Month of Joy: "Mike's Favorite Comics" by Mike Underwood @mikerunderwood

I have many favorite comics, like I have many favorite novels, and so on. But the great thing about loving lots of stuff is that it’s much harder to run out of things to talk about. So here are a few of my favorite comics/runs from across my reading history, and a little about my relationship to each.

The Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix (Scott Lobdell and Gene Ha)

This is the oldest of the entries on this list, but one that stood out in my mind. I’ve always been a Cyclops fan, probably largely because I spent a lot of my youth being a Good Kid ™.  I followed the rules, wasn’t a rebel, and so on. Characters like Wolverine or Jubilee didn’t really resonate with me. But Cyclops, the long-suffering earnest leader of the X-Men, he stuck with me.

Month of Joy: "Borderlands, the Game" by Paul Weimer (A Sorta Review)

Sometimes, blowing off steam is exactly what you need after a hard day in the mundane job. Sometimes you want to wander in an alien landscape, with not much more of an agenda than to kill mutant creatures, cannibals and other assorted beasties.

Sometimes, you want enter the world of Borderlands.

Month of Joy: "Growing Up w/ Genre and Singaporean SF/F" by Joyce Chng -- @jolantru

I grew up with genre. No, seriously, I did.

It all began with a book of children’s stories complete with shape-shifting and transformation. The girl turned into a fluffy plush-tailed cat… and I was hooked. And it just kept on coming: Star Blazers (Battleship Yamato), Battle of the Planets (or G-Force), Robotech (Macross – Southern Cross – Mospeada), Star Trek and the list continued. I fell in love with science fiction and it opened

Week of Joy (Day Seven): "The Genre Books That Influenced & Inspired Me to Read & Write" by Stina Leicht

It's funny. While I've always loved books, I don't remember the moment when I decided I wanted to be a writer -- not any longer. You see, originally I wanted to be an artist, but during seventh grade I decided that writing was what I wanted to do more than anything else. From the moment I forced myself through the process of learning to read[1] I loved books. Books were safe. Books were also adventure. So, I quickly found favorites. Zilpha Keatley Snyder was the first author that I actively tracked down in my local library. I read everything I could find: The Changeling, Season of Ponies, The Witches of Worm, The Headless Cupid, The Velvet Room, The Eyes in the Fishbowl -- most are out of print now. Some were Newbery Honor Winners. I think she was the author

Guest Post: Sassy Gay to Super Gay -- Marvel’s Re-Definition of the Supporting Gay Character by Benjamin Kissell

I remember being 9 years old and buying my first issue of Uncanny X-Men; my Mum had worked in a bookstore when I was little and had brought home rare gems, well-worn back-issues and cover-less comics [she couldn’t stand the sight of any book, comic or otherwise, being tossed into the garbage] so the sight of them on a newsstand was nothing new to me, however, this was the first issue I had bought of my own volition with my own money. And it? Was glorious.

Newsprint paper supported an array of colors most reminiscent of the Kirby-era, bold primes leapt off the page, and the cast of characters? Larger than life. A vibrant team of misfits and underdogs – each imbued with fantastic powers which set them apart from the everyday, yet

Guest Post: Why Fantasy? by Bruno Stella

But why fantasy?

Is it enough to say that people the world over (including myself) have been fascinated with elves and dragons since Tolkien published his master-work and so we can simply continue in his footsteps? Haven’t many authors have done exactly that?

Surely, fantasy is an easy field to write – and do well in?

After all, the scientific understanding for writing, say, hard sci-fi is not necessary. And, because fantasy isn’t exactly high-brow, knowledge of fancy literary theories isn’t necessary, either – in fact it may even be a hindrance.

I’d argue that fantasy is hard to do decently precisely because of the reasons above.

So many people have done it to death, that the reader is jaded by the recycled materials. There is no powerful central scientific concept to bedazzle the reader, nor is there the fig-leaf of fancy

Guest Post: How to Characterize Christ in a Novel by Cotton E. Davis

When I presumed to make Yeshua bar Yosef (Christ) a character in my recently released time-travel novel TimeWarp, Inc., I had to make numerous decisions regarding how to portray him.

The physical part wasn't as difficult as one might imagine.  Though the New Testament leaves us with no physical description of the man, Isaiah 53:2 described the coming Messiah as rather ordinary looking.  No Max von Sydows or Jeffrey Hunters here.  I set aside the classical image of a blond-haired, blue-eyed European-looking gent for a swarthier dark-brown or black-haired fellow more in keeping with the Jews who inhabited Lower Galilee at the time.  Short-cropped hair and beards were the style among Jewish men then, so goodby to the luxuriant locks seen in so many paintings and movies.  One more fact: most skulls unearthed from the first-century holy land were rounder than the traditional long-faced image.  Decidedly so.

I also made my character well-formed.  Physically powerful, even.  This was not the namby-

Guest Post: "Freedom to Name" by Max Gladstone (Three Parts Dead)

Somewhere in Thailand, a mind-controlled ant climbs a tree.  She moves in jerks and starts, her body no longer her own.  Alone, she staggers to the underside of a leaf, and bites the thick central stem.  Her jaw locks.  Her chitin bulges and bursts.  A long gray tendril rises from within, unfurls to three times her length, and pops to release a cloud of spores.  Away on the breeze the spores float, to possess any other ants unlucky enough to remain within the blast radius.

The fungus is called Ophiocordyceps camponoti-balzani.  The fungus infects an ant, takes over the victim’s brain, forces it to move to a high place near other ants--a place where spores will spread--and explodes.

That’s real.

If you work for a corporation or a non-profit, you’re part of a functionally immortal entity whose life is governed by laws more theological than biological—a being that draws strength from desire,

Guest Post: "The Palest of Copies: History, Culture, Empire, and Fiction" by Daniel A. Rabuzzi (The Indigo Pheasant)

(Details about The Indigo Pheasant, Mr. Rabuzzi, and his blog tour can be found below the post.  Go buy the book!)

Historians of medieval Europe would be surprised at the pallid, static and simplistic depictions of their subject in the work of many modern fantasy writers.  In the past fifty years, medievalists have overturned Western Renaissance and Enlightenment assertions that the “middle time” was an opaque, undifferentiated hiatus endured between the glittering peaks of Rome and Modernity.

Equipped with digital tools, platoons of medievalists today are able to mine, compile, sort, and index more data about medieval people and places than any prior generation.[i]  Advances in aerial archaeology surveys, underwater excavations, and isotope analysis -- to name but three-- have dramatically expanded our knowledge of daily life (everything from how bricks were made to how bread was baked), migration and settlement patterns, trade routes, funerary practices, and much more.[ii]

A willingness to use methods from anthropology, geographical studies, and other social sciences

Guest Post: "An Interview w/ Joseph de Alverado" by Jay Hartlove

JAY HARTLOVE: Hello, I am Jay Hartlove, author of The Chosen, a supernatural thriller published by Damnation Books and winner of Best Thriller by the Independent eBook Awards 2012.  Today I have here in the studio a special guest from The Chosen. I would like to welcome to the show, Joseph de Alvarado. Welcome Mr. de Alvarado. Thank you for joining us.

JOSEPH DE ALVERADO:  It’s de Alverado, with an ‘e.’

JAY:   Pardon me? Oh, sorry. Yes, I see here, it is an ‘e.’ My mistake.

JOSEPH:   Names matter. They have meanings.

JAY:   Okay. I believe you adopted this name from Silas Alverado, the man who brought you into this plane of existence. Is that right?

JOSEPH:   Yes. His name means, ‘Bringer of the Truth’.

JAY:   Interesting. Now, I know you are a very private person so I appreciate your agreeing to chat today.

JOSEPH:   You’re welcome. If by private you mean I don’t seek publicity, then you’re right. I rather think of myself as too busy for a lot of conversation.

JAY:   Too busy with your work, yes? Are you still the captain of the Purgatory?

JOSEPH:   Yes, among other things.

JAY:   You were an executive assistant to Silas Alverado.

JOSEPH:   I still am his Executive Officer.

JAY:   Didn’t that job end rather abruptly when he went missing?

JOSEPH:   No, in fact my responsibilities grew upon his departure. I am continuing his research work, and I am still searching for him.

JAY:   Do you mean you’re searching for a way to bring him back?

JOSEPH:   Yes. I am a reflection of the Opener of the Ways. If anyone can find a way, it should be me.

JAY:   You and I have chatted about this previously, but let me ask you a few questions about that for our listeners. As I understand it, you are an archangel of Ptah given physical form on Earth by

Guest Post and Giveaway: "Doing the Research" by CJ Bolyne (Blog Tour)

Hi everyone! It is really great to see you all on Day 5 of my virtual book blog tour. I truly appreciate your support! A huge thank you goes to Shaun for hosting me today!

I am CJ Bolyne, a first time author. I have wanted to write for a very long time, but like I am sure many other first time authors felt, I was always afraid about what others would think of my writing. Finally, four years ago, I started my first book and thought that, if nothing else, at least I did this for myself!

I was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. After a few years, my family moved about an hour south of Winnipeg, to a little town called Sarto, Manitoba. Yep, one blink, and you miss it. The remainder of my childhood was spent in the country. Yes I am a country girl at heart.

I must admit, I did not read a lot as a child. I read only if I had too and that was usually for school purposes. How I hated the boring books in school!

When I was much younger, I felt that my idea of the type of stories I wanted to write were not considered mainstream. When I expressed them to close friends, my ideas were considered too weird. Some said that I had a demented mind. (teehee – what author doesn’t, right?) I laughed about that. I knew that I did not always think the same as many around me. So, okay, my ideas were not considered popular. However, I’m happy to see that in the last decade, the fantasy, SciFi, etc. genres have made a real impact and I am so happy that there are many out there that thought the way I did! This, in part, has inspired me to give it a shot.

So many books have influenced me, such as, Cradle and All by James Patterson, City of Bones, part of Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments series, Dracula by Anne Rice, The Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer, and of course, the Harry Potter series by JK Rowling. Yes, I am a Harry Potter fan!

However, of them all, James Patterson has to be my favourite author. I have always admired his imagination and his ability to write the books he wanted to write. Although, I also admire JK Rowling. In fact, it was after I saw a biography on JK Rowling that I really pushed myself to give writing a real attempt.

The book I am reading now is The Magician’s Apprentice by Trudi Canavan.

When I write, I write as though I am telling a story aloud, as I hear it in my head.

My first serious attempt at writing started four years ago. That is when I started writing Trinity. Due to some personal obligations however, I had to take a break from writing and it was only after I gave my then unfinished book to someone who’s honest opinion, I valued. Her encouragement gave me the courage to finish. Now I can’t wait to write many more as I have so many more stories to tell.

What I learned from writing this book is, it is not that easy. You may have the idea, know how you will begin and end the story, but it’s filling in the rest and making it a good and interesting read – now that’s the tough part!

------------------------------------------------------------------

About CJ Bolyne:
CJ Bolyne is a first time author and Trinity is her first book.  Born and raised in Southeastern Manitoba, Canada, CJ was an avid reader dreaming of the day she would write her own fantasy / sci-fi book.  When she’s not writing, CJ spends her time on her farm with her husband and multiple pets. She runs a full-time pet grooming business.  Her first book, Trinity, is the first in the series.  Bolyne is also on Facebook.

About Trinity:
Payton thought she had a normal, everyday life. When a mysterious man suddenly appears, he shatters her world telling her that her entire life has been a lie. She is a god with the Guardians having lived for 1000's of years. The Anords know where she is and he needs to protect her at all costs. Payton holds the key to saving humanity. However, a mysteriously familiar woman complicates everything.

Trinity is available on Smashwords, Lulu, and Amazon.

(This post is part of CJ Bolyne's Trinity Blog Tour.  You can find other guest posts here.)

The Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Guest Post: "The Magic of the Pacific Northwest" by Alyx Dellamonica

Why is the epicenter of the magical disaster in INDIGO SPRINGS and BLUE MAGIC physically located in Oregon? Why did I pick the Beaver State as the setting for my fictional town?

I get asked this quite often, especially when I go to Portland. (At home, I sometimes get asked, "Why not Vancouver?")

I had a handful of reasons:

I wanted to choose somewhere in the U.S.:
The same magical spill, in Canada, would be handled differently. America has a more effective military infrastructure, an aggressive approach to dealing with emergencies, and enough resources and power to tell a worried world to butt out when it has problems. Canada, faced with

Guest Post: On Science Fiction Fascinations by S. Spencer Baker

I've been fascinated with science fiction since I was about four years old, even though I'm fairly sure that I didn't know it was called science fiction in those days. There were puppet shows on TV like Supercar and Fireball XL5, and I dimly remember another show that had flying saucers like wobbling spinning tops that docked with a space station, but I've never seen that one again so I might have dreamt it -- it was all in monochrome and a long time ago. Then Doctor Who hit the tiny screen with a theme tune that could only have been made by aliens -- and nasty aliens at that. UFOs and bad robots seemed to be everywhere back then. 

I personally discovered a planet in 1964. I wrote an entire project about it, a huge scrapbook of cut-out pictures from magazines and hand lettered descriptions of this amazing new planet that I'd discovered in the school library called Pluto. It was a really great project, the best I'd ever done. My teacher called me a moron and sent me weeping like a baby to the back of the class. I was secretly pleased when Pluto lost its planetary status a couple of years ago. Serves it right. Bad planet.

Then came Star Trek and I was enraptured. We had, on our televisions (in colour), a black and

Guest Post: Writing Fear in Appleton by J. Stephen Howard

Dear Brave and Steadfast Reader,

Writing the horror novel, Fear in Appleton, was a grueling yet enjoyable process that took me over three years to complete. During that time, the book went through several drafts, including one where Michael Garrett, Stephen King’s first editor as credited in King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, provided input.

The idea that sparked Fear in Appleton was:

What if the reader could follow the journey a person takes from madness to death to becoming a ghost? Then, if the reader were given a front seat to the hauntings occurring thereafter, it would make for an exciting, creepy roller coaster ride. 

Adding to the fun, I thought:

Guest Post: Sword and Sorcery -- Why "Man vs Man" is less effective than "Man vs Supernatural" by S. E. Lindberg

Fantasy readers and movie-goers maintain an expectation that protagonists will battle supernatural forces. Those forces may manifest in humans (“bad guys”); however, when the supernatural element is diluted (or superficially offered in clichéd, familiar forms so that the protagonist literally battles a man) then expectations are not met. Consumers become disappointed. The lack luster reception of this year’s movie, Conan the Barbarian, is a good example of this expectation being unsatisfied.

Of course, Man vs. Supernatural conflict is ubiquitous across fantasy. Most recognizable of Supernatural antagonists may be Tolkien’s bodiless Sauron. Nearly three decades before Sauron stalked bookshelves and haunted rings, Conan creator Robert Ervin Howard originated the Sword & Sorcery genre by writing action-packed shorts exploring Man vs. Supernatural.

Sword & Sorcery was coined by author Fritz Leiber years after REH passed, but as he suggested the name he also clarified the role of the supernatural:

Guest Post: 1978 by Robert Louis Smith

I don't remember much about 1978; I was only in fifth grade. Much of what I do remember is spotty, like the fact that our TV set was a bulky piece of oak furniture with a bulbous gray screen in the middle. Back then, there were no remote controls, no cable or satellite television, and we got exactly three channels. We selected among them by turning a big silver dial on the front of the set, just above the shiny, gold fabric speaker covers. My dad always made one of the kids get up to turn the dial when he wanted to look for a different show. I remember other things from that long ago year, too. Like rotary-dial telephones, bell-bottom jeans (they always got caught in my bike chain), disco music, and my fifth grade library period with Mrs. Smith.

I really wasn't much of a student in those years, and, sadly, I made frequent trips to the principal's office. In 1978, there were few concerns about protecting a child's privacy. Whenever one's name was called for a trip to the office, the announcement came over the school's antiquated intercom system, and to the sadistic delight of virtually every child in the building. Those of us unlucky enough to have drawn the principal's ire were always called directly by name, for all to bear witness. These were somber affairs (I recognize it now as an effective form of intimidation). I remember these instances as utterly terrifying because, back then, a call to the principal's office meant only one thing: swats. And I must have gotten more than any kid in the whole school. I was such an unruly kid, in fact, that no one could ever figure out how Mrs. Smith, our withered, osteoporotic library teacher, always kept me so thoroughly leashed.

Mrs. Smith had curly, snow-white hair, pointy silver-rimmed spectacles, and shuffled along with a wooden cane. For a grade school librarian of the 1970's, she was straight out of central casting. She wore a different color polyester pantsuit every day of the week, and she rarely uttered a kind word. The walls of her library (which also doubled as the school cafeteria) were lined with children's books from ceiling to floor. Our job was to peruse the titles, choose one quickly, then shut up and read for an hour. For many of the children in my class, this was the longest, most miserable period of the day. For me, it was wonderful. The truth is that Mrs. Smith never had to say a word to me. I could've sat at that formica-covered table reading all day. 

Many, many golden nuggets lay hidden among the collection of dusty spines on those public school shelves: Encyclopedia Brown, The Hardy Boys, and Johnny Tremaine are among the titles I remember consuming that year. But these were not destined to stay with me like another I spotted one rainy afternoon. Though I found the title and cover of this new discovery quite strange, it intrigued me. Soon, I found myself mesmerized by a book that I would read over and over throughout the years of my life, and one that I remain fond of more than three decades later. It was called The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis, and it was the best introduction to the modern fantasy genre that a rambunctious, imaginative kid could ever hope for. For weeks, my mind danced with thoughts of fawns, Turkish delight, talking beavers, and creatures turned to stone by an evil white witch. A few years later, following the suggestion of a friend, I picked up a copy of the strange cousin to that Narnia tale, and began a new love affair with Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. These are the books that shaped my impression of what a fantasy story should be. Quite a high watermark. Over the years, I strayed from these tales, experimenting with new authors and genres. I even tried to recapture some of the magic by reading countless other fantasy tales (many of which I now regard as knock-offs). But like any true love, my heart always led back to Narnia and Middle Earth.

Somewhere in the middle of all this -- perhaps around the age of twelve -- I decided the course my life would take. I was going to be a writer. I wrote my first story in junior high, completing most of it during my English class while the other, more disciplined students fastidiously worked on whatever assignment the teacher had given that day. My debut story was about an old woman who captures the boy living next door to her, locks him in a pit, terrifies him, and later reveals that his whole life has been a sham, and that she is his real mother. I've no doubt that the story was just awful, but for me, it seemed somehow powerful. I wanted to get really good at the writing thing and give it a shot.

In time, perhaps thankfully, cooler heads prevailed. I turned out to be a capable student, after all, and eventually followed a long path that led me to medical school, and then into cardiology. Even so, I never abandoned the notion that someday I would write. When the time for me came, it was with those impactful memories of Narnia and Middle Earth still swirling in my head, and with hopes that I could create something wonderful, but not just another knock-off of those great writers of yore. This is how Antiquitas Lost was born. Please understand that I have no illusions of greatness. For a variety of reasons, the writings of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien will not be -- cannot be -- duplicated. And I really am no different than thousands of other fantasy writers who have aspired to create something as big as those novels were. I realize this very well. I only hope that, if you have the opportunity to make your way into Pangrelor (the fantasy world in Antiquitas Lost), you might find some escape from the stresses of life, enjoy meeting the fresh cast of characters, and experience a fraction of the magic that I first experienced back in 1978.

---------------------------------------------------------

Robert Louis Smith, author of Antiquitas Lost: The Last of the Shamalans, has numerous degrees, including psychology (B.A.), applied microbiology (B.S.), anaerobic microbiology (M.Sc.), and a Medical Doctorate (M.D.). He serves as an interventional cardiologist at the Oklahoma Heart Institute. He is married and the father of two young children. He began writing Antiquitas Lost in 2003 while studying at Tulane University in New Orleans.

For more information please visit http://www.antiquitaslost.com, and follow the author on Facebook and Twitter

Guest Post: The Polarization of Genre Fiction by David Chandler

(Don't forget to enter here for a chance to win one of three sets of David Chandler's books.)

When I was maybe ten years old I asked myself whether I preferred science fiction novels or fantasy novels.  My eventual decision was that I should prefer SF, since some day I might live on the moon, while I knew I was never going to see a real dragon.

Don’t judge.  It was the seventies, and we had a space program back then.

It was a weighty decision that took all of a lazy summer afternoon lying in a hammock in my back yard, listening to the swelling mechanical sound of the crickets all around me.  When I’d made up my mind, I nodded quite seriously to myself, and got back to the important business of reading.

Books were everything to me back then (they still are, but in a different way).  I read everything I could get my hands on, anything remotely related to genre.  I tried for a couple of days to stick to

Guest Post: Smackdown: Pangrelor vs. Middle Earth by Robert Louis Smith

(I first must apologize to Mr. Smith for the lateness of this post.  The email containing the guest post below got buried, which has happened far more times than I think is fair.  This will be resolved ASAP.)

-------------------------------------------------------

In 1954, J.R.R. Tolkien published the first of a breathtaking series of books that would go on to become some of the most influential novels of the 20th century. As anyone who has ever read The Lord of the Rings knows, Tolkien's books are so imaginative and unexpectedly powerful that his fantastic tale still captures our imaginations more than a half century after its original publication. These stories gave birth to the modern fantasy genre, and it is perhaps inevitable that so many contemporary fantasy books replicate aspects of Tolkien's writings. So pervasive is Tolkien's influence that the English Dictionary offers a word for it: Tolkienesque. Perhaps this is why we see so many fantasy tales that feature elves, dwarves, wizards, magic rings, and magic swords. The presence of these features is, in many ways, what we have come to expect from a modern fantasy novel.

But over the course of 57 years, these constructs of classical Northern European (or Tolkienesque) fantasy fiction have been imitated to the point of monotony. In tome  after tome, we see elves and dwarves wielding magical swords or speaking in Northern European conlangs (fictional languages) as they follow some particular heroic quest. And let's be honest. Although there are many wonderful and imaginative novels that feature these elements, no one has done it as well as Mr. Tolkien.

When I sat down to write Antiquitas Lost, I promised myself there would be no magic rings, magic swords, elves or dwarves. A major goal was to create a fantasy novel where the creatures and setting were fresh. Pangrelor, the fantasy world described in Antiquitas Lost, is envisioned as a pre-industrial, medieval society with beautiful artistic accomplishments set in a savage and magical natural environment -- the Renaissance meets the Pleistocene, with magical beings and crypto-zoological creatures. Devoid of elves and dwarves, Pangrelor is inhabited largely by creatures that we are familiar with, but different from the usual fantasy fare -- gargoyles, Bigfoot creatures, Neanderthal types, Atlanteans and dinosaurs, to name a few. These differences give Pangrelor a much different feel from Middle Earth and the countless, adherent worlds that have followed. Hopefully the reader will find this refreshing. Over time, I have come to think of Antiquitas Lost as more of a "North American" tale, with many references to new world mythologies, as well as a hint of Native American influence.

 Although Antiquitas Lost is not immune to Mr. Tolkien's sweeping influence, it is unique in many ways. When you take your first journey to Pangrelor, it is my sincere hope that you will experience a hint of the joy that accompanied your maiden voyage to Middle Earth, and that you will connect in a meaningful way with this unprecedented new cast of characters as you explore an altogether unique fantasy destination.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  

Robert Louis Smith, author of Antiquitas Lost: The Last of the Shamalans, has numerous degrees, including psychology (B.A.), applied microbiology (B.S.), anaerobic microbiology (M.Sc.), and a Medical Doctorate (M.D.). He serves as an interventional cardiologist at the Oklahoma Heart Institute. He is married and the father of two young children. He began writing Antiquitas Lost in 2003 while studying atTulane University in New Orleans.

For more information please visit http://www.antiquitaslost.com/ and follow the author on Facebook and Twitter

Guest Post: A Quest for Treasures in the Stacks by Cindy Young-Turner

The bankruptcy of Borders puts another nail in the coffin of the big box bookstores. As a reader, there’s nothing better than browsing the stacks and looking for new books to discover. I admit, I love the sheer volume of books available in places like Borders and Barnes and Noble, and the combination of books and a café is appealing. But the cost of a new book is often a deterrent for me. And if you’re looking for an older, less popular book, or something by an indie publisher, you have little chance of finding it.

Used bookstores, on the other hand, are a book lover’s paradise. Books for a quarter? I’ll take a dozen, please! I got hooked on SF/fantasy through used bookstores. I didn’t read much genre fiction as a kid, and I’m embarrassed to admit that when I initially picked up The Hobbit, it bored me (both The Hobbit and LOTR are now favorites, though). The first SF/fantasy books I tried to read were a jumble of confusing names and places, so I gave up on them for a while. Some friends in college successfully reintroduced me to the genre, and then after college a friend who shared my love of fantasy and creepy tales took me to his favorite used bookstore in Providence, Rhode Island. (Note: the year was 1996 or so, before Google and Amazon.) The best part about this

Guest Post: "The Weird West Subgenre" by Lincoln Crisler

Your kind host has asked me to introduce you to the wonderful world of the Weird West (and in doing so, to the unassailably awesome aesthetics of the alliteration!). If you like steampunk or alternate history, you might like Weird West stories. That Wild Wild West movie that came out a decade or two ago could be held up as an example of either subgenre: steampunk because of the machinery and Weird West because of the setting and the machinery. There's a bit of overlap with steampunk and Weird West because the time of the American West is pretty much the upper limit of the steampunk time period; that is, before the Industrial Revolution kicked into high gear in the United States and made steampunk-type technology not quite as farfetched anymore. But I digress.

The untamed American West of the 1830s to 1920s is rife with possibilities for writers and readers of speculative fiction. You have an entire half-continent or so that's just beginning to become habitable by Western European standards, you have unknown Native American tribes and people of Mexican descent with cultures, gods and rituals that no one understands and you have a sense of lawlessness that can't quite be captured as thouroughly in any other milieu. You have people