Warmed and Bound is an anthology of short stories stitched together by the people at The Velvet and edited by the beautiful and talented Pela Via.

I’ve stated already the huge amount of talent crammed inside this amazing noir collection, so I won’t do that again.

For those with an tendency toward great noir fiction, this collection simply will not disappoint. In fact, the amazing Steve Erickson has offered his own view words to this effect:

“The writers of The Velvet are contemporary fiction’s most effective and least self-conscious aesthetic guerrillas…the result is fiction at once conceived from high artistic intent and executed with depraved populist energy.”

Head over to the Warmed and Bound site for all the purchase information. Currently the book can be ordered through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Powells.

This entire post is pulled from the Warmed & Bound book site, written by editor Pela Via. If she didn’t already have the words, I swear this could have come from my fingers verbatim (though with less Caleb Ross praise; I try to subdue the ego as much as I can):

It was this time last year I sent out the first anthology emails. If I remember right, first to JR Harlan, begging for his story “Love,” and to Craig Clevenger, with more unsubtle begging. Then others, Richard Thomas, Gordon Highland and Caleb Ross, asking for publishing advice and whether they liked various titles—one a play on the well-loved existing phrase: The Velvet warms and binds.

I don’t know what happened between then and now. But this photo, and rumors of other people to be similarly inked, tell one part of it better than I could.

The idea of a Velvet anthology existed well before I was involved. And somehow, we still managed to stumble into something incredible with this project. I am in awe. And tempted to frame Doc’s arm in my home. It has come to mean more to me each day I’ve known about it.

The ink makes sense when you see how much these writers care—about the work and about each other. I’m lucky to have been involved. The book is lucky to have these writers.

Website: warmedandbound.com
Twitter: @WarmedAndBound
Facebook: Warmed and Bound
Facebook (The Velvet): The Velvet

This stop is a big one for me. Oft visitors will know that I am a big Chuck Palahniuk fan (I even defend Tell-All and Snuff). And in being so, it goes without saying that I frequent the official Chuck Palahniuk fan site, The Cult, quite often (I’m thirstygerbil over there). So, when Stranger Will was chosen as the May 2011 official book club pick, I danced a bit.

If you’ve read Stranger Will, please head over to the forums and offer a few comments. Respond to other comments as well. Engage. Be a member of the literary community. Say what you like. Say what you hate. I can take it. And to further encourage your participation, know that I WILL NOT be posting in the book club forum until toward the end of the month, so feel free to be absolutely honest with your discussion. The only caveat being that if some contacts me (via email or PM) with a specific request to comment, then I will.

If you haven’t read Stranger Will, still swing by the forums and read what people are saying. Who knows, maybe it will entice you to read it. Or, maybe it will keep you from wasting your money on it.

Author Brandon Tietz (appropriately, brandon.tietz, at The Cult) will be moderating the discussion. He’s a great writer, and a damn smart guy, so I’m sure he will do my genius justice.

Click here to go to the discussion. Also, don’t forget that if you comment on all guest blog posts, you will get free stuff.

See all tour stops here

I would normally hold off on announcing a publication until the publication in question has been, well, published. But Warmed and Bound is different. Warmed and Bound is a story collection many, many years in the making. Honestly, since the start of The Velvet forums, the idea of a collected story collection has been tossed around. And finally, with talent figuratively forcing apart the forum seams, it’s about time the group warmth is bound for all to read.

What makes this collection especially amazing is not only the number of stories included, but the degree of talent to be contained within. This table of contents features some of the greatest writers going right now, honestly. I truly consider my small contribution to this thing a very, very high point of my short career.

Seriously, look at this Table of Contents. This is for real, people. I’m excited to be bound next to each and every one of these people, but a few of the front-men I’m eager to play the drums for are Matt Bell, Paul G Tremblay, Jeremy Robert Johnson, Craig Davidson, Stephen Graham Jones, Blake Butler, Vincent Louis Carrella, Craig Clevenger, and THE Brian Evenson.

The full ToC:

Death Juggler by Axel Taiari
Click-Clack by Caleb J Ross
The World Was Clocks by Amanda Gowin
Mantodea by Matt Bell
All the Acid in the World by Gavin Pate
Crazy Love by Cameron Pierce
Chance the Dick by Paul G Tremblay
Soccer Moms and Pro Wrestler Dads by Bradley Sands
Take Arms Against a Sea by Mark Jaskowski
This Will All End Well by Nik Korpon
Midnight Souls by Christopher J Dwyer
The Tree of Life by Edward J Rathke
The Killer by Brian Evenson
Headshot by Gordon Highland
Inside Out by Sean Ferguson
Laws of Virulence by Jeremy Robert Johnson
Bruised Flesh by Craig Wallwork
Bad, Bad, Bad Bad Men by Craig Davidson
Three Theories on the Murder of John Wily by by J David Osborne
The Road Lester Took by Stephen Graham Jones
My German Daughter by Nic Young
What Was There Inside the Child by Blake Butler
Seed by Gayle Towell
They Take You by Kyle Minor
The Redemption of Garvey Flint by Vincent Louis Carrella
Blood Atonement by DeLeon DeMicoli
The Liberation of Edward Kellor by Anthony David Jacques
Act of Contrition by Craig Clevenger
Say Yes to Pleasure by Richard Thomas
The Weight of Consciousness by Tim Beverstock
If You Love Me by Doc O’Donnell
Touch by Pela Via
Love by JR Harlan
Practice by Bob Pastorella
Fading Glory by Brandon Tietz
Little Deaths by Gary Paul Libero
We Sing the Bawdy Electric by Rob Parker
In Exile by Chris Deal

Richard Thomas, throbbing heart heart throb and master of duct tape

Though too early really to benefit my good man Richard Thomas as far as direct sales go, it’s never too early to push a friend’s work. In June, Richard’s novel, Transubstantiate, will be the debut novel from Otherworld Publications. They’ve got a good seed with this one; I’ve had the pleasure of reading an early version of the novel.

From the official press release:

About Transubstantiate:

“They say Jimmy made it out.  But the postcards we get, well, they don’t seem…real.”

When an experiment with population control works too well, and the planet is decimated, seven broken people are united by a supernatural bond in a modern day Eden.  Most on the island are fully aware of this prison disguised as an oasis.  Unfortunately, Jimmy is on the mainland, desperate to get back, in a post-apocalyptic stand-off, fighting for his survival and that of his unborn child.  Back on the island, Jacob stares at the ocean through his telescope and plots his escape, reluctant to aid the cause.  Marcy tries to hide from her past, sexual escapades that may be her saving grace.  X sits in his compound, a quiet, massive presence, trapped in his body by ancient whispers and yet free in spirit to visit other places and times.  Roland, the angry, bitter son of Marcy is determined to leave, and sets out on his own.  Watching over it all is Assigned, the ghost in the machine.  And coming for them, to exact revenge, and finish the job that the virus started, is Gordon.  He just landed on the island and he has help.

Transubstantiate is a neo-noir thriller, filled with uncertainty at every portal, and jungles infiltrated with The Darkness. Vivid settings, lyrical language, and a slow reveal of plot, motivation, past crimes and future hope collide in a showdown that keeps you guessing until the final haunting words.

Transubstantiate: to change from one substance into another.

Nik Korpon, life wrangler and cunning existentialist

And with the same press will come Nik Korpon’s novel, Stay God, which I’ve also had the extreme pleasure of reading. Korpon’s got a literary voice that can’t be ignored (unless you can’t read; in which case, ignore away).

From the official press release:

About Stay God:

Damon lives a content life, playing video games and dealing drugs from his second-hand store while his girlfriend, Mary, drops constant hints about marriage. If only he could tell her his name isn’t really Damon. If only he could tell her who he really is. But after he witnesses a friend’s murder, a scarlet woman glides into his life, offering the solution to all of his problems. His carefully constructed existence soon shatters like crystal teardrops and he must determine which ghosts won’t stay buried—and which ones are trying to kill him—if he wants to learn why Mary has disappeared.

Both authors will be reading at the OW Press The Velvet reading in April, too. So, if you are in Denver, show up and throw stuff at them.