A Westcott Short Gets Included in Anthology

I am pleased to announce the inclusion of ‘Birth of a Hero’ in the fantasy and science fiction anthology, Deeper Magic.

Birth of a Hero was written by yours truly at the end of 2002 and subsequently accepted for publication in the ezine, Deep Magic, where I was the featured author for February. Deeper Magic is a print anthology of their best web-published stories during 2003 and, as such, contains some really good tales. It is a must read for all fantasy and science fiction fans.

For those that want a smidgen of background to my story, the idea sprang from Bruvvers in Arms, my soon to be released second novel, and is based on the premise of the gods dispensing magical gifts to Their favoured few. Heroes, of course, as dispensing dragon-killing swords to a one-armed gibbon with a duff leg would not make for entertaining reading. Then again…

Oops! Better get back on topic. Hairy, banana-eating apes wielding whopping great swords can wait until later. The story has the proprietor of the gods’ Olde Curiosity Shoppe dealing with Achilles, and comes up with a darn good theory as to why Achilles had one area of his body that was not protected against attack.

And no, it’s not where you are thinking, Mister. Sheash! The warped way some people think. Whoever heard of an Achilles Elbow?

Anyway, showing some amazing foresight, the editor of the anthology placed my story first in the collection, whetting the appetite for the fourteen stories to come. All the shorts are written by up and coming writers in the fantasy and science fiction genre and there really are some superb reads included. Certainly some names to watch out for in the future.

Deeper Magic is released by the US publisher, Amberlin Press, and for those that are interested, the ISBN is 1-5864-9002-8.

So why not go buy it now? You won’t regret it. The book is available from all amazon sites and is well worth the shekels.

For those brave souls that venture forth, enjoy the read!