“Darkness of the Light, first of a series, is another quirky, intriguing, wonderful tale, filled with adventure and unexpected plot twists.  No one else tells a story quite like Peter David does.”

                                                            –Terry Brooks

Thousands of years ago, a small number of extra-dimensional creatures—scarcely a hundred or so from twelve different races—landed on our world.  Although they were quickly hunted into oblivion, they made an indelible impression on humanity, forming the basis for most every creature of myth and fancy that exist:  Cyclops, vampires, dragons, fairies, trolls, mermaids and many more.

In the middle of the 21^st century, they returned, not by the hundreds, but in the millions.  The battle for survival was fierce and bloody and, in the end, humanity lost.

Now, in an undetermined time, humanity is nearly extinct.  The Twelve Races are now locked in endless battle with each other, fighting for whatever scraps of survival remain on his planet they refer to as the Damned World. The few human survivors that remain are slaves, like Jepp, a young woman who is a helpless servant to one of the more fearsome races, the serpentine Mandraques.

But when, after a particularly lethal battle, Jepp falls in with a group of scavenging Bottom Feeders, her life begins to change.  And those changes are going to wind up having a major impact on the Damned World, although whether they will result in the return of the human race or the ultimate destruction of all remaining life on what is nothing but a Hidden Earth, no one can say for certain.

Originally released in 2007 and now out of print, Crazy 8 Press is thrilled to be able to kickstart Peter David’s rich and complex trilogy.  This will begin with the re-release of the debut novel, available as an eBook for the first time, and at the introductory price of $2.99.  This will then be immediately followed by the release of the long-awaited sequel, Height of the Depths as an eBook at $5.99 and trade paperback at $15.99.  Both will feature new covers by acclaimed artist J.K. Woodward.  A wry combination of Game of Thrones, Supernatural and Planet of the Apes, Peter David’s The Hidden Earth is a must-have for fans of epic fantasy.

As promised, the IRS has determined I really am Robert Greenberger and Barnes & Noble has made my story, “A Matter of Faith”, available for Nook readers. Please try it let me know what you think.

After technical difficulties slowly derailed the best laid plans of Crazy 8 Press, my old story, “A Matter of Faith” is now available for the Kindle. The Nook edition will follow next week (once the IRS confirms I am really myself).

As discussed here recently, it’s one of two original short stories I’ve written and published through the years and I am pleased as punch to be able to have them available once more.

By all means, invest the 99 cents and see for yourself. As a bonus, there will be a sample chapter of Mike Friedman’s Fight the Gods, which will be available later this month. If you buy it, thank you. I certainly want your feedback.

I first met Brian Thomsen when he was editing the Questar line of science fiction for Warner Books. Even though DC Comics was a division under the Book division’s purview at the time, the two never shared events. We worked a floor apart and it might as well have been a world away.

Brian, though, was a comics fan and delighted in breaking that barrier. In time, as happens everywhere, Brian chose to move on and became a freelance editor, writer, and book packager. (He would also continue to visit DC on Wednesdays, bringing Julie Schwartz sushi for lunch and they would chat, which resulted in Brian co-authoring Julie’s must read autobiography Man of Two Worlds.)

During all this time, Brian knew I was honing my craft, and finally getting some fiction assignments. One day, after lunch was over, Brian told me he had sold an anthology called Mob Magic and did I want to contribute. He’d already gotten a commitment from Denny O’Neil and I knew I’d be in good company. I wrote a story called “Solo” and it saw print, the book barely got noticed and life continued.

Sometime later, Brian informed me he had sold two books to DAW and was I interested in pitching to either of them. He had the broadest and vaguest of parameters, allowing the authors to be free in their thinking. I could not tell you today why I picked Oceans of Space instead of Oceans of Magic.

I set about to challenge myself in several ways, writing a story entirely through dialogue as well as a mutiny trial aboard a starship – things I had never written before. The result, “A Matter of Faith” was accepted, edited, and saw print. Unfortunately, as with so many anthologies, it sort of faded away.

With deep regret, I watched Brian go through health issues and shortly after I contributed some essays to a book of his, he unexpectedly passed away. He had been a terrific help to my writing career, a fun guy to talk with, and generally a fine human being. I still miss him.

These two stories are my only original works and I am thrilled to have a forum to make them available once more. Coming in a few days will be “A Matter of Faith” and I have to thank Aaron Rosenberg for the fine cover. “Solo” will follow eventually, but there I created something I want to explore further and need some time to fuss with so stay tuned.

In its first appearance at the defining convention of what’s cool in American pop culture, Crazy 8 Press was well-represented. Any of the Hollywood hotshots who attended the party hosted by Wayne Brady party Saturday night saw the C8 logo displayed prominently on the invite, and was able to pick up one of the specially designed collectible C8 cards. And, courtesy of party overlord Michael Davis, Peter David was spotted talking up C8 to Wayne Brady himself.

Speaking of the ubiquitous David, an overview of his career was the main topic of the International Media Tie in Writers Association panel on Friday where he was given that organization’s lifetime achievement award, the “Faust.” There he discussed, among other things, the current state of the industry that gave rise to the writer’s cooperative called Crazy 8, and was garnering MUCH interest in the endeavor from other writers in the audience. He was also seen talking up C8 to an interviewer for Ain’t It Cool News, getting the word out as far as it will reach.

Meanwhile visitors to the busy Comic Book Legal Defense Fund table were able to pick up limited edition cards promoting “Demon’s Circle,” the collaborative, round robin short story that was written by the C8 team at Shore Leave as a CBLDF fund raiser. If you haven’t checked out the story here then you should do so immediately, because the CBLDF is a worthy organization fighting on behalf of your First Amendment rights.

Crazy 8: Taking over San Diego one fan at a time.