How's BAYOU? ARCANA be more excited!

Hello kiddies! Its your old pal Lovely Lee on the blog once again. This time I have news of a feast of fear that should be oozing its way into production soon.

When we put a call out for sex-maniacs... oops! sorry, I meant ex-Insomniacs to get in touch and lets us know what they're up to, Jimmy "The Reckoning" Pearson told us about a book he's working on that got my creepy Cajun heart all a-flutter, but I'll let him tell you about it in his own words. It's a book he plans to call...

"In the deep American South a band of escaped slaves seek shelter in a magical swamp that becomes not only their refuge...But their guardian as well!"

The vibe of Bayou Arcana is totally Southern Gothic/Swamp Thing-esque and should read like a horror-laced adult fairy tale. The book will be made up of about ten - 12 short stories (5-10 pages each) that will be written by different authors. I'll be doing four of the stories myself. Corey Brotherson (Butterflies and Moths) and Darren Ellis (Accent UK Zombie and Robots anthologies) are on two more and Martin Conaghan (Burke and Hare) has just confirmed he's doing a story. I have more guys up but I have to wait before I can confirm any names with you. The concept (and a unique selling point!) behind the anthology is to team male writers with female artists and see what a totally uni-sex team can produce. So far Valia Kapadai (who is working on the story The Tale of Ol' Mercy), Lynsey Hutchinson and Jenna Whyte are onboard with several others I can't confirm just yet but hopefully more news soon.

The Tale Of Ol' Mercy sets out the basics of the Bayou Arcana universe and acts as a kind-of "origins" story. I have written a book-end final chapter which sets out the parameters for the other writers and ensures we are working along a rough frame. This first book is intended to be the set-up for a bigger story which (hopefully!) will carry on in further volumes (with the same creative team if things work out). The writers we have onboard already are the sort of guys who you know will write something of meaning and depth without skimping on the visceral horror. I really hope to dig into a Bernie Wrightson-style Southern Gothic vibe with these stories and it will be interesting to see which direction the ladies take the imagery. I dare say the results will be unique.

I am still looking for a couple more writers and more artists so if anybody is interested (I would love for Cy Dethan to script a story!) in getting involved please get in contact!

I spent a lot of time at BICS listening to what publishers were looking for (when they weren't groaning about how bad things are) and it came up time and time again that they were keen for horror/dark fantasy with a feminine twist and this is how the concept for the anthology evolved. I had written the first Bayou Arcana script about a year ago and it was only post-BICS that the concept of teaming guys and gals came to me. The response so far has been excellent in such a short time and it would be awesomely helpful if you could put out a call for any interested parties.

Because this is work on spec I am providing the sweetner of a full and equal share of intellectual rights to everyone involved in this first book. Once we have pieced together enough of the project to start shopping the book to publishers I am pretty certain that the unique set-up of the creative team will be an added attraction. I figure that these are all short stories and shouldn't involve any huge commitments of time and energy. As Bayou Arcana is designed to be an ongoing saga if we make it beyond this first volume it is an easy way for all those involved to make sure they have something in print every year. With the level of talent already onboard I am pretty excited!

***

That does sound pretty great! I love a bit of Southern-fried supernaturality! If any creators want to get in touch with Jimmy about being a part of Bayou Arcana, drop us a line at SPBM and we'll happily pass on Jimmy's email.