Pro Se Presents Fantasy and Fear #2 - “SWIFTHOOF AND THE RIDER”
Pro Se Presents Peculiar Adventures #3 – “HAIRY KHETAR AND THE PHILOSOPHERS’ STONES”
THESE TITLES AND MORE ARE AVAILABLE THROUGH:
Teel received a 2011 Pulp Ark Award Nomination in the following categories:
“Best Book”
Deadline Zombies - Teel James Glenn - (Books for a Buck)
“Best Short Story”
“Grave Mistake” - Teel James Glenn-Pulp Empire, Volume 2 (Pulp Empire)
“The Beast of Governor's Island” - Teel James Glenn - Deadline Zombies (Books for a Buck)
“Best Cover Art”
“Hex of Shadows” - Teel James Glenn (epress-Online.com)
“Best Author”
Teel James Glenn
Teel, tell us something about yourself.
I was born in Brooklyn though I’ve traveled the world for thirty years as a stuntman, fight choreographer, swordmaster, jouster, book illustrator, storyteller, bodyguard, and actor. I even studied sword under Errol Flynn’s last stunt double!
I’ve choreographed realistic violence for every Shakespeare play at least once, and as a performer of I’ve done 52 Renaissance Faires, been in many genre films and TV series and most famously as Vega in the manga/gaming web series “Street Fighter: the later years.”
All of this life experience informs my writing; 25 books in print from five different publishers (all of them well reviewed) and have sold short works to magazines like Mad, Blazing Adventures, Black Belt, Classic Pulp Fiction, Fantasy Tales, AfterburnSF, Peculiar Adventures, Fantasy World Geographic and others.
You've been nominated in several categories? Outline briefly what work you've done that's been nominated.
My book “Deadline Zombies: the Adventures of Maxi and Moxie” has been nominated in the book category and it tickles me pink! It’s the stories of a husband and wife team-he’s a reporter she’s an actress- in the late 1930s who investigate all sorts of weird criminals and bundists from New York to Hollywood.
The Two short stories that are nominated are both set in the 1930s as well;
“The Beast of Governors Island” is the first meeting of maxi and Moxie and involves a shapeshifting monster on the named island in New York Harbor, Bela Lugosi and Confederate treasure!
“Grave Mistake” is a crime story with my pulp hero Dr. Shadows that I would best describe as a Warner Brothers crime film from the period—with a little voodoo thrown in.
And the cover art for “Hex of Shadows” that I did was for a now out of print collection of Dr. Shadows tales and I’m quite proud of it.
Now you've also gotten some nominations for art. Did you do the design work for your books as well? What was that process like?
I graduated art school as a book illustrator so, unlike most people who seems to just slap together ebook covers with garden scissors I think that even if you use photoshop you should ‘paint’ into it and create a unique work of art. So with the Hex cover I tried to create the feel of an old pulp cover but as it might be done in today’s world—that is the color scheme and design was classic but I used very doctored photos.
I’ve been lucky to do some of my own covers as I know what my characters look like—but some publishers don’t let the writer—eve if he is an artist do the cover—which I think self defeating. Many of the covers on my books I have NOT liked but had little choice but to go along and try to limit the damage to the reader’s image of the characters within.
You're nominated for the Best Author of 2010. What does that nomination mean to you and what does it mean to pulp in general that someone is going to have the designation of 'Best Author'?
Being nominated is huge—truly. We writers often work in a vacuum and except for a friend/reader and maybe the editor we often are just not sure—really sure if we’ve been able to communicate the worlds we create the way we see them until we get that vital reader feedback. And this award, over any other is from knowledgable pulp fans—the kind of fan I am and write for.
Corny as it sounds—being nominated is an awesome boost! And to be among writers like Ron Fortier, Tom Johnson and Barry Reese is heady!!!
What might be coming up that could you get back on the Pulp Ark Award list for 2011?
I have a VERY pulp book coming out in March from Booksforabuck.com “Shadows of New York” a linked collection of adventures set in 1937 (and in the same pulpverse of Deadline Zombies). They feature Dr. Shadows, the Granite Man who has proven to be a fan favorite. This represents a relaunch of the character in a continuing series from Booksforabuck where I hope to keep a solid continuity and consistent release schedule.
It’s my favorite literary child!
