It’s a funny old game, this writing business. High highs and crushing lows. Hours of toil for seemingly no return, wondering why we bother, then something happens that reminds us exactly why we bother. And I don’t know if this is the case for other writers, but my career seems to always be a fluctuation of flood and drought. Right now, I’m very happy to say, it’s a bit of a flood.
I’ve been banging on about Dark Rite the last week or so, as that book has just been published. I won’t say more on that for now, other than to mention that at the time of writing it’s sitting at #39 in bestsellers for horror on Amazon. That’s great news, so thanks to all who bought a copy.
I’ve also had some excellent news in other areas too. In order of happenings, I’ve sold my contemporary fantasy story, Roll The Bones, to Crowded Magazine. Crowded is a new pro-paying magazine in Australia with a very funky idea on crowdsourcing its content. Do check it out whether you’re a reader (as it has some excellent content!) or a writer (pro rates!) That should be out around the middle of the year.
Secondly, I’ve sold my wild west ghost story, Not The Worst Of Sins, to Beneath Ceaseless Skies, due out around the northern autumn. I’m very excited about this one, as BCS is one of my favourite pro-zines and I’m really happy to get published there.
And, as if all that wasn’t enough, I can announce today that my story, Tiny Lives, originally published at the end of last year in Daily Science Fiction, has made the cut to be reprinted in the Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror 2012, due out soon from Ticonderoga Publications.
See what I mean about a flood? It’s a flood of fucking awesome, is what it is. These are the times you have to remember when the slog is getting you down and the rejections are threatening to drown you. Hard work and perseverance pays off, as long as you have the pig-headed determination to never give up and to always work on improving your craft.
I’m sharing some amazing company in the 2012 Year’s Best. Here’s the full ToC:
- Joanne Anderton, “Tied To The Waste”, Tales Of Talisman
- R.J. Astruc, “The Cook of Pearl House, A Malay Sailor by the Name of Maurice”, Dark Edifice 2
- Lee Battersby, “Comfort Ghost”, Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine 56
- Alan Baxter, “Tiny Lives”, Daily Science Fiction
- Jenny Blackford, “A Moveable Feast”, Bloodstones
- Eddy Burger, “The Witch’s Wardrobe”, Dark Edifice 3
- Isobelle Carmody, “The Stone Witch”, Under My Hat
- Jay Caselberg, “Beautiful”, The Washington Pastime
- Stephen Dedman, “The Fall”, Exotic Gothic 4, Postscripts
- Felicity Dowker, “To Wish On A Clockwork Heart”, Bread And Circuses
- Terry Dowling, “Nightside Eye”, Cemetary Dance
- Tom Dullemond, “Population Management”, Danse Macabre
- Thoraiya Dyer, “Sleeping Beauty”, Epilogue
- Will Elliot, “Hungry Man”, The Apex Book Of World SF
- Jason Fischer, “Pigroot Flat”, Midnight Echo 8
- Dirk Flinthart, “The Bull In Winter”, Bloodstones
- Lisa L. Hannett, “Sweet Subtleties”, Clarkesworld
- Lisa L. Hannett & Angela Slatter, “Bella Beaufort Goes To War”, Midnight And Moonshine
- Narrelle M. Harris, “Stalemate”, Showtime
- Kathleen Jennings, “Kindling”, Light Touch Paper, Stand Clear
- Gary Kemble, “Saturday Night at the Milkbar”, Midnight Echo 7
- Margo Lanagan, “Crow And Caper, Caper And Crow”, Under My Hat
- Martin Livings, “You Ain’t Heard Nothing Yet”, Living With The Dead
- Penelope Love, “A Small Bad Thing”, Bloodstones
- Andrew J. McKiernan, “Torch Song”, From Stage Door Shadows
- Karen Maric, “Anvil Of The Sun”, Aurealis
- Faith Mudge, “Oracle’s Tower”, To Spin A Darker Stair
- Nicole Murphy, “The Black Star Killer”, Damnation And Dames
- Jason Nahrung, “The Last Boat To Eden”, Surviving The End
- Tansy Rayner Roberts, “What Books Survive”, Epilogue
- Angela Slatter, “Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean”, This Is Horror Webzine
- Anna Tambour, “The Dog Who Wished He’d Never Heard Of Lovecraft”, Lovecraft Zine
- Kyla Ward, “The Loquacious Cadaver”, The Lion And The Aardvark: Aesop’s Modern Fables
- Kaaron Warren, “River Of Memory”, Zombies Vs. Robots
And look at that fantastic cover art! You can pre-order your copy of the Year’s Best here. In addition to the above incredible tales, the volume will include a review of 2012 and a list of highly recommended stories.
I’ll be sure to let you know when these publications come out.
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