A Stitch In Time

Life is difficult at the moment.

My back is a mess of pain and confused nerves which constantly send incorrect information to the pain receptors in my lower extremities, and cries for pain medication to my noggin.

I'm having the house underpinned which is a three grand expense I could have done without just before Xmas, but which the the house desperately needs.

My car brakes decided now would be a good time to require repairing and if I delayed any longer, the callipers would carve their initials into the discs.

My son's 18th is coming (two days before Xmas) and, of course, the fat bloke in the red suit is nearly upon us.

I'm sure I'm not the only one with money worries and stress up to the eyeballs.

But take a moment to think about Kennedy and Brendan Eyberg who will be spending their very first Xmas without their parents this year...all my issues seem to pale into insignificance - how about yours?

If you'd like to help, then place your order for the Strange Publications 52 Stitches anthology. Once you have placed your order, then fire off an email to the wonderful Cate Gardner to receive a further gift of her wonderful book Strange Men in Pinstripe Suits & Other Curious Things which I've just finished reading and recommend highly.

So two excellent collections for the price of one, and you'll be helping out two little kiddies who shouldn't have to face this time of year alone, but through tragic circumstance were robbed of their parents. If you can, buy a couple and give them out as Xmas gifts.

Swept Away

My short, and yet again, nautically-themed piece is up on 52 Stitches. There have been a lot of seriously cool stories in this years version of the micro/mini-flash anthology.

Thank you to those who have read it and left nice comments.

And yes, I totally forgot it was out this week until today - I'm getting very slack and wandering way off course from my writing.

Life is what is.

Hope you enjoy the story.

***Breaking News***

Rumour has it, Dark Pages Volume One could be available in the very-not-too-distant-future!

You must all buy it--and an extra copy for your partner, possibly one for your Mum, and another for your local library.

Seriously, if we don't sell heaps, then I don't get anything more than the satisfaction of editing a kick-arse anthology. Warm fuzzy feelings are all very nice, but they won't buy me a new golf bag (yes, I've started playing golf again).

Happy reading!

Swept Away

A few weeks ago, I was notified about a writing prompt to be used in the weekly CafeDoom flash fiction competition. I wrote something for it but never submitted.

Then the submission period opened for 52 Stitches 2010, but I was in the middle of the Dark Pages Volume 1 anthology submission period with no real time to work on something new and yet with an almost physical need to submit something to Stitches. The online publication Aaron Polson put together over 2009 has been quite brilliant and I figured it would be a nice credit to have on my bio to have another piece in 2010.

The only thing I had was the CafeDoom inspired piece. With a little bit of revision during a quiet period one afternoon, I figured it was as good as I was going to get - I sent it in a couple of days after the submission call opened. It's called 'Swept Away' (I seem to have a bias towards a water-based setting with Stitches - 2009 had my story take place on a game fishing boat, this one is on a yacht).

Today I received an acceptance email - woot!

One piece per author to be released each week over 2010. And I'm going to be included in the ToC. Again!

Sweet.

Insomnia

It's 3:00AM here and sleep still seems a long way away.

Still, I've managed to catch up on all my email and Google Reader reading. I've visted and commented on a bunch of blogs and watched this:



Super cool!

Lastly, Apex has posted a press release for the upcoming The Blackness Within anthology. First thing I've ever been involved with that's had a press release. I'm not even named and I feel all warm and fuzzy (or that could be the lack of sleep and the fact I've not put pants on again...)

52 Stitches

The first advanced review of the 52 Stitches anthology is up at Horror Drive-in. Mark Sieber has some nice things to say about it.

You can pre-order your own copy at The 52 Stitches website. If you've been keeping tabs as each new story is released each week, then you'll know how much of a treat you're in for and I don't have to do any selling what-so-ever, but if you're a little late to the dinner party, or if you want to have your own copy of all these flashes of horror all to yourself, then go and stake a claim to a copy (or two) now.

Go on - you know you want to...

Something A Little Murky

Over on 52 Stitches you can now read my little flash piece titled Murky Depths.

I know I'm going to get hauled over the coals for it so I'll be up front. Until I reread it just now, I didn't notice the speech tags being the wrong way round. That is to say, instead of it being 'he said', I managed to let slip through many instances of 'said he'.

It's one of those rules I know, but old habits die hard and sometimes I slip. I'm human.

I hope you enjoy the story.

As for this weekend:

Today I got called into work and I need to pop back in there tomorrow which will be nice when the pay packet comes in but shoots my schedule full of holes.

I did manage to get some editing work done on Swirls In Obsidian, which now needs a new title because it's moved a long way away from what it once was. And I'm about to complete my reading of Atrum Tempestas and then write the review, so the weekend isn't a total bust.

Hopefully I'll have some awesome news about an acceptance sometime over the next 24 hours. Fingers crossed.

Everyone think happy thoughts and I'll continue to do the same for you. With a little help from each other, I know we can fly.

52 Stitches

Okay, most would think a recommendation from a fellow inclusion in any anthology may be a little on the biased side. This is not one of those times.

All of the stories I've read so far in 52 Stitches have been worth the read. Some have been downright disturbing. But if this week's story is any indication of what's to come, then I wait in growing anticipation.

Mother's Love by L. R. Bonehill is outstanding. I could go on, but there is no need. I have provided you with a link, go read it for yourself.

And do yourself a favour and read those that came before it. If dark is your preference, then you're sure to find something to your liking. Make sure to bookmark the site and visit every week for a top up.

Goal Reached

Just got an acceptance email from 52 Stitches for "Murky Depths". Apart from being over the moon about the acceptance, it also allows me to pass last years acceptance count.

In the first 12 months of writing "professionally", I secured publication at Fiction Factor (x2), and Antipodean SF (1), for a total of three published pieces.

This year I have gained an acceptance in Fear & Trembling, 52 Stitches and two acceptances in a British erotica anthology. Unfortunately none have yet reached publication. 52 Stitches and the British anthology isn't slated until next year - I don't know when F&T are planning to publish my piece.

3 acceptances/publications in 2006. 4 acceptances in 2007. No publication of my fiction this year, but then that is balanced by the amount of freelance stuff I've had published. 7 articles in SA50s+, 4 reviews in Black, and a dozen or so reviews, news, and comments articles on HorrorScope

There's still a few weeks of this year to come and I still have 8 pieces in the market place - two of which have been queried and the staff are still interested in - so more good news may yet be to come. But I'll stop from extending this post into a look back at 2007 just yet.

I've received my word counts for the next issue of Black so I need to finish the final book I'm reading and get the review written up this week.

Work continues on finding the last third of my book, as does the writing on the first two thirds I've already found. The ending may change some of what I'm doing now, but that's okay. I refuse to just sit and allow things to drag on.

Lastly, welcome to the latest cult member/follower: SES Wilson. Go and check out his blog where he posts a lot of his flash fiction. I see you've already added my link to your blog so I'm happy to return the favour.

Don't be shy folks, become a follower, link up and let me know - always happy to return the favour.

Time to go read a chapter or two.

BT