Friday, July 31, 2009

Friday Flash Fiction: Gondola Gidatzailea

Incidents highlighted in the news this week made me realise that the only thing most people in this country know about the Basque people is that there is a seperatist group called ETA. Of course, there is much more to Basque language and culture than that. To illustrate this, I present the Basque translation of The Gondolier.


Gondola Gidatzailea


Nire gondolaren branka beltzak kanaletako ur lasaiak gurutzatu zituen leunki.
Ontzi txukun hark beti lagundu izan dit urte askotan, bidaiariak hiriko kanaletatik zehar eraman izan ditugu belaunaldiz belaunaldi.

Eguzkiak hiri zaharraren gainean dizdiratzen zuen egun hartan, hareharrizko eraikinen artean; Ura tinta itxurako zinta bat bihurtuz. Gaueko haize freskoaren erdian egin nuen orduan hasperen sakonki.

Izango al da inon honako hau baino hiri harrigarriagorik?
Ontzia amarralekura iristerakoan, Martitzeko zeru gero eta ilunagoa begiratzen gelditu nintzen gogotsu.


Amaiera.



Translated by Itziar Aldaregia.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Parallels

A revised version of Parallels is published on Flashshots today. You'll be able to read it for the next 10 days before it disappears from the archive.

Monday, July 27, 2009

Book Review: The Tel Aviv Dossier by Lavie Tidhar & Nir Yaniv




‘The Tel Aviv Dossier’ has to be the most enjoyably bizarre novel I’ve read. The authors have woven a complex story of catastrophic destruction, psychotic characters and religio-political apocalypse (in both senses of the word) into a story that never ceases to amaze and confound from page to page.


Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Book Review: Twisted Metal by Tony Ballantyne



Forget Asimov. In fact, forget anything you’ve ever read about robots before. In ‘Twisted Metal’ Tony Ballantyne has reinvented the robot and takes us in a new and startling direction.


Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Friday, July 24, 2009

Friday Flash Anniversary II

It's 2 years this week since I joined the Flash Fictioneers and started regularly posting flash fiction on Fridays. I've not actually done much of that this year, with only 2 new stories, both near the begining of the year:

I've also posted several translations during the year, which you can find listed on the left-hand sidebar.

Many of my earlier stories have received a second chance during the year. Six translations have been published in various magazines, and eight have been reprinted in English. I'm expecting another five translations and two reprint later this year as well as a comic strip adaptation. Flash fiction has definately been a great way to get lots of ideas onto paper and out to the world.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Up To My Neck In It

It’s almost like somebody was reading yesterday’s post. I’ve sold Up To My Neck In It to Hypersonic Tales, a relatively new flash fiction webzine that publishes each story in both text and audio format. I’m looking forward to listening to it in next month’s issue as it’s only my second audio story.

This story is based on my real-life experiences from when I worked on a trade effluent plant, though of course that was on Earth and not aboard an orbital habitat.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Three AM

My 2600 word story Three AM has been accepted by Golden Vision, the magazine that recently published White Out. It will appear in the January 2010 issue, my first acceptance for next year.

The story is set aboard the orbital habitat Astropolis, the setting for my earlier stories The Blind Collaborators that appeared in Aphelion and Travel by Numbers that I sold to Nature. My as-yet-unsold story Up to my Neck In It is also set there, if anyone is interested...

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Celtic Polyglot

Having had The Gondolier translated into all 6 Celtic languages, I thought it would be interesting , for the scholarly minded, to present them all alongside each other. All of the trasnlations were done independantly with varying amounts of poetic licence, so this polyglot is presented for illustrative purposes rather than as a definitive document.

BRETON / BREZHONEG – Translated by Loic Cheveau
CORNISH / KERNEWAK – Translated by Neil Kennedy
WELSH / CYMRAEG – Translated by Lili Fach
MANX / GAELG – Translated by Robard Y Charlsalagh
IRISH / GAEILGE – Translated by Abigail Mitchell
SCOTTISH / GAIDHLIG – Translated by Niall Gordan



Ar goñdolour
An Gondoler
Y Gondolïwr
Yn Gondoleyr
Fear an Ghondala
Fear a’ Ghondòla




Penn a-raok ma goñdolenn a oe waet dousik tre doùr sioul ar c'hanolioù. Ar vag lintr en noe jervijet diñ a-feson a-bad ur bochad blezadoù, kaset voaiajerion tre hentoù-doùr ar gêr-sen, renet get daouarnoù rummadoù ma zadoù-kozh.
Pedn dirag du ow gondola a droghas leven der dhowr kosel an gwerdhowrow. An lester smoth re servyas dhebm lies bledhen ha degi trethyji dre dhowrhensyow an cyta 'ter dornow sur ow hendasow, henath war henath.
Torodd trwyn du fy ngondola yn esmwyth trwy ddŵr llonydd y gamlas. Roedd y llong lefn wedi fy ngwasanaethu’n dda am lawer blwyddyn, yn cludo teithwyr trwy ddyfrffyrdd y ddinas, dan ofal cenedlaethau o’m cyndadau.
Skeab gob doo my ghondoley dy rea trooid ushtaghyn kiune ny ammyryn. Va’n baatey s’keylley shoh er chooney lhiam dy mie ’syn obbyr aym rish ymmodee bleeantyn, as er n’arraghey troailtee trooid bollee ushtey yn valley ard fo laueyn stiuree sheelogheyn my henn ayraghyn.
Shlis gob ciar mo ghondala trí uisce ciúin na gcanálacha go séimh. Is maith mar a d'fhóin an bád slim dom le blianta anuas, maith mar a d'iompair sí paisinéirí ar uiscebhealaí na cathrach faoi stiúir lámha mo sheacht sinsir.
Sgolt sròn dorcha mo ghondòla slighe rèidh tro uisgeachan ciùine nan sruth-chlaisean. Bu mhath a bha an culaidh slìom seo air m’ obair a dhèanamh fad iomadh bliadhna, a’ giùlan luchd-siubhail tro sheòlaidean-uisge na cathrach fo làmh-stiùiridh mo shinnsrean.



An heol a oe é vont da guzh a-dreist ar gêr gozh, é lakat an doùr da vout ur seizenn du a-hed batisoù brav a vein-krag. Analet em moe don avel fresk an abardaez.
Th era an howl ow sedha dres an cyta goth, ow treylya an dowr maga tewal vel funen dhu 'ter treven fin derhevys a grag. Me 'anellas down ayr yeyn an gwyns gorthuher.
Roedd yr haul yn machlud dros yr hen ddinas, yn troi’r dŵr yn ruban inciog rhwng yr adeiladau tywodfaen. Cymerais anadl ddofn o awel oeraidd yr hwyrnos.
Va’n ghrian goll dy lhie harrish yn valley ard feer henn, as va’n ushtey myr rybban doo currit ny lhie eddyr troggalyn cumir ass clagh-gheinnee. Hayrn mee stiagh ennal dowin jeh fynneraght yn ’astyr beg.
Bhí an ghrian ag dul faoi in éadan na seanchathrach, an t-uisce á fhágáil ina ribín dubh leagtha idir fhoirgintí galánta gaineamhchloiche. Tharraing mé lán scamhóige de leoithne fhionnuar an tráthnóna.
Bha a’ ghrian a’ dol fodha thar na cathrach aosta, a’ fàgail uachdar an t-uisge mar ribean dubhadach na laighe eadar na togalaichean clach-ghaineamhach cuimire. Ghabh mi tarraing-analach d’ osag fhionnar an fheasgair.



Daoustoc'h ma oe ur lec'h bravoc'h eit ar gêriad varvailhus-sen get he c'hanolioù? Pa oe ar vag é tizh hec'h amarroù, em moe gwraet un arrast, da sellet get plijadur doc'h oebl Meurzh é tañvalhaat.
Era teller y'n bys o tekka 'vel an cyta varthys-ma a werdhowrow ? Ha'n skath ow tos es dh'y theller yn porth, me a sevis malja'ma miras der vaner lowen ort an ebren a vis Meurth yn tewlwolow.
Oes yna harddach le na’r ddinas ryfeddol yma yn llawn camlesi? Wrth i’r bad orffwys i’w hangor, syllais lan yn fodlon i wybren dduog Mawrth.
Row ynnyd ny s’aaley na balley ard yindyssagh shoh ny ammyryn? Choud’s haink yn baatey dy aashagh gys e voaral, scuirr mee dy yeeaghyn seose lesh aigney jeant magh gys speyryn conghorraghey yn Vart.
An raibh áit ar bith ab áille ab iontaí ná cathair seo na gcanálacha? Shleamhnaigh an bád isteach ina poll feistithe agus bhreathnaigh mé uaim go sásta, suas ar spéir chrónta Mharsa.
An robh àite na b’ àille na cathair annasach seo nan sruth-chlaisean? Mar a chaidh am bàta gu socair a-steach gu caladh, stad mi gus amharc suas le sonas air ciaradh speuran Mhàrs.


Achiv.
An Diwedh
Y Diwedd
Yn Jerrey
An Deireadh
A’ Chrìoch.


Saturday, July 18, 2009

Reading Jupiter

Just finished reading Jupiter XXV and I must say it's hard to pick a favourite from the bunch. At least 3 of the 5 stories were particularly effective and had strong emotion-filled conclusions. Just pipping them for me was the final story of the issue - Vera Sepulveda's Dusting Tycho.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

X Factory

My flash fiction X Factory is now on-line at Labyrinth Inhabitant, added as part of the summer edition rather than waiting for autumn.

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

The Editors: Ian Whates

NewCon Press has produced a number of anthologies to critical acclaim in the past couple of years. I tracked down editor Ian Whates to the Mauna Kea observatory where we gazed at the stars and talked about writing, editing and publishing.


GDJ: Your first NewCon press title was a fund raiser for the NewCon convention. Did you intend to continue the imprint, or did it take on a life of its own?

IW: Very much the latter. NewCon Press was born in order to produce just one book, the fund-raiser Time Pieces, and the intention was to stop there. This was the first time I’d ever attempted to edit, lay out, get printed and then publish anything, so it was an incredibly steep learning curve, greatly helped by two of the authors featured in the book – Mark Robson who had started out self-publishing and so knew the ropes on that front, and Ian Watson on the editorial side. I was immensely proud of the book and the attention it garnered – selling out in little more than a year while Fangorn’s wonderful cover won the BSFA Award for best artwork – the first of three successive wins in that category for NewCon Press covers, which is incredible. At the end of that process, I seemed to forget all the traumas and disasters experienced along the way and thought: “Hey, that was fun! I could do this again…” And so NewCon Press became an ongoing concern.


GDJ: You’ve published mostly anthologies of commissioned pieces so far. Is that what you intend to continue with, or are there other plans?

IW: I’m a great lover of short stories on several fronts. As a new writer, they’re a great way to hone your skills and perfect your trade before attempting longer works. As a more experienced writer they remain a means of letting off steam and producing bursts of concentrated imagination in contrast to the sustained sometimes marathon-like effort of novel writing. From a reader’s perspective, they’re wonderful to dip in and out of and can be enjoyed for their own sake, while, in the case of anthologies, they are a perfect means of discovering new authors without having to invest the time needed to read a novel.

I’ve been very fortunate with the anthologies to date, persuading authors I greatly admire to produce original work for me while also showcasing some lesser known but gifted writers and so introducing the reader to fresh talent which they might otherwise have overlooked. Each collection has featured a ‘stellar’ line-up which would attract me to read it, plus some newer voices, all worthy of attention.

A few years ago, when I started NewCon Press, there was a lot of talk about the short story dying, about declining markets and shrinking opportunity, so producing original anthologies was a very deliberate move. I’m not sure that holds as true today as it seemed to then, but I still have a further three anthologies planned for the next few years. After that, we’ll see. In the meantime, I have branched out this year, publishing my own short story collection, The Gift of Joy, the weird and wonderful The Beloved of My Beloved – a collaboration between Ian Watson and Italian Surrealist Roberto Quaglia, and a limited edition novella, Starship Fall, from Eric Brown. That last is a wonderful ‘planetary romance’ and is intended as the first in a new series of original novellas from different authors. So yes, the anthologies will continue, but they won’t be the only things NewCon Press produce in the future.


GDJ: How important are small / independent press imprints to the genre markets?

IW: I think the small/independents are important. They’re a great potential breeding ground for new talent and I know from past conversations that many of the majors keep an eye on the small presses for that very reason. Though let’s not get carried away here; not everyone featured by the independents is destined to sign up with a major international publisher.

I also think the independents are vital in that they can provide an outlet for established authors who, for whatever reason, find themselves suddenly overlooked by the big boys. I know Pete Crowther’s PS Publishing hardly deserves to be considered ‘small’ these days, but to see one of their books winning the Clarke Award this year was a tremendous thrill; not only because Ian R. MacLeod is one of the very best writers around, but also because the book’s success highlights yet again how important the small presses can be when it comes to producing quality genre fiction.


GDJ: How do you balance being an editor and a writer, especially when publishing your own stories?

IW: Hah! Now there’s a question. The simple truth is that the writing has to take precedence, because it pays! I’ve recently completed my second novel, which is set for release early in 2010, so that should be interesting. I’ve also been commissioned to write a sequel, so it’s head down, beavering away at present.

I’ve yet to make any money from NewCon Press, in fact quite the opposite, though some of the titles have now paid for themselves and are inching into profit, so hopefully that will change in the future. For now, though, the editing, along with all the other activities I’ve involved myself with on a voluntary basis – as director of SFWA, director of the BSFA, editor of the BSFA’s Matrix magazine, convention organiser etc – have to fit in around the writing. They still get done, but perhaps not as quickly as they used to.


GDJ: Your first stories were published around 20 years ago and then there was a bit of a lengthy hiatus. What brought you back to writing?

IW: Two things: a love of genre fiction and the love of writing. That’s the short answer. To expand on that slightly: I think, at the back of my mind, I always intended to return to writing ‘one day’. Certainly in later years that was the case. During my hiatus from writing, I read avidly – something I regret not having the time to do as much now – and never lost my love of science fiction. One day, I sat up and thought, “Well, if you’re ever going to do this, it might as well be now!” I’d come to hate the field I was working in – my own business of 19 years – which paid the bills while destroying the soul, so I made the decision to throw it all in and concentrate on writing.

Brave and/or stupid, no doubt; but I’ve yet to regret that decision. Not something I’d recommend to the faint-hearted, though.


GDJ: Although your stories cover a wide range of topics, they have a definite style, though I couldn’t define what that style is easily. How would you describe your work?

IW: Not sure I could define it in a neat sentence either, to be honest. When it comes to reading, I’d describe myself as a science fiction fan who also enjoys fantasy rather than the other way around, and the same holds true of my writing. Yet some 40% of my stories aren’t SF, but veer from unabashed fantasy to urban fantasy, stopping off at dark fantasy and horror along the way. As for my first two novels, one is space opera with, I hope, a few original twists, the other urban fantasy with strong steampunk and SF overtones… I enjoy stories that surprise me, and many of those I write contain a twist or two, though by no means all…

I think the one thing I can say is that I invariably write about people first and foremost. I try to make my characters accessible and put them at the very centre of the narrative. My writing tends to focus on how the protagonists are affected by what’s going on around them and how they respond to things, so that even cataclysmic events are broken down to a personal level and, hopefully, made all the more immediate and gripping as a result.


GDJ: What advice have you found helpful as a writer?

IW: So much good advice from so many knowledgeable people; and the sad truth is that I probably paid far less attention to any of it than I should have done, going ahead and learning the hard way by making my own mistakes. Only in hindsight did I consider the words of wisdom offered and think: “You know, they were right after all.”

I think the three most important things I’d say to any would-be writer (I know, that’s not what you’ve asked, but I probably got all these from someone else, so in a sense it is) would be:

1. Read lots. And when you read, don’t simply enjoy the story but pay attention to what the author does to make this such a good read. Learn what works for you and try and see why.
2. Join a writers group. Feedback from your peers is invaluable. So too is the exercise of critiquing others’ writing since this often enables you to recognise in their work faults you yourself are prone to. The BSFA run a series of excellent online writing groups, the Orbiters, so the excuse of ‘I can’t find one local to me’ doesn’t wash anymore.
3. Be thick skinned. Remember that a rejection is nothing personal and may not even be a criticism of the work as such. Your story may have been the sixth best out of a hundred when the editor only needed five. I enjoyed a fair bit of success when I returned to writing in 2005, selling more than two dozen stories in two years, but I can’t tell you how many rejections I received in that time. Particularly very early on, when I was getting ten or eleven for every sale. Be persistent. If your work is any good, it will pay in the long run.


GDJ: Thanks for your time.

IW: My pleasure.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Enter the Labyrinth

I've just sold a reprint of my flash fiction X Factory to Labyrinth Inhabitant Magazine,
The web's first magazine devoted to stories about life in giant artificial structures created by forces beyond human comprehension.
It's a narrow remit, but the interpretation is broad.

Over a dozen of my Friday Flash Fiction stories have now been accepted for reprint or translation.

Friday, July 10, 2009

Friday Flash Fiction: Ar Goñdolour

This is the Breton translation of The Gondolier, one of six Celtic languages. There was a Breton SF magazine until fairly recently, but it has ceased publication as far as I can tell.



Ar Goñdolour


Penn a-raok ma goñdolenn a oe waet dousik tre doùr sioul ar c'hanolioù. Ar vag lintr en noe jervijet diñ a-feson a-bad ur bochad blezadoù, kaset voaiajerion tre hentoù-doùr ar gêr-sen, renet get daouarnoù rummadoù ma zadoù-kozh.

An heol a oe é vont da guzh a-dreist ar gêr gozh, é lakat an doùr da vout ur seizenn du a-hed batisoù brav a vein-krag. Analet em moe don avel fresk an abardaez.

Daoustoc'h ma oe ur lec'h bravoc'h eit ar gêriad varvailhus-sen get he c'hanolioù? Pa oe ar vag é tizh hec'h amarroù, em moe gwraet un arrast, da sellet get plijadur doc'h oebl Meurzh é tañvalhaat.

Achiv.


Translated by Loic Cheveau


See the left-hand side bar for other translations of The Gondolier.

Monday, July 06, 2009

Second Edit

I've sent the last two sections of Roadmaker off to my Orbiter writing groups to be critiqued. Both of these have already been edited by me so it'll be interesting to see what else they find. The last sections didn't get too many comments on the text itself, but mostly general comments on parts of the plot and the characters. I've actioned many of the comments that were straight-forward to fix, but some will need a bit more work - the excessive number of POV characters for example. I guess 26 is too many!

Saturday, July 04, 2009

Falling on Twitter

My first twitter fiction Falling appears on OutShine today. Most twitter stories aren't given titles and none appear on OutShine, but I couldn't leave it without a name. Appropriately I've limited it to one word.

Friday, July 03, 2009

Parallels

A revised version of my flash fiction Parallels has been accepted by Flashshots and is scheduled for July 30th. I originaly submitted it along with The Last Adam and Launch, only to discover that it was longer than 100 words. I'd written it down wrong at some point and didn't check before submitting. Let that be a lesson to you! I've edited it down to 100 words for its appearance on Flashshots.

Thursday, July 02, 2009

New Jupiter Review

A new review of Jupiter XXIV has appeared, on SF Site. Of my story Dog's Best Friend it says:


To begin at the end, with the shortest story, Gareth D. Jones offers an enjoyable snippet, a little character sketch, in his Roadbuilder sequence.


:o)

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Reading Schedule

I’m currently in the midst of Tony Ballantyne’s fantastic robot novel Twisted Metal, a book that takes robots as far away from Asimov as I’ve ever seen. This was released in May, so the review will be a little late. Lined up I have an E-ARC of The Tel Aviv Dossier by Nir Yaniv, who edits a Hebrew SF zine, and Lavie Tidhar, whose name appears in the TOC of almost every magazine and anthology of note. I then have Warren Fahy’s Fragment, that promises to be a cross between Lost and Jurassic Park. Both of these are released today.

I’m expecting the latest issue of Jupiter soon, and a mailing from the BSFA I think, hopefully including my article in Focus. That’s my reading schedule full for the rest of July.