Yes, now it can be told! Coming very soon (as in, we’re rushing as fast as we can) from Fox Spirit Books is this fabulous new collection WEIRD NOIR! Dig that awesome cover art from the amazingly talented S. L. Johnson (AKA the Queen of Everything). It’s been tough sorting through the story submissions; some terrific stories that just didn’t fit the umbrella and some stories that just didn’t work for me. Each editor has their own tastes and pleasures, so this topic in other hands might well have come out differently. I kind of hope there will be other anthologies in a similar vein — we need more weirdness and more noir!

Here’s the table of contents: you’ll probably recognise some names — I wasn’t about to try something like this (however much Adele supported me and thank you for that, my friend) without a few ringers I could pester for a story. But you’ll likely see some names you don’t know — either folks who are newish to the writing game or folks who regularly work in another genre. Some people found themselves surprised by the twists their stories took. I was delighted. The tales veer from darkly horrific to wickedly funny (sometimes within the same story). But they all groove on the noir aesthetic and they’re all weird in some way: some subtle, some broad, some magical, some uncannily horrifying. I may play with the running order yet, but I think I have it sorted so each story surprises.

Thanks to Adele, Stephanie, Daz (in advance, as I know your hard work in the copy editing is just beginning) and all the writers.

WEIRD NOIR

Introduction

A Kick in the Head by Chloë Yates

Violets and Furs by Richard Godwin

Sins of the Brother by Karina Fabian

Across the Border by Hector Acosta

Corkscrewed by Jan Kozlowski

East of Écarté by Andrez Bergen

3 Kings and The Mark by Carol Borden

Black Moon Rising by Paul D. Brazill

The Darkness Cult by Jennifer Martin

Identity Crisis by Katherine Tomlinson

A Diabolical Liberty by Jason Michel

Evil and Life by Asher Wismer

Gus Weatherbourne by Michael S. Chong

Wonder Woman Walks into a Bar by Leeyanne Moore

Charred Kraken with Plum Butter by Christopher L. Irvin

Yao Jin by Joyce Chng

Train Tracks by W. P. Johnson