Title: Black Pulp
Authors: Walter Mosley, Joe R. Lansdale, Gary Phillips, Charles Saunders, Derrick Ferguson, D. Alan Lewis, Christopher Chambers, Mel Odom, Kimberly Richardson, Ron Fortier, Michael Gonzales, Gar Anthony Haywood, and Tommy Hancock
Published By: Pro Se Productions, 2013
Reviewed By: Jessica B.
Rating: 3/5 Stars
This collection contains 12 pulp fiction stories, with an introduction piece and author biography section. Each story varies in genre, with most containing action scenes or small plot twists.
While short stories are not my first choice to read, the story “Mtimu,” was my favorite among this collection. The writing style contained beautiful descriptions, especially the beginning. I could picture the jungle scenes and the animals involved in the story. Charles Saunders has a talent for writing and engages the reader through his details. Also, I enjoyed “Dillon and the Alchemist’s Morning Coffee.” While I didn’t care for the particular writing style in terms of the dialogue, the plot was action packed and kept my interest. The other stories weren’t awful; each writer has a unique style and plotline. However, they just weren’t for me.
While the stories didn’t all capture my interest, I really enjoy collections like this. Short stories are quick and get right to the action. If one catches your interest you can enjoy it. If it doesn’t, you don’t feel as if you’ve wasted your time reading it. And most of the time you can appreciate the writer’s efforts and ability to create their piece.
About the Book:
From Today's Best Authors and up and coming writers comes BLACK PULP from Pro Se Productions! BLACK PULP is a collection of stories featuring characters of African origin, or descent, in stories that run the gamut of genre fiction! A concept developed by noted crime novelist Gary Phillips, BLACK PULP brings bestselling authors Walter Mosley and Joe R. Lansdale, Gary Phillips, Charles R. Saunders, Derrick Ferguson, D. Alan Lewis, Christopher Chambers, Mel Odom, Kimberly Richardson, Ron Fortier, Michael A. Gonzales, Gar Anthony Haywood, and Tommy Hancock together to craft adventure tales, mysteries, and more, all with black characters at the forefront! "Literature for the masses kindled the imagination and used our reading skills so that we could regale ourselves in the cold chambers of alienation and poverty. We could become Doc Savage or The Shadow, Conan the Barbarian or the brooding King Kull and make a difference in a world definitely gone wrong."--Walter Mosley from his introduction. Between these covers are 12 tales of action, adventure, and thrills featuring heroes and heroines of darker hues that will appeal to audiences everywhere! BLACK PULP! From Pro Se Productions!
About the Authors:
(Taken from the end of the book)
Walter Mosley is one of America's most celebrated and beloved writers. His books have won numerous awards and have been translated into more than twenty languages.
Mosley is the author of the acclaimed Easy Rawlins series of mysteries, including national bestsellers Cinnamon Kiss, Little Scarlet, and Bad Boy Brawly Brown; the Fearless Jones series, including Fearless Jones, Fear Itself, and Fear of the Dark; the novels Blue Light and RL's Dream; and two collections of stories featuring Socrates Fortlow, Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, for which he received the Anisfield-Wolf Award, and Walkin' the Dog. He lives in New York City. Check out more at: http://www.waltermosley.com
Joe R. Lansdale is the author of over thirty novels and numerous short stories. His work has appeared in national anthologies, magazines, and collections, as well as numerous foreign publications. He has written for comics, television, film, newspapers, and Internet sites. His work has been collected in eighteen short-story collections, and he has edited or co-edited over a dozen anthologies. He has received the Edgar Award, eight Bram Stoker Awards, the Horror Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the British Fantasy Award, the Grinzani Cavour Prize for Literature, the Herodotus Historical Fiction Award, the Inkpot Award for Contributions to Science Fiction and Fantasy, and many others. His novella Bubba Hotep was adapted to film by Don Coscarelli, starring Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis. His story Incident On and Off a Mountain Road was adapted to film for Showtime's Masters of Horror. He is currently co- producing several films, among them The Bottoms, based on his Edgar Award-winning novel, with Bill Paxton and Brad Wyman, and The Drive-In, with Greg Nicotero. He is Writer In Residence at Stephen F. Austin State University, and is the founder of the martial arts system Shen Chuan: Martial Science and its affiliate, Shen Chuan Family System. He is a member of both the United States and International Martial Arts Halls of Fame. He lives in Nacogdoches, Texas with his wife, dog, and two cats. His latest book, THE THICKET, debuts from Mullholland this fall. More about Joe and his works can be found here: http://www.joerlansdale.com
Gary Phillips, Mystery and New Pulp writer, has penned short stories for Moonstone’s Kolchak: The Night Stalker Casebook, The Avenger Chronicles, The Green Hornet Casefiles and the upcoming Spider: Extreme Prejudice anthologies. His most current novel is Warlord of Willow Ridge which Booklist said of the work, “Phillips is a veteran crime novelist who creates a plausible post-apocalyptic scenario in which the safety of middle-class America can dissolve in a moment. Exciting, violent, and entertaining.” He also has out the ebook novella, The Essex Man: 10 Seconds to Death, a homage to ‘70s era paperback vigilantes. Please visit his website at: http:// www.gdphillips.com.
Charles Saunders was born in 1946 in English, Pennsylvania, a small town located near Pittsburgh. He also lived in a bigger town, Norristown, near Philadelphia before going to Lincoln University, where he graduated with a degree in psychology and curiosity in 1968. Since 1985, Charles has lived in Nova Scotia. Charles has worked as a community college teacher and research assistant. Journalism found him in 1989, when he began writing an opinion column. He later became a copy editor, and his last day job - which was really a night job - was editorial writer and editorial page editor for the Halifax Daily News. The first spark of Imaro, his most celebrated work, came to Saunders in 1970 and the flame has risen and fallen ever since. He has also written non-fiction books, two screenplays for direct-to-video movies, and two radio plays. These days, he is concentrating on the revival of Imaro, as well as other African-oriented fantasy ideas. Charles keeps up a blog about his work here: http://www.charlessaunderswriter.com
Derrick Ferguson is from Brooklyn, New York where he has lived most of my life. He has been married for 27 years to the wonderful Patricia Cabbagestalk-Ferguson who lets him get away with far more than is good for him.
Derrick’s interests include old radio shows, classic pulps from the 30's/40's, comic books, fan fiction, Star Trek, pop culture, science fiction, animation, television and movies. His primary love is reading and writing and he’s written several books to date: Dillon And The Voice of Odin, his love letter to classic pulp action/adventure with a modern flavor and the sequel, Dillon And The Legend of The Golden Bell as well as Four Bullets for Dillon; Derrick Ferguson's Movie Review Notebook and its sequel The Return of Derrick Ferguson's Movie Review Notebook; Diamondback Vol I: It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time, a spaghetti western disguised as a modern day gangster/crime thriller.
Anything else you'd like to know about Derrick, check out more here: http://dlferguson- bloodandink.blogspot.com
D. Alan Lewis is a native of Chattanooga, Tennessee who now resides in Nashville with his children. He has been writing and illustrating technical guides and manuals for various employers for over twenty years but only in recent years has branched out in to writing fiction. In 2006, Alan took the reins of a Novelists Group where he has been working to teach and aid aspiring writers. Alan's debut novel, The Blood in Snowflake Garden was a Top Ten finalist for the 2010 Claymore Award. He also has a number of short stories published as well as other projects in the works. Find out more at: http://www.snowflakegarden.com
Professor Christopher Chambers, a Washington, D.C. native and Georgetown University professor, is author of the best-selling Angela Bivens series for Random House, and is co-editor of Darker Mask: Heroes from the Shadows. He was a PEN/Malamud finalist for short fiction. He is also commentator for The Root, RT America, MSNBC and Huffington Post Live. His novel Yella Patsy's Boys will drop in 2014.Keep up with Professor Chambers at here: http://dangerfieldnewby.tumblr.com
Mel Odom writes in a number of fields, but always with the hope of telling an interesting tale that will incite a reader to think for himself or herself, to examine his or her own place in the world, and offer a little nudge in the direction of dreams, faith, and personal growth in spite of whatever odds a person has to face. Mel also believes we were all put here for a purpose. Hopefully, several purposes. Mel is a father, a little league coach, a teacher, a friend, and a writer. He holds tightly to the belief that he is doing all he can be doing, and doing what he should be doing. Follow Mel here: http://www.melodom.blogspot.com or http://melodom.com
Kimberly Richardson - After being found as an infant crawling among books in an abandoned library, Kimberly Richardson grew up to become an eccentric woman with a taste for jazz, drinking tea, reading books, speaking rusty French and Japanese, playing her violin and writing stories that cause people to make the strangest faces. Her first book, Tales From a Goth Librarian, was published through Dark Oak Press and named a Finalist in both the USA Book News Awards for Fiction: Short Story for 2009 and the International Book Awards for Fiction: Short Story in 2010. Ms. Richardson is also the author of The Decembrists (Dark Oak Press) and Mabon/Pomegranate (Dark Oak Press); both were enlisted for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize. Ms. Richardson is also the Editor of the award winning Steampunk anthology Dreams of Steam, the award winning sequel, Dreams of Steam II: Of Brass and Bolts, Dreams of Steam III: Gadgets and Dreams of Steam IV: Gizmos, all published through Dark Oak Press. Other short stories and poetry by Ms. Richardson have been published through Sam’s Dot Publishing, Pro Se Press, Midnight Screaming and FootHills Publishing. See more about Kimberly here: http://nocaesthetic.blogspot.com
Ron Fortier has been a professional writer for over thirty-five years. He has worked on comic book projects such as The Hulk, Popeye, Rambo and Peter Pan. With Ardath Mayhar Ron penned two TSR fantasy novels, and in 2001 he had his first play, a World War II romantic comedy, produced.
Ron is currently writing and producing pulp novels and short stories for various publishers and has several movie scripts floating around Hollywood looking for a home, and if that isn't enough, he also has a review column at the http://www.pulpfictionreviews.blogspot.com website. Ron is Cap’n over at Airship 27: http://www.airship27.com
Gar Anthony Haywood, born in 1954, is the Shamus award-winning author of the Aaron Gunner mysteries. Born in Los Angeles, he spent over a decade as a computer technician before first publishing fiction in the 1980s. Influenced by a love for the Los Angeles mysteries of Ross Macdonald, he wrote Fear of the Dark (1987), winning the Shamus award for best first novel and introducing the tough-nosed L.A. detective Aaron Gunner.
Haywood continued the Gunner series through the bestselling All the Lucky Ones Are Dead (2000), and in between Gunner novels produced the two-book Loudermilk pair of serio-comic mysteries. In an effort to broaden his fan base, Haywood wrote two standalone thrillers, Man Eater (2003) and Firecracker (2004), under the pen-name Ray Johnson, finding critical acclaim for both. He has also written for newspapers and television, including an adaptation of the Dennis Rodman autobiography, Bad As I Wanna Be. His most recent novels are Cemetery Road (2010) and Assume Nothing (2011). You can find his website here: http://www.garanthonyhaywood.com
Michael A. Gonzales - Spinetingler Nominee Michael A. Gonzales has written fiction for Crime Factory, Needle and Bronx Biannual. A former NY Press columnist, his essays have appeared in NY magazine, The Village Voice, Spin and XXL. Gonzales blogs @ http://Blackadelicpop.blogspot.com, Twitters @ gonzomikeandlives in Brooklyn.
Tommy Hancock - Steeped in pulp magazines, old radio shows, and all things of that era’s pop culture, Tommy Hancock lives in Arkansas with his wonderful wife and three children and obviously not enough to do. He is Editor in Chief for Pro Se Productions, is an organizer of the New Pulp Movement, was a founding member and original Editor-in-Chief of ALL PULP, works as an editor for Seven Realms, Dark Oak, and Moonstone. He is also a writer published by Airship 27, works as Promotions and Marketing Coordinator for Moonstone Entertainment, is the Editor in Chief of ALL PULP, a full news site devoted to Pulp and the Coordinator for PULP ARK, the premiere Pulp Culture Convention in the South.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for writing a review. I was not obligated to give a positive review, and all thoughts are my own
Authors: Walter Mosley, Joe R. Lansdale, Gary Phillips, Charles Saunders, Derrick Ferguson, D. Alan Lewis, Christopher Chambers, Mel Odom, Kimberly Richardson, Ron Fortier, Michael Gonzales, Gar Anthony Haywood, and Tommy Hancock
Published By: Pro Se Productions, 2013
Reviewed By: Jessica B.
Rating: 3/5 Stars
This collection contains 12 pulp fiction stories, with an introduction piece and author biography section. Each story varies in genre, with most containing action scenes or small plot twists.
While short stories are not my first choice to read, the story “Mtimu,” was my favorite among this collection. The writing style contained beautiful descriptions, especially the beginning. I could picture the jungle scenes and the animals involved in the story. Charles Saunders has a talent for writing and engages the reader through his details. Also, I enjoyed “Dillon and the Alchemist’s Morning Coffee.” While I didn’t care for the particular writing style in terms of the dialogue, the plot was action packed and kept my interest. The other stories weren’t awful; each writer has a unique style and plotline. However, they just weren’t for me.
While the stories didn’t all capture my interest, I really enjoy collections like this. Short stories are quick and get right to the action. If one catches your interest you can enjoy it. If it doesn’t, you don’t feel as if you’ve wasted your time reading it. And most of the time you can appreciate the writer’s efforts and ability to create their piece.
About the Book:
From Today's Best Authors and up and coming writers comes BLACK PULP from Pro Se Productions! BLACK PULP is a collection of stories featuring characters of African origin, or descent, in stories that run the gamut of genre fiction! A concept developed by noted crime novelist Gary Phillips, BLACK PULP brings bestselling authors Walter Mosley and Joe R. Lansdale, Gary Phillips, Charles R. Saunders, Derrick Ferguson, D. Alan Lewis, Christopher Chambers, Mel Odom, Kimberly Richardson, Ron Fortier, Michael A. Gonzales, Gar Anthony Haywood, and Tommy Hancock together to craft adventure tales, mysteries, and more, all with black characters at the forefront! "Literature for the masses kindled the imagination and used our reading skills so that we could regale ourselves in the cold chambers of alienation and poverty. We could become Doc Savage or The Shadow, Conan the Barbarian or the brooding King Kull and make a difference in a world definitely gone wrong."--Walter Mosley from his introduction. Between these covers are 12 tales of action, adventure, and thrills featuring heroes and heroines of darker hues that will appeal to audiences everywhere! BLACK PULP! From Pro Se Productions!
About the Authors:
(Taken from the end of the book)
Walter Mosley is one of America's most celebrated and beloved writers. His books have won numerous awards and have been translated into more than twenty languages.
Mosley is the author of the acclaimed Easy Rawlins series of mysteries, including national bestsellers Cinnamon Kiss, Little Scarlet, and Bad Boy Brawly Brown; the Fearless Jones series, including Fearless Jones, Fear Itself, and Fear of the Dark; the novels Blue Light and RL's Dream; and two collections of stories featuring Socrates Fortlow, Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, for which he received the Anisfield-Wolf Award, and Walkin' the Dog. He lives in New York City. Check out more at: http://www.waltermosley.com
Joe R. Lansdale is the author of over thirty novels and numerous short stories. His work has appeared in national anthologies, magazines, and collections, as well as numerous foreign publications. He has written for comics, television, film, newspapers, and Internet sites. His work has been collected in eighteen short-story collections, and he has edited or co-edited over a dozen anthologies. He has received the Edgar Award, eight Bram Stoker Awards, the Horror Writers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the British Fantasy Award, the Grinzani Cavour Prize for Literature, the Herodotus Historical Fiction Award, the Inkpot Award for Contributions to Science Fiction and Fantasy, and many others. His novella Bubba Hotep was adapted to film by Don Coscarelli, starring Bruce Campbell and Ossie Davis. His story Incident On and Off a Mountain Road was adapted to film for Showtime's Masters of Horror. He is currently co- producing several films, among them The Bottoms, based on his Edgar Award-winning novel, with Bill Paxton and Brad Wyman, and The Drive-In, with Greg Nicotero. He is Writer In Residence at Stephen F. Austin State University, and is the founder of the martial arts system Shen Chuan: Martial Science and its affiliate, Shen Chuan Family System. He is a member of both the United States and International Martial Arts Halls of Fame. He lives in Nacogdoches, Texas with his wife, dog, and two cats. His latest book, THE THICKET, debuts from Mullholland this fall. More about Joe and his works can be found here: http://www.joerlansdale.com
Gary Phillips, Mystery and New Pulp writer, has penned short stories for Moonstone’s Kolchak: The Night Stalker Casebook, The Avenger Chronicles, The Green Hornet Casefiles and the upcoming Spider: Extreme Prejudice anthologies. His most current novel is Warlord of Willow Ridge which Booklist said of the work, “Phillips is a veteran crime novelist who creates a plausible post-apocalyptic scenario in which the safety of middle-class America can dissolve in a moment. Exciting, violent, and entertaining.” He also has out the ebook novella, The Essex Man: 10 Seconds to Death, a homage to ‘70s era paperback vigilantes. Please visit his website at: http:// www.gdphillips.com.
Charles Saunders was born in 1946 in English, Pennsylvania, a small town located near Pittsburgh. He also lived in a bigger town, Norristown, near Philadelphia before going to Lincoln University, where he graduated with a degree in psychology and curiosity in 1968. Since 1985, Charles has lived in Nova Scotia. Charles has worked as a community college teacher and research assistant. Journalism found him in 1989, when he began writing an opinion column. He later became a copy editor, and his last day job - which was really a night job - was editorial writer and editorial page editor for the Halifax Daily News. The first spark of Imaro, his most celebrated work, came to Saunders in 1970 and the flame has risen and fallen ever since. He has also written non-fiction books, two screenplays for direct-to-video movies, and two radio plays. These days, he is concentrating on the revival of Imaro, as well as other African-oriented fantasy ideas. Charles keeps up a blog about his work here: http://www.charlessaunderswriter.com
Derrick Ferguson is from Brooklyn, New York where he has lived most of my life. He has been married for 27 years to the wonderful Patricia Cabbagestalk-Ferguson who lets him get away with far more than is good for him.
Derrick’s interests include old radio shows, classic pulps from the 30's/40's, comic books, fan fiction, Star Trek, pop culture, science fiction, animation, television and movies. His primary love is reading and writing and he’s written several books to date: Dillon And The Voice of Odin, his love letter to classic pulp action/adventure with a modern flavor and the sequel, Dillon And The Legend of The Golden Bell as well as Four Bullets for Dillon; Derrick Ferguson's Movie Review Notebook and its sequel The Return of Derrick Ferguson's Movie Review Notebook; Diamondback Vol I: It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time, a spaghetti western disguised as a modern day gangster/crime thriller.
Anything else you'd like to know about Derrick, check out more here: http://dlferguson- bloodandink.blogspot.com
D. Alan Lewis is a native of Chattanooga, Tennessee who now resides in Nashville with his children. He has been writing and illustrating technical guides and manuals for various employers for over twenty years but only in recent years has branched out in to writing fiction. In 2006, Alan took the reins of a Novelists Group where he has been working to teach and aid aspiring writers. Alan's debut novel, The Blood in Snowflake Garden was a Top Ten finalist for the 2010 Claymore Award. He also has a number of short stories published as well as other projects in the works. Find out more at: http://www.snowflakegarden.com
Professor Christopher Chambers, a Washington, D.C. native and Georgetown University professor, is author of the best-selling Angela Bivens series for Random House, and is co-editor of Darker Mask: Heroes from the Shadows. He was a PEN/Malamud finalist for short fiction. He is also commentator for The Root, RT America, MSNBC and Huffington Post Live. His novel Yella Patsy's Boys will drop in 2014.Keep up with Professor Chambers at here: http://dangerfieldnewby.tumblr.com
Mel Odom writes in a number of fields, but always with the hope of telling an interesting tale that will incite a reader to think for himself or herself, to examine his or her own place in the world, and offer a little nudge in the direction of dreams, faith, and personal growth in spite of whatever odds a person has to face. Mel also believes we were all put here for a purpose. Hopefully, several purposes. Mel is a father, a little league coach, a teacher, a friend, and a writer. He holds tightly to the belief that he is doing all he can be doing, and doing what he should be doing. Follow Mel here: http://www.melodom.blogspot.com or http://melodom.com
Kimberly Richardson - After being found as an infant crawling among books in an abandoned library, Kimberly Richardson grew up to become an eccentric woman with a taste for jazz, drinking tea, reading books, speaking rusty French and Japanese, playing her violin and writing stories that cause people to make the strangest faces. Her first book, Tales From a Goth Librarian, was published through Dark Oak Press and named a Finalist in both the USA Book News Awards for Fiction: Short Story for 2009 and the International Book Awards for Fiction: Short Story in 2010. Ms. Richardson is also the author of The Decembrists (Dark Oak Press) and Mabon/Pomegranate (Dark Oak Press); both were enlisted for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize. Ms. Richardson is also the Editor of the award winning Steampunk anthology Dreams of Steam, the award winning sequel, Dreams of Steam II: Of Brass and Bolts, Dreams of Steam III: Gadgets and Dreams of Steam IV: Gizmos, all published through Dark Oak Press. Other short stories and poetry by Ms. Richardson have been published through Sam’s Dot Publishing, Pro Se Press, Midnight Screaming and FootHills Publishing. See more about Kimberly here: http://nocaesthetic.blogspot.com
Ron Fortier has been a professional writer for over thirty-five years. He has worked on comic book projects such as The Hulk, Popeye, Rambo and Peter Pan. With Ardath Mayhar Ron penned two TSR fantasy novels, and in 2001 he had his first play, a World War II romantic comedy, produced.
Ron is currently writing and producing pulp novels and short stories for various publishers and has several movie scripts floating around Hollywood looking for a home, and if that isn't enough, he also has a review column at the http://www.pulpfictionreviews.blogspot.com website. Ron is Cap’n over at Airship 27: http://www.airship27.com
Gar Anthony Haywood, born in 1954, is the Shamus award-winning author of the Aaron Gunner mysteries. Born in Los Angeles, he spent over a decade as a computer technician before first publishing fiction in the 1980s. Influenced by a love for the Los Angeles mysteries of Ross Macdonald, he wrote Fear of the Dark (1987), winning the Shamus award for best first novel and introducing the tough-nosed L.A. detective Aaron Gunner.
Haywood continued the Gunner series through the bestselling All the Lucky Ones Are Dead (2000), and in between Gunner novels produced the two-book Loudermilk pair of serio-comic mysteries. In an effort to broaden his fan base, Haywood wrote two standalone thrillers, Man Eater (2003) and Firecracker (2004), under the pen-name Ray Johnson, finding critical acclaim for both. He has also written for newspapers and television, including an adaptation of the Dennis Rodman autobiography, Bad As I Wanna Be. His most recent novels are Cemetery Road (2010) and Assume Nothing (2011). You can find his website here: http://www.garanthonyhaywood.com
Michael A. Gonzales - Spinetingler Nominee Michael A. Gonzales has written fiction for Crime Factory, Needle and Bronx Biannual. A former NY Press columnist, his essays have appeared in NY magazine, The Village Voice, Spin and XXL. Gonzales blogs @ http://Blackadelicpop.blogspot.com, Twitters @ gonzomikeandlives in Brooklyn.
Tommy Hancock - Steeped in pulp magazines, old radio shows, and all things of that era’s pop culture, Tommy Hancock lives in Arkansas with his wonderful wife and three children and obviously not enough to do. He is Editor in Chief for Pro Se Productions, is an organizer of the New Pulp Movement, was a founding member and original Editor-in-Chief of ALL PULP, works as an editor for Seven Realms, Dark Oak, and Moonstone. He is also a writer published by Airship 27, works as Promotions and Marketing Coordinator for Moonstone Entertainment, is the Editor in Chief of ALL PULP, a full news site devoted to Pulp and the Coordinator for PULP ARK, the premiere Pulp Culture Convention in the South.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for writing a review. I was not obligated to give a positive review, and all thoughts are my own
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