"Dominant Species" copyright 1993 by J Walker Bell. Originally published in Parlour Papers, Issue #1, 1993
"Outpost" copyright 1992 by J Walker Bell. Originally published in Neophyte, 1992 Anthology
"The Porch" copyright 1991 by J Walker Bell. Originally published in Nightside: The Magazine of Amateur Horror Fiction, Volume 2, Issue #7, 1991
"Gates of Delirium" copyright 2011 by J Walker Bell
"Infant Dawn" copyright 1994 by J Walker Bell. Originally published in Neophyte, 1994 Anthology
"Birth of Words" copyright 1993 by J Walker Bell
"Of Cactus, Castles, and Queens" copyright 1989 by J Walker Bell
"Testament of Faith" copyright 2011 by J Walker Bell
"The Net" copyright 1991 by J Walker Bell. Originally published in Neophyte, Volume 1, No. 4, 1991
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Table of Contents
Introduction, Acknowledgements, Special Tribute
Dominant Species
Outpost
The Porch
Gates of Delirium (poem)
Infant Dawn
Birth of Words
Of Cactus, Castles, and Queens
Testament of Faith
The Net
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Introduction
There was a time back in the 1990's that I did a lot of fiction writing, primarily science fiction and horror. I didn't make much money at it, but I did publish a number of stories. I also did book reviews and some artwork as well, and even became a story editor/reviewer for a small press "zine" called Neophyte.
I distinctly remember how much I loved writing and how hard I worked at it, mostly at night after a full day's work at my "real" job. That's why I was so surprised when somewhere along the way I realized I had stopped writing. I couldn't recall wanting to stop writing, nor could I recall making a decision to stop writing. My life just went on without it.
I missed it, at least at an unconscious level. I think I missed it even before I realized it was gone, if that makes sense. To be honest, I never stopped writing all together, because there was that gap I felt had to be filled somehow. So I wrote. I made blogs and contributed to forums where I had interests.
I wasn't writing original stories, however. I worked at being creative and entertaining in my blogs, but the reality was that the writing was based on worlds already created by others and was more about reporting what happened instead of creating something new. These things served as a substitute, and still have their place, but my desire to write original stories never really left me. It was buried under an otherwise full and happy life.
I am writing again full time. J Walker Bell is the pseudonym I used during that earlier period of writing and I've retained the pen name for the sake of continuity. I've also resurrected an avatar called the Jaded Walker to be my logo and to help me along the way. The Jaded Walker is a real, fourteen inch statue of a shaggy troll carrying a baseball bat. It stood on my desk and glowered at me when I was shirking my writing, and remains a source of inspiration and focus.
This collection brings together much of my earlier work now long out of print, as well as introducing new stories published for the first time.
For more information about me and my creations, please go to https://www.jwalkerbell.com.
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Acknowledgements
This collection would not have been possible without the help of my wife, Judi, who undertook the titanic effort of helping me pull these stories together, including retyping, formatting, and proofing much of the original content so that it could be aggregated for eBook publication. I am also in debt to Erik Sullivan, who took time away from our shared obsession with World of Warcraft to help proof read for me.