If at first you don't succeed

Oh, I am so glad my first attempt at a story for The Black Garden anthology was rejected as it spurred me on to try again, and I really, really like my second attempt. Whether Christopher does is another matter of course.

Have just submitted Manipulating Paper Birds. Gulp!

Now, having deserved a well-earned rest, I'm off to watch the 3rd Planet of the Apes movie. I'm working my way through the box set - the 2nd movie was laughably atrocious, I hope this one fears better. Ooh, actually typing that makes me wonder if that's an omen for the above submission. Maybe it will be better luck third time around with that too... Have I ever mentioned that I'm an optimistic pessimist???

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.

Through my warped eye.

I've finished my story Through the Warped Eye of Death and have submitted it to The Black Garden anthology. I spent half of yesterday trying to come up with a decent title. Okay, now for the really cheesy part. That is, what inspired me to write this... (Guidelines aside of course.) I hope I painted my story black enough.

The Black Garden

Corpulent Insanity Press have just announced a new anthology The Black Garden .

Taken from their guidelines:

Give us your best, most visceral horror tales. They can be surreal, bizarre, morbidly humorous, graphic (think splatterpunk), or any variation in between. All we ask is that they involve the maturation of evil. What does that mean, exactly?

The Black Garden is a metaphor for the underworld. It spawns Satan’s inglorious minions, and tends to them until they are ready to be released. Stories may involve psychotic puppies, mutated babies, or little girls who enjoy disemboweling themselves with corkscrews. That’s up to you. Just remember - they must involve the birth and/or growth of evil.

Word count is 2,000-5,000 words and they pay 1 cent per word.

The deadline is August 1st but it is one of those 'until filled' projects, so get writing like NOW! (I of course will probably ignore this advice and then have a breakdown trying to think of something mid July or will throw somehting at my computer when I see the words 'this anthology is now closed').