First up of this year's prints is MONSTER EARTH, an anthology based on all those old giant monster movies of yesteryear.

Or, as the blurb would have it:

Welcome to MONSTER EARTH, a world where the Cold War was fought not with the threat of nuclear destruction, but with Giant Monsters. Watch as the denizens of this Earth that might have been learn to harness the power of these legendary creatures for good and ill.

I.A. Watson's contribution, Famous Monsters of World War II, or Happy Birthday Bobby Fetch, recounts the well-known incident where the terrible Japanese tentacle-beast Kraakus attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, and outlines the exploits of two courageous youngsters who are the only people able to stand against the unstoppable creature that might turn the course of the war.


"Monster Earth"
ISBN-10: 0615753469 ISBN-13: 978-0615753461
Release date: January 2013

Edited by Jim Beard and James Palmer
Purchase from Createspace Retail Price: $14.95
$2.99 Kindle version also available at Amazon


And, in the eight hours since I originally posted this, I've been informed that SHERLOCK HOLMES: CONSULTING DETECTIVE volume 4 is also now released. These anthologies usually sell pretty well, and so far my stories have been in all of them. Here's what the publisher has to say on this one:

HOLMES RETURNS

Airship 27 Productions proudly announces the release of the fourth volume in its most successful anthology series to date; SHERLOCK HOLMES – CONSULTING DETECTIVE. “These are the books our fans keeping demanding more of,” reported Ron Fortier, Managing Editor of Airship 27. “Readers around the world just can’t seem to get enough of the Great Detective. Considering the popularity of shows such as SHERLOCK on BBC and ELEMENTARY on NBC, it’s clearly obvious that the crime solving team of Holmes and Dr. Watson are still as popular as ever.”

The time and place, Victorian England on the cusp of a new century where the marvels of science will spur the Industrial Revolution to new heights of cultural wonder. And yet amidst this societal upheaval, the dark elements of human kind continue to worm their way through the streets of London and its surrounding countryside. Murder and mayhem remain and thus the work of Sherlock Holmes continues; his powers of deductive reasoning the crucial bulwark to stem this tide of villainy.

Here are five new adventures of Holmes and Dr.Watson written in the traditional style of his creator, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Writers I.A. Watson, Aaron Smith, Bradley H. Sinor, Bill Thinnes and Andrew Salmon deliver a quintet of truly memorable cases to challenge the famous crime fighting duo. From the murder of a man who collects clockwork automatons to the theft of a valued Japanese sword, our heroes are once again called into action confronting a diverse set of mysteries guaranteed to entice the world’s greatest Consulting Detective.

Fortier relishes the debut of this new volume considering the overwhelming acclaim of the first three in the series. “Amongst those books were four Pulp Factory Award winners,” he recalls happily. “Two for Best Pulp Short Story of the Year, one for Best Pulp Cover and another for Best Interior Artwork. The literary and artistic bars for this series have been set extremely high and we would have it no other way.”

The Pulp Factory Awards denoting the best pulp story and art from the previous year are voted on by the members of the Pulp Factory Yahoo Group and presented to the winners each year at the Windy City Paper & Pulp Show.

Sporting a cover by Chad Hardin with interior illustrations and design by Rob Davis, the fourth volume in this bestselling series also features a fascinating essay, “The Mystery of Mr. Holmes,” by I.A. Watson. Here is grand adventure as Sherlock Homes fans around
the world have come to expect from Airship 27 Productions.

PULP FICTION FOR A NEW GENERATION!


Now Available at Create Space
At the Airship 27 Website
At Amazon & Kindle within a week.
Then at Indy Planet

It's a toss-up now as to which of several projects hanging over from 2012 gets to the marketplace next. Candidates include ROBIN HOOD: FREEDOM'S OUTLAW, THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SEMI-DUAL, or some other bits that I'm not allowed to hype until there's a proper press release.

So I told them:

http://www.mechanoidpress.com/2013/01/28/giant-monsters-in-our-heads-a-guest-post-by-i-a-watson/

The Academy has spoken and the final ballot is out for the Pulp Factory industry awards 2012/13. This is one of two pulp fiction industry awards (think Oscar vs Bafta or something), and this is is of special interest because TWO PVB posters have made it to the final!

Voting is limited to a closed list of around 140 "industry figures" - writers, artists, editors and publishers - and the winners are announced (and presented with the awards if they're present) at the Windy City Paper and Pulp Show. Winner gets quite a nice trophy (see below). Other nominees get a pen.

The nominations are:

BEST PULP NOVEL

( ) Dynasty of Mars by I.A. Watson – White Rocket Books.
( ) Blood of the Centipede by Chuck Miller – Pro Se Productions
( ) The Lone Ranger : Vendetta by Howard Hopkins – Moonstone Books

BEST PULP SHORT STORY

( ) The Ghoul by Ron Fortier (Monster Aces – Pro Se Productions)
( ) Wounds by Andrew Salmon (The Ruby Files – Airship 27 Productions)
( ) Die Giftig Lilie by Sean Taylor (The Ruby Files – Airship 27 Productions)
( ) Case of the Wayward Brother by Bobby Nash (The Ruby Files – Airship 27)
( ) Sinbad and the Sapphire of the Djinn by I.A. Watson (Sinbad The New Adventures – Airship 27 Productions)

BEST PULP COVER (shortlisted from over 30 entries in the long list)
( ) Blackthorn – Dynasty of Mars by Adam Diller (White Rocket Books)
( ) The Infernal Buddha by Joe Devito (Altus Press)
( ) The Ruby Files by Mark Wheatley (Airship 27 Productions)

BEST INTERIOR ILLUSTRATIONS

( ) Rob Davis – Secret Agent X Vol IV (Airship 27 Productions)
( ) George Sellas – Tales of the Rook (Pro Se Productions)
( ) Rob Moran – The Ruby Files (Airship 27 Productions)
( ) Ralf van der Hoeven – Sinbad The New Voyages (Airship 27 Productions)

Of course, I'll be rooting for Vizh's cover:



Here's what the awards look like:



HH