Snippets

My surreal little tale His Name Carved on Empty Space is available to read at Every Day Fiction. And in other news, apparently ARCS for Theatre have arrived at my house (you are forgiven UPS man), but I can't touch (or lick) them as I'm in work. Is it home time yet?

Sunbathing on Battlements

It's time to get back on my hamster wheel and be a productive little critter for the next twelve months, or until Christmas. Christmas sounds good. Actually, Christmas sounds awful--cold and too much food and dark nights. If only it could be summer forever.

I've had a fantastic break from work, been to lovely and sunny places - I ♥ Wales - actually that statement isn't news as I've always loved Wales, but this year the sun shined and actually burnt. Burn is not good, especially when you're at an age were you should know better than to turn lobster red in the sun. Thankfully, the kids returned home pasty. My niece rubbed so much suntan lotion into her skin she was like a slippery eel.

We played in the sea, someone got pooped on by a loose-bowelled seagull, I won a big fluffy chimpanzee and a slightly-less fluffy dog and lost a fair few pounds in the process (the jangling kind), I griped about the price of candy floss (cotton candy) - £2.50 - what!!!! But thankfully, the candy floss on this side of the border was cheaper so I did have a bag or two in almost as sunny England.

I read, read, and read some more. Nearly a hundred short stories (Interzone, Black Static, The Zombie Feed, Never Again, Spook City, BFS Journal, Postscripts), devoured a graphic novel (Anya's Ghost) novellas (Unearthed, The Door to Lost Pages, No Traveller Returns) and novels (Water for Elephants, The Robe of Skulls), meaning I've made a dent in my to read pile. Albeit a tiny dent.

Writing-wise, I edited and edited and edited In the Broken Birdcage of Kathleen Fair, I completed a new short story Disregarding Rabbit Holes, started work on another short that is as yet untitled, and cut some words from the unfinished second draft of my novel The Ghosts of Folding Time and started layering in extra spookiness and removing a giant robot. And my story, His Name Carved on Empty Space, was accepted by Every Day Fiction (and will be published this Wednesday). There was Theatre and Nowhere Hall and Barbed Wire Hearts news, one of which involved the posting of signature sheets which I am eagerly awaiting delivery of.

If I owe you an email, I will get back to you very, very soon. My inbox is awash with goodness. Now to twitter... I mean, put my head down and write.

Strange Tooth

Dunce that I am, I forgot my story Strange Tooth was up at Every Day Fiction today. I logged into twitter and saw the link and followed it and oh boy, I knew there was a reason I should stay away from the net today. 1.5/5 stars and no comments. I shall assume it be bad, bad, dreadful.

In more important news, someone in Morocco googled 'Aaron Polson Fan Club' and found my blog... Hopefully they found Mr. Polson's too.

Sand in Toes

My story Leviathan's Moving Theatre is today's story over at Every Day Fiction. I'd love it if you could head over there, read it and comment on the Every Day Fiction site. And to celebrate (okay I'd have been doing it anyway), I'm spending the day at the beach with my little niece, my little nephew and my big hulking nephews. Finally a nice summer's day hits England.

In other news, Cate and her new laptop sat up in bed until way after midnight last night working on a short story. Laptop for the win.

Every Day Fiction

The folk at Every Day Fiction have listed the Table of Contents for May. My story 'Leviathan's Moving Theatre' is up on Sunday 24th, and next month you can also read stories by Aaron Polson, Jonathan Pinnock, Robert J Santa, and Joshua Scribner.

May's Table of Contents

May 1 John Jasper Owens - Alice After the Mall
May 2 Frank Byrns - A Familiar Face
May 3 Michael John Burrows - Less Than a Foot
May 4 Oonah V Joslin - Taken for a Ride
May 5 H. Lovelyn Bettison - Weekend Special
May 6 Megan Arkenberg - Carpathia
May 7 Mari Ness - The Otter
May 8 Wayne Scheer - Growing Up
May 9 Frank Roger - Blockers
May 10 Elizabeth R. Browne - Pop
May 11 Alexander Burns - The Squeeze
May 12 Robert J. Santa - A Life Undone
May 13 Paul A. Freeman - Manna from Heaven
May 14 Nadia Jacobson - Photographic Memory
May 15 Aaron Polson - To Make Things Right
May 16 Angela Carlton - The Man Named Ray
May 17 Bosley Gravel - A Gift
May 18 John Woodington - A Letter to the Girl I May or May Not Have Slept with Last Night
May 19 Patsy Collins - Fireworks
May 20 Robert Swartwood - Incomplete
May 21 Nancy Wilcox - Jacko’s Bar
May 22 Nicholas Ozment - The Bride’s Tail
May 23 Elizabeth Crocket - Angela’s Choice
May 24 Catherine J Gardner - Leviathan’s Moving Theatre
May 25 J.C. Towler - Purse Things
May 26 Diane Hoover Bechtler - Choice Snow
May 27 Lydia Ondrusek - Shift
May 28 Sister Blister - The Cedar Fever Defense
May 29 Jonathan Pinnock - Ignorance of Chemistry
May 30 Joshua Scribner - Portals
May 31 Trevor Foley - After I Built a Time Machine

First Acceptance of the Month*

The key to getting an acceptance: stop obsessing about them and they roll in.**

Okay, crawl in might be a more appropriate word. After two rewrites (yep, you read the math right) Leviathan's Moving Theatre has been accepted by Every Day Fiction. Publication date as yet unknown.

*Title guaranteed to anger Publishing Gods
**Not guaranteed to work.

Busy, Busy, Busy (or just covering for my procrastination)

Apologies for the lack of posting. It's been a mad, mad week - new windows, new doors (the front one is kind of spooky and impossible to work - don't ask!).

Now for the 'be careful what you say' or a case of the Sean Connery's as in 'Never Say Never Again' (or something like that). I may have said that I probably wouldn't try The Black Garden again because it's a) going to be a tough market to crack (wimp!), b) could fill up while I'm still writing, and c) I know the editor has sent out requests for subs to well-known authors. Ah, but then, I kind of got another idea, soooo... Working on something as I type (literally - must stop procrastinating). I'm only 238 words in so it may come to nothing.

Oh, and thank you to everyone who headed over to Every Day Fiction last week to read my wee story. Much appreciated.

It's live, though not alive.

My story Burying Sam is now available at Every Day Fiction. Please, please, please check it out...

Oh, and star ratings are scary!!!



****A quick extra note... Geoff Nelder has added a review of my story over at his blog. How cool is that.****

Every Day Fiction

It's not every day you get an acceptance - because frankly that would be a) weird and b) very tiring (I mean, trying to complete a story a day to keep up with your quota - Phew!) - but I did get one today from...

EVERY DAY FICTION, who have accepted my flash story 'Burying Sam'.

I am so happy I could probably go without chocolate for a whole day - but I won't.