Messed up again

This time I sent a submission to the wrong email address at Shimmer. It's that kind of attention to detail I'm famous for. Oh well it's not as bad as waiting six months and then receiving, "Dear [insert name], Unfortunately due to [excuse] your submission was always going to be bottom of the pile..."

The novel (working title The Marquis) is progressing like an operation to remove wisdom teeth entwined with my rib cage. After two years five months three days two hours and twenty five minutes there are signs. But do I like the signs? Each day I set out like that excited five year old on my way to Jessica Jones's birthday party. Sadly, something terrible happened at Jessica Jones's birthday party. We were all led away in silence, and now many years later there are stories.

I have thirty stories published (there are links on the left side bar) and loads of poems at gattopublishing, What You Will See, although after emailing updates to my profile the photo with dodgy specs remains. However, I have an idea to make two slim collections into one not so slim, call it Poems and Stories and send it to the latest emerging publisher. Why not?

Many Thanks to The Smoking Poet

My story, Jack Kerouac Eats Here, has been published in a fabulous Winter 2010 -2011 issue of The Smoking Poet. What a treat.

The story started out years ago as a 3000 worder about a man with a mystery wasting illness who inherited his grandfather's collection of sea horses and then goes on a bad behaviour spree. The sea horses went, the characters became Sal and Moriarty, and the homage went to Jack Kerouac writer of the Beat classic On the Road. This is the way with a lot of my stories. They all pay homage to someone in the end, whether it's Chandler or Ballard.

There's a lot of comfort in acknowledging the greats and making them speak again. Christ knows we need them now. There isn't a lot of confidence out there embracing anything new. People are intimidated, browbeaten, scared and frightened understandably. But art leads society, so I'm very pleased that the great icon of humanity, Dean Moriarty, has taken to the road one last time to espouse his simple ideas, to remind the world of a few absolutes. Long live Dean Moriarty!

The Timeless Mr Thelwall at Bewildering Stories

My story The Timeless Mr Thelwall has been published at Bewildering Stories issue 409.

Update: The man who inspired the story, who I only knew as Jim, died this year. His claim to fame was creating the character of Jim McDonald in Coronation Street for which he never received credit.

For Murder, Just Add Water at The New Flesh

My story, For Murder, Just Add Water is at The New Flesh now. Howls away!

Friday's and Monday's Forthcoming Stories

The New Flesh publishes my story For Murder, Just Add Water on Friday (19th). There's an X-Factory style readers' voting system in place and a pop-pickers' story top ten so I'll be busy on Friday voting for myself. ;->

Issue 409 of Bewildering Stories is out on Monday (22nd Nov 10) containing my story Nobody Knows a Damned Thing. The eagle-eyed amongst you may spot it's a reprint of the story that first appeared in 07 on paper in what we writers used to think of as a 'real magazine', the now-sadly-defunct Transmission. Oh dear, this seems a bit mean to all those doing great work with paper magazines, Attack!!!, The Front View, and so on, but I am still sore about Manchester's Independent Voice going under, "a sturdy ship on the turbulent water" and so on. It was my aim to see the story on Bewildering Stories with archival, portable link and wide readership. Many thanks to the great people at Bewildering Stories for accepting it.

I'm reaching the end of my second novel yet again hence the lack of blogging. I'm sure it's in no way complete, but it's good to see an end in sight even if it's only a false one.

Forgetting to Update Duotrope

Many writers 'forget' to update Duotrope, the story submission website, especially when they've had a story rejected. Who wouldn't? It's human nature. Writers hate rejection, so why go and update Duotrope when you feel like murder. Screw the accuracy of the data. They can go and shove it sort of thing

Last week I forgot to update Duotrope when I had Jack Kerouac Eats Here ACCEPTED by the great people at The Smoking Poet. Due date December 2010. I started it about five years ago and shortened it and altered it until hardly any of the original idea remained. It used to be something odd about seahorses according to my diary. Now it's a rework of Kerouac's masterpiece with echoes of the great man. Although I think it's the perfect flash fiction and the greatest thing I've ever written, I'd got used to seeing, "We see thousands of submissions a week and unfortunately yours was the thousand and tenth....." Except that I ALWAYS update Duotrope success or failure.

Another odd email in the 192 spams after holiday was Paypal saying that Duotrope had cancelled my annual donation. I'm not going to ask them why. Okay maybe I will. They survive on donations although it seems they don't want my donation.

Weirdyear: 10/3/10

My story How I Came to Light Up the Universe in Weirdyear: 10/3/10