Reprobate, we delve into the hyper-surveillanced and repressive Heartlands for another protege, Anthony Hatcher, who is stuck in a reeducation facility with an R tattooed on his hand. Reprobate is the lowest of the low, both Homosexual and Nymphomaniac, and every other “anti-social” marker. But with enough work and a little support, anyone can change the course of a country.

Glad Hands was my biggest seller, a side story set in the Tribal Lands about a trucker who finds a Heartlands boy with an H tattoo. They go on a mad dash ride into the CS on what should have been an average haul, and almost end in the Stoneyard for execution on live national television. This was written on many loading docks, in sleeper berths and rest areas when I was still driving a truck.

Master Anton is our newest installment, and it follows the training of our boys forward. Anthony is called to Rome, to the Eight’s center of operations. Their leader, Benta, the Spider at the top of the World, is a mysterious and seemingly eternal goddess in his eyes. His odd learning style makes for a difficult road, but not nearly as difficult as the rest of the Memphis team is experiencing. Betrayal, collapse, fanaticism, and ruin spin together in a web that can only end when it’s run its course. Anthony earns his title…and he will bring the rest of them along with him if it kills him…or them.

As mentioned, there is also a gaming sourcebook which Gabriel put together over the course of 3 years. He created the PIPA 12 system, and we codified the DisUnited States and much of the world. We’ve run one-shot games at conventions from Kentucky to Georgia, with great success. The opportunity to throw your hat in the ring of a collapsing but vibrant society seems to capture the imagination… especially when we kill someone in mid-game.

I could spend several books (and have) explaining to you all that I see in my world. I would invite you to ride the giant roller coasters in the Arcologies of the California Conglomerate. I would walk you through the Pleasure Clubs of Rome, where every debauchery is at your disposal as long as you know its cost. I would stroll with you through the City State of New Orleans, with its sky-high levees and floating strands of proud laughter and music. I would march with you alongside the fierce warriors of Azteca, their titanium mesh armor shining in the desert sun. I would invite you to lounge with James Ligatos in his boudoir, enjoying the most beautiful of things to fend off the tinges of madness around the edges. I would welcome you home.

But I must instead hope to see you in the pages of the book. It has been my vent and my hope for long over a decade, and there is more to come. Because no matter how dystopian, there is always someone ready to plant their feet and to say no, and inspire others to do the same.

The Eight Thrones Cycle is the story of how to save the world… while indulging your darkest fantasies.

Buy the whole series for $40 here!

The Eight Thrones books on sale at Amazon

Each book will be on sale for 99c for one week, Amazon only: Glad Hands on Sept. 15, Anthony Reprobate on Oct. 3, Nikolai Revenant on Oct. 10 and Master Anton on Oct. 15

Mortalus: The Eight Thrones Cycle Game is not currently available, though digital copies may be requested through the author if you’d like to try it out for your campaign. Gabriel is also seeking an artist to help him bring the next version into being.

Angelia Sparrow is a professional driver, part-time grandma and full time cat-servant. She lives quietly in the midsouth with two husbands and a wife, overseeing the legalities of an Emerging Religion. She runs Crossroad Treasures, a craft shop, and handles its subscription box at Patreon.

One savage, two novels at opposite ends of life

By Steven L. Shrewsbury

“Are you ready to meet your father, the devil?” – Robert E. Howard

Rogan, a savage from an antediluvian era mostly forgotten in our history swaggers forth this year in two new novels. Curse of the Bastards (co-written with Brian Keene from Apex Books) sees an aging, jaded Rogan entering the land of Nodd to rescue his nephew, battling demons, would be gods, and various terrible folks.

Killer of Giants (written by myself solo from Seventh Star Press) sees Rogan at age twenty-four, battling Nephilims, Chimeras, demons in human flesh, and bad folks as he fights save his father & sister from a fate worse than death. Swords clash and bodies are carved up as the blood, magick & monsters rage. But these books are more than just the usual sword & sorcery or high fantasy romp.

In Curse of the Bastards we see the older Rogan, cynical by a harsh life full of lies, loss and violence that had made him ponder his own eventual fate. Will he be disremembered after he dies, relegated unto bar ballads and inaccurate tales like his hero, Gorias La Gaul? For all he puts himself through, will he be overlooked and was any of it worth it?

In Killer of Giants, the younger Rogan strives to survive after a clash where his fellow mercenaries all fall but him. This Rogan has hope for the future in a grim world, but still fights on to save what is important to him, his own blood kin. Here, he doesn’t care what anyone might ever think of him, and doesn’t realize his acts of savagery and heroism will become the stuff of legends.

Rogan isn’t always kind. He isn’t Clark Kent or even Bruce Wayne for that matter (nor is he Conan or Kane). He borders on antihero at times, but is from primitive means. As the walls fall about him, he sometimes replaces the bricks, but often, smashes open a new way to escape through.

Why should you, brave reader, check these titles out? They are escapism from this world and an exciting thriller, filled action, adventure, passion and humor so dark it could hide the stars.

Come sit with me and I’ll tell you some tales. Let me spin a yarn about faraway places and people that might make one shake the head, but ones one won’t soon forget, and you won’t regret it. Though the realm Rogan wades though is grim, it isn’t as tenebrous as the news these days. Pour a drink and sit back, open up a book. Come trod through the bloody pages of history with me for a while. You might even learn something.

STEVEN L. SHREWSBURY lives, works, and writes in rural Illinois. More than 360 of his short stories have appeared in print or electronic media, along with more than 100 poems. Nine of his novels have been released, with more on the way. His books run from sword & sorcery (Overkill, Thrall, Bedlam Unleashed) to historical fantasy (Godforsaken) extreme horror (Hawg, Tormentor, Stronger Than Death) to horror-westerns (Hell Billy, Bad Magick, Last Man Screaming). He loves books, British TV, guns, movies, politics, sports and hanging out with his sons. He’s frequently outdoors, looking for brightness wherever it may hide.

Stubbornness as a tool for success

By Jason Sizemore

There are many variables that dictate how successful you will be as a small press author, publisher, or indie writer. Some are obvious: quality of content, branding, personality. But every hero’s journey has that moment where everything is darkest and the hero is on the verge of failure. How do you respond to this challenge? Personally, I answer with stubbornness.

I recently had the pleasure of sitting next to Literary Underworld Supreme Leader Elizabeth Donald for nearly 20 hours. It was for a local regional convention where both of us were hoping to make a few bucks for ourselves and our authors via bookselling to waves and waves of readers dying for new genre fiction. I pictured Elizabeth and I smoking stogies while counting fat stacks of money.

The throngs of adoring readers never appeared. I sold a total of five books over three long days of sitting behind a table, smiling and waving at people. Staring woefully at Elizabeth Donald. Elizabeth staring back at me, surely wondering why I was staring at her.

Live events are like that. Some weekends you’ll hit the jackpot. More often, you’ll sell enough to break even. Once in a while, you’ll have a soul-crushing “five-books-sold” type of convention.

I have a bad habit of letting a bad weekend get me down. After this recent poor showing, I fell into a funk. Some of it was self-pity, much of it was self-hate. I had decided that I was the reason for the failure to sell books. There had to be something about my personality, appearance, demeanor that was off-putting to people who approached the Apex Books table.

I posted my fears to Facebook. Thankfully, no one admitted to finding me creepy (though I’m sure some were just being polite). Instead, many offered insight into sales tactics. Others shared their similar bad experiences. The confidence boost put me back on my feet. That familiar stubborn notion that I would not let one bad weekend keep me from continuing my trek as a small press publisher.

As creators, it is easy to be too hard on ourselves. We are already rife with anxiety and the usual problems of being introverts. Our failures feel magnified more than they should be. For example, all weekend at the convention as I sat there staring at Elizabeth Donald, I kept thinking about how others must be seeing how poorly the Apex Books table was doing. Apex Books, the little company with the Nebula Award finalist and multiple Hugo Award wins, drawing no attention. “Sizemore must be doing something wrong.” I should be more aggressive and not be a passive introvert when people come to the table.

Obviously, nobody pays attention to how much business a certain vendor is doing. Most readers don’t care about awards and award-nominations. Being friendly and helpful when someone approaches the table beats an overbearing, aggressive approach.

While using stubbornness as a shield, I recommend personal introspection as a means of making yourself feel better about the time and money lost. Only once have I ever done a convention and sold less than five books. Yet, that same convention is where I first met Lesley Conner. A decade later, she’s my editing partner and the other half of Apex Books and Apex Magazine. At Scarefest some years ago, I paid an exorbitant sum for table space only to sell about $100 of books that weekend. But my table was next to Midnight Syndicate. I became pals with the band and consider them friends.

At this convention where I only sold five books and pouted online afterwards about my lack of sales, I had ice cream with Ellen Datlow. Had a bonding moment with Jeff Strand about Anton Cancre’s weird antics. Accepted the gracious praise of numerous people who sought out the Apex table to tell me how much they appreciated the work we did.

These things, though intangible, have value. Social capital. Networking. Friendships. These things are often far more valuable than a few hundred bucks at a live event.

It’s okay to feel disappointed in the moment. I certainly do every single time I do poorly at an event. But I encourage you to fall back on stubbornness and introspection so that you can properly assess the actual value of your time spent at the event.

Help Jason not feel like a failure and support the Apex Magazine 2023 Kickstarter! Apex has been part of the Literary Underworld for many years and we have always been proud to offer their titles. Apex’s Kickstarter launched on July 27 and runs for one month, offering preorders for the amazing content they’ll be offering all next year. Exclusive content, free fiction, and awesome stretch goals await!

Jason Sizemore is the publisher and editor of Apex Books and the award-winning short fiction genre zine Apex Magazine. He’s a multi-Hugo Award nominated editor who also occasionally writes a short story or two. His debut collection, Irredeemable, is available from Second Star Press. For more information visit www.jason-sizemore.com or you can find him on Twitter @apexjason.

Rarest gems: A catalogue of exemplary LGBTQ media

By Dennis R. Upkins

A great bard by the name of Toni Morrison once said, “If there is a book you want to read and it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” Both the quote and the late author herself have been a guiding light for me both as an activist and as an author.

Case in point, my latest story “The Bonds That Bind.” Appearing in the forthcoming Afrofuturistic themed Spyfunk anthology, the short story was inspired in part by the dearth of quality and progressive speculative media featuring LGBTQs as the leads.

Some progress has been made in recent years with the likes of CW’s Batwoman, Black Lightning and even Supergirl, he latter making HERstory by introducing television’s first trans superheroine in Dreamer, who was played by Nicole Maines. But there is more work to be done.

Stories have power. And representation matters. Media and progressive storytelling may be the only resource and lifeline for so many LGBTQs.

In Between Men: The series examines the personal & professional lives of four urbanites from different walks of life who do not fit into the lives & perceptions expected of them. Forced to live “in between” a gay world, whose cliches they don’t relate to and a straight world they don’t belong to, while navigating life as they live, work and play in New York City.

This show easily joins the ranks of Torchwood and Queer As Folk as one of the greatest (gay) series of all time. Speaking of the latter, I appreciated the pseudo-passing of the torch with QAF alum Michelle Renee Clunie appeared in an episode.

What makes In Between Men special is that it spoke to a demographic that is often overlooked on a topic is purposely ignored. For myself, a few loved ones and others, who for the most part, can pass for straight but are shunned by heterosexuals because of bigotry, but because we don’t limit ourselves to cliches or ignorant purviews of the “gay identity,” we’re often alone without a people. This series tackles the issue of masculinity, identity, with a most diverse cast, in a very refreshing and surprisingly nuanced manner. At least it was surprising until I found out the creator of the series, Quincy Morris, is a brother and all that artistry and excellence made sense.

While a few years have past since the first two seasons, I would love a final installment as a film just to give the characters and the series the proper sendoff it deserves.

In any event, I highly recommend it and it’s available now on YouTube.

I Am Not Your Negro: In 1979, James Baldwin wrote a letter to his literary agent describing his next project, “Remember This House.” The book was to be a revolutionary, personal account of the lives of three of his close friends: Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as Baldwin’s perspective on American History. At the time of Baldwin’s death in 1987, he left behind only 30 completed pages of this manuscript. Filmmaker Raoul Peck envisions the book James Baldwin never finished.

Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, this 93-minute documentary combines archive footage and animated visuals with the prose with one of history’s greatest writers, which results in a phantasmagorical journey which both entertains, educates and challenges the viewer. Created on a $1 million budget, the original release had a very limited run which resulted in $7.7 million box office: practically unheard-of for a documentary and a testament to the artistry of this film.

Game Face: Exploring the coming-out journeys of LGBTQ athletes: telling the parallel stories of Fallon Fox, the first female transgender pro MMA fighter; and Terrence Clemens, a college basketball player in Oklahoma who happens to be gay.

Even if you aren’t a sports fan, you’ll definitely appreciate this film. Directed by Michiel Thomas, this documentary does a masterful job of humanizing the individuals behind two trailblazing athletes and allowing the audience to follow Clemens and Fox on their respective quests and experience their trials and triumphs along with them. While the name of the film may be entitled Game Face, gamechangers is just as apt for these two pioneers.

Eastsiders: Written and directed by Kit Williamson (Mad Men), who also stars in this dark comedy as Cal, an ambitious young photographer who navigates the complex world of modern gay life, infidelity, and relationships with his boyfriend, Thom, played by Van Hansis (As The World Turns).

I’ve been a fan of Van Hansis for many years. Not only is he a wonderful actor but an outspoken activist for social justice, but he’s also a trailblazer. Taking over the role as Luke Snyder on CBS’s As The World Turns, Hansis’s character became involved in a romance with another male character and the pairing is considered by many to be the first gay supercouple in American soap opera history. So when I learned he was one of the stars, I was all too eager to check it out.

And before she was Fresh Off The Boat, Constance Wu could be found in this series stealing nearly every scene she was in.

Eastsiders is definitely one of those sordid black dramedies that is good for the self-esteem. Because this show will remind that in spite of all of your bad decisions that you made or continue to make, even your worst, you’re probably still better than this lot on their best day.

Feral: A close-knit group of young twenty-something artists living, loving, and figuring out how to pay the rent in Memphis, TN.

Between the cinematography, the story arcs, to the cast performances, this series is a testament to the artistry and ingenuity that indie content creators can produce. What also makes this 8-episode series stand out is that while the three main characters are gay/bi, the could have easily have worked as straight leads. But these rural complicated characters who produce visual art, indie films, and rock out to Lucero, show that LGBTQs come from all walks of life and we come in all forms, just like cis heterosexuals.

With the exception of John Grisham’s Rainmaker, this has to be the WHITEST Memphis I’ve ever witnessed (seriously what the hell) and there are countless other towns in Tennessee with nary a Negro in sight where this story could’ve taken place and made sense (Chattanooga, Cleveland, Kingsport, Bucksnort, Erin, Columbia). I have an easier time suspending disbelief when I’m watching Chronicles of Narnia. But I digress. For now. And that’s only because this is such a wonderful series. Feral is definitely a series worth viewing and adding to your library.

Strut: With Whoopi Goldberg at the helm as executive producer, Strut is a reality television series that revolves around the world of modeling and fashion. What makes this short-lived series unique, however, is that all of the models featured are transgender. The show goes inside the models’ personal lives, showcasing their struggles to make it in the fashion world and revealing emotional conversations with family members. The featured models include Laith, who was one of the first transgender male models to appear in a national campaign; Dominique Jackson, who has been modeling for more than 20 years; Isis, who was a fashion designer before getting into modeling; newcomer Ren, who hopes modeling can help her reconnect with her distant father; and outspoken Arisce, who has walked runways during New York, Los Angeles and Miami Fashion Week shows.

Strut is definitely a fun and entertaining reality tv series. If you’re a fan of America’s Next Top Model, or Project Runway, this series will definitely be up your alley. Before she was serving shade and snatching wigs on FX’s Pose, Jackson was rocking runways and photoshoots with flawless precision. A testament to how talented she is as an actress, Strut showcases how the wise, regal and nurturing Jackson couldn’t be more polar opposite than the villainous Elektra Abundance she portrays on the hit FX series. While the series only lasted for six episodes, you get a full story arc and the opportunity to meet some awesome models who all have been making moves since the short-lived Oxygen series aired.

Matt and Blue: The YouTube channel of musician Blue Hamilton; his husband, actor Matt Dallas (Kyle XY); and their adorable son Crow, chronicles the misadventures of their lives on their four-acre farm.

Whether it’s sharing their personal experiences, offering advice on a number of topics, or informing you of some their sponsors’ excellent products to check out for some great deals, Matt and Blue are the definition of family goals and proof that there is fun, life, and adventure after marriage.

Love, Simon: Everyone deserves a great love story, but for 17-year-old Simon Spier, it’s a little more complicated. He hasn’t told his family or friends that he’s gay, and he doesn’t know the identity of the anonymous classmate that he’s fallen for online. Resolving both issues proves hilarious, terrifying and life-changing.

I have one monumental issue with Love, Simon. It’s that I wish there had been a film like this when I was a kid. It’s a coming of age tale that’s a romantic teen dramedy, but it’s layered, smart and it’s got heart without even trying. What truly makes this film a groundbreaking classic is that it showcases multiple compelling Black protagonists, including a love interest which sadly even in the 21st century mainstream (read: white) gay media is blatantly racist and specifically antiblack. This film thankfully avoids the racefail. But this shouldn’t be a shocker given that CW Arrowverse architect Greg Berlanti is the director. It should also be noted that Berlanti has gone on record giving credit to Muhammad Ali for giving him the courage to come out to his parents. So when you have The Greatest as one of your heroes, greatness tends to follow.

Also, speaking of following greatness, Love Victor, the television spinoff picks up where the film leaves off with cameos from prominent players from the film and it is awesome.

Codebreaker: Codebreaker tells the remarkable and tragic story of one of the 20th century’s most important people. Alan Turing set in motion the computer age and his World War II codebreaking helped turn the tide of the Second World War. Instead of receiving accolades, Turing faced terrible persecution. In 1952, the British Government forced him to undergo chemical castration as punishment for his homosexuality. In despair, Turing committed suicide. He was only 41 years old. Documentary elements seamlessly interconnect with drama scenes in Codebreaker to offer a three dimensional picture of Turing, his accomplishments, his tragic end, and his lasting legacy.

Unlike that abomination of a film, Codebreaker is a true testament to Alan Turing. Codebreaker is a bittersweet film that pulls no punches exploring the persecution Turing endured which led to his death, the qualities that made him one of history’s greatest (and still unsung) champions, and how his legacy can be found today. Case in point, the computer device you’re reading this article from. This film is a tribute to the life and legacy of a bonafide superhero and one I can’t recommend enough.

People You May Know: The lives of several friends are at a crossroads which is only further complicated when their relationships are thrown into chaos after a drunken one-night stand.

People You May Know is without question the greatest cinematic masterpiece of the 21st century. I say this objectively as an artist and academic. This assessment certainly has nothing to do with the fact that this film provides Sean “I’m Too Pretty To Be Legal” Maher in the type of hot sexy scenes usually reserved for the Paul Morris oeuvre. Nope, this is all factual objectivity.

Just joking. Sorta. Maybe.

In all seriousness, what makes this movie truly special is that even though two of the three leads are gay, their arcs make them relatable to any demographic. Each of the leads are searching to discover what will fulfill them and some of the choices they make may not be conventional or the right choice for others but it’s right for them. In one way or another, the completion they’re each searching for, they ultimately find within. People You May Know is a dramedy that has the cinematographic sensibilities of an indie film without being overt and pretentious. An amazing film and definitely one worth watching.

Did I mention it stars the delightful and gorgeous Sean Maher?

Dirty Computer Emotion Picture: An Android, Jane 57821, attempts to break free from the constraints of a totalitarian society that forcibly makes Jane comply with its homophobic beliefs.

This groundbreaking Afrofuturistic short film is a love letter to Black LGBTQ Excellence. Co-starring Tessa Thompson as Jane’s love interest, Emotion Picture accompanied the release of Monae’s third album, Dirty Computer. If you have not seen this tour d’force…. your life choices, make better ones.

Freedom Fighters: The Ray: Combining the first two seasons of the hit animated series, which premiered on the CW Seed, as well as includes never-before-seen footage, Freedom Fighters is the animated origin story of Ray Terrill, who discovers himself as a superhero from a parallel Earth called Earth-X. The new superhero is on a mission to fulfill his destiny as the Earth-X Freedom Fighter, The Ray.

I previously discussed in depth why Freedom Fighters is an exceptional film and a most important one. The original CW Seed animated series is television’s first gay male superhero lead. Non-straight male superheroes are very few and usually relegated to supporting roles. Freedom Fighters is a must-see because LGBTQs need to witness that it doesn’t get better, it gets real, and that’s okay. This film is definitely an A-lister and is shining a ray of light on how artistry, diversity, superhero narratives, and social commentary are properly blended and executed.

Hopefully, Freedom Fighters (and the aforementioned titles on this list) is lighting the way for other exemplary narratives to follow.

DENNIS R. UPKINS is a proud Atlanta, Ga. native. A voracious reader, a lifelong geek and a hopeless comic book addict, he knew at an early age that storytelling was his calling. In 2011, his debut novel, Hollowstone, was released by Parker Publishing. His sophomore title, West of Sunset, was also released by Parker Publishing in 2014. Upkins has also worked as a freelance artist and a digital photographer. His artwork and short stories have appeared in Drops of Crimson, Sniplits, and a number of other publications. Upkins regularly critiques and analyzes the representation and portrayal of minorities in comics and media and has served as a contributor for Ars Marginal, Black Girl Dangerous, Prism Comics, Nashville Geek Life, and Comicbook.com. In an effort to help enlighten society about the cultures of the African diaspora and promote a more accurate and positive image, Upkins launched the Black Folks Being Awesome initiative in 2013. When he’s not out saving the world and/or taking it over in his spare time, Upkins’s hobbies include drawing, modeling, acting, photography, cosplay, rollerblading, martial arts and of course writing. His website can be found here.

Happy Pride!

It is fashionable to drape rainbows across businesses in June, but the real hope is that business supports LGBTQ+ causes and art all year round. We’re a work in progress, but Literary Underworld has always striven to be allies, co-founded by LGBTQ+ writers – and we have been banned in Utah because of it! (It’s a long story.)

Here are some of our works that featured LGBTQ+ themes and characters and/or are written by LGBTQ+ authors. Check them out – in June and the rest of the year.

Glad Hands by Angelia Sparrow and Naomi Brooks

Chuck Hummingbird has a nice, safe run, from Pacifica to the Tribal Lands. Even in the fragmented United States, freight still moves between the resulting countries. When he’s tapped for a perilous run down past Heartland, the last thing he needs is a pretty blue-eyed drifter, but he can’t get Seven out of his head or his bunk. When the Confederated States prove more dangerous than Chuck feared, they’re caught in a terrifying flight towards safety that will drive both of them and the love they’ve found to new limits.

West of Sunset by Dennis R. Upkins

For Brecken Everett, there’s never a dull moment. When he’s not dealing with a demanding course load and honing his magic as top student at Lightmage University, he’s working as a private investigator and using his skills to protect the innocent from the darkest forces. In two action-packed adventures, Breck demonstrates that outnumbered and outgunned is when he’s at his best.

In Keepers, Brecken is enlisted to aid Jacob and Joshua Phoenix; twins, the last Pyrians, the last of an ancient race. The Brothers Phoenix are on a quest to uncover clues to their past. When they find a lost relic, a pair of demons claim it. With Brecken’s aid, the twins are determined to not only stop the threat, but have some fun in the process.

West of Sunset takes place a year after Keepers. All Brecken wants to do is get out of Atlanta. Heading to Los Angeles with his best friend, he plans a vacation of surf, sun, partying and relaxation… until the boys stumble upon a museum heist connected to a biker gang of vampires with plans to raise a most dark power. Matters get even more complicated with the involvement of a mysterious and powerful witch. Witches, museum heists, arising malevolent forces, vampire biker gangs, even Brecken’s vacations are just another day at the office.

Anthony Reprobate by Angelia Sparrow and Gabriel Belthir

James Ligatos is a man with an unusual hobby. He turns promising young criminals into world leaders.

Anthony Hatcher is not a criminal. He’s a Reprobate, rescued from the depths of a Heartland mental hospital, tortured and forgotten for daring to break every moral code.

So begins the most unusual training the Ligatos group has encountered. A rule-breaking, nonlinear learner may be more than all of them together can handle. He may also be their last hope to stop a war, for a growing evangelical movement in the Heartland is calling for a crusade to re-unify the ten countries that were once the United States of America.

It is up to Anthony to become everything he hates, a teetotalling revival preacher, to save the land and the man he loves. Worth it.

Methuseleh’s Legacy by T.W. Fendley

Lilith Davidson has nothing to lose. Diagnosed with terminal cancer, her only hope for survival rests in an experimental longevity serum she herself helped to develop using an intuitive-based protocol known as remote viewing. She never dreamed the treatment could be so wildly effective… nor did she expect its unusual side effect.

Now, as Lilith and the other eleven Methuselah Pioneers struggle to embrace the serum’s gift, powerful forces condemn their miracle cure as a violation of life’s natural order and threaten their lives. Will the treatment help humanity or tear society apart?

Adventuresses by Angelia Sparrow

Take flight on an airship bound for ecstasy and California.

Fall in love with a waitress. Or Medusa.

Hold off the zombie invasion of Oklahoma or roll a rig through it in Kansas.

Treasure hunt to save a feline lover.

Enjoy a steampunk medical demonstration for curing nervous hysteria.

Ten tales of lesbian adventure take you to the far reaches of the galaxy, or the science fiction convention down the road, to Texas in our world or on a timeline when the Confederacy found a way to make radioactive bombs.

Find your hat. Adjust your goggles. It’s time for Adventuresses.

Why not steal a horse? The perils of steampunk tropes

By Angelia Sparrow

I have a new book forthcoming. I just sent the proofs back Monday. The Sweet Science of Bruising will be out soon from Purple Sword Publications. It’s steampunk adventure with strong erotic content, mostly heterosexual, although both leads are bi, and Lillian is disguised as a boy for most of the book.

Lillian is an inventor of vibrators who is swept off to adventure with an itinerant bare-knuckle boxing outfit. In her escape, she essentially invents a motorcycle.

When I was writing this, our Fearless Leader, Elizabeth, asked “Why don’t they just steal a horse?” The thought had never crossed my mind. It’s rather like when Gabriel asked “Why vampires?” and I stuttered a moment and said “I’d looked damned silly trying to have a vampire apocalypse without vampires.”

Other questions were raised by early readers, including the feasibility of dirigibles, and why cities don’t have balistas on city hall if airship pirates are a problem. Those were tabled. (Answer, figured out much later: because Abilene is not quite that advanced or that wealthy. Balistas are used in Kansas City and points east, which is why the pirates prefer to operate out west)

But my point is tropes. These recognizable conventions in a genre are useful shorthand for readers, and save the author a lot of explanation. They are almost a visual or literary shorthand. If I say “They climbed the winding steps up the tower to the sorceress’ workroom,” you have a mental image of the tower, the narrow, steep stairs that climb it (always turning counterclockwise, makes it easier to defend), the room at the top with shelves and work tables, and bubbling huggermugger that will play no part in the story but sets the tone. Likewise, if I talk about the dusty streets with board sidewalks and hitching rails, a lone tumbleweed drifting along, and the complete silence, you’re either expecting a gunfight or a post-apoc western. And your mind supplied a saloon, a livery stable and a sheriff’s office without me saying anything. Tropes are very useful.

Until you hit a beta reader who is not conversant with that subgenre’s tropes. (Which is why, if I taught creative writing, genre fiction would be covered in the second semester, when we address the tropes as well as the story mechanics) Then you find yourself questioning your airships, your wizard workrooms, your FTL travel methods, why the vampires don’t just shoot the hunters and even your mechanized vacuums.

I’ve had to deal with all these questions from beta readers and editors. They are good questions, even if they are annoying. I’m caught in the story. I understand it’s steampunk, so I’m expecting goggles, and airships and contraptions. To have a simple, non-mechanical solution offered might be throwing a wrench into the works. Then again, that’s what writers are for.

One reader actually questioned the gadgetry and invention, saying “people don’t just do that sort of thing.” I referred him to the photo of Mr. Daimler and the motorized bicycle and reminded him that the motorcycle was invented in four different places within three years of each other. And then I wrote this, to show that the theory was sound, even if I don’t have the mechanical skill to do it myself.

A rider used an up and down motion, pushing pedals around in a circle, which drove a small wheel connected to a larger wheel. It was a very simple machine. She visualized one of her preventative machines and its own simple engine.

A simple steam chamber, heated by the gaslights, drove a single piston engine. The motion went in a straight line from the motor to her toy. She regulated it by turning the valve as to how much steam she wanted. She really should come up with a several stroke engine, one whose drive she could interrupt to control the velocity of the phallus, starting it slowly and then letting it pound.

She reminded herself to borrow the pen from Turlough’s desk at first light, and make the note on her shirtsleeve, having no paper to hand. She didn’t want to forget the idea. That way, she would not be tempted to interrupt the escape for forgotten notes, since she would be wearing them.

Another cheer from the fight drew her attention back to her escape plan. The engine would need to be quite small as most bicycles were built for one passenger, not two and an engine. It still needed to be faster than a man could run and faster than a horse and rider.

She played with the design of the bicycle, trying to figure a way to mount the engine and seat the both of them. Turlough would need to steer. She would have to ride backwards and mollycoddle the engine along. It would be a touchy and temporary thing, but she could do it.

The steam would rise, but she wanted the stroke to move downward. The memory of a carousel she had ridden with her parents on a trip back east to St. Louis returned. The great steam organ in the center had moved the axles around and round. But the horses had gone up and down because of a bend in the bar. The same should work in reverse, with the up and down motion causing a round and round motion.

If she mounted that over the back wheel and hooked it right into the axle…but no, that meant one stroke would move the bicycle one wheel-turn and she needed it to go faster than that.

Gearing, of course. If one stroke spun the tire three times, that would be good. Especially if she could make the piston move faster than a human leg.

So, back to the original question, why don’t they steal a horse?
I’ll let Lillian explain.

She explained the plan in hasty whispers in the dead of the night. Turlough shook his head.

“‘Twould be easier to just take a horse,” he said for the dozenth time.

“Have you seen the horses with this outfit? Two of them nearly as old as I am and the others slower than slugs. Draft horses aren’t built for running. Besides, they hang you for stealing horses. Tell Wulf you want to try a new training exercise and have him find you a bicycle.”

“I can’t ride one of those contraptions, lass.” The admission finally came, Turlough sounding embarrassed. “Horses I understand but not those things.”

“That’s why you practice before I attach the engine.” She smiled.

To find out the rest of Lilian and Turlough’s adventures, and enjoy seeing scenic Kansas by motorcycle, airship and train, look for The Sweet Science of Bruising by Angelia Sparrow, coming soon from Purple Sword Productions.

Angelia Sparrow is a bus driver who lives quietly in the MidSouth. She has been writing professionally since 2004. Unofficially called the Queen of Cross-genre, she has been a finalist for the Darrell Award, the Lamnbda Literary Award and the Gaylactic Spectrum award. She has a husband, kids and grandkids, and enjoys a variety of handcrafts as well as writing. Web presence.

Slaying giants and old tropes

By Steven L. Shrewsbury

An old trope sounds like a creature that lives under a bridge waiting for billy-goats, gruff and otherwise. What is this I speak of?

“In the arts, a trope is simply a common convention in a particular medium. It refers to anything that gets used often enough to be recognized. When you see a kid running around with a cape and know they’re pretending to be a superhero, you’ve recognized the trope that superheroes wear capes.”

An old trope is like having a dragons, dwarves and wizards in a fantasy novel. It isn’t necessary, but they pop up a great deal. Like one’s manhood, it all depends on how one uses such a thing if it is entertaining or not. In my new novel Killer of Giants there are no dragons (lots of other monsters), a few dwarves near the end, and a couple wizards. I’m guilty of using such tropes, but not in excess. The dwarves in Killer make a cameo appearance at the end, and the wizards? Well, they are evil bastards as always.

I had Gorias La Gaul beat a few guys to death with a dwarf, literally used as a foreign object in Thrall. He was a jerk necromancer on top of it. If I have a dragon appear, they are something different, like being undead (in Thrall and Curse of the Bastards), and in the forthcoming Gorias novel Reckoning Day, made of water. The idea should challenge not only the reader to go to a new place, but the writer to create a different view.

I have never used a monster manual to explore monsters, the endurance of characters or the parameters of a world. Years ago, I had an undead dragon in a WIP and a friend said, “Oh! A draco-lich!” I liked the term and used it, but I didn’t research the origin of the term. In Born of Swords, we see a dragon that loves to feast on the dead, eating out of tombs cut in cliff faces. Why? I just thought it was cool. A fan once tried to say, “Well, I’ve heard that blue skinned dragons are eaters of the dead.” Well, yeah, sure, because I just decided this one was like that. Why? Thought that for the area, where folks were entombed about the cliffs, it was a good idea and visual. If I broke a commandment of some kind in a lore manual, well, I’ll likely go to hell for worse behavior than that.

Wizards are another thing oft appearing in fantasy literature. I try and shy away from the wizards living in a cave, wearing robes…but that image persists a bit. I confess to making wizards appear in my works, but they are usually not nice guys or girls. Probably a tad extreme, but I find that entertaining and hope readers do, too.

So I reckon I’m not on a quest to destroy all old tropes as it were. I do things my own way and hope folks will find it enjoyable. I’ve been chastised a few times about the salty language in my works. I’ll paraphrase the late Karl Edward Wagner when he was given grief about saying shit or fuck in a book. If a character falls and hits their head, I really doubt they screamed FORSOOTH! thousands of years ago. Did they say shit or fuck? Not exactly, but something close…that didn’t sound like the King’s English…which they also didn’t speak thousands of years ago, either.

I implore everyone to read. Read things not just in your comfort zone, especially if you’re a writer. If you love horror, read a western. See how different stories are told. Read romance. Yes, you heard me. Why? Well, they outsell horror for starters and one might learn something. I write a lot of fantasy, but I read a great deal of biographies and historical works. Some of these facts slip into a tale or augment a culture set in an ancient time. It makes things interesting, I’ve found, and I’m certain I’m not the only one doing it.

So, check out my new novel, Killer of Giants from Seventh Star Press. It’s a rough, rowdy tale full of grit and wild happenings.

In an antediluvian world, Keltos warrior Rogan emerges as the lone survivor of a battle. Slaying a Nephilim giant from Shynar, Rogan takes back the mammoth his folk gifted the kings.

Soon, warriors are sent to recapture the mammoth and bring it to the Lord of the world, Zazaeil, a demon in human flesh, and the Nephilim giant Marduk, in the fabled city of Irem.

After learning that his sister is to be a sacrificial bride to Marduk, Rogan journeys to Irem in the company of Elisa, a warrior herself, whose mother is a wizardess. With a horde of warriors in pursuit, they encounter many evils, monsters, and challenges to their selves and souls.

Will the song of Rogan’s blood make him strong enough to be the Killer of Giants?

Coming soon to the Literary Underworld!

About the author: Award-winning author Steven L. Shrewsbury lives and works in central Illinois. He writes hardcore sword & sorcery, fantasy and horror novels. Twenty of his novels have been published, including Killer of Giants, Beyond Night, Born of Swords, Within, Overkill, Philistine, Hell Billy, Thrall, Blood and Steel, Stronger Than Death, Hawg, Tormentor and Godforsaken. His horror/western series includes Bad Magick, Last Man Screaming, Mojo Hand and Along Come Evening. He has collaborated with Brian Keene on the works King of the Bastards, Throne of the Bastards and Curse of the Bastards, and Peter Welmerink on the Viking saga Bedlam Unleashed. A big fan of books, history, the occult, religion and sports, he tries to seek out brightness in the world, wherever it may hide.