Published Author
Big piece of news this month!
Now the forms have been sorted and final edits signed off on, I’m absolutely thrilled to announce that my story, ‘Mystery of the Disappearing Decorations’ (renamed by the editors ‘Solved’), will be appearing in Chicken Soup for the Soul’s ‘The Wonder of Christmas’ later this year. It’s my first pro-pay non-fiction sale! ☺ And becoming a CSS writer has been on the hit list for while so I’m pretty psyched about that.
Firstly, my contributor copy of Beyond Steampunk arrived in the post! My story, Call of the Kinguyakkii, appears in this little treasure. Along with a whole cadre of tales by the likes of Alex Shvartsman, Joseph Cadotte, Kelly A. Harmon, Stewart Baker, Anne E. Johnson, Patrick Baker, Caitlin Marceau, David Hoenig and more. Old Sins have done a wonderful job, it’s a beautiful book.
First Short Story Acceptance of the year! (And it’s pro-pay!)
My story, GOD is in the Rain, is going to appear in one of Flame Tree Publishing’s new anthologies, Robots & AI! I’m absolutely thrilled! 😀 The story is about a form of nanotechnology that runs rampant across the world, rewriting personalities, and it previously appeared in a Bleak New World by Raven International Publishing. The cover art Flame Tree has designed is absolutely gorgeous, as usual.
I’ve only been writing for a few years so I’m not as prolific as many, that being said, despite a few bumps, this has been my most successful writing year so far! I’ve also read some fantastic fiction published by friends that has blown me away. All the best for 2018, everyone!
Huzzah! My contributor copies of Pirates & Ghosts arrived, which contain my salty sea yarn ‘Echo the Damned’. I’m honoured to be sharing the pages with such fabulous writer folks as: Erica Barnes, Adrian Chamberlin, Jennifer R. Povey, and Jeremy TeGrotenhuis, as well as old literary masters like: Arthur Conan Doyle, Homer, Rudyard Kipling, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert Louis Stevenson (of course) and H.G. Wells. Thanks to Flame Tree Publishing for including my tale in yet another awesome book in their bestselling Gothic Fantasy series.
A short story has also been accepted by Old Sins for their Beyond Steampunk anthology, and a poem has been accepted by FrostFire Worlds. It’s due to appear in the August issue.
Slow inhale… I love the smell of contributor copies in the morning. These landed on the doorstep. Dark Luminous Wings contains my historical(ish) horror, ‘The Devil You Know’, as well as stories by an array of fantastic writers, including: Brian Trent, Gregory L. Norris, Claire Davon, Steven R. Southard, Jason J. McCuiston, Rebecca Gomez Farrell, Trisha J. Wooldridge, T.j. Perkins and more. Thanks to Kelly A. Harmon & Vonnie Winslow Crist for editing such a gorgeous anthology. Thrilled to be a part of it!
Gregory Norris has also kindly produced a blog post in which the contributing authors talk about what inspired each tale.
I be getting tingles over this. Ya-har! ☠ My pirate story, ‘Echo the Damned’, is due to appear in Flame Tree’s Pirates & Ghosts Short Story Collection, and here be the first part of the authors’ Q&A about what inspired these swashbuckling yarns. Followed by the second part, in which we discuss our favourite works in the genre and give a glimpse into our writing processes.
Brilliant news! My steampunk novel-in-progress, ‘Clockwork Evangeline’, is a finalist in the apprentice category of the Ink & Insights Award 2017. It has also been selected as a Judge’s Favourite with votes fro 3/4 judges. This makes 2 years in a row!
STORY WIN! My tiny microfiction, ‘It Wasn’t There Yesterday’, has won the Great Eighty Challenge (for 80 word stories) run by Third Word Press. I wrote it at my last writers’ group meeting – so big thanks to Marian for providing the exercise prompt for that evening. It’s already up on the site so here’s a link if you’re interested. It’s a pretty cool project they’re running too, with copies sold helping the homeless. A first print copy of winning stories has already been released, and it’s tiny! Not much bigger than a fifty pence piece! Fingers crossed that another collection can go to print, because I’d be absolutely jazzed to see my story in one of these pocket-sized cuties. The contest runs every 2 weeks and is free to enter, so if anyone wants a go it’s always open. Go on, writer friends, go play…
I can also reveal that my dark historical pirate story, ‘Echo the Damned’, is going to appear in Flame Tree Publishing’s Pirates & Ghosts Short Stories anthology! ☠☠☠ This gorgeous new addition to their notorious Gothic Fantasy series includes such names as Arthur Conan Doyle, Rudyard Kipling, H.P. Lovecraft, Robert Louis Stevenson and H.G. Wells, along with a host of new authors whose work I can’t wait to read. I’m absolutely thrilled!
Two pieces of news this month. Firstly, my prize-winning story is officially published! Huzzah! ? Curiosus Cattus, which was selected as this year’s Northwich LitFest Short Story Competition winner, is out now in July’s edition of Ourtown magazine. It’s illustrated (eee!) AND the editor very kindly put in a mention for Paws Inn Rescue, Weaverham ?, the residents of which inspired the story. They’re in need of donations so hopefully this will be some good PR for them. More information about the rescue can be found on their website.
Secondly, I’ve been doing the author happy dance because my historical cryptid short story, ‘Spring Heeled Jack: The Terror of London’ has been accepted for ‘Hidden Animals’ – an upcoming charity anthology by Dragon’s Roost Press which includes stories about cryptids (such as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster) from around the globe.
