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My Story Life Force at Weirdyear

Those lovely people at Weirdyear have chosen to publish my story Life Force today.

Rosario put his head in his hands.

“Do you have anything useful to say, or are you just going to-?”

“I-Spy,” she said. “With my little eye, something beginning with-”

Q1 Update

My new sci-fi story Life Force will be published in Weirdyear on April 11th: Titus Rosario and Misha Hadrian are approaching planet Intaglio in Universal Architects Zero with plans for colonisation, except that Misha has started talking to an invisible elephant.

My latest novel, working title The Marquis, is finally complete. I started it in August 08 and although I changed its original setting, it's still the same idea I started with. I tried many other ideas since my first novel, but never completed anything. However, The Marquis stayed the course.

I have several other stories on the go. There's a second sci-fi noir story where Chandler's Philip Marlowe will be working on another disturbing case in dystopia, and there's a truly odd case of animalism gone mad that's close to fruition.

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!