You, sir, are a rumplefyke.

It was Eastercon at the weekend and, before the happy memories fade, I'll try to get a few of them down.

1) Being very busy.
      This was certainly one of the most jam-packed conventions I've been to. There were many points on the programme where I would have happily gone to multiple items. I missed things like the Falsetto Socks and my dinner because there was simply to much good stuff on.
       Thanks to all who organised and ran items.

2) Running things.
      I ran items. More than I've run since Confounding Tales. They were something stupid involving flying Mars Bars, something stupid involving a spinning torch and impossible questions and something stupid involving Thirties serials. The last was referred to on Twitter as "the most random thing I've been to all week" which I take as a compliment.

3) Writerly things.
      I spent a large part of the weekend at the "Writer's table" in the main bar. Talking too much to some and not enough to others. But boring them all. It was great fun and I thank them all for putting up with me. But I also put myself out there under the name of writer.
    This happened in two ways. Firstly, in a fit of drink fuelled pique I signed up for the open mic reading on Saturday night. Then, on seeing the calibre of people on it, panicked. But I overcame my fear, read a bit from Maukit and had some nice feedback afterwards. So thanks to those there, sorry if it wasn't your thing and apologies to anyone who wanted to come but I didn't tell out of fear.
  The second way was that, just before the con, Christine mailed me to say she needed a space on a quiz filled. I said yes without thinking and so, on Monday lunchtime, was on a team of Writers against a team of Scientists. The other writers were John Meaney, Charlie Stross and Juliet McKenna making me a quivering mess at the introductions. I declared myself a fraud and hid behind the laughter.
    Other than that the quiz went not badly and I helped keep the team in the hunt even if we eventually lost.
   As karmic balance to this proclamation of writer-ness I did get two rejections over the weekend so I'm not doing that again.

4) Beer Humphing
     Sha, my bidey in, was in charge of supplying the beer for the weekend. She did an excellent job of it but I did find myself lifting more barrels of beer than is normal in a weekend.

5) Books
      I picked up plenty of books but of note were La Femme, an anthology from Newcon, The Moon King by Neil Williamson and Hal Duncan's collection, Scruffians. Looking forward to them all.

All in it was a cracker of a convention and a fitting marker to the, I've just realised, twenty years of cons I have now been going to since Albacon '94.
Thanks to all involved. I am now really looking forward to Worldcon in August.

Incidentally, I learned the best insult on Sunday night. It is an old Scots word which Andrew J. Wilson taught us and is rumplefyke, an itchy bum. I will treasure it.

The Eastercon Of Doing Things

It has been a while since I last posted and, with Eastercon fast gambolling towards me I felt I really ought to do an update.

Not much to say on the writing front. Much writing is ongoing but no new acceptances. I am building up a nice pile of stories which are either out for consideration or awaiting a fresh tweak after a rejection which hopefully means that I can build a momentum behind me.

The one writing type item of note was that last week Caledonia Dreamin' had a launch/pimping session at The Dick Institute in Kilmarnock, where Chris Kelso, one of the editors, works. It was a very nice wee night with the all important free wine and where I did my first public reading. A very nerve wracking five minutes where I read out the first few sections of my wee story and, I'm pleased to say, no one complained.

Next up on the horizon is Eastercon, which this year is in Glasgow. This makes it much easier to get to but also means I have fallen into the trap of volunteering to do things. Especially foolish as they appear to have pulled together a good programme with plenty I would have enjoyed going to.
Satellite 4 Eastercon Programme

Myself I am running three daft things, Mars Attacks on Friday evening (opposite a Women in Science and Writer's Group panels I would like to see), Spin The Pulsar (opposite a Guest of Honour talk) and How do the get out of that? on the Sunday evening (opposite the BSFA awards and a cocktail tasting).
I also hope to attend the Newcon Book (opposite an interesting sounding panel on Sherlock Holmes) launch to celebrate several people getting published (and cadge free wine) and Planet Scotland (opposite the Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre) a reading by some local writers of note.

I may also go to the bar.

This is more planning in advance of an Eastercon than I have done in quite some time and hopefully indicative of a fine convention.

Anyhoos, I hope I shall post again soon, and not about conservatory maintenance woes. Perhaps I will see you in the Eastercon bar. Drink the Real Ale, it is lovely.

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.

Happiness personified

Me with my copies of Caledonia Dreamin' and Oomph. Mostly posting this so I can look back, remind myself that publication is a joyous thing and then get on with some tedious editing.

They're dead good books though, you should buy them.

Dreamin'

UPDATE: Now listed on Eibonvale's website here.

Now that I am almost recovered from the World Fantasy Hangover let me talk to you of cabbages and kings. Or possibly the single greatest thing that occurred to me there.

The release of Caledonia Dreamin'.

Caledonia Dreamin' is an anthology of Strange Fiction based on Scots words and I am immensely proud to be in it. I knew that what they were looking for was not my natural style and it was going to take some work but, with the help of many, it got there and sits rather shamefacedly alongside some excellent authors with some wonderful tales.

It was going to be touch and go whither it would be available for WFC and so the discovery of it in the Dealer's Room made me very happy. Then to find out it was in hardback as well, well I did get a bit over-excitable.

Anyhoos, I acquired a copy and spent large parts of my time at the convention hunting down the other authors in it and getting signatures. Not something I normally do, but for this first anthology I have ever been in, it seemed like the right thing to do.

The publishers have not yet updated their website to show it available, but it is showing on Amazon here and I will no doubt add other links once they make themselves available.

It looks lovely, it could be used to batter someone and, having read it over the weekend, it is really rather good.

What is less good is that I had to sign a few other copies,  where I completely failed and spelled my own name wrong. Blame the con bar and me being over-excited.

World Fantasy Con, or How To Drink Your Way To Fame

I'm on the train leaving Brighton and World Fantasy Con.
This is my first Fantasy Con and the po-faced nature of some of the publicity had made me worry it was a bit staid.
I could not have been more wrong.
I had a brilliant time. Every day was busy and every night long and drunken. I met and blethered at many lovely people, listened to big names say interesting stuff and even ate.

Top points being Brian Clemens, K.W. Jeter and the bar

All in an excellent time and I will certainly look at another Fantasy Con as soon as I have money and time

In the meantime I now have homework to get two stories published by WorldCon so, if you will excuse me, I have a Wikipedia article on bees to look at.