The Savage Axe of... Poland?

I love the throwback, giant-sized b&w anthologies Marvel's been kicking out lately (Rampaging Wolverine, The Indomitable Iron Man). I love them even more when I have a chance to contribute something. Next month, I'm proud to say, The Savage Axe of Ares #1 will feature a 2,500-word prose story of mine called "Wojna." You can read a little more about in this Q&A with Jim Beard at Marvel.com, and hear a bit about Gregg Hurwitz's kick ass contribution as well.

It's rare that I have an excuse to sit down and write a short story, so I jumped at the chance. Hope you'll check it out April 7th.

"Needle Case" at Significant Objects

I've contributed a (very) short and weird story to Significant Objects. The object: a creepy needle case... which can be yours, by bidding at eBay. All proceeds go to Girls Write Now, a group dedicated to mentoring young female writers.

Quick little bit of backstory to this short story (which was originally titled "help! i am trapped inside a size 34 regular in sherman oaks, california"): This has been kicking around my head for years as the start of a possible Secret Dead Men prequel... explaining how such a thing as "Brain Hotel" came into being. Who knows? Maybe someday I'll keep on going with it.

In the meantime, let the bidding begin. I'm going to match the winning bid (be it $5 or $50) with a donation to Girls Write Now, so go on. Make it interesting!

"Sidewalk Tiger: Stalking the Game"

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. We've been on vacation for the past week at an undisclosed location somewhere in the so-called "Delmarva" area. Fun was had. Skin was burned. Quarters were lost. (Tip to parents everywhere: If your kids win a game on a pier amusement center and one of the prizes is a plastic trumpet, do not allow your kids to choose the trumpet. Trust me on this.)

Anyway, "Stalking the Game," which is part two of my noir short story, "Sidewalk Tiger," appeared yesterday in the City Paper. You'll find it right here. (And Part 1 is here.) Look for the final chapter, "Let Us Prey," next Thursday.

New Fiction: "Sidewalk Tiger"

I swear, I'm not jumping on the bandwagon. I'd planned to do this before I saw Robert Ferrigno's serial fiction in the Seattle Times this week, or read about Gary Phillips's "The Underbelly," which just kicked off at FourStory.org.

But in tomorrow's City Paper, in place of my usual editor's letter, is the first installment of a short noir story called "Sidewalk Tiger." (Part 2, "Stalking the Game," will follow next Thursday, and the final installment a week after that.)

When I say short, I do mean short: the entire story is only 2,100 words. That's because my editor's letter slot only has room for 720 words (if I'm lucky), so I knew whatever I wrote had to work in bite-size installments. Does it? You tell me.

(Hat tip to The Rap Sheet for the Ferringo/Phillips skinny.)