Alan Baxter Blog Tour

Sometime back I did a review on two novels (RealmShift & MageSign) for fellow AHWA member, Alan Baxter. Alan labelled my first review as honest and thorough and my second as, well, he's using that one to promote the book so I'm guessing he was quite happy with that one.

Since that time Alan and I have struck up somewhat of a cyber-writing-type friendship so I was honoured when he asked if I'd consider being part of his book blog tour - obviously I said yes.

He's been working feverishly behind the scenes to sort everything out and we now have the following announcement:

Alan Baxter takes his dark fantasy novels RealmShift and MageSign on the virtual road with a 10 day Blog Book Tour. Follow the tour each day to a different blog and learn all kinds of interesting things, not only about Alan and his books, but also about what dark fantasy really is, indie authorship, where to find demons and so much more.

Not only that, but for the duration of the tour you can buy ebook versions of RealmShift and MageSign from Smashwords.com for just $1 each.

Here's the itinerary of the tour:

Day One: Guest post: Dark Fantasy – What is it exactly? - Monday 20th July at The Creative Penn http://www.thecreativepenn.com/

Day Two: Interviewed by Leticia Supple - Tues 21st July at Brascoe Books Blog http://www.brascoebooks.com.au/newblog/

Day Three: Guest post: Writing a good fight scene - Wed 22nd July at David Wood Online http://davidwoodonline.blogspot.com/

Day Four: Interviewed by April Hamilton - Thurs 23rd July at Publetariat http://www.publetariat.com/

Day Five: Guest post: Demons and where to find them - Friday 24th July at Joan De La Haye’s blog http://joandelahaye.wordpress.com/

Day Six: Wily Writers publishing my short story “Stand Off” (featuring Isiah, the protagonist from RealmShift and MageSign) as both text and podcast - Sat 25th July at Wily Writers website http://www.wilywriters.com/

Day Seven: Ruthie reviews MageSign - Sun 26th at Ruthie’s Book Reviews http://ruthiesbookreviews.blogspot.com/

Day Eight: Pat Bertram interviews Isiah, the protagonist from RealmShift and MageSign - Mon 27th July at Pat Bertram Introduces... http://patbertram.wordpress.com/

Day Nine: Guest post: Indie authors and the future – Tues 28th July at Musings Of An Aussie Writer - http://musingsofanaussiewriter.blogspot.com/

Day Ten: Guest post: The inspiration for RealmShift and MageSign, what they’re about and what’s next – Wed 29th July at The Furnace http://www.lordshaper.com/

Watch Alan's blog at http://www.alanbaxteronline.com/ daily for direct links to these articles as they're posted.

Introducing...

Please allow me to introduce to you Ashton Nicholas, my grandson.

Ladies - feel free to melt.

He has apparently been a wonderful baby since arrival, managing only to be a pain to his overly tired mother, but absolutely charming to everyone else.

Amie, sweetheart, I may not get the chance to tell you anywhere near enough how much your mother and I love you, but I take this opportunity to say how proud we are of you and how over the moon we are that you and Ashton are safe and well. I would still have preferred you to wait a few more years, but it's not likely he's about to be put back so we may as well move on.


I'm also going to take this opportunity to say how proud I am of Ashton's father, John. From all reports he really stepped up to the plate during this stressful time and has been wonderful in support of my eldest daughter. Thank you, John, for everything you have so far done for Amie and my grandson (don't muck it up or I will come looking for you).


Just so you can all see that I'm not completely useless when it comes to being a grandad - here's a pic of me with the newest addition to our family. Can't wait till he's a teen and causing his parents a similar amount of grief they caused us ;c)

On the writing front, I've managed to finish reading the first Dexter book in the Omnibus and penned a whole zero new words. I haven't even managed to finish editing my last story, or resend out Spoilt Rotten - maybe tomorrow - definitely before Friday...


I hope things are moving forward with all your own writing exploits. Good luck with your submissions.


BT

Links

I've finally caught up on my feed reading and now present some of the gems for your viewing pleasure.

Thanks to Ellen for putting me onto this article about pacing over at the Enchanted Inkpot.

Josephine Damian alerted me to an article from Robin Hobb that is so scary every blogger should read it. It is so me it's scary!

Apart from the great pictures which accompany this article from the Mystery Man on Film, it is also a great discussion about the misconstrued adverb. As does Steve Harper Piziks over at the Book View Cafe (but without the nice pics).

And Kate Nash and the infamous Rejector have both posted articles about the dreaded synopsis in the vain hope that it would shed a little more light into our dark brains. Go see if it helps you out.

Back To Writing Stuff

So, we have all the joy and excitement of the new arrival and then I'm smashed back to earth with Spoilt Rotten being knocked back yesterday, and then Too Late the Rain being passed on yet again.

Spoilt has now been knocked back twice with very different comments from the editors - just goes to show how subjective this game is. Looking for a new market as we speak.

Too Late the Rain was the ninth non-novel length piece I ever wrote. Let me explain that: I wrote the first draft of Tiger's Eye during the first half of 2007. 130,000 words! Not a great display of craftsmanship but I learned a lot from doing it.

I then turned to writing short stories. I wrote a narrative first (which was pointless), and then the first version of Wake-Up Call which ended up being published at Antipodean SF. I followed that with The Elusive Muse which sold to Fiction Factor. I wrote a sci-fi story and then a non-fiction, self-help type of thing called Reinventing the Wheel. Continuing the pattern, the non-fiction article sold (every second piece had so far found a home).

I then wrote a fantasy short and played around with a filler piece for Reader's Digest (that was fun - great pay rate but they never answered or acknowledged my submission).

Then I wrote Too Late the Rain. Originally it was a flash piece at 984 words. Since then it has undergone a lot of changes. It's grown with the addition of a completely new first half and has been given a new ending, to now stand at 2798 words. Six rejections and two years later, it's still looking for a home. It still gets nice personalised rejection letters - it's never had a bad one. Lots of good comments but, in the end, still a no thank you - close but no cigar.

I've submitted it to 1 competition and 5 paying markets. I believe in this story enough that I think I should gain some sort of payment for it, but the right market is elusive. This is a ghost story, but brushes against some taboo subjects. None of these taboos are overly graphic (at least I don't think it is), but mention child abuse, incest, and killing children - mix it in with a simple-minded teen, and people are likely to turn the other cheek - so to speak.

So, the 15th of July marks the two year anniversary of the first submission of this piece. It is currently sitting with target market number (hopefully lucky) seven. If - scratch that - when this piece finally sells, it will be the ultimate example that every story has a market out there somewhere. Perseverance will pay.

As for new work - nil, nada, zip, zero, zilch, nothing!

I'm halfway through editing the last short story I have in my folder. Once that goes out the door, I've got nothing. Nil in progress, nada in way of ideas, zip inspiration, zero enthusiasm, zilch hope. Could very well have something to do with being ill lately and having very little sleep over the recent weekend - but still, bottom of the barrel is still bottom of the barrel when you scrape against it.

I got my final assignment back (thank you to Pharo, Jamie and D for your honest feedback), and got a mass of wonderful comments and encouragement from the lecturer to go with the A grading. My reaction - well, that's that out of the way - I'm glad I decided put the coursework on hold. I can't even get pumped over an A!

I currently have 9 pieces submitted. One of those is on a long list for consideration. Another is about to go back out, and one more is being edited. By this weekend, I'll have 11 pieces out in the wild looking for a home. Then my time will be spent on reading, which will make for really boring blog posts, so pray for acceptances, pray for my muse to find her way home, and get used to photos and updates on my new grandson - because without these things, I've got squat!

So what's the oldest story you have still doing the rounds? How many times has it been rejected? When would you consider sending it to TLODS? (Yes, I have an obsession to one day send something good to this wasteland of unappreciated brilliance - but I have a bigger compulsion to get paid for my work)

A Quick Update

Due to sleep deprivation this is only a short note to let everyone know that baby Ashton Nicholas arrived safe and sound on July 5th 2009 at 3:57PM, instantly earning him the nickname Magnum.

Mother and baby are both doing exceptionally well.

The specs:

6 pounds 13 ounces
49 cm long
ten fingers and ten toes
Mother did brilliantly
Grandmother provided exceptional support as, I'm told, did the father.

Time for bed.

AHWA NEWS DIGEST [16.06.09-02.07.09]

The following digest of recent horror news is compiled from pieces published to HorrorScope and the Australian Horror Writers' Association website.

Leisure Books' Fresh Blood contest
Leisure Books, the company "leading the way in publishing paperback horror," is partnering with Rue Morgue magazine in association with ChiZine to present "Fresh Blood," a new writing contest specifically for unpublished horror authors. Click through for competition details.

2009 AHWA Flash and Short Story competition winners
The 2009 Australian Horror Writers Association (AHWA) Flash and Short Story competition attracted over 100 entries. The short story and flash fiction winners will be published in Midnight Echo #3 later this year. The winners will also receive an engraved plaque. Click through to view the winners.

Midnight Echo #2 now available
Issue #2 of Midnight Echo, the magazine of the Australian Horror Writers Association, is available to the public. Edited by Angela Challis & Shane Jiraiya Cummings, this issue of Midnight Echo is a mind-bending joyride into the horrific. Contributors include David Conyers, Bob Franklin, Kurt Newton, Felicity Dowker, Andrew J McKiernan, and Joanne Anderton, among many more. Art Director David Schembri has assembled an array of darkly visual delights from artists such as George Cotronis, Will Jacques, Liza Phoenix, Khara Burgess, and more. Issue #2 also continues the 'New Blood' series of interviews conducted by Stephen Studach (this issue featuring Jason Crowe). Click through for purchase and AHWA member download details.

Australian SF Blog Carnival June 2009
The Australian SF Blog Carnival for June 2009 is hosted at HorrorScope, and has been assembled by the AHWA News Editor. Click through for highlights of the blogsphere.

The Writing Show's Halloween contest
US podcast website The Writing Show will not continue the tradition in recent years of running the 'AHWA Days of Halloween'. Instead, this year, The Writing Show is hosting a Halloween fiction contest (with a US$75 prize). Click through for conditions of entry.

Classic horror-themed First Tuesday Book Club
Leigh Blackmore will guest on an episode of First Tuesday Book Club, hosted by Jennifer Byrne, along with childrens' book writer Catherine Jinks, novelist Tara Moss, and novelist Will Elliott. The special programme will focus on the classic horror novels DRACULA by Bram Stoker, THE WEREWOLF OF PARIS by Guy Endore, FRANKENSTEIN by Mary Shelley and DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE by Robert Louis Stevenson. Keep an eye on HorrorScope for an announcement of the airing date.


Submitting News

If you have news about Australian and New Zealand Horror publishing and film, or news of professional development opportunities in the field, feel free to submit news to Talie Helene, AHWA News Editor. Just visit HorrorScope, and click on the convenient email link. (International news is not unwelcome, although relevance to Antipodean literary arts practitioners is strongly preferred.)

For information on the Australian Horror Writers' Association, visit australianhorror.com.

This AHWA NEWS DIGEST has been compiled, written, and republished in select Australian horror haunts by Talie Helene. Currently archived at the AHWA MySpace page, and Southern Horror; hosted at the social networking sites Darklands and A Writer Goes On A Journey; and hosted by AHWA members Felicity Dowker, Brenton Tomlinson, Scott Wilson, and Jeff Ritchie (Scary Minds: Horror's Last Colonial Outpost).

If you would like to support the AHWA News effort by hosting a copy of the AHWA News Digest on your blog or website, contact Talie to receive a fully formatted HTML edition of the digest by email.

Baby Watch

A quick note to let you all know I may not check in for a day or two - or maybe three.

My eldest has gone into the first stages of labour so sometime over the next 24 hours (I hope), I shall become a first time grandparent. Please, no Grandad jokes, I'm only 41 for God's sake.

As per all grandparents, pictures will follow when available.

I'm sure you're all sending Amie (my eldest) your best wishes and you're all thinking good and happy thoughts for a safe delivery into the world of her first child (apparently a boy they're calling Ashton). Thank you in advance for all your kind thoughts.

Jodi Lee - I'll still try to send you my submission within the next day or so.

BT

Busy

Tonight has been a pretty good night.

I revised God's Piscatorial Church which added 30 something words to it and sent it off to Necrotic Tissue - fingers crossed.

I've also revised Spoilt Rotten and sent that back out to market.

I've since spent an enjoyable time reading Issue 2 of The New Bedlam Zine. Very cool and an excellent follow up to Issue 1. No, I'm not just sucking up to Jodi Lee - it is very good. I was also over the moon to see nobody had stumbled across the angle I'm using for my submission. I'll be doing a final revision on it this weekend and sending it out early next week.

So I have three shorts to review, revise, and resend plus a mountain of reading to do over the weekend. On top of that I have a board game to work on with my little one and a monster amount of mulch and quarry rubble arriving to shift around the front and back gardens - hmm, my back is going to love it!

Best of luck with whatever it is you're working on.

Never Rains But It Pours

I should have stayed in bed catching little electric Pokemon instead of opening my email today.

Spoilt Rotten has gathered its second rejection. Need to find another target market.

AHWA competition results have been released and neither of my entries did any good. Now I need to find new targets for Digging Up The Past and God's Piscatorial Church.

I got my piece for The New Bedlam Project back from Pharo and it needs work, although The Great One does believe the story can work which is encouraging. I just need to fix a couple of things.

I need to finish revising Arcanum and send it out.

I need to send pieces off to Necrotic Tissue. Does 1 short and 1 100 worder count as multiple subs for this market? Nat? Cate? Anyone?

And lastly, I've had another story idea, but this time while I was wide awake - actually while I was out shopping with the better half. Not sure about the length of this thing yet, but the themes buzzing around my head are screaming for a proper manuscript. More thinking to be done and then some outlining, or maybe the other way round - quite excited over this one - again! What happened to concentrating on shorts for a while?

And lastly, I need to get a $@#$ load of reading done - 6 novel-length books in 5 weeks! Where the hell am I going to find the time to read my lovely copy of Necrotic Tissue which finally arrived in my letterbox. Oh, and thanks goes out to Jodi Lee. My copy of her and her daughter's chapbook arrived safe and sound. It's beautifully presented (handmade even) and full of interesting facts and fun activities. Head on over to her site and have a look. Very cool.

Being crook has placed me firmly behind the eight ball - time to get back in the saddle and get some work done.