FIGHT!!
Some time ago, I participated in an experiment by the author Paul Bishop called Fight Card. These were a collective effort by a variety of writers to evoke the golden age of the boxing pulps with new novellas. Not all historical, though there were some, but stories that had that feel. Men and women who were fighting for more than prize money. Fighting to prove themselves, or vanquish a fear, or because they simply wanted to beat the living crap out of their enemies in the ring.
I’ll never offer Rosie the Ripper for sale again — sorry, but you had your shot to buy, folks — but that doesn’t mean I’m done with fight fiction. I’m writing a novel right now involving a boxer during the Great Depression, and I’ve been thinking seriously about starting a small online ‘zine devoted to the form. Not for money or fame, but just because.
One thing I discovered when I wrote a short crime piece recently is that the online ‘zine culture that proliferated ten-plus years ago is dead now. There used to be tons of outlets for crime shorts, but there aren’t anymore. Similarly, if somebody wants to write fight fiction, they have no place to publish. Sure, they could put it on a blog like this one, but would anyone notice? Probably not.
So, I’m thinking about how I’d like to address this deficit, or if I should even bother. It seems like a fun project, but I’m not sure. Maybe? We’ll see.