Rounding things off is “Dog’s Best Friend” by Gareth D. Jones. This is a very short piece (one page), attached to the universe of Jones’s “Roadmaker” stories, but it stands perfectly well on its own. It is a character study of Alf, who lives in a post-apocalyptic society, and would rather spend time with dogs than seek out human contact. The story is nicely effective within its limited parameters, and ends the magazine on a poignant and thoughtful note.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Dog's Best Friend Reviewed
Jupiter has been reviewed at The Fix for the first time, and David Hebblethwaite has this to say about my contribution:
Monday, August 24, 2009
Two Anthologies
That's all I can say. Two anthologies that have got just beyond the 'I've got an idea...' stage. I may be involved somehow in both, assuming either of them progress any further. Admittedly, that's not much news, but I had to tell someone!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Linked Stories
Several of my stories are set against the same backgrounds, though it’s not always obvious that they do. I never intended to do that, although there is a certain appeal in returning to a familiar setting.
The orbital habitat Astropolis is the setting for:
The Blind Collaborators - Aphelion
Travel by Numbers – Nature
Up to my Neck in it – Hypersonic Tales
Three AM – Golden Visions (Forthcoming)
The European Hadron Laboratory, based loosely on CERN, is the setting or background for:
Absolute Zero - Ennea
Fluctuations – Bewildering Stories
Turning Over a New Leaf – Aphelion
Turning Over a New Leaf was also set in Dan Hollifield’s Mare Inebrium universe, for Aphelion, along with Ten Years at the Bar.
My abandoned novel Galaxy’s Game, which sadly will never see the light of day, also shares a background with some of my stories, and obscure references to some of them were built into the storyline. I tried to resuscitate Galaxy’s Game recently, but it needs too much work to get it up to scratch. At least I know my writing has improved over the past five years. The stories that share it’s background are:
A Feast of Eyes – Static Movement
Blue Men - Friday Flash Fiction
The Alliterati – Illuminations
Finally, Rufus Balikind, the Galaxy’s greatest big-game hunter appears in three stories:
Shooting Stars – Big Pulp (Forthcoming)
Now You See Me - Friday Flash Fiction
Stone Quarry - Friday Flash Fiction
The latter is also a sequel to Delayed Reaction – Illuminations, to be reprinted in Cat Tales.
My other 54 stories have nothing in common.
The orbital habitat Astropolis is the setting for:
The Blind Collaborators - Aphelion
Travel by Numbers – Nature
Up to my Neck in it – Hypersonic Tales
Three AM – Golden Visions (Forthcoming)
The European Hadron Laboratory, based loosely on CERN, is the setting or background for:
Absolute Zero - Ennea
Fluctuations – Bewildering Stories
Turning Over a New Leaf – Aphelion
Turning Over a New Leaf was also set in Dan Hollifield’s Mare Inebrium universe, for Aphelion, along with Ten Years at the Bar.
My abandoned novel Galaxy’s Game, which sadly will never see the light of day, also shares a background with some of my stories, and obscure references to some of them were built into the storyline. I tried to resuscitate Galaxy’s Game recently, but it needs too much work to get it up to scratch. At least I know my writing has improved over the past five years. The stories that share it’s background are:
A Feast of Eyes – Static Movement
Blue Men - Friday Flash Fiction
The Alliterati – Illuminations
Finally, Rufus Balikind, the Galaxy’s greatest big-game hunter appears in three stories:
Shooting Stars – Big Pulp (Forthcoming)
Now You See Me - Friday Flash Fiction
Stone Quarry - Friday Flash Fiction
The latter is also a sequel to Delayed Reaction – Illuminations, to be reprinted in Cat Tales.
My other 54 stories have nothing in common.
Friday, August 14, 2009
A Tale of Two Novels
Roadmaker is in the final editing stages, though I have to admit I’m a bit weary of the task at the moment. I need a break so I can come back refreshed for the final assault.
To fill the gap that Roadmaker will leave, I’m already working on the next novel, entitled Gap Years. This started life as flash fiction, then was expanded to a 1500 word story. My Orbiter writing group liked the concept I’d come up with, but suggested I expand on the middle section. As I started thinking about it the possibilities and ramifications took off and I realised there was potential for much more.
This time I’m determined to follow all the advice I’ve been reading and plan the thing properly. Last week I wrote a synopsis of the proposed novel, fleshing out some of the concepts into a coherent plot. Next I wrote a plot summary, breaking it down into a series of scenes, each with just a few words. I’m now going through the summary and expanding each heading with thoughts and ideas about the locations, secondary characters, motivations etc.
I’ve written a ½ page biography of the main character. It has far more detail than I’ll likely need but will help to keep him consistent. I’ve also spent some time researching the small island that he comes from.
Another idea that I’ve adopted is to include photos of the characters in the summary. I’ve got some famous people pasted into the plot now. This helps to maintain consistent descriptions throughout the book. I’ve found photos of spaceships and boats too that I can base descriptions on.
Not too much more preparation and I’ll be ready to begin…
To fill the gap that Roadmaker will leave, I’m already working on the next novel, entitled Gap Years. This started life as flash fiction, then was expanded to a 1500 word story. My Orbiter writing group liked the concept I’d come up with, but suggested I expand on the middle section. As I started thinking about it the possibilities and ramifications took off and I realised there was potential for much more.
This time I’m determined to follow all the advice I’ve been reading and plan the thing properly. Last week I wrote a synopsis of the proposed novel, fleshing out some of the concepts into a coherent plot. Next I wrote a plot summary, breaking it down into a series of scenes, each with just a few words. I’m now going through the summary and expanding each heading with thoughts and ideas about the locations, secondary characters, motivations etc.
I’ve written a ½ page biography of the main character. It has far more detail than I’ll likely need but will help to keep him consistent. I’ve also spent some time researching the small island that he comes from.
Another idea that I’ve adopted is to include photos of the characters in the summary. I’ve got some famous people pasted into the plot now. This helps to maintain consistent descriptions throughout the book. I’ve found photos of spaceships and boats too that I can base descriptions on.
Not too much more preparation and I’ll be ready to begin…
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Focus on Writing
The latest edition of the BSFA's Focus magazine for writers has arrived. It always has a nice mixture of articles - advice on writing techniques from succesful authors, and articles on all kinds of writing-related subjects. This issue includes my article What Are They Thinking? in which I've selected comments from numerous editors whom I interviewed last year. I'm very proud to be appearing in this specialist publication.
Friday, August 07, 2009
New Collaboration
Over the past couple of weeks I've been working on a collaborative story with Jonathan C Gillespie, whose stories have twice appeared in Murky Depths. Paston, Kentucky appeared alongside my own Looking In, Looking Out in issue #1 and his more recent contribution Best in Class is a finalist for the Parsec Awards.
We're working on a science fiction / fantasy hybrid that's just reached the 4000 word mark. It's probably going to be closer to 10,000 words by the time we finish. It's a novel and fun experience having another author to bat ideas around with. I'll let you know how we get on.
We're working on a science fiction / fantasy hybrid that's just reached the 4000 word mark. It's probably going to be closer to 10,000 words by the time we finish. It's a novel and fun experience having another author to bat ideas around with. I'll let you know how we get on.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
In the Post
The postman has been very kind over the past few days. Murky Depths #9 arrived, with another fabulous cover. I just sat and inhaled the aroma for several minutes. Then my latest delivery from SF Crowsnest came. I have Greg Egan’s new collection Oceanic, Charles Stross’ new collection Wireless and the new special edition, huge Ray Bradbury collection The Martian Chronicles from Subterranean Press and PS Publishing. I have an ARC, but the final version will be a hardback signed limited edition, priced at $300, or a super-limited edition at $900. Wow!
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
New Flash Fiction Sale
My flash fiction Shooting Stars, featuring the Galaxy's greatest big-game hunter Rufus Balikind, has been accepted by Big Pulp. It's scheduled to appear on the website at the end of September, with a PDF version due in October.
Monday, August 03, 2009
New Text and Audio Story On-Line
My flash fiction Up To My Neck In It is now on-line at Hypersonic Tales, where you can both read it and listen to it. It’s set aboard the orbital habitat Astropolis, the same location as The Blind Collaborators, Travel by Numbers and the forthcoming Three AM.
As with several of my other stories, this one isn’t written in a standard format. This time I’ve written it as an article from the station newsletter.
As with several of my other stories, this one isn’t written in a standard format. This time I’ve written it as an article from the station newsletter.
Saturday, August 01, 2009
The Gondolier in Greek
My contributor copy of issue #15 of Greek small-press magazine Ef-Zin has arrived. It includes the translation of The Gondolier. There's a great illustration to go with it and the cover art is based on the story too.
The Gondolier has now been published in English, Spanish, Romanian, Hindi and Greek. Plus I've posted on this sites translations in Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Scots, Manx, Breton, Latin and Basque. Cornish and Welsh translations will published elsewhere later this year. I have translations in French, Dutch, Hebrew, Russian and Swedish still looking for homes.
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