STEVEN J DINES

Hello, here's an excerpt

2011-07-18T16:28:00.001+01:00

Yes, it's been a while, hasn't it? The reason is that for the moment I've shifted my online 'presence' across to Facebook. Add me if you like. With a baby boy on the scene I haven't had the time or inclination to post here of late. Besides, very little is new in my world beyond said baby. I'm still working on the rewrites of the novel which will likely be called either Dead in the Water or The Boy with Seafoam Eyes. I haven't decided which. Two very different flavours, I think you'll agree. Anyway, I'm popping on here to post a brief excerpt - 951 words to be precise. Have a look, tell me what you think if you wish. It is only an excerpt, so don't expect to get all that much from it other than a hint of the flavour of the book. I've used that word flavour twice now. Three times. I must be hungry. So while I run off to look for something to eat, here you go:

Chapter VI

Present Day Interlude: The Post-It Note

I quickly turn the monitor off at the sound of someone approaching and it's not until my wife is standing in the study doorway in her pink towel robe and Alpaca fur slippers that I realise I have been holding my breath the whole time I was typing those last few sentences about Ella.

I call this place a study but it's more of a nook with room enough for a narrow computer desk, a two-drawer file cabinet, and an office chair you can't spin on without scudding your feet along the pale blue walls. The small six-pane window allows in a certain amount of light on these bright July mornings—I call it a lure of light since it tries to draw me outside on those frequent occasions when memory and then imagination fail me. At thirty-six, yes, they are already failing me. I am increasingly dependent on my morning ritual to crowbar me into "the zone": the kick-start of coffee drunk in big swallows, the gathering of information (at times hard to find and at others even harder to believe) by leafing through Ella's dog-eared diary, and the ten minutes and upwards of contemplative gazing at the cracked snow globe that sits on a corner of my desk. Eventually, my hands hover over the keyboard, fingers twitching like those of a magician willing his trick to work. But the words come fast when they come—when I'm not interrupted by my wife who chooses the worst moments to loiter and who it seems has nothing more to say to me after seventeen years than:

"Morning."

Not even good morning either, just "morning."

"Yeah," I say. "It is."

With that agreement forged between us—and before I can pass her the Post-It Note—she turns and pads off toward the bathroom at the end of the hall where, a few moments later, the showerhead spits and hisses into life. Which strikes me as odd. No, not odd: unusual.

Ever since I started writing this book I have begun to notice certain things about Mrs Thomas Crouch, fellow educator of primary school children. How she showers less frequently. How she rarely shaves her legs. How the hair she once wore in a sexy tight ponytail now hangs in limp and greasy blonde ropes. And perhaps saddest of all: how those blossoms of colour on her cheeks that only a few years ago were roses sprung from passion's seeds were quite possibly now the engorged blood vessels of a constant and furious embarrassment. Of what or whom, she never says. But it has become apparent to me that by focusing on the details of Ella Bradburn's life my insights have become sharper, my thoughts—some of them at least—clearer, like signals gathered in by an antenna on the morning after a storm.

But despite having this new ability to recognise that Sally Crouch of Today is a completely different woman from Sally Crouch of Yesteryear, I still cannot put my finger on why or when this transition occurred. Maybe it's because most of my attention has been focused on the kids I teach, the twenty-four eleven-year-olds who look to me to lead them to the path that will take them through the forest of Secondary Education (and from there on to the darker forest that is Adulthood), and who have among them that special, gifted child we educators lie in bed at nights and pray to have the good fortune to stumble upon just once in our careers. Yes, Brian Trimble is the reason—

Come on, Tom, be honest; he is one of many reasons.

—why I sit in this study every night; why I sometimes lock myself in here away from Sally and the kids for entire weekends at a time.

No, this is not really about the Trimble kid. This is about more than my fear of one day standing in that classroom and not having the answer to one of his questions, me blank of face and blank of mind while he pins me with information-hungry eyes and the rest of the kids scoff into their hands at Mister Crouch in a corner, Mister Crouch in a bind. This is about more than some youthful Prince usurping an elder King. It is about my Queen, and last night.

For months now, Sally has been wandering our house like a dog chained to a post. She virtually ignores me and the three girls, barely functioning in her role as wife, mother, and even, I suspect, teacher. It seems she cannot wait for late evenings and the opportunity to plug herself into the girls' videogame console, an Xbox 360 we bought for them as a shared present last Christmas. And then it's on with the headset, on with Xbox Live, and on with the youthful banter or "trash talk" or whatever the hell the kids call it these days. It is the only time I see her come alive, when she's burning round some racetrack with the voices of other players in her ear, laughing as she leaves one of them in her dust, in a verbal exhaust of teasing and taunts, and then giggling, yes, giggling like her own eight-year-old any time she fucks up, crashes, and dies.

Last night, quarter to midnight, I woke up in bed and rolled over. When my outstretched arm met no resistance on its way to her cool, empty side of the mattress, my eyes snapped open. I sat up. Swung my legs over the side. Toed around in the dark for my slippers. The whole time, from our living room, I heard the high-pitched snarl of a super-charged engine.

Not this again.

Joshua pictures

2011-03-31T23:25:00.000+01:00

There are no words...

2011-03-27T13:39:00.004+01:00

Joshua James Michael Dines

born 26th March 2011

8lbs 7oz.

Honored

2011-03-16T19:34:00.004Z

With just two short stories published in 2010 I was very surprised today to learn I got an Honorable Mention for 2010 in Ellen Datlow's Best Horror of the Year. The story was Lost Lying on Your Back and it was first published in GUD Magazine #5 last February. Thank you to Ellen and to the team at GUD, especially Kaolin Fire, the editor of that particular issue. It makes we want to get back to writing short stories instead of editing this novel, but I have to stay on the path...for now.

March already, sheesh

2011-03-07T19:30:00.003Z

With the baby due to make his appearance in early April (or perhaps sooner since he's measuring 4 weeks ahead) I've been fairly busy emptying what used to be my study. Sounds like an easy task, but with 10 years of stuff to sift through and limited space to put it all afterward, it's turned into a little nightmare. Anyway, it's done. The walls and ceiling of baby's room were plastered last week and the electric sockets and a light fitting were replaced, so that leaves the painting, the carpet, and the part I'm so looking forward to - assembling the furniture.

The novel is progressing, albeit slowly, through the second draft, and I'm pleased with the rewrites thus far. I'd love to predict the completion date but since my weekly output varies so much at the moment it's hard to say. Maybe by my boy's first day of school *sigh*

I'll end on two recommendations. If you haven't read Stephen King's novella collection Full Dark, No Stars or checked out Boardwalk Empire on Atlantic, you definitely should.

All the best.

Disney: the Good, the Bad, the Gary Numan

2010-10-11T19:39:00.012+01:00

It's been two weeks since we got back from Florida and I'm only now finding the time and energy to post this short blog. Like a lot of people, I've found it hard in my post-holiday blues to resume the humdrum routine. It wasn't that it was the perfect holiday, because it wasn't. As enjoyable as it was it inevitably paled in comparison to our wedding and honeymoon trip there three years ago. On that trip the planets all stood in line for us. This time, they didn't, or at least not nearly as much. Still, we had a fun if tiring time. The best: dining with a real astronaut at Kennedy Space Center. The worst: night terrors that visited me every night for the first ten nights or so, nasty little dreams full of darkness and violence. It's funny when I think about it now; there we we were, holidaying in a world of magic and innocence and I'm laying my head down at night to stuff that would make even Jack Ketchum turn on the lights. The weird: spotting singer and musician Gary Numan at the stroller parking area near Cinderella's Golden Carousel in The Magic Kingdom. I think I'm the only person who recognised him, which is either sad for him or sad for me - answers on a postcard.

Back to reality and that ever-growing To Do list. This week, to start things off, I'm going to sit down and read through the first draft of the novel, taking copious notes along the way for the second draft, which should be a lot of fun. Or not. But you never know, maybe some of those Disney nightmares will prove useful...

(Yes, that's yours truly in the pic, in full tourist get-up. The word you're looking for is dork, or maybe dickhead).

A break, then back to business

2010-09-06T19:09:00.004+01:00

On Wednesday morning my wife and I are heading for Disney World, Florida. Our recent good news would have changed our plans had we known sooner, but we’ve already cancelled the trip twice and doing so again this late in the day would cost us a considerable amount of money; so we’re going. It’s partly a break, partly a celebration: the first draft of the novel; our three year wedding anniversary (we got married in Disney so it has special significance); and, of course, the news of our little one. Two-and-a-half-weeks of sunshine and relaxation, good food and good times, looking back (a little), looking forward (a lot). Upon our return I’ll post a picture or four, but then it’s back to business. The business of books and babies. Preparing to send one out, preparing to welcome the other in.

A heartbeat, fast and strong

2010-08-22T10:24:00.011+01:00

On friday morning an ultrasound confirmed what four sticks, one digital, and one blood test had been trying to tell us - my wife and I are having a baby. Nothing brings it home like seeing your child's heart beating on a screen. Beating fast and strong, I am glad to say. So it's real, it's happening, and she (assuming she is not a he) is due to arrive in April.

Life just got a little more interesting.

A tweet on a blog (sacrilege?)

2010-08-20T09:53:00.003+01:00

Today could be the biggest day of my life...

DONE...for now.

2010-07-22T21:13:00.007+01:00

So it's done.

The first draft of my novel - title yet to be decided – is now officially finished.

The first word of chapter one was written on 12th Feb 2007 and the last word of chapter twenty-seven was written this evening, July 22, 2010. Total word count: 89720. The only other thing I want to say at this point is:

ABOUT. F*CKING. TIME.

So...

Moving on.

What is next?

I've been giving this some thought over the last few days.

There is draft two, of course, which is when I'll find out if this thing is really any good or not. I'm setting a start date of October 1st. That gives me some breathing space to work on other projects (and forget about this one).

So, taking what I have learned, I'm going to work on The Black Tree, now novel number two. It's a a project I foolishly abandoned some years ago after writing approx. 8000 words. I'll get all the prep work out of the way for a fresh start as soon as I've got the first novel as good as I can get it. I'm hoping early next year.

While I'm working on that I also want to revisit The Things That Get You Through, my lengthy short story/novella about grief.

I want to write something brand new too.

I start on Saturday morning.

Early.

Murky Depths #13

2010-07-18T16:02:00.003+01:00

The last of my short stories to be published while I’m off doing other things is available now in UK-based print mag, Murky Depths, Issue 13. 13 - unlucky for some right? Unfortunately, in my case, yes. Due to a complete cock-up (editor’s words not mine) I will not be credited for my story. Though my name appears on the website and the contents page, the story will be credited to another author. Needless to say I’m disappointed this has happened but it’s not the end of the world. An oversight, no more, no less. And as compensation the editor has offered to include in a future issue (15, I think) an interview with yours truly. The story is Clean Until the Final Act and you can purchase the magazine from their website as well as a number of real world stockists.

Three Reviews of GUD (with a side of update)

2010-06-14T19:19:00.009+01:00

GUD Magazine #5 continues to receive positive reviews. Here are some links, followed by what each had to say about my contribution, Lost Lying on Your Back:

April 23rd: SFRevu

"This one develops into a real chiller"

May 16th: The Future Fire

"...sharply written, vivid and intense with carefully drawn, believable characterisation"

May 31st: Bibliophile Stalker

"...plain disturbing and powerfully so"

And here's an update on the novel:

Since my last ruminative post, the novel has been coming along at a steady pace. It is currently a little shy of 83k words - the projected length was 90,000 but 95-100k seems probable at the moment. My protagonist's story is close to complete, but I still have a secondary character's story to write, which should consist of several chapters to be inserted at specific points throughout the book. If I sound a little vague it is for two reasons: one, I don't want to give too much away, and, two, I'm not entirely sure myself of the details of these chapters. Although I have always had a general direction and intent, the writing of this book has been one of discovery rather than connecting a series of dots a la detailed outline. Bought that T-shirt, didn't fit. Anyway, I'm still on target for a late June/mid July completion date - everything crossed. Then I'm backing off for 4-6 weeks (which I expect will be a tough ask) to work on some other projects. There's a holiday in early September, after which I will throw myself upon the task of the second draft, to be completed, he types with perhaps foolish optimism, by close of business 2010. This, of course, depends on the amount of revision that will be required. Methinks, much. Still, I can't wait.

Even the elephant in the room has grown tired

2010-05-09T12:34:00.016+01:00

Me, I'm a textbook case of fear of failure and/or success. As I'm nearing the end of the novel (my first, though I've had several attempts at others) I am starting to look for and find excuses not to write. Less than a thousand words written last week, which is woeful any way you slice it. I've simply got to put in the time and effort next week - and stop running away. Face the fear and write it anyway, if you like.

Change of subject. I finished reading Dennis Lehane's Shutter Island on Friday night. I wanted the book experience before the movie experience since as you all know movie versions are often worse and spoil what might have been a terrific read. Anyway, Lehane's Shutter Island (as opposed to Scorcese's) is my favourite read of the year so far, with a series of final twists that left me feeling completely drained. Might explain why I didn't write at all on Saturday. As good as the ending was it left me in a deep dark funk that I'm only climbing out of on Sunday morning. Yes, it's that dark. Still, I cannot recommend this title enough. Amazon UK are currently selling it for £3.59, which is probably the best value for money you'll get for any book ever. Hyperbole aside, it's worth it, and I for one am salivating at the thought of seeing Martin Scorcese's take...

Back on subject. I started this post talking briefly about nearing the end of the novel, so I'll end it by talking briefly about the beginning:

Ella Bradburn was the last of the schoolchildren to step off the bus.

I wrote that, the first line of the first draft on Feb 12, 2007. It's not a great line, not even a good one, but it was good enough to start me on the trip. For anyone who hasn't written a novel and is seriously considering it, I have found it demands either a lot of faith or a lot of stupidity. Since I'm not quite done yet, I still don't know which it is. I figure that is what has been scaring me away from the keys this week, too. That and the fact that I was 11 or 12 years old when I first caught the writing bug and I'm 34 now. It's a long time to wait and work on your dream; a dream that - still - might never come true. There he is: the elephant in the room. Even he's grown tired of waiting. And if he could speak, he'd say something like, it's simple, Steve. You just get on with it. After all, when you've come this far, there's nothing else you can do.

Faith or stupidity?

If only I knew.

GUD #5 - Brainripples review

2010-05-02T10:48:00.003+01:00

The first review of GUD Magazine #5 is now up at Brainripples. It's a good 'un, too. #5 included my short story, Lost Lying on Your Back. Have a look, buy a copy.

Critters Bar closes...

2010-04-24T16:21:00.006+01:00

I'm saddened (but not shocked) to hear that the writing workshop Critters Bar has served its last drink and closed its doors for good. I'd like to wish all of its patrons the best of luck with their future endeavours, writing-related or otherwise. Onwards - to good and perhaps better things...

Update - March 2010: Chase hard and fill the gap

2010-03-22T19:18:00.005Z

I'll keep this update brief:

Still alive. Busy.

Alright, not that brief…

I haven't written a word of flash fiction or short story all year. I haven't made one submission; haven't even thought about it. And I've been keeping away from writing workshops. The reason? To avoid any and all temptation to write anything but the novel I started three years ago. It's just something I felt I needed to do: take a giant step back. Focus. Write. No distractions.

Has it worked?

An unequivocal yes.

Excluding notes, I began the year with 45000 words of first draft material, which took me two-and-a-half years to produce amongst the short stories and other side projects. In two-and-a-half months I've been able to produce a little under half that again, taking my novel's word count total past the 65,000 mark. 20k isn't much when compared to the output of some, but for me and for this project it's exceptional. The tale is currently in the third and final act and, as of Friday afternoon, I have the closing line. All that's left for me to do is keep chasing hard and fill the gap.

Honey, I Blew Up the Box Office & update

2010-02-08T18:59:00.007Z

2 billion dollars in box office and counting…

But is Avatar any good?

Take the technology of, say, Epcot's Honey, I Shrunk the Audience and bring it into the 21st century. Borrow liberally from other movies, including your own, and tick every box in the Hollywood Blockbuster Checklist and you have James Cameron's latest masterpiece. It’s a movie that will literally take your breath away with its visuals (believe me, it will), but it's the filmic equivalent of Frankenstein's Monster – aesthetic impact with no real soul. Therein lies the problem: almost everything about Avatar feels like a simulation, a copy, albeit an improved copy of something else you've seen. There are elements of Ferngully, A Man Called Horse, Return of the King, The Abyss, Aliens, and so on. What this creates is a movie in which every single plot movement (the general flow and progress of the storyline) is predictable well in advance because there's a good chance you've seen it somewhere before, though not so gorgeously rendered. So, at 162 minutes there are no surprises. Jaw-dropping visuals? Absolutely. Make no mistake, this is the most visually stunning film of all-time. But I'll repeat: 162 minutes. Once you get comfortable with that glorious 3D you're in for a lot of sitting around watching CG paint dry. Harsh? Maybe. But if you're anything like me, you'll emerge from the beauty of Pandora oddly ambivalent about the whole experience. I recommend watching Avatar solely for those visuals - don't wait for the DVD/Blu-ray release; you must see this in 3D on the big screen to appreciate its strengths - and you will be transported and you will be astounded. But you might be a little bit disappointed too.

If you don't want to hand over the price of a ticket to see Avatar why not pick up the latest issue of GUD Magazine for $3.50 (PDF) or $12 (print). Includes my story, Lost Lying on Your Back. You can read a preview here. Go on, it's not like James Cameron needs the money.

storySouth's Million Writer's Award 2010 is now open and accepting nominations from editors and readers alike. I have two stories eligible for consideration:

The Bug in the Suit at Electric Spec
Sand Between a Dead Boy's Toes at Nossa Morte

Later.

GUD Cover Preview & update...

2010-01-30T14:00:00.008Z

So that, friends, is a preview of GUD Magazine's Issue #5 cover, included here with the permission of the issue's editor, kaolin fire. If you like what you see, past issues are still available in print and pdf at their site. Within #5's pages you will find my dark literary horror, Lost Lying on Your Back. My short fiction, Unzipped, appeared in Issue #1 and received an Honorable Mention in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 2008. Other GUD stories have likewise been nominated or better still won awards. Lost Lying on Your Back was written around the same time as Unzipped for a writing workshop-within-a-workshop called Alice's Restaurant and it deals with a similar if darker subject than the tortured protagonist of Unzipped. We all, even the worst, live in hope.

Moving on, I began a rather silly incentive scheme this month/year to get me writing seriously again, and so far – touch wood – it is working. I've reached my reading and writing goals (that is, output-wise) for the month and I'm collecting my (small) reward. The aim, he says half-seriously, is to infuse in me a kind of Pavlovian response so that in the future if my muse utters the words, "write, fool," I will immediately and without question pick up a pen or head to the nearest laptop and start doing just that. As I said, we all live in hope.

The Absent Willow Review & update

2010-01-17T01:30:00.012Z

I keep a short distance between us, watching them sprint up paths, tackle each other on lawns, and hurdle picket fences like they’re back running drills on the practise field they only just left behind. They take it in turns to wail like banshees, scaring cats up trees or under cars, drawing folks to their windows.

In another year or two, these boys won’t be here. I don’t mean like Owen. They will know what it’s like to grow up and lose interest in things. To move on and do what older kids do, whatever that is. I can’t help but feel jealous. I want to move on too.

-The Manny Prior Halloween Show

The January issue of The Absent Willow Review is now online and includes my contribution, The Manny Prior Halloween Show. It's a lot of words (almost 8000) and pretty dark at times, but it's worth checking out. If you do, please drop a comment here to let me know what you think.

Update:
I'm back working on the novel after a two month hiatus and it's moving along nicely again, very nicely in fact. Wrote a scene on Saturday morning that even had me a little freaked out never mind poor Ella Bradburn, my protagonist. The plan is still the same for this on-off project - to have the first draft finished by the tail end of this year, if not sooner. Just gotta keep at it, I suppose.

I won't be submitting any short stories for a while (most of them have already found homes and the rest simply aren't ready to be set loose at this time) but I do have a couple coming up in print, in GUD Magazine and Murky Depths. I've seen the cover art for Issue #5 of GUD and it's certainly eye-catching!

I hope you'll read The Manny Prior Halloween Show or at least give it a try and see if it appeals to your tastes.

All the best.

Book Review: Under the Dome, Stephen King

2010-01-04T14:11:00.008Z

A mysterious dome descends upon the town of Chester's Mill. A woodchuck is split in two and a light airplane explodes, raining debris (and body parts) on Route 119. And so begins Stephen King's latest novel, Under the Dome...

Forget The Simpsons Movie comparisons. They're unfortunate and distracting. This 1072-page epic deserves to be judged as a new King novel, end of. And he's having a lot of fun here, you can tell, watching his one-hundred-plus cast move around like a kid staring at ants through a magnifying glass. So what if I didn't feel quite the same connection with any of the Chester's Mill inhabitants? I did, however, feel involved enough in their stories to keep turning page after page. Besides, Under the Dome is about people in general more than individuals. It is also about action, pace, tension, and story. In fact, King's prose is leaner here than it has been in years, and if it's not quite ripped, he has certainly worked hard to rid himself of not all but most of the flab that comes with TMI: Too Much Information. Indeed, hand on heart, I can say I wasn't bored for a single moment, quite the opposite, and when you consider the length of the novel, that's a massive achievement.

Anyway, Dome in place, things quickly heat up inside. Divisions form. Dale 'Barbie' Barbara, an Iraq veteran, on one side, 'Big Jim' Rennie, used-car dealer and town second selectman on the other. King tries to blur the lines a little, but what we essentially get is a battle of Good versus Evil. Global Warming, albeit in microcosm, is addressed also, and with admirable restraint. As for the politics in the novel, purported to represent King's own beliefs, they seem to have angered and even turned some readers off. They did not particularly interest me, so I won't go there other than to say I don't believe they encroached upon the story, perhaps because I saw this as something deeper than religion or politics. It's an unflinchingly dark portrayal of human nature and society, but it may also be an honest and true one. Therein lies the horror.

Now for the ending. You will find out what The Dome is and why it is there, but whether you like the explanation or accept the explanation comes down to you, the individual reader. And in traditional Stephen King style, it will disappoint some and satisfy others. Fortunately, after a thousand-page read, I found myself in the latter camp. Again, for me the novel was a study of human behaviour above all else, and for the most part King handles this aspect with great skill and understanding. Okay, one or two characters lost it a little too quickly for me, but what do I know? I've never been under the dome...

Finally, would I recommend picking up a copy? Let me offer some perspective. Here are my top three Stephen King books:

1. The Long Walk (granted, written as Richard Bachman)
2. Hearts in Atlantis
3. Duma Key

Under the Dome supplants Duma Key at No.3 on my list, though it is a close decision. As the smoothest, swiftest, most thrilling read from King so far, I would have to say, yes – get your hands on a copy.

Why are you reading this...

2009-11-17T20:11:00.005Z

...when you could be visiting the award-winning GUD Magazine and picking up their past issues for any price you want. That's right, any price you want. I already have issues 0 and 1, so I picked up 2, 3, and 4 for a reasonable sum. At 200 pages per issue, there's something for everyone. Why not head on over there and throw a few dollars their way? Writers, it's an opportunity to research a potential market. Readers, it's the chance to read some quality imaginative fiction. So, why are you still reading this...?

Sand Between a Dead Boy's Toes at Nossa Morte

2009-11-03T23:16:00.004Z

The latest issue of Nossa Morte includes my seventieth publication, a dark fiction entitled Sand Between a Dead Boy's Toes.

I remember (as a kid) imagining my bed was a boat and the carpet a sea. The sharks in the tale came to me in a dream. As for the dead boy - he dropped himself into the story... If you want to read the result, pop over and take a look, only please come back and tell me what you think...

Some Questions (and Answers) on The Writing Process

2009-09-30T21:44:00.003+01:00

Seen this on a few other blogs and thought I'd have a go...

1. Are you a “pantser” or a “plotter?”

I always attempt to plot before I start writing, but not too much – not so that the story or characters lose the ability to surprise me. Still, I do like to feel in control, even during the first draft.

2. Detailed character sketches or “their character will be revealed to me as a I write”?

I usually have at least a sketch, yes. The basics. And one or two unique aspects that could make him/her more interesting to the reader.

3. Do you know your characters’ goals, motivations, and conflicts before you start writing or is that something else you discover only after you start writing?

I think it's a good idea to know such things before you start writing, yes. Motivations, definitely. Conflicts, not so much; they tend to suggest themselves along the way. Basically, I like to know as much as I am comfortable knowing – enough to be able to begin with confidence, or at least to fool myself into believing I'm ready to rock and roll.

4. Books on plotting – useful or harmful?

Just plotting? Or writing advice books in general? They're never short of interesting, in my experience, but I don't study them, more allow my sub-conscious to absorb what it thinks is useful and discard the rest.

5. Are you a procrastinator or does the itch to write keep at you until you sit down and work?

Procrastinator. I don't sit down to write regularly enough, I've always said that. Too easily drawn toward 'easier' distractions. That said, the itch always drags me back - eventually.

6. Do you write in short bursts of creative energy, or can you sit down and write for hours at a time?

I need at least an hour's writing time as it sometimes takes me twenty, thirty minutes just to warm up. I can't scribble a sentence here, a paragraph there, it just isn't me. Notes, yes, but not draft. Two hour sessions work best for me, and after a nine hour workday (mostly spent on a computer) that's about as much as I can stand.

7. Are you a morning or afternoon writer?

I prefer morning or late-night - the quiet times of the day.

8. Do you write with music/the noise of children/in a cafe or other public setting, or do you need complete silence to concentrate?

Complete silence would be nice but is hard to find. Quiet is fine though. Non-public setting.

9. Computer or longhand? (or typewriter?)

PC. At work I'll scribble notes on slips of paper, but I always, always write the story itself on computer.

10. Do you know the ending before you type Chapter One?

Not always. I try not to panic if I don't; most of the time I find the ending emerges organically during the writing of the first draft. I'd say eighty percent of the time I know the ending or have already written the final paragraphs long before I get there.

11. Does what’s selling in the market influence how and what you write?

No. But I do write what I like to read.

12. Editing – love it or hate it?

Love it and hate it. Editing is a vital part of the process, but while first drafts are about creation editing is about polishing that creation until it shines as brightly as it can. By the umpteenth read-through or revision it's easy to feel...restless, keen to move on to something new. But the extra effort always makes the end result worthwhile. And publishable.

The Chapter - I salute thee

2009-08-16T15:02:00.003+01:00

It's the little things that get you through.

Reading about the output of other writers on their blogs and listening to a writer friend of mine talk about what story he's finished writing this week (okay, he's mostly redrafting old material, but still...), I've been feeling like the slow kid in class lately. I'm the kind of person and writer that likes to feel as though he's making progress – getting the work done. And that is perhaps the hardest part of writing a novel, the grey feeling that it's going to be a long haul. So, God Bless the chapter. It may not provide the thrill of completing a brand new short story, but it's a nice pick-you-up on the journey toward that 90 or 100 or 120,000-word mark.

Yesterday, I put the finishing touches on chapter eight of The Ballerina, the Boy, and the Thing in the Water (after rewriting 2500 words; even for first draft, it was some bad shit) and felt that momentary surge of elation I'm talking about. Savour these moments. Today, I sat down and typed "Chapter Nine" at the top of a page and felt the discomfort of staring at the blank page all over again. But I kept ass in chair until I had something. Maybe not something great, but something I'm content with (until draft two, that is), something that will keep me coming back and putting down the words until I reach the next stage in my journey – chapter ten.

Book Review: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, John Boyne

2009-08-02T18:11:00.005+01:00

I decided to use some money I made from a recent short story sale to buy a handful of books. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas was one of them. That title, the setting, and the dark subject matter seduced me.

The family of Bruno, the nine-year-old son of a German officer, move out of their Berlin home into "Out-With," a place where the people who live on the other side of the fence are all thin and sad and wear the same striped pyjamas. Bruno befriends one of these people, a boy the same age as him, and begins a doomed friendship.

I'm very confused as to what the target audience is for this book. It has sold around 5 million copies I believe, so it has an audience – but who does this audience consist of? Children? I don't believe so, because so much of the novel's power relies on subtlety and knowledge of What Went On In The Camps, two things I suspect would go over the heads of most children and young adults. On the other hand, if it's supposed to be adult fiction it is deeply flawed and at times unbelievable. Few if any children ever made it into the concentration camps because they were of little use to the Germans (being essentially non-productive). They were sent straight to the gas chambers within minutes of stepping from the train. And the fences surrounding such camps were electrified (they are not here). These two historical facts are conveniently ignored by the author for the sake of his story. But when we're talking about history, about something like the Final Solution and genocide, should writers be taking such liberties? In addition to being written from a child's perspective, the author seems to have adopted a childlike disregard of the facts. Some have found this offensive. I can see both sides of the debate. Back to the story.

I managed to put such gripes aside and approached The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas as a piece of fiction (albeit aimed at a hard-to-pin-down demographic). So, is it any good? Yes. And no. Inaccuracies aside, the plot is interesting if at times predictable. Characters are presented as stereotypes (as a nine-year-old might perceive them) which in turn makes them a little tiresome and lacking in depth. For instance, Bruno's sister, Gretel, collects dolls and is a rotten sibling. That's it. Bruno himself is at times likeable and sympathetic while at other times annoyingly dense and unperceptive. And I was confused about the narrator. Who was he or she? "And that's the end of the story about Bruno and his family" read one line. Who was telling the story? Wouldn't it have worked better in First Person? To have it relayed through the eyes of the boy? Frustrating.

That said, there is much to like and admire: the voice and style, the simple direct prose, the dialogue, most of the interactions between Bruno and his family and Bruno and the Jewish boy, the plot's structure though not its liberties with historical fact, and the pace – it's a fast, fluid read – but like the dark side of human nature itself, there is also much to loathe.

Starting Point - The Novel

2009-07-18T14:30:00.003+01:00

Working title is The Ballerina, the Boy, and the Thing in the Water. Based on an unfinished short of mine that grew, which in turn was inspired by the Dali painting, Woman at the Window (Muchcha en la ventana). It's currently sitting at a little under 37,000 words of a projected 90,000 (first or rough draft), or seven complete chapters. I'm picking things up at chapter 8. Spent a couple hours today refamiliarising myself with chapters 5-thru-7, writing brief summaries of each, and putting down a few ideas for chapter 8 as well as one or two future scenes. Although it's been a little over a year since I worked on this project, it was surprisingly easy to reacquaint myself with it. Not only that, but I'm quite excited by it again, which I'll take as a good omen.

Chapter 7 excerpt:

Ella stood in the corner farthest from the window. She cinched her dressing gown tight and looked down at the small expanse of wooden floor in front of her. Faint lines, arcs, and whorls patterned the dust; memories of dances past. Each had been penned by her feet during the first two weeks of her confinement, written anew over the last in code. In secret code.

The future (or the next fourteen months, anyway) starts here…

2009-07-15T20:47:00.004+01:00

Firstly, let me once again thank those who read my short story The Bug in the Suit over at Electric Spec and dropped a comment. Appreciated. Secondly, I want to say a few things about where I am with writing at the moment.

For a number of years now I have swung between continuing writing and tossing everything I’ve ever written into some cardboard boxes and simply ‘lofting’ the lot. Chasing dreams can be a tiresome business, it’s true, and after twelve years I may (or may not) be ready to accept I took a wrong turn somewhere. After all, there are other paths…

In recent months, though I have not quit per se I have been woefully unproductive, stuck in a limbo-like state of will-I-or-won’t-I-ness, sedating myself with television and videogames. But it occurred to me yesterday that these distractions are merely putting some soft distance between myself and the decision – to either stop work or work harder.

Stop and I free up a lot of time evenings and weekends to try other pursuits, such as a home-study course, something that might actually get me somewhere – a higher-paying job, security for our children (none yet, but on the horizon). Writing demands a lot of time and mental energy, I find. If I use my spare time to continue writing, there will be room for little else. So, it’s the ole heart-says/head-says dilemma…

Thing is, when I have stopped in the past for any extended period of time the world seemed less interesting, quite tiresome in fact. Writing, for almost as long as I can remember, has been my way of understanding myself and others – of tunnelling through life’s muddy complexities to find sunshine – or moonlight – at the other end. So, arguably, I need it. Whether it needs me is another matter, perhaps even the root of the problem.

So, I have chosen a sensible compromise. I will resume writing, pick up from where I left off a while back, and continue for the next fourteen months, until our next overseas holiday – no better time to reassess things, I think. At that time, if I feel I have made little to no progress I WILL give up the dream. There, I typed it.

Guess I better get to work.

The Bug in the Suit available at Electric Spec

2009-06-30T19:15:00.005+01:00

The latest issue of Electric Spec is now live and includes my dark sci-fi tale, The Bug in the Suit. Read it here or download the entire issue in PDF or PRC formats. Note: italics seem to be omitted from the online version so I'd recommend the PDF. Comments welcome.

New Short Fiction Coming Soon

2009-06-09T20:57:00.001+01:00

Crawl your way over to Electric Spec at the end of June for my six-and-a-half-thousand word science fiction horror tale, The Bug in the Suit...

Book Review: Cujo, Stephen King

2009-06-08T21:54:00.002+01:00

My hopes weren’t high going into Cujo. King claims he can barely remember writing his famous tale of a rabid Saint Bernard (he was an alcoholic and drug addict at the time), but I wondered if perhaps he merely wanted to forget… That's not the case. Cujo may have a slow build-up to its tense climax (one of the author’s better closings, it should be said), but it’s never dull thanks in part to the surprisingly measured structure. For me, though, the novel’s real strength is found in its realistic portrayal of two families, the Cambers (country-dwellers) and the Trentons (former city-dwellers). Both have serious problems and are on the brink of falling apart. Enter Cujo. There may be some significance to the juxtaposition of these families, some metaphors to be found in the rabid dog and the disease-like rot that seems to infect the husbands and wives of the respective families; then, there may not. I suspect, however, that Cujo is meant to be viewed as more than a horror novel. Indeed, the grisly scenes of murder that litter other horror novels are few in number here; instead, the focus is suspense and the ever-present fear of death rather than death itself. I expected this to be one of King’s lesser efforts… I was pleasantly surprised.

All Quiet...

2009-05-12T19:55:00.002+01:00

Aside from a couple of book reviews I’ve been pretty quiet on the blogging front. So here’s a brief update:

I’ve been writing (on-and-off, the opening of a short story, notes for a mainstream and possibly highly commercial novel), reading (a lot, by my standards—The Great Escape, Homer Hickam’s latest, and a Raymond Chandler biography), as well as doing some general pondering (something I do in quiet moments, which don’t seem to come around as often as I would like) about possible future directions for both myself and my writing. Rejections have been trickling in, too. No acceptances, but I have stories sitting in the final stages of consideration at several good publications. Meanwhile, my wife’s grandma has been recuperating in hospital from a fractured shoulder and my flat has been flooded by a burst water pipe. The vagaries of life. Fingers crossed, the month of May should hold some good news. Then, I shouldn't tempt fate...

Hope you are well.

Book Review: Red Helmet, Homer Hickam

2009-05-02T13:19:00.005+01:00

Romantic fiction and coalmining: two things I'm not naturally drawn to, but when they're delivered by Homer Hickam, one of my favourite storytellers, I'm willing to make the exception. This unabashedly romantic tale of Song Hawkins, successful New York City businesswoman, and Cable Jordan, superintendent of a modern West Virginian mine is told with such heart and passion it's hard not be moved. Sure, with some clunky dialogue and O-T-T religious moralising, it's like a child that continually misbehaves, but darn it if it doesn't have a good heart and the very best of intentions. In this cynical climate we should make room, now and then, for such tales of love and faith...

Book Review (part 2 of 2): Just After Sunset, Stephen King

2009-04-10T19:29:00.003+01:00

N.

A strange standing-stones formation brings on OCD in an observer, who visits his psychiatrist for help. Only, his OCD is catching… There is a lot going on in this story (there should be, it’s over 50 pages long), making it easily one of the best in the collection. Story and character blend here in near-perfect harmony, and the writing, particularly toward the end of the tale, convincingly captures the protagonist’s condition. Indeed, the focus here is the mind, fear manifesting itself through OCD, how quickly and easily it spreads and destroys. The more I think about this tale, the more frightening it becomes... 4/5

The Cat from Hell

For Halston this is a new kind of hit: a cat. But this cat has the blood of three people on its paws, and it won’t go out without a fight… This is vintage King, literally. Written and first published some 30 years ago, the style and content are very different from the rest of the stories collected here. The short, sharp prose of pulp crime fiction meets King’s nasty streak of old in this deliciously dark tale. Good enough to make me want to dig out some of the old collections but out of place alongside the more literary, character-driven stories. Nonetheless, an excellent read. 4.5/5

The New York Times at Special Bargain Rates

Many of the stories in Just After Sunset touch upon the subject of death. Here, Annie Driscoll receives one final phone call from her late husband, who died three days earlier in a plane crash. Though the call is short, Annie will never forget it, and never quite let go of the man who made the call, regardless of the path her life takes. An understated and believable tale where story and character are well-balanced. Memorable. 3.5/5

Mute

In a church confessional, a travelling salesman recalls an encounter with a deaf-mute hitchhiker to whom he ranted about his cheating wife... Mute draws the reader in but the so-called twist can be seen coming for miles, making this one end on a slightly disappointing note. Indeed, the moral questions King asks here (which I won’t mention to avoid spoiling the story for those who haven’t read it), aren’t particularly new or interesting either, and certainly don’t justify the story’s 24-page length. An enjoyable but forgettable read. And Playboy published this... 3/5

Ayana

Here we have miracles and questions…why do some people live and some people die? King himself says in the afterword that this tale is about the questions rather than the answers. He says that often, and here he gets away with it. There’s no bells and whistles here, no horror per se but an understated and tender story. 3.5/5

A Very Tight Place

Curtis Johnson finds himself trapped in a Port-O-San (portable toilet) in this almost novella-length tale of revenge and rebirth. It’s probably the best example from Just After Sunset of vintage King meets new King, a delicious marriage of nastiness and richly detailed prose in the darkest, grossest tale of the bunch. The perfect choice for the final story, too. 4/5

In Just After Sunset, Stephen King often writes about questions without providing any answers. The less successful stories of this ilk feel disappointingly unfinished, but some do linger beyond a first reading. It isn’t the author’s strongest collection to date, but it is a thoughtful journey that is never less than interesting; a journey in which time and time again he forces the reader to confront the subjects of death and dying. At times unflinching and horrific, at others subtle and poignant, this uneven collection is nevertheless worth your attention, as even its lesser tales offer the discerning reader something beyond character and plot. And King’s prose has never been so rich, so layered, so compelling.

Book Review (part 1 of 2): Just After Sunset, Stephen King

2009-04-01T21:02:00.008+01:00

As promised, here is the first part of my story-by-story review of Stephen King's latest collection, Just After Sunset:

Willa

While the victims of a derailment in Wyoming gather at a station to await a recovery train to take them on to their destination, David goes off in search of his fiance, the eponymous Willa, who has wandered into a nearby town. The ‘twist’ in the tale is soon revealed; King isn’t stupid, he’s seen The Sixth Sense like the rest of us. Besides, the story is really about love, how it sets us apart, how it survives everything, even death. There’s plenty of his trademark attention to detail to be found here, which can at times make his work seem bloated and gassy, but mercifully the pacing here, although a little out-of-balance, is just about right. A tale that lingered with me… 3.5/5

The Gingerbread Girl

Since losing her baby, Emily likes to run. She runs from her husband and her life all the way to a beach retreat in Vermillion Key, Florida, where she runs straight into the arms of a psychopath. Part character study, part action-suspense tale, The Gingerbread Girl is an easy if overlong read. Though the protagonist is an interesting and sympathetic character, King has given her a fairly insipid plot through which to navigate. More disappointing than that, however, is her main antagonist, a psychopathic serial killer who is pure stereotype. No surprises. 2.5/5

Harvey’s Dream

What this story lacks in action and plot, it more than makes up for in character and to a lesser degree suspense. A richly detailed portrait of a man and woman nearing their retirement years. Add to the mix a vivid and disturbing dream, and their ‘thin’ world is suddenly, irrevocably changed forever. Not for everyone, but I enjoyed the detailed writing and slow, simmering build-up, even if it was all fairly predictable in the end. 3/5

Rest Stop

A popular writer stops for a bathroom break and overhears a man beating on a woman. He has to decide if and how he will intervene. I won’t reveal what happens next, just that Rest Stop is another classic example of King’s highly readable style carrying a straightforward story. He’s truly a magician with detail. Indeed, as he did with the previous tale, he takes the simplest of situations and works his magic to somehow make it feel immediate and exciting. 3/5

Stationary Bike

The point King makes in this cautionary tale about the dangers of over-exercise could easily be made in fewer pages than the 30-plus he uses here. But when it’s delivered in such a readable style, it really is hard to complain. Freelance artist Richard Sifkitz is overweight, has high cholesterol and, after the bluntest of warnings from his doctor, buys a stationary bike. He puts the bike in his basement, paints a road on the wall, and marks off his route on various maps. Great, so far. You might think you can guess where King takes it from here, for he’s revisiting familiar ground, mixing elements from some of his other work—The Road Virus Heads North and his last novel, Duma Key, spring to mind—but he literally informs the reader that this story won’t end as they might expect. And to an extent he’s right and it doesn’t. There’s much to enjoy here, but like a lot of King’s work the payoff doesn’t quite live up to the build-up, unfortunately. Still, this is a strong if slightly overlong story. 3.5/5

The Things They Left Behind

Almost a year on from 9/11, Scott Staley, a man who should have been working in one of the Towers that day, discovers objects belonging to his deceased co-workers in his apartment. Objects with stories to tell... What follows is a journey of understanding and for me, boredom. This one didn’t connect at all. Despite my initial interest and high-hopes, it had me zoning out for pages at a time. Overwritten—even more so than the previous story—and thin on plot, this could easily stand to lose 40-50% of its length. I may revisit this to see if it engages me second time around, I’m stubborn—or stupid—that way, but after a first reading this is the most disappointing story of the collection so far. 2/5

Graduation Afternoon

Like Harvey’s Dream, Graduation Afternoon showcases King the writer more than King the storyteller. It is a simple and fairly effective literary tale, full of detail like the other stories in this collection, but ultimately lacking story. Structurally and thematically it bears some similarities to Harvey’s Dream, in that he details the lives of the players before hitting them hard at the close. Enjoyable, but I think writing this good deserves more plot. 2.5/5

Part two of my review will follow soon...

Finally, a GUD home...

2009-03-25T08:35:00.004Z

After a difficult four-year journey, my short story, Lost Lying on Your Back, will finally see publication in Issue 5 of GUD Magazine (Autumn 2009). Lost Lying is dark, literary, written in 2nd Person, and deals with some pretty heavy subject matter. A tough, tough sell, in other words. But I always felt it was one of my best and therefore worth the effort. I’m really happy at the moment, and hope to build on this success by finding homes in 2009 for my two science fiction stories, The Bug in the Suit and Clean Until the Final Act. Onwards.

Also, Sand Between a Dead Boy’s Toes, has now survived a painstaking third draft. Minor edits aside, it looks ready to submit. I’ve got pretty high hopes for this story, too (don’t we have high hopes for every one, though?), so watch this space.

Coming soon: my story-by-story review of the Stephen King collection, Just After Sunset.

Book Review: Castaways, Brian Keene

2009-03-08T19:41:00.004Z

I am quite familiar with Brian Keene’s work, having read The Rising, City of the Dead, Ghoul, and Dead Sea. He is a prolific writer with an aptitude for fast-paced horror thrillers that grab and don’t let go. So when I read the blurb of his latest offering—monstrous half-human creatures start killing a bunch of reality show contestants on a supposedly deserted island—I immediately ordered it, and got to reading. It’s been a while since I’ve read anything so bad I wanted not only to close the book but to inflict actual physical damage to it. Castaways took me there. I suspect Mr Keene, an author I have come to admire, had a particularly tight deadline or an unexpected bill to pay or please some other good reason for allowing this substandard effort to be published.

So what’s wrong with it?

It’s lazy. Despite what many reviews would have you believe, it’s not scary, nor is it well written. That’s not strictly true. There are some scenes in the second half of the book that are mildly disturbing. The characters are, without exception, stereotypes that constantly spout laughable dialogue and react in ridiculous ways. Description is sparse (Richard Laymon style, yes, I get it) but completely flat and uninspired, meaning trees are trees and the wind is always “howling.” As for the supposedly terrifying creatures? Read this:

“One of them looked horribly deformed. Its bulbous head seemed overly large, like a melon. A few others had obvious deformities as well.”

Is it me or is the image of a melon not frightening? And how about providing the reader with some specific deformities? It’s this kind of clumsy, lazy, insipid writing that destroys the impact of every scene early on, so that by the time things improve (marginally) in the second half, this reader couldn’t care less.

I wholeheartedly recommend you give Castaways a wide berth, at least until you have sampled Keene’s other, stronger work (such as those mentioned in the first paragraph, particularly The Rising). At least then you might have it in your heart to forgive him this half-assed effort. 3/10.

Starts with a sigh, ends with a high (of sorts)

2009-03-01T17:33:00.005Z

*sigh*

On the workshopping site I frequent, Clean Until the Final Act has gone down like a sack of onions. I would have said potatoes but onions have more layers, which if you read on will make a little more sense. It appears all the subtleties have been spectacularly overlooked and the story is just a predictable revenge tale. Rather unfortunate, to put it mildly. But I don’t see the point of trying to explain. After all, can I be there to point out to every potential reader that, for example, there may be a reason why Triggerman Joe’s speech is all italicised? No. Or that one of the themes is the (ab)use of religion as a means to an end (in this case violence)? Again, no. So, um why bother? Besides, maybe the story, which I had high hopes for—the highest, in fact—does indeed stink. I don’t think so, but then I wrote the damn thing. Time or rejection slips will tell...

My usual reaction to a small disaster such as Clean Until is to do an about turn and head in the opposite direction. So, my densely-written treatise on religion/religious motivation segues into a simple tale about a boy who sees sharks. Oh, and dead people. Well, actually it’s one dead person. His brother. Anyway, instead of taking three weeks to write the first draft of this story, it’s down in just two sittings. Admittedly, it’s rough, as in unreadable-to-anyone-but-me rough, but all the elements of what I call the surface story are there, in place. All they need now is some care, attention, and much polish. The title, if anyone is interested, is probably one of my best: Sand Between a Dead Boy’s Toes. I think the finished story may live up to that and at the same time heal the wound caused by the response to Clean Until...

On The Radio...

2009-02-21T09:05:00.003Z

...community radio in Burbank, California to be precise.

Pulp fiction podcast site Well Told Tales have a small weekly radio show now, and tonight they're broadcasting the podcast of my supernatural short story, Hear Not the Murmur on the Wind. So, if you're free and looking for something to do on Saturday night around 9pm Pacific Time, why not head on over to 925kyhy and listen to the Internet feed...

Australian author Kris Ashton has this to say about my tale:

Finding a new angle in a ghost story is nigh on impossible, but Steven J. Dines has done it. It's a complex and sometimes confusing narrative (as the comments on the WTT site show) but if you follow it through the pay-off is intense.

Kris has a story called "The Pothole" coming soon to Well Told Tales. Check it out!

'Hear Not..." review and First Acceptance of 2009

2009-02-18T08:30:00.004Z

Over in The Fix’s From the Podosphere section, Paul S Jenkins has this to say about my short story, Hear Not the Murmur on the Wind, which appeared on pulp podcast site Well Told Tales last month:

This is a ghostly revenge story, told from the viewpoint of the ghost, which is a common theme, but here given arresting atmosphere by good writing, complemented by J. B. Goodspeed’s reading. A man returns to haunt the wife who murdered him, but finds not what he expects. Short and effective.

In other news...my first acceptance of 2009 - the good folks over at Words and Images magazine have expressed an interest in publishing one of two flash fictions I submitted to them in November. We’re still finalising details at the moment, but I should have definite confirmation soon.

Clean Until the First Draft

2009-02-15T14:03:00.006Z

The first draft of Clean Until the Final Act is done. At 4970 words it’s much longer than originally predicted, but you know what? I’m not complaining. All the elements are roughly in place, they just need aligning, and if I can do that, this could and should be one of my better stories. I’ll get to those edits in the next day or two and hopefully have this one ready to submit in a couple of weeks. Oh, and the title stays. I've been hoping it would.

So, what’s next?

Well, I’m switching from dark science fiction to the weird and the literary for my next short. It’s about a boy and a shark, that’s all I can reveal at the moment. Okay, maybe there are a lot of sharks - I'll find out when I get there. Once that's written I’ve got an idea for a children’s fantasy adventure (short story) that I’d like to explore further, and then there’s a possible collaboration with Brian G. Ross to be thinking about, too.

Busy times ahead.

Size matters...

2009-02-10T11:18:00.004Z

A brief update, folks—Clean Until the Final Act edged over the 3000-word mark on Sunday. Although I have that good feeling writing it, I really have no idea if it will work for readers or not. See, I like to push myself, only sometimes I push too hard. I’m praying this is not one of those times. Yesterday, I (half-)jokingly told a work colleague that this story has the feel of being either a complete disaster or an eventual award-winner. Chances are it will turn out neither, but I think that about sums up the knife-edge it’s walking at the moment. Anyway, as I’ve said elsewhere, I am determined to bring this one in under 4000 (I already have three tough sells on my hands that are longer than that and I do not want another one), but it’s looking increasingly likely it will be too long. If this thing stretches over 4500 I can probably kiss half the potential markets goodbye. There’s never been a better time to use the right words…

Day 3 of 3...

2009-02-04T17:56:00.004Z

Day 3 saw me continuing Clean Until the Final Act. The first draft now sits at 1700 words, with another 1000 of scene snippets, dialogue, notes, etc. I want to say more about this piece, but I don’t want to jinx it. I described it to my wife as trying to build a wall without mortar. All the bricks seem to be in the right place, but one nudge and the whole thing might fall...

So it’s back to the 9-to-5 tomorrow (actually, the 8-to-5)... If the past three days have taught me anything (or reminded me of anything) it is that I love to write. For a long time now I have neglected my duties as a writer by failing to apply ass to chair often enough. Why? The main reason was the voice in my head that kept saying, do you still enjoy doing this? Invariably, my answer was—I don’t know. In just these three days I have a new answer—a resounding and unequivocal YES! Previously, when I came up with an excuse—I’m not in the mood, I’m too tired, I’ve got this or that to do first—it wasn’t, not at its heart, a lack of interest in writing. It was simply Real Life and all its pressures, distractions, and depressions threatening to ruin my writing ambitions. Somewhere along the way, I forgot how good this shit feels, and how right...

The challenge for me now is to somehow bottle this feeling. To drink from it deep and drink from it often.

Day 2 of 3...

2009-02-04T08:06:00.003Z

Day two I spent working on the first draft of a new science fiction short story, which has the working title of Clean Until the Final Act.

It's a strange and complex tale about a rest home android who witnesses the death of a resident under her care, Joe (also known as Triggerman Joe), a retired gun-for-hire or shooter. She starts hearing his voice. She becomes convinced that his is the voice of God, that Triggerman Joe is God...and so on. Like I said, strange and complex! 730 words of polished first draft complete so far and about twice that in notes, scene extracts, dialogue snippets, etc.

Day 1 of 3...

2009-02-02T16:56:00.005Z

This week I'm taking three days off work (Monday thru Wednesday) for the sole purpose of kickstarting my writing. Here's how I spent day one...

Morning:
-Read and edited 2007 science fiction short story, The Bug in the Suit (6520 words)
-1 submission

Afternoon:
-Read and edited 2006 flash fiction, No Place for a Pink Angel (960 words)
-2 submissions

I spent a lot of time today trying to find respectable homes for The Bug in the Suit and The Manny Prior Halloween Show. At 6520 and 7850 words respectively, it did not prove easy! Further proof, if it was needed, that short stories should come in at 5000 words MAX.

See you tomorrow.

(Going Going) GONE

2009-01-28T10:07:00.009Z

This year's special publication from Not One of Us, (Going Going) GONE, featuring my short story, In the Cage with Ghosts is available now from Genre Mall (scroll down).

CONTENTS:
Stories:
Patricia Russo: Claude’s Ghost Story
Eric Del Carlo: That Season
J. Michael Shell: Too Cute
Steven J. Dines: In the Cage with Ghosts

Poems:
J.C. Runolfson: Kumiho
Sonya Taaffe: The Golem in Flight
Sonya Taaffe: The Road to Volodny (Partisan Song)
K.S. Hardy: Shy in the Sky

Art: John Stanton (cover), Aunia Kahn

Hard Case Crime

2009-01-27T19:35:00.006Z

If you’re looking for something to read on the bus or train to work, let me point you in the direction of the Hard Case Crime series. Starting in September 2004, founders Charles Ardai and Max Phillips have published one hardboiled crime novel every month since, recently passing the fifty mark with no signs of slowing down.

This is an easy genre to dismiss (I’m relatively new to it myself), but take some time out to read one or two of the HCC novels and you’ll find enthralling stories written in the kind of sharp prose that most authors can only dream of writing. I’m currently reading Little Girl Lost, the fourth in the series and my fifth HCC title so far (having bucked numerical order to read #13, Stephen King’s, The Colorado Kid), and the selling point is simply this: consistent quality.

So drop by their website, browse through the titles and authors on offer, or maybe even let the gorgeous cover art influence your choice...but make a purchase. Not convinced? Well, check out the price tag. Over at Amazon UK, HCC titles start out at as little as £3.53, at Amazon US, $7. Worth every penny or cent if you ask me.

Movie Review: Disturbia

2009-01-19T11:04:00.005Z

While the build-up is superb in this homage to the Hitchcock classic, Rear Window, the movie descends into overblown slasher horror for its slightly disappointing climax. David Morse (perhaps best known as prison guard Brutus Howell in The Green Mile) has little more to do here than look sinister with a craggy face and slicked back hair, while fast-rising star Shia LeBeouf carries the entire movie on his young shoulders. He is a strange but watchable mix of James Stewart and Tom Cruise – a stuttering Everyman capable of springing into immediate action. A name to watch.

Modern technology features prominently throughout Disturbia. Whether it’s Xbox Live, the iPod, the mobile phone, the digital video camera, or the latest PC software, it serves the story without feeling too much like blatant product placement. In fact, one example is quite inspired. In Rear Window, James Stewart’s character, L.B. Jefferies finds himself housebound (well, in a wheelchair) following an accident. Disturbia’s creators came up with the modern equivalent for their troubled teenager – the house arrest ankle bracelet. It works brilliantly by confining LaBeouf’s character, Kale, to the family home and immediate surroundings while also allowing him full movement within that perimeter. It’s this kind of prop/idea that helps give the movie a fresh, contemporary gloss while also reminding the audience of its source material. Indeed, even as a massive fan of Rear Window I wasn’t offended by this movie. While not a shade on the Fifties classic, it’s good, solid entertainment with a working blend of thrills and laughter; a charming tribute with much to recommend it in its own right. As mentioned, the ending does let it down, and the movie probably couldn’t stand up to the scrutiny of the more fastidious viewer, but for simple, face-value entertainment, it ticks all the right boxes.

Movie Review: The Ruins

2009-01-18T00:58:00.004Z

Take a group of Young Adults, preferably attractive ones, drop them into a Bad Situation, turn up the heat. It’s horror-by-numbers, but it works, dammit. The Ruins is highly watchable thanks in large part to its running time of 86 minutes. It's long enough to tell the story, short enough to keep its audience entertained. As horror premises go, it's irresistible. Our group of YAs find themselves trapped atop a temple in deepest Mexico, surrounded by superstitious locals ready to kill them if they attempt to escape, and trying to stave off the unwelcome attentions of the local plant life. The balance in The Ruins is tipped toward the red stuff more than the psychological, with a double amputation and some self-inflicted gouging with a knife by the Sexy Blonde Girl in Panties being two of its most visceral and memorable scenes. The special effects, particularly the gore, are above-par for this kind of movie, the performances likewise – to their credit all the actors play ‘scared’ convincingly well. The biggest star of the movie is the location; it’s simply stunning (Queensland, Australia doubling for Mexican jungle), and for that reason I regret not renting the movie on Blu-ray.

So, no big surprises and yes yes yes it's formulaic, but it’s a terrific example of a formula that works. You could do much worse than rent The Ruins.

Movie Review: Stephen King's The Mist

2009-01-17T10:52:00.007Z

I’ve been waiting for my online DVD rental company to send me Stephen King’s The Mist for at least two months now. No luck. So, last night my wife and I took matters into our own hands, walked to the local Blockbusters, and for £25 bought the 2 Disc Special Edition on Blu-ray (along with Assembly, a Chinese war movie, which currently sits at 7.6 on imdb). Not the best deal, but not bad either. We opted to watch the colour version (there is a black-and-white version on the second disc, supposedly superior, the director’s version of choice) and here are my thoughts...

I had high hopes going into The Mist (pun intended), possibly the highest I’ve had for any Stephen King adaptation since The Green Mile. Frank Darabont directed both movies, so I felt in pretty safe hands. Well, it’s fair to say it is no Green Mile, and certainly no Shawshank Redemption, but it is a fun horror tale, a strange hybrid of Sixties throwback and modern shocker with obligatory gore. I admit to being extremely worried when the first monster showed up (in the form of tentacles reaching under a loading bay door) because the CGI was dreadful by today’s standards - too shiny, too stuck on. It wrenched me right out of the movie for a time. But the giant insects won me over again, and I was almost able to forget those tentacles. Almost. Another minor gripe was the performance of the lead, Thomas Jane of The Punisher and, er, Dreamcatcher. His reactions were unconvincing if not annoying at times. The rest of the cast put in solid enough performances. On to the good...the psychological aspect and the ending. The real horror in this movie, for we’ve all become desensitised to CGI monsters and gore thanks to the franchises of The Lord of the Rings and Saw respectively, is human in nature - the fast-formed religious mob with its murmurs of sacrifice in the name of ‘expiation’. If that doesn’t at least make you uncomfortable, check the colour of your blood. As for the ending...I won’t spoil it for anyone who hasn’t seen the movie. I will say it’s the most memorable and frustrating scene by a mile, and as such the scene you’ll want to discuss more than any other.

Stephen King’s The Mist isn’t perfect, but it is a welcome antidote to the torture-porn that seems to represent the horror genre these days. On a final note, though I haven’t done so myself yet - make it a point to watch the black-and-white version. I put it on for a few minutes after watching the movie in colour and it immediately felt...right. You’ll see what I mean. Even those shiny-ass tentacles didn’t seem quite so bad...

Revision: a vent

2009-01-16T11:53:00.005Z

Last night, while revising my 2007 horror tale Manny Prior’s Halloween, it struck me that perhaps I am becoming obsessive about editing. I spent at least forty minutes on a single paragraph and ended up unconvinced I made any noticeable improvement. It’s very frustrating work. Time is short and I have many other projects I could be working on, including a novel that has lain stagnant for six months, and yet I end up endlessly circling the same group of sentences. Why? In this case it was tone. Many readers (and editors) probably wouldn’t even notice the effect of the changes I made, which begs the question: was it really worth it? Should I have stuck with a straight descriptive paragraph instead of trying to create a descriptive paragraph that also has a specific tone and intimates the narrator’s state of mind at a particular point in the story? In other words, should I have just moved on to free up time to work on something else? Compromise quality for quantity. The perfectionist in me screams, No! Faced with the choice, I’d opt for the former over the latter every time. But I wonder where other writers stand on this? How much editing is enough? Is it ever enough? Where do you draw the line? The easy answer is, of course, stop when it’s done. I don't believe it’s that simple.

Anyway, it’s lunchtime. Half an hour. Maybe if I skip lunch I can revise a sentence or two…

The Far Reaches, Homer Hickam

2009-01-11T14:01:00.004Z

The first half of this novel, the third in Hickam’s Josh Thurlow series, failed to ignite my interest in the way his previous books have. I didn’t particularly like Josh in this tale. Indeed, his presence seems less important than some of the supposed secondary characters. This novel belongs more to them, Ready O’Neal (familiar to anyone who has read the previous novels) and Sister Mary Kathleen, a nun with a secret and possibly Hickam’s least interesting character to date, than it does Josh, virtually unrecognisable here from his previous outings. I hope Hickam revisits the series again, but this diminished return perhaps suggests he set it aside for fresher projects or at least until inspiration strikes. Still, it would be a pity if the series ended on a ‘medium’ rather than a high. Worth reading if you’re a fan, but by the incredibly high standards set by the author’s previous work, this was a little disappointing.

Listen to...the Murmur on the Wind

2009-01-09T12:21:00.006Z

My gothic-esque short story, Hear Not the Murmur on the Wind, is available now from pulp fiction podcast website
Well Told Tales. J B Goodspeed reads.

Drop by, listen to my tale online, or download the mp3. Either way, I hope you enjoy it...

The Pianist, Wladyslaw Szpilman

2009-01-03T10:42:00.005Z

After watching the Roman Polanski film last year I felt compelled to read the book on which it was based. I did so in one sitting, and it’s one of those rarest of things: a book and film that compliment each other well. You might expect anger; you might expect bitterness, but Szpilman delivers a controlled yet unflinching vision of daily life in the Warsaw ghetto during the Nazi occupation as well as his own incredible story of survival-against-the-odds. Like many tales of the Second World War, this is compelling, humbling, haunting stuff...read it.

It's 2009 and...

2009-01-01T17:01:00.005Z

I just want to wish you all a happy and successful year.

Onwards...

My Top 3 Reads of 2008

2008-12-21T18:33:00.005Z

1. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, Patrick Suskind

Magnificent. This novel offered me everything I want from a story – it was dark, literary, original, compelling, psychologically acute, tragic, beautifully written, and with an outcast as its unforgettable central character. A tale I will doubtless revisit again and again in years to come. My only disappointment was watching the film version before reading the book, always a mistake.

2. Duma Key, Stephen King

In recent years, I find myself biting voraciously into each new effort from King only for my appetite to wane around its flabby middle section and then return again with the serving of dessert, i.e., the final 150 to 200 pages. Duma Key was no different. The beginning was exceptional, hooking me completely, the middle seemed a little long and unfocused, and the ending, though satisfying, resorted at times to one or two laughable plot/exposition devices to move the whole thing along and resolve the story issues. That said, Duma is more accessible and enjoyable than most of King's recent output, Lisey's Story and Cell to name just two, and is, therefore, his best work for a long, long time.

3. Another Bullshit Night in Suck City, Nick Flynn

I bought this book from Amazon a while back because (1) it was on sale, and (2) that title grabbed me. I had no expectations and only a vague idea of what it was about, but sometimes that makes for the best reads. Suck City has much to offer, too much to include in this short review. Among other things, it is an insightful and honest portrayal of a difficult father and son relationship, a fresh, unflinching look at life on the streets and in homeless shelters, and a sad, cautionary tale about clinging to empty dreams. Highly recommended.

'1st Annual Micro Award' nomination

2008-11-15T10:04:00.003Z

From the four issues they published in 2007, GlassFire Magazine have nominated my flash fiction, She Wears a Green Hat and Eats Cantaloupe, for the 1st Annual Micro Fiction Award.

Another well-timed nudge to get me writing again...

Not One of Us & GUD News

2008-11-08T10:43:00.008Z

My latest short story, In the Cage With Ghosts (mentioned elsewhere in my blog and one I struggled with for the longest time) has been accepted for publication by John Benson, the editor of the respected small press magazine, Not One of Us. No update yet about what issue it will appear in, but I'm looking forward to seeing the story in print. Thank you, John.

And then yesterday I was reading Wikipedia's entry for GUD, a magazine that published one of my short stories in its second issue, and noticed the following under "Awards":

Stories from GUD Issues 0 and 1 received 3 honorable mentions in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror Awards 2008

Steven J. Dines's 'Unzipped'
Sarah Singleton and Chris Butler's 'Song of the Dead'
Leslie Claire Walker's 'Max Velocity'

It was the first I knew about it! I have made some enquiries since, and it seems Wiki have got their facts right - Unzipped received an HM!

Good news indeed.

Satirica available to buy & 3rd appearance at Well Told Tales

2008-10-22T12:18:00.007+01:00

Speculative fiction anthology, Satirica, featuring my story, All for One, is now available to buy from online book sellers. Visit your local Amazon and pick yourself up a copy for the equivalent of just under ten pounds...

Amazon UK
Amazon US

If the gorgeous cover art doesn't sell it to you, let me have one final push...
...24 Stories that hold a mirror up to mankind. Before reading this book, make sure to take your medications as directed. These stories take no prisoners. They are direct, frank, and most skillfully blunt. They are not designed to be politically correct. They are not designed to pamper. They are designed to make you think. Prepare to learn a great deal about yourself... Fasten your seat-belts....

Sadly, print horror mag, City Slab, which was due to publish my short story Lost Lying on Your Back, has permanently closed for business. After three years of hunting for a good home for Lost, I am right back, square one.

Some good news, however - I will soon be making my third appearance over at Well Told Tales with a ghost-slash-revenge tale entitled Hear Not the Murmur on the Wind. Podcasts of my previous two stories are still available, just look for the links at the side of this page.

Satirica

2008-08-22T15:34:00.009+01:00

Hardcover anthology, Satirica: An Anthology of Satirical Speculative Fiction, can now be Pre-Ordered from Cowboy Logic Press and should be available soon from Amazon.

For your money you will be getting 110,000 words or 24 stories from the likes of David Thorpe (author of Hybrids ), the ever-prolific Lawrence R. Dagstine, and yours truly.

My contribution, All For One, was previously published in the now-defunct Darker Matter (#2) and received the following review from SF Crowsnest:

...a futuristic outlook of Britain where things haven't gone entirely to plan and something approaching a police state exists. Prime Minister Greengrass is in charge of this political satire which is somewhere between 'Yes, Minister' and 'Children Of Men'. A story and an author to look out for.

In other news...despite making the shortlist, Manny Prior's Halloween was turned down by GUD Magazine, though the editor of issue 4 said it was "nicely twisty" and "really draws one in." I'm disappointed, but at 8000 words I always knew it would be a tough sell. Pity, because I believe it is up there with my best work...

Grasslimb Journal

2008-08-18T23:00:00.003+01:00

My literary flash fiction, The Fifth Friend, appears in the latest issue (Vol.6, No.1) of the San Diego-based Grasslimb Journal.

On a personal note, it is an honour to appear alongside author Ralph Robert Moore. Drop by his site, read some of his work, you'll become a fan too.

Out of the cage

2008-07-20T11:48:00.008+01:00

"Like birdsong heard through a closed window, you had to open—just a little—and listen."
-In the Cage with Ghosts.

It's done. I finished the latest draft of In the Cage with Ghosts (formerly In the Cage of Ghosts) yesterday morning. It came in at almost 6000 words. So much for 3000 or even 4000… I dunno, is it possible for me to write something longer than a flash but shorter than 4000 words these days? I fear it's not. But I'm almost happy with how this latest piece turned out. Anyone who knows me will know I am highly self-critical, so when I say that I'm almost happy it is a positive statement, believe me. In the Cage is dark, it's psychological, and its two central character are both outsiders; yes, two for the price of one. I've posted this current draft on the writing workshop Critters Bar and so far it has received very positive feedback. So, fingers crossed, I should have it ready to submit for publication soon.

Next, it's back to the novel, which has been set aside for the last two weeks, and perhaps on to the prep work for my next short story – no idea what that will be yet. Watch this space, as they say. Maybe this one will come in at target length!

The hard-working folks over at GUD Magazine are making their final selections for Issue 4 at the moment. One of my stories, Manny Prior's Halloween, has made the shortlist from over 2500 submissions. It goes without saying it will be fantastic if Manny (one of my favourite character creations to date) makes the final line-up, but I know in this game not to raise my hopes too high. I will let you know the outcome either way.

As always, thanks for dropping by.

Long story short

2008-06-26T15:13:00.003+01:00

Some important writing lessons I had to relearn this week while working on the first draft of In the Cage of Ghosts:

1) Too much detail suffocates an otherwise good story.
2) Consider what it is you want to say in the confines of the story’s 3-4k words and factor that into the style in which you choose to write.

Seems obvious now. But maybe it took writing 3.5k words of Cage for me to see its flaws, fundamental though they may seem. It became painfully obvious that in spite of all the planning and notes I had made a fatal error when it came to plot arc and time scale. The story as originally planned took place in one location over a few hours. Characters had to move (emotionally) from point A to point B. The story depended on that shift. But reading it back in first draft I didn’t buy it. And if I didn’t, what hope readers would?

Thankfully, the problem was obvious: overwriting and lack of focus on story and brevity. I simply ran out of room. In order for it to work as is, Cage would need to bloat into something approaching novella length. But the story won’t support that. So, what’s the solution?

Bite-size chunks. Instead of one or two drawn-out scenes, I’m opting for a half-dozen or more ruthlessly short scenes, with the story as a whole taking place over a longer time period of several days.

Long story short, I’m starting over.

Touching the Monkey: The best of www.tqrstories.com

2008-06-09T20:41:00.004+01:00

TQR celebrates three years of total quality reading with its first "Best Of" print anthology available direct from iUniverse here.

Inside you'll find ten stories, including my contribution to proceedings, Sunrise in Coat City.

Oh, and the title's an eye-catcher, I'm sure you'll agree!

Let's face it...

2008-06-01T16:00:00.017+01:00

...when planning a story, many writers ask themselves the question, "What if...?" Here is the chance to ask the question of yourself (literally), and have a little fun in the process...

Visit Face of the Future, click on Face Transformer, upload a portrait-style picture, and off you go. Here is a selection of my results, there are other style options to choose from on the site:

What if I were a child again?

An old man...

An Afro-American...

An East Asian...

A West Asian...

An Apeman...

An El Greco painting...

What are you waiting for?

City Slab

2008-05-07T16:13:00.003+01:00

I am thrilled to announce that pro horror mag City Slab have accepted my short story, Lost Lying on Your Back, for publication in a future issue.

More details when I have them.

Premature Evaluation

2008-04-21T20:38:00.004+01:00

I went back and forth on it, but I finally did it. I posted chapter six of The Ballerina, the Boy, and the Thing in the Water on a writers' workshop site, stood back, and waited for the lions to start tearing...

Call me self-destructive, but that's what I did. Why? Because sometimes (quite often, in fact) I am weak-willed and low on self-belief. It's the amateur in me, I guess, seeking praise and encouragement. A quick pick-me-up during a quiet time. Often, it can prove to be a costly mistake.

This time I was lucky. On the whole, the feedback was positive and encouraging, especially considering that what they read was an excerpt from a much longer work and therefore difficult to slide comfortably into.

I had shied away from letting anyone read or hear more than a few sentences or paragraphs from this, my latest attempt at a novel. I've been burned in the past, see. Some time ago, I began writing a horror tale, The Black Tree. Even got a cover designed for it by the hubby of a friend - and dare I say fan? - of mine. Eight thousand words in, I decided to post everything I'd written so far on a workshop site. The first two people who read it were, it is fair to say, not that impressed. They weren't nasty about it, just...unenthusiastic. Since then, two or three others have read the opening chapters and expressed the exact opposite opinion. Typical. For the record, I'm currently with the second group. However, at the time, those initial responses tainted the entire project for me, gave the thing an air of time wasted and, were I to continue with it, potentially more time wasted. So, I shelved the book. A stupid stupid mistake.

I guess what I am trying to say here is beware allowing yourself to slip into the mindset of the amateur. Try to avoid premature evaluation. Spoils the whole process. It can sneak up on any one of us, too, if we're not careful, especially when we've been out of the game for a while (like me recently - I've been "on hiatus" due to illness and a simple enjoyment of married life, though some might compare one thing to the other...) Anyway, this overeager mindset can make us do things that could potentially threaten the completion of our project, be it a short story or a novel. As I said, I was lucky this time. People enjoyed the excerpt. But unless you're an egomaniac - which I'm not - or thick-skinned - which I am but some shots still get through - then green-gilled newbies and weak-momented old-timers alike should heed this simple advice:

FINISH THE DAMN THING FIRST.

It is harder to turn one's back on a finished (first draft, at least) and potentially strong project than it is to abandon an unfinished and ostensibly weak one. Finish the damn thing first.

So, with that in mind, what did I do after posting Chapter Six and exposing my work to a potential mauling? I went ahead and posted the opening salvo of my latest and yet-to-be-finished short story!

Finish the damn thing first.

At long last...

2008-03-26T10:01:00.006Z

Chapter Six of The Ballerina, the Boy, and the Thing in the Water is finally done.

You will, of course, have no idea how happy I am to be able to type the sentence above. To put it into perspective, I started Chapter Six on November 26th, 2007, and only completed it yesterday, March 25th, 2008! That is one day shy of four months to write a 4750-word chapter. Ridiculous! However, I believe it has been worthwhile. Many of the story elements are coming together, fitting better than I would have ever expected from what is just a first draft. I feel the Beginning of the novel has now come to a close and I am about to embark on the fantastic voyage that will be its Middle. Damn it, I wish I could reveal more!

2008-03-18T18:34:00.000Z

absence

2008-03-14T09:55:00.004Z

Apologies for the lack of updates recently but I have been busy being ill. Business as usual soon, though, I hope.

Best,
Steven

week eight (feb 19 - 25)

2008-02-25T20:54:00.003Z

Applied ass to chair this week and quelle surprise I made some progress!

In the Cage of Ghosts is finally underway. I can see it struggling to come in under the three thousand word mark, but I will allow a little room either way. Very pleased with it so far. Potentially, should this one turn out a winner, it could change my whole approach to writing short fiction…

Chapter Six of The Ballerina, the Boy, and The Thing in the Water continues to move slowly towards completion. It has taken several months—on and off—to write its 2880 words, and I'm not even sure if it will survive the final cut. Why? Because it is author intrusion all the way. Let me explain briefly…

There are two main plot threads in this novel. The first is set in The Eighties and follows the story of a young girl, Ella Bradburn. The second is set in The Noughties and follows the story of the man who is writing Ella's story, one Thomas Crouch. The obvious problem is this: once the reader encounters Mr Crouch, will he or she be able to return to Ella's story "unharmed", i.e., will they be able to continue and still feel as involved in the story? Or will they see it—courtesy of me heavily underlining it—as just that, a story? It's fucking with the whole suspension of disbelief thing, and that's usually a big no-no. But I feel it could work here for reasons I won't go into just yet. Only time will tell if the two can coexist, I suppose. Or if one of them (Mr Crouch) has to go…

STATS:
2 submissions: Bound Off, Underground Voices
1 rejection: Ninth Letter

Currently reading: Duma Key by Stephen King, Dead Sea by Brian Keene
Recently watched: I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry (**1/2), Sicko (***1/2), Tremors (****1/2)

2008-02-24T12:13:00.001Z

week seven (feb 12 - 18)

2008-02-19T18:58:00.005Z

This week wasn't so much an ebb as a continuation of the 2008 drought as I failed to make time for the first draft of In the Cage of Ghosts, which sits ready and waiting for me to begin. On the novel front, I managed 620words of chapter six, the chapter from HELL, but it's not enough and definitely way below target, though it appears I have jumped one whole percentage point toward the project's completion. Great things, huh?

Next week should be about better time management, which will entail watching fewer DVDs (a major weakness of mine, I admit), reading fewer books (I read Steve Martin's Born Standing Up in one sitting on Sunday, which isn't a bad thing except I should have been writing), and perhaps, I dunno, sitting down at a PC and tapping out a few words, maybe even a couple of sentences, who knows? But let's not push it, right?

I hope your week was more productive than mine. Actually, maybe I don't...

STATS:
1 submission: GUD Magazine
2 rejections: Big Ole Face Full of Monster, Not One of Us

Currently reading: Duma Key by Stephen King, Dead Sea by Brian Keene
Recently watched: Superbad (***1/2), King of Queens: Season 6 (****), 1408 (***1/2), Hard Candy (***)
Current iPod favourite: nothing - instead, Mr Brian Keene has been keeping me company on my trips to and from work.

week six (feb 05 - 11)

2008-02-13T22:04:00.005Z

No novel work this week, but I'm finally ready to start the first draft of In the Cage of Ghosts after five weeks of preparation. Sounds like a lot, right? It's not, believe me, because it took just five sittings to get me to this stage. Had I applied ass to chair on Jan 1st and continued to do so on a daily basis until I was ready to roll on (draft) one then I would've been good to go before the end of the first week of the year. Sometimes, though, ideas take a little time – not to mention coaxing, gentle or otherwise – to untangle themselves into something worthwhile. Sorry I don't have more to report on this at the moment, but I hope to give you more in the coming weeks.

Reading consumed most of my spare time this week. I finished Jonathan Maberry's Ghost Road Blues (scroll down the right hand margin to read my short review) and started King's latest, Duma Key. Now, I haven't said this in a long, long time, simply because Mr King has not given me any reason to say it, but… (deep breath) this one is a winner – so far. I'm a little over one hundred pages in and I'm captivated. While Cell was by King standards flat and uninspired and Lisey's Story was overlong and overwritten, Duma Key is…well, it's not. Edgar Freemantle is one of King's most interesting protagonists starring in what is, again so far, one of his finest mysteries. Thank you, thank you, thank you. For some time now I've been wondering, like many of you I'm sure, what happened to the guy who brought us Misery and The Stand and two of my own favourites, The Long Walk (okay, that's a Bachman) and Hearts in Atlantis. Assuming this one doesn't take a nosedive after page 150, I'd say he's finally found the niche it seems he's been so determined to find and occupy in the years since his Accident, that of the writer who can bridge the gulf between genre and literary fiction. My faith is restored. So far.

Finally, I've decided to take a break from submitting for a while. Why? I'm on a bad streak, have been for months, and the pile of rejections has me asking uncomfortable questions of myself. I reckon I need to rebuild my confidence, so I'm knuckling down to work on the projects I've been talking about here until I feel ready to put my neck back on the block or until one of the small number of stories I still have out there finds a good home, whichever comes first...

STATS:
3 submissions: Crazyhorse, Murky Depths, Eclipse Two
6 rejections: Triangulation, HLQ, Vestal Review, Outercast, GUD Magazine, Postcards From Hell

Currently reading: Duma Key by Stephen King
Recently watched: Glory (****), Roxanne (****1/2), Zodiac (****)
Current iPod favourite: n/a

"PS Your story was a near miss..."

2008-02-07T16:48:00.000Z

Hm. I should keep a record of all my near-misses. I must be in high double figures by now.

Oh well. Onwards...

28 Years Later...

2008-02-06T18:35:00.001Z

Happy Birthday, Summer. With love, your husband...

week five (jan 29 - feb 04)

2008-02-04T18:59:00.001Z

In the Cage of Ghosts: 1500words of notes on some of this short story's finer points. I'm starting to think I'm over-preparing, but I'm going to go along with it for now…

The Ballerina, the Boy, and the Thing in the Water: 400words of what is without a shadow of a doubt the hardest chapter to write so far. Why? I'm way too close to the subject matter.

And on a pessimistic note (though is it pessimism if you're convinced – okay, almost convinced – something will come to pass?):
Do you ever get that dark cloud feeling? You know, a sense of impending bad news rooted so deep in the pit of your stomach it feels more akin to premonition than gut instinct? That's how I've been feeling this week, like I'm standing in line for some metaphorical beheading. I hope I'm wrong. God, I hope I'm wrong. Fuel to the fire - I wrote the following this week:

How quickly everything went topsy-turvy. My face flushed from the absurdity of it all. My fingers curled into tight fists in my pockets, nails pressing half-moons into my palms, and I thought with a dreadful certainty: I have to put a stop to this.
But how?

Hm, spooky. Or not. Time will tell.

STATS:
2 submissions: Postcards From Hell, Ninth Letter
1 rejection: Triangulation

Currently reading: Ghost Road Blues by Jonathan Maberry
Recently watched: The Station Agent (***1/2), Million Dollar Baby (***1/2)
Current iPod favourite: audiobook of It by Stephen King

2008-02-02T11:56:00.000Z

week four (jan 22 - 28)

2008-01-28T20:23:00.000Z

The story notes for In the Cage of Ghosts are almost done. It remains to be seen if my decision to put in some extra preparation before starting the first draft was wise or over-cautious. Some of my best stories were hardly planned at all, while some of my not-so-good stories were – probably – planned to death. As is usually the case, a happy – and successful – medium ought to be found. I've perhaps got some work to do on the characters before I begin, but the plot is approx. 95% in place.

In the Cage of Ghosts will be to Circling what King's Desperation was to Bachman's The Regulators – only shorter and not as good. What I mean is both stories will share a number of common elements. For example, both deal with the aftermath of a plane crash, both feature a character, Tom Camron, the man responsible for the crash. There will be other connective threads, I'm sure. Now, I should say that I'm not trying to be clever with this. All I'm doing is retracing my steps to early 2006, to when I wrote Circling, in an attempt to write the story as it was originally conceived: two guys, both of whom have been deeply affected by a plane crash – one of them the cause, the other the effect – meet in a motel for the first time to discuss what happened. Not the ghost-trapped-on-the-runway tale Circling turned out to be, which was good but…flew its own course, shall we say?

Monday saw me resume work on The Novel: The Ballerina, the Boy, and the Thing in the Water. It's a working title. Maybe. I haven't really mentioned it on here before, not because I have anything to hide you see, but because I've had my share of false starts with novels and wanted to be sure, or as sure as I can be, that I was truly serious about this one. Which I am. It's not a matter of if but when. At my current rate of production, however, I won't be typing 'THE END' anytime soon. It is my hope that by mentioning or discussing, or perhaps by not mentioning and not discussing it on here I will remain motivated enough to write the bloody thing sometime before my thirty-fifth birthday!

Okay, I've gone on long enough, but I'll leave you with this small teaser: The Ballerina, the Boy, and the Thing in the Water was inspired by a Salvador Dali painting that I happened upon whilst image-Googling the word "Dali". Which work of his provided the spark, you ask. I'll give you a clue: it's not on the first page and it's not after the tenth…

STATS:
3 submissions: Espresso Fiction, Triangulation, Not One of Us
3 rejections: FRiGG (all 3)

Currently reading: Ghost Road Blues by Jonathan Maberry
Recently watched: Prison Break Season Two (*****), Before Sunrise (****), The Host (**1/2)
Current iPod favourite: audiobook of It by Stephen King

Finally, here's a short vid of Stephen King talking about the inspiration behind his latest novel, Duma Key.

week three (jan 15 - 21)

2008-01-26T14:07:00.001Z

Finally found the time and opportunity to clear some writing backlog this week, namely the proofs of All for One and Sunrise in Coat City for Satirica and TQR's Best Of anthology respectively.

Hopefully I can now kickstart '08 by getting down to some serious work on In the Cage of Ghosts and my dark literary novel The Ballerina, the Boy, and the Thing in the Water (working title). With so much demands for my time and attention right now (like selling stuff online and clearing out eight years worth of accumulated crap from my two-bedroom flat so my wife and I can decorate, sell up, and move) it's going to be tough to find some uninterrupted writing time, but that is where self-discipline and strong coffee come into play.

STATS:
1 submission: GUD Magazine
5 rejections: Ninth Letter, Read By Dawn - congrats, BGR ;), Stickman Review, GUD, & Quick Fiction

Currently reading: Ghost Road Blues, Jonathan Maberry (SK's Duma Key is on the way...)
Recently watched: Capote (***), Before Sunrise (****)
Current iPod favourite: Lately, Stevie Wonder

week two (jan 8 - 14)

2008-01-19T12:10:00.000Z

Life got in the way this week. There always seemed to be something else that needed doing, so my writing time was restricted to half-hour lunch breaks minus any ill-timed phone calls or co-worker visits. I wrestled with a single paragraph the entire week!

2 submissions: Outercast, GUD Magazine
2 rejections: Flash Fiction Online

This week my wife and I discovered US television show Prison Break. I love sitting down to watch a DVD with little or no expectation and for it to completely blow me away. Rescue Me did that to me last year, though by the end of Season 3 it seemed to be floundering somewhat. The box set cover for Prison Break had me bracing for something like The OC does Shawshank Redemption. I was wrong. Prison Break has everything: brilliant plotting, a solid ensemble cast, action, suspense, and more twists than a Rubik's Cube. Can't wait to get my eyes on Season Two...

"Prison Break"

week one (jan 1 - 7)

2008-01-06T16:48:00.000Z

Did some work on In the Cage of Ghosts this weekend. As usual, I didn't cover as much ground as I'd hoped – two thousand words or so of assorted notes – but it feels good to be working on something. I'm determined to keep myself from rushing into the first draft because I really want the characters and plot to be as clear as possible in my mind before I start writing. I fear it may be one of the reasons why Hear Not the Murmur on the Wind is being turned down more often than an Ugly Sister on Singles Night at the Palace. I don't want to leave it to the semi-blind gropings of the premature first draft to discover what this one is all about. And those plot twists along the way need to be thought long and hard over if they are going to seem at all spontaneous and surprising...

Other news this week-
4 submissions: 1 short to Big Ole Face Full of Monster, 3 flashes to FRiGG
1 acceptance: Satirica (anthology, non-paying)
2 rejections: Aberrant Dreams and yet another near hit at GUD Magazine
1 rejection 'of sorts': Circling failed to make Spinetinglers' Best Of print anthology (a rejection 'of sorts' since stictly-speaking I didn't submit it for consideration)

Finally, if you haven't seen the movie Pan's Labyrinth yet, please please do so; you will not be disappointed. Easily one of the best foreign language movies (or movies period) of the last ten years.

"Pan's Labyrinth"
Next week, I'm working on In The Cage of Ghosts and the proof of Sunrise in Coat City for TQR's Best Of anthology...

First Day...

2008-01-03T19:31:00.000Z

...back at work. Knives were put away long enough for handshakes and well wishes. It will be business as usual in a couple of days though.

For 2008's first short fiction project I decided to finish something started rather than start something new. Browsing through my memory-sticked 'in progress' folder on my PC at work I eventually settled on Bird Man's Last Flight aka The Hotel Revenge aka In the Cage of Ghosts. My last two serious efforts came in at over 6000 words, so I am determined to bring this one home in under 3000. That way, someone might actually publish it.

Don't intend to do much tonight (tired; adjusting to rising at 06:30 again) other than dig out all the odds and sods I printed and filed away for what is now In the Cage of Ghosts. Feels good to be thinking about writing again after the festive period. During said time I gained several extra pounds and worked my way through a half season of Whose Line Is It Anyway (US version), a half season of King of Queens Season 5, The Office Season 3 (again, US version), series 1 thru 3 of Only Fools and Horses, 3 episodes of Nightmares and Dreamscapes, and the movie, Hairspray, in which Danny Zucko dons a fat suit and an assortment of dresses. Too much, too much. Especially with chocolates never far from hand...

2007 - The Short Fiction Numbers

2008-01-01T13:40:00.000Z

For all you statisticians out there, this is my breakdown of the last twelve months in terms of short fiction written, submitted, accepted, and actually published…

Writing:
1 novelette
7 short stories
10 flashes
Total – 30,700 words (approx.)

Publishing:
143 submissions
16 acceptances
129 rejections
19 no response or withdrawn
3 no placings (comps)
11 publications

The 16 acceptances consisted of:
1 Pro
2 Semi Pro
9 Paying (2 of which were cancelled)
4 Non-paying

The 11 publications consisted of:
1 Pro
1 Semi Pro
6 Paying
3 Non-paying

3 were print, 8 web-based (incl. 2 podcasts).

And so there you have it. Generally, the numbers are down on previous years (with the exception of writing output, which is double that of 2006) but in ’07 I tried to be a little more sensible and selective with my submissions while also targeting some of the tough big markets. This year I will adopt a different strategy again, based on some of the lessons I have learned in 2007 and, hopefully, the fruits will be bigger, sweeter, and altogether more satisfying.

All the best for this New Year, folks.

And as someone whom I greatly admire recently told me…

“ONWARDS”

Circling at Well Told Tales

2007-12-27T10:03:00.001Z

You can now listen to the podcast of my horror short story, Circling, over at Well Told Tales. You can leave a rating or comment if you so wish.

Hope you all had a great Christmas!

My Top 3 Reads of 2007

2007-12-11T20:40:00.000Z

I read seventeen books in 2007, which is a pitiful tally any way you care to slice it. Yup, seventeen. One title every three. I wish it could have been more but working forty-two-and-a-half hours a week (and that’s before I even think about applying ass to chair) doesn’t leave me with much energy or opportunity to read. I miss those days, so infrequent now, when I could abandon everything and lose myself in a book for seven, eight, sometimes nine hours straight… (sigh)

Anyway, for what it’s worth, here are my top three favourite reads of 2007, none of which were published this year. Don’t read anything into that though since I only read three ‘current’ titles in '07.

In First Place:
Collected Stories Vol.1, Richard Matheson
-Fifty years on and most of these stories are still as fresh and powerful and relevant as the day they were written. Reading this was a humbling experience.

Second Place:
The Ambassador’s Son, Homer Hickam
-A superb storyteller. Nothing this guy has written has disappointed me. Nothing.

Third Place:
Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
-Staggeringly sharp prose. One incredible line, paragraph, and chapter after another.

If you haven't read any of these books or authors then I encourage you to head on over to your local library/bookstore/Amazon web site and look them up...

GUD Magazine #1, SF Diplomat Review, & some news...

2007-12-06T20:09:00.000Z

GUD Magazine #1 has picked up a great review over at SF Diplomat. Here's what the reviewer Jonathan McCalmont had to say about my contribution:

“Unzipped” is a terrifying story. It is about a veteran of the war in Yugoslavia [actually, it's Iraq, Jonathan...] who is clearly consumed by psychological problems but is constantly attempting to keep his head above water. The story begins with his visiting a hooker for a bit of S&M, continues with his beating up his wife and ends with his thinking about flashing a bunch of teenaged boys in the hope that the police would drag him off and then beat the shit out of him in prison. It would be easy to write a story such as this and make it seem crass or sensationalist but Dines does an excellent job of getting across how conflicted and desperate for some kind of relief his protagonist is. This is memorable, powerful stuff.

And FINALLY some good news: after a long, long, long string of rejections...

Sunrise in Coat City will make its print debut in the forthcoming Best Of anthology from TQR. Unfortunately, I have no further details at this time.

And...

I've sold a second story (supernatural horror this time) to pulp fiction podcast site Well Told Tales, where I'm currently standing in the "Writer Spotlight." Drop by, hang out, listen to some stories, and leave a comment, if you like.

I'll be posting another blog with my round-up of 2007 very soon, so don't stray too far...

Flash in the pan...?

2007-11-04T12:11:00.000Z

I’ve always been undecided about where I stand on the whole flash fiction thing. I enjoy reading and writing flash - indeed, some of the best examples of my own writing are under 1000 words. But does anyone really take it seriously, meaning anyone who actually matters?

When I start to think along such lines, I need only click my way across to SmokeLong Quarterly* and read some of the finest, most resonant flash fictions published on the web, or anywhere, to feel reassured that flash fiction - reading it, writing it - is most certainly not a waste of time. But—

Here I am, sitting with a copy of The Best American Short Stories 2007 (Stephen King, Editor) on my desk in front of me, and from a glance down the Contents page I can tell you there isn’t one flash fiction to be found. Not one. Unless I’ve missed something, the shortest story is ten pages or roughly three to four thousand words long. And I know if I go to my bookshelves and select any short story anthology at random, I’ll be hard pressed to find more than one or two flashes in each collection. Why is that? And will we ever see the day when a flash makes it into Best American Short Stories (or might they create a new series - Best American Flash Fictions? I can’t see it, I just can’t) or wins the Stoker, or the World Fantasy Award, or the Hugo, etc? All I can say is it will have to be one helluva piece of writing…

Meanwhile, I will continue to read and write the occasional flash. I believe it has a place and purpose. For me, it’s usually after I’ve written a longish short, in much the same way I suppose as some novelists pen a short story or two upon completion of their latest novel. Reading that back, it sounds disrespectful, as though they are merely filler, but that’s not what I mean. They can be a welcome and refreshing change of pace, style, and, of course, length, as well as a difficult but rewarding challenge in their own right.

In the end, I suppose, we have to follow our own paths, awards and questions of what is accepted (or not) be damned…

Footnote:
* or if horror tales are your thing, pick up a copy of Michael Arnzen’s 100 Jolts: Shockingly Short Stories.

GUD Magazine #1, The Fix Review & 'The Beautiful Game' Podcast at Well Told Tales

2007-10-19T19:54:00.000+01:00

GUD Magazine #1 has picked up yet another review over at The Fix. I dispute what the reviewer, Andrew Hook, has to say about Unzipped (well I would, wouldn't I?) but the magazine is getting some great exposure, so I'll just take it on the chin...

"Unzipped" by Steven J. Dines is another story which potentially has great aspirations for pathos. However, I found the message too heavy-handed—even if it is necessary and urgent for our times. An Iraqi war veteran finds it impossible to reintegrate into civilian life, but the ending is much too tidy. Can salvation from a pivotal moment in life really be found within a second pivotal moment? I don’t think so.

Elsewhere, my short story, The Beautiful Game, is now up at the pulp-fiction podcast site Well Told Tales as a streaming download or downloadable mp3 file. If you can spare 21mins of your time then please head on over there and listen, leaving a comment or rating when you're done. Personally, I'm pleased with the result and hope to appear on WTT again in the future. A big thank you to the Well Told Tales team.

That's all the news for now, folks. I spent a couple of evenings this week submitting stories for publication, so I hope to return with more good news very soon.

Hope you are well.

GUD Magazine #1, Mallory Review

2007-10-07T17:30:00.000+01:00

I found a less positive review of GUD Magazine #1 today on F.R.R. Mallory's blog. The reviewer had this to say about my contribution, Unzipped:

This story does a good job on delivering the inner experience of post-traumatic stress although the way it elects to achieve this makes the protagonist distant and very hard to empathize with. Anticipating that this story behavior was intentional this becomes a bit of nonconsensual masochistic massage – as a reader you keep reading not because you are enjoying the story but because you are hoping the story doesn’t dirty itself on the page. This is well written and a story I would have tossed back.

That final sentence seems contadictory, but at least the magazine and my story are being read.

To read the review (Parts 1 & 2 of 3, so far) click HERE

GUD Magazine #1, 2 reviews - Artemisin and Whispers of Wickedness

2007-09-10T20:56:00.000+01:00

Today, while browsing the internet I found the follow two reviews of GUD Magazine #1, which featured my short story, Unzipped.

Artemisin (Sara genge's writing blog) had this to say about my contribution:

Unzipped is not another Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder story. For one, if I had noticed that was what it was about, I would have chucked the story across the room. I'm sick of stereotypes of Vietnam vets hitting the deck every time someone breaks a glass. Most cases of PTSD last less than 3-4 months. What's more, most people who live through a traumatic event don't develop PTSD.
Thankfully, the opening paragraphs are so cleverly worded that by the time I found out about that detail I was in love and couldn't stop reading. Steven J. Dines takes the theme into new, medically inaccurate places (I'm not complaining, this is fiction and I don't think it was the author's intent to portray the condition precisely), where guilt, madness and literary flair merge nicely. Dark. That's the way I like it.

To read the full review click HERE

Whispers of Wickedness were even more complimentary:

All right, let’s start with some of the stuff I definitely liked. Steven J. Dines contributes Unzipped, the powerful and subtle tale of a soldier returned from Iraq and trying to deal with the death of a child that he witnessed out there and feels he should have prevented. I didn’t realise what Dines meant by the ‘ball’ that wasn’t a ball until I turned the page – and it knocked me for six when I did. A top-notch character study.

Likewise, to read the full review click HERE

Having returned from my honeymoon to an inbox full of rejection emails, these reviews were not only encouraging but well-timed. A cheery thank you to those reviewers!

Down in the Cellar with Trevor McDonald

2007-09-10T20:29:00.001+01:00

My 2003 horror short, What Trevor McDonald Doesn't Tell Us, makes its long overdue internet debut this month over at horror 'zine, Down in the Cellar. Check out my contribution here.

The story first appeared in small press print mag Dark Tales #5, Nov 2004.

The Holiday Hasn't Started Yet...

2007-08-09T22:33:00.000+01:00

It is less than one week until I leave for Florida and I’m hard at work on two new stories. Here is a preview:

The first, Demons, is straight horror, a simple but powerful tale of a man who wakes up in his apartment one night to discover he has some uninvited guests…with torture on their minds...

The second, Five Shades of Leaving, is also horror but with a more psychological and literary bent. It tells the story of a break-up (based on my own experience from last March) between a young writer and his nursing student girlfriend. Before you reach for your keyboard - I know, having a writer as a main character is not the done thing, but since this is on some levels a personal story I am choosing to break the rule on this one occasion. Anyway, eager to return to work on his novel, he decides to speed along the grieving process (and this is where we leave real life behind for the realm of imagination, trust me, folks!) by re-enacting the break-up five times over the course of five nights, each time focussing on overcoming a different stage of the Five Stages of Grief (aka Kubler-Ross model). The results are unexpected and shocking to say the least - at least I hope they will be.

Now, here is a glimpse of the opening (remember, first draft):

She first left me on Sunday.
I rolled over on our bed and my outstretched arm met no resistance on its way to her cool, empty side of the mattress. I opened my eyes. The clock on the nightstand read 05:36. I had slept for a little over four hours, having chugged my way through enough high-energy drinks to see me reach that day’s target of fifteen-hundred words first draft. Should I ever finish the manuscript, Messrs Caffeine and Taurine more than deserved a co-author credit. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, and as I toed around the dark floor for one slipper then another, I heard from our living room the high-pitched snarl of a super-charged engine.

Musical Interlude #1 - "Here is the House" - one of my all-time favourite songs

2007-08-03T23:54:00.000+01:00

Here is the House, by Depeche Mode. From the album, Black Celebration (Mute, 1993)

Lyrics:
Here is the house
Where it all happens
Those tender moments
Under this roof
Body and soul come together
As we come closer together
And is it happens
It happens here in this house

And I feel your warmth
And it feels like home
And there's someone
Calling on the telephone
Let's stay home
It's cold outside
And I have so much
To confide to you

With or without words
I'll confide everything

Here is the house
Where it all happens
Those tender moments
Under this roof
Body and soul come together
As we come closer together
And as it happens
It happens here in this house

So we stay at home
And I'm by your side
And you know
What's going on inside
Inside my heart
Inside this house
And I just want to
Let it out for you

And I feel your warmth
And it feels like home
And I feel your warmth
And it feels like home

Here is the house
Where it all happens
Those tender moments
Under this roof
Body and soul come together
As we come closer together
And as it happens
It happens here in this house

The Big Day

2007-07-29T14:23:00.000+01:00

A little over one year ago, my fiancée and I split for two months. I’d lost my way and she’d lost her faith. Miraculously, we found each other again. It was a tough but significant time in our lives, during which we learned a lot about ourselves and each other. And it’s been tough since then too, of course it has, confronting and then burying the past, but we’ve done it. And we’ve become closer and stronger than ever. So, to celebrate our progress, we are to be married at 10am Eastern Standard Time on the 20th August 2007 at Sea Breeze Point in Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida.

It will be an intimate wedding—ourselves and one guest, my future mother-in-law—which is what my partner and I both want. Rightly or wrongly, the events of the past have led to many people in both families feeling less than optimistic towards our relationship. Not everyone, however, has that view: some have been supportive of our decision to try again. What I have never wanted is a wedding where our guests wear fake smiles for the occasion’s sake. This way, we have the wedding where, when, and how we want it.

And here it is. The Big Day. Highlights include:
- Before and after ceremony photographs by Randy Chapman, recently voted one of the top ten photographers in Central Florida.
- Cake: top layer - Almond and Amaretto Mousse; bottom layer – Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cup Mousse. Tasty!
- A thirteen-course dinner at Victoria and Albert’s restaurant.
- And… a wedding night to remember for the bride (if I’m not exhausted from the serious food consumption!)

Then it’s up at the crack of dawn (i.e., before the parks open) to don our wedding attire once more for the Magic Kingdom Bridal Shoot, which takes place directly in front of The Castle.

As for accommodations…

First off, seven nights at The Caribbean Beach Resort:

Then, another seven nights at The Grand Floridian Resort. Normally, a room here would set you back $600 a night per person, but Disney have been kind enough to provide us with a no-extra-cost upgrade/transfer from our original hotel, Animal Kingdom Lodge, due to construction work at the time of our intended stay. Credit where credit’s due… this was down to my fiancée, who has spent literally hundreds of hours on Disney-related forums and got the warning about the construction before our travel agent!

Then it’s three nights in a balcony room on the Disney Cruise Line, The Wonder, which will take us to The Bahamas and Disney’s own private island, Castaway Cay.

We’ll end our honeymoon with four nights at the Crowne Plaza Universal, which is a stone’s throw (maybe a little further) from Universal Studios.

I’m glad I took the time to write this post. It's got me focused on the wedding again. Morgan, our pet Sheltie, has been seriously ill these last couple of weeks, and that has understandably diverted all our attention from the fast-approaching holiday. Morgan is now, hopefully, on the mend, and we can start looking forward once again to the wedding, honeymoon, and beyond...

Hope you are well.

GUD Magazine #1, Ibbetson Street Press Review

2007-07-09T21:15:00.000+01:00

The second issue of Greatest Uncommon Denominator has picked up an early review from Ibbetson Street Press. Here is what they had to say about my contribution, Unzipped :

"I also grimaced when, at the end of Steve Dines’ “Unzipped” the Iraq War Vet loses his shit completely and smashes a mirror into the face of his well-meaning, stand-by-your-man girlfriend. I got the gritty sarcasm and post traumatic stress disordered telling of Humpty Dumpty dismantled and tortured which he read to his five year old. Again, though, it’s just the violence so exquisitely and bloodlessly drawn that kind of shakes me up these days. I appreciated the long interior monologue which the avenging vet had leading up to his final moments in a park going pervert on a kid as his woman lay in a hospital bed all scarred up. That’s the War. And that is, I’m sure, no exaggeration in some cases. It’s haunting and reflective of how military violence really does warp a soldier’s psyche."

To read the full review click HERE

Also, the good people over at GUD Magazine are offering the first two issues in PDF format for just $1 dollar each. This offer is open for one week only (July 6th - 13th), so hurry across there and take advantage now!

GUD Magazine

The Literary Bone #2, Cover #2

2007-06-30T17:46:00.000+01:00

The second issue of small press mag The Literary Bone will feature two covers. The first, the "Killer Clown" cover (above) will appear in January 2008, followed by the Limited Edition "Lady in the Water" cover (posted previously) in February.

I think both covers are excellent, the Clown for its vibrant colours, the Lady for its originality and detail. What do you YOU think?

Well Told Tales

2007-06-03T16:36:00.001+01:00

My short story, The Beautiful Game, has been accepted by Well Told Tales to become a future podcast. This will be The Beautiful Game's first appearance online in any form (other than password-protected writing forums that is). An earlier version of the story previously appeared in the August 2005 issue of print mag, The Writer's Post Journal.

Useless info dump: this will be my third story to be recorded, the other two being When You Wish Upon a Plastic Star (this was available from Tell You a Tale but unfortunately they're no longer with us, though I have the audio file for anyone interested) and Circling (The Late Late Show - story not available on the site at this time).

I'll post an update on this podcast when I have more information.

Hope you are well.

Books, Books, and More Books

2007-05-31T22:35:00.000+01:00

Here's what I bought recently from Amazon UK's Huge Stock Clearance:

(for £1 each)
G - John Berger
The Seal Wife - Kathryn Harrison
The Cadence of Grass - Thomas McGuane
Shopgirl - Steve Martin (yes, the film actor/comedian)
Banks of Green Willow - Kevin Myers

(for £3 each)
The Great Escape - Paul Brickhill
Lunar Park - Bret Easton Ellis
Another Bullshit Night in Suck City - Nick Flynn (loving that title...)
Ash Wednesday - Ethan Hawke
Dark Horse - Tami Hoag
Creepers - David Morrell

Okay, so I don't really need any more reading material - I've got enough books to keep me going until my heart stops (really, I do) despite my best efforts during the last 8-10months to sell off the bulk of my collection. Anyway, I thought I would post the list above and see if visitors to this blog have any thoughts or recommendations they would care to share, assuming, of course, you have read (or heard of) any of the above.

Thanks, as always, for dropping by...

Cover Pic Previews

2007-05-19T11:44:00.000+01:00

Here are cover pics of GUD Magazine (Issue 1 - Autumn 2007) and The Literary Bone (Volume II - early 2008), forthcoming print mags that will feature my short stories Unzipped and John Doe's Oklahoma City Turnaround respectively.

Currently, you can download Unzipped in PDF format for just $1.33 here: http://www.gudmagazine.com/vault/1/Unzipped

Or buy the PDF of Issue 1 for $3.50 here: http://www.gudmagazine.com/vault/1

Links:
http://www.gudmagazine.com
http://www.myspace.com/gudmagazine

http://www.theliterarybone.blogspot.com
http://www.myspace.com/theliterarybone

Darker Matter Issue 2 (April 2007) Review #2

2007-05-08T22:56:00.000+01:00

The second issue of Darker Matter, featuring my short story All For One, is reviewed at Tangent