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The first in a series of 'London Folklore' stories I am doing for Londnr has been released- Dryad, N4
The series will be five stories, telling some urban folktales around London. I'm pretty hyped about this project it is fair to say, and Londnr
Also, a story I recorded last summer for OpenPen has been released- Amir's Artisan Spiders
So two new bits of fiction for you- one to watch and listen, and one to read!
It is raining, so good day for ducks
PENCAST episode 1 just went up! Over 200 people listened to our pilot episode at the end of the year, and so finally we are moving forward. There are some great piece on here from some very interesting writers- check it out!
Aside from that, the upcoming short urban legends I've been commissioned to write has been expanded from three stories to five- so great!
All good all good all good.
Reading- Raymond Carver, Fires
Listening- Pavement, Carrot Rope
What what what what what
Today is an exciting day. I'm heading to Oxford for the premiere of a short film based on my story Audiophile, which was one of the winners of BBC's Opening Lines competition a couple years back. Emanuele Biasiol has adapted the story, you can check out some pictures and a teaser trailer if you check out the 'Pictures' or 'Video' tabs on this site.
So hey that is exciting right? A bit surreal from my end.
The pilot podcast with Open Pen magazine- Pencast has had a lovely response- the official first episode is still percolating mainly due to some technical issues on my end, but we have a heap of interesting content so its a matter of 'when' rather than 'if'.
What else? Submitted to some competitions, submitted to some magazines. Written 2 of 3 urban fantasy stories for a commission by a cool website (more to be announced soon on that front). The writing is ongoing, there are the edits of the old book and the fresh additions to the new book and the new short stories and the old short stories. What else?
Book reviews: The Lost Lighthouse
Pop culture podcast: The Weekly Rapture
D&D podcast: Total Reroll
D&D text adventure: The Cursed Tomb
READING: This Is Memorial Device- David Keenan
LISTENING: Belle & Sebastian- Fold your hand child, you walk like a peasant
Oh my days. What is up.
I just launched a new podcast with the lads from Open Pen magazine- Pencast , showcasing short fiction, poetry, interviews etc. We've had a great response to our pilot episode- can't wait to keep moving. Check it out- it is rough around the edges, but has some great content in there. The Weekly Rapture pop-culture and Total Reroll: Equinox D&D 5e casts keep on rolling- if you haven't jumped on the Total Reroll bandwagon yet, our new season is a fresh start in a new world and is a great point to jump on. The new season is a mix of classic fantasy, wild west, and a little steampunk. We've been having a heap of fun playing it. I've been remiss in my book/game reviewing for The Lost Lighthouse, but hopefully now life is calming down I'll be able to get some more of my contributions flowing.
Other news? Take Flight is with some lovely editors, and I've had some great feedback from a small cadre of dedicated and lovely beta-readers. The new novel is a wild, ridiculous thing, that I am rather in lvoe with- now begins the slow process of editing it into a palatable shape. I've started up the short story engine again, aiming to hit the new year with a bang.
What else, what else? It is cold and grey in London, just how I like it. Life is good- I'm shortly (very shortly) getting married, and I started a new job as associate editor at a science journal last month. All is well in my world.
Writing- short stories- I've been playing with some 'genre' fiction shorts, and loving it
Listening- Belle & Sebastian back catalogue, Nasseau Colliseum by Lifter Puller
Reading- Iron Council by China Miéville, Pablo Neruda's collected works
It's been odd not polishing short stories. Since the beginning of the year I decided to focus on two things- a complete heavy edit of my novel Take Flight, with an eye to taking it to some agents in the Autumn, and completing the first draft of my new novel (the title of which is currently only known by three people- you are not one of them). This means that things have been quiet on the short story front as I try and wrangle these two large projects to a close. I've still been writing short stories, but they linger as drafts, waiting for me to take the time to fix them up and send them out. Which of course means fewer live events- a temporary state of being. Take Flight is currently out with some beta-readers, and thus far the feedback has been phenomenal. It was a sprawling chaotic novel, but I think the pacing has picked up enough now to carry through the reader.
No despair! I still have two film projects based around my short stories underway- one nearing completion (the draft is very tasty, the edit so close to completion...) and one at a tentative beginning.
In the meantime I've been co-hosting The Weekly Rapture pop culture podcast with my friend Adam Beech, which makes me engage with the world of games, books, and films in a way I could too easily stop otherwise.
Aims for autumn? Send out Take Flight to some interested parties. Edit a pile of short stories and get them submitted. Finish the new book.
Writing- New Novel, which involves the final usage off about three years of sporadic research into all kinds of esoteric folklore and legends.
Listening- Low Teens, new album from Every Time I Die
Reading- Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson
Final point- Square Space has an e-commerce tool. Thinking about putting up a pay-per-prose option, bespoke micro-fiction and short stories for a set fee. Reckon there is much call for that?
A few months of concentration has yeilded some very cool results!
I've seen the first edit of the short story video project I mentioned previously- It's looking very cool, can't wait to tellk you more about it.
I'm now one of the co-hosts on the pop culture podcast The Weekly Rapture, hosted by The Lost Lighthouse (Who also host our D&D podcast Total Reroll).
I have also been continuing my series of book reviews for The Lost Lighthouse, most recently I reviewed Dodge & Burn by Seraphina Madsen.
What else what else? A few cool short story projects based around audio are in production and underway, there is a tentative short film of one of my old pieces in pre-pre-pre-production, and as always I'm writing away.
Currently working on a big edit of my old novel (snow, madness, etc), and just killing the first draft of the new one (monsters, Scotland, etc). So I'm a happy guy!
It's been a productive time! Summer and heat have arrived in force, and I've been writing writing writing. I'm focusing on some long form pieces at the moment so all quiet temporarily on the short story front, but oh the long pieces, oh my. I've had a few research trips home to Scotland to help with this new novel- my notes are full of castle maps and ancient folk tales, and I can't wait to share the finished product. As for my novel Slow Light, some fun developments on that side, hopefully a lot more to come later. Just you wait and see. In the meantime-
I did a review of Tim Clare's book The Honours for The Lost Lighthouse, hopefully the first of many contributions. We've also been continuing our Dungeons & Dragons podcast Total Reroll- we are almost 50 episodes in! Episode 24 is a good jumping on point. We should be wrapping that up soon, but starting a third season which we are all pretty excited about.
The Open Pen Anthology was runner-up for best anthology at Saboteur Awards 2016
Anything else? Well. I had filming for a yet to be announced video short story project, and some of my favourite stories I recorded audio for last year are going to be coming soon to a very cool platform. When details are finalised, I'll let you all know.
It has arrived! Last night I read at one of the launch events for the Open Pen Anthology. The book is here, it looks fantastic, and contains two of my pieces: Haar, which first appeared in Open Pen Magazine issue 9, and Laika, which has previously only been read live once at the December 2015 edition of Lost Treasures of the Black Heart and has never previously been printed! Check it out, it is a top collection with some really cool stuff in it. Pictures to follow shortly.
Other news? Scaremongrel is now available for KINDLE! Or it is still accessible through the ios Pigeonhole app
Writing a first draft of a new novel at the moment, sending the old one out to agents, and even getting the occasional short story in there. Iceberg-like, 9/10ths of the good stuff is yet to be seen...
2016 is off with a bang!
I read an old story of mine at Josie Long's Lost Treasures of the Black Heart in December. It was a great crowd, and I should be reading there again within the next few months.
Christmas Day saw the long awaited publication of The Ossuary Tract as Stave IX of the Scaremongrel collection, available now in myriad forms through The Pigeonhole. I think it is one of my best, and I'm very happy to appear in such a high calibre collection. There is also a nice wee piece on my writing process, and if you read the story using the pigeonhole app or browser, there are a few additional tidbits.
The Open Pen Anthology has headed off to the printers, including the first piece of work I had published (Haar), as well as a brand new piece called Laika
On a slightly different tack, I've been taking part in a podcast for the last year or so Adam Beech from The Lost Lighthouse, along with a few other friends. It is called Total Reroll, and can be found by searching for The Lost Lighthouse wherever you get your podcasts from. It consists of us playing Dungeons & Dragons and generally messing around, and is much more fun than that sounds. A recap of Season 1 is available, but Season 2 is a great point to jump aboard.
Aims for the year? More publications. More cool stuff. More multimedia content (other than endless pictures of me holding paper)
Announcements!
Two of my pieces will be appearing in the Open Pen Anthology- Haar, which Appeared a few years ago in Open Pen issue 9, and a brand new piece. Available for pre-order now.
Also, a horror story of mine will be appearing in The Pigeonhole's Halloween horror collection Scaremongrel.
What else? Well... an interview with Open Pen magazine's editor Sean Preston, which you can find embedded amongst a few answers to questions from the lovely people at www.theshortstory.co.uk
What to say? It is busy, it is always busy, and that it good.
As mentioned previously, I was at Josie Long's Lost Treasures of the Black Heart up in Camden a few weeks ago- I read a short story called Highgate, currently unpublished elsewhere. The reaction was great, and it was a really fun night. I'll be there again in October, but check it out as soon as you can- it is always a good night. If you want to read Highgate, well, you can't! Not yet, anyway...
The piece for the horror anthology has finally pupated into its true form, and it is pretty weird. I am looking forward to seeing how people react, and there should be a launch party in October with readings and booze and whatnot organised by The Pigeonhole. If you haven't heard of them, they are the people currently causing a ruckus on the publishing scene. Lovely people.
What else? I'm filming a reading of an older, published piece of mine for a project that is still hush hush, but could be very fun. Got to get the accent out there, it is perhaps my only selling point.
Upcoming- got a submission deadline for an anthology I'm hopeful about in a few weeks, and the pieces are slowly coming together for novel number two. Novel number one is still languishing in the inboxes and postrooms of many, but it is time to start moving forward. This time, less insanity and weird structural devices, and more monster rampages.
Other things:
My mate Dave just published his debut novel Rickshaw which is funny and heartbreaking. Go read it.
You can hear me and some guys playing D&D (7 episodes now) over at The Lost Lighthouse.
I read a piece of mine at Lost Treasures of the Black Heart on May 5th- it was great fun, and I'll be back again in July. For a night that is mainly comedy, everyone seemed happy enough with some depressing short fiction!
Also, got confirmation that I will be appearing in a Horror anthology in October. Further details to follow- its a really cool platform and I'm super excited.
What else is going on? I passed my PhD viva, so I'm now Dr Green. Which is pretty cool, and means I might have a little bit more time for getting some writing done...
Broken Worlds by Almond Press is a collection of dystopian stories, including my contribution Silva's Plague.
It's been available for a few months on Kindle now, but the paperback is now available to order! I have a proof copy, its a lovely production and a great collection of stories.
For more info check out Almond Press.
It's hot in London, it feels like summer already. I've been busy with a new job, but hopefully will be getting along to some live lit events over the summer.
I'll be reading a story next month at Lost Treasures of the Black Heart in Camden, May 5th- check it out, only £5 for a lot of comedians (and me reading something that will not be funny).
Word of the day: Zealot
What I am working on: Recording some audio for an upcoming collaboration, waiting to hear back on about a dozen submissions
What I'm listening to: Childish Gambino "3005"
What I'm reading: "Dance Dance Dance" by Haruki Murakami, "Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair" by Pablo Neruda
What I'm playing: Metro 2033
A new day, a new website. So lets see how it goes? I may even post things on this blog, sometimes. Whenever I post something like this, I'll add in what I'm working on at the moment.
Word of the day: defenestrate
What I am working on: hunting agents, a scary short story, tidying up a sci-fi piece from a few months ago
What I'm listening to: M.I.A "Bring The Noize"
What I'm reading: Beowulf, the Seamus Heaney translation from Faber and Faber