Category Archives: Anthologies

The Marathonarium Anthology, Volume One, Edited By Sandy Lender, Presented by the Imaginarium Convention, Available Today!

The Marathonarium Anthology, a special anthology presented by the Imaginarium Convention and edited by Sandy Lender, featuring nine fantastic authors who took part in a special writing workshop hosted last year, is now available in print and ebook editions!

The sale of this anthology helps to support the mission of the Imaginarium Convention to provide learning, networking, and professional opportunities to writers, storytellers and creatives of all genres!

Get your copy at any of the direct links below!


Print

Amazon


eBook

Kindle

Nook

Kobo

Apple Books


Synopsis of the Marathonarium Anthology, Volume One:

Welcome to the Marathonarium Anthology of short stories! This set of fiction and the experience collecting it encapsulates the spirit of the Imaginarium Convention, an event for writers, storytellers, and creatives of all genres held in Louisville, Kentucky each year!

You have before you the creative fortitude of nine determined storytellers who not only plunged into the madness that is marathon writing for three solid hours, but who also stepped outside of their comfort zones to hand over their unedited and hastily crafted works to be read by a stranger.

What began as a workshop to help authors complete a story for publication while producing a compendium to celebrate the ten-year anniversary of the Imaginarium Convention turned into a family of nine creative minds pushing themselves to the limit!

In the end, the writers accomplished something spectacular.

I mean, have you ever written a four-thousand-word story with beginning, middle, and end in three hours? And then have you turned that mass of words over to an editor for her review and suggestions?

 It’s downright frightening. But the authors you’re about to meet (or meet again) in the following pages did that exact thing and lived to tell the tale…

The nine authors spotlighted in Volume 1 in the order that their stories are presented in the book are:


W. Jade Young

Brian T. Ronk

Alisa Childress

Jeannene Walker

Jen Selinsky

Lisa Mildon

Clayton Barnett

Carma Haley Shoemaker

Tom Ukinski


About the Editor:

Sandy Lender is a construction magazine editor by day and author of girl-power fantasy novels by night. You can follow her author page on Amazon, check out her randomly updated website at SandyLenderInk.com, or join her Locals reading & writing community at SandySaysRead.locals.com. She lives in Florida where she helps with sea turtle conservation and parrot rescue.

With a four-year degree in English and 30-year career in publishing, Sandy’s successes include traditionally and self-published novels, hundreds of magazine articles, multiple short stories in competitive anthologies, a handful of technical writing awards, and a handful of creative writing awards and nominations. Sandy’s been writing stories since she was knee-high to a grasshopper when her great-grandmother shared her odd little tales of squeaky ghost-spiders around an apartment complex in Southern Illinois. The stories have developed to include strong young ladies working with dragons to save worlds from terrible fates, but those pesky spiders still show up from time to time.

There’s always something brewing at Sandy Lender Ink headquarters where some days, you just want the dragon to win.

Cover Reveal for Dark Splinters, a New Anthology From Bram Stoker Award-winning Editor Michael Knost!

Today, we are sharing a cover reveal for Dark Splinters, a brand new anthology from Bram Stoker Award-winning Michael Knost featuring 15 rising voices in speculative fiction that will be released this Friday in print and eBook as part of an exciting group of three Halloween weekend releases from Seventh Star Press!

Synopsis of Dark Splinters: Bram Stoker Award-winning editor Michael Knost brings you an exciting collection of short stories from an extraordinary group of writers who were challenged to write speculative fiction tales from their hearts within a specific set of guidelines.  No themes or particular genres to adhere to.

The result is a showcase in storytelling spanning many genres including paranormal and dark fiction, horror, weird mythology, and much, much more! 

Now go experience the Dark Splinters these rising voices in fiction created and enjoy them!

Authors featured in Dark Splinters:

Lee E. E. Stone

LRH Rendell-Hayes

Helena Younger

Robert L. Gibson

Marsha Blevins

Marty Young

Kaelyn Harding

Bruce Blake

Kellyann Conway

Faith Dincolo

Heather Noble

Kathryn M. Hopkins

Heather Colley

Angie Adkins

Bethany Furrow


About Michael Knost:

Michael Knost is a Bram Stoker Award®-winning editor and author of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and supernatural thrillers. He has written in various genres and helmed several anthologies.

His Writers Workshop of Horror won the 2009 Bram Stoker Award® in England for superior achievement in non-fiction. His critically acclaimed Writers Workshop of Science Fiction & Fantasy is an Amazon #1 bestseller. His novel, Return of the Mothman was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award® for superior achievement in first novel. His Author’s Guide to Marketing with Teeth was a finalist for the Bram Stoker Award® for superior achievement in non-fiction.

Michael has taught writing classes and workshops at several colleges, conventions, and online, and currently resides in Chapmanville, West Virginia with his wife, daughter, and a zombie goldfish. To find out more, visit www.MichaelKnost.com.

A Chimerical World, 2 Volume Anthology, Cover Art Reveal and Announcement!

Seventh Star Press is proud to unveil the new cover art by Enggar Adirasa for the anthologies A Chimerical World: Tales of the Seelie Court, and A Chimerical World: Tales of the Unseelie Court, edited by Scott M. Sandridge.

The anthologies compliment each other, with A Chimerical World: Tales of the Seelie Court containing 19 tales focusing on what humans typically refer to as the “good” faeries, while A Chimerical World: Tales of the Unseelie Court contains 19 tales centered around those humans would deem the “evil” faeries. Yet as editor Scott Sandridge points out, Good and Evil are human constructs, things unfamiliar to the Fey themselves.

Both titles will be available in eBook format at the end of the first week of February, with the print version to follow one week afterward.

Here is a list of the authors and stories to be featured in A Chimerical World: Tales of the Seelie Court:

“Extra-Ordinary” by BC Brown
“Dead Fairy Doormat” by George S. Walker
“Taggers” by Christine Morgan
“Wormwood” by Alexandra Christian
“The Harpist’s Hand” by Steven S. Long
“Sanae’s Garden” by Chantal Boudreau
“Mark of Ruins” by SD Grimm
“Birdie’s Life at the School for Distressed Young Ladies” by JH Fleming
“Cultivated Hope” by Jordan Phelps
“Seelie Goose” by Eric Garrison
“I Knocked Up My Fairy Girlfriend” by Brandon Black
“The Body Electric” by Sarah Madsen
“The Last Mission” by Cindy Koepp
“The Beggar-Knight & the Lady Perilous” by Matthew A. Timmins
“The Filigreed Lamp” by Edward Ahern
“Keys” by Michael M. Jones
“Like a Sister in the Proper Court” by Lisa Hawkridge
“Gnome Games” by Saera Corvin
“The Goat Man’s Garden” by Marten Hoyle

Synopsis of A Chimerical World: Tales of the Seelie Court: The Fey have been with us since the beginning, sometimes to our great joy but often to our detriment. Usually divided (at least by us silly humans) into two courts, the first volume of A Chimerical World focuses on the Seelie Court: the court we humans seem to view as the “good” faeries. But “good” and “evil” are human concepts and as alien to the Fey as their mindsets are to us.

Inside you will find 19 stories that delve into the world of the faeries of the Seelie Court, from authors both established and new, including George S. Walker, Eric Garrison, and Alexandra Christian.

But be warned: these faeries are nothing like Tinker Bell.

Here is a list of the authors and stories to be featured in A Chimerical World: Tales of the Unseelie Court:

“In Plain Sight” by Rebecca Leo
“The Wunderhorn” by David Turnbull
“Treehouse” by Kim Smith
“I’ll Watch Over You” by Angeline Trevena
“The Enemy of my Enemy” by Deedee Davies
“Maestro” by Nicholas Paschall
“Prey of the Boggart” by Rony Blechman
“Fear of Little Men” by Mike Pieloor
“Faerie Stories and the Bean Nighe” by Carmen Tudor
“Gifts” by Michael Shimek
“Djinn and Tonic” by S. Clayton Rhodes
“The Bet” by Jodi Ralston
“The Fool and his Money” by Nick Bryan
“The Yielding” by J. A. Ironside
“The Tamer of Beasts” by Doug Blakeslee
“The Last Sword of Barrow Thorns” by Matthew A. Timmins
“The Rose and the Dragon” by Steven S. Long
“The Brothers Doran” by John A. McColley
“Wonderland” by Stephanie Jessop

Synopsis of A Chimerical World: Tales of the Unseelie Court: The Fey have been with us since the beginning, sometimes to our great joy but often to our detriment. Usually divided (at least by us silly humans) into two courts, the second volume of A Chimerical World focuses on the Unseelie Court: the court we humans seem to view as the “evil” faeries. But “good” and “evil” are human concepts and as alien to the Fey as their mindsets are to us.

Inside you will find 19 stories that delve into the world of the faeries of the Unseelie Court, from authors both established and new, including Michael Shimek, Deedee Davies, and Nick Bryan.

But don’t be surprised if these faeries decide to play with their food.

About Scott M. Sandridge: Scott M. Sandridge is a writer, editor, blogger, freedom fighter, and all-round trouble-maker. His works with Seventh Star Press as an editor include the anthologies Hero’s Best Friend, A Chimerical World: Tales of the Seelie Court, and A Chimerical World: Tales of the Unseelie Court.

You can find him at http://smsand.wordpress.com

Hero’s Best Friend Anthology Cover Art Reveal and Announcement!

Seventh Star Press is proud to unveil the new cover art by Enggar Adirasa for the anthology Hero’s Best Friend, edited by Scott M. Sandridge.

Featuring 20 tales, from 21 authors, the new anthology features a spectrum of sub-genres in speculative fiction, but all of them contain the common element of a focus upon animal companions. Hero’s Best Friend will be available in eBook format at the end of the first week of February, with the print version to follow one week afterward.

The authors contained in Hero’s Best Friend, and the stories they contributed, are as follows:

Joy Ward: “Toby and Steve Save the World”
Frank Creed: “Dusk”
Cassie Schau: “The Hunter’s Boy”
Steven Donahue: “Grit”
Jason Cordova: “Hill 142”
Herika R. Raymer: “Dook”
Essel Pratt: “Brothers”
Lisa Hawkridge: “Ezra’s Girl”
S. H. Roddey: “Look What the Cat Dragged In”
Steven S. Long: “The Wolf Sentinel”
Laura Anne Ewald: “Memorandum”
Cindy Koepp: “The Hat”
Ian Hunter: “Scarheid in the Glisting”
Steven Grassie: “The Masterless”
David Wright: “Wind of Change”
Renee Carter Hall: “The Emerald Mage”
Nick Bryan: “The Violet Curse”
Lillian Csernica and; Kevin Andrew Murphy: “The Restless Armadillo”
Douglas J. Ogurek: “Stuck on the Squigglybounce”
Sheila Deeth: “Passage”

Hero’s Best Friend Synopsis: How far would Gandalf have gotten without Shadowfax? Where would the Vault Dweller be without Dogmeat? And could the Beastmaster been the Beastmaster without his fuzzy allies? Animal companions are more than just sidekicks. Animals can be heroes, too!

Found within are twenty stories of heroic action that focuses on the furries and scalies who have long been the unsung heroes pulling their foolish human buddies out of the fire, and often at great sacrifice—from authors both established and new, including Frank Creed, S. H. Roddey, and Steven S. Long.

Whether you’re a fan of Epic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, Science Fiction, or just animal stories in general, this is the anthology for you!

So sit back, kick your feet up, and find out what it truly means to be the Hero’s Best Friend.

About Scott M. Sandridge: Scott M. Sandridge is a writer, editor, blogger, freedom fighter, and all-round trouble-maker.  His works with Seventh Star Press as an editor include the anthologies Hero’s Best Friend, A Chimerical World: Tales of the Seelie Court, and A Chimerical World: Tales of the Unseelie Court.

You can find him at http://smsand.wordpress.com

For further information on Seventh Star Press and titles such as Hero’s Best Friend, please visit www.seventhstarpress.com

Kindle and Nook Versions of Thunder on the Battlefield Volumes Released!

Thursday, the Day of Thunder, named for the Norse God Thor...

And we’re bringing the thunder today!  SSP is proud to bring you the eBook versions of Thunder on the Battlefield: Sword, and Thunder on the Battlefield: Sorcery!  Editor James R. Tuck invites you on a journey into realms of sword and sorcery!

Kindle and Nook versions of these volumes are just $3.99!

Thunder on the Battlefield: Sword
Thunder on the Battlefield: Sorcery

Full List of Authors for Both Thunder on the Battlefield Volumes!

In the build-up to Thursday’s eBook release of Thunder on the Battlefield: Sword and Thunder on the Battlefield: Sorcery, edited by James R. Tuck, we wanted to share the full list of story titles and authors for the two volumes. The authors and titles are presented in the order in which they appear on the books:

Thunder on the Battlefield: Sword
Featuring

G. Jerome Henson: “THE HORDE”
Jay Requard: “PAPER DEMONS”
D.T. Neal: “THE WOLF & THE CROW”
John F. Allen: “FOREST OF SHADOWS”
Marcella Burnard “EMISSARY”
David J. West: “THE DOGS OF WAR”
Alexis A. Hunter: “THE RED HAND”
James R. Tuck “WHERE THE RED BLOSSOMS WEEP”
Loriane Parker: “THIEF OF SOULS”
W. E. Wertenberger: “THE GNAWED BONE”
Stephen Zimmer “ALL THE LANDS, NOWHERE A HOME”
J.S. Veter “THE WITCH OF RYMAL PASS”
Thunder on the Battlefield: Sorcery
Featuring
Jeffe Kennedy: “NEGOTIATION”
Alex Hughes: “THE FOURTH RULE”
Selah Janel: “THE RUINS OF ST. LOUIS”
Steve Grassie: “MARK OF THE WARRIOR”
James R. Tuck: “ANGELS OF SCRAWL”
M.B Weston: “THE CHERUBIAN, THE LINDWORM, AND THE PORTAL”
Brady Allen: “GRINDING THE GEARS”
S.H. Roddey “BLACK ICE”
Steven S. Long: “THE TWO FIRES”
D.A. Adams: “ACROSS THE WILDS”
Mark Taverna “DARK GENESIS”
Steven L. Shrewsbury “WHORE OF JERICHO”

New 2 Volume Sword and Sorcery Anthology Edited by James R. Tuck, Deacon Chalk Author!

Available this Thursday in eBook formats, and mid August in print, SSP is proud to offer a 2 volume anthology edited by James R. Tuck, author of the Deacon Chalk Novels.

Introducing Thunder on the Battlefield: Sword, and Thunder on the Battlefield: Sorcery, featuring two dozen brand new, hard-hitting sword and sorcery tales!  Here are the two covers from artist Enggar Adirasa!  Stay tuned for more information on this exciting release week!

HARK! to the sounds of battle. Mighty men and women who take their destinies with the strength of their arm and the sharpness of their blades. These are tales of warriors, reavers, barbarians, and kings. Lands of wonder populated with monsters, black-hearted sorcerors of Stygian power, and heroes who have blood on their hands and on their steel.

This is SWORD AND SORCERY.”


Announcing Call for Submissions on New Faerie-themed Anthology from Editor Scott Sandridge

For Immediate Release
March 15, 2013

Announcing Call for Submissions on New Faerie-themed Anthology from Editor Scott Sandridge

Seventh Star Press announces a call for entries on A Chimerical World: Tales of the Seelie Court/Tales of the Unseelie Court. Edited by Scott Sandridge, the anthology is planned for a special flipbook format which will feature tales fitting the Seelie Court on one half, and tales fitting the Unseelie Court on the other.

Bring out the Fey!  Stories about the Sidhe? Sprites? Pixies? Boggans and Goblins? How about Gnomes?

Looking for fictional stories involving the Fey Folk, both Seelie and Unseelie. From the campy to the deep and esoterical, from traditional faeries to the not-so-traditional (changeling kangaroos, anyone?), Western to Eastern, and perhaps even Martian!

Stories should be between 2,000 and 10,000 words, and the final flipbook will feature approximately 11 stories per side.

Residing in Ohio, editor and author Scott M. Sandridge’s first short story, “Treecutter,” was published in The Sword Review in July 2005. Since then, he’s gone on to publish over 26 more short stories, and over 60 reviews. He has also been a columnist for the Double-Edged Publishing webzines, a Submissions Editor for Ray Gun Revival, and the Managing Editor of Fear and Trembling. Scott is also an active blogger whose site can be found at: http://smsand.wordpress.com

A Chimerical World: Tales of the Seelie Court/Tales of the Unseelie Court will be released in trade paperback and eBook formats in late 2013. The deadline for submissions is July 15, 2013, and full information on the anthology and submission guidelines can be found at https://seventhstarpress.com/submissions/

 

 

Contact: C.C. James
Public Relations, Seventh Star Press
ccjames (at) seventhstarpress.com

Seventh Star Press is a small press publisher of speculative fiction located in Lexington Kentucky

Cover Reveal of Southern Haunts Anthology

For Immediate Release
March 7, 2013

SSP Proudly Announces Cover Reveal of Southern Haunts, Spirits That Walk Among Us Anthology

Seventh Star Press is proud to unveil the brand new cover art by Enggar Adirasa for Southern Haunts, Spirits That Walk Among Us, a paranormal-themed anthology from editors Alexander S. Brown and J.L. Mulvihill.

From the shadowed realms of the paranormal comes 16 chilling tales that dwell in the South and South West. Resurrected in your very hands are stories that will make you laugh, ponder, and shiver as the reader is introduced to spirits that are humorous, saddened, and vengeful.

From 16 authors, learn of haunted homes, buildings, landmarks and roads where restless entities from beyond the grave desire acknowledgement amongst the living.

Become acquainted with the aftermath of an eclipse that awakens the dead in a Memphis cemetery, see what horrors dwell in the woods at Hell’s Gate, learn the dark secrets of Sidney’s Cotton, and dare to travel down Ghost Road.

These and many other tales are sure to keep you awake as you are introduced to what makes the South and South West so unique…. History and GHOSTS!!!!!

So, sit back, dim the lights and prepare yourself to face the spirits that walk among us.

The authors and stories featured in Southern Haunts, Spirits That Walk Among Us include:

Windsong Levitch – “Interview for a Ghost Hunter”
H. David Blalock – “An Eclipse Over Elmwood”
Richard Parks – “Sydney’s Cotton”
Jason Hughes – “Ghost Road”
Herika R. Raymer – “Cal’s Cutoff”
Diane Ward – “The Shack”
Roland Mannn – “Haints”
L.S. Nadler – “You Will Come to Meet Your Demise”
M.R. Williamson – “Hell’s Gate”
William R. Eakin – “Maddness”
Roman Merry – “Wellspring”
Kalila Smith – “The Bequest”
Miguel L. Viscarra – “The Cleansing”
J.L. Mulvihill – “Bath 10”
Angela Lucius – “Nightmares at Moccasin Bend”
Alexander S. Brown – “The Top Floor”

In addition to the collection of short stories, Southern Haunts, Spirits That Walk Among Us also features a series of 16 interior illustrations created by artist Robert K.  Each of the illustrations was themed and paired with a particular story, creating a unique collection of artwork that resonates with the literature.

Southern Haunts will be released towards the end of March in Trade Paperback and eBook formats. For further information and updates on Southern Haunts, please visit the Seventh Star Press site at www.seventhstarpress.com

 

Contact: C.C. James
Public Relations, Seventh Star Press
ccjames (at) seventhstarpress.com

Seventh Star Press is a small press publisher of speculative fiction located in Lexington Kentucky

Cover Reveal of Vampires Don’t Sparkle! and Special Pre-Order Offer

For Immediate Release
March 6, 2013

Cover Reveal of Vampires Don’t Sparkle! and Special Pre-Order Offer

Seventh Star Press is proud to unveil the cover art created by award-winning artist Matthew Perry for Vampires Don’t Sparkle!, the new anthology from editor Michael West. Featuring authors such as Gary A. Braunbeck, Tim Waggoner, Lucy A. Snyder, and Maurice Broaddus, the anthology contains some of the best writers in the speculative fiction arena today.

A special, short pre-order window is also being offered until March 16th for those wishing to have copies signed and personalized by editor Michael West.

Vampires Don’t Sparkle! poses the question: What would you do if you had unlimited power and eternal life?

Would you…go back to high school? Attend the same classes year after year, going through the pomp and circumstance of one graduation after another, until you found the perfect date to take to prom? Would you…spend your days moping and brooding, finding your only joy in a game of baseball on a stormy day? Or would you…do something else?

The authors of this collection have a few ideas; some fanciful, some humorous, and some as dark as an endless night. Join us, and discover what it truly means to be “vampyre.”

Authors and stories featured in Vampires Don’t Sparkle! include:

“A New Life” by J. F. Gonzalez
“What Once was Flesh” by Tim Waggoner
“The Darkton Circus Mystery” by Elizabeth Massie
“Robot Vampire” by R. J. Sullivan
“Beneath a Templar Cross” by Gord Rollo
“The Weapon of Memory” by Kyle S. Johnson
“The Excavation” by Stephen Zimmer
“Skraeling” by Joel A. Sutherland
“Dreams of Winter” by Bob Freeman
“Dracula’s Winkee: Bloodsucker Blues” by Gregory L. Hall
“I F*** Your Sunshine” by Lucy A. Snyder
“A Soldier’s Story” by Maurice Broaddus
“Rattenkönig” by Douglas F. Warrick
“Vampire Nation” by Jerry Gordon
“Curtain Call” by Gary A. Braunbeck

Readers may pre-order a first edition softcover signed (and personalized if desired) by editor Michael West at the Seventh Star Press website (https://seventhstarpress.com/pre-orders/ ) . Pre-orders must be received by March 16th, 2013, with shipping to occur the following week.

Additionally, and very importantly, a portion of the proceeds from the sales of the anthology will be going to cancer research institutions. Michael West, the author of highly-acclaimed novels such as Poseidon’s Children, Cinema of Shadows, The Wide Game andSpook House, comments.  “It is a very personal cause for me.  One year ago, I lost one of my closest friends, author Sara J. Larson, to cancer, and then my wife was diagnosed with the disease last fall.  I hope that, with this anthology, we can help win the fight against this real-life horror.”

To get further information on Michael West, or the Vampires Don’t Sparkle! anthology, please visit Michael’s site at www.bymichaelwest.com or the Seventh Star Press site at www.seventhstarpress.com

 

Contact: C.C. James
Public Relations, Seventh Star Press
ccjames (at) seventhstarpress.com

Seventh Star Press is a small press publisher of speculative fiction located in Lexington Kentucky