Dark Tales of Lost Civilizatons

Great news! My first short story is now available in print as part of the anthology, Dark Tales of Lost Civilizations, which was released over the weekend.

It's a fascinating collection full of stories "relating to aspects of civilizations that are crumbling, forgotten, rediscovered, or perhaps merely spoken about in great and fearful whispers."

My story, "British Guiana, 1853," is about a scientist from the British Museum traveling the Essequibo River in search of a mysterious and valuable creature. If you've ever seen ABC's new show "The River," it's kind of like that in tone.

I'm really excited and honored to have my story be part of this collection, which includes the incomparable Joe R. Lansdale and my friend, Andrew Williams.

There are some early blurbs and reviews on the promo page. Here's one by Steve Rasnic Tem:

"As a boy, some of my favorite stories were those of lost lands and civilizations, made popular by such writers as H. Rider Haggard, A. Merritt, and Talbot Mundy. I daydreamed of falling through some hidden cave entrance into a lost and forgotten world (sans injury of course) and if asked about my career ambitions I would have answered that I wanted to be one of those specially lucky explorers. As I gradually became aware that such civilizations weren't terribly likely in our closely-examined world, that fantasy became a bit bruised. But now Eric J. Guignard brings back a bit of that magic with Dark Tales of Lost Civilizations, an anthology mixing the values of pulp fiction (returning us to a milieu where such stories seem more possible) with contemporary standards of fresh description. Here we have lost islands, civilizations on the brink, and uncharted lands imaginatively described with new mythologies. David Tallerman, Mark Lee Pearson, Jamie Lackey, Folly Blaine, Jonathan Vos Post, and JC Hemphill—to mention just a few—all shine, and the new Joe Lansdale piece with a unique slant on a western railroad story is a special treat."

—Steve Rasnic Tem, Bram Stoker and World Fantasy Award-winning author of novels (including his latest, Deadfall Hotel) and numerous collections of short fiction. www.m-s-tem.com

I also just noticed the book is selling a little cheaper over at Barnes & Noble right now.

If you read the book, I'd love to hear what you think.