It’s that time of year again, when fans of roleplaying games celebrate International GM’s [Game Masters] Appreciation Day, an occasion that’s best explained by this quote from the official GM’s Day site:
GM’s Day was born on the site EN World in December 2002. Originally a simple message board post by EN World member Spunkrat, the idea quickly gained popularity, championed by Mark Clover of Creative Mountain Games and, of course, EN World itself…. GM’s Day is an annual day to show your Game Master (or Dungeon Master, or Storyteller, or Referee) how much you appreciate them. Publishers and retail outlets across the world now join in GM’s Day, offering discounts, sales, and other cool stuff.
And what do you know? It just so happens that StarWarp Concepts has a book that’s perfect for game masters and gamers and fantasy movie fans alike:
Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination is our popular how-to book for writers and gamers in which fantasy author Richard C. White (Harbinger of Darkness, For a Few Gold Pieces More) takes you through the step-by-step process of constructing a world for your characters, from societies and governments to currency and religion. A bonus feature is an interview with New York Times bestselling author Tracy Hickman (Dragonlance) that discusses his methods of world building, as well as his creative experiences during his time as a designer for gaming company TSR, the original home of Dungeons & Dragons.
What you’ll find in its pages is information that’s vital for just about any writer and game master, especially when it comes to world building, and Rich shows you how to do it:
From its first publication, the book has been a hit with both fantasy writers and role-playing gamers as well. In fact, it’s currently being used as a textbook in the Interactive Media & Game Development program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worchester, Massachusetts!
“I think Terra Incognito is a solid introduction to the subject of world building. The book succeeds in helping the aspiring writer in creating a skeletal framework for which to hang the moving parts required of a believable fictional setting.”—The Gaming Gang
Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination is available in trade paperback, hardcover, and digital formats, so visit its product page for ordering information. Order a copy for your favorite game master today, to show them how much you appreciate their work—or order it for yourself!
Can you believe it? It was 90 years ago today, on March 3, 1933, that movie audiences in New York City met the Eighth Wonder of the World, at the world premiere of King Kong! The creation of movie producer Merian C. Cooper and author Edgar Wallace, brought to stop-motion life by effects master Willis O’Brien, King Kong went on to become a worldwide cultural icon that inspired generations of Monster Kids who grew up to be directors, writers, and special-effects creators.
Kong even found a new legion of fans with his Broadway run as the star of King Kong: The Musical, had his origin story updated for the 21st century in the popular Kong: Skull Island, went toe to toe with the king of the monsters in 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong, and has three projects currently in the works: a sequel to GvK; the animated series Skull Island for Netflix; and a live-action series for Disney+.
It also inspired all of us at StarWarp Concepts to add the story of the king of the simian monsters to our line of Illustrated Classics, joining Edgar Rice Burroughs’s sci-fi adventure A Princess of Mars, J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s vampiric love story Carmilla, and the Brothers Grimm’s childhood tale Snow White.
King Kong is a republication of the 1932 novelization of the original movie classic. Written by Delos W. Lovelace, based on the story by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper and the screenplay by James A. Creelman and Ruth Rose, it includes scenes that didn’t appear in the final cut of the film—including the notorious “spider pit” sequence in which Kong’s human pursuers are attacked by horrific arachnids and insects. Our version features six original black-and-white illustrations by comics artist Paul Tuma, whose work has appeared in the pages of The Twilight Zone, Paul Kupperberg’s Secret Romances, and Bloke’s Terrible Tomb of Terror.
Not familiar with the beauty-and-the-beast story of Kong and his “love interest,” Ann Darrow (who was played in the 1933 original by the queen of the scream queens, Fay Wray)? Well, here’s our edition’s back-cover copy to bring you up-to-date:
Ann Darrow was a down-on-her-luck actress struggling to survive in Depression-era New York when she met moviemaker Carl Denham. He offered her the starring role in his latest film: a documentary about a long-lost island—and the godlike ape named Kong rumored to live there. Denham needed a beauty as a counterpart to the beast he hoped to find, and Ann was the answer to his prayers.
Mystery, romance, a chance to turn her life around, even the possibility of stardom—to Ann, it sounded like the adventure of a lifetime! But what she didn’t count on were the horrific dangers that awaited her on Skull Island—including the affections of a love-struck monster…
King Kong (the 1932 novelization) is available for download, so visit its product page for ordering information.
If there’s one thing our resident monster-fighting Goth girl, Pandora Zwieback, loves—other than her boyfriend, her friends and family, her skill at painting, and…oh, yeah, all things horror—it’s reading. And when it’s a literacy program that involves her favorite baseball team, well, she’s totally all over it!
A partnership between the New York Mets and Delta Air Lines that launched in 2017, Ya Gotta Read (a playful twist on the old Mets saying, “Ya Gotta Believe!”) is intended to get kids excited about reading, and involves 48 elementary schools in Queens and Brooklyn.
The goal this year is for students to “read for 20 minutes every school night for six weeks, coinciding with Mets Spring Training. The more minutes students read, the more Mets prizes they earn.” Prizes include key chains, pencil pouches, lunch boxes, and in-season Mets tickets.
Ya Gotta Read runs from today, February 15 (the start of Mets spring training—the day pitchers and catchers officially report for duty), to March 26. For more information, and to follow the schools’ progress, visit the Ya Gotta Read page at the Mets website.
On sale right now at comic shops, from TwoMorrows Publishing, is Alter Ego #180, the latest issue of the comic-history magazine overseen by writer/editor/comic legend Roy Thomas (The Avengers, Conan the Barbarian). The issue focuses on Thomas’s The Young All-Stars, a DC Comics World War II–set superhero series that spun-off from his extremely popular All-Star Squadron series (I never missed an issue of either, back in the day).
Among the talented artists interviewed for their behind-the-scenes stories on YAS is Lou Manna, who penciled the series’ final four issues, as well as issues of All-Star Squadron, Infinity Inc., The Legion of Super-Heroes, and House of Mystery. The piece is loaded with behind-the-scenes photos as well as never-before-seen art for YAS. It’s definitely worth a read (as is the rest of the issue, if you’re a Bronze Age comics fan).
And while we’re on the subject of Lou Manna, perhaps you might want to check out a contribution he made to one of our own comic projects…
(Ulterior motive engaged…)
Lorelei Presents: House Macabre is the first outing of our resident soul-stealing succubus as the hostess of a horror comic anthology. In this one-shot special, which features eye-catching cover art by fan-favorite artist Louis Small Jr. (Vampirella, Vampirella Strikes), you’ll find four tales of horror:
One of those stories is “All in Color for a Crime,” written by Steven A. Roman (that’s me!), with art by the esteemed Lou Manna, in which two comic book collectors clash over a rare back issue—but only one of them will be adding it to their long boxes.
If I remember correctly, Lou and I met in late 2001/early 2002 at a New York comic convention (probably one of the ones run by longtime promoter Fred Greenberg), although I don’t remember if it was because he stopped by my table as he made the rounds looking for paying gigs from publishers big and small, or because someone had put us in touch prior to the show.
Either way, as a fan of Young All-Stars I knew exactly who he was, and was excited that he was willing to work for such a small operation as mine, so I lost no time in giving him a contract and script for “All in Color.” It was originally intended to appear as a backup story in Lorelei, Vol. 2 #3—except I wound up canceling the series due to low sales figures on the first two issues, and the already-lettered art was put aside in the digital vault. Skip ahead to years later, and Lou’s sole contribution to the SWC comic archives finally made its long-overdue debut in House Macabre.
Lou’s kept himself in the years since he delivered “All in Color,” as an artist for such indie houses as Moonstone Comics (The Phantom) and Heroic Publishing (Icicle, Champions, and Chrissie Claus). Samples of his other work can be seen at his Louis Manna website.
As for the other stories in House Macabre…
“The Old, Dark Manse” is also written by me, penciled by Uriel Caton (JSA Annual, Heartstopper: The Legend of La Bella Tenebrosa), and inked by “Chainsaw” Chuck Majewski (Harvey Kurtzman’s New Two-Fisted Tales), and has Lori welcoming readers to this special.
“The Basilisk,” from me and artist John Pierard (Graphic Classics: Horror Classics, My Teacher Fried My Brains), is a “Lori’s Feary Tale” that examines the history of a supernatural creature that’s a cross between a deadly snake and a…chicken?!
And wrapping up the special is “Requiem for Bravo 6,” by New York Times bestselling author and comic writer Dwight Jon Zimmerman (She-Hulk, Iron Man, Web of Spider-Man) and artist Juan Carlos Abraldes Rendo (Bloke’s Terrible Tomb of Terror), in which a special-ops team goes on a life-or-death mission…but will they be prepared for what awaits them at mission’s end?
Alter Ego #180 is available at your local comic shop, and from TwoMorrows Publishing.
Lorelei Presents: House Macabre is available in print and digital formats from the SWC webstore. Visit its product page for ordering information and sample pages.
Like the header says, today is Take Your Child to the Library Day. Founded in 2011 by librarians Nadine Lipman and Caitlin Augusta, the event is held the first Saturday in February and encourages librarians to reach out to their communities and show folks just how wonderful reading can be.
Before the Internet, libraries were the source for information and reading, and these days they can use our support. So head out tomorrow, introduce your children to that big brick building with all the free books to borrow, update the library card that’s been stuck in the back of your wallet for all these years, and renew your acquaintance with a vital partner in the ongoing literacy campaign.
For more information, including the list of participating libraries, visit the TYCLD website.
On Wednesday, as part of marking the start of the 2023 celebration of Women in Horror Month, I mentioned our SWC Horror Bites imprint—but what is that, exactly? Well, put basically, “short tales to appease your monstrous hunger for suspense” is how we describe this digital-chapbook series that reprints classic horror fiction that you may or may not have heard of, but which you should definitely introduce yourself to.
Currently, our two offerings are:
White Fell: The Werewolf: Originally published in 1896 as The Were-wolf, this tale, written by renowned author, artist, and suffragette Clemence Annie Housman, is regarded by scholars as perhaps the first feminist werewolf story. In it, a beautiful woman named White Fell wanders into a snowbound village—and into the hearts of twin brothers, one of whom immediately becomes smitten by her. The other brother, however, soon grows suspicious of the enigmatic White Fell. Where did she come from? Why does she always carry an ax? And is her sudden appearance somehow related to the recent sightings of a bloodthirsty wolf in the area? He may come to regret being so inquisitive…
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: Washington Irving’s legendary tale of the Headless Horseman has captivated readers ever since its first publication in 1820, in Irving’s collection The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., and in the 200-plus years since, it’s become the quintessential Halloween story, as well as the basis for countless movies, TV shows, comic books, and other pop-culture adaptations. When schoolteacher Ichabod Crane arrived in Sleepy Hollow, New York, he had dreams of marrying beautiful socialite Katrina of the wealthy Van Tassel family, only to lose his head (both figuratively and literally!) when he encounters the horrific Headless Horseman one fateful night!
White Fell: The Werewolf and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow are digital exclusives available for download right now, so visit their respective product pages for ordering information.
Women in Horror Month is here again, that annual celebration that shines the spotlight on the contributions of all the female creators—writers, artists, movie directors, producers, special makeup artists, special effects experts, etc.—who’ve brought thrills and chills to generations of fans around the world.
Well, if you enjoy tales of horror and empowered women, may we recommend one of our classic fiction titles?
White Fell: The Werewolf, by Clemence Annie Housman, was originally published in 1896 as The Were-wolf, and it’s regarded by scholars as perhaps the first feminist werewolf story. In it, a beautiful woman named White Fell wanders into a snowbound village—and into the hearts of twin brothers, one of whom immediately becomes smitten by her.
The other brother, however, soon grows suspicious of the enigmatic White Fell. After all, where did she come from? Why does she always carry an ax? And is her sudden appearance somehow related to the recent sightings of a bloodthirsty wolf in the area?He may come to regret being so inquisitive…
White Fell: The Werewolf is a digital exclusive. Visit its product page for ordering information.
Hey there, owners of comic book shops and independent bookstores around the world! Are you interested in adding StarWarp Concepts titles to your shelves, especially now that we’re celebrating our 30th Anniversary this year? Well, here’s how you can do it!
SWC’s in-print titles (as opposed to our e-book exclusives) are all print-on-demand releases available through our distributor, Ingram Content Group—and POD means they’re never out of print, so they’re always ready to appear on your shelves!
Our ever-growing list of titles ranges from the young-adult thrills of supernatural heroine Pandora Zwieback and the Lovecraftian chills of the Mature Readers graphic novel Lorelei: Sects and the City to the nonfiction books Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination (perfect for writers and RPG game masters) and From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures, and from the Illustrated Classics A Princess of Mars and Carmilla to the swashbuckling adventure of the fantasies Harbinger of Darkness and For a Few Gold Pieces More, StarWarp Concepts has a book sure to appeal to your customer base!
And our titles are critically acclaimed, with overwhelmingly positive responses from reviewers:
“Far and away one of the best young adult supernatural fantasy novels. Pan is exactly the kind of teen heroine that readers should be standing up and cheering for.”—HorrorNews.net on Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1
“This is without a doubt the essential, authoritative reference book for anything related to the Warren-era Vampirella. There are lots of books out there with good information, but none offers such a broad, all-encompassing look at the history of this character.”—Vampirella of Drakulon (news blog) on From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures
“A solid introduction to the subject of world building. The book succeeds in helping the aspiring writer in creating a skeletal framework on which to hang the moving parts required of a believable fictional setting.”—The Gaming Gang on Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination
“A satisfying romp and one that feels like it would have made an excellent seventies horror film (especially one made by Hammer)…. The story is funny at times, graphic at times, and horrific at others, and it’s always delivering its stuff at full volume.”—Strange Amusements on Lorelei: Sects and the City
“A visceral adventure through a world of magic with well-developed characters, dynamic dialogue and a good dose of two-handed sword fights.”—Experience Writing on Harbinger of Darkness
“With a cover that looks like it belongs on the paranormal romance shelf in a bookstore and half a dozen illustrations provided by Eliseu Gouveia, this edition stands a good chance of tempting some younger readers to pick up this classic vampire tale…. I wish I’d picked this book up in seventh grade instead of slogging through Dracula.”—The Gothic Library on Carmilla
Take a look at our backlist to see what we offer, and then get in touch with Ingram Content Group if you don’t already have an account with them.
After all, why should Amazon have all the business—and the fun?
So now that you’ve had four days of behind-the-scenes talk of StarWarp Concepts here at the SWC blog, it’s time to look at what readers and potential book buyers are interested in when they peruse all we have to offer. Because while it’s true that your friendly fiends at ’Warp Central haven’t released a new project in a while, that doesn’t mean we didn’t have books to sell in 2022, what with our extensive backlist of fiction and nonfiction titles.
So let’s take a look at the top three titles that best grabbed readers’ attention in the past year, based on our 2022 sales figures.
Coming in at number 1 is From the Stars…a Vampiress: An Unauthorized Guide to Vampirella’s Classic Horror Adventures, by Steven A. Roman (that’s me!), is a nonfiction history of Vampirella that takes an extensive look at her early days, from the debut of her series in 1969 to the death of Warren Publishing in 1983. In addition, you’ll find the tale of Hammer Films’ unproduced film adaptation of the 1970s that was to star Barbara Leigh and Peter Cushing (Grand Moff Tarkin of Star Wars); an in-depth guide to all her Warren stories; a checklist of all her Warren appearances (plus the publications from Harris Comics and Dynamite Entertainment that reprinted her Warren adventures); an overview of the six novelizations by pulp sci-fi author Ron Goulart that were published in the 1970s by Warner Books; and a look at the awful 1996 direct-to-cable-TV movie that was made, starring Talisa Soto (Mortal Kombat) and rock-god Roger Daltrey (lead singer of the Who). There’s also a peek at Mr. Cushing’s personal copy of the ’70s Vampirella screenplay; a foreword by Official Vampirella Historian Sean Fernald, a frontispiece by Warren artist Bob Larkin (Vampirella, Creepy, Eerie), and photographs from the personal archives of Forrest J Ackerman, co-creator of Vampirella and editor/creator of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine.
The number two spot belongs to Terra Incognito: A Guide to Building the Worlds of Your Imagination. In this how-to book for writers and role-playing gamemasters, bestselling fantasy author Richard C. White (Gauntlet: Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil, For a Few Gold Pieces More, Harbinger of Darkness) takes you through the step-by-step process of constructing a world for your characters, from societies and governments to currency and religion. Included is an interview with New York Times bestselling author Tracy Hickman (Dragonlance) that discusses his methods of world building, as well as his creative experiences during his time as a designer for gaming company TSR, the original home of Dungeons & Dragons. Originally intended as a writer’s guide, it very quickly became popular with RPGers who use it as a sort of instruction manual for setting up their campaigns. In fact, the book—available in trade paperback, hardcover, and ebook forms—is so useful to them that it’s currently an assigned textbook in the Interactive Media & Game Development program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worchester, Massachusetts!
And coming in at number three is the Illustrated Classic A Princess of Mars, the first in the “John Carter of Mars” ten-novel series by Edgar Rice Burroughs, best known as the creator of the pulp-fiction jungle lord, Tarzan. Unlike Tarzan’s African adventures, Princess is the story of a post–Civil War era American who suddenly finds himself transported to the Red Planet, where he must constantly fight to stay alive against all sorts of alien threats—and where he falls in love with Dejah Thoris, the titular Martian princess. It served as the basis for Disney’s 2012 film adaptation, John Carter, and inspired a century’s worth of SF works, including Flash Gordon, Star Wars, and James Cameron’s Avatar. The StarWarp Concepts edition features six incredible illustrations by SWC artist supreme Eliseu Gouveia (Lorelei: Sects and the City, The Saga of Pandora Zwieback Annual #1), and an introduction by Mars-fiction expert John Gosling, author of Waging the War of the Worlds.
All titles are available in print and digital formats. Visit their respective product pages for ordering information.
The following is the conclusion of a four-part interview that first appeared on the site Write a Revolution, back in 2015, but since WaR is apparently no longer around, I’m presenting it (with some updates) as part of our 30th Anniversary celebration for all those folks who might not have seen it.
In Part 1, I talked about the inspiration behind our succubus comic character, Lorelei, the horror-comic anthology Lorelei Presents: House Macabre, and what possibly distinguishes StarWarp Concepts from other publishers.
Part 2 covered the genesis of our teenaged Goth monster fighter, Pandora Zwieback, and the planning that goes into creating an SWC project.
For Part 3, we discussed publishing matters—marketing strategies, the use of giveaways, and promotional ideas that didn’t quite work out.
Today in the wrap-up, we get into some of the nitty-gritty as to how The ’Warp operates as a publishing company. Enjoy!
WaR: What have you struggled with the most during your adventures in writing and publishing?
Steve Roman at the 2015 Brooklyn Book Festival. Photo by Frank Roman.
SR: Getting recognition for the company and our titles. It’s a cliché that the Internet is just a big void you’re shouting into, hoping to get attention, but it’s true. Conventions help, but like I said earlier, the pandemic sort of threw a monkey wrench into that sort of interaction, for the time being.
WaR: Do you network with fellow writers or self-published authors?
SR: I have friends and other contacts who are writers and self-publishers, and we’re all in the same boat, to varying degrees, all trying to get the word out on our projects. We compare notes on our approaches, and share convention war stories and stuff like that. A mutual commiseration society! (laughs)
Along those lines, one of my friends is writer/publisher J.D. Calderon of Dream Weaver Press, home to the fantasy comics Tall Tails and The Oswald Chronicles. He has a YouTube interview series called Indy Comics Explained, and I’ve made a few appearances on it, the most recent back in December, where the main topic was whether editors are useful for indie comic creators.
WaR: How do you design your covers and/or any illustrations?
SR: When dealing with artists, usually I’ll start off by doing a rough sketch of the composition I’m looking for, and providing them with any reference material they might need. For designers, I’ll sometimes do a rough design of the cover or interior layouts in my Mac’s Pages application, just to give them a starting point they can riff on. Or if I have something particular in mind I’ll say, “No, I want it exactly like this, but with a professional finish to it.” The cover for Lorelei Presents: House Macabre, for example, was meant to emulate 1970s and ’80s DC comics; if you look closely, you can see an “Approved by the Monsters Code Authority” seal in the upper right-hand corner.
I try not to waste artists’ or designers’ time with a game of “I’ll know it when I see it”—that approach just winds up pissing everyone off. Doing it the way I do seems to work out just fine; a few of the artists have even told me I’m one of the best art directors they’ve ever worked with.
WaR: Do you format your own eBooks or outsource?
SR: For the PDF versions of StarWarp’s books, comics, and graphic novels that are sold through the company website and online retailers like DriveThru Comics and DriveThru Fiction, I have my designers deliver a version of the print files, with the covers combined with the interiors.
However, the Pandora Zwieback novels get mass distribution and require separate file formats for Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords (who distribute to Apple, Kobo, and Scribd), so I outsourced them to an e-book conversion company called 52Novels. All I had to provide them with, other than a Word doc file of the manuscript, was the design material I wanted to carry over from the print versions—front cover, title page, house ads—and they put it all together. I was really happy with the work they did on Blood Feud, and they’re great people to work with, so I went back to them with Blood Reign and in all likelihood will continue to use them.
WaR: Do you find the overall process of publishing a book an easy one or especially difficult?
SR: It was difficult starting out because I had to learn the process on the fly, but strangely enough that tends to be the method I’m most comfortable with: just jumping right in and figuring it out as I go. It was the same way I got started in comics publishing, back in ’93, except for the book market I was able to rely on books like Dan Poynter’s Self-Publishing Manual and Self-Publishing for Dummies for guidance. And I had some familiarity with the ins and outs of the industry, having been an editor for ten years at a New York publishing house called ibooks, inc. (no relation to Apple’s iBooks).
What made the process of reinventing StarWarp as a book publisher a bit easier was in hiring the designers I worked with at ibooks, inc., so I’d be working with people I knew, and who were familiar with my methods. The rest of the business stuff, though, was up to me.
WaR: What are you working on next?
SR: Well, 2023 is StarWarp’s 30th anniversary year, so we’ve got a number of books and comics in the works—not to mention our first Kickstarter campaigns—but I’ll hold off from making announcements until they’re a little more developed. All I can say is, stay tuned!
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