The Horror of it all....

Back again in 2011....the wait's probably been killing you all...

I can only give two excuses for my tardiness - the Australian Christmas holiday break (which on one occasion in the sixties went right through to June) and getting caught up with other things (like visiting New Zealand).

So, without further delay, let's get down to business. Although I've (still) been working on The Cabin - with a great new twist that raises the interesting question DNA plays when we think about mass murders - I haven't written many new short stories, but then again it's quality that counts not quantity, isn't it? However, I have been polishing some of my 'works-in-progress' and sending them out into the big bad world to fend for themselves.

Behind Every Successful Man and Honus Wagner are two of my 'literary offspring' that fall into this category. Behind Every Successful Man arrived as one of those fully fledged stories, a whimsical moment that began with someone repeating that old phrase 'Behind every successful man is a woman' and my imagination hijacking my mind for a few moments. The feel of the image in my head was a sort of mini tribute to B-grade, last night, schlock horror and the little man that keeps the records in my computer tells me that it happened sometime in early June last year. It's definitely horror, but I can't help laughing myself silly every time I read it.

Maybe that says more about my mind than it should...

Anyway, you can see for yourself and be the judge...Behind Every Successful Man has now been published in the Sex and Murder (USA) Issue 16, my first published story for 2011!!!

Honus Wagner is horror too, but on a different level. This one came about by chance with me opening a page on Honus Wagner, the famous American baseball player. An incredible man in his own right, and the facts about him and his legacy about his stand against cigarettes in my story are all true. This idea didn't arrive in my head as a finished product, strangely only the character of Josh remains as I first saw him. It took months and months of gentle tweaking and a final wholesale slash and burn approach (it's approximately 2800 words, it was 4300). Hard work, but I'm glad I took my time. Maybe not my 'favourite' story, but certainly a labour of love.

Honus Wagner T206 Baseball Card

When I wrote Honus Wagner I wrote it for myself, because I wanted to see it on paper and read it and I had no real 'market' in mind. Despite that, it has now found a home where it belongs - in the USA. Sex and Murder have just accepted it to be published in either their March or April issue!! (to be confirmed).

It will be my second published piece for the year and about my sixth horror piece in a row (the horror of it all!). Maybe that should tell me something.

On another note, I'd put Jack Be Nimble on the back burner for a bit but I had another look at it and decided to return to where my writing began to get a fresh perspective. In this case, that's Irina Dunn - author of The Writer's Marketplace (Allen & Unwin, Aust), former Executive Director of the NSW Writers' Centre and currently the director of ID Editing and Publishing Consultany. When I first started writing, I had a 'supersession' with Irina. These are really a form of manuscript assessment with a one hour face-to-face feed back session addressing character, story, plotline, tone pacing etc. Irina not only did this but was also able to assist me by advising the courses that would best assist me. I've now sent off a sample of Jack be Nimble to her and in a few weeks we'll be sitting down again. I'm feeling very positive that she will be able to help me in the right direction once again.

So, it's back to Jack Be Nimble, The Cabin and the longer version of Long Live the King! for me, probably with the more than occassional horror piece thrown in for good measure. When will the next post be? Who knows...

Cheers

Summer down under

   

I know, I know...another two months without an update. I put the blame on Australia's habit of closing down some time in early December and not reopening for business until January...or maybe February, it all depends on how relaxed we feel.

So, it's a New Year...I'd like to say I've done nothing and be proud of it, but yet again, that would be a lie.

Regarding the novel, Jack be Nimble, I've finally run through all the options as far as 'legitimate' agents are concerned and will shortly be assaulting the portals of the Publishing houses...or at least the ones that are still interested in aspiring authors. We'll see...

In the meantime, I've been tinkering with another two novel length stories; The Cabin, a thriller, set in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and The Girl Who Could Smell Poision, a crime thriller based around Boston (USA). They are, obviously, aimed at a US audience, and once I get the first draft of one or the other completed, I'll be trying to sell them directly to US publishers...bigger market, more opportunity...

I have also completed, and submitted, several short stories including Art for Art's Sake and Behind Every Successful Man as well as One for the Money, all horror pieces and have another four or five 'works in progress'. Another story, Ease of the Midnight Visit (not horror?!), has just been accepted by Short and Twisted 2010 (Celapene Press, Aus) which will be out in June.

Anyway, I've got a sore throat from all this talking, so we'll take a short break, but I promise that it won't be two months this time..

I did, however, say I would give some history as we go along...today's lesson...don't throw away or give up on those old stories that you did ages ago...Ease of the Midnight Visit is actually eight years old...written back when I was still a debt collector and not the suave, confident and debonair writer you see before you today...hell, I hadn't even done a grammar or editing course then...what was I thinking?

So, stick to it and believe in yourself...

Cheers