HEROES AMONG SHADOWS Book Launch Day!

My first collection, HEROES AMONG SHADOWS, is now released!

It is available at Amazon. I have also put it through IngramSpark. If you prefer other platforms, check to see if it is available. (Or, if you want your local bookstore to order it!)

These stories will take you to tropical islands where spears and sorcery stand against gods and demons. You will meet a girl and her troll. Journey to a shadowy past where a veteran of the American Revolutionary War confronts dark forces. Travel to strange planets far away, and experience war in a North American timeline that never was.

There are two new stories in the book. The rest have been pulled together from previous publications.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Lono and the Little Gods
Pouring Whiskey in My Soul
The Pit of Punhaki
Claws of the Puma
The Island of Shadows
The Wreck of the Black Swan
The Vulture God
A Gate In Darkness
The Toll Taker and the Troll
Pearls of Uraton
Montreal Is Burning
Story Notes

Again worth a call out; Jeffrey Hayes of PlasmaFire Graphics did the cover!

HEROES AMONG SHADOWS, May 14th, 2024

I've chosen May 14th for the release of my first collection of short stories. Nearly all of these tales have been previously published, and there is a new story here for the first time (the story, in fact, which the cover art illustrates.)

These stories will take you to tropical islands where spears and sorcery stand against gods and demons. You will meet a girl and her troll. Journey to a shadowy past where a veteran of the American Revolutionary War confronts dark forces. Travel to strange planets far away, and experience war in a North American timeline that never was.

I could probably get the book out earlier, but first-time jitters. I want lead time if I need it. As of now, I put the book through KDP. Awaiting the print proof.

I also plan on listing through IngramSpark, so that bookstores and libraries can (or, will be more willing) to order the book.

Because of the way KDP works, the Kindle edition is already listed for pre-order!

coming soon ... HEROES AMONG SHADOWS!

 Cover reveal!

COMING SOON! 

HEROES AMONG SHADOWS, a collection of adventure tales. This collection gathers my published-to-date action/adventure/fantasy/dark-fantasy tales--with a couple of bonus stories appearing here for the first time.

These stories will take you to tropical islands where spears and sorcery stand against gods and demons. You will meet a girl and her troll. Journey to a shadowy past where a veteran of the American Revolutionary War confronts dark forces. Travel to strange planets far away, and experience war in a North American timeline that never was.

Jeffrey Hayes of Plasmafire Graphics knocked this cover out of the park!

Welcome to the dawn of Frizzen Flash Press--where flint strikes steel and creative sparks fly!

writing update, January 2024

Last year, I tried to keep a daily writing journal. That was not a favorable experiment. Fact is, I just don't get to write each day. Things happen. I know time needs to be carved but we don't need to get into that here.

I decided this year maybe a monthly public pulse-taking would serve me better. We'll see.

I hoped to write a novel this year. But I'm ramping up with some short stories first.

Current state of the brag shelf

This month I wrote and submitted one story. I wrote half of another, but missed the open call deadline. I might finish it for another call. Or, it might go in the file for later. There are other calls (two, at least) in March I want to aim for.

Not a lot of writing, but I have been doing the business of writing. I've assembled the content of my first collection. This will be my action/adventure/fantasy tales. I'm gathering previously published stories, with a couple of brand new stories to fill out the volume. (Horror tales will come later this year, in another collection, timed for release around Halloween.)

I wrote the introduction, and the story notes. I've proofed through six of the eleven tales. I reached out to a cover artist.

And that's where I am at.

The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

 

Introduced my son to THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS (1992.) One of the finest historical adventure movies ever made.

I own the blu ray. I re-watched last night with Michael Mann's commentary (not sure what year) and it is excellent. Highly recommended. Lots of history and background for the story. Well worth your time.

The "Making of" documentary is also stellar. Daniel-Day Lewis' immersion into Hawkeye is fascinating.

Worth acquiring, or borrowing from your local library.

HOUR OF THE ROBOT anniversary!

 

Happy one year anniversary to my first published novel,

HOUR OF THE ROBOT!

The Adventures of Doc Atlas

 

The Adventures of Doc Atlas, Volume 1 

by Michael A. Black & Raymond Louis Lovato

Airship 27 Productions have just (re-)released the initial adventures of Doc Atlas. Their plan is now to move forward with new volumes of new stories.

The cover art pretty much tells you what you're getting. Doc Atlas is a Doc Savage pastiche that doesn't stray far from its roots.

I guess you can consider that Doc Atlas is to Doc Savage as Solar Pons is to Sherlock Holmes.

Atlas is the next generation, adventuring after World War II (these three novellas take place in 1947.) Atlas and his team are headquartered in the Empire State building, just like his predecessor. The team is more streamlined, featuring Ace Assante as an analogous Ham, and Mad Dog Deagan as the analogous Monk. Unlike the stoic Doc Savage, Atlas also has a girlfriend, Penny Cartier.

Another difference is that Atlas and team will kill the bad guys when the danger heats up. No mercy bullets or brain operations to rehabilitate criminals here.

In this volume they take on temple robbers in Mexico, investigate strange airplane crashes in Roswell, and investigate the rise of a new threat in Brazil.

Doc Atlas is a fun pastiche of Doc Savage.

Looking forward to more!

Blood on the Blade, anthology coming in November!

Via Flinch Books' Facebook page;

This November, Flinch Books unleashes an all new pulp fiction anthology on an unsuspecting world, their first fantastic foray into the realm of Sword & Sorcery!

BLOOD ON THE BLADE boasts of ten tales of slashing swords and sinister sorcery brought to you by master pulp scribes Cliff Biggers, Adrian Cole, Anne Marie Lutz, Paul R. McNamee, James A. Moore, Dave Ritzlin, Charles R Rutledge, Frank Schildiner, Steven L. Shrewsbury, and James Ray Tuck Jr. It’s a feast of fantasy you won’t soon forget!

Conceived and edited by Jim Beard and John Bruening. Cover by Mark Wheatley.

My tale features my stalwart heroes of spear and spirit, Lono & Makani, once again riding the ocean waves of adventure.

ways to purchase HOUR OF THE ROBOT

 HOUR OF THE ROBOT

From their nerve center penthouse lair, the Robot supports the extraterrestrial superhero of the shining city of Pallas, the Alien. When a train disaster reveals an arms-smuggling operation, the Alien decides it is time for the Robot to join him in the field.

On the other end of the pipeline, in the city of Crowsport, resident vigilante crimefighters, the Protector and his sidekick, the Understudy, are closing in on a local gang boss.

Following the leads of their separate investigations, the Alien and the Protector—with the Robot and the Understudy in tow—serendipitously meet. But when their joint operation is broken, the Robot must step out into the world and work with the crimefighters to bring the suspects to justice.

But are there more dangerous forces at work than they realize?

Amazon (US)  Amazon (UK)

Barnes & Noble 

Smashwords 

Kobo 

Google Play

 In addition, I have print copies for sale from me, personally. Glad to sign (simple) or sign custom to a person. I would rather not drop my email here. Please contact me through social media messaging of your choice to arrange payment and shipping.

Twitter @pmcnamee67
Instagram @pmcnamee67
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/paul.mcnamee

(please note my Facebook page is semi-personal but if it is your preferred option, that's fine.)

Thank you!

HOUR OF THE ROBOT available for pre-order

My new novel--which is also my debut novel-- from Crossroad Press is now available for ebook pre-order. Yes, there will also be a print edition when the book is released.

Click here for the announcement (along with other books coming.)

If you prefer other ebook platforms, here is the list;

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08ZK6DJYJ

B&N

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hour-of-the-robot-paul-r-mcnamee/1139078420

Smashwords (will feed Apple, Overdrive, and some small sites)

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1075507

Google Play

https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=p8skEAAAQBAJ

Should also reach Kobo, if it hasn't already.

The HOUR approaches

 Some upcoming publishing news.

Crossroad Press have picked up my pulp superhero novel, Hour of the Robot. It will be released in July, under their YA imprint, Mystique Press.

 While not the first novel I have written, it is the first novel I haven't trunked and it is, therefore, my debut novel!

recent read; Barry Reese's LAZARUS GRAY

Not so much a review as just to let you know I've started digging into Barry Reese's Lazarus Gray series. I'm enjoying the heck out of it. If you want classic pulp adventure with that New Pulp feel, you need to start on this series.

I've been listening to audiobooks but the first three volumes are also available as a super-inexpensive omnibus ebook. Just $1!

recent reads; two from Airship 27

Bulldog Drummond: Disaster Zones by I.A. Watson

I.A. Watson has done a great job bringing Bulldog Drummond into the 21st century. This time around we get three novellas, where Bulldog battles neo-Nazis, faces off against an African warlord, and fights his way through baddies and a hurricane in the Caribbean. The action never lets up. Pure pulp action! I look forward to more new tales of Bulldog Drummond! 

 

All-American Sports Stories, Volume 2

Derrick Ferguson's "Brooklyn Beatdown" leads off this anthology of three sports novellas.  A story of boxing, and crime. The tale is a perfect mix of bare-knuckle brawling and lively characters.

The second tale is a baseball story. I wasn't very vested in that one, sorry to say. Not because of the baseball subject matter. The story didn't have enough action for me. It felt more like reading a newspaper's season-long-run sports story than a fiction tale.

Ron Fortier closes out the volume with a poignant football tale about a returning disabled Vietnam veteran who must figure out where his life will lead.

"Brooklyn Beatdown" was resurrected from a stand-alone edition (under the FIGHT CARD series) and is worth the price of admission. Highly recommended for that story alone.

recent read; DC Jones (and Adventure Command International,) Volume 1

DC Jones, Volume 1 by Jim Beard

There was a time, when toys were toys, action figures were not dolls, and the spirit of fun play came before cartoon tie-ins. (also, the toys were larger and offered many accessories.)

Jim Beard offers up three stories of heady nostalgia, wherein the names have been changed to appease the copyright gods. But, you'll know Jones from Joe soon enough, especially if you grew up during the 1970s.

Jones's Adventure Command are a crack team of action experts who live for adventure. They utilize state of the art (for the 1970s) equipment to accomplish their many missions around the world. In the first novella alone, they must deal with sharks, anomalous Egyptian ruins off the coast of California, cultists, and an incoming hurricane. It's the Perils of Pauline meets Doc Savage.

Jones will have you remembering similar toys you played with, and the adventures which would spring forth from imagination ... and the television commercials, and the Sears catalogs.

A fun, quick read down nostalgia lane.

recent read; DILLON Annual Collection 2018

DILLON Annual Collection 2018 by Derrick Ferguson

Continuing my foray into New Pulp, this DILLON Annual Collection 2018 has a spot on Derrick Ferguson's 100 New Pulp Books To Get You Started. What's that? You ask when happened the 25, the 50, the 75? Well, it was always Derrick's goal to create a list of 100 titles. Well worth your time to keep it handy. Pick a title now & then as part of your reading mix!

Back to the collection. Not only do we get a round up of DILLON novellas and short stories, this collection also includes the complete novel, DILLON AND THE PIRATES OF XONIRA, so it's a deal, especially at ebook prices.

Among the mix you'll find; a kidnapped movie star, lost artifacts, action, pirates, submarines, trains, intrigue & betrayals, showdowns with foes and friends, and a coveted bad ass belt buckle!

DILLON stories are very much action movies in prose form, and if you enjoy those flicks, any kind from the 1960s through today, you'll have a blast going along with Ferguson and Dillon on this collected joyride.

recent read; Bulldog Drummond: On Poisoned Ground

Bulldog Drummond: On Poison Ground by I.A. Watson

Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond is ex-SAS with a problem--he's easily bored. Civilian life holds nothing interesting for him. He places ads for excitement. Once he's sifted through the dross, he finds himself pulled into an international plot set on destroying Great Britain as a world power. Only Bulldog and his team of former comrades-in-arms can save the day, weaving between the law and the villains.

I.A. Watson brings us a modern Drummond. This novel is as high-octane as any action movie out there today. The novel is wall-to-wall action, does not let up, and leaves you breathless. There is also intrigue, and a plot that twists around like a motorcycle chase on a switchback.

Watson captures the core of "Bulldog" - his tenacity, more than anything, drives him to see a job finished until the bitter end.

If you like pulp, new pulp, action thrillers, James Bond, etc., you'll be right at home with Bulldog. After all, he inspired of many of those action hero creations. Bulldog Drummond was there first, and now he is back!

This revamp impressed me enough that I went back and started to read the first original Bulldog Drummond novel. I'm even more impressed, now. Not that the novel (so far) is terrible, but the overarching plot--financial destruction and destitution of Great Britain--and some of the villainous characters are the same. Watson truly delivered a reboot, not only using Drummond and team, but tapping the first novel to bring into the 21st century action milieu.

Hats off the I.A. Watson and the team at Airship 27! If you want to understand why they chose Drummond, and why they chose to update him for the 21st century, give this bit of podcast a listen/watch. I'm starting the link at 16:55. The Drummond discussion goes until 22:25.

 Airship 27 #59: 2019 in Review

recent read; Sinbad, The New Voyages (Vol. 1)

Sinbad - The New Voyages (Volume One)

I like what Ron Fortier and Rob Davis produce over at Airship 27. I've enjoyed what I've read (listened to) and they have many more titles intriguing me.

Inspired by the Ray Harryhausen SINBAD movies, they have arranged a new set of adventures for Sinbad and set him loose on the world, again. Sinbad sails the Seven Seas with a core international crew--first mate, Omar; a Gaul archer, Henri; a hulking Viking, Ralf; and even a woman samurai, Tishimi.

This volume contains three rousing novellas by Nancy Hansen, I. A. Watson, and Derrick Ferguson. Rest assured this is a cinematic, pulp Sinbad--though echoes of the original classic tales still remain.

I'd even argue these are sword-&-sorcery tales. Yes, they have a bit more levity which might impress a feeling of "(high) fantasy" but Sinbad is a rogue. While loyal to his crew and friends, he's often out for himself--seeking new lands to explore and searching for treasure.

I enjoyed these stories, and I'll be getting to the other volumes in the near future.

recent read; LIGHTNING WEARS A RED CAPE

Bringing something new to the superhero genre isn't always easy. Making superheroes pop off the page in prose is a tall order, too. And then, if an author wants to bring a proper measure of reality to their superhero story without taking a "tear it all down, this could never happen in real life" deconstruction attitude, that writer needs a deft touch.

Errick Nunnally can do all that. His new novel, LIGHTNING WEARS A RED CAPE, proves he can.

From the city to the statehouse, a quartet of super-powered criminals are pushing the power of their gangs' influence as far and as high as it will go. At the street level, altruistic heroes--super-powered and merely human--find themselves pulled into the widening conflict. 

Nunnally's love of comics and superheroes comes through. His superheroes show roots and have their own angles. Atlas, the super-cop. Thunder, the Puerto Rican Amazonian Wonder Woman and her speedster sidekick, Lightning. Shade--the space war veteran who just wants to live in peace and help his community thrive--like a skewed reflection of Green Lantern John Stewart.

And Shango, the unstoppable wildcard, an African god of thunder.

Other heroes in the shadows, discovering new abilities, waiting for their time to shine.

Nunnally keeps the reader engaged throughout. The action scenes flow. The downbeats push the plot along exactly as they should. When novel rockets into the climax, the action does not let up.

I recommend you read this excellent book. It's an important genre novel--it opens windows on the minority experience woven flawlessly into the narrative. Something Errick Nunnally does extremely well.

LIGHTING deserves a sequel, and I can't wait to read that, too!

recent read; GREEN LAMA UNBOUND by Adam Lance Garcia

THE GREEN LAMA: UNBOUND by Adam Lance Garcia

Another entry from Derrick Ferguson's 75 New Pulp Book To Get You Started list. (which, you should keep handy.)

I've not read any original Green Lama tales, nor have I read Garcia's Green Lama tales leading into this story. (It's the third in a series.) But that did not matter. I got hooked into the story. I had no problems locking in and going for the ride.

I don't want to give away too much. The plot, in a nutshell; Nazis ally themselves with cultists of the Old Ones. They are preparing to awaken Cthulhu when the stars align and R'lyeh rises from the sea bottom. The Green Lama and his companions, of course, are the ones who must stop the cataclysm.

I don't know how much of the original tales told of the Green Lama's origin. Garcia threads an in-depth origin story via flashbacks as the plot unfolds. He does a good job of tying the Green Lama's power and fate to the fate of Cthulhu and the Old Ones.

There are even a couple of pulp Easter eggs, with certain heroes being described but not named, who have crossed the Green Lama's path. And a few Lovecraft story title nods along the way, too.

I enjoyed this novel, a lot. It is done well.

In fact, I enjoyed THE GREEN LAMA: UNBOUND so much, I will be reading Garcia's two previous volumes. And I will need to try some of the original Green Lama pulp stories, too.

STORYHACK Issue Three, now available!

STORYHACK, Issue Three, is available now!

I've posted about this earlier. I am honored and excited to have the featured story with cover art!

I'd read an article on rubber tree poaching and those who stand against it. I noted it at the time because I thought it would be a great setting for a modern western. Later, when I wanted to try my hand at a jungle hero story, I decided to use it.

So, a touch of "torn from today's headlines!", a dash of a western, and a helping of jungle lore, plus me equals - "Claws of the Puma."

The interior illustration by Gian Luca is stunning, too.

Thanks for reading, and buying, and supporting 'zines and small press!