Well, the Australian Horror Writers Association has their competition on again this year. I came second in the 2005 flash comp, won the 2006 flash comp, then didn't enter in 2007, so I thought I'd better do something this year.
I've written a story about deaths on the Pacific Highway, set at a particular point on it that I saw a lot growing up. If you click here you can see a bridge to the left with a sharp bend on the left side of it, on the Old Pacific Highway. The reason that section is now the old Pacific Highway is that it was a nasty black spot. A family friend's brother died there when his tractor went into the river, and they get a mention.
I'm not sure the story has the legs to win a comp, but you'll never, never winnit if you never, never submit.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
No fate but what we make.
I've discovered something interesting about having a serial piece published.
See, it's kinda hard to get good feedback about a story. If you show it to your friends and family, they will ALWAYS say the same three words, without variation (do I even need to say what they are?).
The stories might get reviewed, but reviewers (for the most part) are pushing an agenda: This story rocks/sucks because it's new wierd/flash fiction/humour/australian/insert flavour of bigotry here.
Critique groups are the best for useful feedback, but they take up a lot of time and it's hard to find one that a)has writers experienced enough to tell you something helpful, b)Has the courage to tell you what sucks and not just stroke your ego, and c)has the courage to tell you what really works well, and not just feel good about themselves because they can criticise others.
You want to know so many things. Are the characters believable? Did the setting serve the story or was it distracting? Was the pacing just right? And the holy of holies:
Was tension maintained?
Eloquent prose and slick science and funny gags are ALL subservient to keeping the reader moving along and wondering ANOTHER three words.
Which brings me back to serials, because I've received those sweet three words over and over with Pardon Me, Coming Through: What happens next?
When that happens it's great, but the responsibility then rests on the writer to deliver a payoff/ending that justifies that tension. Even more so in this case, because you the reader are waiting a month for every installment. Pearson, mate, your fate had better be worth it. Both our necks are on the line here.
See, it's kinda hard to get good feedback about a story. If you show it to your friends and family, they will ALWAYS say the same three words, without variation (do I even need to say what they are?).
The stories might get reviewed, but reviewers (for the most part) are pushing an agenda: This story rocks/sucks because it's new wierd/flash fiction/humour/australian/insert flavour of bigotry here.
Critique groups are the best for useful feedback, but they take up a lot of time and it's hard to find one that a)has writers experienced enough to tell you something helpful, b)Has the courage to tell you what sucks and not just stroke your ego, and c)has the courage to tell you what really works well, and not just feel good about themselves because they can criticise others.
You want to know so many things. Are the characters believable? Did the setting serve the story or was it distracting? Was the pacing just right? And the holy of holies:
Was tension maintained?
Eloquent prose and slick science and funny gags are ALL subservient to keeping the reader moving along and wondering ANOTHER three words.
Which brings me back to serials, because I've received those sweet three words over and over with Pardon Me, Coming Through: What happens next?
When that happens it's great, but the responsibility then rests on the writer to deliver a payoff/ending that justifies that tension. Even more so in this case, because you the reader are waiting a month for every installment. Pearson, mate, your fate had better be worth it. Both our necks are on the line here.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
PMCT Part 2 Published
Part 2 (of 5) of Pardon Me, Coming Through is now downloadable in PDF format in the May 2008 Infinitas Newsletter.
I've read it so many times while writing and proofreading, and only just realised the freudian name I gave the protagonist. It should become apparent to you this episode.
I've read it so many times while writing and proofreading, and only just realised the freudian name I gave the protagonist. It should become apparent to you this episode.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
PMCT Pt 1 Published
That was quick! Part 1 (of 5) of Pardon Me, Coming Through is now downloadable in PDF format in the April 2008 Infinitas Newsletter. Let me know what you think.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Another sale!
The Sorcerous Signal has just accepted my story Girl Power! It's one of the ones I've had the most fun writing, a fairy tale that's been given a shake up, a twist and a squeeze of lemon.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
A Serial Sale!
I've just sold my first ever serialised fiction!
Pardon Me, Coming Through will be appearing in five successive issues of Infinitas. It took me a long time to write and included quite a bit of research, we'll see how it goes.
There, I got through that post without some lame breakfast cereal joke :)
Pardon Me, Coming Through will be appearing in five successive issues of Infinitas. It took me a long time to write and included quite a bit of research, we'll see how it goes.
There, I got through that post without some lame breakfast cereal joke :)
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Words still being found
Well I can't find any gaps in my life to find some words yet, but my story "Finding the words" is still going strong.
The Year's Best Australian Dark Fantasy and Horror 2007 Edition has just been reviewed over at Horrorscope. Reviewer Chuck McKenzie said:
‘Finding the Words’ is an emotionally upsetting piece dealing with the death of a child. I don’t recall having read anything by author Steven Cavanagh before, but I shall certainly be searching out his work in future. This story is an absolute gem.
I really respect Chuck McKenzie. We have a couple of things in common (he's one of the few of us who love to write humour, he's had to throttle back on writing because of family), however I don't look like that guy from doug anthony all-stars.
Then reviewer Robert Black also chimed in on Horrorscope, saying:
Finding the Words is a very innovative tale which explores the emotional power of loss (specifically the death of a child) under the guide of a horror tale. It is a superb and creative use of a genre tale to explore personal emotional pain.
I think Finding The Words is now a benchmark for my writing. Not so much that I feel a need to win comps and awards with every story, but when I wrote this one I was really in the zone (feeling stupid and wierded out because tears were running down my cheeks), and it showed in the writing. I'd like to find that magic point every time I write.
The Year's Best Australian Dark Fantasy and Horror 2007 Edition has just been reviewed over at Horrorscope. Reviewer Chuck McKenzie said:
‘Finding the Words’ is an emotionally upsetting piece dealing with the death of a child. I don’t recall having read anything by author Steven Cavanagh before, but I shall certainly be searching out his work in future. This story is an absolute gem.
I really respect Chuck McKenzie. We have a couple of things in common (he's one of the few of us who love to write humour, he's had to throttle back on writing because of family), however I don't look like that guy from doug anthony all-stars.
Then reviewer Robert Black also chimed in on Horrorscope, saying:
Finding the Words is a very innovative tale which explores the emotional power of loss (specifically the death of a child) under the guide of a horror tale. It is a superb and creative use of a genre tale to explore personal emotional pain.
I think Finding The Words is now a benchmark for my writing. Not so much that I feel a need to win comps and awards with every story, but when I wrote this one I was really in the zone (feeling stupid and wierded out because tears were running down my cheeks), and it showed in the writing. I'd like to find that magic point every time I write.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
ADFH 2007
Just got my contributor copy of Brimstone Press' AUSTRALIAN DARK FANTASY & HORROR 2007 edition, featuring my award winning "Finding the Words". Brimstone always do a great job on their books, the quality is top-notch. Some big Aussie names in this one, too. I'm about a third of the way through reading it, and I'm being pulled in by each and every story.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Double release!
Quite a weekend!
Daikaiju! 3 has been released at long last, at the Conflux con in Canberra.
Undead 3: Flesh Feast has hit the shelves- you can get it from Amazon. There's already a review of it up, which gives a bittersweet mention of "street smarts".
I lost my writing steam when a cheap flash drive flash-fried a few stories. Gotta get back on the horse...
Daikaiju! 3 has been released at long last, at the Conflux con in Canberra.
Undead 3: Flesh Feast has hit the shelves- you can get it from Amazon. There's already a review of it up, which gives a bittersweet mention of "street smarts".
I lost my writing steam when a cheap flash drive flash-fried a few stories. Gotta get back on the horse...
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Big stompy things!
Let me tell you a story.
A few years ago, after my first story had been published, I figured I'd better join a writers group, so I found a local one attached to the Infinitas Bookshop.
Once I was on their email list, I found that everyone was talking about writing "their daikaiju story". Sounded like fun, so I looked up the word (giant monsters, like Kong or Godzilla) and knocked one up.
Then I found out there was a point to it: somebody was putting together an anthology of giant monsters stories. So I sent in my little tale, and was juuuuuust rejected (there were two editors, one loved it and one didn't). But there were so many high-quality stories that they decided to make more anthos, using the same pool of stories.
After a couple of years I kinda forgot about it, but at long long last, Daikaiju!3: Giant Monsters Versus the World is starting to loom, featuring my story Cream of the Cop.
No more details apart from that yet, but it's being put togther by Rob Hood, who is a man obsessed with all things big and stompy, and promises to have killer art like the last two.
A few years ago, after my first story had been published, I figured I'd better join a writers group, so I found a local one attached to the Infinitas Bookshop.
Once I was on their email list, I found that everyone was talking about writing "their daikaiju story". Sounded like fun, so I looked up the word (giant monsters, like Kong or Godzilla) and knocked one up.
Then I found out there was a point to it: somebody was putting together an anthology of giant monsters stories. So I sent in my little tale, and was juuuuuust rejected (there were two editors, one loved it and one didn't). But there were so many high-quality stories that they decided to make more anthos, using the same pool of stories.
After a couple of years I kinda forgot about it, but at long long last, Daikaiju!3: Giant Monsters Versus the World is starting to loom, featuring my story Cream of the Cop.
No more details apart from that yet, but it's being put togther by Rob Hood, who is a man obsessed with all things big and stompy, and promises to have killer art like the last two.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Read "World of Hurt" for free online!
World of Hurt, the story that took out third place in the New Writers Group's Zine 2007 awards at the HomeWord Festival, has just been put up at the NWG site.
Writing is on hold pending some semblance of a normal life. Since the arrival of my third son two weeks ago, time has blurred and redshifted. Or maybe that's just my bloodshot eyes.
Writing is on hold pending some semblance of a normal life. Since the arrival of my third son two weeks ago, time has blurred and redshifted. Or maybe that's just my bloodshot eyes.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Flesh Feast Pre-released
the third installment of the popular Undead series, The
Undead: Flesh Feast. A new recruit must face the grotesque realities behind
the zombie war. An ancient, tentacled horror commands
the walking dead. A green mold creeps across an uncharted island, driving its
mysterious inhabitants insane. A lone survivor of the zombie apocalypse wants
only one thing... to be bitten. The Reaper struggles to claim the souls of the
deceased that won't stay dead. And in the featured novella, "The Legend of
Black Betty," a small town in the Old West rots with a plague wreaked by an
evil prostitute. These stories and more from:
Tim Curran • Andre Duza • Ryan C. Thomas • David
Dunwoody • Steven Cavanagh • Matthew Masucci • Michael Stone • Richard Moore • Matthew Bey • A.C. Wise • David Bain • Eric
Turowski
• Kevin Boon • Scott Standridge • Kriscinda
Meadows
Pre-Order
today from Bloodletting Books for $14.95 with free shipping! No
payment until the book is released!
"Fantastic stories! The zombies are fresh...well, er, they're actually moldy, festering wrecks...but these
stories are great takes on the zombie genre. You're gonna
like The Undead: Flesh Feast...just
make sure you have a toothpick handy."
--Joe
McKinney, author of Dead City
and Murders Squad
"From in-edible humans to a zombie Santa Clause to undead flat fish, this
collection has everything that a connoisseur of fine zombie literature could
want. A must read!"
--Taylor
Kent, host of Snark Infested Waters podcast
"With The Undead: Flesh Feast
Permuted Press prove that the first anthology was no fluke. Once again they
have collected stories by writers, some of which you will know, some will be
new to readers, all however contribute good quality stories about our beloved walking
corpses. A joy to read!"
--Jude "Pain"
Felton, All Things Zombie.com
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Third at Word, ASIM Best of released.
At the HomeWord Festival, World of Hurt won third prize! The reading was a lot of fun, and the audience reacted to me the whole way through, not just polite applause at the end. I was a little nervous because it was an arty crowd and the protag was (my attempt at being) arty.
And my firstborn son has returned! Elf Esteem was my first published story back in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine Issue 13. It's just been reprinted in ASIM's Best of Fantasy Anthology! A plethora of the best that ASIM has produced, and it's only ten pacific pesos ($AUS)!
And my firstborn son has returned! Elf Esteem was my first published story back in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine Issue 13. It's just been reprinted in ASIM's Best of Fantasy Anthology! A plethora of the best that ASIM has produced, and it's only ten pacific pesos ($AUS)!
Thursday, June 07, 2007
HomeWord festival reading
If you're in Sydney, feel free to come along to the 2007 HomeWord festival. The festival kicks off this Sunday the 10th of June at Parramatta Riverside Theatres.
The opening events include the launch of the ZineWest anthology, which features my story World of Hurt. I'll be reading my story at the launch- look for a guy who looks like a bad zombie movie reject with red spots all over his face like this guy (for the same reason).
The opening events include the launch of the ZineWest anthology, which features my story World of Hurt. I'll be reading my story at the launch- look for a guy who looks like a bad zombie movie reject with red spots all over his face like this guy (for the same reason).
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Almost famous
Among my wannabe accomplishments lately:
My story Girl Power has been rejected again. You know the one. It took ages to sell it, and when I did sell it the publisher went out of business? Not only has it been rejected again (making me think it's just not good enough to sell), but it also popped up in an honourable mentions list on Allegory magazine (scroll to the bottom) as "worthy of being published, just not here".
Apparently I have brought honour to the line of my fathers. My fictional footling and flubbling has earned me a mention in the noteworthy people of the line of Cavanagh. Here I was thinking I'd have to prove my worthiness on the field of battle first. Phew!
My story Girl Power has been rejected again. You know the one. It took ages to sell it, and when I did sell it the publisher went out of business? Not only has it been rejected again (making me think it's just not good enough to sell), but it also popped up in an honourable mentions list on Allegory magazine (scroll to the bottom) as "worthy of being published, just not here".
Apparently I have brought honour to the line of my fathers. My fictional footling and flubbling has earned me a mention in the noteworthy people of the line of Cavanagh. Here I was thinking I'd have to prove my worthiness on the field of battle first. Phew!
Monday, April 16, 2007
Esteem Esteemed
How do you top inclusion in a Year's Best?
With an inclusion in a Best Of!
And the icing on the cake is that it's my first paid publication!
Elf Esteem is going to be re-published in the Andromeda Spaceways Best of Fantasy anthology!
It'll get the usual caning by the toffee noses. It's written to entertain, after all, and who wants to read that? One review even said that it was written "largely for its punchline". Well guess what? I wrote the bloody thing, and I didn't think of the last line until I was at -wait for it- the last line.
I have a soft spot for Elf Esteem. It's a skewed James Bond, a fact overlooked by most reviewers in spite of the riffs on Aston Martins, Moonraker, "Goodbye, Mr Bond" and a few others. It also has a pinch of Stainless Steel Rat, mainly in the style.
It's about elves and other fantasy tropes, which people see as a downside. Back then I didn't know it was a no-no to "the scene". I just wrote a story I thought would be fun. Many thanks to ASIM for including it, I'm humbled and honoured.
ASIM is producing three best of anthologies (go on, guess what the other two are). They'll be available on CD at Convergence, and will be downloaded from the ASIM site thereafter.
With an inclusion in a Best Of!
And the icing on the cake is that it's my first paid publication!
Elf Esteem is going to be re-published in the Andromeda Spaceways Best of Fantasy anthology!
It'll get the usual caning by the toffee noses. It's written to entertain, after all, and who wants to read that? One review even said that it was written "largely for its punchline". Well guess what? I wrote the bloody thing, and I didn't think of the last line until I was at -wait for it- the last line.
I have a soft spot for Elf Esteem. It's a skewed James Bond, a fact overlooked by most reviewers in spite of the riffs on Aston Martins, Moonraker, "Goodbye, Mr Bond" and a few others. It also has a pinch of Stainless Steel Rat, mainly in the style.
It's about elves and other fantasy tropes, which people see as a downside. Back then I didn't know it was a no-no to "the scene". I just wrote a story I thought would be fun. Many thanks to ASIM for including it, I'm humbled and honoured.
ASIM is producing three best of anthologies (go on, guess what the other two are). They'll be available on CD at Convergence, and will be downloaded from the ASIM site thereafter.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
ZineWest finalist
I've just been notified that my story World of Hurt is in ZineWest! That means it's in the top 30 of 140 entries, will be published in the magazine (launched at the HomeWord festival) and is in the running for the cash and prizes.
By the way, I've been net dead for a couple of weeks because I've been starting my new job in Parramatta. I think I've ironed out some of the wrinkles in my life now.
By the way, I've been net dead for a couple of weeks because I've been starting my new job in Parramatta. I think I've ironed out some of the wrinkles in my life now.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Double sale!
So Miss Apostrophication herself mentioned to me that Farthing magazine was in search of a good drabble.
I greeted this news just like I did when informed of the Daikaiju anthology. Smiled and nodded knowingly, and then went and found out what the word meant. Turns out a drabble is a story of exactly 100 words (Daikaiju is a giant monster, a la Kong of Godzilla). So I wrote one, wasn't entirely happy with it, wrote another, sent them in and sold them BOTH! They'll be in Farthing issue #6.
I greeted this news just like I did when informed of the Daikaiju anthology. Smiled and nodded knowingly, and then went and found out what the word meant. Turns out a drabble is a story of exactly 100 words (Daikaiju is a giant monster, a la Kong of Godzilla). So I wrote one, wasn't entirely happy with it, wrote another, sent them in and sold them BOTH! They'll be in Farthing issue #6.
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