Busy, Busy, Busy!

Well, it has certainly been a busy few weeks. No fewer than six of my stories have been accepted for publication and four of those are already up for you to read at your leisure.

This post is by way of being a catch-up since my last blog entry. October is such a hectic month for me, writing wise. As the days shorten and the nights grow ever longer, writers of my ilk get their pens and their computer keys moving at a frenetic pace, churning out dark little tales in time for All Hallow’s Eve.

This year has been worse than most, purely in terms of workload. In terms of output, it has been substantially better since…drumroll please…I have completed my solo anthology! It is called Dark Lightning and is currently out with a couple of beta readers to check for any spelling and/or grammatical errors that I may have missed, whilst I pen the introduction and the acknowledgements page.

My first editor, Dustin LaValley has written the Foreword for the book, in which he says some very kind things about my work to date and I’m immensely grateful for the work he has put into it.

So this month is where I put the final spit and polish onto my collection, take heed of any notes given to me by my beta readers and then – finally - I can take the plunge and submit it to a publishing house.

Unfortunately, this means that I will not be partaking in the National Novel Writing Month this year. My original plan was to get stuck into my novel throughout November and December and have both the novel and the anthology ready to go early in the new year. It struck me, however, that I would be better served to finish one project before moving onto another. I know myself well enough to know that if I start my novel before my anthology is in a finished state, then the odds are that I won;t go back to it.

Editing and revising my work has always been the hardest part of the writing process for me and, given the choice between looking back over something I’ve already done or starting a fresh piece of work, the fresh stuff will win every single time.

That’s by the by, however.

What you’re really here for is the big list of new stories, right?

Here goes…

• Fade to Black – posted as part of Devin O’Branagan’s October Flash Fiction contest.
• Waterborne – posted as part of the MicroHorror Halloween contest.
• Beneath the Surface – also posted as part of the MicroHorror Halloween contest.
• The Face of Evil – posted at Thrillers, Killers ‘n’ Chillers

Still to come, my story Sentinels has been selected by Becky Regalado for inclusion in her blog shortly. Finally, my story Scum has been accepted for inclusion in an anthology by Cruentus Libri Press. Admittedly, this is less of a milestone since I am also the editor of that anthology, but still.

So there we have it. Half a dozen new stories for you to sink your teeth into. Here’s hoping that November is a bit less busy, but equally fruitful.

Later.

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