Free: One story every month

If you join my mailing list, I'll send one such story each month. The story might be a western, action, humorous, science fiction, fantasy, horror or anything that I like.

Stories which won't be worth reprinting on their own, but are still of interest to the readers of this blog. An unusual story for its genre, not long, not part of a series, or written by an author with a small output is hard to anthologize. But still worth reading.

Here's what I have lined up for the next 6 months:

A murdered man sends a message from beyond the grave.

A twisted tale of domestic malice involving diamonds and double dealing

Northwest noir from Murray Leinster

A pirate loots a Spanish galleon, and finds...

A grim western tale from a master of the genre

and a Johnston McCulley story.

Get a free story every month

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Issue Review: The Story-Teller, October 1924

The Story-Teller is a British pulp, described by Mike Ashley as "the best all-round all-fiction magazine of its day" in The age of the story-tellers, his survey of British fiction magazines. This issue, from 1924, is from around the middle of the magazine's run from 1907 to 1936. The editor was Newman Flower of Cassell and Co., the publishers.

There are big names in this issue -  G.K. Chesterton with an instalment of Tales of the Long Bow and Sax Rohmer is represented by his occult detective Paul Harley while Frank Shaw (the British equivalent of the prodigious H. Bedford-Jones) contributes three stories under different names. The other stories are by authors less well-known today. There are no story illustrations and only a few pages of advertisements. Two of the stories were from American authors, only one of which was a reprint. A few poems and fillers complete the magazine. The issue I read was coverless, from a bound volume.

The Story-Teller, October 1924

Further Notes on James Corbett: a tribute to William Deeck

James Corbett fans, rejoice. A cornucopia of Corbett's books are now listed on EBay and an autographed copy of The Merrivale Mystery sold yesterday for $261. They were the pride and joy of someone's collection; and if you aren't careful that someone could soon be you.

Books by James Corbett listed on EBay

Review: The Railroad Man's Magazine, June 1916

I’ve always wanted to read one of the Munsey-era Railroad Man issues. In its first incarnation it lasted 13 years before Frank Munsey decided to merge it into the Argosy in 1919.  Like most pre-world war 1 magazines, early issues are quite hard to find. So I was happy to get my hands on a scanned copy of the June 1916 issue. Even if you aren’t a fan of railroad fiction, read on. Something may pique your interest.

 

The Railroad Man's Magazine, June 1916