Find Me At FanX...And I'll Sign Your Book (Even If I Didn't Write It...)

One cool thing about anthologies (among many cool things...) is you get to have your stories along side so many other amazing authors's stories. The last story I submitted was fortunate enough to be included in a collection contained not in just one book, but four.

That's a lot of authors and a lot of stories.

Three of the books, All Made of Hinges, Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel, and Press Forward, Saints are now available (my short's in the yellow one...). The fourth book in the series is being compiled right now. In fact, here's the information on A Mighty Fortress:

Immortal Works (editor Holli Anderson) hereby calls for submissions for an anthology of MORMON STEAMPUNK to be called A MIGHTY FORTRESS.

Here is the deal:

1. The writer’s religious affiliation is completely irrelevant. We don’t care; we don’t even want to know.

2. The story does not have to be set in any particular world. The story must be in some sense “Mormon” and in some sense “Steampunk.” We’ll try to interpret those categories both broadly.

3. If your story is faith-promoting (Mormonism is “true” in the story), we’ll stop reading it. If it is mean-spirited (Mormons are all idiots), we’ll also stop reading it.

4. Stories should be at least 2,000 words long and generally no more than 8,000 words.

5. The deadline for submissions is April 23, 2019 or until filled.

6. Authors will not receive up-front payments. Authors will share in the revenues from sales of the book over time and will receive one (1) complimentary author copy.

7. Send submissions to hollia (at) immortal-works.com. Include the words “A MIGHTY FORTRESS SUBMISSION” in the subject line.

So, if you've got an idea for a great story and you're a quick writer, follow the instructions and submit!

I know what you're thinking..."Hey, I've got one of the three (or all of the three...) Mormon Steampunk anthologies. If only there were a way for me to get authors to sign them for me."

Well, your prayers have been answered!

Kind of.

If you're attending the FanX Comics Convention in Salt Lake this weekend, you will have the opportunity of running into (perhaps literally...) several authors with stories in these volumes. In fact, at 11:45am on Friday, there will be a mass signing at Booth 1546. I'm going to try and be there, but I know many of the authors will be there with pen in hand to autograph your book(s).

Don't have a copy/copies? No problem! We'll have them available, too!

If you're going, swing by Booth 1546, or several authors will also be at Bart's Tower on the vendor floor. Come on by, strike up a conversation. And I promise I'll sign any book you have, whether or not I've written it.

I'm sure I'm not the only one, either.

"Put Your Shoulder To The Wheel"...Comes Out Tomorrow!

Last year, a brain trust got together and thought up an idea for an anthology, a collection of stories highlighting an untapped literary genre of unlimited potential. And thus, the Mormon Steampunk Anthology was created.

A call for submissions were sent out and the stories came rolling in, so much so, an envisioned "one book" became three. Tomorrow, Book #2 comes out, Immortal Work's Put Your Shoulder the the Wheel.

I can't wait!

If you're interested in this particular collection, here's the book's lineup:

Goat in the Machine Scott William Taylor

A Reckoning in the Night Angie Taylor

Rachel’s Prayer Megan Rupp

Sisters Sorenson and the Mechanical Man Scott E. Tarbet

The Shop of the Clockwork Master Finlay Lofthouse

Blackhand Christopher Baxter

An Incident at Oak Creek Bryce Moore

The Miracle of the Gulls D. J. Moore

Solids Don’t Evaporate Mindie Erb

Many Hands Heidi Wessman Kneale

By Ailad’s Bootstraps Kurt F. Kammeyer

Painted Ghosts Kim May

Dame Ginny McLaserbeam and the             
Dastardly Duke                                               Judith and Michael Collings

I knew I was in this particular collection, but I didn't realize my story was the first. There's a lot of pressure being the first story--the first impression someone gets when they pick up the book and scan the first lines of the opening story.

Being a part of an artistic project is an amazing thing. Today Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel doesn't exist--tomorrow it does. Being human means creating. There's a drive within us, a need to make something, write something, bring into existence something that didn't exist before. I know it's just a little story in another book, but for me, it's an honor to have my name included with others, all trying to create something good. 

A special thanks goes out to John M. Olsen, Dave Butler, James Wymore, and Jason King at Immortal Works (and anyone else I'm forgetting...) for including my tale. I hope you get the book, and if you do, I hope you like my story about a man, an airship, and a precocious goat.