Avast M’hearties Pirate Day be a’coming. So batten down y’hatches. Splice the main sails. Steer with the wind, and damn y’eyes, for that callow cove Captain Duckman will keel haul the lot of y’ if y’nay pay him some mind…
International Talk Like A Pirate Day is on the horizon, and with it comes the release of Harvey Duckman Presents, The Pirate Special.
Just like the main series of Harvey Duckman Anthologies this is a collection of fifteenth exciting new writers and established independent authors of Sci-Fi, Fantasy, horror and Steampunk. To celebrate this I’m running a feature for the new few weeks on the authors and stories featured in this edition, cause Captain Duckman made me and there was mention of rum…
Mostly because of the rum…
Few people in the world would happily say they are a Muppet. Certainly in the vernacular of modern Britian and one assumes elsewhere, calling someone ‘a Muppet’ is a soft insult implying they are somewhat foolish. R.Bruce Connelly, on the other hand, is a Muppet, professionally. Which is to say he is the actor behind the mask, or full length Muppet costume. He is also a writer of somewhat chilling fiction, a regular contributor to the Harvey stable, and an all-round nice guy.
He has had four stories in his ‘Bike Cycle’ series published in Harvey Duckman Present… Volumes 1-4, plus a short story in Harvey’s Christmas Special, 2019, and a fantasy story in Harvey Duckman Presents… Vol. 5.
Of his story in the HD pirates special he says:
“This story was inspired by a substitute teacher I had in elementary school. Some nights I still awaken in a cold sweat thinking she’s in the room, although she never is. Just the Dawes 5 speed, and who would be scared of that? I have included three shout-outs to Sir James Barrie, who first brought the world of piracy to my knowledge. Two are obvious. The third refers to one of the funniest incidents in children’s literature. Let me know if you find it!”
We will Bruce, we will
Another of the stable of repeat offenders (by which I mean Harvey authors who appear in most editions) is Peter James Martin. Creator of Brennan and Riz, a pair of supernatural folklore investigators/troubleshooters, one of which isn’t a rat… Actually I’m far from sure the rat is really a rat either but that’s by the by. A Harvey Duckman anthology without a Brennan and Riz story would be a strange animal.
Peter James Martin is an author who knows a thing or two about talking rats, namely that they’d make terrible pets. Nestled in the North East of England, on the banks of the River Tees, he lives with his family and two Shih Tzus.
In this edition the pair encounter The Flying Dutchman, things do not go will for Brennan…
If you want more Brennan and Riz? Then you can follow them on Twitter at @Brennan_and_Riz where Peter posts mini adventures of the duo through the #vss365 tag. While his blog features short stories and folklore galore over at his https://tstpjm.blogspot.com/
The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz is available in paperback and in E-book, there is also a review of the first book I did a couple of years ago here, a new novel is due early next year.
And finally… having spoken of the flying Dutchman , by strange coincidence our last writer in this edition is a Dutchman, and if you think that seems a bit contrived on my part, the Dutchman in question is Nils Nisse Visser who is a descendant of Piet Visser who wrote the original Dutch telling of the tale of the Flying Dutchman a fact he discovered while researching the original story for a updated steampunk version of the tale set on an airship… Neither Peter, nor the editors were aware of this connection… And unless they read this they will remain so, I however am amused…
I have a little culpability here, as I have been badgering Nils to write a story for Harvey for over a year now. This is because Nils is one of the best authors I have discovered over the last couple of year, and coincidentally one of my favorite humans as well. I’ve reviewed several of his novellas in the past couple of years, though in all honesty I have merely scratched the surface, I’ve put links in the extensive list below for the books I have read and reviewed. But for the moment I’ll let Nils speak for himself through the medium of his HD bio.
Told once too often that he spends too much time in his imagination, Nils Nisse Visser finally got the hint and moved there on a permanent basis, having located it in Brighton, Sussex. His wisdom in life choices is best demonstrated by deciding to move to the UK just in time for the Brexit referendum, so the future is as uncertain as could be. He’s embarked on a rather insane quest to retell old Sussex folklore (and some Dutch sealore) within several different genres. Entering his fifties, Visser hopes to become a pirate if/when he grows up.
Historical
Will’s War in Brighton
Will’s War in Exile
Contemporary
On Brighton Streets – co-authored with Cair Going
Contemporary Fantasy
Escape from Neverland
Dance into the Wyrd
Historical Fantasy
Draka Raid
Forgotten Road
Smugglepunk (Steampunk)
Amster Damned
Sanctuary Asylum Festival introduction to Smugglepunk:
The Harvey Pirates Special comes out on International Talk Like A Pirate Day on the 19th of September and will be available in paperback and on kindle, the kindle version is available for pre-order now… So get it or I’ll make yer walk the plank…
And with that my days of piracy are done… normal blog service of weird and wonderful stuff ( and me wittering on a bit) will resume shortly.
The Passing Place 