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Courting Morpheus
How can the residents of New Bedlam find their way out of the darkness they call home...into a darkness of release at Morpheus' hands? An idea was born on a night not so long ago"?and it grew into one monster after another until now, finally it has broken free. With selections from M.R. Sellars, Camille Alexa and more, an introduction by Alethea Kontis - New Bedlam awaits the creatively brave.
- GenresShort StoriesHorror
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First published March 30, 2010
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About the author
Jodi Lee
33 books34 followersJodi has been writing and editing professionally for a decade, dividing her time between her own WIPs and those of her public clients. She is the publisher/EiC of Belfire Press and The New Bedlam Project.
Currently she and her daughters are working together to create a series of non-fiction chapbooks for new pagan families, based on the Wheel of the Year.
Over the years her non-fiction has appeared in Shroud Magazine, Necrotic Tissue, Apex Digest, The Beltane Papers, The Blessed Bee, newWitch, Noneuclidian Cafe, and the Michelle Belanger-edited collection, Vampires – In Their Own Words.
Her short horror has been included in the magazines Nocturnal Ooze, Night To Dawn, Necrotic Tissue, Monsters Next Door Road Trip Issue, and the anthologies Horrorology (Twisted Library Press), War of the Worlds Frontlines (Northern Frights Publishing), Fifty-Two Stitches (Strange Publications), The Black Garden (Corpulent Insanity), Tainted (Strange Publications), Parasitic Thoughts (The Parasitorium Group), and Fried! Fast Food, Slow Deaths (Graveside Tales) and as part of Rhada McKai in Courting Morpheus (Belfire Press).
Currently she and her daughters are working together to create a series of non-fiction chapbooks for new pagan families, based on the Wheel of the Year.
Over the years her non-fiction has appeared in Shroud Magazine, Necrotic Tissue, Apex Digest, The Beltane Papers, The Blessed Bee, newWitch, Noneuclidian Cafe, and the Michelle Belanger-edited collection, Vampires – In Their Own Words.
Her short horror has been included in the magazines Nocturnal Ooze, Night To Dawn, Necrotic Tissue, Monsters Next Door Road Trip Issue, and the anthologies Horrorology (Twisted Library Press), War of the Worlds Frontlines (Northern Frights Publishing), Fifty-Two Stitches (Strange Publications), The Black Garden (Corpulent Insanity), Tainted (Strange Publications), Parasitic Thoughts (The Parasitorium Group), and Fried! Fast Food, Slow Deaths (Graveside Tales) and as part of Rhada McKai in Courting Morpheus (Belfire Press).
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 5, 2010
I enjoy anthologies, and every now and then there's one that shares a setting rather than a theme which adds a unique flavor to the book as a whole. It gives the sense that every story is connected in some tangible way. In this case, Jodi Lee's fictional town of New Bedlam provides the backdrop for fourteen short stories. Reading the book, I had the inkling that New Bedlam was not totally unlike The Blackstone Chronicles, John Saul's series of stories set within that one town, but New Bedlam is a town of a completely different beast. Not only is it a sandbox for all of the contributing authors, but the stories they write all revolve around writers too--drawn to New Bedlam by some otherworldly compulsion.
New Bedlam is a quaint little town set somewhere between Toronto and New Orleans. The deliberate lack of a pinpoint on a map provides an extra bit of mystery to the place, giving it that "Everytown, U.S.A." vibe. There's a suspected serial killer in town, if the rampant rumors are to be believed, and the murders don't seem to have any rhyme or reason. The thread that connects them is authors--writers that have migrated to New Bedlam from all four corners and exhibit a proclivity towards darker fiction. A town full of horror authors. Perish the thought.
I lucked out by winning a copy of this anthology through a contest Belfire Press. It piqued my interest when I recognized a few of the names in the table of contents. Louise Bohmer I know from reading and reviewing her debut novel, The Black Act. Then I saw Brandon Layng's name, whose short fiction I've already had a chance to read online, as well from visiting his blog regularly. I also saw Camille Alexa listed, who I recognized from the anthology Shadows of the Emerald City, in which we both have short stories published. Then there was Alethea Kontis (we each have stories published in the sci-fi anthology Zero Gravity) who provided the introduction to the book.
Insomnia is the other shared theme in this anthology, and the disturbing dreams and imaginations of the writers holding influence on the real world. Hence the title "Courting Morpheus". It's a cool concept and varied widely by the stories Jodi Lee has selected for the book. There's some atmospheric stuff with Jeff Parrish's "Like Father, Like Daughter", some more eccentric style with Ann Tupek's "Aldevouring Chesterfield", and some stomach-turning horror with Brandon Layng's "Can of Worms." There's definitely something for everyone.
It's a good read and a nice find among the small press, but if you're having trouble sleeping and looking for a book to curl up with in hopes of lulling off to dreamland, I'm not so sure this is the one you'll want to fill your head before you close your eyes.
New Bedlam is a quaint little town set somewhere between Toronto and New Orleans. The deliberate lack of a pinpoint on a map provides an extra bit of mystery to the place, giving it that "Everytown, U.S.A." vibe. There's a suspected serial killer in town, if the rampant rumors are to be believed, and the murders don't seem to have any rhyme or reason. The thread that connects them is authors--writers that have migrated to New Bedlam from all four corners and exhibit a proclivity towards darker fiction. A town full of horror authors. Perish the thought.
I lucked out by winning a copy of this anthology through a contest Belfire Press. It piqued my interest when I recognized a few of the names in the table of contents. Louise Bohmer I know from reading and reviewing her debut novel, The Black Act. Then I saw Brandon Layng's name, whose short fiction I've already had a chance to read online, as well from visiting his blog regularly. I also saw Camille Alexa listed, who I recognized from the anthology Shadows of the Emerald City, in which we both have short stories published. Then there was Alethea Kontis (we each have stories published in the sci-fi anthology Zero Gravity) who provided the introduction to the book.
Insomnia is the other shared theme in this anthology, and the disturbing dreams and imaginations of the writers holding influence on the real world. Hence the title "Courting Morpheus". It's a cool concept and varied widely by the stories Jodi Lee has selected for the book. There's some atmospheric stuff with Jeff Parrish's "Like Father, Like Daughter", some more eccentric style with Ann Tupek's "Aldevouring Chesterfield", and some stomach-turning horror with Brandon Layng's "Can of Worms." There's definitely something for everyone.
It's a good read and a nice find among the small press, but if you're having trouble sleeping and looking for a book to curl up with in hopes of lulling off to dreamland, I'm not so sure this is the one you'll want to fill your head before you close your eyes.
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May 5, 2010I won't rate Belfire's books... but we wouldn't be publishing them if we didn't think they were five star-worthy! ;)
March 30, 2013
Full disclosure: I wrote one of the stories in this anthology. But I can still honestly attest to the superb quality of the rest of the stories. And mine isn't bad at all. :)
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews