Picture
Congratulations, It’s a... Gargoyle? has been accepted for the Anxiety Disorders anthology! This is officially the first non-fiction true-life piece I’ll have had published.

I say ‘officially’, because there was a true-life article I wrote for a popular women’s magazine back in 2004, but I’ve tried blotting it from my memory. (They fictionalised it and gave it the title ‘Blow-Out’, and I’m not revealing any more than that, or my cheeks will turn red again).

These days, I’m choosy about where I send stuff. I admire Hidden Thoughts Press, so I leapt at the chance to be in one of their books. I don't have a publication date yet. The Anxiety Disorders anthology is being edited by Suzanne Robb, who’s had her writing published in loads of places. Check out her site here.

HTP are bringing out several anthologies of true stories of inspiration, to help people suffering with mental illness. Sufferers will realise they’re not alone, and hopefully they’ll discover new ways of managing their own situations. So if you have a story to tell, send it in!

Add Comment
 
 
Picture
April looks like being a jolly good month, even though I started it by tripping and landing heavily. Fortunately, the only thing I broke was my diet, because I immediately sought out some comforting carbs. I know. If I don’t stop that nonsense, I’ll land even more heavily next time.

Back to the reason why I like the look of April... I have two stories appearing in print in the next few weeks!

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, my flash fiction Taking Root is to appear in Andy Bigwood’s sci-fi/fantasy art book, The Sixty. About forty writers have supplied fiction to accompany the artwork in this book, and I can’t wait to see the finished product. It’ll be launched at EasterCON in Birmingham on 22nd April, if all goes well. Andy’s an award-winning artist, and you can see some of his work here.

My futuristic story Caveat Emptor! will be in Escape Velocity: The Anthology very soon. The antho is being published by Adventure Books of Seattle, so it’ll be good.

I know some of the writers involved in both projects, and look forward to reading their work. Geoff Nelder and Jon Pinnock are just two of the talented writers involved - I'll name-drop some more nearer the time.  I’m chuffed to be in such good company.

In other news, I heard that the Bards in the Bog project – which included my poem Deep-fried Flip-flops – has raised £1,241 for WaterAid. This is enough to buy at least three school sanitation blocks, so a big thank you to all those who bought the booklet. Remaining copies of the poetry booklet can be purchased from the Shetland Library. And if you’re lucky enough to live in the Shetland Islands, you may spot my framed poem in one of the public loos there.
4 Comments
 
Goodbye to 2010 31/12/2010
 
It’s time to look back to see how it all went, so here goes...

In January I heard that my one and only children’s story Escapism, with Raya Riken had been shortlisted in the Writers’ Village Best Writing Award. A good start to the year.

My futuristic flash fiction Flipped was accepted by Weirdyear. I’m fond of this little tale. During a bout of flu, I suddenly remembered one of the What Ifs on the brilliant ideas4writers site, and added my own spin (spin – geddit?) to it. I desperately needed to lie down, but sat and wrote the whole story out in my notepad before keeling over on the bed. I’ve tweaked the story a little, and you can read it here.

Other publications this year include:
Letter to Bertha, 6Sentences: The Love Book
Irresistible, Microhorror
The Tip of My Tongue (inspired by a childhood accident), Weirdyear
Digging (which won 3rd prize), Delivered
Fitting In, Delivered (and reprinted in Town & Village)
Flying Room, Ink Sweat & Tears
Beyond Pessimism (poem), Monkey Kettle.
K (for Kul), M is for Monster.

So far I have three publications lined up for 2011: Taking Root to accompany an illustration in The Sixty, a fantasy art book by Andy Bigwood, Sleep Disorder in Delivered, and Caveat Emptor! in the sci-fi anthology Escape Velocity. There’s talk of a couple of interviews too, but I don’t have a date for those yet.

Other writing activities included setting up my website and blog. I’ve had a great time chatting to other writers online (and horror writer Adrian Chamberlin in 3D) this year, and am so grateful for the support and encouragement they give. So thank you to my friends at ideas4writers, Cafe Doom, Facebook, and especially my lovely blog followers.

And my biggest thanks to my long-suffering husband Laz, who regularly catches me in the kitchen reading a book or jotting down notes when I should be cooking the dinner, but still hasn’t traded me in for a more efficient model.
7 Comments
 
 
I’m going to be in an art book! No, my watercolour daubs aren’t going to appear in public any time soon, but I love art, so when my writing buddy Geoff Nelder mentioned this project I jumped at the chance. The book, entitled The Sixty, will have 60 fantasy/sci-fi pictures by the award-winning artist Andy Bigwood, and each will be accompanied by a piece of flash fiction. My fantasy story is called Taking Root. I’m unable to give a publication date yet, but I’m looking forward to seeing the finished book. You can see some of Andy’s awesome work here.

Geoff and another writer friend, Jonathan Pinnock, will have flash fiction in the book too. Did I mention that the three of us are in M is for Monster? Of course I did.
4 Comments
 
 
Janine Pulford, the award-winning editor of the glossy Town & Village Magazine, has bought my amusing story Fitting In. I don't know the publication date yet. Town & Village is delivered monthly to homes across Dorset, and reaches over 45,000 readers. So if you live in Dorset (lucky you!), have fun reading it.
4 Comments
 
 
Some time ago I wrote a 200-word descriptive piece, Flying Room, for a competition. I didn’t win, and although I didn't think I could use it anywhere else, I liked it enough to keep it. I know, I know. We should always keep our work – and I do, usually, unless I’m having a crisis of confidence. A few years ago I threw away the first draft of a horror story, and have regretted it ever since. Fortunately, the story is still in my head, so I’ll rewrite it one day.

When I read my writer pal Jonathan Pinnock’s interview on Ink Sweat and Tears (great interview, too - read it here) I browsed the site and realised that Flying Room could be adapted and – fingers crossed – might be suitable. The finished 350-word flash fiction has now been accepted, and will appear on IS&T in approximately six weeks' time. I'm so glad I kept the piece. I won’t throw my writing out ever again.
Add Comment
 
 
I don’t do much new writing in the school holidays, so during August I’ve been concentrating on getting my website up and running. It’s been fun choosing fiction and poetry samples and deciding on what goes where. Hope you like the result!

In July I was pleased to hear that my futuristic story Caveat Emptor! has been selected for the Escape Velocity anthology, produced by Adventure Books of Seattle. No definite date for publication yet, but I can’t wait. If previous editions of the mag are anything to go by, the quality’s going to be great.

Over the summer I’ve been keeping an eye on preparations for M is for Monster: An Alphabetical Anthology of Abominations. This project is headed up by horror writer John Prescott, and I feel honoured to have been invited to take part. The book contains 26 monster stories, one for each letter of the alphabet. My story, K is for Kul, is about a water demon. I’ve read the D, G, and S stories and loved ‘em, so I’m looking forward to reading the rest. Publication is scheduled for 31 October 2010, and the book will be available from Amazon.com or from me. In the meantime, I’m drooling over the cover:
 
Picture
 
Add Comment