Hungry Thing Sees 5th Anniversary

After two years of creative development, working by correspondence with Romanian illustrator Norbert Somosi, (me in Japan and he in Romania) our book “Hungry Thing” was published on December 19th, 2019: a dark fantasy tale told in five poems, illustrated with twenty, custom, black & white illustrations. To celebrate the publication’s five year anniversary, Norbert recreated color versions of two of the illustrations.

The End of Winter, by Norbert Somosi 

 

Hungry Thing, by Norbert Somosi 

Ten FIRST CONTACT themed science fiction drabbles accepted for Starry Eyed Press anthology.

As mentioned in a previous post, I dedicated myself to writing and submitting ten, science-fiction drabbles (the maximum allowed for one author) to a "FIRST CONTACT" themed drabble anthology announced by Starry Eyed Press. Happily, all of my submissions were accepted, and I signed a publishing contract them today.

For those who may be curious, here are the story titles. Let your imaginations roam!

·         Who Summoned the Ambassador?
·         The Regift (with Tom Jolly)
·         The Smart Alliance
·         Mind Readers
·         The Stalker
·         Hostess Seeks Host
·         Dynamic Upgrades
·         How Natives Rescued the First Human Colony
·         Fading Blue Light Special

·     ·         Pirate Lessons

Featured Author in Flash Frights #3, "CABIN" by Black Hare Press

Black Hare Press has finished compiling a third anthology of image/theme-prompted, horror micro-fiction, this one titled "CABIN". Also, for the third time, my submission (titled "Survivalist") was judged among the top three stories submitted. (Gratifying news! I worked very hard on it).

Once the competition closed, five additional story spots were advertised, so I wrote and submitted poem, “Cabin Made of Bones,” which was also accepted.

The book will launch on 15 December, 2025. Here's the link to reserve your own copy:- https://books2read.com/BHP-

42 Stories Anthology is FINALLY published!

42 Stories Anthology Presents: Book of 42²

I have only one, humorous, science-fiction micro-story in this huge anthology. It was submitted in July of 2018, so it has been an epic wait to see it in print. Unfortunately, albeit predictably and poetically, the cost will be a rather pricy $42.

UPDATE: The price will be only $30 until after the holidays.

This is an anthology of 1,764 micro-stories in a variety of genres, each consisting of exactly 42 words, and having a title exactly 42 characters long.

My story is titled: "New Vat-Grown Caretakers May Remember Old Tricks"

What is the significance of 42? Why, of course, it's the meaning of life, the universe and everything! Each story is exactly 42-words long and has a title 42-characters long. There are 42 such stories in each of 42 genre categories!

Featured Author Interview in Inner Circle Writers' Magazine Issue #70

 All about my writing, distilled onto a score of pages, with photos.

https://www.clarendonhousebooks.com/magazine

The Winter of Our Missed Content

With so many distractions, what with getting settled into a new home in a new country (Germany), I knew that my writing would slow down. Add my usual angst and it's a recipe for slow writing progress. 

Recognizing this, I set myself a modest goal of writing ten science-fiction drabbles for First Contact, an unpaid anthology submission call from Starry Eyed Press, a co-owned by an old writer friend* of mine, Anja Schӧn, aka A.S. Charly 

[*We have met only online, but share credits in at least THIRTY of the same anthologies].

Happily, I finished the ten drabbles (one of them co-credited to Tom Jolly, for improving the dialogue, and all of them were accepted for publication.) The submission call closes November 15th, and the anthology should come out in "probably Spring 2025".

It doesn't count as a writing progress, though it is news: my author interview for Inner Circle Writers' Magazine should be published in the near future. It will feature answers to assorted interview questions about my writing and my life, laid out between with lots of photographs of me. This was not one of them:

 

The Poppet Tree Wins First Place- Will Appear in Anthology "HEX"

 

For the second time this year, Black Hare Press solicited flash fiction horror stories based on an image prompt shared with authors whose works they have previously published, and the results will be compiled into a new anthology. This time, the image was a trio of spooky-looking rag dolls (Voo-Doo dolls?) dangling from a bloody tree branch by twine-like nooses. Submissions were required to contain fewer than 200 words.

To further incentivize participation, a Black Hare Press Tee-shirt was offered as first prize, for the submission judged best. I am delighted to report that I won the Tee, for my submission, titled "The Poppet Tree." Here is the publisher's review of "The Poppet Tree."

Well crafted story, blending horror with dark fantasy. The vivid imagery of blood-soaked poppets and the eerie atmosphere kept me on edge. The unique concept and unsettling details made it an unforgettable and captivating read.

Mine and every story submitted for this specific contest will be published in an anthology titled "HEX", part of a new series by BHP which began with "REAP". Here is the order link: https://books2read.com/BHP-HEX