All posts by Phil

Firebringer at Farpoint

Firebringer Press publisher and writer Steven H. Wilson will be at Farpoint 26 next month, along with writers Phil Giunta, Diane Baron, and Daniel Patrick Corcoran.

During the Friday night book fair from 10PM to Midnight, we will have all Firebringer Press titles available, including our latest double horror novel, Freedom’s Blood and Like Mother, Like Daughters

Firebringer Take 2 Cover

On Sunday afternoon at Farpoint, Phil Giunta and veteran writer Peter David will co-host a screening of Dreams with Sharp Teeth, the 90-minute documentary about Harlan Ellison (1934-2018), one of the most awarded writers in history.  The film stars Harlan, Robin Williams, Neil Gaiman, Peter David, Ronald Moore, and others. We’re thrilled and grateful that director and producer, Erik Nelson, granted permission for the screening. 

Phil Giunta with Harlan Ellison - ICON 1999
Phil Giunta with Harlan Ellison – ICON 1999

Farpoint 26, February 8-10, 2019. Hunt Valley Marriott Delta, Hunt Valley, MD. Celebrity guests include Wallace Shawn (Princess Bride, Deep Space Nine, etc.), and voice actors Rob Paulson and Maurice LaMarche. 

Writer guests include Peter David, Howard Weinstein, Robert Greenberger, David Mack, Michael Jan Friedman, Aaron Rosenberg, Keith RA DeCandido, Daniel Ackley-McPhail, Heather Hutsell, Kelli Fitzpatrick, Derek Tyler Attico, Steven H. Wilson, Phil Giunta, Mary Fan, Russ Colchamiro, Glenn Hauman, and more. 

Double the Love!

Excited to see such effusive praise rolling in on Amazon and Goodreads for Firebringer Take Two, the double horror novel comprised of Steven H. Wilson’s vampire tale, Freedom’s Blood, and my paranormal mystery, Like Mother, Like Daughters. It was a joy to see our stories published in the vintage ACE Double style. The paperback is available now with the ebook coming soon.

Like Mother, Like Daughters Cover  Freedom's Blood Final Cover

Firebringer Take 2 Cover

 

After Action Report: Philcon 81 & Book Launch

At Philcon 81 last weekend, Steve Wilson and Phil Giunta celebrated the release of Firebringer Take Two, the double horror novel comprised of Steve’s vampire tale, Freedom’s Blood, and Phil’s paranormal mystery, Like Mother, Like Daughters.

Click here to read Phil’s after action report from Philcon 81, including pictures from our book launch. 

Phil & Steve at Philcon 81
Phil & Steve at Philcon 81, launching the new book!

Also, if you donated to our Kickstarter, please be aware that all paperback rewards have been shipped! So check your mailbox over the next week or so. For those backers expecting eBook rewards, we will soon be in touch via email with instructions for claiming your reward.

 

 

 

Firebringer Take 2 Cover

 

 

Book Launch at Philcon 81

This year marks the 81st anniversary of Philcon, the Philadelphia Science Fiction Convention, happening November 16-18 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cherry Hill, NJ.

If you happen to be attending Philcon, Steven H. Wilson and Phil Giunta invite you to check out their book launch on Saturday evening, 11/17, at 5PM in the con suite. Their double horror novel, Freedom’s Blood and Like Mother, Like Daughters will be premiering at the con!

We’re thrilled to release a book reminiscent of the classic ACE doubles where you read one story, then flip the book over to read the other.

Special thanks to Renee Volker Wilson for assisting with the book launch party preparations!

Double Novel Launch Flyer

Freedom's Blood Final Cover Like Mother, Like Daughters Cover

Firebringer Take 2 Cover

 

Update on Double Horror Novel

Steve Wilson and Phil Giunta are pleased to report that the galley copy for their double horror novel (Freedom’s Blood & Like Mother, Like Daughters) is finished and undergoing final proofreading.

Meanwhile, the covers are being formatted. We’re still on track for a November release with awards to be shipped (paperbacks) or emailed (in the case of ebooks) by early to mid-December.

Once again, our sincerest thanks to our Kickstarter backers for helping us bring this book to press. More updates soon!

Kickstarter Update #8: We Made It!

We’re excited to announce that we exceeded our Kickstarter funding goal for Firebringer Take Two thanks to the following generous donors:

Lewis G. Aide
CabbitCommando
Michael Critzer
Tony Fucci
The Creative Fund
James Gallahan
Allyn Gibson
Jack Hillman
Madelyn Jackson
Heather Mikkelsen
Omar Padilla
Leeon Pezok
Susanna Reilly
Renfield
Ann Stolinsky
Sharon Miller VanBlarcom
Lee Vierling
Judith Waidlich
Howie Weinstein
Cindy Woods
Evon Zundel

We appreciate your generous support and will continue to keep everyone updated as the book nears completion and rewards are ready to ship (paperbacks) or claim online (ebooks).

 

Kickstarter Update #7: Presenting the Cover Art for Freedom’s Blood!

As promised in a previous update, we are thrilled to present Caio Cacau’s finished cover art for Steven H. Wilson’s vampire novella, FREEDOM’S BLOOD! Since our double novella will be formatted in the style of the classic ACE Doubles, the book will have two front covers. The cover art for LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTERS was created by Laura Inglis who also produced  the covers for Phil’s previous paranormal mystery novels, Testing the Prisoner and By Your Side.

There is still time to donate to our Kickstarter to help us bring the paperback to publication. We appreciate your support for small press authors!

 

Freedoms Blood Cover Art by Caio Cacau
Freedoms Blood Cover Art by Caio Cacau

Like Mother, Like Daughters Cover Art by Laura Inglis
Like Mother, Like Daughters Cover Art by Laura Inglis. Title designed by Chris Winner.

Firebringer Take Two Covers

 

Kickstarter Update #6: “Don’t Go In The Barn, Johnny!” (Excerpt)

Each week during our Kickstarter campaign, we will bring you updates from the project, including excerpts from both novellas. For the past three weeks, we presented the opening scenes from Phil Giunta’s novella, LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTERS, and Steven H. Wilson’s vampire tale, FREEDOM’S BLOOD

One of the books we’re including in some of our Kickstarter reward levels is the speculative fiction anthology, Somewhere in the Middle of Eternity, published in 2014. This brilliant collection brings together thirteen imaginative tales of SF, fantasy, and the paranormal by Daniel Patrick Corcoran, Michael Critzer, Phil Giunta, Amanda Headlee, Susanna Reilly, Stuart S. Roth, Steven H. Wilson, and Lance Woods. Cover art and interior illustrations by Michael Riehl.

We’re proud to share Steven H. Wilson’s story, “Don’t Go In The Barn, Johnny!” complete with its introduction. Read on!


“Don’t Go In The Barn, Johnny!” Introduction
by Steven H. Wilson

There’s a barn—or there used to be—in the cornfield next to the house where I grew up in Clarksville, MD. I don’t know how old it is, or was. It stood until sometime in the 1980s. I know I have pictures of it somewhere.

Here’s the thing… I loved that barn. It stood, from my vantage point in the back yard of my parents’ house, right on the horizon line. The sun set behind it. When night came to Simpson Road, she came from that barn. At least, that’s how it looked to me.

It stands to reason that that barn was where Night spent the day, sleeping. Don’t know where she sleeps now that it’s been replaced by brick-and-vinyl palaces decked out in shades of builder beige. Perhaps the urban planners provided her with a condo under Section 8.

I’ll tell you a secret: I never went in that barn. It was abandoned the entire time I knew of it. The cornfield around it was one of my favorite places to play. We played hide and seek among the rows when the corn was high. When the corn was harvested, leaving the fields mud-caked and barren, I would go alone and pretend I was exploring an alien world on which some ancient disaster had wiped out all life. Cheerful cuss, wasn’t I? But I never went inside that barn, at least not that I remember. Some little voice in my head always called out, “Don’t go in the barn!” Well, after all, Night was in there, waiting to claim you. Truth be told, I was probably just afraid of snakes.

But here’s an update of a story I wrote in 1983, inspired by my beloved barn that I never dared enter, about Johnny, the wind, and how Night decided to take a bride… er, groom.


“Don’t Go In The Barn, Johnny!”
by Steven H. Wilson

“Don’t go in the barn, Johnny!”

The phrase had echoed in his head down through the years. They had taunted him with it, when he stared at the old building.

“Why not?” he would ask, and they would only say, “Because you’ll never come out again.”

Stupid kids. It was just an old empty barn. A barn on which the sun set every night, dropping, orange and swollen, behind the rotting, gray timbers. Once the sun entered the barn, night came. That was all. What was there to be afraid of?

But Johnny never went in… not then.

Johnny was afraid. Fascinated, but afraid. He couldn’t look away from the barn, but he didn’t dare go near it. The other kids picked up on this, and they made the taunt a condemnation of his fear:

“Don’t go in the barn, Johnny!”

Meaning, you won’t go in the barn, Johnny! You won’t, because you’re afraid. But what was there to be afraid of?

Blackness. Darkness. Death. A chasm of inky black that swallows you whole, swallows your soul. In the dark, you can’t see, you don’t know what’s touching you. You can’t see your own hands in front of your face, don’t know if you have hands anymore.

In the dark, you go mad. It steals your mind. It steals your soul.

So Johnny didn’t go in. Not then. Then he’d been afraid of the dark. That was before.

And now he drew his light jacket up around him and swore at the flashlight as it struck him. Its batteries dead, the useless instrument, lodged in his pocket and weighing his jacket down banged painfully in cadence against his hip as he ran against the fierce, icy wind.

Why had he carried it? Old habits. He didn’t need light. The night was perfect and black.

No moon shattered the darkness of the old road, nor paced him as he jogged. Only the wind followed him, chased him. Rude and forceful, it threw branches in his path, tossed dust in his eyes. It howled through old trees and shacks by the roadside, making Johnny wonder briefly if the wind had a voice it was even now struggling to make heard.

Everything was alive tonight, a paradox. The road and all around it was dead. The only sign of life and warmth the sweat forming a sheen beneath his hoodie and track pants. The wind sang in atrocious harmony with itself. The trees, old and cynical, laughed wildly at his youth.

But no bats cried for attention; no black cats dove for shelter in rotted sheds. No rats or possums came from the ancient, secret places to claim any portion of their meager rations.

Apart from himself, there was only one kind of life afoot tonight, the kind that was fit to live no other night, the kind whose existence depended upon belief, upon the imagination. Ghosts, phantoms, spirits, demons…you could only believe in such things on a night like this.

It was these kinds of creatures that Johnny preferred. He had grown up with them. They clung to the shadows, hid in the darkness, watching, waiting. He had always known they were there. He had been afraid. He wanted to know them, wanted to know what they wanted. But he didn’t dare go near the places they would be, the dark places.

It was talked about, Johnny’s fear of the dark. He slept with the light on. He wouldn’t go in the basement. He wouldn’t go in any dark place.

“Don’t go in the barn, Johnny!”

Oh yes, the other kids had noticed, of course. Kids notice everything. They haven’t yet been trained not to notice. They notice the dark things, waiting to feed. They notice who’s afraid of the dark things. Some kids, like Johnny, react to fear by staying away. Some try to make peace with fear by offering sacrifices. Give the darkness someone who’s afraid, and maybe the darkness will leave you alone. Maybe you’ll look strong.

They made Johnny a sacrifice.

It was just a closet at school, a closet with two doors that opened in two rooms. They’d gotten on either side and shut him in, holding the doors shut. An old school, with old doors, it didn’t have lights in the closets, or louvres in the doors. It was pitch black in the closet. Johnny was alone in the dark for a lifetime.

Thinking of it, he felt the rawness in his throat from the screaming. The bite of his nails in his palms. After a while, the wetness, as his nails pierced the skin and blood flowed. He’d begun to tremble and shake. His throat had closed up. His chest had seized in pain. He didn’t remember the teacher opening the door, or the ride to the hospital. He’d woken up on a table, with his mother watching him, eyes red.

It was a problem, now, his fear. His parents were scared, and the doctors had scared them more. It was a problem, so they’d fixed it. They’d fixed it with a new technique in deep brain stimulation. “Less invasive,” they’d called it. Surgery without incision. They hadn’t even had to shave his head, they’d just put him under and injected transmitters into his brain.

And now he wasn’t afraid anymore. Now he loved the dark, and everything that lived in it. The doctors had told his parents not to worry that he now stayed up at night, or when he’d taken up midnight jogging. “Carry a flashlight at least, Johnny!” So Johnny carried a flashlight, even after the batteries in it had died.

Now, Johnny lived for the darkness.

Though the ghosts of the dark still made him uneasy within himself, he felt truly alive in their presence. They didn’t speak. They didn’t show themselves. He knew they were there, all the same. Defiantly, silently, he would state the case for his kind of life to them. Always they would listen, offering him no understandable verdict. Perhaps the song of the wind held the answer, if only he could discern its music.

Ahead of him now was the barn, which he passed every night as he jogged the old road. In Johnny’s eyes a dignified residence, its original owner and its former bestial occupants were a century departed. Now it was a place for that which governed the night.

Its rotting planks, the gaping holes in its walls like worn holes in the knees of jeans, frayed and ragged, marked it a truly sacred place. He took particular notice of the song the wind sang about it. It was a different song than the song for the trees or the song for the road. It had no tragic tone of melancholy. The wind held no pity for this place, only the deepest reverence. The song proclaimed the untarnished beauty and withstanding dignity of the spirit within.

He’d passed the barn every night since he’d come home, since he’d started jogging this road. He had not gone inside. Despite his newfound love of the dark, the remnants of old fears had lingered, keeping him from within.

But tonight, the wind sang. Chilling, icy, it numbed his ears, squelching earthly sounds, but letting him hear in a new way. He heard the call from within the ancient walls, an alluring siren’s song. A generalized eroticism swept over and past him and drew him in.

Tonight, tonight he would go inside.

“Don’t go in the barn, Johnny! Don’t go…”

The voices of the past, of the earth, of the living, faded.

He would go inside.

He moved toward it. It was a masterwork of the horrible. In the radiant black-blue of the sky he could see the overgrowth, all of it dead, which blocked the path, warning away the living, the heretics who would not pay the homage this sacred place deserved. Sharp broomsage and wicked briars conspired together to protect their charge.

Ahead of him, the darkness had laid a trap for the unwary. A hole, a threatening pit of black, yawned before the maw of the building. Johnny halted, peering in. Was it bottomless, endless? Within it, was there a vacuum of blackness, waiting to dislodge his soul and claim it as a prize?

Fear flitted about him, darting like an insect, trying to annoy, to draw a reaction. A traveler, alone with no source of light, should beware such a hole, should fear it.

Fear held no power over Johnny. His driving need now was to enter the place of shadows, to discover the secret Night was keeping only for him. And so Night revealed the truth about the hole to him. It was merely a shallow pit of rotting timbers and blackish mud, a dugout place where once there had been a well, now filled. Her ebon veils had made it seem so much more. He knew, should she have so chosen, she could have made the pit bottomless. It could have swallowed him forever. Any other it would have swallowed, but Night wanted him to come further.

The song grew louder. Another voice had joined the wind in its chorus, a light voice, a voice from his oldest dreams. It touched his ears. It drifted, weaving and dancing, from within the barn. The song touched every part of his body at once, exciting every nerve. Ahead, through the black of the doorway, Night smiled seductively.

He caught the briefest, most furtive of glimpses of her… or was it a glimpse at all? Was it not something his eyes had witnessed, something objective, but just a phantom from his own subconscious? Seeing her, seeing her smile, he still could not describe her.

Whatever it was, it was enough. Now he new what was inside: inside was his goal. The shadows held her in waiting. He plunged into the massive cavern of the opening, almost leaping into the dark. He searched, not with his eyes–which were of no use here–but with his being.

In the corner was the voice, the one that danced on the wind. It beckoned from above, drawing his eyes upward. Night was perched atop the loft, waiting.

Night was not dark, far from it. She had skin like the milky surface of the moon and hair pale gold as the haze which adorned the moon on misty evenings. He realized that this was what he had expected. Her ethereal white robes blew around him on the wind, entangling him.

Night smiled. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

He was cold no longer.

In fact, he found he was uncomfortably warm. Night nodded, and he tore off his jacket, flinging it away. The weight of the dead light carried it to the corner. His t-shirt, slick now with sweat, he peeled off. He kicked away his shoes. The clothes were things of the day. He rejected them.

Naked he stood before her, and the dark reflected off his skin. He had not known dark could reflect, but it did, no doubt on wavelengths the human eye could not detect. But Johnny saw the reflection. In Night’s gaze his body was smooth and young and perfect.

She held out her arms, causing her robes to flow and billow and engulf him. He was lost within their folds, and she drew him closer.

And Night smiled.

There was no heat, only a passion cold, but fierce. Night, as incredibly old as he was young, drew him to her. He gave himself entirely, unthinking, un-sensing, only feeling in a way he had never known.

His breath grew short, and stopped completely. Night smiled.

***

As he woke, it was light. The wind had gone. He shivered, feeling the absence of true life around him. Straw pricked his naked flesh, and he felt the coarseness of the old floor boards with every nerve in his back and legs.

He wanted to get up, to stretch, but the girl was nestled against his shoulder. Her breath, even and perfect, tickled his neck and riffled his hair. Pinpoints of light shone through holes in the old walls and painted patterns on her ivory flesh. Just pinpoints, like starlight. Not enough to disturb her. Not enough to burn away the perfect flesh.

Last night, her flesh had been icy. To him, she now felt soft and warm. He pulled her to him; and together they slept, waiting until the time was ripe for them to come alive again. It was not so very long from now, before the other kind of life would walk: Ghosts. Phantoms. Demons. That would be their time, the time after the sun went away.

For now, Night had no place in the world. In this dead world.

In the daytime, they would try to find him, the living. They would not. He was not there, not in the light, no longer in the light. After days they would give up, the living would. After years, they would tear down this shrine, where Night and her consort slept the day through. It did not matter. They would find another place. Night slept in many places. Night never went away.

And he was hers.

Because Johnny wasn’t afraid of the dark anymore.


Somewhere in the Middle of Eternity is available in eBook and paperback from most online booksellers, but you can also obtain a copy by donating to our Kickstarter campaign for our double horror novel, FREEDOM’S BLOOD by Steven H. Wilson & LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTERS by Phil Giunta coming in November 2018 from Firebringer Press. Donate to the Kickstarter now! 

Kickstarter Update #5: By Your Side (Excerpt)

Each week during our Kickstarter campaign, we will bring you updates from the project, including excerpts from both novellas. For the past three weeks, we presented the opening scenes from Phil Giunta’s novella, LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTERS, and Steven H. Wilson’s vampire tale, FREEDOM’S BLOOD

By Your Side
Cover art by Laura Inglis. Title designed by Chris Winner.

One of the books we’re including in some of our Kickstarter reward levels is Phil Giunta’s paranormal mystery novel, By Your Side, published in 2013.  This story marked the second appearance of psychic-medium and single-mom Miranda Lorensen, introduced to readers as a secondary character in Phil’s first novel, Testing the Prisoner.

As with Like Mother, Like Daughters, Miranda is front and center as the protagonist in By Your Side.

While haunted by visions of her brother’s suicide, Miranda is called to Lancaster, Pennsylvania to investigate a series of bizarre deaths–some of which are also suicides. Miranda and her team of paranormal investigators quickly find themselves confronted by a vengeful spirit awakened thirty-three years after a bloody family tragedy. Miranda realizes that only she can stop the entity before it claims its final victims, but will her obsession for saving lives redeem her for the brother she failed?

Below is an excerpt from By Your Side. We hope you enjoy these story samples and deeply appreciate your support for small press authors!


By Your Side (Excerpt)
Phil Giunta

Three hours later, after her guests had departed, Miranda rinsed off the last plate and slipped it into the dishwasher. After pouring detergent into the dispenser, she closed the door and noticed a blurred reflection in the stainless steel door. It moved from left to right before coming to a stop in her peripheral vision. It made no sound as it moved on the tiled floor of her kitchen, which suddenly became cold under Miranda’s bare feet.

She ignored the presence at first, continuing with her chores. She had learned years ago not to be frightened by the sudden appearance of spectral visitors nor would she simply drop everything to attend to them. Death should not give license to be discourteous. Miranda wanted to help them, of course, but she would not allow them to disrupt her life either. She was a single parent with three children, a career, and a home to maintain. These were her priorities.

Still, the kids were away for now and if this gentle presence was the little girls she’d seen earlier this evening, then Miranda was all too happy to give them her attention despite the late hour.   She dried her hands with paper towel as she turned to address her guest.

“Yes, what can I—”

Miranda froze. She felt her heart leap. The tall, gaunt man who stood before her was someone she hadn’t seen in twelve years, since the birth of her twin boys. Before that, it had been the birth of her daughter. He hadn’t come to her wedding. Miranda’s mother had joked that he probably didn’t approve of Brian.

“Dad,” she breathed.

“How’s my Randy Panda?”

Miranda struggled to find words, but all she could think to say was, “You haven’t called me that since I was eight.”

Her father shrugged. “I miss my little girl.”

“I miss you, too.”

“The kids are safe with Brian. Nothing to worry about. He’s a good father.”

“Yeah, he is.” Miranda nodded. It occurred to her that he looked exactly as he had the last two times he appeared, as he had in the months before his emphysema—healthy and robust—and only a few years older than Miranda was now. He was clean shaven and his light brown hair was spiked as it had been since his days in the Marines.

“How are you?” Miranda asked.

“Wonderful.”

“I’ve been having visions of Colin.”

“I know.”

“Is he OK?”

“He’d be better if you’d move on.”

“How can I? He took his own life, and I could have saved him if—”

“Depression took him. It wasn’t his fault.”

“Then why am I having—”

“Guilt is what you’re having. Needless guilt. Let go, Randy. Give him peace.”

Miranda felt tears welling up in her eyes as her father continued. “I know what you’re about to do. You’re going to help those people that your friend called about, but you don’t realize how dangerous it is.”

“My ability is dangerous in and of itself. I never know who’s going to show up or when. The things I’ve seen…” Miranda trailed off. It had always been pointless to argue with him. “If I can’t help people what is the point of it all?”

“You can’t save the world, Randy.”

“No, but I can damn well try.”

“At what cost?”

The tears were running down her face now. “We’ve both seen the cost of not trying.”

Her father shook his head. “You didn’t know the depth of your brother’s depression. No one in the family really understood it.”

“You did. If you could come here tonight to warn me about going to Lancaster, you could have warned me about Colin.” Miranda turned away and reached for a piece of paper towel to dry her eyes. “I could have helped him.”

She crossed her arms and glared at her father, but he was gone. “I could have saved him,” she whispered.


By Your Side is available in eBook and paperback from most online booksellers, but you can also obtain a copy by donating to our Kickstarter campaign for our double horror novel, FREEDOM’S BLOOD by Steven H. Wilson & LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTERS by Phil Giunta coming in November 2018 from Firebringer Press. Donate to the Kickstarter now! 

Kickstarter Update #4: Freedom’s Blood Cover Art In Progress

Renowned comic book artist Caio Cacau is creating a fabulous cover for Steven H. Wilson’s vampire novella, FREEDOM’S BLOOD. Caio has done cover work for two previous Firebringer Press titles:

Sacrifice Play: A Tale from the Arbiter Chronicles

The Arbiter Chronicles Vol. 1: A double novel adaptation of the first two audio episodes from Steven H. Wilson’s award winning podcast drama!

We will bring you the finished cover for FREEDOM’S BLOOD in a future update. For more of Caio’s brilliant artwork, visit his website!