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New Release: Full Metal Octopus by Carlton Mellick III

Welcome to Grub Town, the most corrupt city in America. A place where gutter punk mermaids swim in sewage-filled canals, fairy prostitutes hang in birdcages on every street corner, and yakuza elves run everything behind the scenes.

Eliot is the most beautiful fairy in all of the city with his dazzling emerald green butterfly wings that make everyone who sees them fall instantly in lust with him. But it’s more of a curse than a blessing. Forced to hide his wings in public in order to avoid the constant sexual harassment, Eliot only finds solace when visiting his friends at the Snake Pit lamia strip club or getting tattooed by the dark and mysterious half-octopus woman named Oona.

Oona is the best tattooist in the city, but she is a frightening woman three times Eliot’s size with nine-foot tentacles that could choke a man to death in seconds. But despite this fact, Eliot is desperately in love with her. He’s so infatuated with the octomaid that he gets new tattoos from her each and every week just to be closer to her, addicted to having her artwork permanently embedded into his skin. But when Eliot accidentally murders the only heir to the elf yakuza crime family in Oona’s tattoo shop, they are forced to go on the run together, hoping to avoid the wrath of the most dangerous man in town. With everyone in the city out to get them, they can only rely on each other if they have any hope for survival.

Like if Quentin Tarantino played with Monster High dolls, Full Metal Octopus is a return to Mellick’s pulpy gritty bizarro style previously seen in The Cannibals of CandylandArmadillo Fists, and Clownfellas.

For almost 20 years, Carlton Mellick III has been writing some of the strangest and most compelling novels the bizarro fiction genre has to offer. Described as one of the top 40 science-fiction writers under the age of 40 by The Guardian and “one of the most original novelists working today” by extreme horror legend Edward Lee, Mellick returns with an erotic urban fantasy crime novel about love and violence, sex and sexuality, oppression and overcoming impossible odds.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carlton Mellick III is the Wonderland Book Award-winning author of over 45 novels, including Quicksand House, Bio Melt, Cuddly Holocaust and Warrior Wolf Women of the Wasteland, among others. In 2013, he was named one of the top 20 science-fiction writers under the age of 40 by The Guardian UK.

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New Eraserhead Press Team Member: Troy Chambers

Please join me in welcoming the newest member of the Eraserhead Press Team, Troy Chambers. I am very proud to announce that Troy is our new office assistant at the Bizarro Headquarters in Portland, Oregon. Eraserhead Press has seen enormous growth in the past year and we are extremely happy to have Troy on board. He will be assisting us with various projects from copy editing to web design. Troy has been a fan and supporter of Bizarro Fiction since he was 16 years old and has been an active member of the Bizarro community online and has volunteered to help with the organization of BizarroCon for the past two years. Troy is an enthusiastic, talented, passionate person and we are very excited that he has joined our team full time.

I conducted this brief interview with Troy that I would like to share with you:

What makes you the perfect person for this job?

“ Bizarro is everything to me- I’m the type to sleep in the office (or not sleep at all) to get the job done. I seriously believe in Eraserhead Press- and Bizarro as a whole- and I’m willing to put in the time and energy it takes (plus a little extra) to keep this thing we have running smoothly. I came from Connecticut to Portland last last year for BizarroCon, and never left. I’d been wanting to move in closer to the action for years, and once here I just couldn’t get back on the plane to leave. When I was offered the chance to be added to the core Eraserhead Press team, I knew that finally I’d found a job that’s not a filler job- this is an opportunity to stay with something that I love. Once you start working at a place where you feel guilty when you’re not at the office, when being there and working is what you look forward to every day- THEN you know you’re in the place you need to be. I’m really glad that I’m so lucky to be in that place. I’m here, I’m willing and able, I’m ready to go. Vivat Bizarro!!”

What does Bizarro mean to you?

“What’s Bizarro to me? Pure unadulterated joy. When I first found Bizarro I knew it’s where I needed to be- it’s what I had been searching for, and had yet to find. When I found it, I knew I couldn’t rest until I was able to help it in any way that I could. Like I said before, Bizarro is my everything. I eat sleep drink and breath to be with these books, and the wonderful authors who create them. Bizarro really has found a way to bring readers what they want- the fun, weird and otherwise homeless books that usually would cause a publisher to scoff: ‘We could never publish THAT!!’ Bizarro isn’t like that. Bizarro, and Eraserhead Press, is willing to take those chances because it knows there ARE people who want to read those books, and plenty of them. They were also willing to take the chance on a goofy guy ecstatic to be able to be involved and help the company, and for that I’m ever grateful. I’m SO happy to be here!”

What were your first few days working at Eraserhead Press like?

“I knew instantly that I had been invited into the best job ever. When I first came in to start working, I knew that this is what I wanted to keep doing. I came in to the Eraserhead Press offices the first time to do edits and work on Whargoul, Dave Brockie’s new book out through Deadite Press. It was really an amazing opportunity to get to work on that book- a big responsibility, a serious project, but something that I was trusted with enough to get to work on. I was impressed and got pulled into the Eraserhead atmosphere right away- hard work, but on something the Team cares about, with people who are mutually helpful, supportive and fun. The Eraserhead Team is great- working with Rose, Carlton, Cameron and Jeff is an absolute dream. The place is fun, inviting and fast paced- the kind of place where a day at work can  be made up of working like crazy to meet a deadline, helping an author get better at their work, or playing video games and watching weird movies. Eraserhead Press is just as awesome on the inside and in the offices as its books- maverick strangeness that’s a hell of a lot of fun. “

What are your five favorite Bizarro books right now?

“Do I really have to choose just five? I’ve yet to read a Bizarro book I really disliked. Having to choose is little trying to pick a favorite pet… Alright though, in no particular order: The Emerald Burrito of Oz by John Skipp and Marc Levinthal, The Egg Man by Carlton Mellick III, Shall We Gather At The Garden? by Kevin Donihe, Ass Goblins of Aushwitz by Cameron Pierce, and How To Eat Fried Furries by Nicole Cushing. I don’t know if I’d put it on the list since I can only choose five, but Apeshit is close to my favorite TYPE of Bizarro novel- the really violent and over-the-type gore books, filled with insane and ridiculous humor. In a book, I like laughter with my blood.”

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Portland Literary Offensive (PLO)

Tomorrow will be the first official meeting of the Portland Literary Offensive. We are really excited about the formation of this group.

The PLO is a Portland writing community for serious writers of fringe/underground fiction who have joined forces to help each other out in every possible way. Some are new writers, trying to get their first book polished and published. Some are small press authors, trying to figure out ways to get the word out for their new book. Some are professional authors, looking for new ways to build their readership. Some are small press publishers, looking for new talent. Its primary function is to get people networking so we can become more organized, motivated, and inspired as a community. Current members are Jeremy Robert Johnson, Kristopher and Christine Young (of Another Sky Press), Daniel Scott Buck, Carlton Mellick III, Rose O’Keefe (of Eraserhead Press), Mykle Hansen, and Steve Libbey.