Wrapping up the WordCrafter “Tales From the Hanging Tree” Book Blog Tour

Tour Schedule

Monday Sept. 9 – Writing to be Read – Reading Excerpt by Joseph Carrabis & Guest Sylva Fae

Tuesday Sept. 10 – Roberta Writes – Guest Kaye Lynne Booth

Wednesday Sept. 11 – Carla Reads – Guest C.R. Johansson

Thursday Sept. 12 – Undawnted – Guest Paul Kane

Friday Sept. 13 – Writing to be Read – Reading Excerpt by Dl Mullan & Guest Matt Usher

The Giveaway

Follow the tour and leave a comment at each stop you visit to let us know you were there and earn an entry in the giveaway for a free digital copy of Tales From the Hanging Tree.

About Tales From the Hanging Tree

Tales from the Hanging Tree is a wonderfully dark, themed anthology which revolves around an ephemeral and timeless hanging tree that absorbs the memories of all hanging victims. This WordCrafter Press anthology was created by invitation only and includes stories from authors Kaye Lynne Booth, Paul Kane, DL Mullan, C.R. Johansson, Joseph Carrabis, Sylva Fae, and Matt Usher.

Book Trailer

Inspiration for Death for Sale, by Matt Usher

Hanging is harder than it looks. In media, you’re more likely to find your average strangulation hanging. This belies a long history of hanging development. Strangulation is more of an amateur, homespun kind of hanging. Many works in this collection consider this to great effect. Others prefer the cleaner solutions. They both have their appeal.

The history of hanging, dating back to at least Homer, converges in different nations to a common point of development. An odd form of mercy: you see, there’s the short drop, the medium drop, and the long drop of the famed “long drop, short stop”. This is because the merciful version of the art of hanging causes death by cervical fracture long before the patient can enjoy asphyxia. Cleaner that way. No risk of having to watch the hanged make a drama out of the proceedings.

The body’s weight does all the work, leaving the executioner to the simple task of pulling a lever. The English, masters of execution that they were, with a long, long history of hanging innocents, had it down to an exact science. The solution is to make a table that compares the soon to be departed’s height and weight to an array of possible drop distances. This was, of course, to avoid the chances of decapitation with a too-long drop, or a drawn-out death by a too-short one. Jolly humanism at its finest. Wouldn’t want to cause a mess. Unless you happen to fall athwart the long history of botched hangings. But hey, you can’t get it right all the time.

 You’ll find plenty to learn about the history and morbid dynamics of hanging in this collection. In my own contribution that takes place in the near future, despite everything I’ve said, I’ve opted for a traditional death by strangulation. It just has that particular frisson. Makes your skin crawl. Others have plumped for the quick and painless style. Why be shy about it when you’re spoiled for choice? So much for the how of hanging; this anthology explores why. Even the Hanging Tree has its reasons.

About Matt Usher

Matt Usher is an agender creature in the big city. Before this, they had no other fiction publications. They write as a critic at Compulsive Reader. They cherish a love of the music of language and a polycule who are the dearest people in their life.

They are the strange sort of being that makes spreadsheets for fun. This is often in service of automatic calculations and data storage for traditional roleplaying games, their most important hobby. Collaborative creativity is one of their most valued things.

They play bass and trumpet, like pro wrestling, and write extremely nerdy poetry. They are immensely neurodivergent and rather queer.

Excerpt from “12 Angry Dead”, by DL Mullan

About DL Mullan

DL Mullan holds a Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning with Technology. Her lecture, Spacescapes: Where Photography Ends; Imagination Begins, debuted at the Phoenix Astronomy Society, which then led to her Sally Ride Festival lecture invitations. Her presentation, Bridging the Gap between Technology and Women, won her accolades at a community college’s Student Success Conference. She has been a panelist at speculative fiction, science fiction, and other regional conventions. Her digital exhibition pieces have won awards at convention art shows, as well as garnered her Second Premium at the Arizona State Fair. Currently, Ms. Mullan’s artistic renditions are seen on book covers, blog sites, and various merchandise. As an independent publisher, she uses her technical background to innovate the way she perceives the creative arts.

As a writer, DL Mullan loves to stretch her imagination and the elasticity of genres. She writes complex multigenre stories in digestible and entertaining forms, be it poetry, short fiction, or novels. Her science, history, mythology, and paranormal research background is woven into her writings, especially in Undawnted’s Legacy Universe. Ms. Mullan’s creative endeavors are available in digital and print collections, from academia to commercial anthologies. She is also an award-winning poet.

Be sure to subscribe to her newsletters and follow her on social media. For further information, visit her at http://www.undawnted.com. 

_____________________________________________

That wraps up this stop and the WordCrafter Tales From the Hanging Tree Book Blog Tour. Thank you all for hanging around with us, and thanks to the contributors of the anthology for all their promotional efforts for this tour. Be sure to use the schedule above to go back and visit any stops that you missed, and don’t forget to comment so I know you were there and can enter you in the drawing for the giveaway. I’ll leave this open through the weekend and announce the winners in this month’s “WordCrafter News” on Monday, the 30th, so be watching for that. After all, you might be a winner!

____________________________________

Book your WordCrafter Book Blog Tour today!