What's in a Week - Vol. 55

Summer break vanished like an ephemeral fog on a desert morning. This week it's back to school in LA, and with it, a return to routines. I...think we're ready?

Only 2 Days Left on Indiegogo Crowdfunder!

For our first cross-genre anthology, Of Shadows, Stars, and Sabers (publishing in February 2025), we are crowdfunding. Help us reach our goals to fund this book, pay our authors, and get it out into the world to readers. There are two resources to do so.

Via Indiegogo:

Currently we are 26% funded for this LIMITED campaign, with 2 days left. This is a more typical backer campaign that we made by popular request. But it is quite limited. We appreciate any shares!

Anthology: Of Shadows, Stars, and Sabers

A cross-genre anthology of stellar writers edited by authors Jendia Gammon and Gareth L. Powell. | Check out ‘Anthology: Of Shadows, Stars, and Sabers’ on Indiegogo.

Indiegogo

Via Ko-Fi:

https://ko-fi.com/post/Publishing-Imprint-News-and-Opportunity-H2H2XH2SN

This is an ongoing campaign. Money donated goes directly to paying our authors and for expenses in the making of the book. It also ensures we can make more anthologies! We have two more planned for 2025, which are themed. Thank you for your support.

Cover Artist Interview with Niall Grant!

Too often, we'll see great book covers and not know who made the art. Not with us. I'm an artist, and I celebrate other artists, and have commissioned many over the past several years. When I saw Niall Grant's exquisite illustrations, my Art Nouveau and classical art-loving heart sang. I knew he'd be perfect for Of Shadows, Stars, and Sabers. After he completed the cover art, I sent him interview questions. Read the interview and see more samples of his fabulous art!

Meet Cover Artist Niall Grant – Stars and Sabers

Today we’re sharing a special interview with cover artist Niall Grant , illustrator of the gorgeous cover art for Of Shadows, Stars, Sabers , our 2025 debut ant

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New Anthology Author: John Wiswell!

This week, we welcomed author John Wiswell to our anthology roster. He submitted a wonderful fantasy story involving magical creatures! Read about John on our Stars and Sabers Publishing site:

Anthology Contributor: John Wiswell – Stars and Sabers

We are overjoyed to announce that John Wiswell has joined our cross-genre anthology, Of Shadows, Stars, and Sabers ! John Wiswell is an ace/aro author who lives

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Anthology Author Feature: Renan Bernardo

We are also adding our previously-announced authors to our News site! Be sure to read about Renan Bernardo:

Anthology Contributor: Renan Bernardo – Stars and Sabers

We are pleased to feature our anthology contributor Renan Bernardo , author of science fiction and fantasy. Renan is a 2023 Nebula Finalist, an Ignyte Finalist,

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On the Screen

You probably guessed that I'm spy movie pilled at the moment. (Well, every moment. Always...I'll get to that in a minute.) I hadn't seen Melissa McCarthy's 2015 comedy Spy, and last night I remedied that!

I LOVED this movie. I laughed so hard, and I was also on the edge of my seat! There aren't many films that can offer up both for me. I highly recommend this blast of a movie, with fun guest stars to boot!

Now...a brief history of film. I love spy movies probably because I was raised on them, as much as with science fiction, fantasy, and horror. There's a reason Stars and Sabers will publish sci-fi, fantasy, horror, AND mystery/thriller. I want to publish what I want to read. My first two movies I can remember seeing in the theater were in 1977, and one was Star Wars, and the other was The Spy Who Loved Me, with Roger Moore as agent 007, aka James Bond. I saw way too many such films at way too young an age, brought by my parents; but I loved them. I still do! And yes, of course I want to write my own spy thriller. (You do get a thriller from me in 2025, Atacama, but I do want a separate actual spy book.)

On the Page

I'm currently reading an advance review copy of Where Dark Things Grow by author Andrew K. Clark, who I'm interviewing this week on my YouTube channel. As a fellow Appalachian, I'm looking forward to our talk, and greatly enjoying the book!

Meanwhile, my husband Gareth L. Powell revealed the cover for his 2025 space opera novel, Future's Edge, publishing via Titan Books. You can now preorder it from your favorite bookseller!

Writing Update

This week has been focused chiefly on editing stories for the anthology, but I have squeezed in the writing when I can as well.

Currently, I'm writing the sequel to my Nebula & BSFA finalist book, The Inn at the Amethyst Lantern, titled The Secret of the Sapphire Sentinel.

I also wrote and submitted some new short stories, which I hope find a publishing home soon. Related to that, I've also been compiling two short story collections: one that is a light/cozy mix of fantasy and science fiction tales, and the other which is comprised of horror stories (nothing light or cozy with that one!).

And finally, I made a non-fiction book proposal to a favorite publisher for a writing book. No idea if it'll even get a second glance, but I thought it was worthwhile to try! If you don't ask, you don't get, as the saying goes.

The Week Ahead

This coming week will be wild, with back-to-school adjustments, science writing work deadlines, and generally reorganizing life around the school year routine. I do look forward to it, but will miss my kids so much during the day. I am eager to hear about what they learn, new friends they make, and so on, however.

Wishing you and yours an easy week ahead.

Write on!
Jendia