My (slightly) erotic horror story "The Engine of Desire" will be published in Unspeakable Horror: From the Shadows of the Closet through Dark Scribe Press this fall. Dark Scribe also has an interesting blog, Anatomy of an Anthology, which will go into some of the details of how the book is coming together, as well as publication and publicity info and updates.

FYI, "Engine" is the first story where I finally was able to use the Harold Pinteresque technique of reversing the scenes (a la his play "Betrayal") - as the story unfolds, the reader realizes that they're viewing events in reverse chronological order. I think it very successfully adds a bit of bittersweet melancholy to the last paragraphs of the story, where the reader knows everything that is about to and will ever happen to the young female protagonist - and she knows nothing of what is to come. Well, I think it's successful, and so do the editors of the anthology. Hopefully, readers will think so, too.

I've been given the go-ahead to post the details of the third sale from two weeks ago: "Take Your Daughters to Work" (which was first published in Subterranean #6 last year) will be reprinted at Apex Online.

Tomorrow I'll post details of the first sale I made that week. Let's just say it'll be a doozy. Do people say "doozy" anymore? Probably not. Crap, I'm old :P

Labels: reprint sales

I forgot to mention last Thursday that I got a third sale - perhaps because I was so stunned to get three in five days. It's another reprint, but I can't post any more details until I get the ok from the publisher. I will say that it's a great market, and I'm very happy to get my foot in the door. Well, in this case, it's maybe a big toe. Good enough, though. :)

Labels: reprint sales

Got word today that "The Unattainable" (previously published in Cowboy Lover: Erotic Stories of the Wild West) will be reprinted in Maxim Jakubowski's Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica 8, coming out in early 2009. There's already a listing up on Amazon, but I won't link to it until the cover is up there as well.

This is my first sale to a "best of" anthology, so it's kind of a big deal. Also, I really loved this story - I think it's one of my best (out of the very few I've written, lol), and I'm glad that more people will get a chance to read it.

Labels: reprint sales, the unattainable

Go me! Unfortunately, I can give no details for at least a month or more, until the contracts are signed. I will say, however, that it's a great market with some incredible contributors, and I'm thrilled beyond belief to be in the ToC.

In other news, I'm still working on the novella "Wondyrechaun", which is finally shaping up after much flailing around on my part. Really, it was a sorry mess. But July 7th is when I have to send it off to readers and critiquers, and that deadline is very firm, so I have all of 13 days to finish it for once and all. After that, I'll work on a couple of short stories for anthologies and start slogging my way through a 20+ book research reading list for the novel-length version of "Wondydrechaun" (which will revert back to its original title of The Girls of the World, for agent submission purposes).

That's all that's happening in Livialand right now. :P Hopefully, what with Readercon, July will be more interesting, both writing and blogging-wise.

Labels: "the girls of the world", reprint sales, wondyrechaun

Well, I didn't think it'd take this long to post again, but things dried up a bit in the first half of '08. However, I finally have some forward motion in my so-called not-career: I have a short story in the just-published anthology Jack Haringa Must Die!, edited by Nicholas Kaufmann. It's a charity anthology, with proceeds from the sales going to support the Shirley Jackson Awards. If you follow the link, you'll find the background of the anthology, a full list of contributors, and links for buying it online.

I hope it doesn't take as long for my next sale. Ah, well. Such is the life of a not-career writer, eh? :P

After spending the weekend thinking about this, I've decided to stop using this as my primary writing blog, and to switch those posts over to my Livejournal. The reason for this is simple - there simply aren't enough people reading and commenting on this site to justify my putting any more time into it, especially when I already have a blog that has several hundred readers. This isn't about "justification", it's about conversation and discussion - something I hoped I'd have here, but just hasn't materialized. I think a large and active audience only works if you're a phenomenal blogger, and if you're publishing work that gets reviewed, and gets the kind of professional attention, accolades and honors that cause people to seek you out online. If you're a small-fry mid-talent like me, you tend to sink out of sight. I need Livejournal to connect to people, because, frankly, I'm tired of talking to myself. I've done that for four decades now, and I've had enough of it.

Going forward, I'll use this blog only to post announcements of sales and publications, and the comments function will be turned off. If I ever sell a novel and start to get what amounts to an actual career in writing, I'll also announce convention appearances, readings and publicity events. For those of you reading this blog through various feeds, you should be able to do the same with the Livejournal, and you won't miss anything. For those of you who'd rather just know about the sales and publications, this is the blog to read.

For those of you who did read and comment here, I do thank you.