I like Westerns. Not as much as I like noir, but I like them. (I actually think there’s something to be said about the overlap between the two genres, but that’s a sidepoint.)
However: I love Weird Westerns, from the steampunk through the fantastic to the straight-up horror–admittedly with a strong preference for the horror end of things, but that’s just me. And there’s a new anthology possibly coming out, and the list of contributors is kind of making me wonder why I have heard almost nothing about it.
(What I have heard? Lucy A. Snyder tweeted about it. That’s it. I realize I may have missed some things, but…)
I am trying not to gush too much about that list, but one of the people on it wrote a scene in a horror novel that left me light-headed and faint. Another has written the only zombie story that made me cry. And there are thirteen authors on that list, and at the lowest pledge level that comes out to 77 cents a story and that’s not even counting any other contributors since it’s going to be open for submissions, and…
I get that genre fiction is one of those weird niche things, and Weird Westerns are the teeny-tiny cross-section of the genres that get the least space at our local public library.[1] I get that cash is often tight. I do.
But dammit, this is the Weird West, that place of high-noon glare and shrieking steam, of voices on the wind and grinning horrors in long black coats, of long shadows and bootheels clocking off the hours to midnight. And I believe with the heart of a hopeful fan that there are more than sixty-seven other people who want to get their hands on this anthology. So I figure that some people who would like it simply have not heard about it, and I am trying to pass word along.
Dark Trails. That link right there.
Maybe it’s not your thing. But if you know someone who’d like it, maybe pass the word along?
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[1] It’s true. It’s sad. A bookshelf unit has six shelves each, and the horror/western paperbacks only take up three shelves combined. It kind of makes me happy that they’re next to each other, though.
I think you should send a link to Cat.
Ohh, that’s a good thought. I know she’s mentioned being interested in weird Westerns before.
Our library doesn’t even have a horror section. Horror stuff just gets shuffled in with the sci-fi/fantasy, or the general fiction.
That said, I hadn’t heard about this at all, and I know a bunch of those people! And hey, I sold a story to Mike Knost’s mothman anthology, maybe I can get involved in this somehow! Regardless, thanks for the link, definitely something to look at!
Waugh. O.o (I mean, I’ve seen it done in the smaller branches, it just always makes me a little sad.)
But yeah, this thing is flying so far under the radar it’s kind of unreal. I tweeted about it yesterday and posted a link on the Pinnacle forums (’cause, you know, the company that created Deadlands might have some fans who are interested), but the only person I’ve seen say anything about it is Lucy Snyder.
Best luck on maybe getting in on this. 🙂