2020: The year of the pestilence

 Hello all. I hope this strangest of years has been not too bad for you and that this finds you well. It's been weird, tragic and befuddling for all so well done on getting through it best you can and fingers crossed for an improvement next year.

It's been odd for us all but for me one of the oddest things is that it's mostly been good for me. Being stuck in meant I had to find alternative exercise and have taken up running. Not seeing people in pubs meant I have drunk less. I am probably healthier due to the pandemic than I would have been on a normal year. 

Not that I'd wish this again, ever, of course.

I do say mostly as I fear I've become too used to not talking to real people in the flesh and, come the glorious day when we're vaccinated and can meet up again, I'll have some sort of Lovecraft-style screaming fit about too many eyes watching me. Hopefully I'll keep it internalised. 😉 

As for my writing, I've managed to keep up a basic level of it. Working in fits and starts I've finished off a couple of new things  and have been diligently working in the background to push them out to markets and not let them languish too long after a rejection. This has led to a significantly higher number of submissions this year, over 70, and an acceptance to come out next year, which is lovely.

As for publishings, it was a good year, if slightly odd.

Firstly I had a story out in Shoreline of Infinity, Issue 17, in January. A tale of space-faring starfish and rubbish collection, I'm very happy to have seen it in a local (well, Edinburgh) magazine and alongside some top notch other stuff.

Secondly was my contribution to the Glasgow Science Fiction Writer's Circle anthology, Flotation Device. This is a charity anthology produced by the circle and donates its funds to several charities helping out those struggling during this strangest of years. If you've not, please consider buying, it's for a good cause and the stories are well worth reading too. Even if mine is deeply silly and has to come with a translation.

I did have a third story come out this year, in August. A tale of science gone wrong and less than careful bee husbandry that I really like. I was deeply happy about it until the editor, just before publication, made some political comments that I couldn't support. As such, the story came out, I didn't promote it and, sadly, I'll just leave it there. A salutary lesson in being careful who you submit too.

And so we come to the standard Christmas 'present' of an old story posted up. This year it is Maukit. 

This one was published in 2013 and was my first anthology publication. It appeared in Caledonia Dreamin', a set of stories based on Scots words and is the darkest thing I've had published. The anthology is still available here and is well worth it. 

Anyhoo, thanks for reading and fingers crossed for a better year to come. It's going to be a roller-coaster in its own right, what with the politics ongoing. but I hope it finds you better.

Self-isolating for charity

WASH YOUR HANDS!!

Hello, I hope you're all well in these difficult and frankly bizarre times.

It is difficult to know how the next few months are going to pan out but it does look like it will be difficult for many people through illness or their employer's being selfish bastards. To try to help in what small way we can the Glasgow Science Fiction Writer's Circle has produced an anthology e-book which they are selling for charity.

As edited by E.M. Faulds and featuring the greats of the circle (and me) it is 20 stories for a small fee of £5.99. Sold directly to try to maximise the money going to charities including The Trussell Trust,
Medecins Sans Frontieres and Simon Community Scotland.

If you can, please buy one. It's for a great cause and my story is very short and mostly tentacle filled so you can avoid it easily.

You can find out more here at http://flotationdevicebook.co.uk/

BUY IT!

IT'S FOR CHARITY!

WASH YOUR HANDS AGAIN!!

STAY INDOORS!!!

Delinquent, intergalactic starfish

A new story for a new decade

I've a new story out but a slight delay on my blogging about this as, in a fit of anger over having my European citizenship removed at the end of this month, I went to Rome at the weekend instead. Where my wife was photographed crocheting inside the Coliseum by a passing tourist, if you want to know what interests your modern traveller more; ancient, gigantic ruins or some nice crafting.

Anyhoo, it was lovely, very glad to have been, blimey some of that stuff is old. Now, to this story of mine.

Tentacles!

Yes, the very lovely (if you ignore some of their terrible jokes) people at Shoreline Of Infinity in Edinburgh have published a story of mine in their latest issue, 17. The one with this glorious cover:

It is a wee SF story about how aliens deal with their disaffected youth and their rubbish. It may be a touch silly.

For those interested in where ideas come from, this was inspired by a tweet I saw by the editor of Shoreline. Just them indicating the sort of thing they like which triggered my brain. Off I went to write up the idea and, to my great surprise, on submitting it through their standard process, they liked it and picked up. 

So, following markets on social media is well worth your time. All part of finding out what they want.

 You can find it here to purchase in both electronic and gloriously tactile physical format which looks like this:

Also, while I'm here, before Christmas a friend of mine who works for the NHS down in Englandshire told me of a Hospital Radio show that was looking for stories to be read out. So I recorded a version of Unexpected Visitors, sent it over and I'm pleased to say they played it. How nifty.