PULP & POPCORN

Page 5
But for now, I’ll continue to make these free. At least the first four issues are
going to be available this way, and after that, I’ll be making my decisions about how
to try to monetize things. I’m sorry to open this by talking about something as crass
as trying to get paid for my work, but that’s the world that has evolved in the time
that I’ve been buried in the Internet. My paid work as a writer has been going on
since 1994, so I certainly think I’ve earned the right to say that my business is
writing. But what that means is a very different thing now than it used to be, and you
can consider this my attempt to define that.
I’m making some adjustments to the formatting this time around, and I may
do a “remastered” version of the first issue to make it clearer for future readers. I’m
not sure I should have picked that installment of Background to kick things off with,
because I’m not sure it laid out exactly what it is I’m trying to do with the series. I’ll
try it again next time, skipping this issue because I’ve doubled up on the original
ongoing stories. It also wasn’t made clear that The Shadow Box will continue with a
second chapter in Pulp & Popcorn #3, but it will. Chapter two is called “Cast of
Characters,” and I’m excited for you to see where that story is heading in future
installments. It’s dark, but I think there’s some meat on the bone, ideas worth
exploring.
This time out, you’ll be introduced to two new ongoing stories. Djinn Rummy
is a detective story set in 1948 Los Angeles, and Noel is a story that was born over 20
years ago when Scott Swan turned to me and said, “Hey, what’s the original story of
Santa Claus?” I’ve been playing around with Djinn Rummy for the last few years in
several different formats, and it feels like a world that I’ve already explored
thoroughly, one that I’m eager to share. Noel is a story that I refuse to let die, and I
road-tested it by reading chapter one to my kids late on Saturday night.
They fell asleep, so I’m feeling good about things.
I’m glad you guys came back if you read the first issue, and if you’re new to
Pulp & Popcorn, welcome aboard. It’s weird. And that’s exactly what I wanted.