Borderlands 7 Is in the House

It is no exaggeration to say that placing a tale in Borderlands has been one of my longest-held aspirations as a writer. And this turned out to be the year. My surreal, grim, ever-so-cheerful (or not) tale, “Escalation,” can be found in Borderlands #7, hot off the press — my contributor copy arrived yesterday. It’s a gorgeous hardback edition, signed by all the authors in the anthology. For all its putrescence, 2020 can claim at least one shining moment (there have been several, actually, but those are not the point here).

 

Borderlands is a continuing anthology series that has garnered awards and praise for its contributors and editors for more than twenty-five years. Each volume is a non-themed gathering of stories that push the boundaries of genre fiction with provocative tales of the surreal and the weird. Edited by Tom and Olivia Monteleone, this edition includes fiction by the following authors:

Meghan Arcuri
Michael Bailey
Gary A. Braunbeck
Michael Scott Bricker
Cory Cone
Roby Davies
John DeChancie
Louis Dixon
Caitlín R. Kiernan
Felicia Lee
Bentley Little
Lisa Mannetti
Richard Christian Matheson
Robert McCammon
Donna J. W. Munro
Stephanie Pendley Paul
Bill Pronzini
Stephen Mark Rainey
Lucy A. Snyder
Daniel Waters
Tim Waggoner
Paul Wilson
Leo Zaccari

For your consideration, here is a little teaser from “Escalation”:

The elevator doors slid open, revealing paneled walls the same dark color as the guestroom doors. Greg stepped in. After hesitating a moment, Hager followed.

Inside, there were only two buttons — one for up and one for down. None for individual floors.

The doors slid shut. The car did not move.

Hager glanced up, saw no floor indicator above the door. He pushed the up button. With a smooth whir, the car slid into motion, and Hager felt his stomach lurch. They were going up, all right. And fast.

“How many floors are in this hotel?”

“I’m not sure. Twenty, maybe.”

“Jesus. We're really moving.”

The car kept going, and Hager felt his knees going wobbly. "How the hell high can this thing go?”

“We can't be moving as fast as it feels.”

“But we are. We are.”

“This is fucked up.”

The car kept going.

Visit Borderlands Press here.

Writer’s Cramp!

But it was fine enough reason to get a cramp. A great big box full of signature sheets for Borderlands 7 arrived the other day — Saturday, I believe it was. On Sunday, I put in a marathon session, signed the lot of them, and shipped them back to the publisher on Monday. Borderlands 7 is due for release from Borderlands Press on October 1 and will include my story, “Escalation.” Getting into Borderlands has been an aspiration for many years, and I’m mighty proud to have done so with this particular tale.

After a lengthy and highly frustrating delay, Mom’s death certificates finally arrived, so I have been immersed in trying to get things moving toward settling the estate. This promises to be a long and involved process, but at least it feels as if some progress is finally being made.

I’ve inched a little farther forward on my next Ameri-Scares novel — New Hampshire: Ghosts From the Skies. Not as far forward as I would like or really need to, but recent circumstances have hardly been conducive to the fiction writing. I plan to keep plugging along in the coming weeks and get this one in the bag. I believe it’s shaping up to be quite lovely. I have been informed that there are new, promising developments with the television adaptation of Ameri-Scares, so I hope this means good things in the pipe for Elizabeth Massie et moi.

Of course, there has been some geocaching in the bargain. A number of new caches have come out in the area, and a couple of hiking trips to Durham and elsewhere have helped me burn off a few superfluous calories. There are still plenty left to burn though.

Last week, The Martinsville Bulletin ran my article about my mom’s death from COVID-19, which I had adapted from my blog entry, “Wildfire.” They re-titled it “My Mother Is Gone from COVID-19, and You Need to Do Better,” which I’m not mad about, but at least they ran the piece as I wrote it. It is not altogether polite. It isn’t meant to be.

And we’re off.

One of my favorite spots along the Laurel Bluff trail here in Greensboro.
A crumbling old structure amid a forest of bamboo.

Big Bambu!

“Escalation” to Appear in Borderlands #7

I am happier than one of my fiery hot pepper martinis (and that is very happy, I'll have you know) to announce that my short story, "Escalation," will be appearing in the 7th edition of Borderlands, the award-winning anthology series from Borderlands Press edited by Olivia and Tom Monteleone. It's scheduled for release on October 1, 2020.

From the Borderlands Press website:

“Borderlands 7 is the current volume of the continuing anthology series that has garnered awards and praise for its contributors and editors for more than twenty-five years. It is a non-themed gathering of stories which push the boundaries of genre fiction with provocative tales of the surreal and the weird.

“You will find no zombies, no serial killers, no vampires, no ghosts... or any other familiar genre tropes or icons within these pages. Borderlands fiction is typified by its absolutely untypical nature. The editors offer herewith a wide range of fiction varying in tone, length, style, and theme. The path to the Borderlands of contemporary, imaginative fiction is traveled by writers who believe they can write a story that is so unique and memorable it demands to be a part of this current volume. The result is a grand amalgam of respected masters, solid veterans, and bold newcomers.”

Here is the full list of contributors:

• Meghan Arcuri-Moran
• Michael Bailey
• Gary A. Braunbeck
• Michael Scott Bricker
• Cory Cone
• Roby Davies
• John DeChancie
• Michael Louis Dixon
• Caitlín R. Kiernan
• Felicia Lee
• Bentley Little
• Lisa Mannetti
• Richard Christian Matheson
• Robert McCammon
• Donna J. W. Munro
• Stephanie Pendley Paul
• Bill Pronzini
• Stephen Mark Rainey
• Lucy A. Snyder
• Daniel Waters
• Tim Waggoner
• F Paul Wilson
• Leo Zaccari