Three Reviews of GUD (with a side of update)

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.

GUD #5 - Brainripples review

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.

Honey, I Blew Up the Box Office & update

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...

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

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.

Why are you reading this...

...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...?

Finally, a GUD home...

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.

Not One of Us & GUD News

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.

Out of the cage

"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.