Category writing
Things are happening
Obviously, I haven’t posted in quite some time. Today’s post is mostly personal stuff, with a little writing and reading content at the end. Also, this is my first post using this new “block editor” thing, so I have no idea if any of this will even be readable. I have no time or inclination […]
Short Story News
Today, I have a few links to outside content for you. The most important is a call for submissions from Misha Burnett for a new anthology titled “Young Dragons”. This is a unique opportunity if you are a new or aspiring fantasy author, as stories are only being accepted from authors who haven’t been published […]
Series: Spiral Wars
Book 1 of the Spiral Wars Series Joel Shepherd’s Spiral Wars series fits neatly in a sci-fi style I’d love to read more of: a galaxy full of conflicts between humans, aliens, and AIs, revealed to the reader through the action-adventures of a hero or group of heroes. I’m not getting what I want […]
Galactic Patrol
Galactic Patrol I decided to read something classic for Vintage Science Fiction Month, and chose one of the Lensmen stories by EE “Doc” Smith — Galactic Patrol. This is one of the oldest stories I’ve blogged about, being serialized in 1937-8 in the pulp magazine Astounding Stories. (If you’d like to see what other vintage […]
Magazines! Get Yer Red Hot Magazines!
Issue Five of StoryHack is now out in both Kindle and Print versions. This issue includes a story written by me! I hope you’ll all buy the issue and try to guess which story I wrote. Leave me a comment if you have a guess. I’m really proud to be in the same magazine as […]
StoryHack, Issue Four
StoryHack, Issue Four I’ve been enjoying StoryHack magazine, and it’s a top contender to win my magazine quest once I’ve written all the second and third issue reviews and tallied the final scores. I’ve written posts about StoryHack Issue Zero and some of my favorite stories from Issues Two and Three. I’ll write full reviews […]
Outside the Lines: The Recruit
I occasionally do something I call “Reading Outside the Lines”, where I pick a book that’s not sci-fi or fantasy to see what the writing is like in other genres of fiction. I’ve taken on thrillers already, so today I thought I’d tackle young adult. I’ve reviewed a couple of young adult books with major […]
Series: Prince Roger
March Upcountry Before I discuss the stories in the Prince Roger series, I thought I’d say a few words about the two-man writing team. I’ve always wondered how a writing duo works. Do they write alternate chapters? Do they each “own” certain characters, and write from their point-of-view? Does one person lay out the basic […]
Vote for the best stories of 2018
Originally posted on Planetary Awards:
Vote for the best stories of 2018 If you’re a blogger, podcaster, or youtuber, then you’re eligible to vote in the 2018 Planetary Awards. The nominated science fiction and fantasy stories are: Short Stories / Novellas The Flowers of Vashnoi by Lois Bujold Kakerlacs by Alexandru Constantin Mortu and Kyrus in…
Hack Those Stories!
There are only a few hours left to nominate stories for the 2018 Planetary Awards, so it’s time for me to get my short story nomination in. I have a potentially career-changing event happening tomorrow, which is good, but it means I don’t have much time to devote to tonight’s post. I originally wanted to […]
100 Fathoms Below
Tomorrow is the deadline to nominate for the Planetary Awards, so I’m making my nomination for best novel of 2018 tonight, and I’ll try to do a short story nomination tomorrow. If I had to nominate the book which I had the most fun reading, I’d nominate Monster Hunter Memoirs : Saints. But, I’m not […]
Smoke Eaters
This is my second brief post about reading for the Planetary Awards. The February 14th deadline is almost here, so don’t forget to make your own nominations. Yesterday, I posted about Embers of War and why it wouldn’t get my nomination. Today, I’m posting about Smoke Eaters and why it won’t, either. Firefighters versus dragons […]
Embers of War
At the start of the year, I posted a list of books I was planning to read for the Planetary Awards. I’m going to try to blast out mini-reviews of the ones I’ve read before the February 14th nomination deadline. That’s right, Feb 14, get your nominations in. Embers of War Embers of War will not […]
The Rim of Space
The Rim of Space I’m sneaking in one more post at the end of Vintage Science Fiction Month. Last week, I posted about Secret Agent of Terra by John Brunner, which I read in Ace Double #F-133. The other half of that double is The Rim of Space by Arthur Bertram Chandler. Chandler was a sailor […]
Extra Reading from 2018
It’s time to nominate your favorite 2018 stories for the Planetary Awards, where book bloggers choose the best books and short stories of the year. I’ve realized that I read very few 2018 books during 2018, so now I’m scrambling to read some more. (This seems to be an annual event for me.) Here are […]
Vacation Reading 2018
My wife and I recently returned from a hiking trip to Patagonia and the Andes. I’ll try to do a vacation post later (although I still haven’t posted about last year’s vacation…), but today’s post is about the books I read on the flights there and back. This year, I decided to read books written […]
Kevin J Anderson and Me
I’ve never met Kevin J Anderson, but for some time, I’ve been thinking of doing a series of posts which I’m now titling [Author X] and me. In these posts, I’ll briefly mention each of the author’s works I’ve read, trying not to go into too much detail on any one of them. In Anderson’s […]
Mini-Review: Salamander Six
Salamander Six Salamander Six is a near-future short story set on Saint Martin at the moment it gains independence from a newly-imperialist France. The hero character is an entrepreneur/inventor, developing new forms of aerial firefighting to be used in hard-to-access fires, such as those in tall buildings or on oil rigs. Our hero gets a […]
Dealer gets 21
Sadly, this won’t be a story about a dangerous gambling experience in a mafia-owned casino. It’s just another blog post about my short stories being rejected by magazines and anthologies. I received my twenty-first rejection last month. I know, some of you authors are laughing and saying “I got twenty-one rejections last week”. My progress […]
Vote for the best stories of 2017
Originally posted on Planetary Awards:
If you’re a blogger, podcaster, or youtuber, then you’re eligible to vote in the 2017 Planetary Awards. The nominated science fiction and fantasy stories are: Short Stories / Novellas “Acadie” by Dave Hutchinson “The Bitten Body” by AC Spahn “Death on the Moon” by Spencer Hart, found in Cirsova issue…
Side Quest, attempt #2
Last year, I announced my side quest to read several “best of” collections and see whether any of them were worth reading through the years. My first attempt was a disaster. Check out the wrap-up post. For attempt #2, I’m reading The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume Six. Here are my takes […]
MidSouthCon 36
Last Sunday, my wife and I made a last-minute decision to drive to Memphis, TN and catch the final day of MidSouthCon. We had to work Friday and Saturday, and because Memphis is a couple hours of driving each way, and we didn’t have a dog-sitter, we only had a few hours at the con. […]
DNF: Fire with Fire
Fire with Fire by Charles Gannon I didn’t post about it in January, but my New Year’s resolution was to DNF more books. (DNF is book-blogger slang for Did Not Finish.) Since I became a book blogger, I’ve DNFed very little, but I’m frustrated by the low average quality of my reading material, and I […]
Review (part II): Jade City
Jade City by Fonda Lee In part I of my review, I wrote about the publisher’s deceptive marketing. Jade City is slow-paced, not a kung-fu action fest as promised. But, if you enjoy worldbuilding and character-building, Jade City could be right up your alley. The story is set in a fictional Asian island nation, Kekon, […]
Review (part I): Jade City
Jade City by Fonda Lee I enjoyed “Jade City”, and wish I could jump right into telling you why I enjoyed it, but … first, I think I need to talk about the elephant in the room: the publisher’s deceptive marketing. The book was promoted as “The Godfather” crossed with a kung fu action flick. […]
2017 Planetary Award Nominees
The reblog function on WordPress has been broken for several days, so I’m cutting and pasting the nominees below. If you’re a blogger, podcaster, or youtuber, and would like to cast a vote, go to the Planetary Awards Site. Nominees for Best Short Story or Novella: “Acadie” by Dave Hutchinson “The Bitten Body” by AC […]
Are they getting their money’s worth?
It would be reasonable to assume that magazines which pay more for their stories end up with higher-quality material to publish. I decided to plot my ratings of short stories in 49 ranked magazines against the cents per word paid for them. I was only able to use 299 out of 365 stories, as some […]
Gender Breakdown
Let’s break down the stories in my 49 ranked magazines by the author’s gender. Gender Avg Stars (5 max) # of stories Avg Wordcount Unknown 2.88 4 3,982 Male 2.79 217 4,342 Female 2.46 138 4,406 Indeterminate 2.42 6 3,667 “Unknown” means that the author used initials so I couldn’t guess at their gender, and […]
National Breakdown
Now, let’s break down the stories in the 49 magazines by the author’s nationality. I couldn’t always find this information, and I’ve left out countries which only had one data point. Here’s what’s left: Nation Avg Stars (5 max) # of stories Avg Wordcount Australia 3.08 18 5,513 South Africa 2.83 3 3,660 New Zealand […]
Genre Breakdown
It’s time to look at the stories in my forty-nine ranked magazines by genre. First, let’s see if editors prefer one genre over another. I removed magazines which were only science fiction or only fantasy, and came up with the following breakdown: Genre # of stories % of stories Science Fiction 120 41.0% Modern-Day Fantasy […]
Five Star System
Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be writing at least four posts discussing the results from the first round of my magazine quest. They will reference the ratings from one to five that I gave individual stories. So that you’ll have some perspective, I decided to describe what the different star ratings mean […]
49 Sci-Fi/Fantasy Magazines Ranked from Best to Worst
In my last post, I explained why I’ve cut off my first round of magazine reviews at 49, and described my ranking method. So, on to the results, giving my first issue of each magazine an Olympic-style score from 10 to 1: [WARNING: Do not go to the website of Red Sun Magazine, as its […]
Magazine: Diabolical Plots
You’ve probably heard me mention the submissions grinder website before, as that’s where I found the majority of the magazines I’ve reviewed. It’s an excellent tool for short story authors, as it will list magazines that are currently accepting submissions of a story’s genre and length. Also, if you log your submissions there, it will […]
Magazine: Astounding Frontiers #1
Astounding Frontiers, issue #1 Astounding Frontiers is a magazine put out by Superversive Press. “Superversive” is the name of a recent literary movement you may not be familiar with. This quote from author L Jagi Lamplighter serves as a nice, quick summary: You know how subversive means to change something by undermining from below? […]
Star Wars: The Laziest Jedi
I suspect that most of you have plans to see the next Star Wars movie, The Last Jedi, in the near future. I don’t plan to join you, mostly because I was disappointed by the previous movie in the series chronology, The Force Awakens. I may change my mind if someone I trust recommends the […]
NaNoWriMo wrap-up
November’s over, and I achieved my NaNoWriMo goal of 30 novels in 30 days. I posted about my first 17 novels earlier, here are the remaining 13: Running Ragged — A street urchin witnesses a crime in an illegal drug lab, and goes on the run from the perpetrators. Can’t Eat This — A prototype android responds to […]
NaNoWriMo progress
I haven’t put any new reviews up in the last couple of weeks, because I’ve been working nights and weekends, counting inventory battling the forces of bad science fiction, and I can’t seem to shake the cold I caught on the plane home from South America the PDC was hit by a biological weapons attack. I […]
NaNoWriMo
If you’re not familiar with NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), it takes place each November, when aspiring authors attempt to write entire novels in 30 days. For most people, writing a novel in 30 days would be an ambitious goal, but for someone with my awesome writing skills, it’s not much of a challenge. So, for this […]
21st-Century SFF Publishers
If you’ve been following this blog, you know that I’ve been struggling to find good science-fiction stories in magazines. Although I haven’t blogged about longer fiction lately, I also have trouble finding good sci-fi and fantasy novels. I normally don’t pay any attention to a book’s publisher. I usually decide what to read based on […]
I’m a sixth-rate writer, at best
I recently received another rejection for my AI vs. Aliens story. This one was from L Ron Hubbard’s Writers of the Future contest. Before I entered, I knew the contest was kind of a big deal, but I didn’t realize it was a REALLY BIG DEAL. A number of sites I’ve read since submitting have […]
Something Fishy at Strange Horizons?
Long-term readers of this blog will know that I’ve been searching for the best SFF magazine to subscribe to. That search (still in progress) led me to submit a couple of my own SFF stories to magazines. I received a form rejection last weekend, from Strange Horizons. Rejection isn’t surprising, as I’m not claiming that […]
Mini-Review: The Thorne Legacy
The Thorne Legacy I’m still being crushed (under a mountain of paperwork) at my job, so I don’t have time tonight to write up another magazine review and continue my last Four Apes story. Instead, I thought I’d put down a few words about a story by fellow blogger JD Brink. While thinking about […]
Guest post by CS Boyack
I’ve been crushed at work for the past few weeks, so I haven’t had much time to write original content here, or even to visit other blogs. My company hired three new people to take over some of my duties, but showing them the ropes increased my workload in the short term. Fortunately, this guy […]
Mini-Review: Snapshot
Snapshot Snapshot is a novella-length story, roughly two and a half hours of audiobook, which I’m estimating would make it about 80 pages long if it were offered as a paperback (ebook and audio are the only current options). Although Brandon Sanderson has published many books through the big houses, he chose to self-publish this […]
Planetary Award Winners – 2016
The winners of the 2016 Planetary Awards have been announced. The winning short story was “Athan and the Priestess” from the collection Thune’s Vision by Schuyler Hernstrom. I’ve purchased a copy, and I’ll review it once I’ve read the entire book. I’ve only read the winning story so far, but I enjoyed it. I found it very Conan-esque, […]
Rejection #3
OK, I know posts about my rejection letters scored next-to-last in the poll of what my readers are interested in, but I needed something quick and easy to write up this week. My immediate superior at work will be getting medical treatment for the next week or two, so I’ll be doing his job. That means […]
Coming soon to a PDC near you
In early January, many bloggers posted their plans for the coming year. I’m just getting around to it now – that should tell you what kind of a year I’ve been having. Here’s a list of things I hope to do in 2017. I’ll place a poll below, so you can tell me which ones actually […]
Setting: Galactic Empire, part 4
In part 1, I described the enormous scale of a galactic empire. In part 2, I discussed the impact of FTL technology on the empire’s economy. In part 3, I wrote about the purpose of the empire, and ways it could be managed. Now, I ask: how does our empire maintain military and political control? […]
Setting: Galactic Empire, part 3
In part 1, I described the enormous scale of a galactic empire. In part 2, I discussed the economic impact of FTL technology on its economy. Now I ask: what is the point of our galactic empire? Why do some of the characters in the story support it and defend it? The empire’s purpose may […]
Setting: Galactic Empire, part 2
In part 1, I wrote about the enormous scale of a galactic empire. If we’re going to turn that empire into a decent setting for a story, we’ll need to understand its economics. The first thing we need to know is what type of FTL (Faster Than Light) technology it has. Without FTL, the planets […]
Setting: Galactic Empire, part 1
A while ago, I decided I wanted to read some science fiction about a galaxy-spanning empire. I briefly browsed Amazon’s kindle offerings under “galactic empire”, but all I found was military sci-fi where the galaxy-spanning nature of the empire wasn’t a major element in the story. Thinking back to classic sci-fi, I’m only coming up […]
I am the 40%
My short story received its second rejection this week. This rejection was from Fantasy & Science Fiction magazine. My previous rejection was from a magazine with a 96% rejection rate, and I turned around and submitted to a magazine with a rejection rate of over 99%. You might be thinking “doesn’t this guy learn from […]
Something for writers, something for readers
First, some news: I received a rejection letter for my first short story submission. I was originally going to give this post the pessimistic title of “Rejection #1”, because I’m a ‘glass is 96% empty’ kind of guy, not ‘glass is 4% full’. (According to The Grinder, 96% of stories are rejected at Analog magazine, […]
Interview: S. C. Flynn
I’m crossing the campus of Kakadu University to deliver my latest thesis draft to my advisor. He insisted on the topic of my doctoral research: I allow myself to be bitten or stung by Australia’s venomous creatures, and rate the pain from one to ten. Ants and wasps, centipedes and scorpions, snakes and spiders, jellyfish […]
The Other Magazine Quest
If you’ve been following this blog lately, you know about my original magazine quest. I’m reading at least one issue from 24 (up from the original 12) different science-fiction magazines, and picking which one(s) I’ll subscribe to. I’ve only posted 14 magazine reviews so far, but I promise I’ll write up the others over the […]
Questions from MarzAat
MarzAat recently nominated me for a Liebster award. If you’re not familiar with Liebster: basically you answer ten questions, then forward ten questions to ten bloggers who impress you. I’m not going to forward the questions on, as some bloggers have grown tired of awards. Reference this graphic from Entertaining Stories: However, if you would […]
Review: Heirs of Empire
Heirs of Empire I found Heirs of Empire when I was searching for a novel to nominate for The Planetary Awards. The book has a reasonably interesting plot: a military coup knocks out most of a ruling dynasty, the youngest members of the dynasty escape, and the dynasty’s allies lay a foundation for its return […]
Meet Clovis
Clovis is a character from C. S. Boyack‘s new novel, The Playground. (If I’m not mistaken, Clovis is on the short-list to receive a Nobel Peace Prize this year.) Here is an excerpt from The Playground which introduces him: The tweaker rushed around the corner behind the bushes, tried to slam the gate shut, and […]
Announcement, Announcement, Announcement!
Originally posted on Entertaining Stories:
I’m bringing a new feature to this blog. I don’t often pander for social media shares and re-blogs, but tomorrow is the day. Not this post, tomorrow’s post. Do what you will with this one, it’s just the announcement. The best way to explain it is by telling you how…
Interview: P. Alexander
I’m in the back of a speeding van, loading a light machine gun. “How’d they find us so fast?” Cara looks over her shoulder from the driver’s seat. “Yeah, how did they spot four heavily-armed, ethnically-diverse strangers in a small town, driving a van with your logo on the side?” “Shut up, fool!” I kick […]
Cirsova Issue 1 Kickstarter is Live! (please share!)
Originally posted on Cirsova:
The Kickstarter for Cirsova Issue 1 is a go! Issue # 1 is done and paid for. We’re just taking orders and raising money for the future so I can start work on Issue #2 right away! Basic pledge rates are as follows: Individual Copies $2 – PDF $10 + Shipping…
Writing Contest
I’ve agreed to be one of three judges in a writing contest. The contest is for those who have already self-published something, as first prize is a promotion package from a book tweeting service. Stories must be 1,500 words or less, and based on one of four “writing prompt” images, but can fall under any […]
Blurb Doctor: A Ransom of Flames
Anela has asked me to look at the first draft of a blurb for her upcoming work, “A Ransom of Flames”. A deadly blight. A crownless queen. A journey to the edge of the world. A mysterious blight is destroying the world of Aeden. At the return of each full moon the Vehlek, immortal men […]
Writing a better blog post
Last week, I was bouncing around the internet, and ran across some articles about writing better blog posts. The first thing I saw was an idea generator for blog posts. This made me think “if you don’t have an opinion or experience to share, why are you blogging in the first place?” Next, I found […]
How fast can you write?
Last week, I read a message board post by a moderately-popular science fiction / fantasy author, in which he claimed that he typically writes a 120,000 word novel in 100 hours. That’s 1,200 words per hour, or 20 words per minute. That doesn’t seem possible to me, so I’m hoping those of you who are […]
Interview: C. S. Boyack
It’s midnight, and I’m standing in a snow-covered field, waiting for C. S. Boyack. Something howls in the distance. The light of the full moon reflecting off the snow is almost as bright as daylight. Almost. A man approaches, and I spot fur sticking out from the top of his jacket. This guy has definitely […]
Microfiction: Home
Happy 4th of July to my US readers (and condolences to my British readers). I recently shared a microfiction story I wrote that was rejected by 101fiction.com, and now I’d like to share one that was accepted (with revisions). In case you’re not familiar with 101 fiction: a 100 word story with a one word title is […]
Interview: Misha Burnett
Misha Burnett asked me to meet him at this riverboat casino. I’m taking shallow breaths to protect my lungs from cigarette smoke, but my sense of smell is shot. I can’t pick out sounds over the musical ringing and dinging of slot machines. I’m down two senses – is this a trap? I spot Misha, […]
Say no to prequels
A while ago, I noticed that every time I read a novel (or see a film) that is a prequel, I like it far less than the original material. So, I’m going to make a conscious effort to avoid prequels in the future. I think I’ve boiled down my aversion to two factors: 1) Lack […]
Flash Fiction: Attica 2071
I was browsing the site of one of my recent followers, ZombieSymmetry of Trustus Pharmaceuticals, and I ran across an interesting story. It’s 1,500 words, which places it kind of on the border between flash fiction and a short story. Before reading my comments about the story, you may want to read it yourself. However, […]
Blurb Doctor: Dimension Lapse
Nicholas Davis asked me to look at his story, Dimension Lapse, so it’s getting a full workup from the Blurb Doctor. Jeff Walker, a Martian colonist is trapped in another universe, and lands on an island on a far away planet. He is befriended by its inhabitants,the Lingworts and learns to live in peace. When […]
Setting: the middle of nowhere
I took the above photo during my honeymoon, part of which included a drive from Springbok to Augrabies Falls in South Africa’s Northern Cape. I drove through this terrain for hours, and tried to imagine what it would have been like centuries ago, traveling in an ox-drawn wagon, with no road or power lines to […]
Blurb Doctor: Gem-Oh Line
This is the second house call by the Blurb Doctor for one of Natalie McKay‘s stories. This time it’s Gem-Oh Line, here’s the current blurb: Nyria’s life couldn’t get much worse. Not only was she now the laughing stock of the Afgadu Military, she now was sent as a form of punishment to the other […]
Blurb Doctor: Red Haven
Natalie McKay has volunteered her short stories for the first posts in my new series, the Blurb Doctor. In these posts, I’ll take apart a book or short story’s marketing blurb, and rebuild it … better … stronger … faster. [For the younger crowd, that’s a Six Million Dollar Man reference. Hmmm, inflation is making […]
Setting: Underwater Dome City – part 2
In part 1 of this topic, I introduced the underwater dome as a setting for science fiction stories. Here, I’ll discuss some of the difficulties of life in an underwater dome, because they can be used to give more detail and flavor to your story. First, you’ll need to build your dome out of something […]
Setting: Underwater Dome City – part 1
I wanted to live underwater as a child. I saw underwater domes on Saturday morning cartoons, but also in serious reference books predicting that by the far-off future of 2015, there would be cities inside underwater domes as well as domes on the lunar surface. I would imagine myself driving a kelp-harvesting tractor, piloting a […]
Calling all Authors
In August, I’ll be making several long international flights, so it’s time to load my kindle and ipod with reading material. If you’re an author and would like me to review one of your stories, leave me a message in the comments section below. If you’d rather speak privately, send me a direct message via […]
Setting: Berlin 1945
The forces of evil face off against … the other forces of evil. The city’s defenders are hopelessly outnumbered and surrounded with no chance of escape. Many of those defenders are SS war criminals with nothing to lose. If they surrender they’ll face execution or a slow death by hypothermia and starvation in a Siberian […]
Blog Hop follow-up
This is a follow up to my writing process blog hop post. I’m posting links to other bloggers’ entries, and jotting down a few notes about interesting things they’ve written. James Pailly invited me to the blog hop. I found it interesting that both he and I started writing to focus on something other than […]
Writing Process Blog Hop
James Pailly of the Tomorrow News Network has asked me to participate in the Writing Process Blog Hop / Writer’s Blog Tour. [See James’ post for the hop.] To participate, an author answers the tour’s four questions about their writing, and then invites several others (three seems to be the most common number) to do […]
Planetary Defense Command 