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Author: John ONeill

Black Gate Online Fiction: “Disciple” by Emily Mah

Black Gate Online Fiction: “Disciple” by Emily Mah

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Emily MahIt’s tough to run a tavern — and customers carelessly tempting fate by using magic don’t make it any easier.

The woman was stunning. Long blonde hair that fell in ringlet curls framed a round face with high cheekbones and porcelain skin. The men in the room no doubt also noticed that her dress clung tightly to her generously proportioned curves. Dina, however, set her tray aside and grabbed the broom from the corner.

“Out!” she said, jabbing it at the woman.

The woman jumped sideways with a squeal of rage.

“I mean it,” said Dina. “That’s a glamour you’re wearing, and I don’t allow magic in my tavern.”

The woman pouted, her rosy red lips puckering just so. Behind her, Dina could hear the scrape of chairs against the stone floor as several of her patrons got to their feet.

“I mean it!” Dina shouted. “I run an honest business.”

Emily Mah’s first story for us was “The River People” in Black Gate 15. She tells us she “writes science fiction and fantasy as Emily Mah and chick lit and romance as the indie writer, E.M. Tippetts.” She also does audio interviews for Black Gate and designs book tie-in jewelry for her label, Emily Mah Jewelry Designs. She lives in London with her family.

The complete catalog of Black Gate Online Fiction, including stories by David C. Smith and Joe Bonadonna, Aaron Bradford Starr, Mark Rigney, C.S.E. Cooney, Vaughn Heppner, E.E. Knight, Jason E. Thummel, Judith Berman, Howard Andrew Jones, Dave Gross, Harry Connolly, and others, is here.

“Disciple” is a complete 6,000-word short story of adventure fantasy. It is offered at no cost.

Read the complete story here.

The Top 12 Black Gate Fiction Posts in February

The Top 12 Black Gate Fiction Posts in February

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bones-of-the-old-onesHoward Andrew Jones held on to the top spot this month, with the excerpt from his second novel, The Bones of the Old Ones. Giving him a run for his money were new stories by C.S.E. Cooney, Vaughn Heppner, and Gregory Bierly, and a reprint from Joe Bonadonna.

If you haven’t sampled the adventure fantasy stories offered through our new Black Gate Online Fiction line, you’re missing out. Every week, we present an original short story or novella from the best writers in the industry, all completely free.

Here are the Top Twelve most read stories in February, for your enjoyment:

  1. An excerpt from The Bones of the Old Ones, by Howard Andrew Jones
  2. “Life on the Sun,” by C.S.E. Cooney
  3. “The Pit Slave,” by Vaughn Heppner
  4. “The Moonstones of Sor Lunarum,” by Joe Bonadonna
  5. “A Princess of Jadh,” by Gregory Bierly
  6. “The Find” by Mark Rigney
  7. “The Whoremaster of Pald,” by Harry Connolly
  8. “The Poison Well,” by Judith Berman
  9. “The Gunnerman,” by Jason E. Thummel
  10. “The Trade,” by Mark Rigney
  11. “Godmother Lizard,” by C.S.E. Cooney
  12. “The Terror in the Vale,” by E.E. Knight

The complete catalog of Black Gate Online Fiction, including stories by Aaron Bradford Starr, John R. Fultz, David C. Smith and Joe Bonadonna, Dave Gross, Harry Connolly, and others, is here. The most popular Black Gate fiction from January is here.

We’ve got plenty more fiction in the coming months, so stay tuned!

Kirk Versus Gorn: The Rematch

Kirk Versus Gorn: The Rematch

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Star Trek GornWe like video games. We love Star Trek. And we believe William Shatner is the genetic template for a future race of supermen.

But when all three come together, as they have in this video spot for the upcoming Star Trek: The Video Game?

Magic.

Check out the YouTube video below, and you’ll understand.

Star Trek: The Video Game will be released April 23, 2013 for the Xbox, PS3, and PC. It was developed by Digital Extremes. Get more details at the website, www.startrekgame.com.

[Thanks to SF Signal for the tip.]

New Treasures: Gygax Magazine, Issue #1

New Treasures: Gygax Magazine, Issue #1

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Gygax Magazine 1I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that the hottest thing in role playing at the moment  is the rise of OSR. The Old School Renaissance has captured the interest of thousands of players — many returning to gaming for the first time in decades — and fostered the birth of a fresh generation of dynamic new companies. We’ve featured some of the best products here on the BG blog, including Carcosa, Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea, Dungeon Crawl Classics, Labyrinth Lord, and even the first edition Premium AD&D reprints from WotC. But truthfully this is just a small sample, and more exciting products are arriving daily.

In fact, even though the number of OSR players is still fairly small, in a strange way that’s part of the appeal. The size of the market, and the out-sized level of excitement and productivity associated with it, reminds players of the early days of D&D in the mid-70s, when only a core group of gamers were tuned in to the new phenomenon that would soon sweep the country. That was a tremendously exciting and dynamic time, and in some ways it feels like it’s happening all over again.

One thing that’s been lacking from this generation’s gaming renaissance though is a clear center. Ask old-school gamers what the center of the genre used to be, and most will give you the same answer: Tim Kask’s The Dragon, the print magazine published by TSR (and later WotC and Paizo) from 1976 to 2007, and published online since 2007. Launched to help nurture the rapidly growing fandom around Dungeons & Dragons, Dragon gradually became the publication for role-players of all persuasions. The magazine embraced the entire genre, and accepted advertising from virtually everyone, publishing news, unbiased reviews, and articles of interest to everyone in the hobby. To read Dragon was to be informed of everything of real importance to the industry, especially in the early days.

Dragon was essential to the growth of adventure gaming. The creators driving the fledgling OSR industry have managed to capture the spirit of original D&D, and the excitement it spawned, surpassingly well, and that’s led many to wonder: would it be possible to re-create the magic of the early Dragon as well? As the folks behind Gygax magazine — including Ernie and Luke Gygax, and The Dragon‘s founding editor, Tim Kask — have proven with their first issue, it is possible. The similarities with its spiritual parent magazine don’t end with the familiar name of the publisher: TSR, Inc.

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Spring 2013 Issue of Subterranean Magazine now Available

Spring 2013 Issue of Subterranean Magazine now Available

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Subterranean Spring 2013Subterranean is a terrific magazine. You’d think that a quarterly publication schedule would give me plenty of time to read each issue, but no — I’m still finishing the Winter issue, dang it.

Nonethless, we have a job to do here. And that job is to tell you all about the sumptuous contents of the latest issue, even if we can’t read it yet (sob).

Here’s the complete table of contents:

  • “The Seafarer,” by Tobias S. Buckell
  • “Painted Birds and Shivered Bones,” by Kat Howard
  • “A Stranger Comes to Kalimpura,” by Jay Lake
  • “The Indelible Dark,” by William Browning Spencer
  • “The Prayer of Ninety Cats,” by Caitlín R. Kiernan
  • “The Syndrome,” by Brian Francis Slattery

Subterranean Press recently announced a fresh crop of fabulous fantasy, including The Bread We Eat in Dreams by Catherynne M. Valente, The Best of Joe Haldeman, edited by Jonathan Strahan and Gary K Wolfe, Five Autobiographies and a Fiction by Lucius Shepard, and many other delights. Get the latest at their website.

Subterranean is edited by William Schafer and published quarterly. The Spring 2013 issue is completely free and available here; see their complete back issue catalog here. We last covered Subterranean magazine with their previous issue, Winter 2013.

Tell Us About Your Ideal Fantasy Hero, and Win a Copy of Writing Fantasy Heroes From Rogue Blades Entertainment!

Tell Us About Your Ideal Fantasy Hero, and Win a Copy of Writing Fantasy Heroes From Rogue Blades Entertainment!

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Writing Fantasy HeroesPop culture is dominated by fantasy heroes like never before, from Zelda to Harry Potter, Gandalf to Tyrion Lannister. The truth is we’ve always been fascinated by heroes, but in the last few years we’ve turned to fantasy like never before.

What makes a true hero? And which ones will endure, and which will eventually be forgotten?

These are the kinds of questions that require greater minds than ours. In fact, a riddle like this demands the sharpest, most agile minds on Earth. I’m talking about the readers of Black Gate, naturally.

To help us answer the question, we’re inviting Black Gate readers — that’s you — to tell us about your ideal hero. It can be a fictional character, or a general description of those qualities that make one ideal. In one paragraph or less, tell us what makes her a hero.

We’ll publish the best entries here on the blog, and randomly draw three names from all qualifying entries. Those three winners will each receive a copy of the new book Writing Fantasy Heroes, compliments of Rogue Blades Entertainment. Each of these experts on heroes will also be invited to submit a brief review of the book, to be published here on the Black Gate website.

Please submit entries by e-mail to john@blackgate.com with the title “My Ideal Hero.” All entries become the property of New Epoch Press. No purchase necessary. Must be 12 or older. Decisions of the judges (capricious as they may be) are final. Terms and conditions subject to change as our lawyers sober up and get back to us. Not valid where prohibited by law. Or anywhere postage for a hefty trade paperback is more than, like, 10 bucks. Good luck!

Black Gate Online Fiction: Waters of Darkness by David C. Smith and Joe Bonadonna

Black Gate Online Fiction: Waters of Darkness by David C. Smith and Joe Bonadonna

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Waters of DarknessBlack Gate is very pleased to offer our readers an exclusive excerpt from Waters of Darkness, the supernatural pirate dark fantasy novel by David C. Smith and Joe Bonadonna.

The Witch’s shot smashed its prow with a sudden chaos of flame and smoke, blood and cinders. Lengths of oar blew into the air and fell slowly like matchwood to the sea. Sailors and pieces of sailors littered the waves with a red stain. Kate’s ruffians howled, and the crews of the Raven and the Falcon roared with approval.

The Arab ship quickly sank under, the men in her waist and stern jumping overboard. The uglies aboard Kate’s vessel rushed to the gunwales with musket and pistol and fired upon the men in the water.

The Lark then let loose with a thunderous broadside.

The Witch‘s side guns answered, as did the Raven’s. The Falcon’s cannon blasted a second galleass under the waves, her shot striking below the water line and sending the Arabs aboard her to desperate measures, attempting to caulk and repair the wound and return the Falcon’s fire.

Gallant’s crew sent their foes down to a deep grave with a blistering salvo of cannon shot once again aimed at the water line.

Zeus van Rijn’s curses could be heard rising above the din of battle as the Lark swept the waves and bore down upon Buchanan’s ship.

David C. Smith is the author of twenty-two novels, primarily in the sword-and-sorcery, horror, and suspense genres, including The Witch of the Indies (1977), Oron (1978), The Sorcerer’s Shadow (1978), and The West is Dying (1983).

Joe Bonadonna is the author of the sword and sorcery collection Mad Shadows: The Weird Tales of Dorgo the Dowser, the space opera Three Against The Stars, and several short stories, including “The Moonstones of Sor Lunarum,” one of the most popular entries in our Black Gate Online Fiction line.

Waters of Darkness was published by Damnation Books on March 1, 2013. It is 182 pages and currently available in trade paperback for $19.25, and Kindle format for $5.95. The cover is by Dawne Dominique; learn more here.

Read a complete sample chapter of Waters of Darkness here.

Unearthed Adventures: Announcing the Winners of the Best One-Paragraph D&D Adventures

Unearthed Adventures: Announcing the Winners of the Best One-Paragraph D&D Adventures

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unearthed arcanaLast month we announced a contest seeking the best one-paragraph descriptions of your favorite D&D characters.

Because we’re awesome (and because we’re tight with Wizards of the Coast, who are even more awesome), we secured a very special reward for four lucky winners: a copy of the brand new Unearthed Arcana 1st Edition Premium Reprint — which we first examined here. Those four names were drawn at random from the ten best entries, as selected by our judges.

Before we get to the winners, let’s enjoy some of the best entries. First up is Daniel J. Davis:

When I created my first character, a Minotaur warrior named Glokk Maghorn, I rolled an 18/00 for strength. I couldn’t have been happier. At the time, I was an almost perfect stereotype of the “typical” D&D player. I was smaller and weaker than most kids my age. I was uncoordinated, awkward, and bullied. But in the land of Krynn, I was going to be an 8-foot tall mercenary beast man with a battle-axe and a loose definition of “fair play.” I didn’t care one whit about my low charisma score. I spent most of my waking life trying to compromise and bargain with people big enough to wipe the floor with me. This was D&D, and I was going to bash some heads for a change. I retired him at 15th level, after his crowning moment of awesome: Failing a saving throw against a white dragon’s breath weapon, surviving with a single hit point, and finishing it off with a critical hit on my very next action.

Any story involving an 8-foot Minotaur whose name rhymes with Foghorn Leghorn is an instant classic in our book. Nice one, Daniel.

Next up is John Burt, who found a more noble motivation for his character: petty larceny.

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New Treasures: The Shadow’s Heir by K.J. Taylor

New Treasures: The Shadow’s Heir by K.J. Taylor

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The Shadow's HeirThere are so many fantasy series crowding the shelves these days that’s it’s hard to know where to spend your hard-earned book dollars.

Here at Black Gate we’re hopeless fans of the fantasy series, but even we can’t cover them all. But at least we can alert you when a promising new one appears, so you can get in on the ground floor. Thus here we are, banging the drums for The Shadow’s Heir, the first novel in The Risen Sun trilogy by K.J. Taylor:

Laela Redguard was born with the black hair of the Northern kingdom and the blue eyes of the Southern people, forever marking her as a hated half-breed child of both. When her only family tie is severed, the fierce and strong-willed Laela decides to leave her adoptive father’s home in the hopes of finding acceptance in the North, where the ruthless King Arenadd and the dark griffin Skandar rule.

While Laela’s Northern features allow her to blend into the crowds of the King’s seat at Malvern, she cannot avoid falling victim to a pair of common thugs. When a stranger saves her life and gives her a place to stay, Laela is shocked to learn he is Arenadd himself — a man said to be a murderer who sold his soul to the Night God — the King without a heart.

Arenadd is unsure what compels him to help this girl, but there is something about her that seems familiar, something he cannot remember — something that may rise up to banish the darkness forever…

K.J. Tayor is the author of The Fallen Moon trilogy and The Land of Bad Fantasy. The second volume of the Risen Sun, The Shadowed Throne, is currently available in Australia, with an American edition scheduled for January 2014. Her website is here.

The Shadow’s Heir was published December 24, 2012 by Ace books. It is 351 pages in paperback, priced at $7.99 for both the paperback and digital editions.

New Star Trek Into Darkness Trailer Features More ‘Splosions

New Star Trek Into Darkness Trailer Features More ‘Splosions

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The trailers are coming fast and furious now. This one reveals a bit more of the plot, including a high-level Federation meeting, some shots of 23rd Century London, and a chilling scene in the last few seconds.

We last reported on Star Trek Into Darkness when we asked “Did Entertainment Weekly Reveal that Benedict Cumberbatch is Playing Khan?” here, and in “Star Trek Into Darkness Poster Fuels Gary Mitchell Speculation” (here).

Star Trek Into Darkness is directed by J. J. Abrams, and written by Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof and Roberto Orci. It is the twelfth feature-length Star Trek film and the sequel to 2009′s Star Trek. It is set for release on May 17, 2013.