A Secret Guide to Fighting Elder Gods is the 18th anthology I’ve edited. It was inspired by two things: my love of the Lovecraft Mythos and my awe at the passion, drive, and self-awareness of today’s teenager.
H.P. Lovecraft created a marvelous Mythos. The creator himself was “problematic” at best; racist, bigoted, and misogynistic in reality. He did do one thing right: Lovecraft opened his universe to other authors to make of it as they will. It is a decision that gave the world another chance to tell Mythos stories without the same problematic attitude. To use the Old Ones and Elder Gods as metaphors for more earthly problems that many of us face every day.
Today’s modern teenager is intelligent, savvy, and driven. They have an awareness of the rest of the world that I don’t remember having as a teenager. The world is smaller than it used to be. The internet age and social media has turned the fabled “6 degrees of separation” to less than 3 degrees. Teenagers have tools at their disposal—knowledge, weapons, and experience—like none of the previous generations. Being this connected to the rest of the world gives them a sense of responsibility for themselves, for others, and for the future.
Between these two ideas, this young adult Lovecraft anthology was born. Adults are no longer the sole protectors of the family, the local area, or of society. Adults fail too often. Teenagers today learn that adults don’t have all the answers much younger than I did. This makes them the ideal foil against the Elder Gods. They know enough to be righteous and haven’t learned enough to be cautious. They are the ones to defend our world.
As I said in the book, this anthology is dedicated to all of us who fight monsters every single day. In fiction, you can defeat the monster. I hope this anthology gives people who need it just that little bit more inspiration and courage to fight the good fight…to stand and be true.
Jennifer Brozek is an award winning author, editor, and tie-in author. Two of her works, Never Let Me Sleep and The Last Days of Salton Academy were nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. She was awarded the Scribe Award for best tie-in Young Adult novel for BattleTech: The Nellus Academy Incident. Grants Pass won an Australian Shadows Award for best edited publication. In-between cuddling her cats, writing, and editing, Jennifer is an active member of SFWA, HWA, and IAMTW. She keeps a tight writing and editing schedule and credits her husband Jeff with being the best sounding board ever. Visit Jennifer’s worlds at jenniferbrozek.com.
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