The tragic passing of pulp writer and editor Howard Hopkins at the age of 50: http://moonstonebooks.blogspot.com/2012/01/howard-hopkins-services-and.html, has been made even worse by the further misfortune of an insurance screw up.

Please forward the following as you see fit; it is copied from a post on the Yahoo “Flearun” and “Golden Perils” groups:

At the request of Howard’s wife, Dominique, Chuck Juzek contacted me and asked me to pass the following info along to the pulp fan community. Due to a mistake by their insurance agent 6 months ago that Dominique only became aware of after Howard’s death, Howard’s life insurance had lapsed at the time of his death. As a result, in addition to everything else that his passing means to her, she’s now scrambling in order to find the funds to pay for his funeral expenses. If you have the ability, she’s accepting donations to help pay for those expenses; at her request, I’m giving her address for anyone that wishes to contribute.

Dominique Hopkins
2 McKee Drive
Old Orchard Beach, ME 04064

So here’s the deal

Give to a good cause and get something for yourself.  The first $100 worth of orders that come in between now and midnight January 20, 2012, you get the books, and Dominique Hopkins gets the money.

For those of you who have a copy of The Worlds of Philip José Farmer 1: Protean Dimensions, but have not yet ordered your matching numbered copy of  The Worlds of Philip José Farmer 2: Of Dust and Soul, there’s no time like the present. And if you haven’t yet bought either book, make sure you take advantage of our Combo Deal that will save you at least $10 off your order.

Some of us at Meteor House have worked with Howard and learned a lot from him. He cared about the craft of writing and was generous with his time, he will be sorely missed. Therefore we’d like to do this little thing for Howard’s family. The rest is up to you. Of course you don’t have to buy our books, especially if you already have them. If you already have both, you can just drop a little check in the mail to the address above, or paypal a small amount to sales@meteorhousepress.com (by midnight January 20th) and we’ll add it to the total we’re sending.

First, as of right now, every item in Philip José Farmer’s Estate Sale is 20% off!

But that is just the tip of the iceberg—there is a special deal for Meteor House customers:

If you have purchased (now or in the past) a copy of The Worlds of Philip José Farmer 1: Protean Dimensions, you automatically save an additional 10% off any purchase from Philip José Farmer’s Estate.

If you have purchased (now or in the past) a copy of The Worlds of Philip José Farmer 2: Of Dust and Soul, you automatically save another 10% off any purchase from Philip José Farmer’s Estate.

Doing the math, if you have both volumes, you save 40% off anything you buy from the Estate.

But that is not the end of the discounts—if you like the pjfarmer.com facebook page you save another 10% off, bringing your discount up to 50% off!

Book collectors rejoice! Now is your chance to save up to 50% off hundreds of books in these categories:

Signed Farmer titles
Signed anthologies
Association copies
Unsigned Farmer titles
Audio books
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Antiquarian
Sir Richard Francis Burton

A set of The Worlds of Philip José Farmer 1: Protean Dimensions and The Worlds of Philip José Farmer 2: Of Dust and Soul, both numbered #266 (out of 500) are currently up for auction. The opening bid for the pair is $25: http://magick4terri.livejournal.com/25459.html

The auction, along with another one hundred or so items, and counting, is to benefit Terri Windling:

Beloved editor, artist and writer Terri Windling is in need, and we are asking for your help in a fundraising auction to assist her. This auction will combine donations from professionals and fans in an online sale to help Terri through a serious financial crisis.

Terri is the creator of groundbreaking fantasy and mythic art and literature over the past several decades, ranging from the influential urban fantasy series Bordertown to the online Journal of Mythic Arts. With co-editor Ellen Datlow, she changed the face of contemporary short fiction with The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror and other award-winning anthologies, including Silver Birch, Blood Moon and The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest. Her remarkable Endicott Studio blog continues to bring music, poetry, art and inspiration to people all over the world.

Terri Windling and her family have been coping with health and legal issues that have drained her financial resources at a critical time. Due to the serious nature of these issues, and privacy concerns for individual family members, we can’t be more specific than that, but Terri is in need of our support. As a friend, a colleague and an inspiration, Terri has touched many, many lives over the years. She has been supremely generous in donating her own work and art to support friends and colleagues in crisis. Now, Terri is in need of some serious help from her community. Who better than her colleagues and fans to rise up to make some magick for her?

Through the next 18 days, we’ll be posting personal offerings from the likes of Neil Gaiman, George R.R. Martin, Wendy & Brian Froud, and many more! Besides bidding on these beautiful items, YOU can also post your own skills, services, arts, crafts, or whatever else you’d like to offer for auction! Please see our complete About Us page for FAQ about Terri, the auction process, and other ways to get involved. Thank you!

Go here to see ALL of the amazing items up for auction: http://magick4terri.livejournal.com/

The most highly anticipated anthology of 2011* is now in stock and shipping. Just like Volume 1 of the Worlds of Philip José Farmer series, Volume 2 contains a stellar line up of new and old, fiction and nonfiction, all written by or about science fiction Grand Master Philip José Farmer. Let’s take a peek, shall we:

• Tributes to Phil by Greg Bear, Charles Platt and James Sallis, and tributes by Phil about Vern Coriell and Robert Bloch. 
• Two speeches by Phil, one of which is about two of his literary heroes, Mark Twain and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
• An essay by noted Farmer expert Edgar L. Chapman (author of The Magic Labyrinth of Philip José Farmer) and an up close and personal look at Phil by one of his grandchildren, Thomas José Josephsohn.
• And the fiction, let’s not forget the fiction. If you thought Tim Howller’s adventure (based on events that actually happened to Phil) in “The Face That Launched a Thousand Eggs” (published in Farmerphile No. 1 and Up from the Bottomless Pit and Other Stories, Subterranean Press) was wild, you haven’t seen anything yet. Picture college freshman Howller getting his first taste of love at first sight, and alcohol, on the same day (the falling in love came first by the way).
• Not counting Riverworld, name your five favorite Farmer novels or short stories—ok, we’ve probably got a story you’re going to love: a Ralph von Wau Wau story by Spider Robinson, a Kent Lane story by Bradley H. Sinor, a World of Tiers story by Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier, an Image of the Beast story by Mary A. Turzillo, a Time’s Last Gift story by John Allen Small, and the most anticipated of the most anticipated: “Kwasin and the Bear God,” a novella by Philip José Farmer & Christopher Paul Carey!

If you already own The Worlds of Philip José Farmer 1: Protean Dimensions, when ordering Volume 2 make sure you click on the Paypal buttons that give you $5 off. Also include your number of Volume 1 and we’ll make sure you get the matching number of Volume 2 (that’s the whole point of the series being a Numbered Limited Edition of only 500 copies).

If you do not already own Volume 1, be sure to check out the Combo Deal where you can order both books together (with matching numbers of course), get a discount on both volumes and save even more money on shipping.

*published by Meteor House

It’s hard to believe that FarmerCon VI is less than a week away!

We do have some disappointing news to report however. Despite our best efforts, in order to bring out the best book possible, The Worlds of Philip Jose Farmer 2: Of Dust and Soul will not be available at FarmerCon VI. However, for all those attending FarmerCon, if you have pre-paid for the book, or if you buy it there, Meteor House will pay the shipping charges and send it to you at our expense as soon as the book is available. We expect to able to ship the book the second or third week of August.

If you are not coming to FarmerCon, don’t forget that you can still pre-order the book and save $5. Or order volume 1 and volume 2 together and save even more money. But you must order by August 1st to get these discounts.

Meteor House is now taking Pre-Orders for The Worlds of Philip José Farmer 2: Of Dust and Soul.

Order before August 1st and save $5 off the list price.

Remember, The Worlds of Philip José Farmer is a Numbered Limited Edition, so if you already have Volume 1, you will get the same number of Volume 2 (and then Volume 3, 4, etc. when they come out).

Volume 2 contains non-fiction by the likes of Greg Bear, Charles Platt, James Sallis, Thomas José Josephsohn, Edgar L. Chapman, and of course Phil Farmer himself. And fiction by Spider Robinson, Bradley H. Sinor, Jean-Marc & Randy Lofficier, Mary A. Turzillo, John Allen Small, and Phil Farmer himself, including a novella by Phil and Christopher Paul Carey set in the world of Ancient Khokarsa; a spin-off from their forthcoming novel The Song of Kwasin.

And if you’ve been kicking yourself because you just never got around to buying Volume 1, there is a special deal just for you. You can order both volumes together for $7.50 off the list price of the pair (and then save even more with a reduced combined shipping charge). The pair of books—with matching numbers of course—will be shipped together once Volume 2 comes out in early August.

Cover art by Laura Givens

The contents (subject to change) of the second volume in the Worlds of Philip José Farmer series have been announced along with with the (most probably) final cover art!

While volume one in this series focused on Farmer’s lack of boundries, volume two looks at some of the themes oft repeated in his work. Instead of focusing on space, science, and technology, as much science fiction does, Farmer was more interested in heaven and earth. That is, man’s plight and his quest to extend his span through immortality or what might be waiting for us on the other side. Farmer is known for his pioneering treatment of sex in science fiction, but he also tackled the question of religion with equal zeal.

As an odd coincidence illustrating this point, all of the fiction in this volume, based on characters Farmer created, is set on Earth (more or less).

Come check out what we have in store for you when The Worlds of Philip José Farmer 2: Of Dust and Soul comes out this summer!

For decades, one of Philip José Farmer’s most popular series has been The World of Tiers. Robert Wolff, also known as the Lord Jadawin, and Kickaha, whose name on Earth was Paul Janus Finnegan had adventures that could only have been written by someone who grew up on the pulp takes of Edgar Rice Burroughs. When David Bischoff said he wanted to write a story about Jadawin, set immediately after The Makers of Universes,  we loved the idea. As you will see if you read the whole story, it could be argued that David’s story could only have been written by someone who grew up reading Philip José Farmer.  The creative biological is right up Phil’s alley.

“No Trees of Earth”

by David Bischoff

 The palace was haunted.
      At nights Chryseis would sit up in bed and say, “Robert. Robert! I hear something. I sense something!”
      Always, Robert Wolff would wake up, instantly alert to danger. When all his checks were made, when the taloses were consulted, when he had even peered under the bed and nothing proved amiss, he would comfort his beautiful companion.
      “We are safe, my dear,” Wolff assured her. “Now let’s go back to sleep.”
      He did not tell Chryseis that he too felt something wrong.
      Something slightly off.
      For in truth, he had not explored the vast palace fully. Nor had his memories—his Jadawin memories—fully returned.
      Who knew what traps the previous Lord—Lord Arwoor—had set?
      And what of the devices of mischief and sadism that he himself might have laid, clad in his previous personality?
      Always after these upsets Chryseis—all soft in her diaphanous robes, smelling of lavender and sleep—would settle back with her pillows and satin and her pet cat, Achilles. Always would she go back to sleep, nestled in his arms.
      Until one night, she awoke, and awakened him and told him to check the visual banks. A beckoned talos—a …

   (Copyright © 2010 by the Philip J Farmer Family Trust)

The rest of “No Trees of Earth” can be found in The Worlds of Philip José Farmer 1: Protean Dimensions. Keep watching this space for more 200 word excerpts.

Philip José Farmer made a startling discovery when he realized the affect the Wold Newton Meteorite had on the people who were present when it crashed into Northern England. One thing however he did not know, or at least did not share with the world, was why those individuals were there in the first place. Win Scott Eckert has begun his own investigations into this mystery, and tale begins to unfold here:

“Is He in Hell?”

by Win Scott Eckert

France, November 1795 

      Halt! Identify yourself, citoyen.” Dusk was falling and the small, rat-faced guard at the Paris city gates squinted through the driving rain as the rickety wagon approached.
      “Ah, Sergeant Favraux, it is but I, Rambert, with my latest load.”
     Favraux took a few steps forward. “Come closer, Rambert, I can’t see you.”
     The cart rolled forward a few more lengths and halted at the driver’s touch of the rein.
     Favraux slopped through the mud and peered with curiosity at the two men perched on the wagon. “It is you, Rambert,” he exclaimed. “But who’s your driver, he’s a new one.”
     The cart’s driver was cloaked all in black. A broad-brimmed hat pulled low over his brow shadowed his features. 
     “My new driver,” Rambert said, “Citoyen Lecoq.” The man in black gave a respectful, if casual, two-fingered salute.
     Sergeant Favraux nodded. “Well, I’ll have to search the wagon, anyway. Can’t be too careful, you know.”
     “Indeed,” Rambert said. “But you know the contents of my load. They’ll get ruined in this downpour and my lady will have my hide. Can’t we pull under that overhang, and make it quick?”
     The sergeant shrugged and waved the cart toward …

(Copyright © 2010 by the Philip J Farmer Family Trust)

The rest of the “Is He in Hell” can be found in The Worlds of Philip José Farmer 1: Protean Dimensions. Keep watching this space for more 200 word excerpts.

Before one can write a story set in the Wold Newton Universe, which usually entails interactions between characters of disparate origins, reseach must be done. Hours and hours spent verifying such meetings could have really occurred. Win Scott Eckert has, in all likelihood, put more hours into such research than anyone, including Phil Farmer himself.

“The Blakeney Family Tree”

by Win Scott Eckert

            Readers of “Is He in Hell?” may have noticed the rather unusual relationship Sir Percy has with his wife Marguerite and their friend, Alice Clarke Raffles. The relationship intimated in the story is based on chronological and genealogical observations culled from Baroness Orczy’s canonical series of Scarlet Pimpernel novels, Philip José Farmer’s fictional biography Tarzan Alive: A Definitive Biography of Lord Greystoke, and “John Blakeney’s” fictional biography The Life and Exploits of the Scarlet Pimpernel (Sir Percy Blakeney, bart.), or, A Gay Adventurer. The result of these observations is, in true Creative Mythographical fashion, a genealogical reconciliation of these sources: the Blakeney Family Tree. Along the way, I’ll include some helpful suggestions and thoughts from fellow Creative Mythographers Mark Brown, Jess Nevins, Cheryl L. Huttner, Dennis E. Power, Matthew Baugh, and Jean-Marc Lofficier.
      Much of the framework of the Blakeney Family Tree is built upon John Blakeney’s family tree from his biography, The Life and Exploits of the Scarlet Pimpernel, which can be viewed at <http://www.blakeneymanor.com/books/gay/g.html>. However, there are a few inaccuracies and omissions, perhaps purposeful, in this particular tree. A new, expanded tree has been constructed and is available for reference at the conclusion of this note.
      Cheryl L. …

(Copyright © 2010 by Win Scott Eckert)

The rest of the “The Blakeney Family Tree” can be found in The Worlds of Philip José Farmer 1: Protean Dimensions. Keep watching this space for more 200 word excerpts.