Category Archives: Publications

On a Wednesday…

SNR-Fall-2014-Cover

I got my contributor copies of the Fall 2014 issue of Saturday Night Reader this morning. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the publication, which features my light-hearted flash piece, Would You Like Fries With That? splashed over a couple of pages. The magazine is a collection of several of the most recent additions to the website (where you can still read my piece if print is not your thing), and is a nice bonus to the original iteration.

I’ve grown accustomed of late to the shoddy nature of certain periodicals, so I have to admit that I didn’t expect too much from this one. But full colour, A4, and with no ads (as proclaimed on the cover), the Canadian-born Saturday Night Reader is actually a well presented collection of tales that I’m happy to say I’m a part of. It’s also got a nifty app you can download for ‘more content’, such is the way of technology these days.

Sometimes I need a little reminder that I’m actually a writer.

Caught in a Landslide…

My 1,400 word fantasy piece, The Beast of Broken Rock, has been published over at T. Gene Davis’s Speculative Blog, and is – as most people would understand the genre – the first traditional fantasy story I have put out there. It’s not a style I feel very comfortable writing in, as I’ve never really been taken with the elves and wizards that typifies the tropes of the genre. But, for the most part, I managed to avoid those standards and write something that felt a little more comfortable.

Have a read and let me know your thoughts.

A Glimpse Into the Mind Of…

Dark Moon DigestIn conjunction with my short horror story, A Week in the Life Of…being published as a part of Issue 15 of Dark Moon Digest, I was asked by the editor to answer (briefly) a few questions as part of their promotion. There’s nothing too probing or personal in there – so don’t expect me to tell you where I’ve hidden the bodies – but it’s an interesting addition to the publication itself. You can read the interview here.

The magazine has been released, and is currently available directly from the website, or from Amazon.

Ellipses…

Horror quarterly, Dark Moon Digest, have picked up my 2,300 word tale, A Week in the Life Of… for publication later this year – a story relayed as a series of diary entries, about one man’s descent into madness.

I originally drafted this story when I was nineteen, which makes it the oldest idea I have had accepted. Granted it has been through a couple of redrafts since that time – and is now somewhat better than its initial incarnation – but the tone and narrative style has remained relatively unchanged throughout. It’s certainly pleasing to know that I was writing semi-decent stuff when I was a teenager, but it does make me wonder about the quality of the pieces I’m producing today!

Que Sera…

Que seraEvery Day Fiction will be publishing my 800 word literary flash piece, Whatever Will Be, tomorrow, on March 2nd. My experience with the editors over there has been second to none. They have taken a lot of time and effort to work with me recently, to ensure this piece is as good as it can be, and I wish more editors would do the same.

The story has undergone several drafts and their attention to detail has been exemplary. Sometimes editors seem to think their job ends when they say yes to a piece, but the folks over at Every Day Fiction have earned their crust and gained my respect.

Comments can be left on the page, so if you have anything to say, feel free to let me know over there.

But How Did She Get in There…?

Issue 13My 1,200 word short story, The Girl in the Glass Bottle, makes its debut in Issue 13 of Australian ezine SQ Mag, which is live today, and available for your perusal now. It’s a dark fantasy tale that I wrote in April of last year, so it’s always nice to see something picked up without too much of a delay. The issue also contains work from – among others – Cameron Trost; a dark fiction writer from Down Under, who I’m happy to see is still producing quality work.

As usual, any comments (good, bad, or indifferent) are welcome. Well, mostly the good ones…

Good Question, Greg Chapman…

InterviewTo coincide with the release this week of my horror novella Replay, fellow Australian author and sometime artist, Greg Chapman (who Dark Prints published last year via their novella series) shouted a few questions to me from the other side of the pond.

Hopefully, when he reads the story, he won’t want to pull the interview down!

You can pick up Greg’s effort, Vaudeville, for the special April-only price of 99 Australian cents.

Back to School (Again)…

The leggy waitress stood there – a chewed biro in her right hand and a tattered notebook in her left. She tugged at the collar of her too-tight uniform and fanned herself with a plastic menu. Her face was red. She looked like a pimple that was ready to burst.

– Replay

My horror novella, Replay, is now available for purchase directly from Dark Prints’ website. In the coming days you will also be able to purchase it from other online retailers such as Amazon.

If you do buy it, I’d love to know what you think.

Back to School…

ReplayI am pleased to say that my horror novella debut, Replay, will be released electronically by Dark Prints Press on April 15th, for the low-low price of $3.99 Australian (other currencies are available) either as an instant download from the main site, or via e-retailers such as Amazon, Bookworld, and Kobo. Replay is an unapologetic, old-school horror tale about a reunion that should never have been. Fate may be late to the party, but she is always on her way…

I am particularly impressed by the thirty-second promotional video that editor, Craig Bezant, put together for the release:

Dark Prints is an Australian outfit I have been involved with several times over the last few years. I had short fiction in the first four issues of the now sadly defunct ezine Eclecticism; and was also featured in The One That Got Away, a dark crime paperback anthology, released in 2012, so I am very pleased to be extending the relationship further with this release.