hajones

Hello all,

I forgot to mention that I uploaded a Solomon Kane article to the site at

www.swordandsorcery.org

It's not so much a blow-by-blow of his career as it is a retrospective on why Solomon is such a nifty character.

The article is penned by the talented E.E. Knight, author of the popular Vampire Earth books--good reads if you haven't already checked them out.

best,
Howard

I'd like to thank LD for the hearty introduction.

I'm Howard Andrew Jones, and I'm the managing editor of swordandsorcery.org as well as Flashing Swords E-Zine. I grew up reading and re-reading swashbuckling tales of heroic adventure, but it was only in the last ten years that I came to Robert E. Howard and Conan. I can't believe that I overlooked all of these wonderful stories for so long. Chalk it up to suspicions about the quality of the pastiche.

Right now the newest feature at swordandsorcery.org is an interview with Conan writer John Hocking, author of CONAN AND THE EMERALD LOTUS. Last week he was kind enough to respond with some questions about his writing of Conan, the "lost" Conan manuscripts he penned, and his current writing projects. Some of you may not know that he's got a Viking tale in Lords of Swords (which can be ordered through www.swordandsorcery.org) that's crammed with action. It's the first in a series of tales, one of which is novel-length. And John has the lead story in the upcoming second issue of Flashing Swords.

Swordsandsorcery.org is a recent launch, but it is growing weekly. I hope to make it a community for fans of sword and sorcery, sword and planet, and its related genres. I've got a number of interesting articles and interviews waiting to go live and even more are in the pipeline, so I hope you'll drop by to visit. There's a discussion board in case something on the site inspires comment.

The Flashing Swords E-zine is a subdivision of swordandsorcery.org and as you might guess, publishes sword and sorcery, sword and planet, and historical swashbucklers. If you're wondering about precise definitions of any of those genres, you can check the home page of sword and sorcery, where I do my best to describe them.

The Winter issue of Flashing Swords features five knockout tales of adventure. William King is the lead-off author. He's a big Robert E. Howard fan, and he's the author of a whole set of sword and sorcery novels set in the Warhammer universe. I'm almost certain you'll love the tale he serves up. There's another surprise treat in the first issue--a reprint of a Harold Lamb story. That name might not raise eyebrows today, but back in Robert E. Howard's time Lamb was well known. As a matter of fact, he was one of REH's favorite writers and a major influence on him. Check out his Viking yarn and you're in for some grand adventure in Howardian style (and don't take my word for it--the Flashing Swords discussion forum has been buzzing with praise for Lamb's work).

The rest of the issue features stories by established and up-and-coming writers with a sincere love for sword and sorcery. You may know the work of Joe McCullough and his flintlock and sorcery tales of Stevan the Targeteer, and I'm sure some of you have heard of D.K. Latta's work. Then there's relative newcomer S.C. Bryce, who serves up a tale of The Gray Mist?

I could go on and on. I hope you'll drop by, and I hope you'll keep returning. If there's anything you'd like to see more of (or less of) post a note in our discussion forum. Love an author's story and want to hear more? Please post a note. Have an idea for an article you'd like to see at swordandsorcery.org? An article you'd like to write? Post, or e-mail me at

Sandseditor@sigecom.net.

I hope you'll visit. We want to provide a home for the kind of fiction REH excelled at writing. We hope we can earn your support.

My best,
Howard Andrew Jones