Austrian Story Sale

I'm very pleased that my Victorian SF adventure novelette The JourneyWithin has been accepted by Austrian magazine Visionarium, to be translated into German. It won't appear until next year, but it gives me something to look forward to. This will be my longest translated story to date, and my second in German. It was first published in the anthology Ancient New in 2013.

Story Sale: The Probable Tradesman

I'm very pleased to have sold my flash story The Probable Tradesman to pro mag Abyss & Apex, which should see publication later this year. It's my 8th pro sale, and starts the year off nicely.

Part 2

...and part 2 of Venus or Bust is now up at Beam Me Up podcast episode #425. It starts about 10 minutes into the podcast.

Venus or Bust

My oldest son Alex has his first story on-line now: part 1 of Venus or Bust on the Beam Me Up podcast.

Book Review: Voices by Colin P. Davies

Featuring a stylish cover by Richard Wagner, ‘Voices’ is the second short story collection from Colin P. Davies, whose stories have appeared in such magazines as ‘Asimov’s Magazine’, as well as many others for over twenty years. There are twenty stories in the collection, each of which have an honest, down-to-earth feel to them (even those not set on Earth) featuring characters from all kinds of backgrounds, but all of them sympathetic and accessible. Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

A Decade of Writing

Astoundingly, it was 10 years ago today that my first story was published, when A Feast of Eyes appeared on the now-defunct website Star Trek & Science Fiction Stories. It was a non-paying website that also featured fan fiction, but it was my first submission to its first venue and the acceptance inspired me with confidence to go on writing and submitting. I'm pleased with all the stories I've had published, the fact that I've completed 3 novels and that I'm still writing now. I've been in pro mags and semi-pro anthologies and translated into 24 languages. I've written over 100 book reviews, edited a steampunk anthology, met loads of other authors and publishers, been to cons and collaborated on stories, written everything from a TV screenplay totwitter fiction. I have a shelf full of magazines and anthologies containing my stories. It's been great.

Writing Plans

There's always so much to write and so little time. There's also so much to read, after having picked up 14 books at WorldCon and several more since. Currently I'm writing a short story about alien detective Ek-Lo-Don, who first appeared in The Sound of Death at IGMS earlier this year. I have ideas for 5 stories in that series and I'm seriously thinking about a novel too. That may well take over from the novel I started 2 years ago that didn't get very far, which if I continue will become a trilogy. I also have ideas for a novel in the same universe as Gap Years, as well as 3 or 4 in the Galaxy's Game universe. Meanwhile I'm also writing an interactive novel related to Galaxy's Game. I'm enjoying it, but it will be a long-term background project. I have another 2 partly-written short stories, which is unusual for me as I normally write one at a time and finsih them. Both are awaiting further inspiration. Then there are the usual ideas patiently awaiting their turn on the page - at least five definite short stories lurking in the background. That should keep me busy for a while.

Astropolis

Astropolis is an orbital habitat that has been in orbit of earth for around three centuries, gradually growing and expanding as new modules are built and added until it has reached over a kilometre in diameter. It’s home to several thousand inhabitants, including representatives of some alien races. There are markets and gardens, offices, restaurants, shopping malls and mile upon mile of service corridors and shafts linking it all together. Some of the oldest sections of Astropolis are now defunct, but they lie cocooned within so many layers of newer modules that they have been left in place, abandoned and gathering dust. There are observation decks that look out on nothing but the hull of a new adjunct, docking bays that lead nowhere, recycling systems with nothing to recycle and corridors with no access.


As well as three of my own short stories, Astropolis has been the setting for my three collaborative stories. It’s an ideal setting because the numerous different styles and technologies fused together to form the great habitat allow authors to write what they want without fear of contradicting each other. All three have been blind collaborations, where I give the other authors the setting and minimal guidance, and then I join their contributions together to form a whole.





Astropolis stories:



The Blind Collaborators – Aphelion – Sept 2007
      Reprinted - Aphelion – Feb 2008
Travel by Numbers – Nature – June 2008     
     Serbian translation – Antares – Mar 2009
     Estonian translation – Algernon – Apr 2009
     Spanish translation – Alfa Eridiani – May 2009
     Reprinted – Paralelisomos – Dec 2013
     Galician translation – Nova Fantasia – Sept 2009
Up To My Neck In It – Hypersonic Tales – Aug 2009
     Spanish translation - Aurora Bitzine – Oct 2009
     Reprinted – Paralelismos – Dec 2013
Three AM – Golden Vision – Jan 2010
Crowd Control – Perihiloion SF – Sep 2014
Something On Your Mind? - Kaleidotrope - Oct 2017

The Gondolier in Macedonian

It's been a while since any new translations of The Gondolier have appeared, so I'm very pleased to be able to present my very short story in its 36th language: Macedonian.

Гондолиерот

 

Црниот клун на мојата гондола успокоено ги расекуваше мирните води на каналите. Витиот чун добро ме служеше во годиниве, носејќи патници по градските канали воден од советите на моите претходници.

Сонцето замираше над древниот град, претворајќи ја водата во модра лента положена меѓу елегантните згради од варовник. Длабоко го вдишав студеникавото вечерно ветре.

Та има ли поубаво место од овој маѓепсен град на каналите? И додека гондолата полека сопираше пред сидриштето, се кренав со воздив кон стемнувачкото небо на Марс.

од Гaрет Џоунс

 

Translated by Sasho Spasoski

 

Hiking in My Head in Polish

The Polish translation of Hiking in My Head is now on line at Szortal. This was the story published at Daily Science Fiction that confused many readers. Maybe the translation will make more sense?