Obscure Claim to Fame

My copy of Fiction magazine #2 arrived yesterday. The letters page has various people's opinions about issue 1, including a quote from my review posted on UK SF Review.

It's probably my most obscure claim to fame yet!

Palindromic Story

Here’s a tough challenge: write a palindromic story, or even just a sentence, that makes sense. It’s fiendishly difficult. My 26 word attempt, or 52 words if you also read it backwards, doesn’t entirely adhere to the rules of grammar. It’s about a lycanthrope who gets stuck in a time loop while attempting to modify his own DNA:

I was on a reviled DNA time loop and I saw wolf and DNA flow. Was I DNA pool? Emit and deliver a no, saw I.

What it needs is a palindromic title. Email me with your suggestions. The winner will receive nothing but kudos.

If you manage to create a sentence that you can also read backwards, send that to me too.

If the idea has provided you with a moments amusement, pass it on to your literary friends.

Back of an Envelope

While painting at the weekend (a wall, not a picture) I was working on some story ideas in my head. Overcome with the urge to jot something down I grabbed the nearest thing that came to hand. I can now say that I'm truly an author as I've fulfilled the old cliche of jotting something down on the back of an envelope!

Further Along the Road

I've finished the first draft of Roadrider today. It's the third story in what I'm now calling the Roadmaker Saga, just to make it sound grandiose. It still needs polishing of course, but already I'm keen to start on the next installment...

Portuguese Update

My story A Word in the Right Place was accepted by Portuguese magazine Phantastes over a year ago. Since then it's had various delays, but I've had confirmation from the editor today that it's still due to appear in August.

Collaborative Conclusion

After many more months in the making than I could have imagined, my collaborative story The Blind Collaborators has been accepted by Aphelion and is scheduled for September's issue.

That makes 10 stories appearing this year. I'm hopeful that I'll reach 12 to average 1 per month. I've sent off 2 more submissions today to make a total of 7 floating around out there somewhere, plus a few others I've submitted for reprints, translations and anthologies.

Hub Update

The editors at Hub magazine have confirmed that Inside Every Successful Man... will be appearing in November.

This year's total is now up to 9 stories due to be published.

Briefly Spanish

The Spanish translation of my Mare Inebrium story Ten years at the Bar appears today in issue 112 of flash fiction webzine Efimeras.

This is my second story on their website, and my 4th translation.

The Hub of the Matter

UK webzine Hub have accepted my futuristic medical story Inside Every Successful Man... for publication. No details as to the publication date yet. Hub publish one story per week and are the 4th UK magazine to accept my work.

Roadworks

I took my laptop on holiday and wrote the 5,200 word sequel to Roadmaker, entitled Roadwalker. It's on its way to a magazine today to see if it can follow in Roadmaker's footsteps. I have a plan for a series of 5 Roadmaker stories in total. I'm halfway through writing the third and already have quite a few well-developed ideas for the fourth. The fifth is still just a vague outline, but I'm quite enthusiastic about the project now I'm writitng it again.

While I was Away...

...I received another two story rejections. That's not as bad as it sounds though, because my last 4 rejections in a row have included personal comments, and all from professional markets. That's almost as good as an acceptance!

Forgotten Worlds #8 Review

This is the latest issue of Forgotten Worlds, and the last of the magazine to be issued monthly. They have now switched to quarterly, which I’m hoping isn’t a euphemism for ‘indefinite hiatus’ as it has been with many other small press and web 'zines.

Read my full review at UK SF Review.