Lots going on.

First, and most importantly, I’ve been writing quite a bit lately, hence my absence. Last week’s publishing news, not to mention those two back-to-back acceptances, has lit the proverbial fire under my ass, and I’ve been working on several new stories, as well as the rewrite of an old story. Here’s the skinny:

“Temporary Monsters” is a long horror-noir set in Toronto that I plan to submit to James Van Pelt’s Hardboiled Horror anthology.

“Swing” is a strange story, sorta literary, sorta supernatural horror, that I am writing for the Trent University Literary Short Fiction Contest.

“Gone” is my entry in Apex Science Fiction and Horror’s Halloween Contest, the theme of which is “post-apocalypse.”

and

“Secrets of Toronto” is a literary story, kinda quirky, kinda funny (I hope), that I plan to send to the CBC Literary Awards Competition.

Yes, folks, I will be entering three contests over the course of a month – four, if I can come up with something for Zoetrope’s short fiction contest, which is being judged by Joyce Carol Oates. I will almost definitely send them something, just so I can get that warm and fuzzy feeling that JCO has read one of my stories, even if she doesn’t end up liking it. I don’t mind being a glutton for punishment, as long as its one of my favourite authors holding the whip.

I was in emergency management training today. What’s that, you ask? Basically it’s training in response to various crises. You know, if there was a flood, or a terrorist attack, or if aliens landed in front of city hall… what would you do? Fun stuff.

The instructor turned out to be a pretty interesting guy. During one of our breaks, I asked him what would happen to a small town, fairly isolated in northern Ontario, in the event of a nuclear war, complete with EMP to cut it off from the outside. (This is all for a novel I plan to write, if you were wondering.) He gave me some helpful tips, as well as the name of a contact who actually worked on a document for the federal government outlining contingencies for just such an event. So it turned out to be a pretty good thing that I attended this training. I go back for Day 2 tomorrow.

Submission news: Not too much. “Dan Rose Says Everything Is Going To Be A-Okay” has made it to the second reading stage at Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine.

Publishing news: Salt is now available from Lulu.com. I suspect it will soon be available directly from Naked Snake Press, as well. I got an e-mail from the editor today saying contributors copies will be going out shortly. If you follow the above link, you can see the cover, the back cover, and a short preview of the contents. My contribution is a Newfoundland ghost story called “Twillingate.”

Also, Dead Letter Press is already taking pre-orders for Bound for Evil, featuring my long story, “The Dark and the Young.” From their website:

The limited edition hardcover (limited to 500 copies) will retail at $70. Preorder now and Save $20 off the retail price of BOUND FOR EVIL. That’s almost 30% off the retail price. Plus, all pre-orders will receive a free limited edition chapbook featuring an additional evil book story! You get a deep discount and a special premium, but more importantly, you are partnering with Dead Letter Press to create a book that’s bound to become a classic!

This is my first hardcover appearance, and my first limited edition. It’s all very exciting. I know it may be pricey for those of you used to picking up my stories in magazines, but I have no doubt it’s going to be an attractive book. Don’t buy it for me (or just for me, anyway). Check out the link and view the list of contributors. Lots of excellent writers there.

So, that’s all for now. I’ll be back in a day or two, even more ready for emergencies than I am now, and maybe with a story or two finished.

See you on the flip-flop.

• Currently reading: "Bitter Grounds," by Neil Gaiman

I woke up one morning this week with the idea for a short story about a couple experiencing some fairly cataclysmic effects related to global warning. I don’t know if global warming is really happening, or if it really is just a political angle, but the world does seem to be undergoing some serious changes, many of them for the worse.

I figure it’s like this: If global warming turns out to be true, my story can be seen as a cautionary tale. If it turns out to be a lot of hot air (ha-ha), then I guess it still works as a piece of science fiction. Time will be the final judge.

"Waterfront"

1,428 / 1,428 (100.0%)

I had the idea of sending it to Nature magazine for their “Futures” section, but the story doesn’t have enough science for it to qualify as “hard” sf (which is what they want). Then I thought about sending it to this year’s Trent University Short Fiction Contest, because the word-limit is low and the story ended up being quite short, but it’s probably a bit too genre for them. Me thinks Trent is looking for something a bit more lit’ry.

So, I ended up doing what I usually do with a new story. I sent it off to Fantasy & Science Fiction. If it gets rejected, there are plenty of other places it can go from there.

In moving news, Kat and I have almost everything we need for the house. We bought a ton of furniture last weekend, including a bedroom set, two couches, a love seat, a refrigerator, a stove, and some patio furniture. The only thing left to get is a new bookshelf for me, because the books they are a-piling up.

Now I just gotta start packing…

• Currently reading: Bright Orange for the Shroud, by John D. MacDonald

Wow. I really didn’t get a chance to enjoy that 17th acceptance. But I really can’t complain.

“Camp Zombie” has been accepted by Broken Pencil.

You might recall that I was asked to expand this story by the editor a few weeks back. Well, he e-mailed today to say he liked the new version and wanted to buy it.

It’s always nice when a market like Broken Pencil pays for its fiction, but I’m more excited about being in a magazine that you can actually find in stores. I remember reading it years ago when they used to review my indie comic Dr. Pork. Ahh, memories.

Anyway, I don’t think I’ve ever had two acceptances this close together, so I’m off to celebrate!

I just heard that my 12,000-word horror novella, “The Dark and the Young,” has been accepted for inclusion in the anthology Bound for Evil.

This is one of my longest stories, and the oldest of the ones I’m still flogging around, and I always knew it would be a tough sell because of its length. Suffice to say I’m very happy it finally found a home.

The theme of Bound for Evil is “the secret lives and evil times of diabolical books.” It will be published by Dead Letter Press as a 500-page hardcover (my first!), bound in black imitation leather with gold leaf titles and design. Very snazzy!

This marks acceptance #17, my lucky birthday number, and it’s a goodie!

• Currently reading: A Deadly Shade of Gold, by John D. MacDonald

Chopped 1,000 words from “Deadstock” so I could send it to Delirium Books for consideration in their hardcover chapbook series. It would be very cool to see my weird western in such an attractive format. Delirium produces some excellent books.

The edits were quite painless, too; it was actually nice to go back and reread the story and be able to see places where I could do some trimming without affecting the overall story.

Response time is around six months, but that’s fine, considering the story’s just been sitting around collecting dust on my hard drive since its last rejection. There aren’t a lot of markets for stories of that length.

In other news, I received word that the September issue of Writers Post Journal is now available for preorder. This issue will feature my short story, “Autumn Burns.” And I really do mean feature:

Yep, this is the first time I made the cover. Hopefully not the last.

WPJ is going through some rough times, and may have to close their doors in January if things don’t start to look up. So please pick up an issue, buy an extra copy for a friend, or make a donation, and help support this excellent publication.

• Currently reading: The Quick Red Fox, by John D. MacDonald

It’s been a long time coming, but it’s finally here!

“The Man Who Ate Planets” – Lee Moan
“Winter Hammock” – Ian Rogers
“The Morpheus Franchise” – Davin Ireland
“Night Symphonies” – Alexander Zelenyj

with illustrations by Jim Ordolis and artwork by Mike Bohatch

I hope you’ll all rush out and pick up a copy as I really like this story and I’m sure the others are great, as well.

• Currently reading: "Fiction," by Alice Munro

I sent my bio to Writer’s Post Journal, which will be publishing my story, “Autumn Burns,” in the September issue.

My new story, “The Nanny,” has been submitted to the Futuristic Motherhood anthology.

I picked up the latest issue of The Atlantic, their special all-fiction issue, with new stories by John Updike, Tobias Wolff, and others. I also found the latest Harper’s, which has a new Alice Munro story.

Then I came home to a rejection from Queen’s Quarterly, but it was okay because the editor liked the story, she just didn’t feel it was right for their publication. It’s all good.

And tomorrow, Kat and I are going furniture shopping for our new house, with all the fun that entails.

The weekend fun has begun!

I finally finished a new story.

"The Nanny"

2,820 / 2,820 (100.0%)

The last one I wrote was… well, a long time ago; too long to mention. I’m not happy about that, but what can I say, it’s been a busy year. Between all my job bullshit, one entire month of weddings, and buying a house, I haven’t really had a lot of time to write.

I’m hoping that’ll change after we move. Things should slow down by then, and I’ll have a quieter environment in which to work.

This new story was written to order, for an anthology whose theme is “motherhood in the future.” My take has a slight horror slant that I hope won’t disqualify it from consideration, seeing as how they want sf/fantasy/mystery stories. No biggie if it does, though; there are plenty of markets out there.

It’s just nice to finally have a new one to send out.

• Currently reading: A Purple Place for Dying, by John D. MacDonald