Announcing the Final List of Contributors and Tropes for Upside Down

Less than 48 hours to go, and I couldn’t be happier with the way the Upside Down: Inverted Tropes in Storytelling Kickstarter has gone. We have over 1,000 backers, and today I am happy to announce the final list of contributors. I’ve contacted everyone on the short list that I had contact info for, so if you do not have a response please let me know and I’ll be happy to follow up. Jaym and I are concerned about ensuring all of our authors are treated well; the caliber and quality of stories we received was nothing short of fantastic, and our decisions were very difficult to make.

Short Story & Poetry Contributors

Kat Richardson, Maurice Broaddus, Michael Underwood, Anton Strout, Shanna Germain, Ferrett Steinmetz, Haralambi Markov, Valya Dudycz Lupescu, Alyssa Wong, Nisi Shawl, Sunil Patel, Rahul Kanakia, Sara Harvey, John Hornor Jacobs, Delilah Dawson, Adam-Troy Castro, Alethea Kontis, Katy Harrad & Greg Stolze, Alisa Schreibman, Alex Shvartsman, Rati Mehrotra, Elsa S. Henry, Michelle Lyons-McFarland, Michael Choi, Michelle Muenzler, and Michael Matheson

Tropes Examined

Asian Scientist, Blind People are Magic, Chainmaille Bikini, Chosen One, Damsels in Distress, Epic Fantasy, First Period Panic, Gendericide, Girlfriend in the Refrigerator, Guys Smash, Girls Shoot, Heroine Loves a Bad Man, Jewish Magic, Love at First Sight, Manic Pixie Dream Girl, Prostitute with a Heart of Gold, Retired Pro’s “Last” Job, The Black Man Dies First, The City Planet, The Magical Negro, The Power of Names, The Singularity will Cause the Apocalypse, The Super Soldier, The Villain Had a Crappy Childhood, World Ends/Sets/Reboots, and Yellow Peril

Essayists

Patrick Hester, Lucy Snyder, A.C. Wise, Victor Raymond, and Keffy Kehrli

Essay Topics

Are Tropes Bad?, an examination of Detta/Odetta from The Dark Tower series and how it relates to the gothic trope Jekyll and Hyde, the differences between the hero’s journey and the heroine’s journey using Labyrinth as an example, tropes from a queer (LGBTQA+) perspective, and the intersection of race and culture with respect to tropes and cliches.

March 24, 2016
Permalink ∞

Back on the Short Story Wagon

darkwing duck avatar

Last year I made a conscious decision to pull back on writing short stories so I could focus on larger scale projects. Just the rough draft for the Firefly RPG was almost 300,000 words and that, combined with a slew of words for the Exclusive, Friends in Low Places, and some upcoming releases… Well, I just didn’t have any room in my brainpan beyond the online workshop I took.

Now that my big projects have shrunk and shifted around a bit, I’m chug-a-chug-chugging along again. Finding a moleskine is a posh lifesaver for recording ideas. Well, and doodles. Because really… Life isn’t complete without the space to doodle and record quotes. (Apologies on the lack of attribution on the one below. I can’t seem to ferret out the proper source. Multiple say-ers on that one.)

Work hard in silence, let your success be your noise.

Anyhoo, I find a lot of value in putting pen down to paper. To that end, I took some recommendations for non-bleed pens (I’ll be trying them out before doling out suggestions. I can say with certainty that the Pentel Wow! series does not bleed.) Placed an order via JetPens.com. If you’re mildly creative (or just like free swag), they post contests regularly on their blog.

Now that I’ve got room to think and time to work out again, I’ll be duct-taping noise canceling headphones to my head this week. I’m excited, yes, but also happy I’ve had the chance to tighten my neck screws.

Yeah… So maybe I should have vetted THOSE analogies prior to blogging this… Ah well!

    Mood: Should I feel guilty about liking Queen of the Damned?
    Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Less than I have fingers.
    Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: 30. That’s right!
    In My Ears: Redeemer by Marilyn Manson
    Game Last Played: Sonic All Star Racing Transformed
    Book Last Read: Lovecraft’s Monsters anthology
    Movie Last Viewed: Transylvania 6-5000!
    Latest Artistic Project: *Still* *still* *still* need to take pictures… It’s on the list!
    Latest Fiction/Comic Release: Last Man Zombie Standing
    Latest Game Release: Freedom Flyer
    What I’m Working On: Primarily tie-in games work and novels.


February 17, 2014
Permalink ∞

New Hero Volume 1 and Aesop’s Modern Fables Now Available in US

The New HeroToday, I am pleased to announce that both New Hero Volume 1 and The Lion and the Aardvark, Aesop’s Modern Fables are available for purchase in the US.

The Lion and the Aardvark CoverThe first anthology includes a detective noir story titled “Fangs and Formaldehyde” about a vampire named Atlas who will die if he gets too emotional. “Bored to Fu,” a modern-day fable about a mouse, a dragon, and productivity, is featured in the second collection.

You can buy both books, in print or digital, direct from the Stone Skin Press website. If you have questions about other places to purchase them, drop the publisher a line.

I hope you enjoy these stories! They were a lot of fun to write! 🙂

February 26, 2013
Permalink ∞

Lovecraftian Podcast and Other Tales

Cthulhu Scribe by Drew Pocza

A few weeks ago, I mentioned I had a new story available in the November issue of the Lovecraft Zine. Last week, Mike uploaded the free podcast version of the issue which is available here. I thought the readers did a smashing job and really add great characterization to these sordid tales.

Speaking of sordid, I’m finishing up another Lovecraftian tale — this one set in Europe at the turn of the century. The other day, I was just remarking on all the everyday things we take for granted that they didn’t have back then. Airplanes were just beginning to emerge, cell phones and television sets were nonexistent, along with many other household appliances and technology. Even beyond that, consider the food and the way people dressed. It was unheard of for a woman to walk down the street in a tank top and sweatpants. All these things, coupled with superstitions and a rapidly-changing world, make for an interesting time period.

Once that story is done, then that’ll complete the unholy (though, unrelated) trilogy of tales, the second being the newly released “The Button” from the We Are Dust anthology — which is now available on Amazon, too.

Writing Lovecraft-inspired stories is a lot of fun; I feel like there’s always some new corner of his ‘verse and style to explore — whether that’s a direct translation or not. Perhaps that’s why I really loved Boom! Studios comic interpretation of Cthulhu, because the visual form (coupled with the necessary word conversation required) really lent itself to a stunning interpretation in the Fall of Cthulhu and Cthulhu Tales series.

    Mood: GO PACK GO!
    Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: Suffering from withdrawal. (Not pretty.)
    Work-Out Minutes Logged Yesterday: Gym
    In My Ears: Steam Peter Gabriel
    Game Last Played: Tetris
    Movie Last Viewed: The Red Baron
    Latest Artistic Project: Holiday gifts
    Latest Release: “The Button” We Are Dust anthology
December 31, 2012
Permalink ∞

New Short Story Release: The Dig at Lovecraft eZine

Lovecraft eZine Issue 19 November’s issue of The Lovecraft eZine features a sordid tale of madness and persistence penned by yours truly. Titled “The Dig,” this is a gender-neutral story about a person and something (or someone) known only as “It.”

You can read and listen to The Dig for free online.

If you have an eReader, there is an Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble Nook version you can download straight to your device. That format is not free, however, and requires payment of the monetary sort.

I do hope you’ll drop by and experience this particular tale, for sometimes. . . Well, it’s not always a good idea to listen to the voices you hear inside your head — is it?

Happy Reading!

November 27, 2012
Permalink ∞
Previous Posts Next Posts




Monica Valentinelli > short stories

Looking for Monica’s books and games that are still in print? Visit Monica Valentinelli on Amazon’s Author Central or a bookstore near you.

Archives

Back to Top