New Treasures: Witch Wizard Warlock, edited by Carol McConnell, David Lawrence Morris and Robert Allen Lupton

New Treasures: Witch Wizard Warlock, edited by Carol McConnell, David Lawrence Morris and Robert Allen Lupton

Witch Wizard Warlock (West Mesa Press, Aug 21, 2023; 415p). Cover design by Campbell Blaine

Wizardry is always a draw for attention. Halloween is around the corner too, and there will be special attention toward beloved (feared?) magical arts.

Three Cousins Publishing (an imprint of West Mesa Publishing) gathered Carol McConnell, David Lawrence Morris and Robert Allen Lupton to collect tales of spellcasting with a global perspective from contemporary voices, and so Witch Wizard Warlock was conjured. It is available now in Kindle ($4.99), Paperback ($16.95), and Hardcover ($25.99).  An audiobook is in the works.

Back Cover Blurb

The massive volume contains thirty-four stories about witches, wizards, and warlocks from the brightest talents writing speculative fiction today, writers from seven countries around the world. Horror stories, fantasy stories, adventure stories, some with a touch of humor, and some that shouldn’t be read after the lights go out. Young witches, old witches, pretty witches, and ugly witches, along with wizards, good and bad, share stories with warlocks. Are there good warlocks – who knows?

Readers can attend wizard school, fight monsters and of course, evil witches and warlocks. They can journey on magical quests, seek true love, and even take sides in the American Revolutionary War.

Contributors to the anthology include the following, some of whom may or may not be a witch, a wizard, or a warlock, but they all have a magical way with words. Many of them have books available, If you like their story, consider one of their other works. Three Cousins Publishing would like to thank: Alyson Faye, E. V. Emmons, Campbell Blaine, S. E. Lindberg, Carol McConnell, David Morris, Shebat Legion, R. L. Meldrum, Rose Strickman, Lawrence Dagstine, Catherine Jordan, Tim Pulo, Judy Mowdy, Donna Garren, Shane Porteous, Ann Tjelmenland, Kay Hanifen, Ann Solinsky, Jason Battle, Dwain Campbell, C. J. Carter-Stephenson, AE Stueve, Dr. Ayman Kole, Josh Schlossberg, Rie Sheridan Rose, Chris Adams, George Jacobs, Darren Lipman, Bill Durfy, DW Milton, Yvonne Lang, and Robin Allison Lupton.

One has to be careful when dealing with witches and the like, because none of us is every quite as smart as we think we are, but hopefully that rule applies to those who seek to master the dark arts.

So here’s the book, sit down and light a candle, and make sure to keep a bell within reach. You never know when you’ll need to break a spell. Enjoy.

From the Foreword

This anthology contains stories from writers around the world, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, India, the United States, and the Bahamas. Each country has its own version of the English language, its own idioms, and its own way of spelling certain words. In the United States, the language varies from region to region. A Louisiana dialect bears no resemblance to what’s spoken in Boston. We’ve tried to respect and celebrate those differences. We learned that ‘you lot’ in the UK apparently means the same thing as all ‘y’all’ does in Mississippi. A pint in one country is a coldie in another. Innocuous words in one part of the English-speaking world are offensive in another. Our resident punctuation warlock insisted that we use consistent punctuation. Hopefully, we’ve accomplished that. So a quick toast before you start the first story, “To Witches, Warlocks, and Wizards; and to active verbs, proper use of conjunctions, and the Oxford comma. May all intransitive verbs, participles past and present, and gerunds rot away on some ancient alchemist’s shelf.”

… Whether you believe in witches, warlocks, or wizards, be nice if you meet someone who claims to be one. Politeness never hurts and you just never know.

 

Table of Contents

  • “The Old Magus” — Alyson Faye
  • “Eggshells” — E. V. Emmons
  • “Bad Ink” — Campbell Blaine
  • “The Last Witch of Salem” — S. E. Lindberg
  • “If You Give A Mule An Apple…” — Carol McConnell
  • “The Making of Martin” — David Morris
  • “The Mother Garden” — Shebat Legion
  • “Witch Stones” — R J Meldrum
  • “Blood is Blood” — Rose Strickman
  • “Family Ties” — Lawrence Dagstine
  • “No Hands of Time” –Catherine Jordan
  • “Witch for Hire” –Robert Allen Lupton
  • “A Wizard, a Centaur, and a Harpy Walk into a Bar” —   Tim Pulo
  • “The Witch Covens of Oklahoma” — Judy Mowdy
  • “Disappearing Act” –Donna Garren
  • “A Sandy Solution” –Shane Porteous
  • “A Question of Betrayal” –Ann Tjelmenland
  • “The Apprentice” –Kay Hanifen
  • “Alchemy” –Ann Solinsky
  • “A Deal’s a Deal” –Jason Battle
  • “Texaco Thaumaturgy” –Dwain Campbell
  • “Do You Really Want to Know” –C. J. Carter-Stephenson
  • “The Witches Lament” –AE Stueve
  • “Two Candles for Dennis” — Ayman Kole
  • “Levi Cures the Plague” — Josh Schlossberg
  • “Where There’s a Witch, There’s a Way” — Rie Sheridan Rose
  • “The Sorceress Ring” — Chris Adams
  • “Beyond the Edge of the World” — George Jacobs
  • “Deadlock Magic” — Darren Lipman
  • “Wizard School” — Bill Durfy
  • “His Wire-Rimmed Spectacles” — DW Milton
  • “Trick or Treat” — Yvonne Lang
  • “A Familiar Face” — Robin Allison Lupton
  • “The Witch’s Apprentice” — Elizabeth A. Allen

 

 


S.E. Lindberg is a Managing Editor at Black Gate, regularly reviewing books and interviewing authors on the topic of “Beauty & Art in Weird-Fantasy Fiction.” He is also the lead moderator of the Goodreads Sword & Sorcery Group and an intern for Tales from the Magician’s Skull magazine. As for crafting stories, he has contributed six entries across Perseid Press’s Heroes in Hell and Heroika series, has an entry in Weirdbook Annual #3: Zombies  He independently publishes novels under the banner Dyscrasia Fiction; short stories of Dyscrasia Fiction have appeared in WhetstoneSwords & Sorcery online magazine, Rogues In the House Podcast’s A Book of Blades, DMR’s Terra Incognita, and the 9th issue of Tales From the Magician’s Skull.

 

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