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Merlin: The Lady of the Lake (series 2, episode 9)

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:23:00 +0000

Merlin falls in love with a cursed Druid girl.

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Everywhere, like quicksilver — Part 1

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:05:35 +0000

by Jason Sizemore Apex editors and authors are all over the Internet. We have blogs, websites, and Twitter accounts. Occasionally, we’ll say something funny or interesting. For example, just this morning I was stopped at a red light on the drive to the day job and randomly tweeted “Red lights can bite my butt.” See what you’re missing? Today, I’ll list places where you find Apex editors on Twitter and Facebook. Twitter: Jason Sizemore - @apexjason Jennifer Brozek - @jenniferbrozek Chris Einhaus - @chriseinhaus Sarah Brandel - @initialdescent Justin Stewart - @justin3000 Apex Book Company - @apexbookcompany Mari Adkins - @mariadkins Facebook: Apex Publications Chris Einhaus Deb Taber Jennifer Brozek Justin Stewart Mari Adkins Sarah Brandel Maggie Jamison I apologize if I’ve missed any of you.

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King and Spielberg team up for Under the Dome

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:05:00 +0000

Miniseries based on latest bestseller.

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Apex Magazine seeks Poetry Editor

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:15:44 +0000

by Jason Sizemore We recently published a poem titled “ After, Thoughts–A Pantoum ” by John C. Hay that drew some praise that landed in my inbox from fans. Granted, these emails were from fans of poetry who were happy to see another genre publication printing poetry (but it is a great poem!). Their encouragement has inspired me to start publishing a poem or two per issue of Apex Magazine . But there’s a catch! I am no poetry editor. Neither is Deb Taber, Gill Ainsworth, Jennifer Brozek, Maggie Jamison, or Sarah Brandel. Mari Adkins knows poetry, but she’s only interested in the kind that is written while dressed in goth clothing during Samhain. This means I’m looking for a poetry editor to join our team. Naturally, this work would be on a voluntary basis. At least, until somebody figures out how to get wealthy publishing an online ‘zine and making it such that we can pay our dedicated minions. I’l be accepting applications over the next ...

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HED: Human cloning? I’m down with that.

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:48:46 +0000

by J.C. Hutchins A few weeks ago, my high-tech thriller 7th Son: Descent was released by St. Martin’s Press. In its opening pages, a four-year-old boy assassinates the U.S. president…and after that, it’s a deep-sea dive into government conspiracies, computer hacking, five-minutes-into-the-future technologies and lots of automatic gunfire. It’s mostly about cloning. Seven men discover that they’re unwitting participants in a human cloning experiment. Their flesh and childhood memories–recordings, transferred from a digital storage system to their blank cloned brains–hail from someone else. When I was writing 7th Son: Descent , I thought a lot about human cloning. The science, the legality, the ethics, the dilemma. Should science go there? (If it hasn’t already, that is.) Should we let it? I pondered the far-off technology of recording human memories, storing them as digital data, and dumping them into blank minds. Should we embrace such ...

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Odyssey Writing Workshop’s 15th Summer Session

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:37:22 +0000

ODYSSEY WRITING WORKSHOP ANNOUNCES ITS 15th SUMMER SESSION About Odyssey Since its inception in 1996, Odyssey has become one of the most respected workshops in the science fiction, fantasy, and horror writing community. Odyssey is for developing writers whose work is approaching publication quality and for published writers who want to improve their work. The six-week workshop combines an intensive learning and writing experience with in-depth feedback on student manuscripts. Top authors, editors, and agents have served as guest lecturers, including George R. R. Martin, Harlan Ellison, Jane Yolen, Terry Brooks, Robert J. Sawyer, Ben Bova, Nancy Kress, Elizabeth Hand, Jeff VanderMeer, Donald Maass, Sheila Williams, Shawna McCarthy, Carrie Vaughn, and Dan Simmons. Fifty-three percent of Odyssey graduates go on to professional publication. The program is held every summer on Saint Anselm College’s beautiful campus in Manchester, NH. Saint Anselm is ...

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Abrams bows out of Dark Tower films

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:19:00 +0000

Bad Robot not continuing with King adaptation

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Author Jeffrey Thomas on PRIME: “thought-provoking”

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:31:16 +0000

Author Jeffrey Thomas ( BLUE WAR , PUNKTOWN ) has posted his review of Nate Kenyon’s novella PRIME ! Here’s a clip: “ I purchased this book at a signing I did on Halloween at Borders in Shrewsbury, MA, with Nate and some other local horror writers. Nate seems like a calm, confident guy, very pleasant. What initially drew me to this book, the first I’ve read by him, is the striking cover art I show above, by Russian artist Katja Faith. Her work has a wonderful sense of luminosity. Gorgeous stuff. See the link to her gallery, below. The novella is a bit of Future Noir/Cyberpunkery, in which surly “bug hunter” Will Bellow goes in search of a deadly computer virus and in search of his own scrambled past. ” Read the whole review here!

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SHROUD MAGAZINE on HARLAN COUNTY HORRORS: “an eclectic collection of chilling tales”

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:16:39 +0000

SHROUD MAGAZINE has posted its review of HARLAN COUNTY HORRORS , APEX’s recent collection of dark fiction centered in coal country. Edited by APEX’s own Mari Adkins, this anthology features stories by Alethea Kontis, Debbie Kuhn, Earl Dean, Geoffrey Girard, Jason Sizemore, Jeremy Shipp, Maurice Broaddus, Robby Sparks, Ronald Kelly, Stephanie Lenz, Steven Shrewsbury, and TL Trevaskis. Here’s a clip of SHROUD’s review: ““Harlan County” ends with perhaps its strongest story, “The Witch of Black Mountain”, a dark, enchanting bit of folklore written by New York Times Bestseller Alethea Kontis. Here, a young woman scorned undertakes a dangerous journey in search of death, resolution, revenge – but instead encounters and inherits an ages-old legacy, one which gives her new, dark purpose.” Read the whole review here!

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Zombies have rights, too!

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 16:13:28 +0000

by Jason Sizemore Zombies are growing restless by our continual disrespect, shotgun blasts, and hammers to the head. They are demanding to be treated better. And now they have a website to support their cause: http://itsjustzombies.com/ Reasons to visit the website: 1. You’re turning a weird color and think you might have Changed. (See our Frequently Asked Questions for further inquiry). 2. You know you’ve Changed. 3. You know you will Change one day and want to protect your future. 4. Maybe you’re just plain curious (or drunk… just kidding!).

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Ray Bradbury developing six hour miniseries

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:59:00 +0000

Six separate directors choosing favourite pieces

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The William Castle Film Collection

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:45:00 +0000

Includes The Tingler, 13 Ghosts and more.

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The mathematics of publishing a professional e-zine

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:57:26 +0000

by Jason Sizemore While most people have encouraged me to go forward with the ’subscription’ model of Apex Magazine , there are a subset of readers who disapprove. Their reasons are varied, some containing merit and others off-base and silly. I thought it’d be interesting to those interested and vested in Apex Magazine that I address some of these comments. First, a quick history… Apex Magazine began originally as Apex Digest . Apex Digest was a print magazine that initially formed the basis of Apex Publications. Started in November, 2004, the digest ran for 3.5 years through twelve issues. By the time I decided to end the run in March, 2008, our subscriber base was 600 and our circulation was nearing 7,000. Why did I decide to stop printing the digest? I blame Geoffrey Girard (though in a good way). He convinced me to start publishing books. I quickly discovered that books were way easier (comparatively) and distribution, while a broken process, was less ...

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How you can support Apex Magazine

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:03:27 +0000

by Jason Sizemore After yesterday’s post asking for reader feedback about a ’subscription’ option to Apex Magazine , I received many emails of support. Apex Magazine has a large base of loyal fans willing to toss a coin in the hat to keep the ‘zine going. It was a nice boost of confidence. To that end, we will go forward with the ’subscription’ plan. One reader commented to me that it’s like donating to NPR…you make a token payment to keep the content free (and alive). I liked that comparison because I’m a big NPR junkie! Via the Apex Book Store you’ll be able to make your annual subscription donation. Anyone subscribing for $25 or more will receive a copy of Descended From Darkness: Apex Magazine Vol I . I’ll keep a subscriber database like I did back in the Apex Digest days. On a yearly basis, I’ll remind you that your subscription is up. Alternatively, you can straight up order a copy of Descended From ...

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Win The Sarah Connor Chronicles Season 2 on Blu-ray!

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:02:00 +0000

Every episode of the season plus some great extras.

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Apex Magazine and options

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 21:17:38 +0000

by Jason Sizemore There’s been some debate on the series of internet tubes about workable business models for online content. Some, like Cory Doctorow, believe free is good. If you give out a quality freebie, people will shell out money for more of that product. I like to think of this as the ol’ street dealer’s trick of giving out samples of coke to get people hooked on their drug. Others have argued to me that offering content such as short stories online, you have to go to a subscription or pay-per-play system. I can’t say either one has worked for Apex Magazine . A combination of the two has not worked. Sponsorship worked for two months before enthusiasm for it died. I’d like to try an alternative. I’d like to see how many fans of short fiction (and Apex Magazine ) are out there that would donate $10 (or more) on a recurring, yearly basis to help pay for magazine costs. Our yearly cost is around $10,000. Doctorow was given $10,000 to write one single ...

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SF Reader on CONVENT OF THE PURE: “well-written” and “fun”!

Mon, 9 Nov 2009 01:05:27 +0000

Nick DeMarino has posted his in-depth interpretations, impressions, and praise of Sara M. Harvey’s CONVENT OF THE PURE on SF Reader ! Here’s a small clip of the review: “Harvey paints a rich, immersive world through Portia’s perspective, rich in gothic and fantastical imagery, but offers little in the way of explanation. While most of the mechanics of this world are intuitive (think “magical realism”), some ideas, beings, and actions are taken for granted. The clear character archetypes help the reader contextualize the actions within the plot as they reveal themselves. There are a few flashbacks scenes that reveal backstory, but their impact on the tension and mood of the story outweighs their interruption of linear plot.” Read the whole review here!

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