So, I didn’t even know this was a thing–an award for an anthropomorphic point of view story. So cool. Even cooler, my story “Beyond the Great Divide” (from issue #5 of Cirsova Magazine) made it to the finals. You can check out the list of finalists here and, if you’re so inclined, vote for the Slagborn.
My new story Ethereal Things is featured in Outlooks Springs issue #4. Has a free preview and the hard copy (totally worth it, the print layout is nice) is only twelve bucks. Big thanks to Jeremy Parker and Andrew R. Mitchell for an awesome issue!
Inside the Glass is up in the first issue of Speculative City. Great cover art, great story art, and a big thanks to the editors for including my piece. Enjoy.
http://www.speculativecity.com/issue-one/
A piece by the amazing Stephen Graham Jones in the Automata Review. They’re open for submissions, so submit. And check out all of Stephen’s work!
Squab is out in the current issue of Speculative 66. A story in one sentence this time around. Enjoy.
Even if you’re not a writer–especially if you’re not a writer, watch this.
The holidays swept through like a storm, and still the grinding continues (not sure if I ever want it to end). The thought of constructing a yearly works post did cross my mind, and I might get to it if I’m lucky enough to breeze through all this work by the end of March. You see, school started today, and my reading list–along with the good ‘ole 75 pages of creative work–is daunting. I’ll be working on a final lecture about the decline of 3rd person omniscient narration and how it can work in modern fiction if done right. Readers don’t trust the voice of an all-knowing intelligence that doesn’t show up on stage. So instead of staying comfortable with genre stuff, I’ll be delving into old literary stuff like The Scarlet Letter and The Brothers Karamazov to excavate some gems.
Atreyu’s non-stop scratching, from some kind of allergy, has stopped. Yeyoo! He got a couple bones in the mail and is doing just fine. Although the rain is a welcome gift around this time of year, I’m hating it because Cymphonee is back on the road.
Residency was great and I’m looking forward to the next one. Went over dialogue tags and it seems my creative juices got lost somewhere around the Hemingway era. Learning modern craft is a breath of fresh air, and work-shopping did wonders for what I’m working on now and what I had in the trunk. I pulled a couple of them out, rewrote them, and the sales prospects are looking good. It’s amazing what a little polishing can do. Should have 2-3 pieces coming out this month, but I’m not sure where edits are right now so don’t hold your breath.
Been really excited about Matt Wallace’s new vlog (from the Angry Writer channel). If any of you get a chance check it out. It’s pouring out now, so until next time, or next story, stay dry and keep the numbers running.
Spare Parts is now up on Star Ship Sofa. My thanks to Tony C. Smith, Jeremy Szal, and Ant Bacon for a great job narrating. Plug your earphones in and enjoy.
Podcasts are important to me. They’re one of many reasons I have the courage to write. When I was starting out I had no idea how to begin. This was years ago. I was a lab technician in a research facility, working alone with little to no communication with another human being. I thought I’d roundup some of the podcasts that have helped me through the years. Some are strictly about craft, some are short story podcasts, some have absolutely nothing to do with writing, but they planted seeds that later grew into stories.
There are tons more that I just don’t have the time to cover. But these are my favorites. To go into detail about all the story casts out there would take me days. So here are my go to’s for every genre.
Again, just my personal favorites. And when awards time comes around, don’t forget to vote for podcasts. The people behind the scenes put a lot of hard work in to bring you all this free content. You can donate as little as one dollar a month to almost any of the titles above. Let me know about your own favorites, I’m sure this is just the tip of the iceberg. Keep grinding. Keep listening.
Finally got my registration done for the MFA program I’m jumping into. Locked and loaded. Starts October 2. Stoked, excited, fearful. Finally some smoking barrels. I’ll be working under Stephen Graham Jones for fiction and will attempt some screenwriting for my cross genre elective. This is a reinvention of epic proportions, and I’m not looking back. I’m on page 620 of GRRM’s A Storm of Swords (thanks mom) and have to choose five books a quarter to read and analyze (scatter-brained, so don’t look for transitions or segues). This list keeps changing. I am a huge fan of the grimdark sub-genre (whatever that means) and am tempted to fill those slots with steel, blood, and moral ambiguity, but there’s so much more I enjoy reading.
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence is in my top slot. I grabbed it as an Audible trial pick (then cancelled) but can’t really feel the weight of it without a physical copy in my hands. I’ll go all day with audio short fiction, but novel length is a drag no matter who’s narrating. Something by Corey, Fletcher, Okorafor, and Jemisin, perhaps. That leaves out horror, but my dark ways will more than make up for it.
Zero submissions this month. Two publications coming up. Speaking of audio fiction, my short story “Spare Parts” was purchased as a reprint from StarShipSofa and should be coming out any day now (my, how the wheels turn). Their 500th episode is a piece by Harlan Ellison that you probably shouldn’t miss. Doo-doo-bee (a.k.a. our puppy) is going through it lately. Skin scrapes and steroids and runny-runs has me on edge, but puppies are resilient, I keep telling myself.
Disappointed by some pro-rate publications lately. Publicly scoffing at slush pile entries is not cool. Send a form rejection and keep it pushing. Next month marks two years with Grimdark Magazine and I’ve learned a lifetime worth. I’ll get on blogging about the value of reading slush for a strong market one of these days. Deathnote came out on NetFlix this month (or last) and I can’t help but cringe every time a live-action version of a manga series is botched beyond recognition. Stick to the hard-copies (an omnibus of the entire series was just released, pick that up for sure). Huge book haul from my favorite thrift store last weekend. Among them is a Glen Cook novel said to be one of the cornerstones of grimdark fantasy. I’ll hit the lines after Storm of Swords is done.
