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More Tales of Zorro -- and the company I keep

Moonstone's More Tales of Zorro, edited by Richard Dean Starr, has been announced: here and here.

(Note: the cover to the right by the fabulous Douglas Klauba is apparently not the final art.)

I'm thrilled to be contributing to one of the original masked pulp heroes--and humbled to be in the company of these other writers.

And in more Amazon weirdness, the US site lists only one author, while the Canadian site lists everyone. Maybe just get it from B&N? :-)

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P.J. Farmer's THE OTHER IN THE MIRROR: Interview with editor Christopher Paul Carey

Christopher Paul Carey, the editor of Philip José Farmer's forthcoming collection, The Other in the Mirror, has just been interviewed about the book by Rias Nuninga over at the Philip José Farmer--International Bibliography page. Check it out!

This arrived today....

Yes, this novel is collected in Farmer's The Other in the Mirror, which should arrive next month from Subterranean Press. But I wanted a copy of the original, too. :-)

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This arrived today....

Limited edition hardcover with dust jacket by Douglas Klauba. Beautiful! Extra story by Max McCoy and a few other bonus materials.

And the first time I've been featured in a hardcover. :-)

Good stuff: new releases from Moonstone Books

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Locus Poll: Philip José Farmer's Venus on the Half-Shell and Others

Wold Newton expert Christopher Paul Carey , the editor of the collection Venus on the Half-Shell and Others (with plenty of Wold-Newtony goodness by Philip José Farmer , including the classic Sherlock Holmes/Tarzan crossover novel, The Adventure of the Peerless Peer), reminds us that the 2009 Locus Poll and Survey is now open:

"Rias Nuninga of the Philip José Farmer International Bibliography kindly points out that Venus on the Half-Shell and Others, Philip José Farmer's collection of fictional-author stories which I edited for Subterranean Press, is eligible to be written in under the category of Best Single-Author Collection on the 2009 Locus Poll and Survey. The Locus Poll closes on April 15, 2009. Here's the description of Venus from the publisher's Web site if you haven't yet read it but think you might like to pick up this fun, tongue-in-cheek book:

Venus on the Half-Shell and Others collects for the first time the best of the best from Philip José Farmer's scintillating "fictional-author period."

In the mid-1970s a fever-pitched furor was created when an actual novel purported to be by Kilgore Trout -- the sadsack science fiction writer who appears as a character in the works of Kurt Vonnegut -- materialized on the bookracks, complete with a mysterious back cover photo of the author looking like a bearded vagabond sage. Debate raged as to who had truly written Venus on the Half-Shell. Was it Vonnegut himself, or perhaps Theodore Sturgeon, rumored to have been the inspiration for Trout? Or did Kilgore Trout really exist? Just as one respected newspaper published an article "proving" that Vonnegut had written the book, the Hugo Award-winning science fiction author Philip José Farmer announced he was the true author.

The controversial Kilgore Trout episode was neither the first nor the last time Farmer would impishly slip out of his own skin and assume the persona of another author. In Venus on the Half-Shell and Others, Philip José Farmer transforms himself into fictional personalities as compelling as they are diverse: Cordwainer Bird, Paul Chapin, Rod Keen, Harry "Bunny" Manders, Leo Queequeg Tincrowdor, John H. Watson, M.D. and even the real-life author William S. Burroughs (writing his own version of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Jungle Lord!). Also included is the original version of Farmer's classic Sherlock Holmes/Lord Greystoke pastiche The Adventure of the Peerless Peer, back in print for the first time in over thirty years.

A unique collection, Venus on the Half-Shell and Others showcases the grand imagination of one of science fiction's most resourceful and creative minds."

If you enjoyed Venus, Peerless Peer, etc., and if you're so inclined, please take some time 0ut to support Phil Farmer, Chris Carey, and this fantastic collection!

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These arrived today...

Father, daughter, and a distant jungle relative. ;-)

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Farmerphile no. 15 now available

From publisher Mike Croteau:

Three and a half years and fifteen issues in, we suffered our first major printing problem with the final issue of Farmerphile; the good news is, it's our second straight 60 page issue and it is full of material about Phil's most popular series...Riverworld!

We start the issue with an excerpt from the soon to be completed Western novel, Cougar by the Tail by Philip José Farmer and Tracy Knight. This is followed by an interview with Tracy about his process of working with the material Phil started. Next we have "The Time Distorter" by Paul Spiteri. A shorter version of this story appeared in the Farmercon 90 Convention Program but this expanded version goes beyond Phil gaining access to a time machine before he sets off on his first journey. This story features a full page illustration by Charles Berlin. Buddha Contemplates His Novel shows what a treat it is when we get to print one of Phil's speeches. Contrary to the humorous title Phil does tackle an interesting philosophical question about the omnipotence of God. Win Scott Eckert's Creative Mythography column is one of his most ambitious. He searches Phil's family tree for proof that Phil himself is in a fact a member of the Wold Newton Family! First time contributor David Lars Chamberlain takes on the Bibliophile duty this issue with a look at The Unreasoning Mask. Inspired to read this book by comments made by Gary K. Wolfe, David did a very thorough job of studying one of Phil's deeper novels.

In terms of Riverworld, we have yet another wonderful cover by Keith Howell; this is in fact our first wrap-around cover. We decided to mine the two shared-world anthologies, TALES OF RIVERWORLD and QUEST TO RIVERWORLD for writers to contribute to this issue and easily got three (our first three choices, in fact) to pen articles for us. On the River with Philip José Farmer by author and superfan Robert Weinberg tells, not just about his stories, but also the behind-the-scenes story of the genesis of these two anthologies. Ed Gorman's article, My Time on the River is also a history lesson, one that goes back way before any Riverworld stories saw print. Allen Steele gives us a detailed account of his contribution, from invitation to inspiration to the writing of his story in Writing "Graceland." Together, all three articles combine to shine more light on this topic than we dared hope for.

Also on the Riverworld theme we have The River not Taken by Dennis E. Power. This article clarifies and puts into context a long letter by Phil to Fred Pohl (included) outlining a Riverworld storyline that Phil abandoned. Next we have Tom Mix Resurected by Danny Adams. This article illustrates the lengths that Phil went to while researching a historical figure to include in one his stories. The article includes letters to Daryl Ponicsan (author of the novel, TOM MIX DIED FOR YOUR SINS) and to Phil's good friend Robert Bloch. The highlight of the Riverworld material however is the Unpolished Pearl, Riverworld Dawn by Philip José Farmer. This is an outline (and some notes) for a "sidestream" Riverworld novel Phil wanted to write. He did eventually use part of the idea, but not as originally planned.

The issue finishes up with two more Unpolished Pearls. The first, Myadzian Journal is the oldest material published in Farmerphile and will most likely be considered by many to be the most exciting. It is four handwritten pages of notes (along with a typed transcription) from the late 1930s where Phil first described Kickaha and the World of Tiers. However this Kickaha is very different from the human trickster character we all know and love. And last but not least is a page of typed notes titled Time has its Mirages. This is brainstorm of ideas, the last line of which is "Buddha writes his novel

Copies can be ordered direct from Philip José Farmer's website.

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Pulp: Still Not Dead

A little over a half a year ago, some friends and I experimented with a group blog. While it didn't take off as we'd hoped, I did manage a few posts covering the current state of what's available pulp-wise and what was on my reading list:

• A pulp geek's reading list
• More of the pulp geek's reading list
• No one reads that old stuff anymore
• Quick hits

So it's probably time for a brief update...

• Moonstone Books has acquired the rights to do a series of prose anthologies featuring The Green Hornet and Kato, with illustrations and art direction by Ruben Procopio. Heh. :-)
• The first in a series of Gabriel Hunt books comes out in May.
• The Casebook of Sexton Blake comes out in March, edited by David Stuart Davies with stories selected by and introduced by Blakiana's Mark Hodder. This new anthology contains seven stories, all republished for the first time:

The Slave Market by Cecil Hayter

A Football Mystery by W. J. Lomax

The Man From Scotland Yard by Michael Storm

The Law of the Sea by William Murray Graydon

The Brotherhood of the Yellow Beetle by G. H. Teed

A Case of Arson by Robert Murray Graydon

The Black Eagle by G. H. Teed

• Anthony Tollin's Sanctum Books has parted ways with Nostalgia Ventures, but the Doc Savage and Shadow reprints will continue uninterrupted. In fact, Tollin is adding The Avenger and The Whisperer to the lineup of reprints. Full details at Bill Thom's Coming Attractions site.
  
• Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson: Their Strangest Cases (newspaper strips) is now available from Transfuzion and Amazon. Cafe Press merchandise.
• Also from Transfuzion and writer Mark Ellis: The Miskatonic Project: H.P. Lovecraft's The Whisperer in the Darkness; Amazon. And coming soon, The Miskatonic Project: Bride of Dagon, along with Cafe Press merchandise.
  
• Two of Earl Derr Biggers' Charlie Chan books are back in print, with more to come. Omnibus editions from Amazon.uk.
• Also at Amazon.uk, Bulldog Drummond and Dr. Nikola.
• Black Coat Press continues its generous pulp output with Sherlock Holmes vs. Fantomas, The Shadow of Frankenstein, Tales of the Shadowmen vol. 5: Vampires of Paris, and perhaps most exiting of all, the first new authorized Fu Manchu novel in 20 years, William Patrick Maynard's The Terror of Fu Manchu.
• Paizo Planet Stories continues to impress. Of note, Manly Wade Wellman's Who Fears the Devil--The Complete Silver John is due in July.
• Joe R. Lansdale and Keith Lansdale's Son of Retro Pulp Tales is coming from Subterranean Press.
  
• This doesn't even begin to scratch the surface... check Bill Thom's Coming Attractions site every week for the latest news!
  

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The Evil in Pemberley House - Now available for Pre-Order direct from Subterranean Press!

The Evil in Pemberley House now has its own page on the Subterranean Press website, with both the regular Trade and Limited Edition (with Chapbook) listed for Pre-Order.

The Chapbook includes Phil Farmer's original outline for the novel, the Wildman (Savage) Coat of Arms, an expanded Wold Newton Family tree chart, and other goodies.

The regular Trade also features a Wold Newton Family tree chart.

The regular Trade is listed for $40, while the Limited Edition with Chapbook is $60.

And... the cover is by the amazing Glen Orbik (who does Hard Case Crime covers as well as the covers to the forthcoming Gabriel Hunt pulp novels)! I can't wait to see what he comes up with.

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The Evil in Pemberley House - ARCs are in!

The Advance Reader Copies for The Evil in Pemberley House are in. According to Subterranean Press, if you run a high traffic blog, or review for a prominent website, please feel free to drop them an email requesting a copy.

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Two new Sherlock Holmes books from Black Coat Press

Sherlock Holmes and the Vampires of Eternity

and

Sherlock Holmes vs. Fantomas

I've just ordered my copies!

Avenger Chronicles - limited hardcover

The Avenger Chronicles limited edition hardcover is now out (I do not have my copy in hand, yet). The nifty cover by Doug Klauba has been posted over at Moonstone Books. Although it is not a hi-rez cover scan, it looks great. Can't wait to get my hands on it!

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