Tag: novels

Devil’s Eye

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Devil’s Eye is a thrilling, action packed tale of swashbuckling adventure on the high seas, featuring excessive amounts pillage, plunder and PIRATES!!!

After the crew of the Devil’s Eye stage a successful mutiny they find themselves in possession of a very valuable hostage who could could alter their fate forever. With the chance of becoming rich or dead men, the stakes have never been higher.

Captain Blood is the infamous captain of the pirate galleon Devil’s Eye, but his long and illustrious career is about to come to a swift and bloody end at the hands of Crimson Jack and his henchmen. Having disposed of the old captain and his officers and placing themselves in command of the ship the pirates must bring their crew a worthy prize that will cement their positions.

Upon capturing a French ship in the Caribbean, they take a valuable hostage who will bring them a fortune in gold, if they can return them to France. Standing in their way is a flotilla of Spanish warships, a huge English galleon, French forces and other pirates out to claim the hostage and the ransom for their own. With little chance of success, the pirates embark upon the voyage of a lifetime with all guns blazing.

But a gathering storm looms over their heads in the form of the threat of yet another mutiny being staged by loyalists to Captain Blood and new additions to the crew loyal to another captain. Multiple parties on the ship have their own motives for wanting control of the ship and possession of their hostage, but the tense political situation on the ship threatens not only the success of the voyage itself, but their very lives.

Can Crimson Jack and his men maintain control of the ship long enough to complete this most perilous of quests, collect the ransom and cement their positions as commanders of the Devil’s Eye? Or will the risk of mutiny, competition from other pirates and being hunted by the naval powers of several nations prove to be too much and send them all to their watery graves?

You can find Devil’s Eye available on Amazon, Smashwords, Apple Books, Scribd, Lulu and Kobo.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/986119

https://www.amazon.com/Devils-Eye-Cameron-Walker/dp/1708437932/

Through the Gates of the Silver Key: The Best Collaborations and Ghost Writings of H.P. Lovecraft

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Depending upon whom you ask, the collaborations and ghost writings of H.P. Lovecraft are either an underappreciated gem in the literary canon of American horror fiction, or an interesting, yet ultimately forgettable collection when compared to the main body of Lovecraft’s work. It is in this editor’s humble opinion that this body of work, while less known and not as appreciated as Lovecraft’s main canon, stands on its own, not as a lesser alternative or dismissive sub-body, but as a strong and equally as rich compendium that acts as an extension of the Lovecraftian world that is so revered.

The Call of Cthulhu, The Dunwich Horror, The Shadow over Innsmouth, At the Mountains of Madness, all have their counterparts in Lovecraft’s secondary body of material with Under the Pyramids, Bothon, Through the Gates of the Silver Key, The Horror in the Museum and The Mound all standing strong on their own against anything from Lovecraft’s primary material. But I would like to present the question, should comparisons be made? Do they even need to be made to begin with?

Lovecraft compilations abound in print and Ebook formats and it seems not a year can pass without a slew of them being published by publishers here, there and everywhere. What sets this compilation apart from the rest? To begin with the vast majority of them tend to focus on Lovecraft’s main body of work with ambitious publishers hoping to make a quick buck by cashing in on the more popular and well-known works in the Lovecraft canon. Often lovingly crafted with high quality paper and hardcovers, elaborately packaged in their presentation, they all ultimately amount to much the same thing. Since Lovecraft’s work now resides in the public domain, anyone with the will to do so can release a compilation of his works and draw an income from it.

This compilation focuses on his lesser known and far more scarce collaborations and ghost-written work, of which collections of are relatively few and far between, with a best of collection such as this being virtually non-existent. Wanting to increase exposure to Lovecraft’s secondary body of work that often goes overlooked and underappreciated I decided to compile this compilation of the best of his collaborations and ghost written work as a loving tribute to the material.

So with a will and a way, and a fledging publishing house to promote and provide material for, I took it upon myself to compile just such a collection and spent many hours researching the stories behind the content for facts, trivia and details to include that would add to the majesty of this overlooked and underappreciated body of work. Not content to just engage in my own hubris I dedicated hours of additional research to ensure a “best of” collection included just that, the best of Lovecraft’s secondary works. Research was conducted online to validate the popularity, reputation, ranking and significance of the works included to ensure they were indeed worthy of inclusion into this anthology.

Howard Phillips Lovecraft is incontestably a pioneer and master of modern horror. His work has inspired generations of writers for the past eighty years, and has a lasting cultural influence upon western civilisation. His unique narrative style, voice and universe combining elements of horror, science fiction and fantasy allowed him to create a vibrant and complex mythos that has stood the test of time well beyond his death, and has only increased in popularity and relevance. Known primarily for his main body of work, Lovecraft none the less compiled a significant number of collaborations and ghost writings for other writers in a lesser known body of work that often goes overlooked and underappreciated. The purpose of this anthology is to compile the best of these works into one cohesive volume that is a tribute and testimony to their brilliance.

Featured within this volume are the stories:

Under the Pyramids
The Curse of Yig
The Mound
The Man of Stone
The Horror in the Museum
Winged Death
Through the Gates of the Silver Key
Out of the Aeons
Till Aèthe Seas
The Disinterment
The Night Ocean
The Diary of Alonzo Typer
In the Walls of Eryx
Bothon

Forsaken Press Marketing and Distribution Network

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Forsaken Press seeks to embrace and take full advantage of Social Media as a means of marketing and promoting our company, releases and writers to a large, global audience. Our current marketing network of Social Media outlets includes Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, DeviantArt and our official blog on WordPress.

Forsaken Press has established a wide arching network of distributors, making our releases available through many different avenues in a diverse array of marketplaces. Believe it or not, but our distribution network is three times the size of Amazons. By focusing our efforts on large distributor networks we have established one of our own that is far reaching and includes multiple platforms, including: Amazon, Smashwords, IngramSpark, Lulu, Kobo, Apple Books, OverDrive, Baker and Taylor, Scribd, Tolino, Gardners and Bibliotheca CloudLibrary.

We also have a presence in the online and physical bookstores of major and independent retailers such as Barnes and Noble, Angus and Robertson, Walmart and Collins. As well as other local retailers in a number of countries, such as Ireland, Great Britain, France, Spain, Canada, Brazil, Italy, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Japan, Australia, The Philippines, South Africa, Turkey, India, Germany, Russia, South Korea, Poland, The United States of America and Mexico with a combined total of 51 countries in our distribution network. This equates to a combined total of access to 25,000 libraries where our ebooks can be accessed and purchased, 14,000 stores where our paperbacks can be ordered by either customers or stocked by the stores themselves, and 70 online retailers.

Our marketing network plans for the future currently include podcast and Youtube channels, an official website and blogger blog. We are also aiming to increase our distribution network by having online stores on our official website, blogs and Facebook page, and further expanding both marketing and distribution networks by utilising mediums such as Shopify that feature combination blogs and online stores.

Forsaken Press Quality Guidelines:

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Forsaken Press is dedicated to embracing creativity, imagination, originality and pushing the boundaries of storytelling by encouraging experimentation and thinking outside the box. As such there’s no idea that we consider too crazy, wild or out there for us to support.

However we believe in maintaining a high standard in the quality of work we publish in the quest of establishing a reputable and respected brand. This in accordance with our modus operandi means there are certain types of stories we are going to be less interested in. That’s not to say we don’t like conventional stories, not at all. Devil’s Eye, the first novel ever published by Forsaken Press, is a conventional story.

What we are not interested in is stories that are very stereotypical, cliché or have been overdone and can be found elsewhere in abundance. In addition to anything that we find morally objectionable which we have reason to believe is a testament to the author’s own views. Although it should be noted that if you put an interesting twist on these things, we will certainly hear you out. We believe in giving everyone a fair reading and if we feel it is well written enough or overcomes these barriers in some way we can certainly get behind it. This guide applies to both short stories and longer works.

Here is a list of the sort of stories/themes we are talking about:

1) It turns out nothing is real: Stories where everything turns out to be just a dream, virtual reality, a product of the protagonist’s imagination or it turns out they are insane. While there’s nothing wrong with this narrative device it is rather passé and overdone.
2) Technology is evil and natural things are good. While this can present an interesting theme within a work, it shouldn’t be the main focus of your story.
3) The protagonist is a bad guy. While we have no issues with evil characters (they’re very fun), again your story shouldn’t revolve around this fact.
4) A twist ending occurs which is predictable or falls flat. A twist ending is supposed to make the story more interesting, not the other way round. (IE: M. Night Shyamalan films).
5) It turns out the main character isn’t human after all, as the reader has been led to believe. While there’s nothing wrong with this concept in theory, it’s been done to death.
6) Story involving time travel where something happens that affects the past/future as a result. Again, this has been done many times in film, TV and literature. It’s not interesting anymore.
7) Characters speculate what it would be like if something bizarre and outside the realm of reality was true, then it turns out it is. Let’s try to be original shall we?
8) Scientist uses themselves as a test subject.
9) Stories revolving around how awesome space/time travel or some hypothetical technology is. Your story should have more depth to it than that.
10) Stories revolving around how women, people of other races/sexualities etc are inherently evil or inferior in some way. Forsaken Press isn’t here to lend psychological validation to your bigotry. Not only is it morally and factually wrong, but it’s a poor concept to revolve a story around. We suggest taking some time out for open and honest self-reflection as to the basis for your beliefs.
11) Characters spend the entire story, or an inordinate amount of time contemplating a moral dilemma of some sort. While moral dilemmas lend a story/character depth and add drama it shouldn’t be the primary focus. We do want a narrative of some sort so the story progresses somewhere.
12) A political manifesto in the guise of a fictional narrative. No one wants to read about your personal politics. While political themes are encouraged again this shouldn’t be the driving factor behind your story, especially if you’re portraying anyone who disagrees with you in an unrealistically negative light.
13) Superhero story focuses on the mundane aspects of superhero life. This has been done quite a lot already.
14) Weird, random and mysterious things happen for the sake of it. While we love weird and mysterious things there must be some sort of rhyme or reason for it, otherwise its pointless and points to poor writing.
15) The story revolves around the concept of rape, sexual assault or violence against women, usually depicted in loving detail, in a story about how it is wrong. Again Forsaken Press is not here to act as a vehicle to vent your psychological issues.
16) Real world concepts, dynamics and power structures etc are inverted. It’s overdone and is a sign of a lack of imagination.
17) Stories of someone becoming a superhero or developing superpowers. While we love these types of stories they’ve been done to death and so your story would have to involve a unique take on it to be approved.
18) Story revolves around the concept of minors being test subjects of some sort in a government facility. There’s nothing wrong with this, but it has been done a lot.
19) Stories that are a thinly veiled work of fan fiction. We’re not opposed to fan fiction or being influenced/inspired by a fictional universe, but if you write a story about a character that’s basically Batman under a different name we’re not interested. We want originality, not cheap rip offs.
20) Romance stories. While we’re not opposed to romantic relationships or subplots, romance isn’t a genre that fits with the image we seek to portray at Forsaken Press.
21) Stories about everyday life, trials and tribulations people encounter in the real world. Forsaken Press aims to focus primarily on speculative, or genre, fiction. While we are open to the idea of publishing stories set in the real-world drama stories aren’t something that fits our image. In general there has to be some “larger than life” aspect to your work that sets it aside from normal, every day life.
22) Finally Forsaken Press, like every other publisher, independent or otherwise is bound to the constraints of the law. Stories glorifying, promoting or normalising illegal activity, revolving around incest, paedophilia, rape, bestiality, terrorism, torture, murder etc are illegal in most markets and as such will be rejected instantly.
23) Supernatural romance. This genre has been done to death and is a crowded marketplace where its almost impossible to stand out. Hence Forsaken Press isn’t interested in stories of supernatural romance or your thinly veiled Twilight fan-fiction.

Now we move on to the subject of quantity. We do want to allow our writers as much freedom as possible with their own work, but by the same token we do need to establish some guidelines to ensure we are offering a professional, good quality product that is fairly priced and of sufficient length. While we firmly support the saying “quality over quantity” we also believe customers should get their money’s worth.

Forsaken Press like most publishers doesn’t sell individual short stories, nor are we interested in individual novellettes. The shortest type of single story product we want to produce is a novella which is between 20,000 – 40,000 words with novels being 40,000 and over. Single writer short story collections should be at least 40,000 words in length. Omnibus’s and anthologies released by FP should meet a minimum word count of 60,000 words. (NOTE: from 01/12/2019 until 30/01/2020 we are not taking submissions for single writer collections).

However, we are flexible with how you incorporate this into your works. Say for example you’ve written a novelette length story, if you so wish you can include it in a short story collection you are publishing. Anthologies have stricter guidelines because in order to appear professional they must be cohesive. Remember that professionalism, organisation and lay out plays an important role in a reader’s perceptions of your competence as a writer and what they deem high quality material.

Note: Forsaken Press reserves the right to alter these conditions at any time. Whether it be by editing, subtracting or making new additions to the terms discussed therein.

Copyright Forsaken Press 2019.

Solitary Confinement (Issue 5)

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The official weekly Forsaken Press Newsletter:

Issue 5: 29/11/2019

From the desk of the President and Editor in Chief, Mr. Cameron Walker.

Hello all,

As usual its been another busy and eventful week here at Forsaken Press, but I am happy to announce that things are finally settling down into some sense of normality as we get everything we need established set up and ready to roll. The editing and formatting process with a number of works for release is progressing very well and we’ll be getting those out right on schedule in the coming weeks. And you can be sure that in the coming months we’ve got a load of new releases in the works with five scheduled in the coming months and another four currently in development. We are constantly growing, picking up new authors and scheduling new material to be released under the Forsaken Press banner.

A brief look at our release schedule for the next month shows three exciting releases that you’re sure to love:

Devil’s Eye. PRINT EDITION, by Cameron Walker – Coming December 14th.

Through the Gates of the Silver Key: The Best collaborations and ghost writings of H.P. Lovecraft, edited by Cameron Walker – Coming December 23rd.

The Roots of Maris Jedd, by Ken Dixon – Coming December 30th.

Aside from the news on upcoming releases we’re happy to report that our social media network of Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, DeviantArt and Twitter are slowly, but surely growing. So if you’re on any of these platforms be sure to give us a follow and show your support. I would also like to take this opportunity to announce that next week’s issue of Solitary Confinement will include a very significant and special announcement concerning releases and submitted material, so stay tuned for that.

Plans for our Youtube channel and other forms of media and content outside the area of Social Media have been unfortunately delayed for the near future while we focus on other, more pressing matters, but we still have big plans for them in the longer term. I’m quite excited about what we have in mind, but unfortunately it will have to wait for a later date. Updates and announcements relating to that will be revealed as they become available.

Be sure to follow the official Forsaken Press blog and Facebook page as we have some great content coming for you in the near future in the form of interviews, samples, excerpts, reviews, focus pieces and related articles. Speaking of which I was recently interviewed by our wonderful Social Media Manager Jenna for the first entry in our “On Writing” interview series, right here on the blog, which I would really recommend checking out. Stayed tuned for next week’s addition to the series when I sit down with the maestro of the macabre C. Priest Brumley and discuss writing, horror and things that go bump in the night.

Lastly I would like to take the opportunity to welcome Allyson Cooper Russell to the Forsaken Press team. Allyson will be releasing her debut novel, True Companion, through us in the coming months and its sure to be a hit with fans of slow burning Sci-Fi.

That’s all from me for this week, as I said stayed tuned next week for what could possibly be our biggest announcement yet. 🙂

Thank you for all your continued support,

Cameron Walker,
President and Editor in Chief,
Forsaken Press.



Solitary Confinement

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The official weekly Forsaken Press Newsletter:

Issue 4: 22/11/2019

From the desk of the President and Editor in Chief, Mr. Cameron Walker.

Well friends another week has passed us by and it has officially been a month since the launching of Forsaken Press, and what a month it has been. During this past month we have signed five writers and obtained three additional staff members with four novels slated for release in the next few months. We have established our social media network for marketing and promotions across Social Media including: Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, DeviantArt, Youtube, Instagram and our brand new official blog. A lot of the paperwork for contracts and behind the scenes Forsaken Press documents have been drafted and finalised and we have established a distribution network that includes Amazon, Smashwords, Kobo, Bookbaby and Lulu. We are also in the process of paving the way for print editions of all our releases and have some big plans in store in regards to other media outlets, projects, Youtube channel, official blog, future releases and the overall growth and expansion of Forsaken Press.

This week as with any other comes with another big announcement and this week’s should be pretty obvious, simply by the fact that this issue of Solitary Confinement is coming from our brand new official blog and not our Facebook page as previously published. We have some big plans in store for our blog with it starting out small for now, but as Forsaken Press expands it will too with the establishment of our official online store where you can purchase all our releases directly from the publisher, along with some other cool bonus features and a regular column or two from some of our fantastic staff and writers.

I would like to take the opportunity to officially welcome our new editor Ashley Olivier to the Forsaken Press team. Ashley has joined us to help with the workload of editing that plagues my desk on a daily basis to take some of that pressure off my shoulders so I can focus more time and energy on the day to day operations of Forsaken Press without wanting to tear my hair out. Which is good because I’m rather attached to my hair.

We have a lot planned for the future and not one, but two releases coming in the following month, with the print edition of Devil’s Eye and another release not too far behind them. The response and support given to Forsaken Press has been phenomenal thus far and I would like to take the opportunity to say thank you to everyone who’s shown us their interest and support. It motivates us to work even harder to bring you releases of great, fresh new material from previously unheard of writers, bring exciting developments and original content from Forsaken Press across various forms of media and offer independent writers a place where they can get support from a publisher that is truly operated by writers, for writers.

Warm regards,

Cameron Walker,
President and Editor in Chief,
Forsaken Press.

The Forsaken Press Team:

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Forsaken Press would like to introduce you to our wonderful team of staff and writers who not only operate the publisher behind the scenes, but also provide us with lots of fantastic content that will be becoming available in the coming weeks and months.

Cameron Walker:
Founder, President and Editor in Chief:

The mastermind behind Forsaken Press Mr. Walker is also an avid reader and writer and hence a heavy contributor of material to the Forsaken Press catalog. A versatile writer with sixteen years of writing experience he writes in a wide range of genres including, but certainly not limited to horror, sci-fi, fantasy, cyberpunk, historical and weird fiction.


C. Priest Brumley:
Head Graphic Artist:

Priest isn’t only our chief graphic designer, putting together a lot of the cover art you see on Forsaken Press products, but he’s also an enthusiastic contributor to our written material. Specialising in horror and cyber-noir fiction the maestro of madness embraces a style of writing that’s intense, macabre and thrives on exploring the darker side of humanity.


Jenna Marie:
Social Media Manager:

Although she’s not much of a fiction writer, Jenna serves an invaluable role at Forsaken Press as our social media manager. Working with our team to ensure our social media web is extensive, effective and efficient. Whether its bringing you all the latest news and updates on developments at Forsaken Press or promoting and marketing our releases and material, her role is a vital one.


Ashley Olivier:
Editor/Marketing Manager:

Ashley is our official assistant editor here to help with the workload of editing, formatting and preparing work for release. Aside from that she brings years of experience in writing, editing and navigating the world of social media in a professional sense that’s invaluable to the maintenance and growth of Forsaken Press. In addition to being recently promoted to the position of marketing manager to help market and promote Forsaken Press releases to ensure we remain competitive in an ever changing marketplace.


Roxanne Bland:
Consultant:

Accomplished Indy writer Roxanne Bland is part of the Forsaken Press team in the official capacity of a consultant, providing input, advice and helpful insight. With four published novels to her name she brings decades of writing, professional and industry knowledge to Forsaken Press, being a valuable addition to the team.


Cassandra Castaneda:
Writer:

Not only proficient at writing fantasy and sci-fi, but Cassandra’s unique brand of sci-fi/fantasy gives her original voice and distinctive style the magic touch that makes her and her work fit in perfectly with the image and atmosphere of Forsaken Press.


Sasha Cuha:
Writer:

Artist, actor, musician, poet and writer, Mr. Cuha is a certified virtuoso of the arts who brings two decades of experience with him to Forsaken Press. Whether he’s writing a short story, novel or poetry you can be sure it will be a fun, entertaining and thrilling, high quality read.


Z. Delaune:
Writer:

Our resident mistress of horror, Z. Delaune’s unique brand of intense, emotional, in your face horror gives her a distinct voice and style that’s a perfect fit for Forsaken Press.


Affiliate Writers:

Ken Dixon:

The first of what we hope will be many affiliate writers Ken’s absurdist style of existential satire seeks to provide a critique on contemporary American culture that is vaguely reminiscent of the fiction works of Albert Camus.

Allyson Cooper Russell:

Allyson’s unique brand of Sci-Fi themed drama brings an individualistic and fresh style of writing with it that provides Forsaken Press with some more down to earth, but still speculative, and all too human drama to fill out our roster of contributing authors.

Forsaken Press Mission Statement

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Forsaken Press Mission Statement:

Forsaken Press aims to provide independent writers with a place that embraces creativity, imagination and telling exciting stories that are unique and outside the box. Forsaken Press firmly believes in allowing writers to tell their stories, their way, while maintaining high standards in our quality of content and encouraging a collaborative and supportive environment of writers helping each other. Whether this be with the writing or creative process itself or through our collaborative promotion and marketing network on social media. Forsaken Press endeavours to establish and maintain a wide arching and flourishing social media network of promotional and marketing avenues and tools.

Alongside this Forsaken Press’s goal is to operate as an alternative for traditional publishers that allows writers to retain creative control of their work as well as a level of ownership and contractual stipulations that are fair and evenly balanced between the author and publishing house. We aim to help independent writers overcome the obstacles of self-publishing while having the power of a reputable and respected publisher behind them so they can still reap the benefits that self-publishing brings, but without the negative drawbacks and with the guarantee to customers of high quality, professional content.

Forsaken Press is dedicated to bringing writers: Creative control, ownership, fair contractual obligations, an effective and efficient marketing strategy, opportunity, a supportive community and the support of a respected and reputable publisher.