New story at Untied Shoelaces of the Mind

You Don't Want What I Get, a 1,200 word horror/crime story, is out now in Issue 8 of the wonderful Untied Shoelaces of the Mind

'I don't like getting cut out,' he says. 'There's something you got going on, and I want in.'
'No, you don't,' I say. 

You Don't Want What I Get - horror - 1,200 words

New story at Black Treacle - Getting Shot in the Face Still Stings

My crime/horror story Getting Shot in the Face Still Stings is now available to read is Issue 3 of Black Treacle:

Dominic thinks he's got enough trouble trying to deal with his crime-boss brother Marc, but that's before he meets Elena...

'You must really have a death wish,' Marc says, and she laughs like that's the funniest thing she's ever heard.

Getting Shot in the Face Still Stings 

Also available in epub, mobi & other formats at the Black Treacle site

New story at Liquid Imagination

Horror flash, Underneath All the Skeletons of Rats, available now at Liquid Imagination. Great scary rat photo, too!

New story at The Journal of Unlikely Entomology

My 4k horror story 'Jeanette's Feast' is available now at The Journal of Unlikely Entomology, along with some brilliantly disturbing artwork by Justin Aerni. I have to say, I think Bert the Cockroach is one of my favourite characters :)

Story sale to Black Treacle

Just signed contract for the sale of my 3,800 word horror/crime story 'Getting Shot in the Face Still Stings' to Black Treacle. Issue 3 is due out on 4th June 2013.

*does happydance*

New Story - Destiny Fell in Love at Every Day Fiction

Every Day Fiction is one of my favourite sites, and I'm always thrilled to have a story there. My 754-word  fantasy story Destiny Fell in Love is available to read now.

Destiny craved stillness, but it was the one thing she could never have. She had to move on. How could she not?

Story sale - Bete Noire

April is proving productive so far! Very pleased to report that my SF short 'Seeing Red' will be appearing in the Special Double Anniversary issue of Bete Noire Magazine in October. Yay!

Story sale - The Journal of Unlikely Entomology

Very pleased that my cockroaches-and-cannibals story 'Jeanette's Feast' will be appearing in the upcoming issue of The Journal of Unlikely Entomology. Who doesn't love bugs?

Story News - Daily Science Fiction

My dark trad-fantasy story 'Never Leave Me' (W1S1 2012, week 44) will be emailed out to Daily Science Fiction's subscribers on Monday 15th April, and appear on the website a week later. This is my second appearance at DSF, which publishes some of my favourite stories. 'Thrilled' doesn't do it justice :)

This Week, I Have Been Mostly...

READING: Moxyland, Lauren Beukes. A smart, gripping and disturbingly-plausible SF thriller. Enjoyed this one a lot.

Short stories: 110 - 122 of 500. Faves this week:

Memories of the Knacker's Yard  by Ian Creasey at Lamplight
Interesting mix of ghost story and police procedural that makes good use of one of my favourite elements, transfer of memory.

Giggles by Jeremy C Shipp in Attic Clowns
Surreal, creepy story about apocalypse-by-clown.

WRITING: A new 1,600 word ghost story.

WATCHING: In the Flesh, the new BBC3 zombie drama. The premise is the same as Joy Kennedy-O'Neill's Aftermath (Strange Horizons), one of my absolute favourite stories ever--there's a cure, and the ex-zombies are trying to go back to normal life. The world appears slightly less broken here--the vibe is more of a civil war or military invasion than an apocalypse--but the issues of responsibility, adjustment and guilt are still very much forefront. The situation for Kieran and his family is doubly fascinating, given that he was a suicide. It also looks like they're going to make good use of 'it's different when it's MY family,' which is a trope I love. So far, I like it a lot.

Also Being Human season 5. I think I was too far into Mitchell-withdrawal to appreciate season 4, but I've come round to Hal a lot, and I love his relationship with Tom. Will be interesting with the US version starts, to compare another set of characters.

LISTENING TO: Trivium and Slipknot. Very loudly. These boys going RAAARRR! on the stereo is about the only thing that drowns out my next-door neighbour going RAAARRR! at her kids.

Also Heaven, by Depeche Mode, which I love. Seems very strange to think of these boys as elder statesmen now, but I suppose they are. I think my inner body clock stopped somewhere around age 23, so I always imagine that the 80s was just last decade. It regularly shocks me when I realise just how long ago it really was.

SELLING: 'Destiny Fell in Love,' a fantasy flash, to Every Day Fiction. This is one of my favourite sites, so it's always a thrill to have a story there. I expect it to run in May.

WINNING:

The Write 1, Sub 1 March Monster Blogfest! 

Stats this month
Written new: 
1.  Re: Corrections to Consciousness Module 14.6 (Memories: Age 31-60) - SF - 692 words
2. Can't See a Good Thing - Near-future SF - 2,564 words
3. Game Over - SF - 2,699 words
4. Sweetie - Horror - 1,662 words
5. Something Worth Hearing - Horror - 1,581 words

Subs:
20 in total - 6 new, 14 resubs/reprints

Rejections:
19 in total - 7 personal, 12 form

Acceptances:
'Destiny Fell in Love', from Every Day Fiction. Also had stories advanced to the 2nd round at Daily Science Fiction, Waylines, Apex, Andromeda Spaceways, Bete Noire and the Journal of Unlikely Entomology.

Publications: 
Not the Pizza Girl, a comic horror, at Every Day Fiction

New story at Every Day Fiction - Not the Pizza Girl

My W1S1 from Week 15 last year: a comic fantasy about an accidental demonic infestation in Essex. Because, you know, that happens :)

Not the Pizza Girl

This Week, I Have Been Mostly...

READING: The English Monster, by Lloyd Shepherd. From the first 50 pages, I think I'm going to like it. Nicely described, atmospheric, intriguing setup.

Short stories: 80-86 of 500. Faves this week are:

The Infill Trait by CC Finlay at Lightspeed.
A really interesting Military Experiment Gone Wrong story with a wonderful, fracturing, freewheeling voice perfectly suited to the increasingly lost and paranoid narrator.

The Finite Canvas by Brit Mandelo at Tor.com
Beautifully-judged story of murder, betrayal and (possible) redemption with both a gripping plot and complex, layered characterisation.

WRITING: A horror short about an empathic child and a humour SF flash about memory and blackmail.

WATCHING:

• Nashville. From the first two eps, I like it a lot. Good characters, interesting situation, murky backstory, hints of nefarious deeds in the offing. And I like the music, too, which I didn't expect to.
• The original Jeremy Brett Sherlock Holmes TV series. I never saw this show, saw any of the films or read any of the Conan Doyle stories, until after I'd already seen the Cumberbatch reboot and Elementary--both of which I love. It led to the strange effect of watching this and having my first reaction be, 'Ooh, a version where Sherlock and Watson are both Victorian gentlemen! How radical.' And then I facepalm because, yeah. 

WISHING I HADN'T CLICKED ON: This. Why did I do it? I really, really, did not need to see this.

SELLING: 'Not the Pizza Girl,' a comic fantasy about an uninvited party guest to Every Day Fiction (it's due to run on March 11th) and 'You Don't Want What I Get,' a horror about monsters and gangsters, to Untied Shoelaces of the Mind (it'll run when Issue #8 is filled). I like getting too use this category!

WEEKENDING: in Edinburgh, since my husband had to go up anyway, for work. Touristing, whisky-sampling and taking plenty of photos of spooky alleys and graveyards, to be used as future book covers :)

2012 Stats

Total pieces written: 95 (63 flash, 30 short stories, 1 novelette)

Rewritten or scrapped: 30
Published: 22
Awaiting publication: 1
Banked for collections: 26
In Revision: 4

Submissions: 124
Acceptances: 23
Rejections: 96
Pending responses: 12 (3 at 2nd round stage)
Sales: 5 (1 pro, 1 semi-pro, 3 token)

W1S1: 42 weeks out of 52

I don't think that's too shabby, but it can (of course) always be better! I want to write more shorts than flash next year, a couple of novelettes and at least one novella. And make 200 subs.

Onwards!

New Story at Fiction 365

The Great Escape - drama - 583 words - at Fiction 365
It didn't satisfy his daughter. She wanted more. Always did.

New story at The Cynic Online

Speeding Toward Enlightenment - crime drama - 1,138 words - at The Cynic Online
I love my sister and I want to help her, but she doesn't make it easy.

New flash at The Journal of Microliterature

New flash up today at The Journal of Microliterature, another great site:

Toil and Trouble - 606 words - humour. Sometimes, magic isn't the easy way out...

New flash at the Pygmy Giant

New flash piece up at The Pgymy Giant - a great little site, UK-centric. Some real gems there.

Damnable Behaviour - drama - 200 words

New story at Flash Fiction Offensive

Flash Fiction Offensive is a brilliant site. I have a new flash up there today:

Stop Me if You've Heard This Before - crime - 410 words.
Sally's determined to make it as a stand-up comedian, even if it kills her. Or anyone else...

New story at Hogglepot

I have a new story up now at Hogglepot this week, A Cat May Look at a Queen - fantasy - 683 words

New story at Bent Masses

I have a new post-apocalyptic story up today, What We Leave Behind at Bent Masses - 587 words - horror