It’s been awhile since we posted here.  Anthony and Jay are still hard at work getting Volume 4 ready to sail, and have been busy taking care of their respective fledgeling families (Zero Hour! editorial interns Jack and Ava Butkowski entered the world on June 14, and design intern Lily Schiavino followed shortly thereafter on August 5).

However, we just couldn’t let Halloween come and go without our annual Trick or Treat.

Over at Pulptone.com, Anthony’s compiled a number of his flash fiction efforts into an ePub document for viewing on your favorite mobile devices.  If that wasn’t enough, he included Of Moon and Stars and Other Matters of the Night, his contribution to the upcoming Episodes from the Zero Hour!, Volume Four.  Consider it a taste of what’s to come… it’s a creepy little tale reminiscent of Jim Henson’s The Storyteller and is a great representation of what’s to come in our Weird Tales compilation.

So if you’re looking for some freebie fiction, or a preview of what’s to come, check out ANTHOLOGY: GUNS, GAMS, DRINKS AND DIAPERS, hosted over on Google Docs.

And just remember, just because it may not be socially acceptable to wear your Halloween costume year ’round, that doesn’t mean you can’t bring a little taste of All Hallow’s Eve with you on your eReader enabled mobile phones, tablets and other mobile devices.

Enjoy.  And Trick or Treat.

Coming Soon. Cover art by Dirk Shearer. Design by Anthony Schiavino.

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The back cover.

The theme this week is cocktails, and Anthony chose one of the classics from the 20s and 30s, the Jack Rose, to base his 500-word flash fiction story on.

To wet your whistle in preparation of Anthony’s story in Volume 4, check out his story — Jack Rose — on his Pulp Tone Web site, and follow Chuck’s weekly flash fiction challenge to read some great, multi-genre short fiction, with a new challenge announced every Friday.  To read this week’s entries, collected in the comments section of the post, check here.

Episodes from the Zero Hour! Volume 4 is the first time we’ll be stepping away (not entirely, but mostly) from the serialized fiction model we’ve used in the previous three volumes.  It’s going to be a collection of stand-alone stories, and with this one, we’ve chosen a theme that’s in running with our eclectic tastes and the rich pulp history available to us.

Zero Hour! 4 is our homage to the weird fiction magazines of the pulp era.  Books like Weird Tales, Strange Tales, and even, to some extent, the Tales from the Crypt comic book helped to really cement the idea of horror and fantasy fiction into the collective unconsciousness, inspiring so many of today’s masters.  Of course, weird fiction is kind of a subjective term… one of the really interesting things about this book is seeing how different authors interpret the theme differently.

And that brings us to the next bit of news:  our line-up.  In the previous books, we’ve kept the line-up of authors small, but this time around, we’re expanding on the number of creators taking a crack at the Weird Episodes from the Zero Hour!.  Some of these names are familiar, and others are new to Zero Hour!, though well established in the world of modern pulp.  Our authors for Volume 4 are:

• Anthony Schiavino, founder of Episodes from the Zero Hour!, and creator of independent comic book, Sgt. Zero.  This will be Anthony’s second time writing for the Zero Hour!; his first work, “C.T. and the Savage Chimps of Cannibal Mesas,” can be found in Volume 3;
• Bobby Nash, a freelance writer of novels, short stories, comic books, novellas, and graphic novels for a variety of publishers.  You can find out more about Bobby’s work at his Web site, http://www.bobbynash.com/;
• Frank Schildner, a martial arts instructor and writer from New Jersey.  Frank has written pulp novels, comics, occult adventures and tales of ancient aliens on Earth that have been published in the United States and Europe;
• Stefan Dogaru, another Zero Hour! alum who’s returning for a second bite at the apple.  Stefan’s work can be seen in the serialized adventure short, “Mac Samson: The Secrets of the Lost City” featured in Volume 3;
• and finally, Jason Butkowski, the managing editor of Episodes from the Zero Hour! and creative mind behind Zero Hour! properties, “Knuckles, Tough Guy for Hire,” “Federal City Nocturne,” and “Rex Rockwell, Weird Game Hunter,” will be back again.  Jay’s breaking the one-shot rule with another Rex installment, and is contributing a second strange tale to the mix.

In addition to the five very-talented authors listed above, we’ve lined up a top-notch artistic talent to bring their stories to life.  Dirk Shearer is an illustrator, painter, designer and all-around artist from Pennsylvania Dutch country (I don’t think he’s Amish, but will ask him next time I get an e-mail from him).  Dirk’s putting together one heckuva cover, and will be handling interior illustrations as well.  His stuff can be found at http://www.dirkshearer.com/.  Yeah, on second thought, he probably isn’t Amish… what with all that computer stuff and all…

So, there you have it.  Keep an eye peeled for Episodes from the Zero Hour!, Volume 4 to hit book shelves some time in the spring of 2011.

We’re happy to announce that the three Episodes from the Zero Hour! books are featured in this year’s first-ever Forces of Geek Holiday Gift Guide!  Seeing Knuckles and Rex standing toe to toe with All Star Superman and the 30th Anniversary of Springsteen’s Born to Run on somebody’s holiday wish-list is pretty surreal.  Special thanks to geek gurus Stefan Blitz and Elizabeth Weitz for including us in their inaugural gift guide.

If you’re wondering where to pick up the Zero Hour! books for the special geek in your life, you can check out our publications pages for shopping cart links, or head on over to the Zero Hour! store on lulu.com (http://www.lulu.com/zerohour).  Or, if you’re in the New Hope, PA area, and looking for something more personal, swing by Farley’s Bookshop (http://www.farleysbookshop.com) on December 12 from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM for an autographed copy of Zero Hour! Volumes One and Three.  This will be the last Zero Hour! signing of 2010, so we hope to see some of you out there.

For the complete Forces of Geek Holiday Gift Guide, click here.

We’ll be signing from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM, but will likely end up hanging out a little later than 4, to accommodate all of you last minute shoppers.  You can get more information at Farley’s Web site, http://www.farleysbookshop.com.

This may be our last signing for a little bit, so come on out and pick up a copy of Episodes for the Zero Hour!, to give the gift of a good book to friends and family this holiday season.

From today, November 4 through Sunday, November 7, our friends at Farley’s Bookstore in New Hope will be at the 2010 Philadelphia NoirCon, and will have copies of Episodes from the Zero Hour! Volumes 1 and 3, on hand.  Even if you already have your copy, swing by their table and say hi… the guys and girls from Farley’s are truly nice people, and gave me a sneak peek at all the loot they’re bringing with them.  As the official bookseller of NoirCon, they pretty much have anything to sate your pulp tastes.  If you do make it over there, tell them Zero Hour! says hi!

You can find out more about NoirCon by visiting their official Web site: www.noircon.com.

And on Saturday night, the Zero Hour! crew will be in Hoboken at Symposia Bookstore and Community Center, signing copies of Episodes from the Zero Hour! Volumes 1 and 3 from 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM.  This is our last scheduled signing for a little bit before we go underground to finish up work on Zero Hour! 4 (the “Weird Stories” anthology!), so make sure you make it out to pick up a copy.  There’s also a very distinct possibility that the Zero Hour! creators will be available for a drink with the fans after the event on Saturday night, so if drinking’s your thing, this event is for you!

You can check out more information about Symposia by visiting their Web site: www.symposia.us.

So, two major metropolitan areas, two opportunities to get your Zero Hour! fix.  Hope to see you out there!

Last month, Jay’s ultra-short story, The Robbers, was selected as one of the featured scary stories read at the Asbury Park CityArts festival (hosted by the Arts Coalition of Asbury Park — www.artscap.org).  We asked Zero Hour! Volume 4 artist Dirk Shearer to take a break from his busy schedule and whip up a spot illustration and the result was just plain awesome.

Click on the image above, or the link below, to open “The Robbers” in printable Adobe .pdf format.  And look for more of Dirk’s artwork in our weird stories anthology, Episodes from the Zero Hour! Volume 4!

Zero Hour! Exclusive — The Robbers, 10-31-10

Story © Jason Butkowski, and artwork © Dirk Shearer, 2010.  All rights reserved.

Had a great time yesterday at Farley’s Bookshop in New Hope, PA!  Met some (hopefully) new fans, chatted it up with random passers-by on the street, and enjoyed the perfect fall weather in one of my favorite little towns.  Huge thanks to our hosts at Farley’s for rolling out the red carpet (they even gave me apple cider, folks!) and making me feel welcome.

If anyone took photos from yesterday (I saw someone snapping my pic via camera-phone from a moving car… I guess that’s how you know you’ve arrived…), please send them along to episodesfromthezerohour@gmail.com.

But despite the much-welcomed offering of apple cider, onwards we must go.  The engines of promotion never cease.

On November 6, we’ll be at Symposia Bookstore and Community Center in Hoboken, NJ (for you New York-types, it’s less than a mile from the Hoboken PATH stop… so come on out!) for an evening signing event from 7 to 9:30.  Afterwards, grab a drink with your favorite Zero Hour! creators (unless your favorites live outside the Garden State or are otherwise unable to attend).  You can check out Symposia at their Web site, www.symposia.us.

And we just got this bit of good news this weekend… our friends at Farley’s are the official bookseller of NoirCon 2010 in Philadelphia, and will have copies of Episodes from the Zero Hour! Volumes 1 and 3 on hand!  NoirCon is a four-day forum for fans of noir in all its forms — film, literary, etc.  This year, NoirCon is taking place from November 4 – 7 at the Society Hill Playhouse, 507 South 8th Street in Philadelphia.  Stop by the Farley’s booth, and say hi for us (and pick up a copy of one of our books, if you haven’t done so already).  All things NoirCon can be found at their site: www.noircon.com.

So one weekend, two metropolitan areas, two opportunities to get your Zero Hour! fix.  Swing by the Square Mile City to hang with the Zero Hour! crew, or head into the City of Brotherly Love to chill with the nice folks from Team Farley’s Bookshop.  Hope to see you there!

And far be it from us to rest on our laurels.

We have two new dates to announce for our Zero Hour! 2010 Book Signing Tour:

Sunday, October 24, Episodes from the Zero Hour! will be at Farley’s Bookshop in New Hope, PA.  They’ll have copies of Vols. 1 and 3 on hand, as well as poster-prints for sale, and a bunch of freebies.  Stop by and say hi, and enjoy a nice fall afternoon in New Hope. The signing will take place from 1 PM to 4 PM. Farley’s is located at 44 South Main Street, New Hope, PA 18938. Visit them online at http://farleys.indiebound.com/.

Saturday, November 6, the Zero Hour! crew will be at Symposia Community Bookstore in Hoboken, NJ from 7:00 – 9:30, with copies of Volume 1 and Volume 3, and the usual collection of extras that Zero Hour! fans have come to love. The signing is scheduled from 7:00 PM to 9:30.  Following the signing, Team Zero Hour! will likely hang around to grab a drink with the fans in the Mile Square City. Symposia Community Bookstore is located at 510 Washington Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Visit them on the Web at: http://www.symposiaproject.com.

Hope to see you at one of our upcoming appearances!