Latest sale
War of the Worlds: Frontlines
My science fiction short story "Usher" has just sold to Northern Frights Publishing's War of the Worlds: Frontlines anthology, edited by JW Schnarr.

Click here to read more.
THE WAR OF THE WORLDS: FRONTLINES COVER ARTWORK    
February 23rd, 2010
Editor JW Schnarr, currently of Northern Frights Publishing, has just released the planned Table of Contents for the upcoming NFP release, War of the Worlds: Frontlines. My science fiction tale, "Usher", rounds off the anthology.

This is the first time a story of mine has closed out a book. Traditionally, the final slot in a collection of this nature is the most highly prized -- and although the honour does feel a bit counter-intuitive (your story is in last place, after all), I'm certainly not arguing with it.

Here is the TOC in full:

  1. After Welles by Michael Scott Bricker
  2. Weird Fruits by Camille Alexa
  3. Killers by Vincent L. Scarsella
  4. The Dodo Dragon by Sheila Crosby
  5. The Virus of Memory by Gerard Daniel Houarner
  6. What Makes You Tick by David Steffen
  7. The Broken Hand Mirror of Venus by Mark Onspaugh
  8. Common Time by Bruce Golden
  9. Steve's Really Cool Movie Blog by RJ Sevin
  10. Moth Tamuth Robotica by Kristen Lee Knapp
  11. Empire of the Moon by Harper Hull
  12. The Spacer and the Cabbages by Auston Habershaw
  13. John's List by Brent Knowles
  14. Tequila Sunset by Michele Garber
  15. Gauss's Invitation by Gary Cuba
  16. Another End of the World by Michael Penkas
  17. A Sweetheart Deal by JW Schnarr and John Sunseri
  18. The Rainmaker by Mike Barretta
  19. News on the March by Edward Morris
  20. My Beautiful Boy by Jodi Lee
  21. To Love a Monster by Victorya
  22. The Candle Room by James S. Dorr
  23. Usher by Davin Ireland

February 20th, 2010
The weblog has moved!

As of today, the homepage will be used for writing-related news and updates only. All other silliness can be accessed using the 'Weblog' link on the left or by clicking here.

January 22nd, 2010
Received an email from Karen Lee Field yesterday morning informing me that the Speculative Realms anthology is now officially an Ebook. This superb collection of tales, which contains my supernatural thriller "The Widower's Tale", originally appeared in print in December of 2008. The digital version can now be viewed here:

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/8860

To quote directly from Karen's email: "The book has been listed for $US1.99, however, as a special promotion anyone who uses Coupon Code ST94L at the checkout will get the book for only $US1. Please feel free to promote this wherever you can. The offer expires on 31 January 2010."

One dollar? A measly, stinkin' buck for an entire Ebook? We must be crazy! Come on, folks, unlimber those big fat wallets. You just know you want to ...

Update: in unrelated news, my fridge door just fell off.

January 19th, 2010
Received my copy of The Best Horror of the Year: Volume One in the post today, and a very welcome addition to the library it is. Edited by the ever-dependable Ellen Datlow, this impressive volume is the successor to the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror series, which Ms Datlow edited on a total of 21 occasions.

No Honourable Mention for me this time, but considering I've only published a total of five short stories in the past two years (owing to an increased focus on novel writing), I wasn't exactly holding my breath.

I did, however, uncover the following in the 'Summation 2008' section:

"The Second Humdrumming Book of Horror Stories edited by Ian Alexander Martin (Humdrumming) is the follow-up to last year's promising anthology and it doesn't disappoint. All fifteen stories appear for the first time and some are quite good, particularly those by Christopher Fowler, Davin Ireland, Michael Kelly, Sarah Pinborough, Simon Strantzas, John Travis, and Conrad Williams. Unfortunately, the press ceased publishing."

Kudos to Sarah Pinborough, by the way, who bagged an HM for her short story 'Our Man in the Sudan'.

January 16th, 2010
It's starting to look as if 2008's Speculative Realms print anthology, which contains my supernatural thriller "The Widower's Tale", will shortly be republished as an ebook.

Karen Lee Field, founder of the Speculative Realms website, has been working extremely hard to extend the existing contract, and to prepare the book for publication in its new format. To gain an idea of what to expect, please visit the Smashwords website.

January 15th, 2010
SALE. My apocalyptic science fiction short story "Usher" has just been accepted by Canadian publisher Northern Frights for inclusion in their forthcoming War of the Worlds: Frontlines anthology. See the top of the page for details.

January 13th, 2010
In respect of the Haiti earthquake disaster, I've decided to forgo my planned (and admittedly rather crass) 'Happy New Year' bulletin in favour of something more practical. The link below will take you directly to Oxfam's disaster response page, where a quick and simple donation can be made.

https://www.oxfam.org.uk/donate/haiti-earthquake/index.php