Although I’ve participated in Kickstarters and other crowdfunding efforts as an author, I’ve never been the focus of one before. I’m not entirely the focus now, but I am editing–and helping run–a Kickstarter for a new Western anthology.
Silverado Press Presents: Western Stories by Today’s Top Writers is, I believe, a multiple first in western publishing. As far as I’ve been able to determine, there’s never been a traditional western anthology funded through Kickstarter. Weird westerns are on Kickstarter by the dozens, but traditional–or classic–westerns are a different breed. The audience for them is mostly older. The writers–with notable exceptions–are mostly older. As a result, newfangled deals like Kickstarter are barely part of the consciousness of the genre’s fans and practitioners.
So we’re breaking new ground that way. And we’re breaking it in other ways, too.
The western publishing market has been contracting, so as I wrote before, author and pal Howard Weinstein and I started a micro-press called Silverado Press–under the auspices of our friends at writers’ cooperative publishing outfit Crazy 8 Press–to publish western and historical fiction. This is Silverado’s first anthology offering, and therefore the first time we’ve published anyone other than ourselves.
The concept for the book is also unique. Each story has to touch on some specific event in the history of the Old West. It doesn’t have to be the main focal point of the story, but it has to be in the story, thereby grounding the story in a specific time and place. No imaginary towns in this book–this involves real places and real happenings. It’s educational as well as entertaining (though entertaining is the first priority).
To that end, we’ve rounded up a posse of fantastic western writers–as the subtitle says, some of the best in the business. Every western reader should know the names of Johnny D. Boggs, Sharon Frame Gay, Steve Hockensmith, Nik James, Vonn McKee, Rod Miller, Cheryl Pierson, Richard Prosch, L J Washburn and James Reasoner, and Larry D. Sweazy. Between them they’ve won or been finalists for literal tons of awards in the western writing world. I guess I could mention myself in that crowd, too, because I’ll have a story in the book as well.
But for this book, we’ve also brought in brilliant wordsmiths who typically write in other genres, but who also love westerns. Some of them have written in the western arena; for others, this is their first shot at it. We’re talking about established pros like Mary Fan, Kelli Fitzpatrick, Del Howison, Paul Kupperberg, Lisa Majewski, Gord Rollo, and Aaron Rosenberg. This might be the first anthology to bring so many new voices to a genre that some–those who haven’t been paying attention–think is ancient history.
So yes, we’re excited. We’re also anxious, because breaking new ground on Kickstarter is a tough business. We have 20 days to go, as of this writing, and we need your support! If you’re here it’s because you love stories and storytelling, and we’ve got a bunch for you. But they’ll only see the light of day if you get behind the effort. You can get the ebook for a $10 pledge or get the paperback for $20. There are various packages where you can get an ebook by me, Howard Weinstein, or both thrown in. There are Tuckerizations available. You can have the book dedicated to you, or have your name included in it. There are cool add-ons like a Silverado County sheriff’s badge, a print of the cover art (painted for us by Frederic Remington, about 100 years ago), and more. Or you can just drop a buck in the tip jar to support small-press publishing and a classic American genre. Do it here, right now, while you’re thinking about it. And thank you!
In other news–yes, there’s other news–you might have been a fan of my horror western comic book series Desperadoes, which ran from 1997 to 2007 from Image Comics, DC Comics, and IDW Publishing. There might be a chance for new Desperadoes comics–but again, it’d help if you got involved. If you want to be kept up to date on the goings-on, please send me an email at [email protected], with the subject line “Desperadoes Mailing List,” and I’ll add you to that list. You’ll get all the news, when there is any.
Just to whet your appetite, here’s a page by the brilliant artist John Severin from Desperadoes: Quiet of the Grave #4. No word balloons or colors to distract the eye, just John’s incredible artwork and attention to detail. He was 81 years old when he drew this, and he never missed a beat. Enjoy.
#Tags: adventure, books, comic books, Westerns, writing