Honored

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

City Slab

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.