# Virtual Pulp: Tales of High Adventure, Low Adventure, and Misadventure



## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

Hi everyone; thanks for taking the time to read this. I'm a new author and even newer to the Kindle Boards. I've got 2 e-books published so far, 1 of them available in trade paperback.

The first is _Hell and Gone_, a military thriller/action-adventure set in post-9/11 North Africa.

Tagline: *When chips are down, Uncle Sam calls up his best young guns. This time, he'll have to make do with these guys...*

"Hell and Gone is a tightly plotted, action packed, military adventure that will keep you riveted to the pages." --Susan Coventry, author of _The Queen's Daughter_

"This book grabbed me in from the very start, with characters that compelled and details that informed without burdening the story. The novel is well-paced, eminently believable, and draws you into a climax that does not disappoint. I don't normally read military thrillers but I recommend this one whole-heartedly."
--Vanitha Sankaran, author of _Watermark_

"...Smooth reading, memorable events, and unforgettable characterization. I am awed by the command of the technology and its details. The fighting scenes were galloping, but clear, with attention to each player. Masterful handling. I've never seen better. ...An unforgettable read."
--Gloria Piper, author of _Train to Nowhere_

This was a great book. I like military techno thrillers, and this one kept me glued to the pages. After developing the main characters, the story quickly develops several disparate threads and weaves them together enroute to a thrilling climax. I found myself picking it up at every opportunity. The ending even left the door open for a sequel. If there is one, I'll definitely be picking it up!
--Rich Harris, USAF Communications systems technician, installer, and engineer (retired)

*"When a bloodthirsty jihadist is given a nuclear weapon and a chance to forever alienate Israel from American support, all hope rides on thirteen expendable SpecOps veterans almost as insane as the suicidal plan they're given to stop him."*


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

My other book is _Virtual Pulp: Tales of High Adventure, Low Adventure, and Misadventure_, a pulpesque anthology.

*From medieval Europe to Reconstruction; from a post-apocalyptic future to an alien world's Dark Ages, the drums pound in adrenaline-charged unison. Strap yourself in for a wild escape from the mundane, into adventures that transcend space and time.

Allan of Barnsdale pledges loyalty to a doomed knight in exchange for inspiration to craft his tale of King Arthur...never imagining they are en route to an ambush by outlaws in Sherwood Forest.

Pick Garver returns to his hometown after the Civil War a hero to some, a turncoat to most, and less likely to be with his true love than when he left.

Three warriors from vastly different races must battle a sorcerer, an invading armada, and each other, while desperately seeking honor in a world where treachery is the norm.

Mechanic, armchair engineer and hot-dog pilot Rebble Rauser and his fellow citizens of the "Barbarian Nation" have their hands full protecting their sovereignty with blazing wing guns when an old rival of Rebble's makes a surprise visit during a war in a chaotic American future.*

This is available as an e-book only, so far, and has no reviews yet. (You could be the first.)

I consider this Issue #1 of an ongoing series which will include the genres represented here while adding SciFi, Western, War, Hard-Boiled...and perhaps others. I'm not old enough for the original pulps to have been a direct influence on me, but they inspired much of the literature which did influence me as a youngster.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Welcome to KindleBoards, Henry, and congratulations on your books!

We haven't got a lot of rules to follow here, but there are some so here's a quick overview.  We invite you to use your book cover as your avatar and have links to your book and website in your signature. (Looks like you got that covered!)

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Book Bazaar Moderators

_The fine print:
Please add to your existing book thread when you have news about your books rather than start a new one, it helps the members who are trying to follow you. You may have a separate thread for each of your books -- or you may keep them both in this one thread. We recommend you bookmark your post so that you can find it in the future.  You may respond to all posts, but if there have been no member posts, we ask that you wait a week (7 days) before "bumping" the thread by posting back-to-back posts of your own. And we ask that Amazon reviews not be repeated here as they are easy to find at your book link. Also, full reviews from other sites should not be posted here, but you may post a short blurb and a link to the full review instead. All this, and more, is included in our Forum Decorum. From time to time our site rules may change; be sure to check Forum Decorum (http://www.kboards.com/index.php/topic,36.0.html) for the current guidelines and rules. _


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

Been updating the website, and got some cool preview widgets from BookBuzzr. And lo and behold: Barnes & Noble finally got _Virtual Pulp_ up on their online store!

Still working on getting some more reviews...


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

Bump!

My Drive-thru interview with Jenna Johnson is up on her blog:

http://oescienne.com/blog/2010/07/26/drive-thru-interview-with-author-henry-brown/

She asked some good questions. It was fun answering them.


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

Bump!

I now have my own blog @ http://twofistedblogger.blogspot.com/.


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

I've been a marketing fool lately. Well...as much as time permits. I've got some interviews lined up at different blogs, and might be participating in a virtual tour as well. Should be a radio interview in the near future, too. I'll tell more as it all develops.


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

A page from _VirtualPulp_ has just been posted on omhttp://excusememissptd.blogspot.com/p/featured-author-henry-brown.html.

The scene is from _Radical Times_--one of the longer tales in the anthology, about a soldier who survives the horrors of the Civil War, but might not survive the smoldering hatred during Reconstruction. A native Arkansan, Pick Garver was raised on his slave-owning uncle's plantation, but ran away North to fight with the Union Army. His "treason" is not appreciated by the white population of his hometown, but a desire to see two women overcame his better judgment. One was his dying mother; the other is the woman he loves but probably can never be with.

_Radical Times_ is the most political of anything I've published. But despite the backdrop, it's really about a man who's been trying to do the right thing, who has to run the gauntlet because of it.


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

I had a really nice interview with David Wisehart. He asked some good questions and I enjoyed answering them.

http://kindle-author.blogspot.com/2010/08/interview-henry-brown.html

I have another interview coming up that I think might post today. It's a good one, too, but gets political.


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

Here's that interview: https://sites.google.com/site/noahkmullettegillman/home/noahan-author/noahan-author-issue-4

There are 3--mine is in the middle.


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

Australian blogger Jenny has me on her blog. There's an interview of me followed by a review of Hell & Gone. She's a Christian and specializes in reviewing Christian fiction (Hell & Gone is not). She also strikes me as a terrific lady and interacting with her has been a pleasant experience from beginning to end. She's got a nice blog at http://ausjenny.blogspot.com/. I'll copy and paste my piece below:

*Today I am interviewing Henry Brown who I met at the edgy fiction board. I got to read his book Hell and Gone.*

*1. Can you tell us a little about yourself? 
*
I'm a Christian (of the non-wimpy variety), a patriotic American, a veteran, a Zionist, a creative type (yeah, I know: these qualities don't often go together), a reforming cynic, and a criminal genius mastermind masquerading as an overworked, underpaid blue-collar drone.

*2. When you were a child did you have a favourite book or books? 
*
_The Great Comic Book Heroes_ by Jules Feiffer has been with me since I was nine years old. At first I just read the Golden Age comic reprints inside. Later I delved into Feiffer's multi-chapter introduction. Over the years I re-read it several times, and understood a little more each time. And appreciated it a little more each time.

I liked the Hardy Boys, but there was an obscure juvenile detective series I liked even better called The Three Investigators, with forewords by Alfred Hitchcock. In fact, one of my first prose efforts was inspired by them, to some degree.

I loved _The Fastest Funnycar_ by Patrick Williams, and _Three Hearts and Three Lions_ by Poul Anderson. Those were some of my favorites in prose. You don't have room on your blog for me to list my favorite comic books.

*3. Do you have a favourite Genre to both read and right write?*

I've enjoyed books from just about every genre. I almost never read horror or chick-lit (but have read some romances), and don't read gay/lesbian. I usually go through phases--this month I might want to read epic fantasy, next month classic sci-fi, this time next year a western, or a war novel, or non-fiction, or a mystery, or whatever. It's kind of the same way when I write. Whatever genre, though, it tends to be male-oriented. I'm a man and like to do man stuff, read about man stuff, and write from the male perspective (though lately I've been broadening my horizons just a tad). (Jenny here I am not a big chit lit fan either some is good but alot is not my cup of tea)

*
4. Did you have favourite authors growing up who have influenced you?*

Growing up, I just read what I could find that I liked, with no consideration of who the author was. In fact, I rarely paid attention to authorship, in the early years. I read a whole lot from different authors, including genre fiction and series fiction--probably most of it by authors dismissed as "hacks."

I'm sure I was influenced, but by whom I'm not sure--there were just too many sources to pin them all down. I know Edgar Rice Burroughs' combination of exotic locations and heroic adventure made an impression on me.

I was dazzled by some of Erle Stanley Gardner's better whodunnits.

The comic book writer Doug Moench is a fantastic storyteller--his medium just happens to be graphic fiction.
As an adult, I tracked down some info on the writer himself, read an interview of him...and discovered, predictably, that his politics are in lock-step with pretty much every other artistic type. Even so, he's a brilliant storyteller.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the greatest author ever: God/the Holy Spirit. Growing up, I thought Christianity was wimpy, and even the men I saw at church struck me as effeminate. But when I finally did start reading the Bible on my own, it was eye-opening how parts of it are so raw, they would never be read in most churches.

There are parts of _Hell and Gone_ which you could say pay homage to the book of Judges. One of the characters is named after a certain left-handed judge and, in fact, his prowess in combat is more like an anointing than the result of training. There is one scene I intentionally meant to resonate with Gideon's preparations before attacking the Midianites. And, of course, I quote passages about Samson, since something called "the Samson complex" hangs over the characters throughout the plot (in fact, I had titled this book "_the Samson Doctrine_" at one point).
*
5. When did you know you wanted to be an author?*

By my teenage years I was already writing fiction (horrendous drivel, but fiction just the same). At some point early in my military service I knew for sure I wanted to be an author.
*
6. How did you go about becoming an author?*

I battered my head against the New York publishing industry for years. All but two of the queries I submitted were rejected via form letter. Out of hundreds. My attitude was pretty snobby about self-publishing, POD and e-publishing for a few years as they were becoming the rage. There's a stigma still attached to anything that smells like "vanity publishing," and I'd had it beaten into me that legitimate, respectable authors wait for a breakthrough with a traditional publisher until they grow old and die unpublished, if necessary. My attitude began to change when I read some articles about the future of publishing. I finally asked myself why I was stagnating, beating my head against the proverbial brick wall, waiting to hitch a ride on a ship that's probably sinking. So I researched POD (Print On Demand) publishers until I found what I thought was the best one. I had a few finished novels, and submitted the one I assumed would be the most "commercial." At the time I still had some residual snobbery about electronic/digital publishing, but I eventually overcame that, too

*7. If you were not a writer what would you like to be?*

A film-maker; a musician; an A-10 pilot; a race driver; a used bookstore owner; a power-mad dictator of a resource-rich country somewhere with a perfect climate; a genius super-criminal mastermind...and a thousand other things.

*8. Outside reading and writing what do you like to do?*

Unfortunately, I have no time for the other things I like to do. But if I did, I'd finish my project car and take it racing; shoot a few films; go camping and hunting frequently; play in a band; pick up another language or two; learn how to use some software programs; play a whole bunch of video and computer games; experiment with some inventions I've conceived; sleep at least eight hours a night...and the list goes on (bom-bom-bom, ba-bom-ba-bom-bom), the list goes on...

*
9. Do you have a place you love to visit or would love to visit?*

I'd love to visit the Holy Land. I also love traveling out West, from Oklahoma to California. I would live somewhere in between, if circumstances were different.

*
10. If you could have a meal with 3 living people who would you choose and why?*

Hmm. Well, one might be film maker John Milius, to discuss some of his work and maybe ideas I have for the big screen. Another would probably be Bible teacher Chuck Missler, to pick his brain a bit and ask questions not covered by his tapes and CDs. Maybe the third would be hot-rodder Lou Santiago, to see if I could get him interested in fabricating some custom parts for my car. ;-) 
*
Finally can you tell us about your current books and/or any that will be coming out soon. Also where we can find you on the web.*

My website is http://www.hell-and-gone.com/, and from there you can not only find out about my military thriller (Hell and Gone) and get a feel for it, but also follow links from there to pretty much everything else I do online, including my own new blog (twofistedblogger.blogspot.com). I have a blurb and mini-blurb about _Hell and Gone_ on the website, but in essence it's the story of some real people with real flaws hastily thrown together for a desperate mission with an improbable chance for success.

Some readers have voiced a desire to read a sequel--which I hadn't anticipated. So I've been toying with a couple ideas...

_Virtual Pulp: Tales of High Adventure, Low Adventure, and Misadventure_ is the first issue of my cyber-pulp magazine which, like some of the classic pulps of yesteryear, is a novel-length anthology of shorter adventure fiction. Genres in this first issue include fantasy ("epic" or sword & sorcery plus a humorous sci-fi flavored satire); historical; and an aviation adventure in a post-apocalyptic setting. Themes include honor/brotherhood; forbidden love; the evolution of folklore and language; and liberty vs. slavery. Some of the tales are stand-alone, some feature characters I intend to revisit in future issues. Virtual pulp has a page on my site also. So far, it's only available in e-book, though. I have plenty of ideas for more books, but no time to write them (especially with me now trying to market). But I've got a start on _Virtual Pulp #2_, and the first few chapters of an alternate history novel which should be a lot of fun.

*My Review of Hell and Gone:*
I found this book to be very insightful in many ways. There are three main sides to this story, The americans, Israelis and the Sudanese army. In this story Henry explains how some suicide bombers come about which I found interesting and after reading the passage could fully understand. We also see why Israelis feel like they do about other countries and how different solutions haven't always helped them. There were times some of the Americans were quite put out with what the was being said about America and some of the process they had been involved in. I learnt quite alot from this. Being I am not an America I could actually identify with some of what was being said. I got quite involved in the story and although it is a war story I found I was cheering for the good guys. Also references to the south of Sudan which is christian was interesting as at our church we have had dealings with some of the missions there and heard first hand how some of the issues there.
I also found it hypocritical at times what the ones in charge of the Islamic section were doing and one scene in particular really got to me it goes against what they teach and what they say they believe but seems is quite common. (I am not going to say more when you read the book you will understand what I am referring to). If you like military books or fast action this is a great read. If you dont like war or military or can't deal with killing in a book I would suggest its not for you.


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

Got the word from the bird about _The Expendables_. Good guy mercs with blazing guns and horrible one-liners saving the jungle for democracy? I'm SO there, baby!

I read something about a self-parodical exchange between Sly and Arnie that may make the whole deal worthwhile all by itself.

P.S: If you're curious why Chuck Norris isn't in the cast, do a google search on "where is Chuck Norris" and click "I'm feeling lucky" (if you have that option).


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

Here's the author interview I had with Daniel Carter. 

DLC: I want to thank you Hank for taking the time to share with my readers. Please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about you.

HB: I currently live north of Tampa, Florida. Married, with a teenage girl, a preschool boy and 3 loud, obnoxious dogs. I have a BFA which has proven worthless thus far, and a current occupation suggesting I have a subconscious masochistic streak. My long-term goal is world domination but I must develop some modicum of social skills before I'm ready to put my diabolical plan into action.

DLC: (Laughs) I like you already. =) Tell us about your pulp anthology.

HB: Virtual Pulp is a throwback to the pulp adventure magazines of yesteryear, where authors like Robert E. Howard, Dashiell Hammett and Edgar Rice Borroughs got their start, and what inspired many of the first comic book heroes.

My book is approximately novel-length, but this first installment includes 5 different adventures in genres including fantasy, historical, a post-apocalyptic aviation adventure, and a fantasy satire with a retro-sci fi flavor.

One of the 2 historicals might be considered a western, because it is post-Civil War and has horses and gunfights...but it actually takes place in Arkansas.

The other historical is set in Medieval England, chock full of tasty morsels for anyone with an interest in Robin Hood legends and/or Arthurian lore.

The serious fantasy (one is humorous) is sword and sorcery, similar to Howard's Conan tales.

The post-apocalyptic aviation adventure is subtly humorous (in the eye of the beholder), but is mostly just fun. Sure, the end of the world (as we know it) can be fun!

VP is not exactly serialized pulp--the stories all stand alone, but I would like to use some of these characters again in future adventure tales.

I've wanted to put this together for a long time. When I began to understand the ebook revolution, I realized now was an opportune time to go for it. It's available as an ebook right now, but should be available in paperback very soon.

My military thriller, Hell and Gone, is already available in paperback and ebook. It's received rave reviews so far. My website is crammed with info about the novel so people can get a good idea of whether it's their cup of tea or not.

DLC: Sounds pretty cool and a little something for everyone. What inspired you to be a writer or have you always had a passion for writing?

HB: I've always been a creative type, I guess. As a child I would raid the trash can at home and build toy space ships or earth moving equipment out of what I found. When left alone for prolonged periods with no opportunity to play outside, no TV and nothing to read, I would invent stories. So maybe my inspiration was boredom.

I tried putting my first prose story on paper at 10 years old. I wrote a lot of stuff from then on, but almost never finished anything. At 14 years old I brought my first story to completion. I think it was probably novella-length. It was about costumed heroes. I never showed it to anyone, which is probably a good thing.

I don't think I completed another book untill I was in the military. One of those, a WWII saga, was so abysmal that I probably would have been discouraged into quitting had I seen it for what it was. After college was when, I think, I finally matured enough to temper my sometimes excessive passion.

DLC: As artists we often are passionate. That's a great testimony. If you could give advice to other authors or aspiring authors what would say?

HB: Just as you have to be an excellent skater before you can be good at playing hockey, you've GOT to have a strong grasp on the English language, in written form, to be a good writer.

No matter how great your ideas are, you must be able to express them. So many aspiring authors out there can't even put coherent sentences together. Or punctuate them. Beyond the basics, you have to learn how to write passable dialog. Try to imagine a real human being actually speaking your dialog out loud.

After you've got a handle on those things, find a critique partner or critique group, or hire an editor, and bounce your manuscript off them before submitting or self-publishing. And brace yourself for what is going to feel like harsh dismantling of this thing you've painstakingly created. Criticism is going to sting, and sting even worse when it rings true. There are some great critiquers out there who are very gentle and diplomatic about showing you how you screwed up. Most, however, will not be. But I think it's absolutely crucial to test your manuscript with an intelligent, unbiased reader, because we get too close to our work to notice the mistakes and problems that are plain for others to see.

I say all this because there is so much dreadful fiction out there, especially from indie authors, I'm sad to say.

But for those who have put in the time and effort to make their book(s) truly worthwhile, I say now might be the best time ever to get published. Not traditionally published--that's been almost impossible for a decade and getting worse all the time. And the publishers themselves are in financial trouble to the point that the big ones might not even be here in a few years.

That's the empty half of the glass. The full half of the glass is that the POD and epublishing Renaissance has made getting your prose out there where people can see it the easiest part of the whole process. Not in brick-and-mortar bookstores, unfortunately, where traditional readers still go to shop for a good book...but those stores are closing, anyway. Love it or hate it, the internet makes the world go 'round anymore. There are trade-offs for the ease of getting published this way: you'll have to do your own marketing; and you might drown in the endless deluge of competition.

That competition is a double-edged sword, too. Anybody with computer can become an author, now, and sometimes it seems they all have. I guesstimate that 95% of these authors lack talent or discipline or a grasp of story craft...and many of them are borderline illiterate. That's bad because the other 5% suffer guilt by association. But it's good because it's easy to stand out from the multitudes if you do have a good, well-written book.

DLC: I completely agree with you. I've also seen many Indie or Self Published books out there that don't have a grasp of basic English language. Now you've said your anthology has different styles for each story, what source or sources do you draw from when creating them?

HB: The inspiration could come from anywhere, anyone or anything. Can't predict that. But then I create with the help of my experiences, colored by my outlook.

I juxtapose my faith with my creative efforts constantly, and wrestle with myself a little bit. I could really digress for pages about this, but I'll try to keep it brief.

A lot of my friends and church family assumed, when they heard I had published a novel, that Hell and Gone was a Christian book. Well, it's not. Not only is there no character who recites the sinner's prayer and receives salvation; the characters in Hell and Gone are rough men who speak with rough language. (Not nearly as rough as in real life--there are no F-bombs--and it would likely be rated PG-13 if it was a movie.) There is also violence. Old Testament levels of combat violence.

But underlying the plot is a theme about the Abrahamic Covenant. This is a unilateral covenant by the Creator of the universe, and His prophecies WILL be fulfilled, even if he uses heathens and morally flawed people to accomplish His will. I get that from my faith, and my understanding of the Bible...so it's there undergirding the novel for anyone attuned to see it. There are also some allusions and homage to the book of Judges.

So does Hell and Gone glorify God? I think, ultimately, it does--even though some of the characters are just as human, lost, or evil, as people in real life are. And even though one word in the title signifies that place that Jesus talked about more than Heaven.

In fact, the inspiration for this book came to me in a dream after praying that the Lord reveal to me what I should write about. The last thing I would have expected Him to inspire is an action-adventure; but I took it and ran with it, and here it is.

DLC: I personally, as a Christian man, don't see a problem with stories that are based upon the real life around us. People curse, sin, do stupid things but that doesn't negate the underlying truth of a story. Obviously faith had a lot to do with why you wrote your stories but what was your greatest challenge personally when writing your current book?

HB: LOL. This is like a continuation of my previous answer.

I don't write "churchy" fiction. And yet, like so many Christians (especially preachers) I sometimes find myself watering down the message for fear of offending somebody.

My fear of offending usually operates in the other direction, though. In the case of Virtual Pulp # 1, for instance, I feared alienating the "churchy" readers.

My example is Radical Times, set in the Reconstruction South. Pick Garver is a young man who, convicted in his heart that slavery was wrong, turned against his family and neighbors to fight on the Union side. Such a man is heroic to my way of thinking.

But in my first draft I made him just too perfect. He wouldn't have offended the Churchy crowd or the Pharisees of our times, but then we sinners and flawed human beings might not have been able to relate to him. Even great men in the Bible like Abraham, David and Peter had their weaknesses and shortcomings. Why do Christian writers and film makers insist on presenting unbelievably perfect characters?

So, prior to submitting Virtual Pulp, one of my self-appointed tasks was to go back through Radical Times and make the protagonist more believable. I didn't glorify sin (there or in Hell and Gone); and in fact his worst transgression is put into biblical perspective by another character. But he, like all of us real people, sinned and fell short of God's perfection.

DLC: Just so you know you're not alone, I have one of the main characters from book 1 of my trilogy lose their way in the second book. I too wanted to show that the characters are flawed just like we all are. So why did you choose multiple genres for Virtual Pulp?

HB: Because I like all genres! Well, almost all of them. Virtual Pulp will include even more (sci-fi, war, hard-boiled detective, western, etc.) if the series continues.

DLC: Cool. Do you have any favorite authors?

HB: Wilbur Smith is my most recent favorite. I've always been fascinated with Africa and his adventure/historical epics there have not yet disappointed me.

Christian author Gilbert Morris wrote some westerns in the Reno series I really treasure--especially Boomtown/Vigilante. And speaking of westerns: Louis L'Amour. Some of his plots and characters seem cookie-cutter, but then he wrote hundreds of books.

Arthur Conan Doyle is a favorite, as is Dashiel Hammett and, to a lesser extent, Raymond Chandler.

For me there are a lot of one-hit-wonders out there. They wrote something I thought fantastic, but their other books weren't nearly as enjoyable: Poul Anderson; Leon Uris; Philip Margolin; Norman Daniels; Larry Niven; etc.

DLC: Are you working on a book now and if so tell us a little bit about it?

HB: The one I really need to finish is an alternate history war novel with series potential. As an armchair military historian, there are a lot of "what if" scenarios I've mulled over. This story is catalyzed by one of the big what-ifs for me: what if the Germans had won the First World War? Of course, this big what-if could have come about because of any number of smaller what-ifs: the Schlieffen Plan was not tampered with; Von Bulow didn't blunder outside Paris; America didn't enter the war, etc....

Had WWI turned out differently, there might not have been a WWII. In any case, it's certainly a safe bet Hitler wouldn't have come to power.

But anyway, in this alternate history, instead of losing what few colonies she had after the war, Germany gains some from France and Britain--including in the Americas. With German influence spreading rapidly in the hemisphere, the German Empire comes to blows with Uncle Sam in a time when aviation is still in the pioneer phase and dreadnoughts are the most powerful weapons afloat.

With strategic interludes, this story follows three American cavalry men (that's right--horse cavalry!) in a running battle through mountains contested by bands of Mexican revolutionaries under the direction of German military advisors. Our heroes are a wise-cracking Kiowa scout, a cowboy with no more range to ride north of the border, and a polo-playing college boy from back East who assumes this war will be a grand adventure. Well, it *will* be a grand adventure for the reader...but not for him.

DLC: Where can people go to get more information about you and your book?

HB: http://www.hell-and-gone.com is a good starting point. It's got testimonials, a synopsis, excerpts, a glossary, background info, etc., and links to buy either the paperback or ebook. There's also a page for Virtual Pulp on the site, with a blurb and links. Of course, you can find both books on Amazon and other online bookstores, too. My blog is at http://twofistedblogger.com, and I mostly write about other authors' books there, concentrating on fiction for men, or "dude-lit" as I have dubbed it. I also blog about movies, sports and my authorial experiences. I have a Listmania on Amazon called "Books for Red-Blooded Heterosexual Males." I have facebook fan pages for both Hell & Gone and Virtual Pulp. I'd love to hear from anybody who cares to comment or ask questions via any of these forums. Sometimes it's just nice to converse with folks who share similar tastes in entertainment, even if they don't buy my stuff.

DLC: I truly want to thank you Hank for sharing your heart and taking the time to be here today.

Blessings,
Daniel L Carter
Author of The Unwanted Trilogy


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

Lotsa' stuff going on lately. The best thing is my 5-star rating from Midwest Book Review.

Here's the part I'm quoting to plug the book:

"_Hell and Gone_ is an exciting action and adventure novel, highly recommended."

I also changed the cover a little bit, too. Virtual Pulp has a new cover as well, and will be available in paperback within the next few days.


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

Virtual is now actual!  Yes, _Virtual Pulp_ is now available in paperback:https://www.createspace.com/3485877.

Also, Shelfari had me dredge up some quotes from the book. I'm pasting below.

Memorable Quotes

"Those who agree with me just won a war so that all Americans will be free. Freedom means a man decides his own worth; the state doesn't decide for him. But it's not enough that we won a war with rifles and cannons. If we want freedom to last, we have to win a war with words, ideas and ballots."

-- Pick Garver 

"Consider, sire: Saint George liveth today because bards and minstrels-yea, even this one-sing and rhyme and tell of his exploits. So, too, can I breathe life into Arturius. And power, and kinship, and hope."

-- Allan of Barnsdale 

"I have no king."

-- Turgar, Sir Javo, and Krag the Wrecker 

"Scratch one New World Buttmunch."

-- "Boom-Boom" Cjaizko 

The paperback is only $9.99, while the ebook has been discounted to $0.99 in the Kindle store.  That's a whole lotta' nines.


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

Hmm. My post from last week is missing. What meaneth this?  

Do I get to post twice this week to compensate?  

Oh well. I should be getting my first review of Virtual Pulp in the near future. Unfortunately there was a problem with the EPUB file from Smashwords. Mark Coker responded amazingly quick (I know he must be busy, but he's always responded promptly and courteously) to my inquiry after checking on it and finding nothing wrong. Double hmm.

It's kind of a shame reviews have become so necessary to get word out. But then it sure beats spending millions for advertising.


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

I don't know as much about Amazon rankings as a lot of folks on this board, but H&G has pushed into the 24,000s a couple times now and that's a whole lot better than where it started.


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

Hey, it pushed into the 23,000s once!

I don't know why this is, since I opted out of Kobo distribution, but Virtual Pulp is still discounted to $0.99.

New Podler Review of Books gave H&G a very nice, detailed review. I copied it to my blog. http://twofistedblogger.blogspot.com

And now, on to other news...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...!


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

I've let the marketing monster consume too much of my free time. Gotta get back to writing.

The most marketable idea that would fit in the "brand" I'm building here is an alternate history military adventure. I've got a few rough chapters written already, but the challenge remains staying in the main plot, rather than digressing into flashbacks which detail how the historical timeline veered off the path familiar to us (just exposition. Sigh. But so fun to speculate about!). It would be the first in a series, I'm thinking.

Hey, Virtual Pulp got its first review on Amazon--and not from someone I was expecting!

Here it is:



> A great debut and a fun anthology of old-fashioned Pulp adventure stories with a military bent.
> 
> Henry Brown has a great love for action-adventure and serves up a varied and interesting collection of stories including:
> 
> ...


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

Some good stuff has happened since I last wrote. Best of all is the progress of the music for the trailer finally taking shape. After almost a year, it's finally coming together. I should have been Skyping/phoning my musician friend from the beginning, instead of just emailing back-and-forth.

Well, I guess the trailer won't be ready before Christmas as I hoped, but hopefully lots of folks should have new Kindles by the time it is.

In other news, I got a second review for Virtual Pulp at http://rhodesreview.com/?p=2031.

Still hoping I'll get my own Kindle for Christmas.


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

Well, Kindles were sold out at the Target store, but I did get a gift card for the 3G Kindle.

I finally got the music for my trailer, and have most of the photos needed...I think. Now I'm trying to learn Adobe Premiere in order to put it all together. OMG there is a lot to learn. I want to do just a tad more than what the slideshow programs are capable of, but don't need nearly all these bells and whistles yet. Egads. Gadzooks.

Just got 2 emails from not-so-Noble Barnes &. After getting my hopes up with the first, inviting me to an author signing, the 2nd informed me that my titles are either unorderable or unreturnable. That doesn't sound right. Off to investigate.


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

Sure enough, _Hell and Gone_ is not returnable.  Ergo, no B&N book signings for me.

I've learned enough on Premiere that the trailer is coming along nicely, now. I think I'm at least halfway done. If I had weekends off or even 3-4 hours of free time between work and bed, I'd have it done quickly. Speaking o that: gotta go.


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

I'm very, very close on the trailer.  Could it be it'll be ready for release in a week or so

Also, 2 more reviews for Virtual Pulp have been published. 1 of them is linked from the Kindleboards Book Profile: http://www.kboards.com/book/?asin=B003TFE3I8&more=N

Have I mentioned that I have a Kindle now and it is the cat's meow?


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

Well, the book signing is on, after all!  Feb 5 at the B&N. I'm kinda' nervous. Never been much of a people person so I don't know how I'll do. But hopefully some friends are coming so I won't look stupid all by myself. 

The trailer is getting there. I've cut 4 different versions now and it's improved from that first one. But I'm seriously considering replacing some of the photos with video. We shall see.


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

Forgot to mention here the interview + review of _Virtual Pulp_ @ http://booketernity.blogspot.com/2011/01/virtual-pulp-book-by-henry-brown-review.html.


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

Got 5 stars at Red Adept Reviews! http://redadeptreviews.com/?p=4369#more-4369


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

It's Read An Ebook week at Smashwords, and Virtual Pulp is on sale for $1.50 until the 12th.


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

It's been a while since I posted here, but not due to lack of activity.

I've made some great connections with other pulp and men's fiction writers and fans, and it's cool how so many of us are like-minded in our desires and strategies for a revival of the genre(s). There are some exciting developments on the horizon (a few of us are blogging about it), and I'm glad to be a part of it.

I'll share one of the developments in my microcosm of the pulpiverse:

I've scrapped my plans for _Virtual Pulp_ # 2. See, back in the pulp heyday, some periodicals published a grab-bag of various genres for practical reasons. But in the age of epublishing, I can offer each pulp story as a stand-alone title for $0.99 and the only disadvantage is that I get a lower royalty percentage.

My plan is to officially turn "Virtual Pulp" into my publishing imprint. I'm working on it. I've also recently began publishing my short adventures as stand-alone titles with the Virtual Pulp logo on the covers.

I will continue to write novels, as time permits, but will also churn these out as the muse inspires.


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

Updates, from my blog:

http://twofistedblogger.blogspot.com/2011/05/pulp-fiction-revival-ebook-revolution.html

http://twofistedblogger.blogspot.com/2011/05/virtual-pulp-press-lurcheser-launches.html


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

http://twofistedblogger.blogspot.com/2011/07/good-news-for-pulpy-action-adventure.html Exciting stuff!


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

This is my heroic fantasy short, the "origin story" of the Honor Triad, who will continue adventures in future installments of the series.

http://www.kboards.com/book/?asin=B005230Q54&more=N


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

For those with an interest in two-fisted adventure (in the same genres as the classic pulps), http://www.virtualpulppress.com just opened this month.


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## ArtMayo (Sep 13, 2011)

Hi MachineTrooper, nice to meet a fellow pulp author. Your books sound very cool indeed! I shall check a couple out.


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

Thanks Art, and nice to meet you as well.

I've got hundreds more pulp-style books in my head...just not enough time to write them.


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## MachineTrooper (Jun 22, 2010)

Check out Robert E. Howard's map of Hyborian Age Europe on http://twofistedblogger.blogspot.com/2011/09/robert-e-howards-map.html?showComment=1317442973564#c9113205466154593261.


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