I was fortunate to make the acquaintance of William Patrick Maynard recently...   Through my Facebook Network. I say that because otherwise I probably would not have known about his new book that was just released!  It's been too long since the last novel in this series was published to even realize that there was a new novel for Fu Manchu readers and collectors!

His new book,  THE TERROR OF FU MANCHU, (the first Fu Manchu thriller authorized by The Sax Rohmer Literary Estate in 22 years), has just been published by Black Coat Press.

It is now available in hardcover and trade paperback editions.  You can find out more the book at the Black Coat Press web site:  

http://www.blackcoatpress.com

So what is this prose novel about?  Well from the write up we are given at the web site, here is the following background:

Before I write down my thoughts on this book, I wanted to mention why I personally had an interest in this new work by William.

You see there was a 'Fu Manchu' connection with comics a while back.  There was a Marvel Comics comic book series that was published in the mid 1970's.  The title of that series was 'Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu', (MOKF).

During that period Marvel Comics held the comic book rights to Sax Rohmer's pulp novel villain Dr. Fu Manchu, while they also held the rights to the Kung Fu television program that David Carradine starred in!

However, what Marvel Comics published was something  totally different, creating their own main character, but taking some of Sax Rohmer's characters, most notably Fu Manchu and Sir Denis Nayland Smith, and adding them to their comic book series storyline.

William, the author of this new novel, also was a huge fan of MOKF while he was growing up in the seventies.  He is also hoping that Marvel Comics and the Sax Rohmer Literary Estate will be able to work out the reprint rights so that Fans of both formats can see the ESSENTIAL MOKF be printed.  That in my mind would definitely see an increased exposure to this literary property!

My personal thoughts on the new book are as follows:

This is the sixteenth Fu Manchu novel in the library series.  There were Sax Rohmer's thirteen novels and Cay Van Ash's two novels.  After twenty-two years, this novel was published.  Quite honestly I have not read all of the earlier novels as they date back several years, even before my time, LOL, and several appear to be OOP.

However this new one by William is in the same style and prose of the earlier novels and captures the same mood of the period.  I found myself quite captivated from the very start!

What first got me into the flavor of the time was the painting that Christine Clavel created for the cover of the book.  She really captured the eyes and lack of facial hair for Dr. Fu Manchu.  Unlike what most of the mainstream public would remember of him!   Those folks would probably remember him as an aged, partially crippled old man, and more of a caricature of Asians than the almost real looking person on the book cover.

In this new novel, Dr. Fu Manchu is closer to the 1930's incarnation post-DAUGHTER OF FU MANCHU when the 'Elixir Vitae' restored some of his youth back to him.

The Acknowledgements section and the Foreword at the front of the book really set the stage for what you are about to read, and both sections inform the new readers to the background history of the series of books.  It helped remind me of what the series was about, lo those many years ago when I first started reading them.

Although I don't read that many prose text novels at this time in my life, due to my reading and reviewing so many comics and graphic novels to blog about...  this was a nice change of pace.

Truth to tell, I was captivated by William Patrick Maynard's writing style, and felt I was returned to the 1913 period that his story was taking place in. I was along for the ride through the whole telling of the story.  That says something for the writer, who was definitely comfortable in telling someone else's character who had been written about in thirteen earlier novels!  That has to be a tough act to follow!

I would recommend this book for those that are familar with the book series!  Also for those that were into the MOKF series from Marvel, this would make an interesting read!    I do hope that Marvel will be forthcoming with an 'Essential MOKF' book.  The tie-in would be an obvious choice should this prose text novel series continues.  And with this sixteenth novel continuing the grand tradition, the series should be seeing a seventeeth sometime in the near future!

My thanks to William Patrick Maynard for providing me a personal copy of his book, knowing of my regard for the MOKF series and his own love of these characters and wanting to get the word out about his novel!

Details of the book are as follows:

US$20.95/GBP 12.99
5x8 tpb, 246 pages
ISBN-10: 1-934543-71-3
ISBN-13: 978-1-934543-71-9

Note:  In addition there is a hardback collector's edition with a jacket for $39.95, so check out your usual book sources, and if not available there yet, be sure to see the publisher's web site at:  http://www.blackcoatpress.com

It's getting near the End of Round 2 in the Small Press Idol contest...   And I still have more contestants to blog about here!

Oh yes, there's still time to check them out and vote for them, but you gotta hurry... because there's only 7 Days left for the contestants to get the votes in for their projects before Round 2 closes and only 20 contestants move on to Round 3! 

There were 27 entries that made it out of Round 1 and are now being voted upon in Round 2.   But only 20 can move on to Round 3!

So why does this matter and why am I blogging about this contest again?   Well, in Round 2 it is not only the three initial Judges that are doing the voting... it is also registered persons on the site, like YOU or me could be, that are voting in this round!

I have already blogged about a few other entries in the SPI contest so far.... please see my prior posts for those.

'White Rose' is the subject of this blog post.  It got a late start in moving into Round 2, and could use your help in catching up and staying in the Top 20 so as to enter Round 3!   It has found favor with the voters so far, because as of yesterday it was #11 on the listings!  The project was submitted by George Burnett from the Gloucester, MA area.

The Small Press Idol 2009 has 4 rounds:

Round 1 is already over. It was to present the Basic Concept - Talent.

Round 2 ends on April 30th. It is more about showcasing the characters with illos and background text. Only 20 entries move on to Round 3!

Round 3 goes from May 18th - June 7th.  It is on the 'sequential primers'.

Round 4 goes from July 15 - ??? It is the Origin or the #0 issue.

Below is the Basic Concept shown in Round 1 from the 'White Rose'  project:

" In our world, we think of a person as composed of three things - Body, Mind and Soul.

In the world of the White Rose, there is a fourth thing: the Name.

To Name a person is to have power over them. To steal their Name is to gain that power. Memory is linked to the Name. But it’s not the ordinary memory inside one person’s mind. It’s the Memory of the Name itself, of everything that person ever did, and everyone they ever met - to steal a person’s name is to effectively wipe them out of collective Memory - it’s as if they never existed…

This belief in the power of Names is widespread, but the dark rituals allowing Names to be stolen are the stuff of myth and legend. Just as every child learns to fear the bogeyman, name thieves are the inhabitants of their bedtime stories. The truth behind these tales has been lost to time… until now.

After surviving a horrific attack on her village, a young woman wakes with no memory of her Name; in fact no one else in the village can remember it either. It seems she is the victim of a forgotten magic… somehow, during the attack, someone has stolen her Name.

They call her the White Rose, but she is determined to get her true Name back, and she’s not going to let anyone stop her…”

Round 2 at the web site shows the characters from 'White Rose'.  The above illustration at the top left of this post is in pencilled form only at this time and is just a representation of what other pages are like at the web site for viewing and reading.

I believe those blog readers that are into 'Fantasy' Comics and Graphic Novels may enjoy this project.  Those of you that have been reading this Blog for a while will know of my fondness for 'Red Sonja' and 'Belit' from the Conan Era. 

For more on 'White Rose' I invite you to check out this entry on the Small Idol Press web site.   After viewing his progress so far, and liking it, George would definitely appreciate your vote!  If you are not yet signed up to vote at the Small Press Idol 2009, feel free to do so!

If you have signed up to vote at Small Press Idol, you can vote for 'White Rose' at: 

http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/forum-t36664.html 

To read more about the 'White Rose' project go to:   

http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/content339.html

If you haven't signed up yet for Small Press Idol, the 'sign up' page to vote for 'White Rose' or any other of the SPI entries is at:   http://www.dimestoreproductions.com/signup.php

Audrey Lee's creations...  Have been featured on eBay for a while now!  I have been meaning to blog about her and her life sized soft dolls, but wanted to present a more in depth blog post instead of just a passing mention of the dolls and Audrey's eBay Store. 

My thought was that these life sized dolls would be a great addition for my blog readers that are into HoRRoR and MoNSTer stories, AND that enjoy turning their homes into neat little 'scary' places at Halloween time by showcasing one of Audrey's dolls!  

I earlier asked Audrey about what would 'posess' her to create these dolls.  Well I received my answer just this very week!

As a little girl, Audrey loved to play with dolls.  She began at a very young age creating her own on paper and for many years entertained herself and others with these 'paper pretties'. Her love of the macabre led her to create them with Halloween costumes. Years later, these inspired her to create life-size soft-cloth OoaK dolls.
 
As a young adult, Audrey loved to decorate for Halloween. She began with making a life-size scarecrow each year to grace their front porch and welcome guests.  Her first doll was made with old clothing, wadded up newspaper and a papier mache head which she crafted one day from a balloon, newspaper and home-made paste.  The first scarecrow changed it's appearance each year until one day there were two... a male and a female!
 
So it was that in 1999, Audrey created her first 'real doll' using fiberfill and a styrofoam wig head.  It was then that 'Willow the Witch' was born. The following year she created Lily, a Vampiress; then each year following until at one point she had more than 20 in her private collection.  Each year the dolls were improved, some dimantled and many were recreated.
 
Her family and friends all encouraged her to make these for sale but each doll Audrey makes is special to her and very difficult to part with. She then decided to create some just for the purpose of selling.  She created a life-size body pattern from newspaper taped together, then began the creation process.
 
Each doll Audrey makes is a one-of-a-kind, (OOAK). She spends days unnumbered thinking about them, working on them, shopping for the perfect outfit and look for each doll. Even naming them.. it's all very involved.  Is it work for her? Yes! Fun?  Definitely!  In fact, making these dolls is her 'passion' and she says she absolutely loves her 'job'!
 
Her ideas and creativity stem from her love of horror, science fiction, and mythology.  Of course Audrey's fondest childhood television memories were a huge inspiration!  "The Munsters", "Addams Family" and "Dark Shadows" were three of her biggest inspirations.  And long time readers of my blog will know that the first two were shows I enjoyed as child, and Tina used to run to friends' houses after school to catch the first runs of 'Dark Shadows'!
 
This blog post's featured doll is dedicated to the memory of Yvonne De Carlo who played Lily Munster from 1964-1966 on the TV Show 'The Munsters'.

  Ms. De Carlo passed away at the age of 84, Jan. 2007 which I blogged about previously.  Although her achievements included key roles in many movies including "Follies" and "Moses", she was also a long time student of voice, singing opera and she also played the harp.

However to many of us she's best known as the definitive Lily, who presided over the faux scary household in a cob-webbed, gothic setting in the TV Show.  She was 'Vampire Mom' to millions of baby boomers and Audrey was one of them, saddened by her passing.  She fashioned Yvonne after her, to give honor and tribute to one of the greatest, gracious, and most beautiful glamour Queens of Hollywood.  
 
'Vampiress Yvonne' is currently for sale at Audrey's eBay store, "Rock On by Audi".  For those interested in seeing more pictures of Yvonne and the other dolls, please see the following link:

Rock On Audi OOAK Dolls and Other Unique Toys!

(Please note:  This listing is NOT one of Make It So Marketing's... it comes directly from Audi's eBay enterprise.   Additional  Note: A complimentary item for this mention / review was NOT provided by the creator.)