It's All About Me and Biscuits

Some reviews, which have appeared on the net over the past few weeks. I used to be better organised, more on the ball, not so distracted, fa la la la la...

Lois Tilton has reviewed Shimmer 16 over at Locus Online. Here's a snippet of what she had to say about my story, The Binding of Memories:
...a darkly amusing, imaginative bit of absurdity. You can read the rest of the review here.

Sam Tomaino also reviewed the story over at SFRevu Reviews. Here's a snippet:
...This story gets darker and darker until its end and certainly fit the purpose of having “a strange and original idea” and being a very good story, too. You can read the rest of the review here.

Haralambi Mmarkov reviewed the anthology Fish from Dagan Books. here's a snippet of what he had to say about my story, Too Delicate for Human Form:
...In a typical Gardner fashion, an already weird concept with its haunting, mournful beauty descends into madness. You can read the rest of the review here.

Paul Weimer reviewed the anthology over at SF Signal.
..."Too Delicate for Human Form” is a haunting fantasy story of the unexpected legacy of a girl’s aunt and a magical secret with a sharp sting in the tail. You can read the rest of the review here.

And, lastly, but by no way the least, James Everington reviewed my novella, Barbed Wire Hearts over at his blog and amongst the delightful things he had to say... 
...But it's easy enough to describe how damn good they are. And this novella (published by Delirium Books) strikes me as possibly the strongest book of hers I've read – in common with the best novellas, the form allows the plot to be fully satisfying but without any extraneous fat.

As I said in the title... It's All About Me. Apologies for that. Go make yourself a cup of tea and dunk some biscuits in it. Don't like dunking biscuits. Me neither.

The Travelling Theatrical Tour: On Dreaming the Impossible

Today's stop on the blog tour is Aaron Polson's blog where I talk about aiming for the seemingly impossible and never giving up despite the odds. One of Aaron's latest publications is 'This House was Never a Castle' which appears in Shimmer magazine - a hard won and much deserved achievement. The post is titled "The Travelling Theatrical tour: On Dreaming the Impossible."

I've known Aaron for a few years now and I'm a huge fan of his work. In fact, once upon a time I started the Aaron Polson Fan Club (you will find the proof on the bottom right of this blog). I'm still the president and I'm sure Natalie Sin is the treasurer. I don't think we have any funds though, or cool things like badges or bookmarks. He should sack us. Aaron has a ton of books available to buy at Amazon (and possibly other fine retailers) - my favourite is The House Eaters.

Thanks again to Aaron for allowing me to invade his blog.


Other stops on the blog tour:

Interview by Mary Rajotte
From a Single Thing at Jim McLeod's blog
That November Spell at Ray Cluley's blog
Interview by Simon Kewin
Twitter Rules at Bloody Bookish
Freedom at TTA Press
Inspiration at Deborah Walker's blog

Shimmering Velvet - A Strange Day Indeed

I've always loved Bonfire Night, and I especially love November 5th this year. Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits racked up two gorgeous reviews.

"This land may be called Wonderland or Nowhere, but whatever the name, Gardner maps it with careful, melancholy strokes..." Read the rest of the review by E. Catherine Tobler over at Shimmer. Yes, the Shimmer.

"Another gem of a book! Reading this book was like walking into a curio shop filled with wondrous treasures..."  Read the rest of the review over at VVB32 Reads.

NaNoWriMo catch up:

Today's Word Count: 2142 (go me!!!)
Total Word Count: 9007 / 523 (other projects)
Time Frame: Hello 24th Century, the Darling Girls have arrived

Googled: Weird Museums
Oops: Excessive swearing this session (in manuscript and without). My characters however have an excuse. They're sitting in a time-travelling submarine, the power has fizzled out and 'The Breaker' (freaking gigantic killer robot) is stomping about outside.