Monday, June 04, 2007

Frontier Cthulhu: A New Land Founded Upon Forgotten Horrors

The Great Race to the Frontier
(Contest)


I have a few more photos of BEA, but I'm waiting for the camera to arrive before I post them. In the meanwhile, I thought I'd write about a topic that came up at BEA. While there, a few people asked about the upcoming title Frontier Cthulhu. This is an anthology that I edited for Chaosium, and one that spans a variety of places in North America -- each spot being a frontier at the time. As it is a Lovecraftian collection, the stories venture into the frontiers of cosmic horror as well.

The premise for the anthology stems from H.P. Lovecraft's (co-authored) story "The Mound." I suppose it could be said this story is as close to a "western" that Lovecraft comes -- although it is more a "hollow Earth" adventure. Expanding from this, the stories in the anthology move from the early American settlements in the East to the lonely towns in the West, jumping through the centuries as it goes.

Also, I've learned from at BEA and from a few emails that there is a "author hunt" going on for the anthology. That is to say, people are attempting to put together the names of the writers in the collection. To assist the intrigue, I will mention a few -- but not enough to complete the list. There is no particular order:

Darrell Schweitzer, Ron Shiflet, Stewart Sternberg, Tim Curran.

I do have the titles of the stories, but I'll leave uncovering those to the clever investigators. Actually, I don't think there is any one contributor to the anthology who knows all of the names. Some things are simply unknowable. :)

There are over 10 contributors, but less than 20, and 1 cover artist, and 1 editor. The book is expected to be released sometime in mid to late summer.

And to further stir the pot, I'll send a copy to the first person who comes up with the most authors and titles before the book is listed with a complete table of contents.

**Addendum: Yes, the lists or partial lists can be posted in the comments. It will help others, and the person who helps the most will also get a copy of the anthology.


19 comments:

Anonymous said...

I discovered 2 authors and story titles prior to your post. The 1st discovery was by chance; the 2nd was by investigation:

Rob Santa: "Ahiga and the Machine"
Stephen Mark Rainey & Durant Haire: "Terror from Middle Island" (originally published in Dark Wisdom #9)

-Jeff

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

(Feel free not to post my comments from earlier today)

Jason Andrew: "The Deadman's Hand"
Angeline Hawkes: "In Waters Black the Lost Ones Sleep"
Scott Lette: ?title? Jake Elsworth story
Lon Prater: "Something to Hold the Door Closed"
Stephen Mark Rainey & Durant Haire: "Terror from Middle Island" (originally published in Dark Wisdom #9)
Rob Santa: "Ahiga and the Machine"

William Jones said...

Jeff,

That's an impressive list! You wouldn't happen to have the titles for the authors I mentioned would you? So far you are right on the mark.

Anonymous said...

No, I wasn't able to uncover those titles. A new search this morning is equally fruitless.

-Jeff

Anonymous said...

Scott Lette, "Wagon Train for the Star"
Lon Prater, "Something to Hold the Door Closed"
Rob Satna, "Ahiga and the Machine"
Angeline Hawkes, "In Waters Black the Lost Ones Sleep"
Stephen Mark Rainey & Durant Haire, "Terror from Middle Island"
Jason Andrew, "The Deadman's Hand"

Can we have a hint on the artist?

Anonymous said...

Hmm, looks like the ones I know about have already been swooped upon, lol. On with the hunt!

~Angeline
http://www.angelinehawkes.com

Anonymous said...

I got some names! Nowhere near as many of the rest of you.

"Cemetery, Nevada" - Tim Curran
"Incident at Dagon Wells" - Ron Shiflet.

+ what the others posted.

William Jones said...

Thomas,

The artist has worked on other Chaosium projects (and many beyond Chaosium). In fact, his art is what I use for my icon -- although I reduced the art and cropped it. The title of my icon art is "Peek-a-Boo." If anyone can find the artist for that work, that person will find the artist's name.

Lee Clark Zumpe said...

I know this one! The artist's name is Steven C. Gilberts. The cover art is actually posted on the artist's Web site, but it is unnamed.

Anonymous said...

I found the artist, but too late. Someone beat me to it.

Stewart Sternberg: "Children Of The Mountain"

Anonymous said...

So, here's where we are now:

FRONTIER CTHULHU
Publisher: Chaosium Inc.
Editor: William Jones
Cover Artist: Steven C. Gilberts

Jason Andrew: "The Deadman's Hand"
Tim Curran: "Cemetery, Nevada"
Angeline Hawkes: "In Waters Black the Lost Ones Sleep"
Scott Lette: "Wagon Train for the Star"
Lon Prater: "Something to Hold the Door Closed"
Stephen Mark Rainey & Durant Haire: "Terror from Middle Island" (originally published in Dark Wisdom #9)
Rob Santa: "Ahiga and the Machine"
Darrell Schweitzer: ?title?
Ron Shiflet: "Incident at Dagon Wells"
Stewart Sternberg: "Children of The Mountain"

William Jones said...

Thomas and Amanda,

Good finds on the stories and writers.

Lee,

I suspect you know the name of at least one of the writers and stories (there is a clue here).

Jeff,

You are connected to the information highway! There are only a small number of writers remaining. I know at least one has posted the news on a blog. And there are probably two more who might be difficult to find (maybe). That means there are at least four missing from the list. So I'll hold out for two more. (One of the missing authors isn't tough to find). I've been stalking some of their websites and blogs posting, leaving a trail of sorts.

The person to post the complete, or the present list with 2 more authors will take first place and the person who has provided the most names (including artist) after that will take second place. And if it looks close, we'll add a third place in there as well.

Anonymous said...

I think this is the best I can do...

FRONTIER CTHULHU
Publisher: Chaosium Inc.
Editor: William Jones
Cover Artist: Steven C. Gilberts

Jason Andrew: "The Dead Man's Hand"
Tim Curran: "Cemetery, Nevada"
Angeline Hawkes: "In Waters Black the Lost Ones Sleep"
William Jones: ?title?
Scott Lette: "Wagon Train for the Star"
Lon Prater: "Something to Hold the Door Closed"
Stephen Mark Rainey & Durant Haire: "Terror from Middle Island" (originally published in Dark Wisdom #9)
Rob Santa: "Ahiga and the Machine"
Darrell Schweitzer: ?title?
Ron Shiflet: "Incident at Dagon Wells"
Stewart Sternberg: "Children of The Mountain"
Lee Clark Zumpe: ?title?

Anonymous said...

I have one to add to the list already posted.

FRONTIER CTHULHU
Publisher: Chaosium Inc.
Editor: William Jones
Cover Artist: Steven C. Gilberts

Jason Andrew: "The Deadman's Hand"
Tim Curran: "Cemetery, Nevada"
Angeline Hawkes: "In Waters Black the Lost Ones Sleep"
Scott Lette: "Wagon Train for the Star"
Lon Prater: "Something to Hold the Door Closed"
Stephen Mark Rainey & Durant Haire: "Terror from Middle Island" (originally published in Dark Wisdom #9)
Rob Santa: "Ahiga and the Machine"
Darrell Schweitzer: ?title?
Ron Shiflet: "Incident at Dagon Wells"
Stewart Sternberg: "Children of The Mountain"
Chuck Zaglanis: "Jedediah Smith and the Undying Chinaman"

William Jones said...

Jeff,

Clever deduction on Lee Clark Zumpe -- and I wasn't counting William Jones as a missing author. But he does have a story in this anthology (this 3rd person talk is bound to confuse someone).

I think at this point, I can say Jeff Edwards gets the prize for the most support -- he found quite a few names. So Jeff certainly deserves a copy of Frontier Cthulhu (I think he might have known some of the authors before I did).

Paul,

That is a near complete list, but quite a few people helped to build it. So I'm going to continue until the evening of next Monday -- to give everyone a chance to add 1 more author, or find a title for Lee Clark Zumpe's tale. We have a few people who have done some clever research, so I want to give plenty of chances.

Now it is something of a race. And Jeff, you are welcome to keep posting information to help.

Here are some clues: PM and MB. Those are the initials of two remaining authors.

Lee Clark Zumpe said...

Got one:

Matthew Baugh, "Snake Oil."

I guess I can reveal the title of my own story, "Where Men Had Seldom Trod."

LCZ

Charles P. Zaglanis said...

Sweet, someone finally found me.

Best,

Chuck

William Jones said...

Thanks to everyone for playing along. Fantastic research skills! I think we have a list that is complete enough.

Because a few people helped provide key information, I thought I'd expand the number of winners -- in no particular order:

Jeff
Paul
Amanda
Lee

Contact me by email, and I'll get the information to send each of you a copy of the book when it is released: email: william@williamjoneswriter.com

Here is the complete table of contents, although not in a final order:

FRONTIER CTHULHU
Publisher: Chaosium Inc.
Editor: William Jones
Cover Artist: Steven C. Gilberts

Paul Melniczek: "The Long Road"
Angeline Hawkes: "In Waters Black the Lost Ones Sleep"
Lee Clark Zumpe: "Where Men Seldom Trod"
Lon Prater: "Something to Hold the Door Closed"
Stephen Mark Rainey & Durant Haire: "Terror from Middle Island"
Stewart Sternberg:"Children of The Mountain"
William Jones: "They Who Dwell Below"
Scott Lette: "Wagon Train for the Star"
Ron Shiflet: "Incident at Dagon Wells"
Rob Santa: "Ahiga and the Machine"
Jason Andrew: "The Deadman's Hand"
Chuck Zaglanis: "Jedediah Smith and the Undying Chinaman"
Matthew Baugh: "Snake Oil"
Tim Curran: "Cemetery, Nevada"
Darrell Schweitzer: "The Rider of the Dark"