Читать книгу The Darrell Schweitzer MEGAPACK ® - Darrell Schweitzer - Страница 3

A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

Darrell Schweitzer is one of the best kept secrets in the field of the fantastic. He is a writer of amazing and otherworldly tales—sometimes in the vein of H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, or Robert E. Howard, but more often than not, distinctly his own. Surely no one else could have written “Pennies from Hell,” or “Peeling It Off,” or “Refugees from an Imaginary Country,” or so many other memorable tales in this collection.

He is a frequest guest at East Coast science fiction conventions. And he is a scholarly authority on innumerable obscure subjects. (Just ask him about 3rd century Roman coins. Go on. I dare you! Did I mention he is also a dealer in rare and antiquarian coins?)

It’s hard to believe, but I first met him 36 years ago at Philcon, a science fiction convention in Philadelphia, where he had a dealer’s table. (Did I mention he is also a dealer in rare and antiquarian books?) He sold me dozens of back issues of science fiction magazines at bargain prices. (He didn’t remember me, of course, when we met again the following year; but I kept coming back and giving him my money anyway.) His knowledge of the field is encyclopedic, and he can recommend a book to almost anyone’s taste, no matter how obscure.

When I was 19, I joined him as an assistant editor of Amazing Stories magazine, which was at the time edited from Philadelphia, under the leadership of George Scithers. I learned a fantastic amount of how a magazine should run from Darrell, who was never too busy to answer questions, explain the procedures our boss had in place, and hone my editorial skills. And he patiently read my own early manuscripts and commented on them (often to my dismay!) with a razor-sharp editorial eye.

After Amazing Stories, Darrell helped revive the classic pulp magazine Weird Tales (with assistance from George Scithers and me—we formed an editorial triumvirate). With its first issue, Weird Tales surpassed the circulation of Amazing Stories...quite a feat!

Some years later, after I left Weird Tales for an editorial career in New York, George Scithers assumed the publisher role at WT and Darrell became the titular editor. He is a World Fantasy Award-winner (as co-editor of Weird Tales, an honor shared with George Scithers), as well as a World Fantasy Award-nominee for his own fiction.

He continues to live in Philadelphia, surrounded by cats, coins, books, and a wife of infinite patience who also happens to be a very talented writer herself (Marilyn “Mattie” Brahen).

—John Betancourt

Publisher, Wildside Press LLC

www.wildsidepress.com

ABOUT THE MEGAPACKS

Over the last few years, our “Megapack” series of ebook anthologies has proved to be one of our most popular endeavors. (Maybe it helps that we sometimes offer them as premiums to our mailing list!) One question we keep getting asked is, “Who’s the editor?”

The Megapacks (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes John Betancourt, Mary Wickizer Burgess, Sam Cooper, Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, Bonner Menking, Colin Azariah-Kribbs, Robert Reginald. A. E. Warren, and many of Wildside’s authors…who often suggest stories to include (and not just their own!).

A NOTE FOR KINDLE READERS

The Kindle versions of our Megapacks employ active tables of contents for easy navigation…please look for one before writing reviews on Amazon that complain about the lack! (They are sometimes at the ends of ebooks, depending on your reader.)

RECOMMEND A FAVORITE STORY?

Do you know a great classic science fiction story, or have a favorite author whom you believe is perfect for the Megapack series? We’d love your suggestions! You can post them on our message board at http://movies.ning.com/forum (there is an area for Wildside Press comments).

Note: we only consider stories that have already been professionally published. This is not a market for new works.

TYPOS

Unfortunately, as hard as we try, a few typos do slip through. We update our ebooks periodically, so make sure you have the current version (or download a fresh copy if it’s been sitting in your ebook reader for months.) It may have already been updated.

If you spot a new typo, please let us know. We’ll fix it for everyone. You can email the publisher at wildsidepress@yahoo.com or use the message boards above.