What news?

As the Merry Blacksmith Press nears its first anniversary, I'm honestly amazed at how great a year it's been. We've put out some very fine books, and they've all received great reviews. At this point in time, there are still a couple of days left to get Hugo nominations in. We think that Bud Webster's ANTHOPOLOGY 101 would make a fine addition to the Best-Related nominations list, and that Tim Pratt's very successful fourth Marla Mason novel, BROKEN MIRRORS, would likewise look great sitting there on the BEST NOVEL nominations list.

Just putting that little bug in your ear.

Earl Kemp will be appearing at the Los Angeles Paperback Show next week and he'll have copies of WHO KILLED SCIENCE FICTION on hand to autograph and sell. If drop by, don't forget to grab a flyer showcasing some of our other titles.

Back to awards for a sec...Merry Blacksmith author Connie Corcoran Wilson brings in two from eLit Awards with a Silver for IT CAME FROM THE '70s and a Gold for HELLFIRE & DAMNATION. Way to go! Connie will be appearing at the Wizard World Con in Austin, and at the New York Book Expo.

As far as new release go, don't forget that for the entire month of March, Bradley H. Sinor's incredible collection of fantasy stories, WHERE THE SHADOWS BEGAN & OTHER STORIES comes with FREE domestic shipping and greatly reduced international shipping.

As for upcoming titles, look for Ben Ohmart's ALBANY: An Autobio in Poemtry coming very soon.

And we have much more coming up over the next few months. Stay tuned for details including a special release planned for Renovation and one or two for next year's Chicon.

Yeah...it's a fun ride. It doesn't end here. We'll have more news on our other great titles coming up.

Cheers!

Some (but not all of the) New Titles for Spring

For the entire month of March, orders for Where the Shadows Began & Other Stories by Bradley H. Sinor will enjoy FREE domestic shipping and drastically reduced international shipping. If you haven't ordered yourself a copy yet, you don't know what you're missing. Consider tales that:

• A theatre where the play’s the thing and nightmares perform.
• Fog that, if you walk into, you will come out to find the world changed—and that you must face the greatest killer of an age.
• How the burden of legend, honor and the pain of love lost stretches down through the ages.
• The sands of a beach where choices made cannot be unmade.
• A tale as old as time—from an unexpected point of view.
• Who cleans up after the titans clash?

Brad's fantasy takes you into uncharted territories of wonder and possibility. It's a highly recommended read.

Speaking of great reads, coming soon is a fine collection of poetry from Ben Ohmart. In Albany: an Autobio in Poemtry, Ben takes a different approach to biography by presenting a series of poems which not only encapsulate his own experiences growing up, but which also envelope the reader in a shared experience. It's not often one finds poetry that talks about playing Frogger or Space Invaders as a child, or enjoying comic books or Star Wars action action figures (from the first trilogy). If you're a Merry Blacksmith reader, then you're probably a little bit of a geek and proud of it. Ben's one of us and it shows. Look for this book around the beginning of April.

Cheers!

Boskone and Corflu and fanac and fantasy

Heading off to Boskone this morning for a daytrip. In addition to dropping off some goodies at the freebie table, I'll be visiting some dealers with copies of Merry Blacksmith Press books and some flyers promoting our titles. It's been too long since I've visited a con, even for a day, so I'm very glad I was able to shoehorn this daytrip in.

I'm already making plans for more cons this year.

In other news, I'm happy to report that Earl Kemp's Who Killed Science Fiction? has been getting some great responses. The book debuted at this year's fanzine fan convention, Corflu, in Sunnyvale, California. Apparently most of the copies were sold within half an hour after opening the box on Friday night, and the rest were gone by morning, and orders taking advantage of the February free or reduced shipping have been nicely brisk. I donated a copy of WKSF and Anthopology 101 to the fan auction. The video feed cut before I could find out how much they went for, alas. Still, if they brought in their cover price, I'm more than satisfied. Every little bit helps to promote healthy fanac.

And speaking of fanac, stay tuned for new on a special fan anthology project coming soon.

And speaking of staying tuned...by the end of the month, Bradley H. Sinor's excellent fantasy short story collection, Where the Shadows Began, will become available. As usual, there will be special deals available when it's released into the wild.

Cheers!