The second anthology from Fictiongarden.com and almost twice the size of our debut effort, Through the Suffering of Others expands upon The Door Beyond the Dark's original theme. Much like the first anthology, Through The Suffering Of Others features established authors such as Lindsay Buroker and Tony Healey as well as returning faces like M. Todd Gallowglas, S.M. White and Tristan Gregory. We start things off with the aforementioned best-selling author Lindsay Buroker's Shadows Over Innocence, a prequel short story to her Emperor's Edge series. Fans of Buroker will be familiar with the tale, but those who haven't read her work will find an intriguing starting point. Next comes Kal S. Davian's Branding of a Heretic, the first story in his Nihilan Effect series of shorts and a cleverly written introductory piece about a scholar who uncovers a revolutionary secret that others wish to suppress. This is swiftly followed by A Man With Purpose by best-selling science fiction author Tony Healey. Set in the same world as his Fallen Crown series, it serves as an excellent introduction to his grim and inhospitable The Bloody North. Continuing the dark tone, S.M. White's The Last Battleground tells the story of a man who simply refuses to die upon the battlefield, but there's more to this brief tale than meets the eye. Ogre by Tristan Gregory mixes faith with monsters, as a forgotten cleric returns home having succeeded in his mission to bring the monstrous ogres to his faith. Michael Watson's western-themed Justine (The Sum of Stories) is the recollection of a self-professed tongue waggler and his encounter with the legendary Justine. It chronicles part of her journey and the subsequent conflicts in a storyteller style. The Purifying Flame by Christian Warren Freed is a tale of duty and honour as one young man attempts to warn those around him of what it is he has foreseen. The Flame must be defended at all cost, but conflict from within may prevent their latest stand against a monstrous foe. The Cave by J.R. Karlsson is set in a dark and cold cavern with a group of people who have no escape save for the inevitable death at the hands of their captors. It is their interactions and actions within the titular cave that make things interesting. Lassie Came Home by Bruce Blake is a deeply twisted reunion story bordering on horror that involves a shape-shifting creature that takes the form of a beloved childhood dog for reasons unknown. Sichana – Apex Rising by Tom Wright is a hostage pit fighting scenario set in the same Africanesque world as his popcorn fantasy series, where humans and animals are bonded together in pacts, with those bonded to predators seeking to dominate others. D. Thourson Palmer's The High Red Country is a fantasy western that could have come to our screens in the western's hey-day. It's about justice, or so we're told... Ken Lim's entry is Thaumaturge, an urban-based fantasy pursuit tale detailing the activities of the Fae Liaison Unit and their latest attempt to apprehend the titular thaumaturge. David Ashura's Prank does exactly what it says. It's a light-hearted tale of the construction and execution of a prank at a military school. Dragon Company by Patrick J. Loller has an intriguing setting: what if there were genetically altered dragon-like humanoids in World War II? M. Todd Gallowglas shines in a brief story about an irritable narrator detailing a bedtime tale called The Two Pickpockets. A scenario every parent of a demanding but awake child will relate to. Talonfall is a full-length novella kindly donated by SG Night and set in The Dominion of Io, the very same world (and with some of the same characters) as his début, Attrition. Last but most certainly not least is another full-length work by V.M. Jaskiernia, the macabre pseudo-European entanglement of Larkspur: A Necromancer's Romance. The first introductory novella to her much-anticipated Larkspur series.
Authors
Tony Healey is the author of the bestselling Harper & Lane Series, consisting of Hope’s Peak, Storm’s Edge, published by Thomas and Mercer, and Blue Ruin, published independently. He is also the author of westerns in the Ralph Compton Western Series, including The Devil’s Snare, Blood On The Prairie, Die Trying and The Guns of Wrath. He self-published the crime novel Not For Us. His work has been praised by the likes of Publisher’s Weekly, Blake Crouch, Mark Edwards and Mark Wheaton. Tony Healey lives and works in Brighton, on the Sussex coast. He is married, has four daughters and a chorkie called Freddie. Tony is represented by his agent, Sharon Pelletier of Dystel, Goderich & Bourrett LLC. The Harper & Lane Series: https://amzn.to/3hCmqoJ Ralph Compton Westerns: Tony Healey | Penguin Random House Not For Us: https://amzn.to/3hEimo0
Bruce Blake lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. When pressing issues like shovelling snow and building igloos don't take up his spare time, Bruce can be found taking the dog sled to the nearest cafe to work on his short stories and novels. Actually, Victoria, B.C. is only a couple hours north of Seattle, Wash., where more rain is seen than snow. Since snow isn't really a pressing issue, Bruce spends more time trying to remember to leave the "u" out of words like "colour" and "neighbour" than he does shovelling. Bruce's first short story, "Another Man's Shoes" was published in the Winter 2008 edition of Cemetery Moon. "Yardwork" was made into a podcast in Oct., 2011 by Pseudopod. "On Unfaithful Wings" is Bruce's first novel but there are many more to come.
When he was in grade school, Patrick once wrote a story that was four pages long and punctuated only once. He believed that only the end of a story deserved a period. To his editors mounting horror that hasn't changed dramatically, and his grasp of grammar remains tentative at best. Patrick has been writing since he was old enough to hold a pencil, and though he has flirted with many careers, only writing has won his heart. He served as a combat medic in Afghanistan, a paramedic in the capitol of Connecticut, and has been a teacher. While deployed he found solace in a universe of his own creation. One where the various types of stories he read could exist simultaneously. WarVerse is more than a single story, it is the start of a collection, and one he hopes to branch out to other indie authors some day. Find his work on Amazon.
Gattaca is in my top 5 favorite movies. It's an intellectual film that forces you to think and reconsider your opinions. But sometimes I don't want to watch Gattaca. Sometimes I want to watch Independence Day. Or Jurassic Park. Or, GI Joe 2: Retaliation. There, I said it. I loved GI Joe 2. Sometimes you just want to sit back, turn on the TV, and watch explosions for 2 hours. And that's okay. Other times you want to watch Gattaca. I write the Friday-night-action-movie-books that I want to read. I call them: Action-packed action books of action. Thanks for checking them out. Tom Wright lives in Austin, TX with his wife, Molly, and their daughters, Tara Dactyl and Meg Alodan, and dogs Bear and Thor.
V. M. Jaskiernia writes dark fantasy romance in the her world of Noctuina. She's been writing for over ten years, and worldbuilding for a few more. She is influenced by mythology, fairy tales, modern fantasy, horror, and history. To receive emails with story excerpts, publication dates, and promotional days, please join the mailing list: https://bit.ly/VMJNewsletter Email her personally at vmjaskiernia@gmail.com Her website is https://vmjaskiernia.com/
I have done many things and few things with my life. One of the things I have not done is come up with a biography that somehow reflects my skills as a writer. This I shall now try. I have read a metric ton of text in my life. You could probably crush a dozen men beneath the weight.* I have studied creative writing at Spalding University, which turns out is simply reading and writing. I thought that was nice. I have spent countless hours watching fantasy films, at times awed and at other times disappointed. I have held swords and shields and dead things. I once undertook a daunting quest to recover the stolen car keys to my mother's station wagon. Maidens have handed me favors ranging from bracelets to perfume-drenched letters to lengths of fake hair. When I encounter dragons, I keep my wits about me and my gold coins close. I am a liar. I am a thief: I have stolen words out of men's mouths and claimed them as fictional musings. My friends often question me on my whereabouts (they seldom check Medieval Outfitters). I am not a serious person; of this, I am serious. I spent my formative years training myself to be a ninja. In this I can don dark clothing and climb the tallest trees, I can do a front roll and a cartwheel, and I can fashion a smoke bomb from a tennis ball and match heads. If you were to ask me a question I would instantly become evasive and confusing (mostly as a product of my uncertainty, but also because I'm super mysterious). Say something poignant, the Internet says. Very well. I have won many insignificant things and have lost many precious things. This, I feel, is important. It is one thing to hold an object in your hand knowing its worth is a paltry measure in regards to what you might have been holding. This idea of loss is a vibrant and living thing. It lets you see that what is offered is not always what should be taken, and that what should be taken is hardly ever offered. And there waits cynicism, the most powerful of writerly attributes. If you don't know hopelessness, or dejection, or heart ache, you do not know conflict. Pain can be observed on television, or read about in the paper. But to live it, that it what molds a heart and moves a soul. My writing can be dark and terrible and harsh. This is not a product of formal training, or awards, or degrees. It is a result of my humanness, of my longing to understand agony and love and how the two survive in the same world. My stories are studies of the human heart, of humanity's need for good, and of the dreadful movements of evil as done by minds capable of love. My stories are a study of myself. To all those who read about me, thank you.
M Todd Gallowglas has been a professional storyteller at Renaissance Faires and Medieval Festivals for over twenty years. After receiving his Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University in 2009, he used his storytelling show as a platform to launch his fiction career. He is the author of the Tears of Rage and Halloween Jack series, which have spent time on various bestseller lists. He was a fiction contributor for Fantasy Flight Games and developed creative content for the reboot of the children's classic Reading Rainbow. Now he spends most of his time trying to find the perfect balance between family, writing, airsoft (because it's not as messy as paintball), and gaming while he's not off somewhere telling stories. M Todd Gallowglas is a proud member of the Genre Underground.
