The podcast of ‘Dream Eater’ – my unusually upbeat Gothic Horror which first appeared in Third Flatiron’s ‘Things With Feathers’ last year – is out now. Keely does an absolutely wonderful job. She has a beautiful voice and I love her accents. It’s set in a slightly fantastical Victorian-esque London era. If you feel so inclined, you can listen to it here. There’s a little interview further own the page too. Narrator: Keely Raw.
Things With Feathers
Here it is! The Things With Feathers anthology. ? My quirky little steampunk-esque story, Dream Eater, was accepted for this earlier this year by Third Flatiron Publishing. And the cover art? It’s from my own story! Ahhh! My story has art on the book’s cover and is leading the anthology! This has made me mega happy. See it? That crow is Leith, and he’s holding a dream worm – the story is one of my stranger creations. I am so happy it found a home here. Even the title page has a little crow silhouette on it – so cute. This is an author first and it’s just so awesome! ?
Other recent acceptances are: Matchbox Daemons to ‘Cooties Shot Required: There Are Things You Must Know’ by Broken Eye Books – a cosmic horror market I’ve admired for years, and ‘What If?’ drabble to Martian Magazine. And I received a lovely contributor copy of Speculatively Queer’s It Gets Even Better. An awesome postcard even came with it! ?✨ It’s now available for purchase on Amazon.
Beyond the Stars!
I’ve been holding onto this news for a while, now I’m so happy to announce it. My space opera novelette, ‘Imperatrix, Tertius’, third in the Imperatrix series, has been accepted to Beyond the Stars: Across the Universe, the latest in the Beyond the Stars series (the ones which are going to the Moon! #writersonthemoon). And it’s out now! I really enjoyed working on this one and I’m so pleased it found a home here along with its predecessors. Big thank you to Richard and Patrice.
Blurb: When First Warrior Daire is escorting Empress Ataraxia to meet a potential consort, their imperial flotilla comes under attack. Captured by pirates and about to be auctioned on a slaver’s block, Daire struggles to find a way to save his beloved empress while keeping his own roiling emotions in check.
On its first day it reached #1 on Amazon for Hot New Releases and #5 in the Bestseller Top 100 Paid.
BEYOND THE STARS: ACROSS THE UNIVERSE includes fantastic, original space opera tales from David Bruns, Jack Lyster, Cindy Hung, Jenny Thomas, Nemma Wollenfang, Nadya Duke and Tom Farmer. Commissioned art by the awesome Julie Dillon (it’s so beautiful!) and cover design by Kendall Roderick. Edited by Patrice Fitzgerald and Richard Leslie.
Story Announcements
Two pieces of news. 1.) My little Victorian-esque horror story ‘Routes Best Left Untaken’ has gone live today! It’s appearing in issue 10 of Love Letters to Poe. You can now read it for free over at their website along with my little interview, or if you feel so inclined, you can go to the ‘listen’ section to hear my (first ever) published audio reading. ?
2.) My reprint, Weave Us A Way, is due to appear in Speculatively Queer’s inaugural anthology, Stories of Queer Possibility: It Gets Even Better. Although this story has been printed before I’m thrilled to be sharing it again, as it focuses heavily on the importance of identity. The editors have been so invested in this project too, helping to polish the manuscript to a high shine.
Writing Summary 2020
This year has been my best so far for short story sales, and I’ve hit a few significant ‘level ups’, including adding several new markets to my repertoire. So here is my progress report.
List of acceptances/publications:
- ‘Lot No. #024: Intergalactic Death Ray’ in Abyss & Apex Magazine, January.
- ‘A Study of Mesozoic Schistosoma of the Late Cretaceous Period and their Abundance in Large Theropods’ in Cossmass Infinities, issue 2, May.
- Novel Winner: ‘I, Phoenix’ Ink & Insights Awards 2019, 2nd Place, May.
- ‘We Without Names’ in Flame Tree’s July Newsletter, July.
- ‘Imperatrix, Redux’ in Beyond the Stars: Infinite Expanse, August.
- ‘You Think You Are Safe’ in Footsteps in the Dark, Flame Tree, September.
- ‘Christmas, Censored’ in Chicken Soup for the Soul’s ‘Christmas is in the Air’, November.
- ‘The Wishbone’ to DreamForge Magazine Issue 7: Hope of the Dreamer, December.
- ‘Routes Best Left Untaken’ in Love Letters to Poe, due 2021.
- ‘[Redacted]’ in To Be Announced, 2021 (thrilled about this one!).
7 stories published, 8 accepted, 10 new written (2 of which sold), 7 novel chapters drafted, 48,612 new words(ish) written, plus editing. I wish you all a Happy New Year and hope – hooope – it’s a better one for us all. Take care all.
Beyond the Stars 2020!
This is one I’m absolutely thrilled about. My space opera short story, ‘Imperatrix, Redux’, is making its debut in Beyond the Stars: Infinite Expanse! The anthology has been released TODAY! And already it’s hit #1 on New Releases for SF Anthologies on Amazon! Eee! I’m beyond thrilled about this story being accepted. It’s a sequel to my story ‘Imperatrix’ which appeared in last year’s volume, Beyond the Stars: Rocking Space – and I know writers aren’t supposed to have favorites, but… 😉

March 2020
Well, writing-wise so far 2020 has been very productive. I can now announce 2 professional level short story acceptances. Both will appear in publications later this year. And there is a third piece of news… that for now will have to remain under-wraps. But I hope to announce it soon.

Firstly, though. After having to keep quiet for a few weeks, I can now gleefully announce that my original, contemporary, short horror ‘You Think You Are Safe’ will be appearing in Flame Tree’s ‘Footsteps in the Dark’ – one of the newest additions to their Gothic Fantasy range. And isn’t that cover just gorgeous? This will be my seventh appearance in their range, and it will be the second ‘second person’ horror story I’ve sold within a year. It’s a rather dark tale which revolves around a young couple in hiding: a researcher who is trying in vain to keep under control his lycanthrope girlfriend whilst feverishly searching for a cure. FT announcement link here. Amazon link here.

My second short story sale is with Cosmass Infinities! A new SFF magazine. My story… deep breath… ‘A Study of Mesozoic ‘Schistosoma’ in the Late Cretaceous Period and their Abundance in Large Theropods’ will be appearing in the venue’s second issue, due out in May. I’m thrilled about this, especially seeing the table of contents… and because the editor hasn’t mentioned anything about cutting such a stupendously long title (Shh! I love him a little bit for that). This story proves I actually used my parasitology Master degree for something, although probably not what my folks expected. Amazon link here.
It’s a humorous SF loosely based on that time Robyn and I took that time travelling research course at uni, where I was stuck shovelling dino-dung while she went off to fight krackens… which may or may not have actually happened… (Thanks for the beta read, Robs).

Beginning 2020 with a BANG!
So I’m starting the new decade with a BANG!
My flash fiction, Lot No. #024: Intergalactic Death ray, has been released today in the new issue of Abyss & Apex. Really jazzed that it’s making an appearance in such a vaunted venue. Read it here.

Beyond the Stars: Rocking Space!

I’ve been sitting on this news for a while, and it’s been so hard not to say anything. Earlier this year I had one of my all-time favorite short stories, a space opera, Imperatrix, accepted into Beyond the Stars: Rocking Space! And today is Release Day! I’m so very proud and excited to be sharing the pages with fellow contributors: David Bruns, A.K. DuBoff, Rhiannon J. Taylor, Julia Huni, Misty Zg, Patty Jansen, Andy McKell, Jenny Thomas, Christopher Valin, Cain V. Hopwood, and Patricia Gilliam!
Huge thanks to Patrice Fitzgerald and Ellen Campbell for their tireless work, and to triple Hugo Award-winning artist Julie Dillon and talented cover designer Kendall Roderick who designed such a gorgeous cover.
December Summary 2018
Ho ho ho, it’s Christmas month! And it’s started out merry indeed, because Santa sent some early Christmas presents – these landed on the doorstep. Chicken Soup for the Soul‘s ‘The Wonder of Christmas’ contains my short real-life story, Solved, which is about my feisty feline, Cas, and how she gets herself into trouble during the holiday season. The book is chock full of feel-good stories that’ll make you smile, so it’s a good choice for a stocking filler. Royalties from sales go to support Toys for Tots too. A book trailer, featuring Editor and Publisher Amy Newmark, has also been released on Youtube which explains more about the book and is well worth a watch. ? #CSSTheWonderofChristmas
