Tag: Adventure

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  

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Tavern by Deston J. Munden – Book Review

by Ernest Russell, posted in Uncategorized

Tavern (Dargath Chronicles Book 1)

By Deston Munden

Reviewed by Ernest Russell

I always enjoy a good fantasy and an author who can twist tropes just enough to make the story interesting. The main character in Tavern, Xelnath of the Gnarled Root Clan, or Xel, is such a relatable character, full of flaws and self-doubt. A stout heart, loyal to his friends, and genuinely wants to protect his adopted home. All of this and he is not above using its secrets to make a living. He faces adversity despite his anxieties and depression while maintaining a positive feel to the story. You will quickly find yourself cheering and rooting for Xel rather than pitying him. In the first chapter, you learn what I mean by how well Deston Munden twists tropes in Tavern.

Xel isn’t the only well developed, every character is fleshed out, and you get to know them. The villain is one of my favorite types, they are the hero of their own story. You can see their point and still ask what made you think this was a good idea?

Tavern is the first of a planned series set in the world of Dargath. The world-building in this first book is impressive. Primarily set in the city of Lladad, a major seaport, you hear and see many of the different inhabitants of Dargath and their cultures. The city is alive in this story as you wander markets, slums, and royal abodes. Fear not, in Tavern, Deston Munden has resisted the urge to be overly detailed. There is enough description to set your imagination flowing while the characters and their dialogue drive the plot.

Role players who cut their gaming teeth on Chainmaile and Dungeons & Dragons while quoting Tolkien will find many characters they have known or played. If this series gains a following, campaign settings for D&D, Pathfinder, or any other fantasy RPG setting would be fun. I know I would play in them. Dargath is already a world where I would vacation and explore. That Tavern by Deston Munden reads like a game probably shouldn’t be a surprise considering his degree in Game Art and Design. Here is a description of the entire party assembled before a battle with the villain.

“Two forest orcs on the wrong side of the world, a tribeswoman assassin, a former dragon pirate turned mercenary, a lady from the Glade’s court, and a brilliant engineer in the shape of a dog. They were as rag-tag as they could get.”

These are my kind of people for an adventure.

The plot is well-paced, without being too fast or bogging itself down. This is a book in which the story is a joy to read. Tavern was edited by Dominion Editorial. I commend Deston Munden for seeking editors, so many independents do not, and sound editing makes a difference. The content editing and continuity are quite good in Tavern. The copy editing came up short. Dominion offers various packages for their service, and I don’t know if a copy edit was included.  Any book can miss a couple of things, often minor enough your mind fills in or corrects for it. These don’t tend to pull you out of the story. There are enough words missed, or incorrectly inserted, I was drawn out of the story multiple times. Fortunately, the story is strong enough and compelling enough to pull you back into it.

Tavern by Deston J. Munden is a book I recommend. The story is good. The characters are well rounded and developed, the subplots are well executed, and with all the elements combined, this is a book I can see becoming a favorite.

Thank you for reading,

Ernest

THE BEAUTY OF OUR WEAPONS

by Ernest Russell, posted in Uncategorized

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FUTURISTIC SPIES, KILLER NUNS, CORPORATE ESPIONAGE AND MORE IN JILLY PADDOCK’S ‘THE BEAUTY OF OUR WEAPONS’!

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Author Jilly Paddock has created one of the most unique pairs of spies ever to grace science fiction in her ZENITH ALPHA 4013 series. Now this unusual pair returns in their most dangerous and demanding mission yet in the fourth volume in the series-THE BEAUTY OF OUR WEAPONS.
Anna-Marie Delany and her computer partner, Zenni, are spies with psionic powers, agents for Earth Intelligence. When their boss at EI, Chandre Marteen, goes missing on the idyllic vacation world of Tambouret, their mission is to find her.

A child has also vanished, Angel Jansen, daughter of Anna’s dead enemy. Add to the mix an anti-technology cult whose leader may be possessed by a demon, a dark-sister from a sect of assassin nuns, an attempt to destroy EI and the Zenith project in a hostile takeover of Delany Corp and the help or perhaps hindrance of a pompous native detective-can Anna and Zenni rescue the hostages and survive unscathed?

Thrill to the fourth book in Jilly Paddock’s ZENITH ALPHA 4013 series, THE BEAUTY OF OUR WEAPONS. From Pro Se Productions.

Featuring a fantastic cover by Antonino Lo Iacono and print formatting and logo design by Lo Iacono and Marzia Marina, THE BEAUTY OF OUR WEAPONS is available in print at Amazon and on Pro Se’s own store at for $14.99.

The fourth book in Paddock’s terrific science fiction espionage series is also available as an eBook formatted by Lo Iacono and Marina for the Kindle for only $3.99. The book is also available to Kindle Unlimited members for free.

The first three books in the ZENITH ALPHA 4013 series are also available on Amazon in digital and print formats.
For more information on this title, interviews with the author, or digital copies for review, contact editorinchief@prose-press.com.

To learn more about Pro Se Productions, click the link to visit our website or Like Pro Se on Facebook.

Nominated for Best Pulp Anthology

by Ernest Russell, posted in Uncategorized

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I am delighted to have been an editor for this really fun anthology now nominated for Best Pulp Anthology at this years WINDY CITY PULP & PAPER CONVENTION.

Tales of the Interstellar Bartenders Guild is available on Amazon and Pro Se Productions.
To find out what else from Pro Se Productions has been nominated for awards check out our Facebook page.

Thanks for reading,

Ernest Russell

YOUNG DILLON IN THE HALLS OF SHAMBALLAH

by Ernest Russell, posted in Uncategorized

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A NEW PULP LEGEND’S EARLIEST ADVENTURE NOW ON AUDIO! DERRICK FERGUSON’S ‘YOUNG DILLON IN THE HALLS OF SHAMBALLAH’ DEBUTS!

Dillon.

A name that means many things to many people. Adventurer. Hero. Rogue. Nemesis. Friend.

But even a man who is a legend in his own time started somewhere and the beginning of that legend is now available as a top quality audiobook produced by Radio Archives-YOUNG DILLON IN THE HALLS OF SHAMBALLAH.

Even Dillon was young once. YOUNG DILLON IN THE HALLS OF SHAMBALLAH back the curtain on the past of a modern-day hero. Many are the tales that have been told about Dillon, but none are stranger than the whispers of his having been raised in the mythical and eternal city of Shamballah and his training by those deadliest of adepts in the martial arts, the Warmasters of Liguria.

Now, at last, the true story behind those legends can be told. This is a story of a Dillon and the events and people who would forge him into the man we know.

This is a story of a Dillon in the days before his feet were set on the path that would lead him to the wildest adventures of them all. And it is itself an incredible adventure in its own right.

This is the story of Young Dillon in the Halls of Shamballah. And, once you’ve heard it, you and Dillon will never be the same.

A Youngpulp! digest novel from Pro Se Productions and Pulpwork Press, now an audiobook performed by Calvin Worthen with a cover by Sean E. Ali, YOUNG DILLON IN THE HALLS OF SHAMBALLAH is available at Amazon and also available via iTunes.

This thrilling young readers adventure is also available in print and digital formats via Amazon.

For more information on and great products from Radio Archives.

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

To learn more about Pro Se Productions, click the link to visit the website to see our catalogue of over 300 titles and check our authors. Like Pro Se on Facebook to be informed of all the latest releases and news.

HIGH ADVENTURE HISTORY: HISTORY’S HEROES

by Ernest Russell, posted in Uncategorized

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
A PAST FULL OF PULP ADVENTURES! HIGH ADVENTURE HISTORY: HISTORY’S HEROES DEBUTS!

History is full of Heroes…and Heroes make history! Pro Se Productions announces the release of HIGH ADVENTURE HISTORY: HISTORY’S HEROES, available in print and digital formats.

The highly anticipated follow up to Pro Se Productions’ HIGH ADVENTURE HISTORY focuses on the over the top pulpy adventures of characters chosen or even forced to take up the fight for right throughout time. Regardless of the era, heroes are always needed and Teel James Glenn, Matthew McRae Martin, Dale W. Glaser, and D. Alan Lewis deliver tales of derring do and danger in HIGH ADVENTURE HISTORY TWO: HISTORY’S HEROES. From Pro Se Productions.

Featuring an atmospheric cover, logo design and print formatting by Antonino Lo Iacono and Marzia Marina, HIGH ADVENTURE HISTORY: HISTORY’S HEROES is available for 99 cents at Amazon.

The second volume in the historical pulp anthology series is also available for the Kindle for $2.99. HISTORY’S HEROES is also available to Kindle Unlimited members 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, click on the link to visit our website, browse our catalogue of over 300 titles, and check out our authors. Don’t forget to Like Pro Se on Facebook .

THE RED DAGGER STRIKES: BOOK TWO

by Ernest Russell, posted in Uncategorized

Zenith

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PSYCHEDELIC PULP RETURNS IN THE FABULOUS WORLD OF ZENITH-THE RED DAGGER STRIKES II for 99 CENTS!

Chuck Miller, the creator of The Black Centipede and perhaps the father of Psychedelic Pulp, returns readers to The Fabulous World of Zenith, an original Pro Se Single Shot Signature Series that will examine the world of the Black Centipede, Vionna Valis, Mary Kelly and Doctor Unknown Junior from a variety of strange and oblique angles.

The mystery continues in THE RED DAGGER STRIKES: BOOK TWO. Is the Red Dagger a masked demon filling citizens’ hearts with fear? Or a horrific disease spreading through the world like wildfire? Perhaps a brave hero forced to hide her identity due to some secret? Or a top secret government operation intent on dominating humanity? Only Chuck Miller knows, but every reader will learn the truth if the Fabulous World of Zenith when THE RED DAGGER STRIKES! BOOK TWO. Now Available from Pro Se Productions!

Featuring an atmospheric cover and logo design by Jeffrey Hayes and digital formatting by Antonino Lo Iacono and Marzia Marina, THE FABULOUS WORLD OF ZENITH: THE RED DAGGER STRIKES BOOK TWO is available for 99 cents on Amazon. The second chapter in Miller’s tale is also available to Kindle Unlimited members for free.

The first book of THE RED DAGGER STRIKES is also available on Amazon in digital format.

For more information on this title, interviews with the author, or digital copies for review, contact Kristi Morgan, Pro Se’s Director of Corporate Operations, at directorofcorporateoperations@prose-press.com.

To learn more about Pro Se Productions, visit our website and see our full catalogue. Follow Pro Se on Facebook to keep up to date on new releases and open calls.

‘SWORDS AGAINST THE SNAKES’

by Ernest Russell, posted in Uncategorized
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
STAND UP TO THE STUFF OF NIGHTMARES MADE REAL! GLYNN OWEN BARRASS’ ‘SWORDS AGAINST THE SNAKES’ DEBUTS

Love, murder, insanity, betrayal, and terror lay in wait for readers of SWORDS AGAINST THE SNAKES by Glynn Owen Barrass, now available from Pro Se Productions in print and digital formats.

For most The King in Yellow is a largely forgotten tome written by a rarely discussed author. Except people on both sides of an eternal battle for good and evil have not forgotten the book and the author is discussed often, especially in the shadows cast by death and depravity. A book that carries risks with it for any who read it…insanity…death…or worse.

The risk to the agents of the secret government department The Yellow Cross is all too real. It is a danger that deranges minds, destroys lives, warps reality. One such mind belongs to Rebecca Thale, a woman who read The King in Yellow and was never the same again. Her path of murder and destruction attracted the attention of The Yellow Cross, agents Ashton and Phillips in particular. Two of the department’s top investigators, they undertake a journey of horror and self discovery that takes them across England and dimensions both deadly and unknown, as they unravel the mysteries of the terrifying entity known as The King in Yellow.

With a terrific cover by Marzia Marina and Antonino Lo Iacono and print formatting and logo design by Percival Constantine, SWORDS AGAINST THE SNAKES is available now at Amazon and Pro Se’s own store for 9.99.

This horror thriller is also available as an Ebook, designed and formatted by Constantine for only $2.99 for the Kindle. The book is also available on Kindle Unlimited, which means Kindle Unlimited Members can read for free.

For more information on this title, interviews with the author, or digital copies to review this book, contact Pro Se Productions’ Director of Corporate Operations, Kristi King-Morgan at directorofcorporateoperations@prose-press.com.

To learn more about Pro Se Productions, go to www.prose-press.com. Like Pro Se on Facebook .

Excerpt – WIP

by Ernest Russell, posted in Uncategorized

“Good thinking. Let’s give those flying boats an once-over. Mary, you stay here to watch for Jake.
Joe, you come with Martin and I to inspect the sea planes.”

The three men approached the beached aircraft and one thing became apparent drawing near, bullet holes peppered the length of each plane.
Joe whistled, “Phew, did they land or were they forced down?”
“Let’s take a gander inside.” Directed Captain Hazzard, moving toward the nearest one.
He plucked the flashlight from his vest and peered through the hatch. The interior showed the scars of battle but the craft appeared airworthy.
“Captain! Over here!” Joe called from the hatch of the second plane.
He and Martin trotted to the second plane. Inside a figure was stretched along one of the benches. Captain Hazzard clambered inside the craft and checked the man’s vitals. He was alive though from the looks of the cabin he had lost a lot of blood. On his right hand he wore the stylized lightning bolts of the SS.
The touch caused him to moan. For a moment consciousness rallied behind his eyes but not full awareness. He saw Captain Hazzards blonde face over him he asked if they succeeded.
Captain Hazzard responded in flawless German, “We are here in answer to distress. Dietrich called for reinforcement. What happened?”
He uttered one word in his final gasp, “Huldu”.

 

 

Excerpt from WIP

by Ernest Russell, posted in Uncategorized

“It felt good to lie down. Martin admitted frustration not to be going to the museum, he enjoyed the peace and quiet. Captain Hazzard checked in during his inspection of the Silver Bullet II. Though he designed the fuselage and its armor, he marveled at the engines Captain Hazzard built.
He was glad the frustration passed before Captain reached out. This mind-talking still unnerved him a little. The Captain would have worried if the irritation had shown in his thoughts.
When the hangar alarm blared next to his bed, he would sworn he just laid down. A quick glance at his wristwatch belied that. It was 1 a.m. In short order, Martin dressed quickly and pedaling the bicycle purchased for him. The guard at the gate was suspicious of him. Disheveled with the speed of dressing in the dark, and the exertion of a hard ride to the gate, Martin admitted he would be suspicious too. Anxiety mounted as he waited for the guard to decide he had clearance to proceed to the hangar.
His escort, required by Major Svetkov, panted behind him by time they reached the hangar. Martin motioned his escort to ready his rifle, then flung open the access door. He followed the soldier through, but saw nothing. The hangar had no electricity, and in his haste Martin forgot to grab his bag with one of the flashlights. By the ambient light, he located the lantern on the hook near the door.
The lantern held high, he began the search the hangar. Followed by the soldier, he felt foolish. No tampering of the Silver Bullet could be discerned as he performed a walk around. The craft nearly filled the small hangar. Truth be told, it took long enough to get here any panels opened could be easily closed at leisure. A rustling under one of the windows caused both he and his escort to jump slightly. His tension appeared to cross the language barrier with no problem.
Beady red eyes shone from under one of the windows. A rat. Breathing a sigh of relief, Martin began checking the magnetic security locks. The wires from one to its radio transmitter had been chewed. The effect was the same as if the magnets had been separated by opening the window. The circuit opened and set off the alarm. Martin pointed at the broken wire and the rat. It took a moment, but the nickel finally dropped and his guard laughed. A shake his head, Martin made short work repairing the broken wire.”