The latest (and final) issue of the great webzine HARDLUCK STORIES is now on-line and includes a story by me entitled “The Red Reef”. The theme for this issue is Pulp Noir, so I decided to pay tribute to a little-known pulp subgenre with my story. When most people think of pulps, they probably don’t think of South Seas yarns, but such stories appeared often in the general fiction pulps like ARGOSY and BLUE BOOK. “The Red Reef” is an homage to the South Seas stories of H. Bedford-Jones and Donald Barr Chidsey, a couple of my favorite pulpsters. (That’s one reason I was reading so much by those guys a couple of months ago. Also, they’re really good.) There are nods to both authors in the story, although the ones to Bedford-Jones are pretty obscure. I also borrowed a couple of stylistic touches from HB-J for this story. I think it’s a pretty good yarn.
I’ve also had a chance to read the other stories in the issue, and they’re all excellent. My favorite is Bill Crider’s “Crossroads”, but I’m prejudiced, of course, since I’ve known Bill since we were both roaming the earth in the pre-Cambrian Era. You should read all the stories, and while you’re there, go back and read the previous issues of HARDLUCK STORIES if you haven’t already. You definitely won’t be disappointed.
