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Showing posts from November, 2014

Writing Again (and I'm done with themed anthologies)

Following a minor bout of cancer (featuring surgeries and 6 months of chemotherapy), I'm writing again! Having spent some time reviewing my writing career to date, I note with a degree of dismay that while I've had some material published, I'm not super happy with all of it. In the past I've pandered to the whims of the industry in order to get stories out. Well, I'm done with that. Now I'm writing what I want to write. No more < 5,000 word stories about "blue aliens on exoplanets", simply because a publisher somewhere decided that's what they wanted for their next anthology. I know it may seem a little hypocritical, given that I helped come up with the theme of A Hand of Knaves (and I stand by it), but I'm allowed to be hypocritical if the mood takes me. And the mood does take me.  From now on I'm writing whatever the hell I want. It might not get published, but it'll be mine and I think I'll be a lot happier with that.  Let...

It's A Funny Old Life

To be honest, my writing has suffered of late. I've had a few articles appear here and there and a few stories a while ago but nothing substantial in terms of fiction. So I message a US mag who accepted a story of mine last year but hasn't done anything with it, and they say YES, it will be published, it's just taking longer than anyone expected. WIN!!! Simultaneously another publisher has been in touch and have been working through another story with me. DOUBLE WIN!!! Then I get notification that yet another story is on a shortlist and will be decided shortly. TRIPLE WIN!!!!!! All without having written a word (of new fiction) in the past three months. It just goes to show that patience in writing is an important part of the process, and just because you don't have a lot out there at any given time, doesn't mean nothing's happening.