The Importance of Anthologies

As I said in my last post, Mocha Memoirs newest anthology release is Ghosts, Gears, and Grimoires, a Steampunk horror collection. The new Sherlock Holmes anthology is currently in production. Last year, we produced Avast, Ye Airships! and An Improbable Truth: The Paranormal Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Past anthology offerings included In the Bloodstream and The Grotesquerie.

Why should you care?

Many reasons. First of all, an anthology is a brilliant way to see the work of many different authors for a substantially cheaper price than if you bought their longer works without knowing anything about them. Of course, we hope that you will want to see more of their writing, but if someone's style doesn't resonate with you, you have other stories to read.

Tying in with that, it is a great way to find new favorites. An anthology usually has a mix of authors--some you may follow regularly, and others you may never have heard of. With a small press, you are even more likely to find some unfamiliar names.

Anthologies usually have a unifying theme or subject matter, which means that you are going to be getting stories that all relate to something you are interested in. Like Airship pirates, or Sherlock Holmes. :)

It can be a lot of fun to collect the authors' autographs too--though sometimes a challenge, as we have many foreign contributors. Which is another benefit: you get to see varying perspectives when you have authors from around the world.

Finally, you don't have to invest a great deal of time all at once to reading it. With short stories from different authors, you can pick and choose the order to savor them depending on the time you have to devote to reading at the moment. Anthologies are great for Kindles and other readers when you might be stuck in a waiting room or a long line.

Search for anthologies on Amazon, and you will be amazed at the variety of offerings. Of course, some may be higher quality than others. In these fast-shifting days of publishing revision, there are many anthologies that have been cobbled together quickly--but even the worst that I have seen have a gem or two in them, and for a reasonable investment.

And Mocha Memoirs has treasure chests full of carefully-chosen gems for you to enjoy!

SUBMISSION CALL!!! Curious Incidents: More Improbable Adventures

Mocha Memoirs Press is pleased to announce that they will be publishing another Sherlock Holmes anthology with editor A.C. Thompson! So sharpen those pencils and get ready to write.

“The game is afoot!”

Welcome back to Baker Street! Holmes and Watson are there to greet you once more with amazing tales of murder, mayhem, and mystery with a supernatural twist. This time the great detective and his stalwart companion will venture into alternate universes, histories, and futures to solve puzzling cases of the paranormal beyond the bounds of imagination.

In Curious Incidents: More Improbable Adventures, I am looking for stories that diverge from the original canon setting of Victorian England. The adventures should be paranormal in nature, but the universe is completely open. In fact, stories set in the traditional Victorian will not be considered. Some examples of alternate settings might be: steampunk, weird west, distant future, space, ancient world (ok, so I’d just really like to see if someone could do it…), dystopian, American noir, or even modern times (BE CAREFUL WITH THIS. I CAN’T PUBLISH SHERLOCK BBC FANFICTION!).

Word of warning:  Sherlock is a beloved character with a very distinct voice and manner.  We want to be sure that we keep and/ or expand on those attributes that have made him a literary icon. However, I am very interested in seeing diverse characters in starring roles (gender, ethnicity, etc.). The entire original canon is available on Kindle for FREE.  Take advantage.

This time, I’m a little more flexible with genre. I am looking for stories that will fall into the speculative fiction genre and all its subspecies (horror, sci-fi, fantasy, steampunk, magical realism, gothic horror, etc.). I’m even being adventurous this time and allowing for a romantic element as long as you stay true to the character, but NO EROTICA (it’s not that kind of book). The important thing is--- it has to have a paranormal thread. These are CURIOUS INCIDENTS, not everyday occurrences.

Let your imaginations run wild and give me something I haven’t seen before!

Publication of CURIOUS INCIDENTS: MORE IMPROBABLE ADVENTURES will again be handled through Mocha Memoirs Press and therefore, all submissions are subject to their general guidelines which include, but are not limited to:  no bestiality, glorified rape, necrophilia, hate language, etc.  We are not seeking erotic stories for this anthology.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: October 14, 2016

Minimum word count:  4,000 not to exceed 8,000

Payment:  split royalties + 1 contributor copy.

General Mocha Memoirs Press Submission Guidelines:

·         Submit your work to animprobabletruth.mmp@gmail.com with “CURIOUS INCIDENTS” Sub: [Your Story Title]; [Your Name] in the subject line. Attach your story as a DOC or DOCX file. Submissions sent in the body of the email will not be read.  Stories should be in 12pt, Times New Roman font.  Please double space. Don’t forget to include a title page that includes all contact information.  

·         Include a brief cover letter in the body of your email stating your name, pen name (if using one), story title with word count, a brief (1 paragraph) synopsis, and bio.  

·         No simultaneous submissions, please. We ask that you do not submit a story to us and to another market at the same time.

·         Multiple submissions—sending more than one story for consideration—are okay. If sending more than one story, please send them in separate emails.

New Cover Reveal: An Improbable Truth: The Paranormal Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

Why yes!  It's finally here!  After months of planning, reading stories, and basically driving all my

loved ones insane, I can finally reveal the cover for the Sherlock anthology!  It's such an honor for

me, as a Sherlock Holmes fangirl but also because I had the chance to work with one of my favorite

people, Anne Rosario.  Anne is the stupidly talented artist who rendered this beautiful cover.  More

importantly she put up with me and all my harebrained ideas to come up with something that's

unique and absolutely fits the tone of the book.

Coming October 27, 2015!!!

“When you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable,

must be the truth.”

Sherlock Holmes is one of the most recognizable characters in Western literature.  Conan Doyle’s

inimitable detective has been the subject of literally thousands of books, movies, television shows,

plays and even songs.  With the rise of the BBC series and the release of all copyrights, the beloved

character has found a new life among modern audiences.

In An Improbable Truth: The Paranormal Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 14 authors of horror and

mystery have come together to create a unique anthology that sets Holmes on some of his most

terrifying adventures.  A pair of sisters willing to sacrifice young girls to an ancient demon for a taste

of success, a sinister device that can manipulate time itself, and a madman that can raise corpses

from the dead are just a few among the grisly tales that can be found within these pages.

Curl up with a warm cuppa and leave all the lights on.  This is not your grandfather’s Sherlock

Holmes.

Look at this list of stories!  Doesn't it sound fantastic??!!

The Fairy Pool by Lucy Blue

Sherlock Holmes and the Hungry Ghost by Katie Magnusson

The Diamond Carter Ghost by Matthew Wilson

The Haunted Branch Line by Tally Johnson

The Arendall Horror by Thomas Olbert

Worlds Collide by S. H. Roddey

Time is Running Out, Watson by Adrian Cross

A Voice in the Blood by Dan Shaurette

The Hunt of the Red Boar by Thomas Fortenberry

The Canaries of Clee Hills Mine by Robert Perret

The Chase by Melissa McArthur

The Adventure of the Missing Trophy by Mark W. Coulter

The Case of the Rising Dead by Trenton Mabey

The Adventure of the Slow Death by Harding McFadden

I know, I know... I'm stalling.  It's called BUILDING THE SUSPENSE.  But now, without further ado...

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