We just published the 9th issue of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly. The art for this edition was created by Bill Bricker. Here’s a rundown of the prose and poetry in HFQ 9:

Fiction Contents

THE DOME OF FLORENCE PART II, by Richard Marsden
The Inquisition-era adventures of Mahir and Filippo versus the sinister Prelate Dominus conclude in the second installment of HFQ’s first-ever novella.  If you missed the first part of The Dome of Florence, you can check it out here.

DEMON-FANG, by R. Michael Burns
The samurai Hokagé returns in this follow-up to HFQ Issue 3’s incredible Shadows from Firelight.  And if you haven’t yet read Shadows, go ahead and read this tale first; it’s very nearly a double-edged origin story — for both Hokagé and his sword, Demon-Fang.

OF CASTING PITS AND CAUSTIC SALTS, by Scott Andrews
Swords and sorcery, cloak and dagger, AND giant insects . . . what’s not to love?  One more mission and Turusha can leave behind a life of espionage — that is, if everything goes as she planned.

Poetry Contents

FRAGMENT THIRTY-SEVEN, by Robert Shmigelsky
Oh, if you only knew then what you know now . . .

CONFRONTING THE DEMON OF HIDDEN THINGS, by David Sklar
Three adventurers, three weapons, one outcome. And plenty left for you to ponder after the poem has ended! With this offering David enters rare air here at HFQ, becoming only the second poet we’ve published more than once. We encourage you to check out HFQ Issue 8 to read his previous work.

If you haven’t already, check out HFQ Issue 9 — and check back here soon for goings-on in the wacky world of Scandinavian interest. Uff da!

I’m still alive. Ja, I’ve said this before, I know. But I seriously am still walking the world in a mostly sound body, and I’m intent on returning to blogging and writing about Norse/Viking/Scandinavian stuff more regularly.

Why?

Because I miss doing so. And because — after 2.5 straight years of reading submissions, editing, and publishing on schedule — my buddies and I at Heroic Fantasy Quarterly are taking a break from such rigors.

It has been a fun ride at HFQ, and we’ll get back on the horse in due time. For now, though, real life and our own creative needs as writers demands a step back. As a writer, I can see now why some editors and agents are so susceptible to . . . terseness, irritability, and just plain flightiness. The flood of communications and seemingly never-ending to-do lists (all of which must be addressed in our free time after we’ve clocked out from our day jobs) weighs like, uh, Mjolnir against one’s skull.

So it is with an equal measure of sadness and relief that I hereby announce HFQ’s closure to submissions of FICTION until the end of January, 2012. We’re still open to poetry and art submissions, though, so keep those coming — speaking solely for myself, I’ll say that poetry has been and remains the most enjoyable and surprising component of what we’ve published at HFQ.

So stop by Heroic Fantasy Quarterly and read a poem or two and, meanwhile, also stand by for more frequent updates to Storm of the North blog.

Thanks for stopping by!

If you haven’t seen the footage of The Weather Channel’s Jim Cantore reporting from Chicago during the 2011 blizzard, do not miss the following links . . . [alleged] audio conspiracies abound!

You’re surely asking why the heck I’m talking about Jim Cantore and Chicago on this blog about things Norse — especially on Thor’s Day, the subject posts of which typically relate only to Thor himself.

Well, it’s because of the flash of blue and ear-splitting thunder amidst a blizzard in the following videos; think Thor’s hammer striking in a snowstorm — you’ll never see it coming! This scene perfectly captures the pants-crapping aspects of the Mjollnir-borne thundersnow scene in my novel . . . minus, of course, Cantore and Chicago.

Yes, yes, there’s lots of fun to be poked at me here — feel free to comment and point out the other obvious differences between myth and reality, Thor and Cantore, etc. This could be fun — just keep your comments clean and I’ll post them!

On, then, with the snow — I mean show:

First up we have the [allegedly] original and unedited version of Cantore’s reaction to the 2011 Chicago thundersnow:

And here’s the [allegedly] sanitized/dubbed version:

http://www.weather.com/outlook/videos/cantore-surprised-by-thunder-snow-19541

What do you think? I like the [allegedly] unsanitized version — it shows true emotional reaction. I’m giving it up to Cantore for not reacting by dropping MF-bombs and GD’s.

He also apparently did not crap his pants . . .

Happy New Year, everybody!

On January 1st we published our seventh issue of HeroicFantasyQuarterly. We pulled off a complete lineup this time, with three short stories and two poems:

Fiction Contents

LORD OF THE BRASS HOST, by Dariel Quiogue
Dare we call this beauty a tale of S&S steampunk upon the steppes? We dare!

THE LAST FREE BEAR, by J. S. Bangs
Hope drives them across the tundra, and revenge into a world of legend!

SHATTERING THE SPEAR, by P. Djeli Clark
When the forces of the Witch Priest threaten the Southlands, only the
mighty Zhusa and their allies stand in the way. But are unbreakable spears enough to stop this ancient evil . . .

Poetry

LAMENT FOR THE FATHERS, by Joshua Hampton
A poem seemingly straight from the middle ages! With this his second poem to grace our electronic pages, Mr. Hampton currently reigns as HFQ’s Poet Laureate. (You can check out the prior here, from the halcyon days of ’09.)

METTLE, by Scott Matthews
We couldn’t have asked for a better winter poem. Short but powerful, certain lines of this piece are sure to warm the hearts of heroic fans everywhere — you’ll know ‘em when you see ‘em!

This issue’s art is “Wizard’s Fire” by Simon Cowell.

In this issue we also unveiled the HFQ T-shirt, which you can check out and/or order by following the link posted in HFQ’s editorial.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy reading!

We successfully published Heroic Fantasy Quarterly Issue 6. This time, we found two cool stories and two poems. From our editorial:

HEART OF MAN, by David Pilling
Heathen rites and anti-establishment battles in ye olde Britain. Last issue we mentioned HFQ would consider publishing historical fantasy –  stories like this are why we opened the doors to real world settings.

THE SEA WASP, by Robert Rhodes
Thuggery on the high seas as superstitious corsairs abscond with a young scribe. What’s the saying? You can take the boy out of the city, but you can’t take the city out of the boy . . .

Poetry:

AMBITION, PURPOSE, OUTCOME, by Charles Saplak
The future is a hard thing to know. But you knew that. Nevermind — we think you’ll like this one.

THE DANCE, by Shennandoah Diaz
How long did you think it would last?

Hope you’ll check out this issue of HFQ. Thanks for stopping by!

And after a long absence from Storm of the North blog, I’m looking forward to posting more routinely very soon.

Stay tuned for ongoing Norse goodness!

I landed on SpikeTV and what to my wondering eyes did appear? A what-if battle between my two favorite brands of historical fighting men: Viking vs. Samurai.

The program is called Deadliest Warrior, in which weapons and armor are put through various controlled tests to measure effectiveness against the opponent at hand. Some pretty cool analytics — including laser measurements for strike-speed and pressure measurements for power — are involved. But the best part involves actual blows by expert fighters against anatomically correct dummies that explode in fake blood and bone and brains. Amazing stuff.

I’m not going to tell you which warrior Spike’s team deemed superior, but if you’d like to check out Viking brawn vs. Samurai finesse, here’s a link to this episode of Deadliest Warrior:

http://www.spike.com/full-episode/viking-vs-samurai/31558

Thanks for stopping by. See ya next time!

I’m happy to say we published Heroic Fantasy Quarterly Issue 4 last week — right on time! We found two cool stories and poems this go ’round. This issue’s banner art is by Jesus Garcia Lopez, whose website and other work you can find a link to at HFQ. I hope you’ll check it out when you get a chance.

Thanks for stopping by!

Enjoy:

Thanks for stopping by. I hope to start posting more routinely in the coming weeks — real life (all good) has gotten in the way of my virtual one.

I couldn’t believe my eyes! THUNDER AND PLUNDER was emblazoned atop the design, with THOR D FORCE beneath. THOR D FORCE? Seriously — I had to rewind the DVR to make sure I hadn’t misread the more traditional expression “TOUR de FORCE”.

Clearly, this is a Vikings team that knows its roots. Even though they beat my Cowboys like adolescent thralls, I’ll be pulling for the Vikings against the Saints. Vikings defensive ends Jared Allen and Ray Edwards along with defensive tackles Pat and Kevin Williams are a force indeed, and I heartily endorse the name they’ve come up with for their unit: THUNDER AND PLUNDER. I’ve looked high and low for an image of the shirt and have struck out. But rest assured I’ll post it when I find it.

Until then here’s an image of the almost-as-cool Four Norsemen T-shirt depicting Bret “Old Man” Favre, Adrian “Butterfingers” Peterson, Percy “Headaches”  Harvin, and Jared “Mullet” Allen:

With monikers like those, you gotta wonder how the Vikings keep winning. Or do you? If you understand Norse lore, you already know: individuality and ferocity can combine to make a formidable team — fashion, finesse, and age be damned.

Thanks for stopping by. See ya next time!