Hail fellow red-blooded pulp mercenaries!
Fall has been grinding and productive. Ups and downs in bouts, but that’s how it goes. I hope you are all well!
REH Foundation
I start this quarter’s newsletter with something bigger than my own failures and successes. Every single one of us has been touched in some way by the writings of Robert E. Howard. When I was smuggled into that theater by older boys in 1982, I didn’t know what I was being drawn into, but I’m glad for it. When I read The Savage Sword of Conan and was transported to the majestic and menacing vistas of the Hyborian Age, I caught a glimpse.
Now, Two-Gun Bob’s home is in danger. The place was restored and turned into a museum by Cross Plain’s Project Pride. The building itself is a kit house, ordered out of a Sears catalogue, and assembled by the Howard clan themselves in 1919. It wasn’t built to last a century, but Project Pride has done a great job in maintenance.
But Cross Plains and Project Pride are small, and they don’t have access to the funds or expertise needed. They are largely passionate and dedicated volunteers.
Sadly, it was discovered that the house has foundational issues and termite damage. They need our help! If you love REH, or pulps at all, please consider donating a few dollars. I would love to visit the REH Home in the future. It’s a monument to both literary and American history.
Princess of the Shrouded Mountain is in final edits!
Princess of the Shrouded Mountain is almost done. I’m on the last stages of editing, and I strongly considered staring the pre-order so that I could announce it here.
But I don’t want to feel rushed. I’ll be chatting with my fine editor Daniel soon, and though the overall story is solid (IMHO), and the grammar and spelling are fixed (as much as humanly possible), there are a few touch ups needed. I’d like to polish the prose a bit. Instead, here’s the cover reveal, exclusive to readers of The Wandering Wonderer!
I’m still hoping for a pre-Christmas release so keep and eye out for the pre-order campaign. I will, of course, post as soon as its available. A paperback will follow as soon as possible after the Ebook.
Battleborn
Battleborn is a new magazine of astounding tales, swords, sorcery, and adventure! You all know this as I won’t shut up about it. It’s not every day you see your name beside modern sword & sorcery and pulp legends, and I’m there in issue #1. As of my last newsletter, the Indiegogo campaign was underway.
It was a success, and the first three issues are fully funded!
Not only that, but Sean CW Korsgaard has pulled out all the stops and added 20k words to each issue. Yes, I have subbed a story that I hope will appear in issue 2 or 3, but even if I don’t get a spot, issues 1, 2, and 3 will be both fantastic and THICC.
Weird Frequencies
What happens when you bring together a dozen or so booktubers? And not just any booktubers, but those who pry into the strange, unlit corridors of pulp, vintage, and little known tomes…
You get weird. That’s what you get.
Weird Frequencies is an anthology of sci-fi, action, adventure, and other fast-paced, pulpy tales. All stories are already written, and Jake from Pulp Mortem and Justin from Fathom Press are editing and formatting this strange beast with love. You can be sure I’ll make an announcement as soon as there is a link to drop.
Every author runs a YouTube channel devoted to the weird and the wonderful. We all largely talk about niche topics. Steven King may come up, but it’s a rarity. Have you heard of Bumsiders? Maybe it’s best I don’t bring that up.
Here’s a list of their channel handles if you’d like to have a look:
@secretfirebooks7894
@PulpMortem
@TheBookGraveyard
@TheOutlawLeviWallace
@vintagesf
@BadTasteBooks
@sfwordsofwonder
@LiminalSpaces03
@newsfromthegelding
@JosephReadsBooks
@InfiniteText
@erikwaag6438
@literallybooks
Strip Mall Karate
Thanks to all who have picked up a copy of this oddball 80s inspired karate tale. It zipped up to 24th place in Amazon’s Teen & Young Adult Short Stories briefly, beating out a Roald Dahl story!
This story is an oddball. I wrote as a weird pulp aimed at adults, but afterwards realized that if I toned down the language just a bit it would make a good YA story as well. Give it a shot if you like some 80s karate action and a bit of nostalgia bait.
Other Short Stories
Pirates, wizards, flying apes… as I’ve mentioned before, once book three is out I’ll be focusing on a few shorts. Some of those are already underway.
Check out my Spear-Brothers!
Nesh by TH Brandt
I just picked up a copy of this gem. It’s a collection of horrific shorts stories by fellow Weird Frequencies Author. TH Brandt!
The door to fear and madness has been opened.
Darkness dwells within every heart, but true evil is something only experienced by an unlucky few. There exists, in the world beyond the ether, something like a dark avatar - the source from which all ungodly horrors flow. Its name is Nesh, and these are the stories of those unfortunate souls who have been affected by its influence.
Nesh and Other Necromancies collects 11 chilling tales, each one weirder and more deranged than the last. Originally published in author T.H. Brandt’s e-zine Necromancer, these stories appear now, for the first time in print, in this gruesome paperback grimoire!
The Scorched Hunter by Andrew Johnston
Here’s a new fantasy read worth checking out!
An attack on Anna’s hometown, joined by rumors of a dictatorship, thrusts her into Lamparien politics. Anna’s reluctance holds her prisoner, worried people will mock her burnt face and sealed eye. Hiding isn’t an option when men are being sent to kill her.
Proving worthy of governing her people is taxing, and a tournament will be her final test. If she doesn’t win the tournament, then Lampara will see a tomorrow with tyranny on the horizon.
The Scorched Hunter Newsletter
YouTube
My REH Conan series is stalled due to lack of time and I’m picking my battles. I’m proud of these videos despite low viewership. These are evergreen videos, though, and I’ll make more soon, but man, work continues to be a challenge, and this series has suffered the most.
Despite that, I’ll be making other videos as time permits.
In order to grow my channel, I thought I’d try making sword and sorcery movie clips, one-minute sword & sorcery reads, and clips of my previous videos. I never gave shorts much thought, but the pay off has been immediate.
I get more practice in video editing, voice acting, and time management (which has, admittedly, never been great). And it’s paying off. One of my shorts has gone viral, and gotten nearly half a million views as well as more hours of watch time and subs than every other video I’ve done in the past combined. That’s just how the algorithm works I suppose, but it’s just more proof that consistency pays.
That’s all I’ve got for today. Keep it savage!
-Erik
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.