Crazy 8 Press celebrates its three-year anniversary this summer, and as part of the festivities they will showcase their first ever anthology, Tales of the Crimson Keep.
This collection will feature seven brand new stories from Crazy 8 Press authors Michael Jan Friedman, Peter David, Aaron Rosenberg, Russ Colchamiro, Glenn Hauman, Paul Kupperberg, and Robert Greenberger. Tales of the Crimson Keep, edited by Greenberger, will also feature an introduction by fellow author Kevin Dilmore, whose winning first line inspired the entire concept.
At Shore Leave 2011, Crazy 8 Press solicited opening lines to a story which would be written in round-robin fashion from the show floor. With a dollar donation to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, anyone was welcome to contribute a first line during that con’s Meet the Pros event. The following day, at the introductory Crazy 8 Press panel, the one-liners contributed were read aloud, with the audience voting for their favorite line.
Dilmore’s “There’s no way we’re going to get all of this mopped up in time!” was the hands down winner and over the next 36 hours, the Crazy 8 Press authors took turns in the tiniest space available, reviewing notes and writing what ultimately became Demon Circle. Friedman did a final polish and the completed eBook was released soon after with proceeds going to the CBLDF.
Now two years later, Crazy 8 Press is revisiting this spooky realm, with familiar and new characters in stories set before and after the introduction tale, which as an added bonus will be included in the Tales of the Crimson Keep collection. For the Crazy 8 Press authors who were not a part of the story’s creation, it presented an interesting challenge. “I had to be a quick study, tapping into the fiendish part of my writer’s brain.” Colchamiro said. “Wizards, demons, and The Keep itself. Okay, well … here we go.”
Tales of the Crimson Keep will be available in Kindle and Nook formats for $5.99 as of Friday, August 2. The print edition will debut during that evening’s Meet the Pros event at Shore Leave, and then be available through Amazon.
Crazy 8 Press has published more than thirty titles during its first years alone, with new offerings coming this fall, starting with Michael Jan Friedman’s I am the Salamander, the first Crazy 8 Press project to be funded via Kickstarter. As an expanded line of fiction, older works, long out of print, will be brought back beginning with Sir Apropos of Nothing by Peter David.
Additional details of Crazy 8 Press’ future will be unveiled at their panel during Shore Leave in Cockeysville, MD. They cordially invite all to attend.
And keeping with the tradition of The Crimson Keep, who knows what other surprises Crazy 8 Press will unveil …