Silvia Moreno-Garcia is the contributor for this week’s Take Five, a regular series where we ask authors and editors to share five facts about their latest books. She is the co-editor, with Paula R. Stiles, of Historical Lovecraft, an anthology of new Lovecraft fiction. It is available for purchase today.
Historical Lovecraft, a unique anthology blending historical fiction with horror, features 26 tales spanning centuries and continents. This eclectic volume takes the readers through places as varied as Laos, Greenland, Peru, and the Congo, and from antiquity until the 20th century, pushing the envelope of Lovecraftian lore. William Meikle’s inquisitor tries to unravel the truth during a very hostile questioning. Jesse Bullington narrates the saga of a young Viking woman facing danger and destruction. E. Catherine Tobler stops in Ancient Egypt, where Pharaoh Hatshepsut receives an exquisite and deadly gift. Albert Tucher discovers that the dead do not remain silent in 10th century Rome. These are tales that reimagine history and look into the past through a darker glass. Tales that show evil has many faces and reaches through the centuries. Tales that will chill your heart. Join us in our journey through horror and time, if you dare.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia:
1. We knew we’d receive some stories set in Victorian England, but we didn’t know we’d get that many. At one point, 90% of all stories submitted were set in that time period. Since we had a project called Historical Lovecraft, not Ye Little Victorian Cthulhu, we blogged and Tweeted about the problems in the slush. Then we began receiving stories with more varied settings, resulting in what you see now.
2. We also had a problem with the low number of female protagonists. It was all men, all the time (and all wealthy
Victorian men, to boot). Again, that corrected itself once we started talking about it. Blogging and Tweeting really helped spread the word out.
3. We read submissions in English, French and Spanish, and encouraged international authors to submit. Two of the stories in the anthology were translated: “Ahuizotl” from the Spanish and “Found in a Trunk from Extremadura” from the French.
4. Silvia is heavily into the Tudor period and Paula is a medieval historian with an interest in prehistory. So, we were perhaps more stringent about getting real history in our stories than the Zombies on the Nile that you might see in historical horror. Fortunately, we ended up with a good chronological and geographical mix.
5. Considering it was a Lovecraft anthology, we were surprised that the most popular Mythos character we ended up with was not Cthulhu but Nyarlathotep, even one Nyarly-POV story where he is sympathetic and almost human.
