March 2015 -

March 27, 2015

Aunty Fox on Diversity

The thing in fiction that is unique is the writer. For this reason, if for no other, we need diversity in our writers.

As a publisher I care about stories, the telling of tall tales, the spinning of yarns, the coming together around a fire and sharing urban myths. A good storyteller is the real world Rumpelstiltskin creating gold from straw.

To me the fundamental reason for wanting diversity in genre fiction writers is the uniqueness of every voice. The richness of experience and the alternatives views of the world and events in it that comes from being a different religion, ethnicity or gender.

I am not saying that, for example, only writers of colour should have protagonists of colour. I think all writers should write the stories and characters they want. Still, as important as it is to have diversity within stories, it is, to me at least, even more important to have diversity behind the story. That is the only way we can truly enjoy the deep, glorious potential of storytelling.

This is why at Fox Spirit we focus on stories. In our selections we would rather work a little harder with authors for whom English is not a first language and get the great stories. It’s because we love storytelling in all its forms that we organise live reading events for all local writers not just our own (Fox Bites), which in Leicester is a wonderfully multicultural affair.

Fox Spirit is deliberately open when we do submission calls, allowing for interpretations of a theme to encourage people with different voices and ideas to take a chance where they might otherwise be cautious and while we cannot say we are truly diverse we are definitely bucking the trend in gender bias, which is a start.

March 27, 2015

On Clean Reader

Please note these are the personal views of Aunty Fox and I am not speaking on behalf of my authors here, they may disagree and have every right to do so.

I generally try to keep my ranty pants off this blog (although they are very comfy and not in themselves offensive) but on the subject of Clean Reader I have this to say:

If you are considering using this app on our books, please consider reading other books. We publish the books as we and their authors intend for them to be read.

I suggest if you haven’t already you see what Joanne Harris and Joanne Hall have to say on the subject. They both reflect my views far more eloquently than I can express them.

In the interests of fairness I am also linking to Cory Doctorow on the subject because he totally disagrees and you might too.

March 25, 2015June 16, 2015

Big News Day!

New Aquisitions:

Not that the Fox Spirit Skulk are aquisitions exactly, but we have just confirmed two projects that I have been hoping we could secure for a little while now.

First Ian Whates will be joining the Skulk with a collection of short stories to be released in 2016. The details are yet to be confirmed but we are delighted to have Ian on board.

Ian runs the wonderful NewCon Press of which I have long been a fan. NewCon does a fantastic job of drawing big name writers and slipping them seemlessly between the covers with new talent. If you’ve never checked them out you really should, I have quite a few of their books. Ian also did me the great honour of collaborating with Vincent Holland-Keen and I on an event/publication on the ‘Hauntings’ book back when I was reviewing.

Ian has also written innumerable short stories and several series of books including space opera series ‘The Noise’ and ‘The City of a Hundred Rows’ fantasy series.

We also have Dana Fredsti coming on board to reissue some of her back catalogue. Dana has written in a number of genres but our first re relase will be the wonderful fun Noir tribute Murder for Hire : The Peruvian Pigeon. I am delighted to be able to bring a book I really love back to market.

Dana’s current releases are the ‘Ashley Parker’ novels set in the midst of a zombie outbreak.

Like Ripley, Dana always goes back for the cat!

March 25, 2015

Reviews 5 : latest news

Our latest releases have had some great reviews so I wanted to share those.

The Stars Seem So Far Away

Books Abound among others has left some lovely feedback for the book on Goodreads : For me, there was a very distinct essence to the prose that I loved. It wasn’t too flowery and seemed to reflect the state of their world. Beautifully nuanced in all the right ways

And novelist E.P. Beaumont had lovely things to say : The narrative compels through spare suggestion — short story on the boundary with poetry — and implies a world of vast sweep in its pauses. The Stars Seem So Far Away is set in a post-apocalyptic Far North, where much of the middle latitudes of Earth have become uninhabitable and streams of refugees have found their way to cities built where currently nothing lies but tundra.

Emily Nation

The Tentacled Tribunal has lovely things to say about our Cornish Assassin : McQuay’s novel bears the grungy, post-apocalyptic DNA of 2000AD, Shadowrun, Tank Girl, or Mad Max.* These are post-apocalyptic cyberpunk westerns, where the plains are nuclear ash wastes, and the bandits and crooks jostle for position between cyborgs, mutants and crazed artefacts from a bygone age of horror and violence. But where 2000AD is entwined with 80s satire and brash Americana, and Mad Max has a more arid outback mania to proceedings, McQuay’s Emily Nation is intrinsically bound to the author’s home; Cornwall.

March 20, 2015

Reviews 4: Down the Rabbit Hole

Weirdmage

Tales of Eve edited by Mhairi Simpson

‘The quality of the storytelling is very high here, above what can be expected from any anthology. It really is consistently very good throughout. Every author in here has delivered something that they can be proud of, and something which I have really enjoyed.’

Fox Pockets: Piracy edited by Adele Wearing

‘It is short, as are the stories in it, and it is all the stronger for it. This is excellent for those that want some short fiction that will fill a few minutes now and then. For those that like their fiction to come with a piratical leaning, this is an absolute must.’

Neil Williamson

Fox Pockets: Piracy edited by Adele Wearing

‘Did I mention the cover design? How much I love it? No? Well I do. Look to your left. See what I mean? I reckon artist Sarah Anne Langton has created something truly iconic with this set of simple elements and limited palette.’

Liquorice UK

Weird Wild by G Clark Hellery

‘The mix of styles and genres, incorporating elements of thriller and fantasy works well on the whole and the descriptions of the wood are wonderfully vivid and rich, beautifully capturing the eeriness of the setting.’

Killer Aphrodite

Requiem in E Sharp by Joan De La Haye

‘As you all may know, Killer Aphrodite is run from Pretoria and we are well aware that sometimes the truth is much more terrifying than fiction… especially around these parts, which means that De La Haye was able to capture the truly gruesome realities that we have to face more often than not and turn it into a book that will give you a proper scare. ‘

A whole bunch of carrots… or reviews for White Rabbit by K.A. Laity

Alasdair Stuart : This is supernatural fiction mixed with noir, coffee and incense, whiskey and blood, all swirled together in a novel that’s compact, punchy fun. Life is messy, death is too.

Antonio Urias : White Rabbit is fast paced, pitch perfect noir with a well-developed fantasy world and tight characterization. Highly enjoyable.

Crimeculture : Laity’s writing is punchy and readable and she has a knack for slang and banter. The whole style of the genre mash-up keeps the reader on their toes, because with noir, the supernatural and the Carroll-bunny theme all in play, we never know what’s coming next.

March 19, 2015March 18, 2015

Final Call for Fantastic Treats

It’s been ongoing for some time since our original Instigator Andrew Reid put the idea of a charity cookbook forward. Still, the time has come. We are closing submissions on the 1^st May.

The book will be under the creative control of our adored Mutherfudger, Nadine Holmes whose remarkable baked goods have supported book events nationally. Mutherfudger will also be creating some of the recipes and providing photos for the book.

This one is for Cancer Research so there is no payment beyond a print copy for all participants. All income will go to the charity as Fox Spirit are not taking anything from this for costs. We are seeking submissions of a short or flash length story with a related dessert or treat recipe. The treats can be sweet or savoury, but savoury items should be snacks or tapas style, not main meals.

The stories can be sci fi, fantasy, horror or crime. The stories can be heavily involved with the recipe or merely mention it. We will also accept poetry or drawings as submissions to accompany the recipe, if they are in keeping with genre fiction spirit of the book.

We are accepting submissions from writing/cooking teams. Recipes should be original or personal versions, please do not submit recipes as found in existing books for copyright reasons.

We are hoping to release the book November 2015 although given the added complexity of including photos and trialling recipes we are allowing some flexibility in that.

Please send all submissions to submissions@foxspirit.co.uk

For more information on our editor/hostess please visit http://www.mutherfudger.co.uk/

March 18, 2015March 17, 2015

Reviews 3 : A few good men

Continuing the review round up series. More soon.

The Eloquent Page

Fox Pockets: Shapeshifters edited by Adele Wearing

‘Traditional horror rubbing shoulders with steampunk, dark fantasy and science fiction, I felt spoiled for choice. Fox Spirit have left the submission themes for the Fox Pocket series deliberately ambiguous and this ambiguity has paid dividends.’

Breed by K.T. Davies

‘Brash, bawdy and with more chases than you could shake a big northern hammer at, Breed is fantasy caper that’s bucket loads of fun. Davies’ writing continues to evolve and delight in equal measure always retaining that joyous, blissful escapism that drew me to her work in the first place.’

Tales of the Nun & Dragon collected by Adele Wearing

‘The best news is that each writer has brought their ‘A’ game and produced something that works well as a standalone but also fits seamlessly into the collection as a whole. I was spoiled for choice with all the differing, iconoclastic interpretations of the nun and dragon theme.’

Oasis by Joan De La Haye

‘Oasis treads classic Romero-esque ground and has a suitably downbeat ending that I really enjoyed. I have to admit I do enjoy my zombie stories to be grimmer than grim and I’m glad to say this novella delivers on that score.’

The Cult Den

Blood Bound by Sarah Cawkwell

‘Cue a totally unexpected plot twist and an eventual final battle worthy of any blockbuster movie, and you have a highly satisfying conclusion which still leaves enough questions and possible openings for a continuation.’

The Shockwave Writer

Tales of the Nun & Dragon collected by Adele Wearing

‘If you have ever lived in Britain then “Nun and Dragon” will almost certainly make you think of a country pub, much like the name “The Vat and Fiddle” in Nottingham or “The Goat and Tricycle” in Bournemouth. I seriously suspect the many of the Nuns in this book would be more at home in “The Wicked Lady” in Wheathamstead.’

March 17, 2015

Reviews 2: The Tony Lane Edition

Tony has been a supporter of Fox Spirit since it beganand has consistently given us honest, largely positive reviews. He’s also on occasion hosted interviews with our authors, artists and even Aunty Fox. I have attempted to collect all his reviews so far here.

Emily Nation By Alec McQuay

The Velocity of Constant by Hardeep Sangha

Drag Noir edited by K.A. Laity

Billy’s Monsters by Vincent Holland-Keen

Breed by K.T. Davies

King Wolf by Steven Savile

Burning by Joan De La Haye

The Girl at the End of the World Bk 2 edited by Adele Wearing

The Girl at the End of the World Bk 1 edited by Adele Wearing

White Rabbit by K.A. Laity

Warrior Stone by Rob Harkess

Fox Pockets: Guardians edited by Adele Wearing

Tales of the Fox and Fae collected by Adele Wearing

Oasis by Joan De La Haye

The ‘Lost’ Second Book of Nicoletto Giganti (1608) translated by Piermarco Terminiello and Joshua Pendragon (A Vulpes book)

Fox Pockets: Shapeshifters edited by Adele Wearing

Tales of Eve edited by Mhairi Simpson (shortlisted for Best Anthology with BFS in 2014)

Noir Carnival edited by K.A. Laity

Fox Pockets: Piracy edited by Adele Wearing

Blood Bound by Sarah Cawkwell

Requiem in E Sharp by Joan De La Haye

Weird Noir edited by K.A. Laity

Tales of the Nun & Dragon collected by Adele Wearing

Huge thanks to Tony and everyone who has reviewed our books for their support. It means a lot to us.

March 13, 2015

Reviews

A little while ago the wonderful Starburst Magazine (a must for all SF fans) reviewed a few of our titles. We wanted to flag them up here too. Click the titles for the full review.

The Lonely Dark by Ren Warom

‘Author Ren Warom writes in a free-flowing, personal and highly evocative way. This is a tale of introspection and much of the action takes place in the protagonist’s mind. What could have easily become a drawn out exercise in navel gazing becomes a thrilling journey into the unknown, fraught with both paranoia and self-discovery.’

Drag Noir by Various, edited by K.A. Laity

‘One of the nice things about the small press is that you tend to find more original and clever ideas amongst them, especially when it comes to anthologies. Fox Spirit Books tend to specialise in seeking out new talent and coming up with bright new themes. Drag Noir blends two things that work so well together it now seems obvious. The grim, gritty and hyper-sexualised noir genre and the glorious world of drag. Both share similar histories, and it’s easy to imagine a top hat and tails wearing Gladys Bentley rubbing shoulders with the characters from The Postman Always Rings Twice.’

European Monsters by Various, edited by Margret Helgadottir and Jo Thomas

‘EBooks have been a boon to the small press, allowing many independent publishers to produce work that would otherwise be too expensive. This has also meant that paper and ink books created by such companies have become much less common. So it’s nice to see that Fox Spirit’s latest anthology is not only available in the old fashioned format, but that it’s also beautifully produced and illustrated.

European Monsters is a gorgeous collection of tales of unnatural creatures, dealing with the rigours of the modern day. Each tale picks a creature from myth and gives us a short but sweet snapshot of its existence.’

And The Future Fire is currently working its way through Girl Vol 2 but gave a balanced and positive review of Girl at the End of the World Vol 1 here.

‘The very cool small press Fox Spirit Books have brought out an anthology of apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic stories with women protagonists in two volumes. Edited by Adele Wearing, the generally high-quality The Girl at the End of the World (or at least the first volume, which is all that I have read—a review of volume two will follow from another reviewer) covers several different areas beneath the umbrella of apocalypse, from the personal to the world-shattering, from the absurd to the terrifying.’

If you are interested in reviewing Fox Spirit Titles please contact adele@ foxspirit.co.uk