Bull Spec #6 / Shock Totem #4 / Tales of Blood and Roses #2

Love. Exciting and new.

There’s the love I have for a delicious meal. There’s the love I have for a good movie. There’s the love I have for good music. There’s the love I have for finely crafted literature. And then there’s … well, I’ll get to that.

In addition, there’s a special place in my heart for the small press. I love that there are places where literature that does not necessarily appeal to the general reading masses can still find a home and be enjoyed by those of us who like the offbeat. And generally when I speak about “offbeat,” I’m talking about genre fiction, specifically stuff that falls somewhere out on the fringes of such.

Someone recently asked me what sort of fiction I write. I replied that I write genre fiction. I was asked to elaborate: mystery, crime, horror, sci-fi? Well, yes — all that, plus some. I explained:

There’s “literary” fiction and there’s “genre” fiction. Literary fiction is primarily about relationships between people and is mostly characterization. Genre fiction is plot-driven and is mostly about the story. Jane Austen wrote literary fiction. H.G. Wells wrote genre fiction. Is one better than the other? Not in my mind.

And just because something is genre fiction does not necessarily mean it does not contain character development or examinations of relationships between the characters, just as literary fiction does not necessarily exclude a plot-driven story. No definition is 100% all-encompassing. There are exceptions to every rule … just as there are exceptions to my definition. I say that before some scholarly individual decides to argue with me about what constitutes literary and genre fiction. These reviews are only my opinion and, therefore, are subjective.

As I was saying before I digressed, I have a special place in my heart for the small press — especially the small, genre magazines that populate the literary landscape and offer alternatives to the homogenized, watered-down fiction that regularly makes the bestseller lists. I have three samples of small-press genre publications in front of me at the moment, and all are markedly different in their look and attitude.

BULL SPEC from editor/publisher Samuel Montgomery-Blinn is a North Carolina-based “magazine of speculative fiction.” Speculative fiction, of course, is what we used to call science fiction years ago. But “speculative fiction” sounds better, doesn’t it? Classier, unlike “sci-fi,” which sounds like trashy pulp stories. Confession: I like trashy pulp stories. Unfortunately, today’s sophisticated readers want pretentiousness with their pulp, so the Sci-Fi Channel becomes Syfy, and “science” fiction becomes “speculative” fiction.
 
BULL SPEC is glossy and professionally put together. It reminded me somewhat of the defunct magazine OMNI, only a bit brighter and with softer stylistic edges to its content. It mixes science fiction and fantasy with interviews, book reviews, a touch of poetry and even a chapter of an ongoing serial told in a comic-book format. Most of the interviews begin with a review of that particular subject’s latest work, and then jumps right into a Q-and-A. There are a few recognizable interviewees (Lev Grossman and Lewis Shiner) and two relative newcomers (Teresa Frohock and John Claude Bemis), and marrieds Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, who seem to pop up everywhere these days in their capacities as authors and editors.

I liked the interviews and the book reviews, although sometimes the former felt overlong and the latter felt too short. The short fiction pieces were my primary interest, however, with personal faves being “We Don’t Do Quests” by Dale Mettam, a comedic tale of two adventurers-for-hire bargaining with a prospective client over what they will and won’t do. There’s a cool twist at the end that I saw coming, but it didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the story any.

I also enjoyed “Less Than Absent” by Kenneth Schneyer, a short-short piece about an invention that calculates how many people are inside a dwelling, and what happens when that number seems to be off. Also, “The Long Lives of Heroes” by Jeremy Whitley and Jason Strutz, the graphic piece in the middle of the mag, was interesting and made me want to read more of the story. I wished it could have gone longer, too, but then, that’s the point of a serial, isn’t it? Keep the reader wanting more.

When it comes to poetry, I’m truly not an expert. I know what I hate, and I didn’t hate any of the poetry in BULL SPEC. The same can be said for the other short stories included. Although the rest didn’t stand out and grab me the way the stories mentioned above did, I can’t say there was a bad one in the bunch, either.

SHOCK TOTEM looks more like a trade paperback book rather than a magazine, so let’s just call it an anthology and be done with it. It’s one of the few small-press publications that actually pays its contributors rather than paying in free copies and/or bragging rights of publication … which means that if they include a piece in their publication, they truly believe in it.

(Note: That statement is not meant as criticism on those publications that are unable to pay for fiction/poetry/artwork/etc. I’m sure every publisher would pay their contributors if they could afford to, but as most small-press books and magazines are done more for the love of the medium rather than an attempt to turn a profit, as well as the desire to give writers additional outlets to showcase their work and help them find an audience, most can’t afford it. In fact, I’d hazard a guess that many small publishers take a financial loss on their publications and continue to do so for the sheer love of what they do.)

Publisher/editor K. Allen Wood’s SHOCK TOTEM focuses on “dark” fiction and poetry, i.e. horror/suspense/thriller. As in BULL SPEC, there are interviews (Kathe Koja and Rennie Sparks) and book reviews (plus movies and music), and the added bonus of an essay from Wood (“Living Dead: A Personal Apocalypse”) that reads like a story about the undead … and in a way, it is.

Other standouts:
• Lee Thompson’s “Beneath the Weeping Willow,” about an autistic boy told in second-person POV — a near-impossibility to pull off correctly, but Thompson does so and makes it look easy;
• “Weird Tales” by David Busboom, a two-pager about a group of merrymakers exchanging stories of their various brushes with the supernatural, that is both a tribute to H.P. Lovecraft, as well as a listing of a half dozen story ideas that I would like to see developed further;
• “Dead Baby Day” by Michael Penkas, about a boy playing a cruel trick (or is it?) on his kid brother; and
• “Bloodstains and Blue Suede Shoes,” an ongoing, multipart essay that examines the relationship between music and horror. This particular segment focused on Robert Johnson, the famed blues guitarist who, legend had it, sold his soul to the devil.

I especially enjoyed the section in the back (“Howling Through the Keyhole”) where the contributors explained their various inspirations and motivations behind their stories. But, as a writer, I’m more interested in the creative process than perhaps the average reader. Still, I hope this is a continuing feature.

Minor criticism: Two of the stories (“Fade to Black” and “The Many Ghosts of Annie Orens”) both feature protagonists who have the ability to see ghosts. Although both handle the subject in much different ways, their close proximity to each other in this issue had me feeling a sense of déjà vu. Some separation — one in the front and one in the back — probably would have avoided that.

Also, Tom Bordonaro’s “Full Dental,” a comedic tale of corporate middle management having to put up with demons in the workplace, runs on a bit too long. I liked the premise and liked Bordonaro’s writing style (including his behind-the-scenes recount of the story’s origin), but the joke wears thin after a couple of pages. It could have been shortened to a much greater effect.

Last, but certainly not least, is the sophomore issue of TALES OF BLOOD AND ROSES, a Maryland-based zine that is the brainchild of editor/publisher Jeffrey L. Shipley. Full disclosure: I reviewed the premiere issue of TALES back in April and it completely changed my life.
 
My review (go ahead and read it. I’ll wait. Back? Let’s continue …) led me to find the love of my life. As you saw, I singled out “Shelia” by Rebecca Urban as my personal favorite of the issue, which led to Ms. Urban leaving me a “thank you” comment, which led to an email inquiry from me about where I might find other works by her, which led to an exchange of emails, which led to a couple of phone calls, which led to a series of marathon phone calls, which led to an exchange of visits, which ultimately led to a declaration of love and a marriage proposal. Ms. Urban and I are to be married September of next year.

So blame it on the cosmos, blame it on kismet or blame it on karma… Me, I blame Jeff Shipley’s TALES OF BLOOD AND ROSES and Rod Lott’s BOOKGASM for bringing my soulmate into my life. And when I say “blame,” I mean “thank profusely.” I owe both of them. But in the meantime, I still have a job to do and must remain unbiased and impartial …

TALES OF BLOOD AND ROSES gives the reader more bang for his or her buck. Shipley doesn’t worry about glossy pages or covers; his primary concern is to share the type of genre fiction he loves with as many readers as possible, and do it for a bargain price. (Really, these days, where can you find a 62-page magazine crammed with stories, poems, pictures and artwork for $4.75?) In my humble opinion, that is as it should be.

In issue 2, many of the contributors from the first one return, with some new names added. The Enigmatic M.Z. contributes an essay about horror arcade games that is smartly written and achieves a near-impossible feat: It made me want to play some of the games he describes. (I’m generally not much of a fan of video games.) Although I thought his music essay was out of place in issue 1, this piece fits in perfectly with the groove of the issue and retains a sense of fun. Nice job.

More standouts:
• Jennifer Yousfi’s “No Pleasure Without Pain,” a tale of a woman whose addiction to pain gets out of control, had a twisty story that had me guessing to the end, and a killer last line;
• A.G. Synclair’s “Alone” — about a young woman attempting to escape her past, an Internet predator and a potential victim of the predator — has a strong sense of dread, but the reader discovers the feelings of foreboding may be misplaced; and
• “Glass Half Empty” by Brad Eidmann, the story of a man haunted by the ghost of his living father.

Much of the poetry contained in TALES resonated with me more so than the publications above, with my personal favorites from Hillary Lyon (“Club Crawler” and “Hooves”), E. Doyle-Gillespie (“Loving the Succubus” and “Serpent”), David S. Pointer (“The New Used Couple”), John Grey (“To The Woman in Black”), and poetry editor Jannabelle Lee (“Young Man”), whose finely worded biography box was as enjoyable as the verse that preceded it.

My favorite piece, I’m sure will surprise no one, was Urban’s “Barely Covered.” For those who may think I am showing favoritism to the future Mrs. Grayson, all I can say is, I defy you to read her work and not feel the electricity that hums through her words. It delivers a jolt, like a cattle prod to the groin.

I promised to be unbiased, and I will. My criticism of TALES is minor, however. Not all of the stories clicked with me as much as the ones I listed above, and a couple I thought had promising starts, but fizzled out on their promise before the last line. But there isn’t a truly bad piece in the lot, and for $4.75, you’re not going to find a collection of work this diverse, interesting and thought-provoking anywhere else. It’s Maryland’s best-kept-but-not-for-long secret.

I’m looking forward to #3’s theme issue of “Twisted Fairy Tales.” Should be fun.   —Slade Grayson

Related posts:

1. Bull Spec #1
2. Tales of Blood and Roses #1
3. Shock Totem: Curious Tales of the Macabre and Twisted #1
4. Daikaiju!: Giant Monster Tales
5. Different Kinds of Dead and Other Tales