Rejection 001

Brain Harvest have rejected me for the 3rd time this year! They seem like a tough market to get into, but one I'd love to be featured on.

Flash fiction is a bit of a mix bag for me, I love writing it, but I'm dubious as to how much of a useful medium it is. Does it really help in the ultimate goal of becoming a novelist? I'm not sure.

Anyway, it's the second reject for a crazy little drabble (100 word story) called Red Rain.

In other writing news, I have written a new 1000 word flash about Father Christmas. It's Santa vs the post-apocalyptic children of London.

Maybe there's a reason why no-one buys this shit?

Top 5 Short Stories of All Time

I was thinking about this the other day. What are my all-time favourite short stories?

Well I thought on it some more and compiled a list of my personal favourites. This is what I came up with:

5. Unto Us by Tim Lebbon.

This is a damn creepy little story that appears to be under-read and over-looked by most people. Put simply, it's a tale about a guy knocking a wall down and finding a dead shriveled baby wrapped up in a cloth. The events that unfold from their are incredibly strange, but believable. The scene in the garden is one of the oddest things I've read in fiction.

4. The Box by Jack Ketchum

The 'all out balls and gore meister' does quiet horror. A freaky little tale of a man on a bus and the mysterious box he passes on to a family. I love it for the simple fact that nothing is properly explained and you fill in all the blanks yourself. It won a Stoker, so I guess I'm not the only one who likes it.

3. The Man in the Passenger Seat by Bentley Little

All I've ever read of Bentley Little's work is this short story from the infamous Borderlands anthology. I think the premise is pure genius. It starts with a guy who pops into the bank only to find a large man has got into his vehicle. He refuses to leave and it goes from there. Such a strong concept manages to carry the story even when it goes a bit bonkers towards the end Great stuff.

2. This Year's Class Picture by Dan Simmons

Love 'em, or hate 'em, Zombies are back in a big way. Whether you put it down to Max Brooks or Simon Pegg, everyone is doing them. Back in 1992, Dan Simmons wrote this absolute gem. It's a perfect story from start to finish; from the 'boy in the rifle sight' opening to 'are they or aren't they' type ending. Tight, clean prose and a middle age school teacher as a protaganist really stand this one out from the shambling, rotting herd.

1. The Night They Missed the Horror Show by Joe R Lansdale

The Grandaddy of the horror short story. In my opinion, no-one does it better than Lansdale. This tale of stupid Americans brushing up against nasty Americans, turns stereotypes on their head and has you rooting for the stupid, racist, dog-killing football player. Not easily done, but then nothing is easy in a Lansdale story. A true master at work.

All well worth seeking out if you have the time.

Introducing...

...Reeko.

As most of you know, I'm something of an illustrator (that's a very posh title for someone who arses about with biro's in his spare time) as well as a writer. Well back when I was wee young lad, I used to spend all my time drawing with this guy; James Reekie.

He is now an award winning illustrator and phenomenal artist. The guy was one of the most lazy arse people I know, but fuck me if he didn't knuckle down and really find his niche. His style is kinda unique, not dissimilar to Paul Pope and if you know much about comics, you'll know what kind of compliment that it.

Anyway, through the hazy glasses of nostalgia and the fact that he feels sorry for me (lol) we are starting to work on some pitches for comic companies. I'm on words, he's on pictures. The project is in it's infant stages at the moment, but suffice to say it involves post apocalyptic mutants, super heroes, bandits, dead robots and a little bit of rape??!!

I'll let you know more as I have it.

The Writing Machine

Boy! The writing is going well.

For the first time in my short writing life, I have decided to give myself a schedule. It simply involves working in the library at work for an hour - two hours a day. So far this week I have managed to crank out 2300 words (unedited) and the week before that I finished two shorts which had been knocking around for ages.

Writing short, short stories has always been my strength and my downfall. All my publications to date don't even add up to more than 2000 words between them! That's four stories, all under 500 each. Now, flash fiction has risen in profile over the years, but there is no denying that longer fiction is where the success lies. Sure Hemingway wrote the story:

For sale: Baby shoes, never worn.

But I've no doubt this was a bit of a gimmick, or a lesson, or just a point being made. As popular as flash is in the horror community, I don't believe it's going to win you a stoker, or get your book published by Leisure. All my favorite authors wrote short stories (and one or two flash) for a good few years before breaking into novels and it's a path I'm attempting to emulate.

So, this is what I have on the go:

Waiting for Dawn (5700 words) - The best and darkest thing I've written. Currently being edited.

Dead in the Water (3600 words) - Zombie sea life. What's not too like! Subbed out and rejected within a matter of days. Damn.

Roots (1700 words so far) - I'm working on this for subbing to the 'Spring Thaw Contest' over at New Bedlam. The project their running is pretty interesting and there is pro-payment, a magazine subscription and other goodies to the winner.

Fingers crossed.

Under Construction

I have decided to revamp my page and get back to regular once a week posting. Stop by soon for updates.