Black Gate

I’m always proud of the work our contributors do at Black Gate. We’ve explored virtually every aspect of fantasy in our print edition and here on the blog — from Games to Comics to Conan, from Vintage Treasures to Art to Music and even Fashion. We’re hip, it’s true.

Occasionally, of course, I see a brilliant article in some other zine that makes me think, “Dang. I wish I had published that.”

That’s exactly what happened the first time I stumbled upon Bud Webster’s marvelous Past Masters column at Jim Baen’s Universe, in which Bud examined the history and contributions of the most important and creative writers in SF and Fantasy, in his entertaining and highly engaging style.

My usual procedure in such circumstance, naturally, is to sulk for several days, snarling at passersby until my black mood passes. Bud has a jovial disposition however, and is famously approachable, so in this case I postponed my jealous rage and shot him a quick note. Would he ever think of publishing some of these brilliant pieces in my humble magazine, I asked?

And, gentleman that he is, Bud said yes. The first new article, with the new title “Who?” appeared in Black Gate 15, and examined the short but magical career of Tom Reamy, author of San Diego Lightfoot Sue.

Bud wrote nearly 20 Past Masters columns, starting in the online Helix SF magazine; when it ceased publication in Fall 2008 he took the column to Jim Baen’s Universe, and then to Eric Flint’s Grantville Gazette.

He wrote so many, in fact, that demands to collect them in a more permanent format became a constant chorus. The diligent Merry Blacksmith Press, run by the talented John Teehan, saw an opportunity and seized it, and three weeks ago Past Masters: and Other Bookish Natterings finally appeared as a handsome trade paperback.

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There’s lots of perks to running the Black Gate global mega-publishing empire. For one thing, I enjoy being part of the “lamestream media,” telling America what to think and do, ignoring today’s critical issues so I can focus on movies about giant robots. That’s satisfaction right there. Plus, those Manhattan press parties are a blast. Seriously, I could tell you stories.

But the best part of publishing is discovering new talent, the emerging short fiction writers of today who will be the towering giants of the field tomorrow. Writers like Vera Nazarian, whose brilliant short story, “Niola’s Last Stand,” we published earlier this year. Strangely, no one seems to have told Vera that she’s expected to toil away in obscurity for years before vaulting to superstardom — she’s already accumulated two Nebula noms, and her just-released novel, Cobweb Bride, looks like a clear contender for one of the most talked-about books of the year. Some people have no respect for due process.

Well, we know how to cash in on a good thing. So we asked Vera for an exclusive quote explaining Cobweb Bride to our readers (“Quick — while she’s still taking our calls.”) Here’s what she told us:

Cobweb Bride is a story of Death and Love and loss and intensity, a strange twist on the Persephone myth set in an alternate Renaissance Europe. Enter the Uncanny Valley of the Shadow of Death. This is a place at the heart of the Brothers Grimm and in the mind of Dante, in the gut of Ouroboros, in the mouth of Hell, and in the eye of a glittering Imperial Court rivaling the splendor of Louis XIV’s Versailles.

It is an epic fantasy of love and eldritch wonder, about death’s ultimatum to the world.

Does that sound awesome, or what? What did we tell you? Pay attention, we won’t steer you wrong.

Cobweb Bride is the first book of the Cobweb Bride Trilogy. It was published by Leda on July 15. It is $14.95 in trade paperback, and just $5.99 for the digital edition.

Those of you with sharp eyes last week noticed that, buried among the many intriguing titles in the Strange Chemistry Book Cover Montage we published on June 29, were the latest novels from Black Gate author Jonathan L. Howard.

Jonathan is a terrifically talented fantasy author. We published two of his stories featuring Kyth the Taker, the brilliant thief whose commissions inevitably involve her in sorcerous intrigue: “The Shuttered Temple” in Black Gate 15 and “The Beautiful Corridor” (BG 13.)

Jonathan’s first novels were the popular Johannes Cabel books: Johannes Cabal the Necromancer (2010), Johannes Cabal the Detective (2010), and the upcoming Fear Institute. But one series doesn’t appear to be enough for Jonathan. Here’s the 411 on the first book of The Russalka Chronicles:

The distant and unloved colony world of Russalka has no land, only the raging sea. No clear skies, only the endless storm clouds. Beneath the waves, the people live in pressurised environments and take what they need from the boundless ocean. It is a hard life, but it is theirs and they fought a war against Earth to protect it. But wars leave wounds that never quite heal, and secrets that never quite lie silent.

Katya Kuriakova doesn’t care much about ancient history like that, though. She is making her first submarine voyage as crew; the first nice, simple journey of what she expects to be a nice, simple career.

There is nothing nice and simple about the deep black waters of Russalka, however; soon she will encounter pirates and war criminals, see death and tragedy at first hand, and realise that her world’s future lies on the narrowest of knife edges. For in the crushing depths lies a sleeping monster, an abomination of unknown origin, and when it wakes, it will seek out and kill every single person on the planet.

The second title in the series, Katya’s War, is due in October.

Katya’s World was published by Strange Chemistry on November 13, 2012. It is 320 pages in paperback, priced at $9.99 ($6.99 for the digital edition). Learn more at the Strange Chemistry website, and read Jonathan’s thoughts on writing the Johannes Cabel books right here at Black Gate.