David Lee Summers

Being able to write short stories is a true talent. The ability to craft a compelling story with well-developed and memorable characters while at the same time capturing and keeping readers' attention in usually under 5000 words is a gift not all writers share. I, for one, struggle with creating short stories while other writers like Stephen King are prolific. One of my favorite writers with that special knack for developing short stories is David Lee Summers.


David Lee Summers is somewhat of a Jack-of-all-trades in the publishing industry. He is the editor and publisher of the popular genre magazine, Tales of the Talisman. He is also a freelance editor who I had the pleasure of working with on my debut novel, Dying Moon. David has also edited the anthologies Space Pirates and Space Horrors among others. David is a great writer in his own right as he has authored seven novels including Vampires of the Scarlet Order, The Solar Sea, and the forthcoming Owl Dance scheduled to be published in October 2011. David's short stories have appeared in a number of anthologies including Human Tales, Six Guns Straight From Hell, and Bad-Ass Faeries 3: In All Their Glory which is noteworthy as it won the EPIC eBook award for best anthology in 2011 as well as a who's-who of magazines like Realms of Fantasy, Aoife's Kiss, and The Fifth Di... Add to all this when David is not busy writing he works as an astronomer for Kitt Peak National Observatory!


My favorite of David's short stories is titled, The Slayers. It was first published in Realms of Fantasy magazine August 2001. The interesting aspect of The Slayers is that it is a retelling of Moby Dick. Instead of whales however, dragons are featured prominently as the crew of the airship, Slayer hunt them for their carbide which is used as a light source while also attempting to find the elusive and dangerous gold dragon. The Slayers is a fast-paced tale readers will not be able to put down until finished. I know I couldn't. The Slayers can currently be found at Smashswords located at Smashwords - The Slayers - A book by David Lee Summers.


David Lee Summers' background in astronomy and his keen editing eye have provided him with the unique ability to write compelling short stories grounded in science giving them a sense of believability. David's writing is technically sound providing an easy, well-paced read. The Slayers is a prime example of this as David draws on his professional training to create the dirigible airships used to hunt dragons while the story flows smoothly as it unfolds.


David Lee Summers has several new short stories scheduled to be published later this year. These include the vampire themed stories The Vrykolakas and the Cobbler's Wife which will be published in Cemetery Dance magazine and Luftgeist appearing in Hungur Magazine this November. David's story, War Zone will be part of the anthology A Taste of Armageddon also this fall.


For more information about David Lee Summers and his many works fans are encouraged to visit his website at www.zianet.com/dsummers as well as his web journal located at www.davidleesummers.wordpress.com/. For more information regarding Tales of the Talisman magazine visit its website at www.talesofthetalisman.com/. David also enjoys visitors and followers at his Twitter page, http://twitter.com/davidleesummers and his Facebook page found at facebook.com/davidleesummers .