August 29, 2007 @ 6:44 pm

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.




