Cover Art: Teel James Glenn

Pulp Empire has announced the release of Doc Claus in trade paperback format for your reading pleasure. Doc Clause is available at Amazon and CreateSpace. (Ebook editions coming later this week) and features a cover by Teel James Glenn.

About Doc Claus:
You may know him as the Man of Presents, but his friends know he is far more than that!

Doc Claus springs off the pages in five new adventures! With a bit of comedy and a bit of parody, our hero and his allies set out to protect the world… 364 days a year! And with the rest of the Holiday Patrol: Cupid, Easy, Remmy, Montgomery, Comet, and of course, the Missus, he may be the only defense against the most nefarious threats the world has to offer!

Doc and company star in five new adventures by a quintet of talented writers: Travis Hiltz (Horror Heroes), Terry Alexander (Modern Pulp Heroes), Robbie Lizhini (Presidential Pulp) and Pulp Empire newcomers M. H. Norris and Greg Daniel bring a book overflowing with adventures for the holidays and beyond!

Buy the print edition for a mere $10 at Createspace and Amazon. Digital readers can expect digital editions just in time for Christmas!

This isn’t the St. Nick you know!

Michael D. Sellers’ new book, John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood, takes a look at the story that brought John Carter of Mars to the big screen.

About John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood:

It took 100 years to bring Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars to the big screen. It took Disney Studios just ten days to declare the film a flop and lock it away in the Disney vaults. How did this project, despite its quarter-billion dollar budget, the brilliance of director Andrew Stanton, and the creative talents of legendary Pixar Studios, become a calamity of historic proportions? Michael Sellers, a filmmaker and Hollywood insider himself, saw the disaster approaching and fought to save the project – but without success. In John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood, Sellers details every blunder and betrayal that led to the doom of the motion picture – and that left countless Hollywood careers in the wreckage. JOHN CARTER AND THE GODS OF HOLLYWOOD examines every aspect of Andrew Stanton’s adaptation and Disney’s marketing campaign and seeks to answer the question: What went wrong? it includes a history of Hollywood’s 100 year effort to bring the film to the screen, and examines the global fan movement spawned by the film.

John Carter and the Gods of Hollywood is now available at Amazon.

Daphne Alexander as Modesty Blaise

BBC Radio adds Modesty Blaise to their 15 Minute Drama. You can listen to sample clips at www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p012gc6l.

Meet Modesty Blaise (aka the female James Bond)
Modesty Blaise is glamorous, intelligent, rich and very, very cool. She’s been called the female James Bond but she’s much more interesting than that.

Modesty started life in 1963 as a strip cartoon in the London Evening Standard. The first of the novels followed three years later.

Daphne Alexander plays Modesty in Radio 4’s adaptation of A Taste for Death.

Modesty Blaise – A Taste for Death Episode 1 of 5
Duration: 15 minutes
First broadcast: Monday 17 December 2012
She’s glamorous, intelligent, rich and very, very cool. Modesty Blaise has been called the female James Bond but she’s much more interesting than that. With her expertise in martial arts and unusual weapons, the ability to speak several languages and her liking for fast cars, twenty-something Modesty became a female icon long before the likes of Emma Peel, Lara Croft, or Buffy.

In Stef Penney’s brand new radio adaptation of Peter O’Donnell’s novel, Sir Gerald Tarrant, Head of a secret British agency, tempts Modesty out of retirement and into a job involving a young woman with extra sensory powers, an exotic desert location, and a larger than life public school villain, intent on murdering his way to a vast fortune. With its perfect cocktail of glamorous settings, hidden treasure, a twisting turning plot, and characters to root for, A Taste for Death is an action packed treat – and a guilty pleasure.

With an original score by Goldfrapp’s Will Gregory, arranged by Ian Gardiner, and performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Ben Foster.

Produced and Directed by Kate McAll

Interesting Modesty Facts:
Modesty first started life in 1963 as a strip cartoon in the London Evening Standard – the first of the novels followed three years later.

Vincent Vega, played by John Travolta, is seen reading a Modesty Blaise book in Pulp Fiction.

Learn more about Modesty Blaise – A Taste for Death Episode 1 of 5 here.

There is no doubt, THE HOBBIT will be doing big box office this weekend, but did you know there was a point where Martin Freeman may not have returned as Bilbo Baggins? Director Peter Jackson shares the story plus answers the question on why two more HOBBIT films are on the way. And Image confuses retailers with  a new “no reprint” policy.

Take us ANYWHERE! The Point Radio App is now in the iTunes App store – and it’s FREE! Just search under “pop culture The Point”. The Point Radio  – 24 hours a day of pop culture fun for FREE. GO HERE and LISTEN FREE on any computer or on any other  mobile device with the Tune In Radio app – and follow us on Twitter @ThePointRadio.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AMAZING STORIES are just one click away!

Amazing Stories, the world’s first science fiction magazine, opens for Beta Testing of Phase 1 on Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013.

Fifty+ Bloggers Sign On to provide oodles of genre-related content!

The Experimenter Publishing Company is pleased to announce the reintroduction of the world’s most recognizable science fiction magazine – AMAZING STORIES!

Set to relaunch with a Beta Test of its new Social Magazine Platform, Amazing Stories will feature content from 50+ bloggers, covering an enormous array of subjects of interest to genre fans.

“We’ve got authors and agents, bloggers and editors, podcasters and broadcasters; we’ve got gamers and game designers; artists and art collectors; pulpsters and indie authors; we’ve got Hugo winners, John W. Campbell Memorial Award winners, John W. Campbell Best New Writer winners, Nebula and Hugo Award nominees and winners and nominees of other awards; people who review films, people who make films; we’ve got fanboys and fangirls; we’ve got former editors of Amazing Stories, writers who’ve become synonymous with the field and writers who are just getting started; comic artists, book reviewers; traditionally published authors, self-pubbed authors and authors who’ve done it all. The response to my request for participation was phenomenal – it couldn’t be more perfect if I had set out with a list of must-haves!” said Steve Davidson, publisher. 

Amazing Stories’ Social Magazine platform is designed to create an interactive environment that will be familiar to fans – especially those who attend conventions or enjoy club activities – with blog content designed to encourage discussion and take things beyond the usual user-generated content model for social networks.

The Amazing Stories Blog Team will cover (for now – more coming!) fourteen popular topics – Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Literature, Film, Television, Gaming, Comics and Graphic Works, the Visual Arts, the Pulps, Audio Works, Anime, the Business of Publishing, Science and Fandom itself. 

At this year’s Worldcon (Chicon 7, Chicago), Toastmaster John Scalzi offered up these words during the convention’s opening ceremonies:

…who are we as a community?
This year at least, we are bloody fantasy, we are epic-scale space opera, we are an intimate picture of growing up geeky, we are ready to take on the zombie apocalypse.
We speak in alien tongues, we are super heroes and we are on the spectrum.
We cry like children and we cradle our awards.
We sing, we write, we draw, we edit. We talk on every subject science fictional or fantastical.
We’re men and we’re women. We’re gay and straight. Cis gender and trans. Majority and minority. Left and right. First time nominees and old hands.
We are diverse – and we are all in this together. 

“We are diverse – and we are all in this together”, a sentiment that captures the heart and soul of what it means to be a fan. Amazing Stories aims to be the vehicle through which the diversity of fandom can come together. 

Amazing Stories’ relaunch will take place in two phases. Those interested in participating in the Beta Test of Phase 1 should contact the publisher atsteve.davidson33@comcast.net. Phase 2 will introduce additional interactivity and user-customization to the site. Following the completion and testing of Phase 2, the magazine, featuring both new and reprint fiction, essays, photo galleries, reviews and more will begin publication. Readers who are interested in what the magazine will look like can read two Relaunch Prelaunch issues on line, or download them from the Amazing Stories store. (Additional Amazing Stories themed product is also available here.)

The Amazing Stories Blog Team:

Cenobyte, Mike Brotherton, Ricky L. Brown, Michael A Burstein, 

Catherine Coker, Johne Cook, Paul Cook, Gary Dalkin, Jane Frank, 

Jim Freund, Adam Gaffen, Chris Garcia, Chris Gerwel, Tommy Hancock,

Liz Henderson, Samantha Henry, M. D. Jackson, Monique Jacob, 

Geoffrey James, J. J. Jones, Peggy Kolm, Justin Landon, Andrew Liptak, 

Melissa Lowery, Barry Malzberg, C. E. Martin, Farrell J. McGovern, 

Steve Miller, Matt Mitrovich, Aidan Moher, Diane Severson Mori, 

Kevin Murray, Ken Neth, Astrid Nielsch, D. Nicklin-Dunbar, John 

Purcell, James Rogers, Doug Smith, Lesley Smith, Bill Spangler, 

Duane Spurlock, Michael J. Sullivan, G. W. Thomas, Erin Underwood, 

Stephan Van Velzen, Cynthia Ward, Michael Webb, Keith West, 

John M. Whalen, Ann Wilkes, Leah Zeldez

Originally launched in 1926 by the father of science fiction, Hugo Gernsback, Amazing Stories helped to launch both the science fiction genre and its most enduring feature, science fiction fandom. The magazine is well known for its Frank R. Paul covers and for publishing the first stories by many iconic authors such as Isaac Asimov, Jack Williamson and Ursula Le Guin. Published continuously from 1926 until 1995, followed by two brief resurrections from 1998 till 2000 and from 2004 thru 2005. In 2008 Hasbro, the then current owner, allowed its trademarks to lapse and publisher Steve Davidson applied for and eventually received them in 2011.

For additional information, to find out how to join the Amazing Stories Blog Team or to request an invite to the Beta Test of Phase 1, please email the publisher, Steve Davidson.

Tom and Ginger Johnson return to chat with The Book Cave’s Art Sippo, Bruce Rosenberger, and Ric Croxtin about their newest ebook creations. Try and guess which of the three stories is the Book Cave crew’s favorite.

Listen to The Book Cave Episode 209: The return of the Pulp Power Couple now at http://thebookcave.libsyn.com/the-book-cave-episode-209-the-return-of-the-pulp-power-couple

Art: Eric Johns

Mechanoid Press’ James Palmer has unveiled the cover art for MONSTER EARTH by the artist Eric Johns. Get more information here.

PRESS RELEASE:

Contact: James Palmer
palmerwriter@yahoo.com
http://www.mechanoidpress.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monster Earth Coming Soon!

Atlanta, GA—James Palmer, editor and publisher of Mechanoid Press, an independent publishing imprint specializing in New Pulp, science fiction, and more, is proud to announce the upcoming release of its first anthology MONSTER EARTH.

MONSTER EARTH harkens back to the classic giant monsters of yesteryear like Godzilla, Mothra, Gamera, and King Kong, while focusing on the human element and what it would be like to live in such a world where giant monsters terrorize the Earth.

“There have been a few other giant monster anthologies over the years,” says Palmer. “But our book is going to be a bit different. It has a unifying concept, as well as a solid pulp style of storytelling.”

Developed by MONSTER EARTH co-editor Jim Beard (writer, Captain Action and the Riddle of the Glowing Men), each story in the book takes place in a different decade of the 20th century, which leads to a Cold War fought with giant monsters rather than the threat of nuclear weapons.

“I really wanted all the stories to have an underlying thread that weaves between them all the stories, and Jim really came up with a winner.”

The stories in MONSTER EARTH have a strong human angle as well.

“Focusing in on the human beings living in this world is important to me,” says Palmer. “The monsters are like forces of nature, with the humans trying to control them. But don’t worry, these aren’t just regular human interest stories with a monster thrown in for window dressing. There are plenty of great monster battles and more than enough citywide destruction to please the most discerning kaiju fan – and anyone who loves a good tale.

Palmer and Beard have assembled a great line-up of New Pulp all-stars to give us their visions of a world ruled by giant monsters. MONSTER EARTH will include stories by I.A. Watson (Sherlock Holmes, Blackthorn: Dynasty of Mars), Ed Erdelac (The Merkabah Rider), Nancy Hansen, and newcomer Jeff McGinnis. Beard and Palmer will also provide stories, and there will be a free online bonus tale by Jeff McGinnis coming out shortly before the book’s release.

MONSTER EARTH is slated for a Christmas release, and will be available in print and ebook formats.

For more information and updates, including a preview of the cover and table of contents when they are finalized, go to http://www.mechanoidpress.com/ and sign up for our FREE newsletter.

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About Mechanoid Press:
Mechanoid Press is a new imprint specializing in science fiction, New Pulp, and steampunk ebooks and anthologies. For more, visit http://www.mechanoidpress.com/ or follow the robot revolution on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mechanoidpress. You can also like Mechanoid Press on Facebook.