Unpopular Publications

Hi,

We made our goal. ToBaR no 4 has been fully funded! I'm working out the publication details, but I expect to have the printed zines mailed on August 11. The PDF will be sent out on the same day. 

I'm told that with the scope of issue no. 4 we have officially moved out of 'zine' territory and into the province of 'literary journal'. Thanks to all our backers and followers, you're the ones making this possible. Thank you all! There is plenty to look forward to.  

Don't forget to take part in our genre poll. We want your input on future projects.  

I want to extend a sincere thanks to those of you who have backed both Tales of Blood and Roses: Dangerous Games, issue no. 4, along with our Cross-Collab partner DGL Publishing and their I Forgot To Live - A Journey Through Memory and Meaning campaign. Your support for both campaigns strengthens this creative partnership and helps bring two distinct works to life.

If you've only backed one project so far, this is a perfect moment to consider supporting both. Backers of both campaigns receive exclusive cross-project rewards created specifically to honor this collaboration.

You can explore and support each project here (Only 4 days left):

Tales of Blood and Roses – Issue 4: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/unpopular-publications/tales-of-blood-and-roses-issue-4?ref=bk-discover-partner-project-9140

I Forgot To Live – A Journey Through Memory and Meaning: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/dgl-solutions-llc/i-forgot-to-live-a-journey-through-memory-and-meaning?ref=bk-discover-user-profile


Thank you for being part of our shared journey. Your support continues to expand what's possible for both projects.

Sinisterly yours,

Jeff 

Hi All,

I want to thank you all again for backing and/or following us. If you were with us back in 2011 & 2012, thanks for joining us again. This is shaping up to be a very interesting issue.

My interview with John Gregory Betancourt has taken place, and it was fascinating. Genre fans should all know who he is. From my introduction:

John Gregory Betancourt is a writer of science fiction, fantasy, and mystery novels as well as short stories. He's been an assistant editor at Amazing Stories and has edited Horror: The Newsmagazine of the Horror Field, Weird Tales, H. P. Lovecraft's Magazine of Horror, Cat Tales, and Adventure Tales magazines. He is the author of four Star Trek novels, a Chronicles of Amber prequel series, and a dozen other original novels. His essays, articles, and reviews have appeared in publications as diverse as Writer's Digest, The Washington Post, and Amazing Stories. He's currently releasing a The Things from Another World trilogy, a sequel series that expands on John W. Campbell, Jr.'s classic story, Who Goes There. If that wasn't enough, he's also the publisher of Wildside Press.

 Would-be authors... You won't want to miss his insight culled from 40 years of writing and publishing experience.

And don't forget we have Kevin David Anderson here, too!



I think I might keep this interview idea for future issues, as I have leads on a couple of other creators I'd like to sit down with. If anyone has Stephen King's number, please pass it on!

Submissions are open through June 30th. We're getting a lot of good stuff. As per usual, I expect the most serious contributors to get in at the end. If you've been on the fence about submitting, go ahead and send it in. I'll try to send a personal message to every contributor. Check out our guidelines at www.talesofbloodandroses.

I'm also available to discuss ideas and potential contributions. ToBaR covers not only prose and poetry but also art, pictures, cartoons, and some new surprises in issue no. Four's 120 pages!

Don't forget our Cross-Collab: Backing this project and I Forgot To Live – A journey through memory, and meaning will unlock free rewards. 

https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/dgl-solutions-llc/i-forgot-to-live-a-journey-through-memory-and-meaning

Don't forget to vote in the poll! So far, Weird Fiction is leading. But we still have some time.

We are almost funded, which is great. I know we're going to get there. I'm glad we're here together. Pass me the flashlight. It's gonna get dark in here.

Thanks again!

Jeff

After many requests, Tales of Blood and Roses is getting dug up and resurrected for its 15th anniversary. Joining BackerKit's 2026 Zinetopia, which focuses on gaming, this will be a Dangerous Games-themed issue. If you can, join us in the fun by backing us. The zine will likely ship out in mid-August.

We've also teamed up with DGL Solutions, LLC: 

https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/dgl-solutions-llc/i-forgot-to-live-a-journey-through-memory-and-meaning 

Back both projects and get rewarded by both! 

Reach out with any questions, [email protected]

Thanks!

Jeff