The Good, The Bad And The Books

You’ll have to excuse the tumbleweeds blowing around this place of late. It’s been a crazy few weeks here in the Leek household. In between running around the country with the day job, Georgie and I celebrated our 18^th wedding anniversary.  I ain’t nobody’s bargain and putting up with me for that length of time is no mean achievement on her part. The following weekend our Katie turned 21. Both of these events resulted in me getting slightly drunk and a little sentimental, but I figure I was probably entitled. We also had a real scare when my niece, Marina had to undergo emergency surgery. Thankfully she is fine now and recovering well.

While all of this was going on in the real world I have been burning the midnight oil in an attempt not to blow a DEMONIC VISIONS deadline and trying to keep on top of all the other stuff that goes along with having three books drop in the space of a week.

THE BIG ADIOS western digest, which I edit with head honcho, Ron Phillips and deputy dawg, Ryan Sayles made the leap from webzine to quarterly print and e-book. The debut issue features killer stories from the likes of Tom Pitts, Jim Wilsky, Aidan Thorn and ZP’s own Gareth Spark.

Hot on the heels of TBA was another debut, this time in the form of Craig McNeely’s DARK CORNERS. Weighing in at nearly 300 pages this pulp spectacular has reviews, interviews and some really great fiction. I have a western in this inaugural issue, which lines up alongside crime, noir and sci-fi in a glorious smorgasbord of pulp and genre fiction. ZP are well represented here too with both Chuck Regan and Ryan Sayles in the mix. Craig and his team have produced a hell of a magazine. Seriously, you should buy it.
 

Finally, this week saw the much anticipated (at least by me) release of my western novella GOSPEL OF THE BULLET. I can’t tell you how much that means to me, but I can tell you how grateful I am to Ron Phillips and ONE EYE PRESS for publishing it. A big shout also has to go out to my uber-talented ZP brother, Chuck Regan for creating the gorgeous cover. The initial reaction to GOSPEL has been universally positive and also little overwhelming.  If you have dropped your dime on it already then thank you, I hope you dig it.

The next few weeks should see a return to calmer waters, as another Chris once said, it’s been emotional.  

 

The All New Badass Big Adios

         

Originating as a weekly online western fiction magazine, The Big Adios has graduated to a quarterly print digest with this debut issue featuring the works of David James Keaton, Tom Pitts, Jim Wilsky, Dawn Vogel, Paul Lorello, Robert Lowell Russell, Coy Hall, Aidan Thorn, Gareth Spark and Christopher Davis. Here you will find the west in all its guises. We’ve got the weird and the wild and a whole lot more besides.

The debut edition is out on 22^nd September in both dead tree and electronic formats. You can pre-order it right HERE for your kindle doodad for the princely sum of a buck 99.

The Big Adios Submission and Release Schedule

Just in case you missed it, here's a quick update on TBA.

The editors of The Big Adios would like to thank everyone for a successful submission cycle. Our first cycle concluded yesterday, April 14th. A lot of good stories that should fill our first two issues. We do apologize for delays in responding to submissions, but we don’t want to make any quick decisions and we will be reviewing the final stories over the next couple weeks with final decisions by May 1st.

You guys have made it hard to decide. Because this is our first magazine release, balancing production and standards we have decided to delay the release of issue 1 until September 8th, with the second issue falling in the first/second week of December. We want to make this just right for our readers and our contributors.

Thank you for your support and good luck to those eying final selections.

Adios Pardner

It’s time to say a big adios to The Big Adios, well, sort of. A little over a year since we started publishing online, the best short western fiction site on the web is breaking camp and heading off into the sunset. The last story will be published on the website next month. We were fortunate to host some damn fine stories from some very talented writers, unfortunately submission levels never really got out of second gear.

I’m not entirely sure why. It’s not as if there are a whole lot of other places putting out quality westerns. No doubt some of you are now nodding your heads in an, I told you so kind of way and saying how the western is deader than disco. I have made my views known on that subject before, both here and at the ZP BLOG. This isn’t the end of the road for the western or for The Big Adios.

Head Honcho, Ron Earl Phillips has taken the bull by the horns and in May 2014, in conjunction with Ron’s publishing company, One Eye Press, The Big Adios will begin a new life as a quarterly western magazine, featuring 10 thrilling short stories inspired by the Wild West and will be available in both digital and print formats. For all you writers out there, The Big Adios will now be a paying market.

We are accepting submissions through until April 14th to fill the slots for issues 1 and 2. If you are familiar the guidelines on the website then you already have a good idea of what we want, only this time we are looking for stories up to 5000 words, so you now have plenty of space to fully develop your characters and plots.   

I enjoy a good tale of blood, grit and bullets as much as the next guy. But see that box? Good. Now try to think outside it. I would love to read a story about the black cowboys of the Oklahoma Range, or the Asian-American soldiers who fought on both sides during the civil war, or the silver boom towns of Nevada or any one of a thousand other stories that are still waiting to be told. And remember, the American West still exists today; it’s the feel of the story that is important, not necessarily the time or even the place in which it is set.

Full details are available on the ONE EYE PRESS SUBMISSIONS page, so hop on over and as 80’s rock goddess, Pat Benatar once said: hit us with your best shot.

In the meantime please continue to stop by THE BIG ADIOS website; we have some really great stories scheduled to round things off over there.

 

Hell and Gone

It’s all about the western right now and just to continue the theme, my story HELL AND GONE is up at THE BIG ADIOS today. I submitted this one back in the summer and I guess Ron Earl Phillips and Ryan Sayles must have liked it, because not only did they agree to publish it, but I also got offered an editors chair. I’m grateful for both.

The story is set on the Kansas / Missouri border towards the end of the Civil War. I have long been fascinated by this period of America's history and especially by the bloody, brutal and often short lives of the Missouri Guerrillas under the command of William Quantrill and Bill Anderson. These men rode hard, fought hard and ultimately died hard. Some of those who survived the war went on to become notorious outlaws such as Frank and Jesse James and Cole Younger. There is no doubt that the Guerrillas put a lot of the blood into 'Bloody Kansas', although to many living across the state line in Missouri they were seen as heroes, rather than murderers. I think the truth probably lays somewhere in the middle.  

HELL AND GONE introduces the character of Mitchel McCann; a preacher with Southern sympathies who worships his own particular kind of religion.  You’ll be seeing a lot more of him and his adopted daughter, Justice in my novella GOSPEL OF THE BULLET, which will be out sometime early next year. But for now go and get yourself to HELL AND GONE. I hope you dig it.

 

Ten More Shots

The Big Adios is open for submissions. We are looking for western stories, both the traditional kind and the speculative or genre mashing variety. How about sending us something noir, with more grit than Rooster Cogburn, or maybe some western style sci-fi, or steampunk?  We are open to pushing the boundaries, just so long as the story is well told and relevant or strongly associated with the American West or themes common to the genre. 

The one thing we really don’t dig is western romance. We deal in lead, friend; not bodice-ripping yarns, so please don’t send them to us. That also goes for anything containing gratuitous rape or gay torture porn (yes, we have been sent that sort of stuff in the past).

We have some really great stories coming up over the next few weeks from the likes of: David Cousland, Robert Bailey and Chuck Regan. At the last count we only had ten slots remaining for 2013, so are you gonna do something or just stand there and bleed?

Hit us up at: The Big Adios

Bonus points are on offer if you can name both of the movies I just stole lines from.

All Points West

Hey, there’s a new sheriff in town. Well, a new deputy anyway. I’m excited to be joining Ron Earl Phillips and Ryan Sayles as a submissions editor on the western fiction magazine THE BIG ADIOS. I was fortunate enough to have my story, SEEDS published there a while ago and I have long been an admirer of the quality stories hosted on the site from such great great western writers as David Cranmer and Heath Lowrance.

Submissions are always open for high quality western fiction, so get to it!

Talking of Heath Lowrance, I’m delighted to tell you that the forthcoming Zelmer Pulp collection, FIVE BROKEN WINCHESTERS will now include a story from Heath, featuring his hard eyed righter of wrongs, Hawthorne. Heath is one of my favorite writers and I’m stoked that he will be joining the ZP posse for this one.

This collection will feature some superb stories that range across the whole spectrum of western fiction from: Chuck Regan, Isaac Kirkman, Brian Panowich, Ryan Sayles and special guest, Ron Earl Phillips. FIVE BROKEN WINCHESTERS will also be the first outing for my ‘deadlier than the male’ Bounty Hunter, Justice McCann in a hard hitting story of blood and revenge called THE GUNS OF JUSTICE (see what I did there.)

If you want a taste of what Zelmer Pulp has in store for the Wild and Weird West, then I suggest you fill your hand with Brian Panowich’s cracking Harmon Brown yarn, BABY JUICE or indeed any of Heath Lowrance’s excellent HAWTHORNE novellas.

Well, are you gonna pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?

Saddle Up

Evening Ma’am *tips hat*

Well, today sees my debut in the wonderful world of western fiction. I grew up on a full fat diet old western movies, they were my mom’s favorites and both Clint and The Duke loomed large in my childhood. So when Shotgun Honey guru and all round good guy Ron Earl Phillips mentioned he was setting up The Big Adios, my first thought was hell yes I want some of that. My next thought was can I actually write a western? I had never tried before so there was only one way to find out.

The end result is a story called ‘Seeds’ it’s a mean tale of blood and revenge (aren’t they always).  I was stoked when Ron accepted it for publication and I was over the moon when I found out that Zelmer crew mate, Chuck Regan was doing the artwork to go along with my story. I can tell you that Chuck’s art is seriously awesome; but I leave it up to you to decide about my words.  

The Big Adios is a new site and it needs your support, so get along there and read, comment and if you feel like slinging a few words yourself, submit.

Seeds – The Big Adios    

So this is 2013 AKA The brochure looks nice.

The New Year is upon us and with it comes renewed hope in the belief that this year might not suck as hard as the last. Who knows maybe this one won’t.

I’m not big on resolutions; they usually involve something called willpower and concentrate solely on removing some form of enjoyment from your life.

Plans however, those I like. Plans are fluid; you can change them as you go along and adapt them as things change around you.

I’ve got plans for 2013; some of are already in motion. First up I can tell you that I will have new stories appearing in four anthologies this year. The first one likely to hit the shelves is Chris Rhatigan’s All Due Respect, which includes my story ‘The Honeymooners’. I’ve recently seen the full line up and I can tell you it’s awesome. The guys at Near to the Knuckle have also put together a stellar cast for their very first anthology. Daz and Craig were some of the first guys to take a chance on me and publish my work. I’m honored to have my story ‘Brothers under the Bridge’ included in their debut anthology, which is penciled in for a February release. There are two more a little further down the line that I will dish the dirt on at a later date.

Other writing projects are also moving on a pace. You can expect to see me back in the gutter at the Flash Fiction Offensive with my story ‘Pigeon’. I will also be donning my spurs and six gun at Ron Earl Phillips new western fiction zine The Big Adios. I’m a big fan of the western and was delighted to make the cut with my first ever attempt at writing one. I have a feeling I will be trying my hand at some more stories in this genre.

The most exciting news will unfortunately have to remain largely under wraps for now. Okay, I can give you a little. Isaac Kirkman and I have been asked to join Ryan Sayles, Brian Panowich and Chuck Regan on the Zelmar Pulp crew for their next project; all I can tell you is that it will blow your mind, rock your world and leave your breath tasting minty fresh.

Welcome to the brave new world of 2013 people. Let’s hope it’s a good one.