The Editor's Picks
NEW ARRIVALS from independent writers and artists
The following is a curated list of new and notable fiction which has recently caught my interest. These lists highlight for our readership the remarkable new projects, books, and art emerging.
Happy Reading!
Fire in the Tall Grass: A Noah Redford Adventure
Goozdich is a significant force in the Men’s Adventure genre, demonstrating his talents not only as a novelist but also as an independent artist through the Men’s Adventure Fiction Podcast, his discord community, and recently his film partnerships with Veritas Entertainment.
A High Adventure Thrill Ride into the Heart of Danger!
For fans of Indiana Jones, Uncharted, The Mummy, and 1923 Fire in the Tall Grass delivers pulse-pounding action, high-stakes adventure, and relentless danger!
Under the guise of helping a woman find her husband and a son reunite with his father, Redford plunges into the darkest part of the Congo... soon he realizes that there is more to the story. Guerrilla warfare and a deadly race to an ancient relic find the former ace in this thrilling Noah Redford Adventure!
With fists flying, bullets whizzing, and enemies lurking in every shadow, Redford must rely on his wits, grit, and two-fisted resolve to survive. But in the jungle, the greatest danger isn't always what's hunting you-it's what you're hunting.
A nonstop, edge-of-your-seat adventure packed with brutal fights, breathtaking chases, and a masculine hero cut from the cloth of legends. If you crave action, treasure hunts, and old-school adventure, this book is for you!
Grab your copy and join the expedition today!
Medicine Woman
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The Western genre has seen the emergence of Frank Kidd, whose debut novel, Medicine Woman, has earned him considerable recognition in the independent author space. Readers acquainted with Kidd’s body of work may remember his compelling short fiction, which appeared in Pulp, Pipe, & Poetry Magazine and can follow him on his Substack newsletter
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Levi Thurston: mountain man, wanderer, Indian fighter. He haunts the wide open places of a newly opened West. His only companions… a reluctant coydog and a Hawken rifle.
When he is ambushed by Ute warriors, Levi takes shelter in a sacred burial ground. Convinced he has caught a curse, he must seek out a Blackfoot Medicine Woman, the young and beautiful Apaniaki, daughter of Chief Black Crow to help lift it. But what starts out as a simple-enough quest devolves into a fight for his life and an unexpected love as Levi finds himself caught in the middle of warring tribes.
The Ghosts of Tieros Kol
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Lisa Kuznak’s Substack essay, Just Write Cool Shit, created a considerable stir this past weekend, urging fiction writers to prioritize writing over seeking permission and approval.
In other words, quit bitching and Get On With It! A good reminder.
Her recent novel, The Ghosts of Tieros Kol, has found its way on my TBR list. Extra points for the incredible cover design!
An ancient landscape, dotted with standing stones that sing for those who listen, metallic shards on the wind that glitter while they cut, and under the surface threads a blue mineral, tierosite—radiant, strange, and haunting.
King Cedri has gone mad, the palace is in turmoil, and Princess Brena hasn’t heard from her older sisters in ages. She suspects a man named Dene Eame is at the center of all her troubles—an antiquarian with an unhealthy obsession with the standing stones—but she needs real proof of his involvement.
Nikolai Lev, thief-for-hire, had a simple job to do: fake some mining contracts, steal some data, wipe all traces . . . but when his client attempts to kill him after the job is done, it makes it harder to pay the bills. To top it all off, a princess finds Lev while he’s too injured to run. What luck—now he has to keep himself out of jail, too.
As Brena questions Lev while he recovers, she finds the evidence she needs—but why would Dene hire Lev, and what does he want with the royal family? Brena and Lev must work together to answer Dene's riddles—and what they uncover might risk the future, and the past, of Tieros Kol.
Calinitia Dreaming
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My recent engagement with Smith’s collection of short fiction, Quarter Lives, revealed a superior work, skillfully combining elements of new wave speculative fiction to comment and question on our contemporary society. Smith kindly agreed to an author interview with Frank Kidd, Founding Partner of Pulp, Pipe, & Poetry Magazine, which took place last month.
His latest novel looks like a good time.
A noir plunge into a city of high-rises, beaches, and dark ritual.
A girl goes missing from a club uptown. The cops don’t care, and the cathedral won’t lift a finger—but it just might be the start of the end of the world. Tracing dark magic, military washout Adon Halicar follows his old friend’s trail through the mansions and alleys of gleaming mid-century Calinitia. The sun bakes the asphalt, the sea shines blue, and a conspiracy simmers in the city’s bloodstained shadows.Calinitia Dreaming is a neo-noir fantasy adventure novel. From swimming to street racing, the temperate Calinitian Provision has something for everyone. You just need to look past the broken politics, ethnic strife, and increasingly overbearing mandates from the state church. Beneath the balmy exterior, something bad is ready to crack, and one guy with a beat-up muscle car might be all it takes to blow the whole thing open.
Content rating ‘R’ for violence, language, drugs, and some suggestive content.
The Known World of Aterra
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Enthusiasts of Sword and Sorcery will find
’s latest novella a welcome addition to the genre. Beyond his fictional works, Sullivan also provides essays on the history of S&S, aimed at both established enthusiasts and those newly acquainted with the subject.I was fortunate enough to support the Kickstarter campaign to get this book.
Vigilante Crime - The New Cutting Edge of Fiction
Men’s genre fiction is undergoing a renaissance it seems. What a time to be alive!
and the team are launching Vigilante Crime, an annual anthology for those gritty, hard-hitting, fast-paced stories fans of the crime genre love so much.
As was the original plan, we want to bring golden-age pulp-fiction craftsmanship and dynamism to modern short fiction. That means Twilight Zone twists, Jack London grit, Jim Thompson anarchism—wild rides for readers, not therapy sessions or ego trips for writers.
The Gallows Humor crew is at the helm, with yours truly as editor-in-chief and everyone’s favorite raconteur, Philip M. “Big Philly” Smith, taking up the slack, so expect the unexpected.
And hey, don’t just expect the unexpected—contribute it.
Already read and reviewed the excellent western by Mr. Kidd. I’ll be sure to check out the other books. Thanks for the shoutout, and any writers reading this should submit a story to us.
Thanks for the mention!