Xchyler Publishing...Dare To Dream...What A Ride!

I received a notice today that royalties from Xchyler Publishing were sent out.

What a ride!

I hope I don't imply the small publisher is gone or non-existent. As far as I know, you can still order their books. You can go to their website: HERE. I also just checked on Amazon--they're good. But, things have changed. In the past, I've written dozens of blog posts about Xchyler, their books, and their authors and even though none of us will get rich from those royalties, and I'll put Xchyler's stories and covers up against anyone's any day.

I can't fully express how important this imprint has been on my literary career. Without Xchyler Publishing, I don't know if I'd ever publish a novel, or get involved in writing conventions, or been an assistant program director at the Salt Lake FanX Comics Convention.

And this doesn't include all the amazing people I've met along the way.

Xchyler published my first short story in anthology titled, Mechanized Masterpieces; A Steampunk Anthology. They published two more of my short stories. Because of this, I was considered a published author--even though my contribution to the writing community was small. This opened doors for me that may never have opened. This led to meeting other authors and being on panels and allowing me fantastic experiences.

I may never have  another thing published--I hope this isn't the case, but as an author you never know what the future will bring. I'd like to personally thank those at Xchyler, especially Scott Tarbet and Penny Freeman. Scott sent out today's royalties--it's truly a labor of love.

Xchyler Publishing--they created so much more than stories.

Dare to dream.

Xchyler Anthologies...Evolved

Last week I got an e-mail from Xchyler Publishing about their anthologies. Since 2013 I've been involved in several of these collections. My first published story appeared in one of these books. I'm still proud of the stories and the books. They all had excellent covers to go along with the excellent tales. You can find more at Xchyler Publishing's website: HERE.

Too bad more people don't read anthologies.

The first story I ever sold appeared in Xchyler Publishing's Mechanized Masterpieces: A Steampunk Anthology. The book is a collection of steampunk retellings of Victorian classics. Our instruction was to take a Victorian story and steampunk it. The authors could tell the same story, or just use the classic characters. Most picked stories from England. My story came from Denmark. It's a story I loved writing. We called it Little Boiler Girl, a steampunked version of H.C Anderson's Little Match Girl. 

A few years later Xchyler published a follow-up collection, this time using classic American stories. Xchyler chose another of my shorts, this time I steampunked Jack London's Call of the Wild. I called my story, Mr. Thornton. Again, a blast to write.

The third time I appeared in a Xchyler anthology, I wrote Split Ends in their Shades and Shadows paranormal anthology. My story's about two ghosts in a beauty salon in Manitou Springs, Colorado. 

I owe a lot to Xchyler. They gave me my start. Because of them, I got gigs at Salt Lake Comic Con, LTUE, Salt City Steamfest and other conventions. I met amazing writers and have had wonderful experiences. Xchyler is working to keep all these books available for years to come. I hope they do. The world needs more art, more stories, more dreams translated to words and collected in books. Thank you Xchyler for all you've done for me. May the good work you've done continue on.