by Mark Malcolm
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Afterword
If you enjoyed this story more works by this author can be found on his website or Facebook including the ongoing web serial Guardians of the Herald. links to both Facebook and the website are in the foreword of this story.
Realms of our Own: A Postscript
By David G. Johnson
One autumn day, among the digital halls of a Facebook authors group called “Iron Sharpening Iron”, an idea was born. The middle-aged, mind-weary moderator thought, “What about a collective anthology?” The nagging, whispery voice of the devil’s advocate had taken up residence in the dark recesses of the author’s mind, quickly providing his usual negative counterpoints. An anthology? No one likes anthologies. Besides, this has all been done before. You have way too much on your plate to start something like this.
Undaunted, the scrivener released the hand-brake holding the idea to a slow crawl and let it have its run in his mind. Not another “common setting, contributing authors” anthology made famous in the speculative fiction genre by such great works as Robert Aspirin’s Thieves’ World or George R. R. Martin’s Wild Cards, but something new. What if, instead of a constant setting with varying characters, the characters were the anchoring constant while the settings were allowed to flow freely, bound only by the borders of the realm of speculative fiction? Even that little antagonist paused at the thought. You know, that might be interesting!
This was pretty much the genesis of the idea. From there, we needed to collect ten to twelve contributing authors from the group interested in participating, have each pitch a unique character with no set restrictions, then have each of the contributing authors write their own unique speculative fiction story involving all ten characters in some way. The result would be like a picture of alternate realities or parallel universes where these same characters had very different lives, experiences, and adventures. The normally unpopular format of an anthology would take on a life of its own as a doorway, which would transport the readers from world to world, from reality to reality, giving them a tour of the multiverse while also providing a tasty showcase for a collection of authors or would-be authors of speculative fiction.
The project took on a life of its own as excitement built among the contributors Polls were posted in the Facebook group soliciting ideas for cover design, layout, story order, and even titles and sub-titles for what had the potential to grow into an ongoing series. An editor heard about the project and agreed to help. A cover artist was secured to provide the attractive wrapping for this newly devised dish . Soon, all the elements were in place and coming together.
The road to publishing this anthology was not without its challenges. Writers with very different backgrounds, and very different levels of experience, had signed up to be a part of this unique project. This meant getting everything remotely close to some level of consistency, in everything from formatting style to writing skill, took a lot of patience and a lot of love. The final ingredient was an overall teachable spirit from everyone on the team as we sought to learn from each other’s strengths and combat our own weaknesses . Many peer reviews , editorial reviews, and deadlines later, we were ready to go to press.
Unfortunately a myriad of other challenges arose and the original dream of a bound anthology of all ten stories was not going to be a feasible possibility. Limitations on how credit would be applied, royalty distribution, and differing levels of time commitment cropped up. Eventually it looked like the fruit of this fascinating idea was destined to die on the vine. Then, it occurred to me. What if, much like the multiverse setting which framed the stories, we published a distributed anthology? All would share the name “Realms of Our Own”, but each individual story would have its own subtitle and would be published individually as short stories by each contributing author. That way, each author would set his/ her own timeline, publication schedule, etc. and be in charge of their own marketing. Thus the matter was settled and Realms of Our Own is finally ready to be birthed in its own, distributed anthology, multiverse-incarnation form.
So what do we hope to accomplish with this anthology?
I mean why should anyone pay any attention to another self-published experiment by largely unknown authors? We believe in the value of getting our Iron Sharpening Iron (ISI) works into the hands of as many people as possible. The hope is that each of the contributing authors has his/ her own circle of readers, friends, family , church members, distant relatives, and openly receptive complete strangers who can be reached with this work. By giving ten authors, or would-be authors, such a unique venue in which to showcase their abilities , readers formerly unfamiliar with these authors might be led to investigate their other works . Additionally, by presenting a truly unique speculative fiction reading experience, as interesting and loved characters morph their way through different lives and adventures throughout the Realms Of Our Own (ROOO ) multiverse, readers will share this anthology with their circles of friends, relatives and receptive strangers to further expand the reach of all the contributing authors.
“So it’s a giant marketing pyramid scam or something then, right?”
No, not at all. I believe I can speak for all the contributing authors when I say if readers of this anthology enjoy our stories and are transported to a world of adventure, then we will have succeeded, even if that reader never buys another story from us. Knowing they enjoyed the experience is reward enough. Of course, if along the way we each pick up a few fans who want to read more of our work, then that is just an added bonus and further encouragement that we are on the path God has called us each to.
From all of us at Iron Sharpening Iron, we wish to thank you for reading this anthology, and it is our sincere hope that at the end of the day you find it time well spent.
Should this anthology be as well received as we are all hoping for, we fully intend that there will be future volumes with all new characters, all new worlds, and all new adventures for our readers to experience. For now, buckle up and enjoy your trip through the multiverse.
Other stories by RoOO Authors…
A Time To Play by Zerubbable Emunah
Time Loop: An Outcast Angels Fantasy and Science Fiction Tale by Michael Carney
The Revelation by Stanley Dixon
Rewind by Jeremy Bullard
Godforsaken by Parker J. Cole
Soul Theif by K. M. Carol
Time For Change by David G. Johnson