“How Pauley Michaels Saved Humanity” in the Middle of Eternity

Bart PalamaroWe welcome Bart Palamaro to the Middle of Eternity with his fantastic science fiction tale, “How Pauley Michaels Saved Humanity.”

Bart and Phil Giunta are fellow members of the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group where Bart serves as our webmaster and general tech guru as well as the facilitator of our Writers’ Cafe live critique sessions.

Below, Bart reveals his inspiration behind his globetrotting adventure in Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity.


This story is based on an actual incident that happened about seven years ago. We had a couple of friends over for dinner and I was taking some bowls down from the cupboard for soup, when I noticed that one of them was a slightly different style from the rest. They were pretty much as described in the story, homey, casual, comfortable. I put the odd bowl back and picked out another.  A couple of years later I was rummaging through the set again when I noticed there were now two of the odd bowls. I mentioned it to my wife and she just shrugged. I looked at the set and the outline of the story as published pretty much sprang into my head fully formed.

The odd thing is, since then we have neither microwaved nor used any of the odd bowls.

We hope you’ll check out the perks we’re offering in our Indiegogo campaign and consider a contribution to help us fund the publication of Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity. Thank you for supporting small press writers!


Bart Palamaro is author of several published short stories and one published novel, The Other Side of Time, and The Fate of U-1055, its free prequel. All are pretty much in the SF genre. Almost everything Bart read growing up was SF or fantasy. Even Horatio Hornblower is a form of SF to a 20th Century kid.

Recently, he’s taking a side trip into the paranormal, with a shapeshifter subculture living and prospering while indistinguishable from anyone else in our own world. In the Teeth of the Problem and In the Eye of the Beholder are due for publication in 2020. Who knows, he may commit fantasy one of these days.

Bart is also TechGuru for the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group, riding herd on the web site and various other techie stuff we do. For fun and profit, he edits and formats books for self-publishers, both print and ebook. He also does book covers.


Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity

We look forward to launching Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity in February 2021.  In the meantime, check out the first volumes in the series by clicking on a cover image below.

Somewhere in the Middle of Eternity  Elsewhere in the Middle of Eternity

A “Surge of Pride” in the Middle of Eternity

This week on the blog, Daniel Patrick Corcoran discusses his delightfully clever contribution to our upcoming speculative fiction anthology, Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity. Daniel is one of our core storytellers who has been with us since book one.


Daniel Patrick CorcoranWhen I was invited to include a story in the third Middle of Eternity anthology, I reflected on the stories that I had included in the first two. My story in Somewhere in the Middle of Eternity was about a vampire, placing it solidly in the category of fantasy. When a reader pointed out that the stories in that anthology were almost all fantasy, I made sure my story in Elsewhere in the Middle of Eternity was as deep into science fiction as I could get. So for Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity, I wondered if there was a way I could combine the two genres. And I realized, yes, yes I could.

Surge of Pride-IlllustrationThe idea of a robot finding a genie’s lamp is not particularly unique, and when I came up with the story hook it was mostly to prop up a punchline. As I was writing the first draft I was thinking that while the joke would be funny, it would also be easy, and if it wasn’t a challenge for me it might not be enjoyable for the reader. That’s when I started asking myself questions about the story and that’s where the fun really starts for me. I really like the craftwork, taking an idea and building onto it to make it a good story. In this instance, I revisited the story elements. Is the genie malicious or subservient? Is the robot going to get its wish? Will the wish produce ironic results? Is there something else going on that is not immediately apparent? It was that last question that led me to write a story I feel worthy of inclusion in an anthology of the fantastic, and I hope the readers agree.

We hope you’ll check out the perks we’re offering in our Indiegogo campaign and consider a contribution to help us fund the publication of Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity. Thank you for supporting small press writers!


Known as Renfield to his friends and family—yes, really—Daniel Patrick Corcoran lives in Baltimore, Maryland with his wife and house rabbits. Renfield is a familiar face at the Maryland convention scene and can usually be found taking to the stage in one form or another. When not busy turning beloved genres on their ears, he is sometimes seen wandering the streets dressed as Krampus or Schnabelperchten as a celebrant of all holiday traditions. Daniel’s vampire comedy tale, “Apartment Hunting,” and science fiction adventure, “The Hard Place,” were published in Somewhere in the Middle of Eternity and Elsewhere in the Middle of Eternity, respectively.


Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity

We look forward to launching Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity in February 2021. In the meantime, check out the first two volumes in the series by clicking on a cover image below.

Somewhere in the Middle of Eternity  Elsewhere in the Middle of Eternity

 

And We Are LIVE on Indiegogo!

MIME Cover PrototypeSteven H. Wilson and Phil Giunta are thrilled to bring you the third book in our Middle of Eternity anthology series—Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity—with stories of science fiction, fantasy, and the paranormal by Daniel Patrick Corcoran, Michael Critzer, Sean Druelinger, Julie Fedon, Chris Ochs, Peter Ong, Bart Palamaro, Stuart Roth, Susanna Reilly, April Welles, Lance Woods, Steven H. Wilson, and Phil Giunta.
With cover art by Michael Riehl and interior art by Tim Marron, Laura Inglis, Julie Fedon, Chris Ochs, Cheyenne-Autumn Christine Reilly, and Michael Riehl.
Check out our Indiegogo campaign here and consider helping us bring this book to publication. Thank you for supporting small press publishers and authors!
Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity

LibraryThing Book Giveaway!

For those of you who are members of LibraryThing (an alternate to Goodreads), we are running a three-week-long giveaway for six paperback copies of the double novel that includes Phil Giunta’s paranormal mystery story, Like Mother, Like Daughters and Steven H. Wilson’s vampire tale, Freedom’s Blood.
 
Unfortunately, we cannot link directly to the giveaway. Click here to see LibraryThing’s list of September paperback giveaways. Ours is about eighth or ninth in the list. If you sign up, best of luck!
Firebringer Take 2 Covers

Got a Story for Ya on YouTube

In April, Firebringer Press author Phil Giunta launched a YouTube channel on which he reads his short stories and discusses upcoming projects, including Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity, Firebringer’s next anthology slated for release in February 2021.

Phil’s series is called Got a Story for Ya!  The first 14 episodes are LIVE and include readings from Somewhere in the Middle of Eternity and Elsewhere in the Middle of Eternity.

Check it out and consider subscribing. New content is uploaded weekly.  Thanks!

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Firebringer Books on Sale at Amazon!

His Death was only the Beginning… Shepherd Autrey is a Quaker, a physician, and a man deeply disturbed by the madness around him as the War Between the States bears down on his America in 1863. Dared by a friend to take an active role, Shep volunteers to provide humanitarian aid to the victims of Sherman’s scorched earth campaign in the Shenandoah Valley. There he runs foul of a Confederate recruiting drive and finds himself hanged by the neck from a tree. Awakening in a strange land which can’t possibly be earth, Shep is plunged into battle and saves the life of an alien warrior prince. Hailed by bloodthirsty killers as the bravest man alive, Shep combats his conscience, his flagging faith, and an ever-growing number of people who want him dead.

The paperback and Kindle versions of Steven H. Wilson‘s SF/Fantasy novel Peace Lord of the Red Planet are now on sale for $3.18 on Amazon!


By Your SideWhile haunted by visions of her brother’s suicide, psychic-medium Miranda Lorensen 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?

The paperback version of Phil Giunta’s paranormal mystery novel, By Your Side, is now under $8! We honestly have no idea how long these sales will last as prices are adjusted by Amazon’s capricious algorithms without notice.

Thanks again for supporting small press writers!

Firebringer Press Presents… at Farpoint 2020!

Firebringer Press is excited to attend Farpoint 2020 SF Convention, Feb. 21-23 in Hunt Valley, MD.

Our “Firebringer Press Presents” discussion panel is scheduled for Saturday at 11AM in Salon C. We look forward to chatting up our upcoming anthology, Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity, as well as other publishing successes both within and outside of Firebringer.

Hope to see you there!

Farpoint 2020

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Firebringer Take Two on Sale at Amazon!

Ghosts, Vampires, and American History…

We have no idea how long this sale will last, but the paperback version of our paranormal double novel—FREEDOM’S BLOOD by Steven H. Wilson and LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTERS by Phil Giunta—is on sale at Amazon for $5.93 (normally priced at $10.99)! We happened to notice that Amazon adjusted the price, as they are wont to do from time to time.

The paperback is formatted like the classic ACE double novels of the 1950s-1970s where you read one story then flip the book over to read the other.

Firebringer Take 2 Cover

Of course, the Kindle edition is also available for $2.99 (no flipping required).

Thank you for supporting small press authors!

Firebringer Take 2 - eBook Cover

 

Approaching the Middle of Eternity!

MIME Cover PrototypeWe’re ecstatic to announce that all stories are locked in for the long-awaited third volume of the Middle of Eternity speculative fiction series—Meanwhile in the Middle of Eternity! All content editing has been completed and the manuscript will be compiled over the holidays. No official release date has been set, but stay tuned.

Contributing authors for book three include Daniel Patrick Corcoran, Michael Critzer, Julie Feedon, Phil Giunta, Christopher D. Ochs, Peter Ong, Bart Palamaro, Susanna Reilly, Stuart Roth, Richard Shawn, April Welles, Steven H. Wilson, and Lance Woods.

Cover art once again provided by Michael Riehl. Interior illustrations by Tim Marron, Laura Inglis, and Michael Riehl.

Meanwhile (pun intended), you can catch up with volumes one and two on Amazon by clicking on the cover images below. Each book presents a stellar selection of tales from the genres of science fiction, fantasy, and the paranormal written by established and burgeoning writers and edited by Phil Giunta.

And remember… in Eternity, all stories are timeless.