I’m a big fan of noir fiction, the hard-edged post-war crime fiction written by Jim Thompson, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and Horace McCoy. Generally, you’ve got a guy with a chip on his shoulder or some other emotional baggage, a woman with a mysterious and possibly unsavory (or at least untrustworthy) past, and a lot of betrayal. Oh yeah—and often (but not always) a mystery.I’m also a reader and editor of supernatural fiction—the darker the better.
So when Rachel Edidin, the Dark Horse editor who worked with me on the anthology Lovecraft Unbound, suggested that I might want to take “supernatural noir” as my next theme for an anthology, I jumped at the opportunity. What could be more fun than combining two loves into an entertaining package for readers.
When I choose a theme for an anthology it must be something I’m interested in, as I’m going to spend a couple of years of my life working on it, from the time I start soliciting the stories, to choosing them once they start coming in (generally about ten months after I put out word to the writers who I want in my book), to actually editing those stories and preparing all the other bits of the anthology for production, to helping to publicize the book when it comes out. Usually, an original anthology (in contrast to an all reprint anthology) comes out about two years after the book is bought by the publisher.
The first step: I approach writers whose work I love and have always wanted to publish and those with whom I’ve already worked in the past.
Second step: (after nagging everyone to get their stories in on time) I choose the stories for the book—making sure that they fit well together and represent a variety of tone, voice, plot, character, and setting.
Third step: I edit every story, an ongoing process that begins when I receive and accept the first story submission. This always involves back-and-forth with the writer: I ask questions and make suggestions, and they respond and revise until we’re both happy with the result. Fourth step: I put those stories in an order that I’m happy with. (assuming readers will read the stories in the order in which they’re published—which is not always the case). The rest of the process takes place between me and my in-house editor, who serves as my liaison with the art department, the production department, and the marketing/publicity team at Dark Horse.
Inevitably, an original anthology evolves as I work on it and that’s certainly been the case with Supernatural Noir. I sent out guidelines explaining what I wanted: smart, edgy, complex, harder than nails hard, noir stories with supernatural elements. NOIR. I told writers that it wouldn’t be necessary to have a detective or P.I in the story—in fact, I didn’t want too many stories with that kind of setup.
The contributors are a motley crew, including both writers best known for their noir style, like Joe R. Lansdale and Tom Piccirilli; and others who are equally comfortable writing science fiction, fantasy, and horror, like Lucius Shepard, Elizabeth Bear, Jeffrey Ford, Caitlín R. Kiernan, and Richard Bowes.
In their stories, you’ll encounter a hit man who kills with coincidence, a detective caught in a war between two worlds, evil garden gnomes, and—no joke—a magic dildo. If you think those last two sound funny, you’re in for a surprise; in the shadows of Supernatural Noir, appearances are nothing if not deceiving. Expect the unexpected. And, most important—enjoy.
-Ellen Datlow