Hello,
This is just a quick note to let everyone know that the Kindle edition of Settler 26 was (for some reason) unavailable to people outside of Canada. This has just been corrected and the Kindle edition should be available within 48 hours no matter where you are. If you're interested in buying it, you can go find it through our store
If you really can't wait, the Epub version is available right now :)
Thank you,
Alexander Newcombe
August 22, 2012
August 20, 2012
What do you want?
First off, I want to thank all the people that submitted and all the people that helped us get the word out about submissions. We received some tremendous work this time, and it's wonderful to read (though not so wonderful to have to choose between the good ones).
The real point of this post is to ask what people really want from their fiction, and especially their fiction anthologies like HBM. I'm very happy with what Here Be Monsters has turned in to. I feel like it showcases some great stories that people won't read anywhere else while still being the weird vehicle that Vincent, Duane, and I use to get our writing out. It is a strange hybrid though, I don't deny it.
I'd love for people to recommend some more books in the same vein as HBM to us. We recently all picked up copies of Imaginarium because we wanted to learn more about the world of Canadian speculative fiction. It's a much larger format, and it got me thinking about our own format at the discussions we've had. Our last issue (Settler 26), was larger than the rest, and it's looking like Issue 7 will be around the same size. Initially, I wanted to keep our slimmer profile because I felt like it made our book a bit more approachable, which is something that any indie publications full of strange stories could use. I don't think it makes much of a difference in the end, but if it does, I'd love to hear from people.
Which reminds me: Do you guys know anyone that has picked up HBM and isn't a regular reader? Because that would be one ticked box on the "things-to-do-before-I-die list".
We use an arcane system involving haruspicy and the stains left in the bottom of coffee cups to determine the stories we put in our books, but I will say that one thing I ask myself when reading a work (and this goes for my work as well as others') is "is it fun to read?". So, to me, I'm looking for stories that people will enjoy. I don't want one of our stories to drain part of your day away and for you to come away with nothing. And I'm not too concerned if it isn't the most original idea, either. I want it to spend your time well, and this is what I expect of other stories too. This means that the overall message of the piece isn't as important to me. In fact, when the message becomes the point of the story, I tend to get turned off very quickly - (I think sci-fi is more guilty of this than fantasy, but that might be my own prejudice.)
If anyone wants to let us know what they want in their fiction (be it of a particular genre or otherwise), please feel free to comment here or on our Facebook page. Thanks!
Alexander Newcombe
The real point of this post is to ask what people really want from their fiction, and especially their fiction anthologies like HBM. I'm very happy with what Here Be Monsters has turned in to. I feel like it showcases some great stories that people won't read anywhere else while still being the weird vehicle that Vincent, Duane, and I use to get our writing out. It is a strange hybrid though, I don't deny it.
I'd love for people to recommend some more books in the same vein as HBM to us. We recently all picked up copies of Imaginarium because we wanted to learn more about the world of Canadian speculative fiction. It's a much larger format, and it got me thinking about our own format at the discussions we've had. Our last issue (Settler 26), was larger than the rest, and it's looking like Issue 7 will be around the same size. Initially, I wanted to keep our slimmer profile because I felt like it made our book a bit more approachable, which is something that any indie publications full of strange stories could use. I don't think it makes much of a difference in the end, but if it does, I'd love to hear from people.
Which reminds me: Do you guys know anyone that has picked up HBM and isn't a regular reader? Because that would be one ticked box on the "things-to-do-before-I-die list".
We use an arcane system involving haruspicy and the stains left in the bottom of coffee cups to determine the stories we put in our books, but I will say that one thing I ask myself when reading a work (and this goes for my work as well as others') is "is it fun to read?". So, to me, I'm looking for stories that people will enjoy. I don't want one of our stories to drain part of your day away and for you to come away with nothing. And I'm not too concerned if it isn't the most original idea, either. I want it to spend your time well, and this is what I expect of other stories too. This means that the overall message of the piece isn't as important to me. In fact, when the message becomes the point of the story, I tend to get turned off very quickly - (I think sci-fi is more guilty of this than fantasy, but that might be my own prejudice.)
If anyone wants to let us know what they want in their fiction (be it of a particular genre or otherwise), please feel free to comment here or on our Facebook page. Thanks!
Alexander Newcombe
August 11, 2012
Issue 7, Imaginarium, guest bloggers, comic con and Fantasia!!!
Issue 7 is in the juicer. If you submitted then we should be responding in the next couple of weeks. Our committee is still reading and once we have read everything we will make our decisions. Thanks for opening your over ripe minds to us. Keep writing and keep taking chances.
We will also keep you up to speed on the launch date for issue 7. It is planned for end of September or early October. This in part depends on the availibility of the venue location. We're looking into this.
I've ordered Imaginarium because it looks cool, and received it. So far, I've read the first story, Looker by David Nickle and rather enjoyed it.
Thoughts on guest bloggers? We are curious what others could contribute. Collaboration is what started this anthology after all. Would you or someone you know have an idea for something to contribute. Do you have a blog, do you not have a blog, but have things to say...? Let us know, if you think we might be interested.
Finally, two projects I hope to follow through on. I'm attending a comic con type event. I have never been to a comic con and I'm not sure what to expect. I was going to hit the one coming up in New York, because I thought, well if comic con is no fun then it's still New York. I was in New York this summmer, I went by bike from Montreal... It was a great city to explore, so getting stuck there if comic con was a bust would not be the worst. A friend has convinced me to go to Toronto, and I'm in Montreal so I can also check out the Montreal event. Back to my bike trip and project two... I want to fictionalize my real trip by bike to New York. Why? Well the real trip was awesome, I do however live in an imaginary world.
Oh, and Fantasia film festival. You will be missed. Till next year.
This blog post is rather scattered. Summer can bring that out.
We will also keep you up to speed on the launch date for issue 7. It is planned for end of September or early October. This in part depends on the availibility of the venue location. We're looking into this.
I've ordered Imaginarium because it looks cool, and received it. So far, I've read the first story, Looker by David Nickle and rather enjoyed it.
Thoughts on guest bloggers? We are curious what others could contribute. Collaboration is what started this anthology after all. Would you or someone you know have an idea for something to contribute. Do you have a blog, do you not have a blog, but have things to say...? Let us know, if you think we might be interested.
Finally, two projects I hope to follow through on. I'm attending a comic con type event. I have never been to a comic con and I'm not sure what to expect. I was going to hit the one coming up in New York, because I thought, well if comic con is no fun then it's still New York. I was in New York this summmer, I went by bike from Montreal... It was a great city to explore, so getting stuck there if comic con was a bust would not be the worst. A friend has convinced me to go to Toronto, and I'm in Montreal so I can also check out the Montreal event. Back to my bike trip and project two... I want to fictionalize my real trip by bike to New York. Why? Well the real trip was awesome, I do however live in an imaginary world.
Oh, and Fantasia film festival. You will be missed. Till next year.
This blog post is rather scattered. Summer can bring that out.
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