The Merry Blacksmith Press

Because we’re not stingy, and because we like to bait the hook and get y’all interested in what all we have to offer, it behooves us to let you know when and where you can read samples from out authors. As many of you may know, Bud is going to be at the Nebula Awards weekend coming up to accept a Service to SFWA award. He’ll also be attending the signing event and will have copies of both Anthopology 1o1 and The Joy of Booking available.

Curious about The Joy of Booking? You can read the introduction at the website for Black Gate magazine. Highly recommended. And you can order the book–cheap–from our website or from Amazon.

Cheers!

Fresh off of last year’s successful first collection by cartoonist Tim Lockley, On Facebook… Everybody Knows You’re a Dog, comes the next collection of madness, wit, wordplay and fun… Somewhere There’s a Cartoonist Making Fun Of Us. What we have here is just the rough cover, but it’s pretty close to what the final should look like. We’ll have a page set up for it shortly and the book should be ready mid-to-late summer.

Cheers!

We mentioned a couple of weeks ago that we’ve been planning a collection of comics by the notorious Matt Howarth, and we’re well on our way to delivering. Comics have been scanned and cleaned. They’re in the layout stage and we imagine that this will be going to press in a couple of short weeks. The title?

My Name is Lesion: a Collection of Unhealthy Tales

What tales? In addition to the lead story “My Name Is Lesion” we’ll be including “Old Enemies,” “Klemdiggers,” “Crazy For the Girl” and others.

Sounds like a bit of a tease, huh?

More details coming, including its own webpage, as we get closer to press time.

Cheers!

Just a head’s up to y’all that four of our titles have been listed in the most recent issue of Locus and at Locus OnLine. The titles in question are: Red Sky Radio and The Eden Retrieval by Matt Howarth, A Giant In the House & Other Excesses by Daniel Pearlman, and The Joy of Booking by Bud Webster.

And while we’re mentioning Bud Webster*, he’ll be at the upcoming Nebula Awards Weekend May 17-20 in Arlington, VA. He’ll be signing copies of his books and will be receiving the 2012 Service to SFWA Award at this year’s banquet. Way to go!

*Did anyone else here know his real first name is Clarence?

We’ve recently received word that Daniel Pearlman’s A Giant in the House & Other Excesses was reviewed at Tangent Online, one of the web’s older review sites and the site to go to for short fiction reviews.

“Daniel Pearlman has a clean, easy style and creates characters with personality and depth. And his plotting constantly serves up the logical surprises that only a top writer can get away with. This is a rewarding adventure in reading by a master storyteller.”

You can read the full review here.

And better yet… you can order your own copy here.

Cover art by Lindsey Look

After much anticipation, GRIM TIDES by TA Pratt is now available for order. This is the sixth book in the Marla Mason series and the second with the Merry Blacksmith Press.

Marla Mason, ousted chief sorcerer for the city of Felport, is languishing in exile on the island of Maui with her best friend, the psychic (and rather hedonistic) Rondeau. Driven from the city she loves, Marla is adrift, nearly friendless, and stripped of almost all her power and resources.
It’s the perfect time for old enemies to try and kill her.

And it takes off from there… revenge squads, shapeshifters, psycopathic witches, and more. What’s Marla to do now? Find out.

Don’t forget to check out Broken Mirrors by TA Pratt if you’ve not yet had a chance, or visit MarlaMason.net for even more great stories.

Among the many and various goodies scheduled for our spring/summer releases, we have a as-yet-untitled collection of SF/Horror from the talented and twisted mind of Matt Howarth, author of The Eden Retrieval and Red Sky Radio. For those who aren’t aware of Matt’s comic book work, it goes back decades to the pages of Heavy Metal magazine (when it was good), Bugtown, Those Annoying Post Bros., Savage Henry, Keif Llama, and much more. We’re very pleased to be releasing a collection of his finest work. We’re touching up brand new scans and will be working on the cover and picking a title soon.

Expect it out sooner than you think!

2012 looks like it’s going to have a few interesting titles. We’re still talking to a few people so some projects can’t be announced just yet, but here’s a glimpse of some upcoming books for 2012.

Chicon III: The Proceedings. This is a special 50th anniversary edition of the proceedings of the 20th World Science Fiction Convention. Back when Worldcon had only a single track of programming, proceedings such as this were possible, and popular for those who couldn’t attend. Enjoy a transcript of every panel and speech from Chicon III just in time for Chicon VII 50 years later! We’re working with Earl Kemp and George Price to put this special edition out in time for this year’s Worldcon, and will feature an introduction from Chicon VII Guest of Honor–Mike Resnick.

Past Masters by Bud Webster. Bud’s at it again, sharing with us insightful and informative writing about classic science fiction and fantasy titles and authors–complete with biographical and bibliographical information on such past masters as Eric Frank Russell, Leigh Bracket, Fredric Brown, H. Beam Piper, Hal Clement, and many more.

Grim Tides by Tim Pratt. This much-anticipated sequel to Broken Mirrors of the Marla Mason series is now in-hand and in-production. “Marla Mason, ousted chief sorcerer for the city of Felport, is languishing in exile on the island of Maui with her best friend, the psychic (and rather hedonistic) Rondeau. She’s making a living of sorts as an occult detective, but for the most part, she’s just marking time. Driven from the city she loves, Marla is adrift, nearly friendless, and stripped of almost all her power and resources. Obviously, it’s the perfect time for old enemies to try and kill her.” Look for Grim Tides in early summer!

Not yet titled:  We’re working on a couple of projects that have not yet been titled. One is a collection of SF/Horror comics by comic book legend Matt Howarth. Among our poetry offerings later this year will be a collection by Chris Calvert. Also coming in early 2013 will be a special book presentation in memory of The Station nightclub fire of 2003 by Marilyn Bellemore. A portion of the proceeds will be given to a victims charity.

And that’s not all. Seriously. We have some fun stuff in the works. Stay tuned.

Not a fan of PayPal? Don’t feel like sending a check? We’re now set up to accept credit card paymentss. Because security is as important to us as it is to you, credit card payments can be arranged on request via phone. Just e-mail us for the details.

Don’t forget to look for us at Boskone and Chicon (and maybe a few others) where we’ll have loads of fine books ready for you to show off to friends and family.

Cheers!

For the next few weeks, we’ll be offering a special bundle deal on poetry books by Jay Walker. Order both Flower and where I’m coming from and get them for only $20 + $2 shipping. That’s $4 in savings, plus we shaved a bit off the shipping costs.

Don’t delay. This is a limited-time-offer.

 
Jay Walker bundle: $20 + $2 shipping