Lon T. Williams followed Robert E. Howard in writing weird westerns. Rather obscure, he was first republished by Larry Estep at pulpgen.com (which has now vanished into the aether). Williams’ stories of deputy sheriff Lee Winters, most of which appeared in Real Western Stories, are formulaic, with the hero encountering weirdness as he returns from… Continue reading Lon T. Williams : Weird writings of a Law Clerk
Category: Stories
Battle Stories, December 1930: Killer Stories?
After a long series of articles on Black Mask, I felt the need for a change. So here’s a review of a pulp title you don’t see that often: Fawcett’s Battle Stories. It was an attempt to cash in on the large and active group of American World War 1 veterans. These veterans had already… Continue reading Battle Stories, December 1930: Killer Stories?
Secrets of the Mask, part 2: The August 1922 issue
Last week, we saw how Black Mask started and how the first editor, Florence May Osborne, left after two years with the magazine. This week we’ll take a look at one of the issues she edited (August 1922) and see what the quality of the magazine was. The issue we’re reviewing is one issue before… Continue reading Secrets of the Mask, part 2: The August 1922 issue
Ten crimes for your dime: Ten Detective Aces, Feb 1935 (free at Archive.org)
This New Year, I made a resolution to live healthy. That resolution includes a commitment to a regular intake of pulpy goodness. This month’s pick-me-up is a 1930s issue of Ten Detective Aces, a magazine started by Harold Hersey before being bought by A. A. Wyn. Its gimmicks were ten stories every issue, all complete,… Continue reading Ten crimes for your dime: Ten Detective Aces, Feb 1935 (free at Archive.org)
Craving hardboiled pulp? Try the first issue of Texas Western free, now at archive.org
Launching a new pulp in 1953, as the last flakes of the once mighty pulp empires fluttered around the publisher’s offices, was a bold decision. What were they thinking? Here is an excerpt from the editorial in the first issue of Texas Western: Here it is, readers, the magazine you’ve been demanding! TEXAS WESTERN is… Continue reading Craving hardboiled pulp? Try the first issue of Texas Western free, now at archive.org
Free: One story every month
If you join my mailing list, I’ll send one such story each month. The story might be a western, action, humorous, science fiction, fantasy, horror or anything that I like. Stories which won’t be worth reprinting on their own, but are still of interest to the readers of this blog. An unusual story for its… Continue reading Free: One story every month
Bibliography of the Thornley Colton stories
Continued from last week’s post on Clinton H. Stagg who the creator of the first blind detective, Thornley Colton.All eight Thornley Colton stories were published in People’s magazine, Street and Smith’s companion to The Popular Magazine , from February 1913 to October 1913. One story per issue except for August 1913. People’s is one of… Continue reading Bibliography of the Thornley Colton stories
Early SF story: The Human Brick by Mary C. Francis
It’s been a while since i posted some fiction on this blog. So here’s a story i read about when i was glancing through The Moons of Mars: A History and Anthology of The Scientific Romance in the Munsey Magazines 1912 – 1920, by Sam Moskowitz. The author, Mary Cornelia Francis, was born in Ohio,… Continue reading Early SF story: The Human Brick by Mary C. Francis
O’Henry award winning stories – One Head, Well Done by John D. Swain
Another in the series of posts on O’Henry award winning stories from pulp magazines. This is the one that started me thinking about doing the series. John D. Swain’s One Head, Well Done in the , November 1, 1930 issue of Top-Notch Magazine won the O’Henry award in 1931. It was a lucky win, since… Continue reading O’Henry award winning stories – One Head, Well Done by John D. Swain
O’Henry award winning stories – Home is the Sailor by Bill Adams
[I recently read a story from Top-Notch magazine, John D. Swain’s One head, well done in a short story collection of O’Henry prize winning stories from 1931. I decided to take a look at all the stories i had in my collection that had won this prize.] This story was published in Blue Book magazine,… Continue reading O’Henry award winning stories – Home is the Sailor by Bill Adams