I’m very pleased to have a story in this anthology, which is launching very soon. It’s a cool concept, from editor Jodi Cleghorn. She puts together these Literary Mix Tapes anthologies, which are all heavily based on music. In this case, each contributing author got a line from the Elton John song “Tiny Dancer”. Short speculative fiction stories were written using those lines as a prompt.
My story is called “Fear Is The Sin” based on the song lyric, “Jesus freaks, out in the street.” Here’s the full blurb:
Editor: Jodi Cleghorn
Original Artwork: Blake Byrnes
Cover Design: eMergent Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-9871126-8-2 (paperback)
978‐0‐9871126‐9-‐9 (eBook)Twenty-six authors trade Tiny Dancer’s California-blessed lyrics for the shadowed recesses of stages large and small in From Stage Door Shadows, a speculative fiction homage to the darkness just beyond the limelight of the entertainment industry.
The stories re‐introduce the women Benny Taupin wrote about and Elton John sang about: blue jean baby, LA lady, the band’s seamstress, the music man’s wife and the girl dancing in the sand, along with a stellar cast of musicians, singers, thespians, fans, managers, dancers, DJs, magicians, talent show contestants, stars and has-beens.
From vaudeville to opera, piano bar and street corner, hotel suite and beauty pageant, From Stage Door Shadows is a backstage pass to where dreams of fame, fortune and fulfillment live and die in a heartbeat.
Here’s the full ToC:
Rites of Spring – Graham Storrs
Torch song – Andrew J. McKiernan
Fear is the Sin – Alan Baxter
Candentia – Clive Martyn
Luminaire – Joanne Anderton
House of the Cantomancer – Jennifer Muirhead
White Poppy Serenade – S.G. Larner
Time Signature – Melanie Saward
Tiny Dancer – Emma Kerry
Sing to Me – Laura Meyer
Discovering the Gift – Len Lambert
Indigo – Jodi Cleghorn
The Last Illusion – Rus VanWestervelt
Dancing in the Sand – Rebecca L. Dobbie
A Perfect Evening – Sam Adamson
My Moment – Theresa Milstein
Music Box – Laura Eno
Open Audition – Devin Watson
A Living Doll – Monica Marier
The Last of the Undead Beats – Daniel Wynne
The Gods Are Just – Janette Dalgliesh
The Music Man – Lisamarie Lamb
The Colour of Blood – Cath Barton
Velvet – J.M. Donellan
The Twilight Dream – Tom Dullemond
Muted – Jessica Bell
The official launch will be at Smith’s Alternate Bookstore in Canberra on Saturday 29th September, as part of Conflux 8. I’ll be there for the launch, so come along and join in the fun if you can.
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