2013, the year of the Purple Patch

It being the traditional time of the year for a bit of retrospection I think it is time to take stock and be amazed.

I've always played with writing but a couple of years ago I decided to step it up and show stuff to the Glasgow Science Fiction Writer's Circle. Lots of work later and much listening to those in the know finally led to me sending stories off to markets last year.

The usual, and expected, rejections appeared but I saw a couple of theme calls I liked and wrote for them. At the end of last year one got picked up by Sein Und Werden.

I was, to say the least, stunned.

Then, in January this year, another was picked up by Morpheus Tales. Then another about cake baking. In shock I started this blog, mostly to remind me that stuff was happening.

By the end of the Purple Patch I had five consecutive acceptances and was getting a bit on the smug side. Luckily I am back on the rejection wagon and being a little more realistic about my prospects.
All these acceptances had a theme attached that I wrote to and most of the rejections didn't. Clearly I need to stick with themed calls.

As the year moved on I saw these stories appear in print. Three out of five even paid me. This culminated in November with World Fantasy Con where I ran around with a copy of Caledonia Dreamin' trying to find everyone in it and get it signed.
I am continuously surprised to see my made up name in print and have been known to stare at the point on the shelf where they all live and grin until my face hurts.

The other writing first this year was submitting a novel for critting. I have never written something that long before and I am very pleased by how few hideous plotholes and clunkers were found in it.

In the next year I have to get at least two new short stores published (due to a hungover challenge at WFC) and finish off my re-work on the novel before making the decision to bin or annoy more people with it. This is on top of Eastercon in Glasgow, Worldcon in London, the Commonwealth Games and turning 40.

Thanks to you all for encouragement and I can only apologise for the constant searching for validation that this writing may point to.

Have a good Hogmanay and New Year when it comes and I hope you all enjoy 2014.

A "gift" for Christmas

A very good reason why I should never be allowed on the internet is that it gives me stupid ideas. Even worse, ideas based on other people's characters and so entirely unpublishable.

Probably the worst for you is that this does not stop me from writing the things anyway and, by way of a Christmas bit of silliness, posting it to this here blog.

Which is all a roundabout way of saying, if you follow the upcoming link you will get a story what I wrote last weekend because it would not leave my head.

The Marvellous Mechanical Time Trap Machine

So, happy festive whatnots and do not take this as indicative of the rest of the stuff.