Outlaw Incasts

My in-laws are very excited that I'm going to be published in a book, Outcast (I've been published a few times already, but skip that for a moment), and they want to support me by getting a copy of it when it comes out.
That's very nice of them, but these are people who never read. Well, except for the odd local paper, seniors weekly and any women's magazine containing the words 'princess' and 'commemorative'. Next April they'll unwittingly step into cutting edge reality-bending australian speculative fiction.
I grew up on Australia's Nymboida river, famous for its white water rafting. On one rafting trip I went on, an older asian gentleman showed up in a suit. I don't know what he thought he'd paid for, but the reality was somewhat different and necessitated a dry cleaning bill. I expect it to be like that.

I'm kind of glad Shadow Box was an e-anthology.

Can-do

And I did- can the first chapter of Axes of Evil. I'm rewriting it from scratch.

I'm also halfway through a little short called Hot Pursuit that I'm thinking of submitting to the Infinitas newsletter.

mayday!

Put the first chapter of my comic high fantasy (tentatively titled Axes of Evil) up for critique and it was promptly shot down in flames. That's a good thing- it means our group isn't getting too soft on each other. I think I tried to hard to create a sympatheic character (a mistreated slave) and it either killed the humour or made it seem out of place. I think I'll rewrite it all so he's not so badly off.

I also submitted Touch Tone, my only mushy story, to the Writers Digest short story comp. Nothing to lose but the $US15 entry fee, and you still get a prize if you come twenty fifth!

Shadow Box released

Just got my copy of Shadow Box. The stories range from chilling to wierd to downright sick, and the quality of the production is awesome. It's produced by the same guys as Shadowed Realms, and they really, really know that a screen is not a page.

Plugging away

Finished the first chapter of my comic fantasy novel. It's a bit of a mess, but progressing.

Got a sneak peek at the cover art of the Outcast antho, by Les Petersen. It's a thing of beauty, and 'outcast' is what it brings to mind, along with some cool sci-fi design.

The 20 Outcasts

Just thought I'd say "Hey Ya" and point you to the list of stories for the Outcast Antho. I feel honoured to be there with the likes of Richard Harland, Cat Sparks, Martin Livings and Maxine McArthur. It's really shaping up to be.. uh.. accepted by everybody.