Midnight Echo 9 cover revealed, featuring me
Check out the awesome cover for issue 9 of Midnight Echo magazine. That’s some great, creepy work by Mahdesigns. This issue, edited by Geoff Brown, is horror stories themed around myths and legends. It features my story, The Fathomed Wreck To See. I’m really pleased to have a story in this issue, as I’m a huge fan of the magazine. Not only that, but if you look closely you’ll see I’ve even got my name on the cover along with some seriously talented people in the horror field. And honestly, seeing your name on a book or magazine cover never gets old. Such a treat and such an honour to be included among so many talented people who have work in this issue. Check it out:
Midnight Echo 9 Table of Contents:
Literature
Changeling by Jonathan Maberry
Black Train Blues by James A Moore
Black Peter by Martin Livings
The Road by Amanda J Spedding
Coffee Rings by Kristin Dearborn
The Wee Folk by JG Faherty
From the Forebears by Steven Gepp
Little Boy, Little Girl, Lost in the Woods by Mark Patrick Lynch
The Fathomed Wreck to See by Alan Baxter
Poetry
ganesh by Talie Helene
Comic
Allure of the Ancients; The Key to His Kingdom – story by Mark Farrugia, illustrations by Greg Chapman
Special Features
The Mythology of Mid-World by Robin Furth (non-fiction)
Russian Field of Mysteries by Tony Vilgotsky (non-fiction)
An Interview with Jonathan Maberry
An Interview with Mel Gannon
Regular Features
A Word from the AHWA President – Geoff Brown
Tartarus – Danny Lovecraft (poetry column)
Pix and Panels – Mark Farrugia (comic column)
Black Roads, Dark Highways #4 – Andrew McKiernan (column)
Sinister Reads (all the latest releases from AHWA members)
Pre-orders for the limited print edition are now being taken, and it will be available in all electronic formats too. For more information on this amazing issue, head to www.midnightechomagazine.com
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Aurealis and Shadows Awards finalists for 2012 announced
It’s award season again and the first couple of shortlists are out. The Aurealis Awards for fantasy, sci-fi and horror, and the Australian Shadows Awards for horror. All the finalist lists for both of these are really strong – it’s great to see so much Australian talent being celebrated, not to mention how many friends I can count among the finalists.
I’ve posted the full lists for both over at Thirteen O’Clock, so you can see all the Aurealis Award finalists here and all the Australian Shadows Awards finalists here.
Go and make yourself a big old reading list of everything there and you certainly can’t go wrong. Congratulations to all the finalists!
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Urban Occult has landed
I got this today, my contributor’s copy of Urban Occult from Anachron Press. It includes my story, A Time For Redemption, about a young university student who discovers an amulet that allows him to stop time. He sees a way to get back with the girl he lost. Of course, it’s not that easy.
I’m looking forward to reading the other stories in this one too. Get your copy wherever books are sold.
One week left to get your Ditmar nominations in
Nominations for the Ditmar Awards officially close at midnight next Wednesday (Canberra time). If you haven’t nominated work you enjoyed last year, please find a few minutes to do so. The more people involved, the better and more accurate our awards are as an indicator of the good stuff out there.
Everything you need to know about nominating is here: http://conflux.org.au/2013/02/19/ditmar-award-nominations-open/
If you’ve enjoyed anything I had published last year, I would love your nomination. Or if you’d like to check out my stuff and consider a nomination, quite a bit is free to read online. Here are my eligible works this year:
Best Novella or Novelette
(Novella or Novelette: A Novella or Novelette is any work of sf/f/h of 7,500 to 40,000 words.)
“The Darkest Shade of Grey“, by Alan Baxter, published by The Red Penny Papers.
You can read this entire novelette online for free at The Red Penny Papers. It’s about 18,000 words, so more like a very long short story than a novella. I’m really proud of this piece and it has particular personal resonance for me for other reasons, so I would really like to see it get a bit of attention on the ballot.
Then there are my eligible short fiction works. Some of these are available to read online too, so if the title is a link, click it to read it.
Best Short Story
(Short Story: A Short Story is any work of sf/f/h less than 7,500 words.)
“Burning, Always Burning”, Alan Baxter and Felicity Dowker, in Damnation and Dames, Ticonderoga Publications.
“Cephalopoda Obsessia”, Alan Baxter, in Bloodstones, Ticonderoga Publications.
“Crossroads and Carousels“, Alan Baxter, in The Red Penny Papers, Fall 2012.
“Fear is the Sin”, Alan Baxter, in From Stage Door Shadows, eMergent Publishing.
“In the Name of the Father”, Alan Baxter, in The One That Got Away, Dark Prints Press.
“Salvage in the Void“, Alan Baxter, in Kasma SF Magazine.
“The Everywhere And The Always”, Alan Baxter, in Mythic Resonance, The Specusphere and Esstee Media.
“The Goodbye Message“, Alan Baxter, in ticon4, April 2, 2012.
“Tiny Lives“, Alan Baxter, in Daily Science Fiction, December 25th, 2012.
And whether you nominate my stuff or not, if you’re eligible to nominate, please do. Even if you only nominate one or two books or stories that you enjoyed in 2012, it’s worth it.
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Happenings in the world of the Warrior Scribe
Halfway through March already? Seriously, what the shit, time? It’s been a strange and hectic year so far, for many reasons, but through it all I’m steadfastly, some would say stubbornly, persisting with being a writer. Some might even suggest I was bull-headedly persisting and yes, bull-headedly is most definitely a word.
I’ve been working on several short fiction projects, and I’m cautiously proud of the stories I’ve been turning out. There’s horror, straight fantasy, science fiction and cross-bred mutants of all three happening at the moment. Today I’ll be working on a horror story about a priest facing a small child’s demons. Cliche, you’re thinking? Well, fuck you. Wait till you read it, then you can call it a cliche. Personally, I think I’m playing very cleverly with old tropes. Of course, we always think we’re clever, or we would have given up this fool’s game a long time ago.
Sometimes, though, we get some positive feedback. Take the novella that I’m collaborating on with David Wood. It’s called Dark Rite, it’s a kind of horror/thriller mashup and we’re really quite proud of it. It’s around 40,000 words, which is right at the top end of the novella range, almost into short novel territory, so it’s a meaty read. We’re pretty close to a final draft and are currently waiting on some feedback from some very generous early readers. And we’re lucky, because those early readers are some luminary figures in the world of thrillers and horror. I’ll reveal more when we get all the feedback and make the final tweaks before putting the book up for publication. But so far, the feedback has been very encouraging. It’s been called “fantastic” and “very Stephen King” by one person whose opinion I really respect. You can imagine the little happy dance I did when I read that. As a horror writer, is there much higher praise than being compared to Stephen King?
So while we continually pound our aching head against the wall of literary recognition, trying to get better, trying to get published, it’s nice to get that kind of feedback from time to time. It helps to ease the self-inflicted wounds. Balm for the weeping gashes of self-doubt that stripe our soul. And all that bollocks.
I’m also still working on the next two novels. One is out in the world looking for a home, the next is finished in early drafts. Once this last short story is polished up, redrafting that book will be my primary focus. Never any rest here at the Warrior Scribe Word Mills. And that’s the only way to succeed – keep doing it, keep getting better.
No Retreat, No Surrender!
(1986 Van Damme martial arts movie reference FTW!)
Happy birthday, Douglas Adams
He was one of the hoopiest froods ever, a thinker, entertainer, genius and master storyteller. He would have been 61 years old today. His trilogy of five books in The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy series sold over 15 million copies in his own, far too short, lifetime. If you haven’t read it, go and rectify that now. He was man who knew where his towel was.
He was one wise man, who, through his writing, flew by learning how to throw himself at the ground and miss.
Vale, Mr Adams.
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Paul Haines, one year gone, never forgotten
Paul Richard Haines 8 June 1970 – 5 March 2012
It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year since Paul Haines died. Husband, father, friend, mentor and so much more, and exemplary writer. I still miss him terribly and the Australian scene is not the same without him. My heartfelt best wishes go out to Jules and Isla, as this must be a very hard time for them.
But he will never be forgotten. One of the best ways we can remember Paul Haines is through his work. After his death last year, I put together this list over at Thirteen O’Clock. It details all his work and his incredibly impressive collection of award wins and nominations. In that list are links to buy his collections, and I recommend you do if you haven’t read them. Paul Haines wrote some of the best, most visceral and honest horror and dark fiction ever. You should read it. I’ll probably read some again over the next few days.
Vale, Haines. Always loved, never forgotten.
365 Shorts – 1st Quarter update
So, back on December 10th I posted this. In a nutshell, I set myself a challenge to read 365 short stories during 2013. And I expected to fail. Well, bizarrely, I’m actually ahead of schedule at the moment. I know, I’m as surprised as you are. You’re surprised, right?
Firstly, I should point out that I made a couple of small changes to the rules. Get fucked, it’s my game. I can make whatever rule changes I like. Basically, it occurred to me that if I set the challenge for all of 2013, the end would be at the busy Xmas/New Year time and might get lost or forgotten. So I decided to start my year on December 1st, 2012 and run till November 30th, 2013. As I’d just read a short story collection, it seemed fitting. So I started to record all my short fiction reading from then. I set up a document in Dropbox that I can access and edit in Documents To Go on my iPhone or iPad, or just edit directly from my laptop. That way, it’s easy to update the list wherever I am and whatever format I’m reading in (ebook, online, printed book, podcast, etc.)
Now is the end of February, which makes three months, or one quarter of the year down. I just did a quick calculation and I’ve read 153 stories so far. If I want to make 365 stories in a year, I need to average just over thirty stories a month, or about 93 stories every quarter. I’m leaps and bounds ahead of schedule at the moment. That does include a week’s holiday up in the Snowy Mountains, where I read almost nothing but short fiction, as I had two issues of Midnight Echo to catch up on, and a couple of anthologies. But even so, I’m taking it as an auspicious start. I have a pile of anthologies still to go in my reading pile, plus the usual selection of magazines (print and online) that I read, and regular podcast listening. At this stage, I’m quietly confident that I might succeed in my challenge. Of course, it could all turn to shit at any moment.
One thing that really helps is the awesome Daily Science Fiction. Not only because they published me at the end of last year (and no, I’m not including my own stories in the challenge!) but because every weekday they drop a new story in my inbox. I don’t read them all – if I get more than a day or two behind, I let the ones I’ve missed go, but I try to read them all. And it’s certainly helping my total.
Anyway, enough waffle. I’ve set up a page here, where I’ve listed all the stories I’ve read so far. I’ll update it either monthly or quarterly or whatever, and each time I do I’ll post here so you can keep up if you’re interested. Of course, it can fall apart at any time, so if you never hear about this again, don’t you dare remind me!
How about you? Are you playing along? How are your numbers so far?
365 Shorts 2012/13 – My reading so far.
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“The Fathomed Wreck To See” to be published in Midnight Echo #9
I’m very happy to announce that my modern myth-based horror story, “The Fathomed Wreck To See”, will be published in Midnight Echo #9. This particular issue called for horror stories based on a modernisation of any established legend or myth. I won’t spill exactly what direction I took, but it’s a story I’m very of, and I’m really pleased it’s found a home here (with thanks to the Drs Brain for their invaluable help!). Midnight Echo is the official magazine of the Australia Horror Writers’ Association, and one of my favourite publications. It’s a big old glossy magazine, always packed full of excellent fiction, articles, art and more. It’s available in electronic form as well, of course. I was published in Midnight Echo once before, in issue 6, the sci-fi horror special.
Issue 9 already has confirmed contributions from Jonathan Maberry (a Joe Ledger short story), James A Moore (a Jonathan Crowley tale), and Robin Firth (a non-fiction dissection of the myths within Stephen King’s Dark Tower series), as well as the selection of submitted short fiction including my story. The full Table of Contents has yet to be announced, but I’m already excited.
You can learn more about Midnight Echo here, and Issue 10 submission guidelines are already up. Ghost stories!
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Emma Newman and Between Two Thorns
If you’re a regular here, the name Emma Newman probably rings some bells. It should, because she’s a mighty talented person and I’ve talked about her a bit. I was lucky enough to be asked by her publisher to pre-review and blurb her short fiction collection, From Dark Places. You can see that review here. I was also happy to host one of her Split Worlds stories here last year.
Well, now the Split Worlds has expanded into the first of a series of novels, published by Angry Robot Books, called Between Two Thorns. And the reason I’m talking about it now is because there’s a sweet little pre-order special offer happening.
Between Two Thorns is an urban fantasy novel. Here’s the blurb:
Something is wrong in Aquae Sulis, Bath’s secret mirror city.
The new season is starting and the Master of Ceremonies is missing. Max, an Arbiter of the Split Worlds Treaty, is assigned with the task of finding him with no one to help but a dislocated soul and a mad sorcerer.
There is a witness but his memories have been bound by magical chains only the enemy can break. A rebellious woman trying to escape her family may prove to be the ally Max needs.
But can she be trusted? And why does she want to give up eternal youth and the life of privilege she’s been born into?
Sound interesting? Well, here’s the offer:
Pre-order a copy of Between Two Thorns for a chance to win a great prize!
Pre-order a copy of Between Two Thorns and you’ll be entered into a prize draw. If you win, you’ll have a character named after you in All Is Fair – the third Split Worlds novel (released October 2013) – and a special mention at the end of the book.
You have to admit, that’s a pretty cool prize.
How to Enter
Pre-order a copy of the book from your favourite retailer (if you pre-order from Forbidden Planet you’ll get a signed copy).
If you order from Forbidden Planet or robottradingcompany.com (for ebooks) you don’t need to do anything else – Angry Robot will take care of your entry for you. If you pre-order from anywhere else you’ll need to email a copy of your order confirmation to: thorns AT angryrobotbooks.com and they’ll assign a number to you.
Here are links to all the places you can pre-order:
Forbidden Planet (signed paperback) http://forbiddenplanet.com/
Angry Robot Trading company – for DRM-free ebook http://www.
Amazon (paperback) UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/
US http://www.amazon.com/Between-
The Book depository (Worldwide free postage)
UK Edition http://www.bookdepository.co.
US Edition (bigger) http://www.bookdepository.co.
There are two UK launches and an international one using the magic of telephone conferencing. All the details are here: http://www.enewman.co.uk/real-
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