The Skelos Kickstarter launched today.  Here’s the link for those of you who wish to save time by skipping this post and going straight to pledging.

Now, why I am supporting.

And, no, it’s not because I’m a contributor.  I would support this Kickstarter even if I weren’t involved at some level.

Let me rephrase that.  I would support the Skelos Kickstarter even if I weren’t contributing to the first issue.  Because I would be involved.  As a reader, if nothing else.

Allow me to pontificate.  *Climbs on soapbox*  I care deeply about the fields of weird fiction and dark fantasy.  They are some of my favorite genres to read in.  I want to be able to read new works, and I want to see the field grow and expand.  Plus I want to know what is out there that I might have missed.  That’s where the reviews will come in.

Furthermore, I’m interested in the history of the field.  I want to learn more about classic works and legends of the past, such as Howard, Lovecraft, Smith, Leiber, etc. I want to know what inspired them, what terrified them, and what fascinated them.  I want to know how these things influenced their writing.  Too many people have negative opinions of this type of writing.  It’s refreshing to see a venue that will treat the literature of the fantastic with respect.

Skelos will contain original fiction, reviews, and articles.  That’s a hat trick in my opinion.  So Reason the First:  As a reader and amateur historian of the field of the fantastic, this is the type of publication I want to read.

Reason the Second:  I’m also an aspiring fiction writer, and I don’t think there are enough markets for this type of fiction.  I’ve always believed that short fiction is the lifeblood of fantasy, science fiction, and horror.  That idea is not original with me.  It’s in the short form that writers can learn their craft, take risks, and do something different.  Not all stories are novels.  Nor should they be.  Look at the history of the small press over the last half century.  Look at the ground breaking anthologies of the 1970s, such as Shadows and Whispers.  Look at the contributors.  The tables of contents of those publications read like a Who’s Who of the field.  I want to see those types of publications return.  And I want a piece of that action.

Reason the Third:  I’ve known Chris Gruber, Mark Finn, and Jeff Shanks for a number of years now.  (No, I don’t know how many off the top of my head, and I’m not going to stop and count.)  I consider these men to be my friends.  I know that they care deeply about weird fiction and dark fantasy.  They are more passionate about it than I am.  I want to support them because of friendship and because of the types of men they are.  They aren’t doing this to make a fast buck.  This is a labor of love, and they’re going to do it right.  Skelos will be something they can and will be proud of.

So those are three reason I’m supporting the Skelos Kickstarter.  If you share one or more of those reasons with me, then please consider pledging.  There are a number of levels at which you can pledge, so you can support without breaking the bank.  Learn more here.

Update:  The Kickstarter was fully funded in under 4 hours.  In less than 2 days, the first stretch goal was reached.  In other words, the second issue is now fully funded. Let’s see if we can reach the third stretch goal and fully fund the third issue.  We’ve got just over 27 days to do it.

Update 2:  The third issue has been funded.