Lone Crow & Wyatt Earp

I know I teased this story, Against the Gathering Darkness, a long, long time ago but sometimes that's how long it takes to get a story published. But it's finally here! Famous native American gunslinger Lone Crow and another guy named Wyatt Earp join forces to look for a lost archeologist up north of Skagway Alaska and discover a little more than they bargained for lurking at the bottom of a played out mine. This sucker is about 12,000 words long--room enough for some heavy-duty storytelling and an action-packed ending--and you can read it in Dark Worlds #5. If you've got an electronic reader that can handle (PDF) Portable Document Files or you don't mind reading on your computer you can save a bundle by picking up the $3.99 download.

However, some might be tempted to pick up the hard copy just because of the awesome M.D. Jackson cover. But besides the cool cover you're going to get the following line up of nifty pulp-style stories:

"Of Kings and Servants" by C.J. Burch (Sword and Sorcery)

The Hook by J.F. Gonzalez (Horror)

The Black Grave of Deception by Peter Welmerink (Sword and Sorcery)

Body of Work (A Mythos Horror 'Book Collector' story)

The Cryo Game by Jack Mackenzie (Space Adventure)

Black Destiny of Ys by David A. Hardy (Historical Fantasy)

Against the Gathering Darkness by Joel Jenkins (Historical Western Horror/Adventure)

An Interview with C. J. Burch: A Chuck the Barbarian Cartoon

The Soundtrack to Your Life

Finding snippets of music and song that have taken on a meaning in your life or recall some event or place in time has become much easier with the advent of Itunes. In a few minutes I can download a particular Led Zeppelin song and Ted Nugent's 'Stranglehold' and remember driving home late one hot summer night twenty years ago.

Other songs are not so easily recovered, but are perhaps more meaningful to me since I helped create them. 'Blood Adonis' from the band Dreamer's Eye is forever lost as is 'Shotgun' from Count Zero. Maybe there's a poor quality recording of these in a box lost in a former bandmate's garage...but probably not. These songs exist only in my memories and in the memories of a few others.

However, some songs have been recorded and saved. I found a couple of master tapes from the band Static Condition and through the technical expertise of Flow Motion Media I now have newly digitized version of Chemical Corruption , Maddas, Rollin' On, and Satan Dog.

What do these songs mean? Well, they have different meanings to the writer and to the listener--but for me, beyond my initial intended meaning, they are an audio snapshot of the energy, excitement, and even the budding disillusionment of my lost youth.

The Savage Bathos Primer

For those of you not familiar with the City of Bathos, the background--and it should be said, truly the main character--for my novels Escape from Devil's Head and Through the Groaning Earth there happens to be a handy primer available at SavageBathos.com.

The State of Fantasy Fiction and Through the Groaning Earth

Derrick Ferguson, author of the most excellent Dillon series (Dillon and the Legend of the Golden Bell, and Dillon and the Voice of Odin) has written an essay about my novel Through the Groaning Earth which, among other things, discusses the state of modern fantasy fiction.

Check it out at Derrick Ferguson's Notebook.

Coming Attractions

Through the Groaning Earth is now blurbed at the Coming Attractions website. This website specializes in previewing products that feature pulp characters from the pulp magazines of the thirties and forties or publications that are written in a style characteristic of the pulps of that era.

What, you might ask, qualifies as pulp-style? Ask any number of pulp-aficionados and you might receive any number of different answers, but they will all probably agree that the pulps were known for their fast-paced storyline that included plenty of action.

Does Through the Groaning Earth have plenty of fast-paced action? You better believe it. It's also got plenty of paranoia, intrigue, and characters you'd never want to meet in a dark alley--or anywhere else, for that matter.

Copies of Through the Groaning Earth are available at Amazon or cruise over the the Pulpwork Press website and if you order quickly enough you might be able to pick up a free copy of the prequel, Escape from Devil's Head. The free copy of Escape from Devil's Head is largely unadvertised and is only good until supplies run out.

The City in Darkness

In discussing my new book, Through the Groaning Earth, author Joshua Reynolds gives an interesting treatise on The City in Darkness and its place in fantasy. I only wish I would have had this treatise earlier. I think it would have made a great introduction to Through the Groaning Earth. Maybe if I ever get around to writing a third novel set in the City of Bathos...

Aaar! A Mistake.

Typos, grammatical errors--they're the author's worst enemy. Recently, a grammatical error slipped through on the back book cover of a handful of proof copies for my newest children's book (for children of all ages, naturally) Pirates of Mirror Land.

If you can spot the plural possessive problem on the back cover shoot me an email at joel dot jenkins at gmail dot com (just convert the dots and at to form a proper email address), and I'll award your grammatical prowess by sending you a free copy of the problematic pirate book.