builderbot

Alethea Kontis has described herself for Anthology Builder as a princess, a goddess, a force of nature, and a mess! There has got to be more to this thumbnail sketch than she lets on. Let’s find out! – foxtale

Alethea, already a bestselling author and with film credits in your bio (www.altheakontis.com),  you recently launched a Young Adult fairytale novel.  Why this genre?

My whole life has been working toward this moment: Publishing a fantasy novel like the ones I used to love when I was a young girl. The alphabet books and the anthologies and the movies and The Dark-Hunter Companion have been amazing opportunities I’ve been lucky enough to have along the way (what girl in her right mind would say no?), but the fantasy novels have always been my goal.

Your short story “Blood and Water” is in currently in the anthology “From the Shadows” as well as  “Awards Weekend”  at Anthology Builder; what enticed you to retell the little mermaid story as a vampire tale?

My parents always worry about me writing in the car. I keep this little notebook beside my parking break that I scribble mad notes in when at a stoplight, or stuck in traffic. I showed it to my friend Brandi once. She turned a page and said, “What’s a ‘Vampire Mermaid?’” Two completely separate ideas were suddenly smashed together like chocolate and peanut butter. Combined with my love of Hans Christian Andersen and all the research I had done for my marine science minor on hydrothermal vents…VOILA! The story sprang from my head like Athena. With Pirates.

“From the Shadows” is an eclectic collection of Vampire tales, including Bram Stoker’s “Dracula’s Guest” which established the vampire genre, with some of the aspects likely mirrored by Johnny Depp’s vampire in the film “Dark Shadows.” So, will you go see the movie?

Despite my work on this story, Blood and Water (and The Dark-Hunter Companion), I’m really not a vampire fan. I have never found them appealing or sexy, and I hate watching horror movies. (Making them is SO MUCH MORE FUN.) Dark Shadows may surprise me, since I have such low expectations, but I’d much rather go see Avengers again.

Lastly, about teddy bear Charlie: is he a muse, a keepsake or just a cuddly pillow?

Thank you for asking! Charlie was my Christmas present when I was fifteen. His full name is Charlemagne Montesque, the Marquis of Albec, and he is my very best friend. He has dried many a tear and chased away many a nightmare and he knows my deepest, darkest secret (which is that I have no deep, dark secrets). And yes, I still seek his comfort and guidance, even twenty years later. The need for a best friend never goes away.

——————————————

builderbot

In a nod to all of the theaters about to go dark for the showing of Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Barnabas Collins, that campy vampire of old soap opera fame, here are a few stories with a bite! You should be able to recognize one classic as the short story that began this dark genre. The others may be a prelude to just some of the troubles Mr. Collins could face in today’s world.

Click on the links to peruse a story, then track it through the author’s name to a ready made anthology, or build one yourself! Enjoy!   – foxtale

He seemed always just about to tell me something—the very idea of which evidently frightened him; but each time he pulled himself up, saying, as he crossed himself: “Walpurgis-Nacht!” … He began to speak in English, of a very crude and broken kind, he always got excited and broke into his native tongue—and every time he did so, he looked at his watch. Then the horses became restless and sniffed the air. At this he grew very pale, and, looking around in a frightened way, he suddenly jumped forward, took them by the bridles and led them on …

http://www.anthologybuilder.com/viewstory.php?story_id=1298

“Mrs. Romanek?” The man on the doorstep carried a clipboard bristling with papers. He waved a badge in her direction. “Leo Martinez, Los Angeles Unified Child and Welfare Attendance Counselor. That’s a newfangled way of saying, ‘truant officer.’ I’m investigating an anonymous tip that you have two children who are not currently enrolled in school. May I come in?”

This was really too bizarre, Valeria thought, a human asking permission to cross her threshold! But refusing would not change the fact that the authorities had become aware of her and her children. (Not that they realized she was a vampire,) but records already existed of that complaint, from some snoopy neighbor, no doubt…

” I want my money!” The dark haired man across from her pounded the desk.

Cheryl sighed. This was the part of the job she didn’t like, denying people their claims.

“Well Mr. Merrill, it is the official opinion of Fundamental Insurance that you are not dead per se. You see…”

Cheryl was rudely interrupted. “I’ve been turned into a damn vampire! I’m dead! Check my heartbeat! Nothing”

Cheryl nodded sympathetically, “Technically the term you are describing is ‘The Living Dead’ or ‘The Undead.’ Your policy pays only upon your death…”

http://www.anthologybuilder.com/viewstory.php?story_id=909

builderbot

In a nod to all of the theaters about to go dark for the showing of Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Barnabas Collins, that campy vampire of old soap opera fame, here are a few stories with a bite! You should be able to recognize one classic as the short story that began this dark genre. The others may be a prelude to just some of the troubles Mr. Collins could face in today’s world.

Click on the links to peruse a story, then track it through the author’s name to a ready made anthology, or build one yourself! Enjoy!   – foxtale

He seemed always just about to tell me something—the very idea of which evidently frightened him; but each time he pulled himself up, saying, as he crossed himself: “Walpurgis-Nacht!” … He began to speak in English, of a very crude and broken kind, he always got excited and broke into his native tongue—and every time he did so, he looked at his watch. Then the horses became restless and sniffed the air. At this he grew very pale, and, looking around in a frightened way, he suddenly jumped forward, took them by the bridles and led them on …

http://www.anthologybuilder.com/viewstory.php?story_id=1298

“Mrs. Romanek?” The man on the doorstep carried a clipboard bristling with papers. He waved a badge in her direction. “Leo Martinez, Los Angeles Unified Child and Welfare Attendance Counselor. That’s a newfangled way of saying, ‘truant officer.’ I’m investigating an anonymous tip that you have two children who are not currently enrolled in school. May I come in?”

This was really too bizarre, Valeria thought, a humanasking permission to cross her threshold! But refusing would not change the fact that the authorities had become aware of her and her children. Records already existed of that complaint, from some snoopy neighbor, no doubt…

” I want my money!” The dark haired man across from her pounded the desk.

Cheryl sighed. This was the part of the job she didn’t like, denying people their claims.

“Well Mr. Merrill, it is the official opinion of Fundamental Insurance that you are not dead per se. You see…”

Cheryl was rudely interrupted. “I’ve been turned into a damn vampire! I’m dead! Check my heartbeat! Nothing”

Cheryl nodded sympathetically, “Technically the term you are describing is ‘The Living Dead’ or ‘The Undead.’ Your policy pays only upon your death…”

http://www.anthologybuilder.com/viewstory.php?story_id=909

builderbot

AnthologyBuilder’s founder, Nancy Fulda, has been nominated for this year’s Nebula Award. This is a fabulous step in her career as a writer, but it’s also a unique opportunity to raise AnthologyBuilder’s visibility.

The Nebula Awards Book Depot will carry several AnthologyBuilder titles during Nebula Awards weekend. For those in the Washington, DC area, this is a great chance to get these books at a significant discount – and to get autographs from the attending authors, as well.

For those who aren’t in the DC area, never fear! These are this week’s Featured Anthologies, and you can buy them at a discount, too!

* * *

AWARDS WEEKEND COLLECTOR’S EDITION
It’s not often that you can collect autographs from eleven different authors in one day. Especially when five of those authors are 2012 Nebula nominees, one is an AML Award winner, and one is a NYT Bestselling Author.

But this Friday, May 18, it will be possible in Arlington.

The Awards Weekend Collector’s Edition is an anthology composed of work by 11 authors who will be in attendance at the Nebulas. This means that it’s possible for enthusiasts to get an ‘autographing blackout’ by collecting signatures from every author in the anthology. Oh yeah, and the stories are pretty good, too.

The collection includes Katherine Sparrow’s creepy and hideously believable tale of slipstream romance; Ferrett Steinmetz’s story of generational tension in an alien environment; Mary Robinette Kowal’s touching depiction of a girl and her Teddy Bear Spider; an Amazing Conroy story by Lawrence M. Schoen; and other work by D. T. Friedman, Alethea Kontis, Sandra Tayler, David W. Goldman, Anatoly Belilovsky, Larry Hodges, and Nancy Fulda.

From physician David Goldman’s exploration of neurological blind spots to essayist Sandra Tayler’s tale of a child adrift in her own mind…

From Nancy Fulda’s vision of autism in the future to Marissa Lingen’s heartrending story of medical intervention gone wrong…

This collection will challenge your preconceptions and leave you with a priceless gift: A glimpse of the world through minds that are utterly different than your own.

A must-read for those seeking insight into autism, ADHD, sensory processing disorder, and social-emotional agnosia.

Where to Find the Books
Hyatt Regency Crystal City
2799 Jefferson Davis Highway (Route 1)
Arlington, Virginia 22202

The Book Depot is located in the hotel’s Independence Foyer, and has the following opening hours:
Friday May 18 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Saturday May 19 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Autographing Session
SFWA Autographing Session
Friday, May 18, 2012
5:30 p.m. — 7:30 p.m.
Hyatt Regency Crystal City

builderbot

Are you ready to plan your summer, traveling, or perhaps catching up on some reading?  Possibly you might consider touring an historic Civil War Battleground, or maybe visit or read about sites along the Missouri or Mississippi rivers.  Or is it the trails of New England’s ancient mountains that beckon?  Here are three stories whose authors knew these sites well. Click on an author’s name and scroll to the page bottom to track them to an anthology already for sale, or build one for yourself!  (A couple of these authors may be a surprise to you.)  Enjoy !   –  foxtale

This “Contraband” of the Civil War…the liberty now his…robbed of half its sweetness by the knowledge that someone near and dear to him still languished in the hell from which he had escaped, would serve as my orderly in the ward…

Link to story – classics

I followed an ostensibly ‘lame’ turkey over a considerable part of the United States one morning, because I believed in her and could not think she would deceive a mere boy, (one who was trusting her and considering her honest.)

Link to story – classics

The frank-hearted stranger had just drawn his chair to the fire when something like a heavy footstep was heard without, rushing down the steep side of the mountain, as with long and rapid strides, and taking such a leap in passing the cottage as to strike the opposite precipice. The family held their breath, because they knew the sound, and their guest held his by instinct.

‘The old mountain has thrown a stone at us, for fear we should forget him,’ said the landlord, recovering himself. ‘He sometimes nods his head and threatens to come down; but we are old neighbors, and agree together pretty well upon the whole. Besides we have a sure place of refuge hard by if he should be coming in good earnest.’

Link to Story -classics

nancyfulda

Everyone, including Johnny Depp, it seems, is fascinated by vampires. So, for your bedtime reading, here are links to help you track down stories, dark stories, just right for a late night… snack.

Track them back to a ready made anthology or build your own.

Teaser #1
For the past ten years I have lived and worked in Southern Spain. I adore the ruggedness of the landscape, the pure raw beauty of it. Tourists throng the beaches and seaside towns all year long and they bring their holiday excitement with them. It infects everything and makes the air hum with golden possibilities. I also enjoy the Spanish people. They are beautiful and vital and their blood tastes of rich, full-bodied wine.

Read More

Teaser #2
The Swiss conductor struggled with English. The Italians seemed to understand, however, for they turned to look at Shelley as the train began its ascent into the Alps. “Carry no valuables at the body and let no strangers in the compartment.” His Swiss accent gave his consonants a scratchy quality. “Turn the lock, and push the bolt.”

“Robbers?” Shelley asked, disbelieving. “Are you saying there might be robbers on the train?” This was a danger she hadn’t foreseen.

“Robbers – yes,” he said gravely, rubbing his red moustache. “And vampires.”

She gulped. “You’re joking.” But the Italians nodded emphatically. The mother held up the crucifix pendant dangling on her chest. They obviously knew – and they believed.

“It is a frequent problem in the winter,” the conductor explained. “In the summer and autumn they find many mountain climbers in the Alps, but in the winter they attack the trains. They have been around the Saint Gotthard for centuries. Millennia, even.”

Read More

Teaser #3
Love was the reason I lived, there in the Deep, in the warm embrace of the ocean where Mother Earth’s loins spread and gave birth to the world. Her soul was my soul.

Love is the reason she came to me in the darkness, that brave sea maiden. I remember the taste of her bravery, the euphoric sweetness of her fear. It came to me on wisps of current past the scattered glows of the predators… the other predators.

Read More