CANADIAN TALES OF THE FANTASTIC

The winners of the “Canadian Tales of the Fantastic” Competition have now been posted on the website for Red Tuque Books. I mentioned in an earlier post that my story “Shakedown” picked up an Honourable Mention. Congratulations to all of the winners, especially the 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd prize winners: David Routledge, Marianne Paul, and Lindsey Carmichael. Publisher David Korinetz says that all of the 13 winning stories will be published in an anthology in September of this year. I look forward to it, and I hope the contest continues for years to come. If your writing tastes tend more to mysteries, Red Tuque Books also has their Canadian Tales of the Mysterious Short Story Competition underway now.

“Shakedown” is a story about a prototype nano-sized submersible intended for operations within the human bloodstream (like Fantastic Voyage but without the inexplicable shrink ray), and the peril involved when the virtual-reality control system becomes far too real. It’s a prequel story to a full-length novel I’ve written, currently being vetted by beta readers, for which I’ll soon be seeking an agent and a publisher.

I was also glad to see this week that the anthology Doomology: The Dawning of Disasters from the Library of Science Fiction and Fantasy, including my story “Tartarus Rising” is now available at Amazon.ca  as well as Amazon.com, so Canadian readers can take advantage of free shipping (always good!) “Tartarus Rising” is a tale about a disastrous invasion of our world, but from a very different source than the usual (hint: the name references Greek mythology). I got a kick out of writing it, and I hope that comes across in the reading.

DOOMOLOGY IS NOW AVAILABLE

I’m sure every writer knows the feeling: it seems to take forever from the time a story is sold until it finally appears in print. So today’s a good day.

My story “Tartarus Rising” is part of an anthology of disaster stories called “Doomology: The Dawning of Disasters” from the Library Of Science Fiction Press, and the anthology was just made available through Amazon.com yesterday. I haven’t held a copy in my hands, so I’m really looking forward to getting my copy and reading it. I love disaster stories, and this anthology features 23 of them, so I hope it finds a great audience. You can find the cover art on an earlier posting from November (below).

My story “The Wind Man” will be included in the Winter edition of On Spec: the Canadian magazine of the fantastic which, according to their website, is due out “Soon, very soon.”

In the meantime, another story of mine called “Shakedown” has picked up an honourable mention in a Canadian SF contest, which includes an anthology publication. But I’ll refrain from giving details until the publisher posts all of the information officially.

All in all, a good month so far. Although waiting for the next story to hit print will still feel like forever.



Doomology

My most recent acceptance to date is from an upcoming anthology called “Doomology: The Dawning Of Disasters” to be published by the Library of Science Fiction & Fantasy Press. They’ve published quite a number of anthologies and other books, with most of their experience being in the horror genre. They accepted my story “Tartarus Rising”, though I’m still waiting for the contract. It’s a different take on the disaster story, that warns us an alien invasion won’t necessarily come from above.

"The Wind Man" in On Spec

My story “The Wind Man” was purchased by On Spec in August of 2009. It tells the story of Skelly Gilgoohen, a lifelong storyteller for whom an old Irish blessing has become a curse. In April of 2010 I corresponded with copy-editor Robin Carson about the story (he loved it), so I’m hoping it will be showing up in the magazine soon. I’ve been listed in the “Upcoming” section at the back of the magazine for a couple of issues now.