>>New Hampshire Pulp Fiction: LIVE FREE OR NEVER DIE >> (Sci-fi in a Granite Vein)

Long Time, No Post

broussardish — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:22:20 +0000

I’ve been distracted (happens to editors, our lives are really just a series of distractions) and thus silent here on the Live Free or Never Die blog, but I can report that the stories I’ve received are wonderful, fantastic and engaging. I predict this will be the best installment to date of NH Pulp Fiction. My goal is to have everything read and sorted by the end of this month so I can make final decisions. I’m conferring with the artist about the cover and as soon as all that’s in place we’ll teleport everything to the printer and, hopefully, have this book out in time for summer reading.

Excelsior!

Keep ‘em Coming

broussardish — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 22:25:43 +0000

There’s just a little more than a month left until the deadline for submissions for “Live Free or Never Die: Speculative Fiction from the Granite State to the Stars.” I’ve been getting manuscripts for all over New Hampshire, several from outside the state and a couple from overseas! I guess the fame of NH Pulp Fiction is spreading. But I want more, more more. There’s still plenty of time to finish up an 8,000 word or less story before Jan. 31, even if you want to wait until after the holidays, but you should at least have your plot and characters simmering on a back brain burner. All the info you need to get rolling is elsewhere on this site, but drop me a line if I can answer your question directly.

Rick — nhpulpfiction@gmail.com

Live Free or Die, Die, Die! THE COVER STORY

broussardish — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 03:37:51 +0000

One of the joys of producing this series of books is working with the amazing cover artist, Marc Sutherland. His work always tells stories that extend beyond the mere two dimensions in which his images are wrought. Since the cover to NH Pulp Fiction 2 (Live Free or Die, Die, Die!) was completed independently of any of the stories contained within, I made an offer in the front matter of that book to anyone who cared to attempt to bring the cover to life with words. In effect, I said that if you write it, I’ll post it online as a permanent (if virtual) addendum to that otherwise completed work.

Writer Robert Owen took me up on the challenge and produced a remarkable, full-length story based brilliantly upon Sutherland’s art. You can read it here. Just click on the first line of his story, reproduced below as your portal:

Richard Tracy pulled the tavern door shut behind him as he stepped out onto Elm Street. The full moon looked gigantic as it rose above the Queen City sky line.

UPDATE: Writer Phil Soletsky, who is featured in NH Pulp Fiction Volume 2, could stop there and decided he, too, would take a crack at illuminating the cover art with his words. Here’s a click-through first line to his excellent effort
My arms quivered with the effort of holding my wife. My knees shook. I looked down at Valerie draped across my forearms, her head hanging back, neck exposed, a gun dangling from her limp hand.

And here is the art that inspired both works:

Writers are invited to turn this image into an original story.

There’s room for more links from this page and my offer stands for any other writers bold enough to take on the challenge. Next time you feel like some two-fisted fiction, you know where to look.

Portals Open for Volume 3: “Live Free or Never Die: Speculative Fiction from the Granite State to the Stars”

broussardish — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 17:10:56 +0000

I am now officially opening the portals and inviting submissions for the next volume of NH Pulp Fiction. This one is dedicated to science fiction and its mutant cousin, speculative fiction, which is to say the stories don’t all have to deal with spaceships, alien viruses and freeze rays. You can mix a little Twilight Zone in with your Outer Limits.

The deadline for submissions is January 31. The maximum word length is 8,000 (though I’m willing to bend rules for great writing). As always, the Granite State needs to be a tangible presence in the stories, which could be quite interesting if the story is set in, say, the 23rd century.

I don’t have a lot of other rules or style requirements, but if you have some weird old word processing software just use simple text; and everyone should adhere to classic old-school formats for submissions, i.e. put your doggone name AND address AND e-mail on your manuscripts. I can’t tell you how much trouble it is having to navigate back and forth between manuscripts and e-mails searching for basic contact info. Digital information is cheap, so take advantage of it and put your all contact information everywhere, assuming you ever want to be contacted.

Oh, and send your submissions to me at nhpulpfiction@gmail.com.

Onward and upward.

-Rick

Next Reading Nov. 10! (NOTE: at 6 p.m., not 7 as previously written)

broussardish — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 22:38:14 +0000

Building upon the success of the first reading at the Barley House in Concord, Live Free or Die, Die, Die! contributor Rob Azevedo has arranged another pub-style night of crime fiction. NH Pulp Fiction will come to the Shaskeen at 909 Elm St. in Manchester on Thursday, Nov. 10. Readings will begin at 6 p.m. and carry on until they toss us out or the band starts to play, whichever happens first. I’ll have a sign-up sheet on hand so any of this year’s contributors can drop in an put themselves on the roster for the night. We’ll try to get everyone a spot but at very least you can have a pint among kindred spirits. Tell your friends and everyone turn out for NH Pulp Fiction, live on the gritty streets of the Queen City. Suzy Geers from Plaidswede will be on hand to sell books and the authors will be more than happy to sign them. Cheers!

Books are Available Online!

broussardish — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 02:33:49 +0000

Not sure when Live Free or Die, Die, Die! will appear in bookstores just yet (soon, I hope) but they can be ordered now through the NH Booksellers site http://www.nhbooksellers.com

Still working on some unusual locations for readings. I’ll have news on this very soon.

First Reading Was a Smashing Success!

broussardish — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 20:43:43 +0000

We had about a dozen writers, about 20 listeners and a table full of poets laureate from far-off states in attendance for the very first reading of action-packed, two fisted tales from Live Free or Die, Die, Die! Seemed like everyone had fun on either side of the mic and the book looks great in the limelights.

Most readings we staged last time around were in bookstores and those were good too, but the success of the “pub” readings like this one at the Barley House (and the one on the same occasion last year) makes me think we may be missing our best shot at spreading the gospel of NH pulp fiction. One of my writers, Rob Azevedo, pointed out that the Shaskeen in Manchester and lots of other pubs have stages and spaces set aside where we might draw a small crowd to listen on some night when there isn’t a bar band playing. We’ll approach the Shaskeen first to test the concept, but this could be a good twist in the plot. And with October in the air, maybe we can set up one reading where we feature stories from both LFODDD and the original NH Pulp Fiction anthology, Live Free or Undead.

If you have thoughts or suggestions for such venues (or for regular bookstores who you think would have us), drop me a line.

-Rick

Long Overdue Update

broussardish — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 17:31:14 +0000

Dear Pulpaphiles,

In keeping with the suspenseful theme of the second volume of NH Pulp Fiction, the publication process has been filled with mystery and close calls. Actually, the mystery results mostly from my ignoring this blog and not keeping everyone posted and the close calls are all, similarly, the result of slack performance from yours truly. I guess we know who the villain is in this potboiler. Anyway, there’s a happy ending in sight (or is there, hmmm), as cartons of “Live Free or Die, Die, Die!” are being shipped on Tuesday and should be here just in time for a long-planned reading, Friday Oct. 14, 6 p.m. at the Barley House in Concord.

Those of you who were along for the “Live Free or Undead” ride (which had its own share of cliffhangers and hairpin curves) will recall that this was quite a fun night last year. It’s one of a series of cool events associated with the NH Book Festival, October 9-23, 2011, being staged by the NH Writers Project. There are events in numerous locations around the state, so make it a point to attend one. If you come to the Barley House you can meet the other writers and, if you were snubbed, shoot daggers from your eyes at me and refuse to buy me a drink. Info on the festival can be found at the link below.

http://www.nhwritersproject.org/newfiles/calendar.html

For those of you who have been wondering who actually made the cut and got into this edition of NH Pulp Fiction, here’s a list of the chosen few:

Rob Azevedo
Robin Curtis
Jeffrey DeRego
Brendan DuBois
Brian Edmonds
Judith Green
Simon Harling
John Hirtle
Margaret Bobalek King
Rebecca Leeb
Gregory Nicoll
Susan Nye
David O’Keefe
Lorrie Lee O’Neill
Douglas Osterhoudt
Adi Rule
J.E. Seymour
Philip Soletsky
Tom Sweeney
Dan Szczesny

Wish it could be more. There were some great submissions I couldn’t squeeze in. But the Pulp Fiction saga continues with the third volume kicking off now.

The next installment will cover science fiction and related weird tales and is tentatively titled “Live Free or Never Die: Speculative Fiction from the Granite State to the Stars.” I’d like all the submission in by the end of the year, but I’ll post more detailed instructions soon.

What? You doubt my word?

Fine, make ME the bad guy.

-Rick Broussard
Editor of the NH Pulp Fiction Series

Almost done with selection process

broussardish — Sat, 07 May 2011 20:10:19 +0000

As always, these things take more time and consideration than I have at my disposal, but I’ve narrowed the list of submissions down to the likely suspects. I’ll try to get the first big batch of regrets off tonight and then tinker with the final few.

Great Submissions, Thanks!

broussardish — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 03:52:11 +0000

So the submission period for Live Free or Die, Die, Die! has officially ended and, with a few stragglers that came in over the weekend (I’m not a stickler), I’m up to 72 manuscripts. That’s about half as many as I received for Live Free or Undead, but my impression is the overall quality is better, and that’s saying something, since there were quite a few great yarns submitted for the first volume of NH Pulp Fiction.

I’m looking forward to the process of reading and ranking what I’ve received and I hope to be done by the end of the month. As soon as I have the list narrowed I’ll begin notifying those who did not make the cut. I may wait to make the final cuts, as I deliberate a bit over the final composition of the book.

Just as was the case with LFOU, the goal is to offer a variety of styles, a variety of themes and a variety of locales around the state. So without sacrificing writing quality or storytelling power, I’ll be trying to be as diverse as I can with the final 20 stories.

Thanks to everyone who wrote something. I wish I could publish them all.

-Rick