Guilds & Glaives Released

Right here in my own tower by the sea I have contributor’s copies of the mighty Guilds & Glaives anthology. Along with numerous talented folks, my sword-and-sorcery colleagues and fellow Tales From the Magician’s Skull authors Violette Malan (writing of Dhulyn and Parno) and James Enge (writing of Morlock) can be found within its pages.

My story, “The Sword and the Djinn,” is an excerpt from the third, unpublished, Dabir and Asim novel. It doesn’t actually feature either character, but is one of several short stories composed for inclusion in the manuscript. The Maiden’s Eye, when finally complete, is going to feel even more closely tied to the Arabian Nights tradition than the previous works, because it will feature numerous stories within stories. At least, that’s my conception of it. My ambitions were one of the problems with the composition of that book, because how does one maintain pace when stopping to tell additional stories? Lately I think I may have figured it all out, but I’ve been too busy with other deadlines to sit down and do it.

The other item about this story that may interest some (well, a very small number of you who’ll recognize what I’m writing about) is that it makes direct reference to the Gray Maiden stories of Arthur D. Howden Smith. As a matter of fact, it might just BE a lost story from that cycle of tales! You can be the judge of that. I mean, I wrote it, but maybe the same muse came and spoke to me. I do know that within the pages of The Maiden’s Eye Asim ends up in possession of Gray Maiden.

The wife keeps getting on me to fix that novel up and do something with it. And I will, I promise. But for now, you can read this out take, along with a whole bunch of other goodies, in Guilds & Glaives. You can find your own copy right here. Remember that it’s always easy to order from online, but that it ALWAYS helps the authors out if you buy the book from a physical bookstore. That means that the bookstore will order more copies, and then it will be seen by more people. So if you want this and will be driving past a B&N in the next week, it’s better to snag it that way.