Equinox Mirror

Equinox Mirror is my forthcoming book from ELJ Publications, due out Dec. 5th. 2014. Readers of only Genre fiction probably would not like it, as it’s ambitious Literary fiction exploring new territory. But it’s entirely based on a valid existing scientific theory, so people who like SF because of imagining what the world might be like may well find this novella stimulating.

It’s dark, weird, occult, paranormal, macabre and eccentric, not usual straight edged hard SF, but I wrote it to consider the reality of the well-known theory. I just don’t want to say what that is, because that would be a spoiler.

It has 23 illustrations to help visualize what’s going on in this convoluted tale of scrying, recursive imagination. Each set of illustrations is different for each character, from the heavy black splattered void-fighting male Lucky Lavaggio to the delicate pencil strokes of the uncertain mother, to the childlike imaginings of the demented female Lucky.

“Lucky Lavaggio, who can’t discern how she looks, and thus how to take appropriate action, takes her magic scrying mirror on a trip through the time zones to where it is already Autumn — a ritual prescribed in the Dysmorphic Grimoire to see one’s self clearly and know the future. Mystified by her flashing awareness of a male Lucky Lavaggio who fights the Void, and overwhelmed by her sense of everything happening at once as one continuum, due to her prematurely raised Kundalini, she counts on the reassuring continual presence of a woman she keeps in the oubliette at all times through subterfuge. The eccentric characters at her boarding house, who resemble those who populated her childhood dollhouse, patiently suffer through her weirdness — but for how long?

This illustrated Neo-Noir Slipstream novella explores physics, the occult, passionate longing, and precarious mortality.”

Anyone interested in a review copy, please contact.

Submit Innovative Genre Fiction to The J.J. Outré Review

Do you like to write Genre Fiction and seek out places to submit that eschew the formulas, the tired conventions, and instead, play with innovations, and are open to Interstitial Genres like Slipstream? I’d like to bring to your attention a new magazine to submit to that is actively seeking work. You might want to follow their WordPress at The J.J. Outre Review. If you have fiction under 5000 words, consider submitting — they read blind so it’s entirely fair and about the work itself.

It’s a new venture by ELJ, a publishing house which has been bringing lots of Literary e-books and magazines for a good while now. To get a sense of their books which are not Genre, you could check out A Taste of 2013.  I’m happy to say ElJ is putting out my Slipstream novella in December, called Equinox Mirror, which is Interstitial, as it rests ultimately on scientific theory, but doesn’t straightforwardly follow the tropes of SF. Outré is a new direction for them, moving toward the highly entertaining pulp fiction that supported authors such as Philip K. Dick and Lovecraft. Weird Tales was one of the most interesting pulp mags.

I find it kind of funny to see how wary Genre and Literary readers and writers are of each other. I understand it, because the goals can be so different. I grew up reading almost entirely Literary, and respectful understanding of Genre wasn’t engendered in school, or University. Academics mostly write Literary, which doesn’t pay as much usually other than with reputation, but pays off because of job opportunities. Literary is written with the hope of lasting value, material that speaks deeply to readers, changes their perceptions, pushes the boundaries of all previous work. Pulp writers on contract have had to write very fast, as demanded by their publishers, and they could entirely make a living with their word-slinging, reaching a wider audience, being more accessible than Literary texts, with more exciting, action-filled plots, extreme, and offering readers predictable satisfaction. If they like Mysteries, for example, they could trust they would probably enjoy most of what a pulp editor would serve up for them, whereas because their voices and methods are so unique and explore in risky directions, it’s not the same with Literary.

Do you enjoy that innovation, the attention to fresh, surprising language, and character depth, meaningful structure that is found in Literary yet want to appeal to readers more with any of the genres or subgenres, or cross-genre, even genre-busting that still keeps the addictive flavor that would hook people into high impact enjoyment? Do you write Neo-Noir — characters doing what they must in a corrupt system? Do you write New Wave Fabulism — about the role of the imagination? Have you gotten the new issue of Year’s Best Weird Fiction? Do you write stories you’d think Genre mags would like, but it doesn’t really fit in after all? Do you know the Genre market well, but still like to push beyond their boundaries?

Here is their About Page:

“The J.J. Outré Review is a quarterly on-line journal with an annual print issue publishing well-written, a highly engaging genre fiction for a new generation. Think Rae Bryant, Cat Rambo, Michael Kelly, Jeff Vandermeer and others.

We here at The J.J. Outré Review are looking to bend and mix the traditional genres and subgenres. Give us crime, mystery, thriller, suspense, horror, science fiction, fantasy, or adventure, magical realism, slipstream, new weird, neo-noir, new wave fabulist or anything and everything in between. But, give us a genre story with heavy literary undertones, a clear concern for the language itself and not just formulaic plot and characters. We’re looking for stories that exceed expectations, surprise the reader in both context and form. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Give us something weird, something nebulous, something gritty, insecure, radical. We’re hungry for surprising poetic prose, prose that leads to unknown wonders.

If your work attempts to bewilder, unsettle, thrill, baffle or completely terrify anyone with language and twists, you’ve found a home with The J.J. Outré Review. We don’t care if you call it crime, mystery, thriller, suspense, horror, science fiction, fantasy, adventure or something blurred or in-between, we want to read it. We want to publish compelling stories, intriguing characters, quality writing and strong literary elements. Come on, try us. We welcome the bizarre, in fact, we encourage it.

The J.J. Outré Review is an ELJ Publications publication.

Contact us @ thejjoutrereview@gmail.com.”