Immersion Steampunk Imminent

This weekend you'll be able to get your hands on The Immersion Book of Steampunk at FantasyCon in Brighton. Look out for the Immersion Press stall in the dealer hall.

Meanwhile, you can check out cover artist Charlie Harbour's work at his new website, including a much bigger version of this glorious cover.

You Can't Please All the People

Suffering rejections, harsh critiques and bad reviews is part of the life of the writer. I've come to realise that the old saying that you can only please some of the people some of the time can be a writer's greatest comfort.

One story I recently submitted for critiquing is a good example. The critiques I received are split down the middle between 'this is great, just needs a couple of tweaks' and 'what is it about? I don't get it, needs completely rewriting'. It's the clearest split I've seen yet in critiques. Now I need to find a magazine editor who shares the opinion of the first group.

Comic Markets

Since reading Murky Depths I've become quite keen on comics. My first, a one-pager, was published in Murky Depths #15, a second has been accepted for publication, this time a 5 page script, and another 2 pager is under submission there. Murky Depths accepts completed comics and also scripts which they will match up with an artist.

Of course, not all comic scripts I write will necessarily be suitable for Murky Depths, so where else might I submit them? I had a quick scout around the internet, and this is what I came up with so far:

Future Quake accepts completed comics of 5 pages or less.

2000 AD (which even I had heard of in my pre-comic days) accepts 5 page scripts for their Future Shocks section

OrangUtan Comics wants completed comics of 6-8 pages

Panini Comics publish a wide variety of well-known comics and are looking for sample scripts

Engine Comics wants scripts of 8 pages or 3x8 page serials

Markosia are looking for completecomics or graphic novels

There are more details on each of their websites.

There are probably others - I didn't spend a huge amount of time searching. The usual market listings like Duotropes and Ralans don't seem to include comic markets. Maybe I'll drop a hint.

Slow Editing Progress

I've finished work on editing one short story this week and, I think, my screenplay. Editing is such slow work compared to writing.

The Immersion Book of Steampunk Announced

It's ready at last, anounced on the Immersion Press website and available for pre-order:

The Immersion Book of Steampunk

I've already spent several hours just staring at the cover art.

Summer Doldrums

Things seem to go quiet on the writing front every summer. Not many responses to submissions, I guess because the readers are on holiday. I've not done much writing either, mainly because I'm editing at the moment. I can't say I've done much of that either. I have 2 short stories and a screenplay to work through. Once my beta readers are done with Gap Years I'll be working on that too.

Must get on with at least one of them...

Indefinable Story Sale

My indefinable non-prose story Expenses Claim for Snowdonia 'Bigfoot' Expedition has been accepted by the incomparable Murky Depths magazine.

This will be my fourth, or third, appearance in Murky Depths. My flash fiction Looking In, Looking Out appeared in issue #1, and my 1 page comic Frozen was in issue #15. My 5 page comic Plugged In has already been accepted, and now Snowdonia too. I have another 2 page comic under submission there, so I'm hoping to make 5.

Reviewing Fatigue

After five years and 140 reviews, I've decided to hang up my reviewing hat, at least for the foreseeable future. It's been a wonderful privelege to read and comment on so many authors' work, often in advance reading copies weeks or months before most people are able to read them.

My initial motive for writing reviews was to give more exposure for the UK's small press magazines, where my first few stories were published. This blossomed later into book reviews too, appearing at Laura Hird, UK SF Review, Whispers of Wickedness and ultimately SF Crowsnest for the last 112.

I find myself now suffering from reviewing fatigue, so I shall give it a break, allowing more time for my own writing and to catch up on reading a whole backlog of books I intended to read but never got round to. The final review won't appear on SF Crowsnest for a few months yet. Who knows, I may be back writing them again by then.

Book Review: Troika by Alastair Reynolds

I read Troika in a single sitting in Eindhoven airport, as one does, and found it to be an enjoyable and engrossing tale that did far more than merely while away the time while drinking tea and eating a baguette of uncertain content.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.

Magazine Review: AltHist #2

The second issue of AltHist magazine builds on the solid basis of the first issue, bringing a collection of historical fiction and alternate histories from a broad cross-section of history.

Read the rest of my review at SF Crowsnest.