Author: Ernest Russell

Hello, Thank you for visiting. I’m taking a wild guess here, but thinking you might be a little geeky, like to read. Great, because so do I. That is why I began my own little adventure near the end of 2015. Since then, my writing has been published by Pro Se Productions, Beyond the Threshold Studios, and the literary journal Violet Windows. Some of my favorite things (besides coffee) are Science Fiction, Horror, Steampunk, Fantasy, Pulp, and History. My writing and editing split among these genres. Many people have influenced my work, Vincent Price, Jules Verne, and H.P. Lovecraft, among them. When not writing or editing, I have plenty of hobbies to keep me busy. A pretty eclectic set of hobby skills ranging from electronics to leatherworking. I am an avid table-top and board games player. Still trying to get in some RPGs (preferably GURPS, D&D, or Call of Cthulhu) whenever possible.

CHECKPOINT ‘CHARLEY’

by Ernest Russell, posted in action, Adventure, anthology, Cloak and Dagger, Espionage, short stories, spies

COLD WAR ESPIONAGE AND INTRIGUE AT ITS HOTTEST! CHECKPOINT ‘CHARLEY’ DEBUTS!

From the mind of David J. Foster and the pens of Wendy Harrison, Ed Teja, E. W. Farnsworth, and James Hopwood explodes intrigue and espionage in CHECKPOINT ‘CHARLEY’. From Pro Se Productions.

1961: Charley McKenna has a dirty job. She works for ‘the Company’ and she’s just been promoted to Head of Station in West Berlin. Dropped into heart of the Cold War, Charley finds herself working on a knives edge as tensions between he East and West reach an all-time high.

Pro Se Productions presents four new tales of Cold War espionage as Charley McKenna and her team of crack operatives fight to stave off universal Armageddon. The stories in CHECKPOINT ‘CHARLEY’ take you beyond the Iron Curtain, back to a time when the great game was for real, and the stakes were astronomical.

Featuring complete design from cover to logo to print formatting by David J. Foster, CHECKPOINT ‘CHARLEY’ is available in print from Amazon for $9.99.

Also formatted by Foster, this innovative historical espionage anthology is available in Kindle and only for 99 Cents for a limited time. Kindle Unlimited Members read for FREE!

For more information on this title, interviews with the author, or digital copies for review, email editorinchief@prose-press.com.

To learn more about Pro Se Productions, visit our website. Like Pro Se on Facebook for all of the latest releases and updates. 

Thank you for reading,

Ernest

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Amazon Review – Case of The Defective Detective

by Ernest Russell, posted in anthology, Crime, Detective, pulp, short stories

A review of my latest release from Pro Se Productions. You can check it out and buy the book or get it on Kindle Unlimited.

Awhile back I did a review of a pair of pulp collections from Popular Press: The Defective Detective in the Pulps (1983) and its followup.

Those two volumes reprinted various “defective detectives,” detectives with some physical disability: blindness, deafness, lameness, and the like. Almost all these characters appeared in Popular Publications’ Dime Mystery Magazine.

It was puzzling why no one seemed to have picked up on this by creating new “defective detective” stories. Until now.

From Pro Se Press recently is a thin volume with three short stories, The Case of the Defective Detective, from three different authors.

From Ernest Russell, we have a former police detective with a horribly scarred face, who is still kept on the payroll to solve crimes. He is aided by the fiancé of his murdered partner and a police sergeant. You’ll learn how that all came to be, as he looks into a case that appears to be a simple heart attack but is much more.

Then Gordan Dymowski gives us another former police detective, this one nearly crimpled by a car accident that killed his family and by diabetes. He is aided by a policeman who attends AA. They are given a case of the son of a slain FBI agent. The son committed suicide by his own gun in front of witnesses. But his mother thinks it’s something else. Is it?

Finally, Gavin Matthew gives us a very different detective. One who is a homeless man in Harlem, dealing with mental issues and maybe psychotropic drugs. He is working to help a mother find her kidnapped daughter when no one else will. Can he succeed or will his “defect” get the best of him?

Overall, this is a nice, if small, collection from Pro Se Press. I thought the first two where a little too similiar in that both were pretty much confided to their homes, with their associates doing the legwork.

I hope this book will lead to more as the number of such detectives in the old pulps should give a lot of inspiration to new authors. Check it out yourself, and get the original collections as well. – Michael R. Brown

Thank you for reading,

Ernest

CONtraflow X

by Ernest Russell, posted in anime, Cosplay, fantasy, Science Fiction Convention

CONtraflow is a convention held in the greater New Orleans area. It focuses on science fiction, fantasy, comics, and related literary genres in any form, including but not limited to writing, visual arts, dramatic arts, and interactive fiction.

Below is my Panel Schedule this weekend:

Debate this! Friday, 8pm, Panel Room 3

Creating Memorable Characters, Saturday, 5pm, Event Two

Dilemma: First Person Narrative VS Third Person, Saturday, 10pm, Event Two

The Age of Lovecraft – Sunday, 11am, Event Two

Writing Horror, Sunday, 1pm, Event Two

CONtraflow X will be October 7-9, 2022. It will be held once again at the New Orleans Airport Hilton, in Kenner, LA. Our weekend and daily attendance rates are:

Weekend Rate: $50

Friday Only: $30

Saturday Only: $40

Sunday Only: $20

Teen Weekend Rate (Ages 13-19): $25

Kid Weekend Rate (8-12): $10.00

Kids 8 and under: Free

For more information, follow us on Facebook via our CONtraflow official page or our CONtraflow Group page. We hope to see you there!!

THE CASE OF THE DEFECTIVE DETECTIVE

by Ernest Russell, posted in anthology, Crime, Detective, pulp, short stories

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 CRIME SOLVERS OR PROBLEM CASES? ‘THE CASE OF THE DEFECTIVE DETECTIVE’ DEBUTS!

Not every hero is invulnerable or infallible, especially detectives. Men and women that make a living solving mysteries often can’t overcome their own riddles.

 But, sometimes, what many see as weakness may be the only strength needed to uncover a crime – or survive. That is, if a detective’s issue, the ‘defect’ which haunts them, doesn’t push them across the line no one should ever cross…

 THE CASE OF THE DEFECTIVE DETECTIVE features original investigators by three of New Pulp’s best authors taking on mysteries while battling endlessly against their personal demons. Ernest Russell, Gavin Matthews, and Gordon Dymowski ask the question readers are left to answer with these three stunning short stories: Detective or Defective?

 Featuring an atmospheric cover by artist Rick Johnson with print formatting and logo design by Cookie Morris, THE CASE OF THE DEFECTIVE DETECTIVE is available for 7.99 via Amazon.

 This unique mystery anthology is also formatted by Morris as an eBook for only 99 cents for a limited time from Amazon. Kindle Unlimited members can read for free!

 For more information on this title, interviews with the authors, or digital copies for review, email editorinchief@prose-press.com.

 To learn more, visit our website Pro Se Productions. Like Pro Se on Facebook for all the latest news and releases. 

Thank you for reading,
Ernest

2022 Pulp Factory Award winners

by Ernest Russell, posted in Adventure, pulp

All fine fellows you should put on your reading list!

Congratulations to the 2022 Pulp Factory Award winners.

Best Pulp Novel: Captain Hawklin and the Invisible Enemy by Charles F Millhouse. Stormgate Press.

Best Pulp Short Story: Snow Shorts #4: Snow Ambition by Brian K Morris. BEN Books.

Best Pulp Cover: Pulp Reality #2 by Clayton Murwin. Stormgate Press.

Best Pulp Interior Art: Pulp Reality #3 by Stephen Burks. Stormgate Press.

Best Pulp Anthology: Pulp Reality #2. Stormgate Press.

THE PULP FACTORY GROUP Awards were presented earlier this evening at the Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention, LLC.

WEEK OF WRITERS CALLS! ‘PAT NOVAK FOR HIRE’

by Ernest Russell, posted in Adventure, pulp

WEEK OF WRITERS CALLS! ‘PAT NOVAK FOR HIRE’ NEEDS TWO MORE STORIES TO FILL THE ANTHOLOGY OF A CLASSIC RADIO SHOW!

Continuing its tradition of bringing back unforgettable characters that have somehow been forgotten by most, Pro Se Productions, as a part of its Week of Writers Calls states that a minimum of two stories are necessary to fill PAT NOVAK FOR HIRE, an anthology based on the now public domain radio series starring Jack Webb.

 Not really a detective, but more of a man literally for hire on the waterfront in San Francisco, Novak found himself usually tied up with crime and cops to the tune of murder and his own life in danger. Along the way, he’d run head on into Lieutenant Hellman and often have to go to his old pal Jocko Madigan to get out of whatever soup he was in. What made NOVAK ‘one of radio’s most unusual programs’, as advertised in its opening, had to do with how it was written. Narrated by Novak, each episode was so full of one liners, extremely purple descriptions, and such use of language that many called the program hard boiled poetry. While some consider PAT NOVAK FOR HIRE a hard boiled spoofing program, it elevates the pace and concept of hard boiled to a whole new, slightly ridiculous level.

 All stories for PAT NOVAK FOR HIRE must be set between 1946-1950 and must include Lieutenant Hellman. The stories do not have to include Jocko Madigan, the other recurring character from the program, but Jocko appeared in every known episode, a part of the show’s formula. Writers may experiment with different structures and different formulas, including or not including Jocko, but editors will be looking for the show as a whole to be represented in proposals and stories.


Writers wanting to make proposals should listen to episodes of PAT NOVAK FOR HIRE at https://archive.org/details/PatNovakForHire. Interested writers should write a detailed proposal for a single 8 to 10,000-word story and email it to submissions@prose-press.com. If the proposal is accepted, the story will be due within 60 days of acceptance. When all stories are in, the book will enter the publication queue. Payment will be royalty based.

If you have any questions, email editorinchief@prose-press.com. To follow Pro Se Productions follow us on Facebook for all of the latest news and releases.

Thank you for reading,

Ernest

Open Anthology call for EDGAR ALLEN POE-TIME TRAVELER!

by Ernest Russell, posted in Adventure, historical fiction, pulp

WEEK OF WRITERS CALL! ONE STORY NEEDED FOR ‘EDGAR ALLEN POE-TIME TRAVELER’ ANTHOLOGY!

As part of its week of calls to fill open anthologies, Pro Se Productions announces that a minimum of one story is needed for a collection focusing on a wild alternative take on of the world’s best known and mysterious authors-EDGAR ALLEN POE-TIME TRAVELER!

 A concept that takes Poe to a whole new level comes from the creative brain of author and anthology editor Ernest Russell. The concept for this anthology comes from an old theory that makes a note of rather curious and seemingly prophetic events in Poe’s writings.

 Stories in the anthology should work from the premise Poe was a frequent time traveler. While examples represent only a few adventures/information he incorporated into his stories, this anthology shall feature the stories of his experiences that he did not report.

 • Stories can only travel to Poe’s future. No grandfather paradox.

 o Travel to a period can involve a historical event or occurrence but is not necessary.

 o These adventures do not have to relate to Poe’s published work.

 o Allies/Companions in the story will be considered. Still, many have been done using H.G. Wells and Nikola Tesla stories; using them will not be allowed.

 • Stories are not to be set within Poe’s lifetime.

 o One exception – because of the mysterious circumstance surrounding his death- stories involving the week before his death will be allowed, though limited in number.

 • Any method of time travel is available – Portal, Mental/astral projection, Magic, a mechanical device, etc.

 • Stories can be in any genre. Poe had an influence upon-Detective, Horror, and Science Fiction.

 All interested authors should request the anthology bible and submit proposals for a single 7-8,000 word story to submissions@prose-press.com. The story will be due within 60 days of acceptance if the proposal is accepted. Once the story is completed, the entire anthology will move into the publication queue. Payment will be royalty based.

 If you have any questions, email editorinchief@prose-press.com. Follow Pro Se Productions on Facebook for all of the latest new and releases.

Thank you for reading

Ernest  

Beltane

by Ernest Russell, posted in poetry

Beltane falls about halfway between the spring equinox, Ostara, and the coming summer solstice, Litha. The holiday celebrates spring at its peak, and the coming summer. Beltane also sometimes goes by the name May Day. This is a poem dedicated to those who remember older ways…

Stars fill the heavens,

Like pale corn in fresh soil.

Promising light from darkness,

Warmth springs from the cold.

A honey haired nymph,

Perfumed by rosy spring.

Fertile, as she cherishes

All of creation.

He is Cerunnos.

As the hunting master

Prowls among the ancient oaks

The rite is pure joy.

From oak to hawthorn,

She leads a merry chase.

He breathes her heady scent

To drink from her spring.

To jump the Bel Fire

The nymph bounds in delight,

Now a young queen in flower

Where two, now count three.

Night of passions deep,

The hunter and hunted,

Rabbit and Bear, birth the stars

A new day dawns bright.

Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again.

Thank you for reading,

Ernest

First Night

by Ernest Russell, posted in flash fiction

The last boxes are unloaded, the rental truck is returned, and the last of the pizza and beer are in the fridge.
Now that my buddies have left, the place is quiet. I revel in it, soak it up like a sponge. This is my house now, and this will be my first night in it.

The one thing we managed to is get the bed together. A quick shower and then to bed. Bone weary, I wonder briefly if I should dig out the sheets, decide against it and collapse on the bed, falling asleep in minutes.

Waking up, I’m disoriented for a moment until I remember where I am. Grabbing my cell phone, I see it’s 3 A.M.
The moonlight plays in the shadows of the room. Then I see it, a figure in the room. Shit, did I forget to lock the door?
“Why are you here?” I ask. Silence.
I roll to my feet, glad now I didn’t dig out the sheets.
When I turn to face the figure, ready to defend myself, he is standing right in front of me.
Dark red splotches cover his face, his corvine nose inches from my own, his eyes milky.
Then in a fetid breath whispers, “We all have it. We are all infected. Soon, so will you.”

I jump as the alarm goes off, a dream, it had been a bad dream.
Every news channel had a story of the spreading pandemic in Asia. It didn’t seem to be a worry.
A few days passed, and I had almost put the dream out of my mind when the realtor gave me a follow-up call.

“Hi Jack, just wanted to see how you’re settling into your new house. If you need any help getting anything turned on or if you have questions?”
“Thanks, Judy utilities are on, the cable is scheduled, settling in just fine. Say, I do have one question come to think of it. What happened to the previous owner?”
“Oh…that he and his family all died of an exotic disease after a trip to Asia.”

Thank you for reading,

Ernest