The Spider And The Monster Makers

A few years back, I contributed a short story to The Spider Chronicles, a prose fiction anthology from Moonstone Books spotlighting the legendary pulpmagazine character created by Norvell Page. The book was fully licensed and featured a stellar line-up of talent: Steve Englehart, Martin Powell, Bill Crider, Mort Castle, Chuck Dixon, C.J. Henderson, Howard Hopkins, John Jakes, and many others. I'm still not sure how I rated inclusion in such august company. My story, "The Spider And The Monster Makers," was my humble attempt to emulate Page's breathless, vivid prose, and although I don't think I quite accomplished that goal, I'm still quite proud of how the story turned out, and feel honored to have been asked to participate.

A week or so ago, artist Tom Floyd (creator of Captain Spectre) posted a scan of this great illustration, which accompanied my story in the aforementioned anthology, over on Facebook. We exchanged a few e-mails about it, and he graciously gifted me the original artwork, which will soon be in a frame adorning my office wall. It's a terrific piece, and evocatively illustrates the action-packed climax of my tale.

If you missed the book when it came out, I believe that it is now out of print and commanding "collectible" prices. However, I have discovered that Moonstone does have a Kindle e-book edition available that can be purchased through Amazon here: The Spider Chronicles