As Fool’s Republic opens, Simon Wyley floats in a tiny all-white cell. A short-order cook with a genius-level IQ, Wyley has had a steady job for twenty years, paid his taxes, kept to himself. A dedicated husband and father, he’s a model citizen. So why is he being held?

Wyley is accused of committing crimes against the state—the charges are always implied, never specified—and is being held without formal charge, benefit of counsel, or due process of law. He confuses and confounds his interrogators using the only weapons at his disposal, irony and whimsy, to challenge their arrogance and false assumptions. As Wyley’s journey proceeds, we develop a deeper understanding of the complicated man behind the wisecracks and the dark underbelly of the society that has imprisoned him.

One of the most exciting things about the small press market is the ability to publish books that cross broad genre boundaries. Joan M. Sargent's TURKOISE, billed as Visionary Fiction, is one such book. It was released by Parendi Press in June, 2010. Combining elements of historical and multicultural fiction, a touch of magical realism, and a strong romantic element, Turkoise is a multiple award winning debut novel. The story of the book's genesis--a concussion followed by vivid dreams and uncanny coincidences--is almost as fascinating as the story itself. We invited Joan Sargent to share more about the book and her creative process here.

In a journey that could heal her heart, or end her life, a young journalist grieving the sudden death of her fiancé is called on to investigate a psychiatric patient's claims of reincarnation with a soul mate across time.

TED: Tell us a little bit about the genesis of the book idea and/or how you came to decide to write it.

Road Signs: A Story of Practical Magic">Straddling the line between fantasy and literary fiction is a genre known as magical realism. It combines the poetic punch of literature with surreal and otherworldly elements to make a genre far richer than either genre alone. Our editors were pleased to work with such a book recently, and we're even more pleased to announce that Jay Archer David's ROAD SIGNS is now available to the public. "There is a road between places, between things, peoples and times. It conceals magic, bestows power-but mostly we travel it with eyes closed. David wants to open his eyes and travel farther." This is the premise behind ROAD SIGNS, and we've invited Jay Archer David to share more about his book, its creation, and his decision to self publish,  here.

TED: Tell us a little bit about the genesis of the book idea and/or how you came to decide to write it.

Now that Fall is here, it's the perfect time for a fire in the fireplace and a good book in your hands. For many people, nothing is better than curling up with an engrossing whodunnit. While there is no shortage of mystery and thriller titles on bookstore shelves, there is always room for the next great police procedural or crime-solving grandmother. When you're done with the latest bestseller and ready to tackle writing your own, the following resources (compiled by our wonderful intern Deb Signorli) will help you bring the right amount of mystery or grit to your story.

As the week winds to a close, I'd like to leave you with some horror writing resources. Also, don't forget that we're giving away a free Introductory Critique. Find the details in the first post of this series (linked below). Big thanks to RJ Cavender and Jane Ryder for their guest posts, and also to the many communities like shocklinesforum.yuku.com, horrorworld.org, merchantskeep.com who have carried on the conversation beyond this blog.

If you're looking for information on the nuts and bolts of horror writing, horror.org and fictionfactor.com house two of the internet's best compilations of horror-themed writing craft articles. I've selected a few to highlight here, but please browse their listings and find the ones that work best for your writing style and interest.

I was going to try to write a fairly scholarly, objective blog post about some of the interesting and highly entertaining fiction and film that comes out of pairing horror with other genres. I could think of plenty of movies - for instance, several horror and comedy titles sprang promptly to mind ("Shaun of the Dead" being a prime example of comedy with horror, and the '99 version of "The House on Haunted Hill" being a prime example of horror with comedy), but I couldn't think of any comedic horror novels off the top of my head.

So then I tried to think of other pairings and again could only think of movies. I own a fair bit of horror on DVD, but browsing my shelves just wasn't helping me. "Event Horizon," no aha! moment . . . "28 Days Later," nope, nothing's coming to me . . . "Pitch Black," nada . . . (though you're probably seeing the theme already). So I turned to my nerdy bookshelves and leafed through some of my home reference books for background and inspiration. I began with the entry for HORROR in "The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction" by John Clute and Peter Nichols. For some reason it still took several pages of reading for the ball to drop: Hey, wait a minute . . .

Our first Horror Week contribution comes from RJ Cavender, a staff editor with a long-time passion for the horror genre. His work on the Horror Library series has earned him two Bram Stoker Award nominations, and he's always on the lookout for up and coming talent in the genre.

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"The World is degenerating today; bribery and corruption abound, children no longer obey their parents, every man wants to write a book, and it is obvious the end of the world is fast approaching"

- Assyrian Tablet circa 2800BCE

I spend a lot of time talking with people about horror fiction. I've been a working editor for years now and I love my job and the horror community as a whole. So it's frustrating for me that not a year goes by without someone, somewhere declaring with great authority and conviction that once-and-for-all -- "Horror is Dead".

Each year some new film or book flops onto the scene that supposedly nails the coffin shut on what is said to be a failing and unappreciated subgenre. Without proof or provocation anyone can utter these three inflammatory words to instantly spice up any review or quasi-literary conversation.

What began as a casual conversation at the Tucson Festival of Books has turned into a wonderful working relationship, and we're happy to announce that R.J. Cavender is now a member of our editorial staff. R.J. has many years of editing experience, and has recently worked with Cutting Block Press to bring several horror anthologies to print. He is passionate about the horror genre, from things that go bump in the night to explorations of the darker side of humanity and nature.

To welcome him to the fold and introduce him to genre writers, we're giving away one free Introductory Critique. This is your chance to receive feedback from a professional editor, and to make your novel or short story's first pages shine. If you're a twitter user, simply retweet this article and your name will go in the hat. You can even use the handy "retweet" button at the top right of this page.