Utterly Pure poem published in Mirror Dance

I always look forward to publishing in Mirror Dance, because the editor, Megan Arkenberg, always selects such lovely illustrations. 'Utterly Pure' is no exception. She's got a fine eye, has Megan. 

Three Brother Cities Go to Poland

My story 'Three Brother Cities' appears in Polish translation here at Szortal. Thanks Szortal! I love reaching new readers.

Non Polish readers you might like to read the English version at here The Sockdolager. 

Story Sale to Lane of Unusual Traders

My flash story 'The Last of the Beetle Wing' has been selected to appear in the next phase of the shared world project The Lane of Unusual Traders. 

Here's one I did earlier: Venom.

The submission call is still open for longer stories. Here are the guidelines.

Can a Film Ever Be Better than the Book?

This week's SF Signal Mind Meld ask if a film can ever be better than the book.

Arnie rules!

Amazon Freebie This Week: Space Opera Anthology

You don't have to be smart to be a soldier in the Thoknar Protectorate. But if you find something strange in the scorpial infested badlands, you'd be wise not to think about it too much.

My space opera story 'They Cannot Scare Me With their Empty Spaces' alongside other Dark Expanse stories is free this week.

Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

Nature Futures Story 'Sibyl' Goes Evil

I'm pleased to announce a lightening fast acceptance for 'Siby' from Evil Girlfriend Media shorts. And here's one we made earlier, 'Aunty Merkel' goes evil, too. 

There's also some interesting advice from editor Jennifer Brozeck about the stories she's looking for. How refreshing to see an editors looking for zombie stories. 

Captain Quasar Novel Release

Today I celebrate the publication of Milo's novel. I've been following Captain Quasar's adventures for a few years, now. If you like your SF big and bold, give Quasar a try.   

CAPTAIN BARTHOLOMEW QUASAR

and the Space-Time Displacement Conundrum

Every Day Novels is proud to announce the release of Milo James Fowler's first serialized novel:

Captain Bartholomew Quasar and the Space-Time Displacement Conundrum

16 weeks of serial chapters every weekday – that's 80 exciting episodes of adventure aboard the Effervescent Magnitude for only $5 USD (includes an eBook edition following serialization). Don't delay – Subscribe today!

                                      

Captain Quasar is out of time.

Pursued by vengeful Goobalob toll collectors, savage Arachnoid bounty hunters, and formidable Amazonians, Captain Bartholomew Quasar must do whatever he can to keep the crew of the Effervescent Magnitude out of harm's way. All in a day's work—except time is not on his side.

Torn from the present to relive his past, he vows to keep mistakes from occurring the second time around. But is he doomed to repeat history? Or can he erase his regrets?

Villains will be vanquished. Lives will be lost. Bonds will be betrayed. Heroes will be heroic.

Join the crew of the Effervescent Magnitude for a hilarious time-travel space adventure the likes of which you've never seen!

Now Available from Every Day Novels

Add Captain Quasar to your Goodreads bookshelf

Prologue:

Jaw muscle twitching at untimed intervals, Captain Bartholomew Quasar gripped the armrests of his deluxe-model captain's chair and narrowed his heroic gaze. The main viewscreen on the bridge of the Effervescent Magnitude radiated with white-hot streaks blurring in elongated trajectories as his star cruiser plunged into the depths of space at something near the speed of light.

Quasar could feel the tension in the air. It was palpable and tasted like sweat—mostly his own. The members of his bridge crew remained silent, standing at their stations and staring at the viewscreen. Many forgot to blink as their insides trembled, recoiling with a nameless fear.

They had never moved so fast in their lives.

This was the Magnitude's maiden voyage into deep space utilizing the recently installed cold fusion near-lightspeed reactor—an experimental propulsion system they'd picked up on the planet Carpethria. One thing was readily apparent: it worked. But how long could the ship could maintain this incredible velocity without compromising hull integrity?

Already, the ship was creaking and groaning in protest, and the helmsman—a very hairy, four-armed Carpethrian who resembled something between a sloth and an overweight orangutan—had begun to grumble that the reactor really should have been tested before this full-speed leap into the black.

But there had been no other choice. Their options at the time were either flight (and survival) or fight (and undoubtedly be destroyed). Vicious Arachnoid bounty hunters were on their tail, and Arachnoids tended to be a very hungry lot—often foregoing payment for their illicit services in favor of a fresh kill.

The Magnitude's first officer, Commander Selene Wan, wasn't keen on the idea of allowing a Carpethrian to man the helm of their freshly minted star cruiser. But no one else on board knew how to navigate at near-lightspeed, and it took all four of the alien's hands to do the job—something two humans would have had to coordinate in tandem. And that could have gotten awkward.

"Steady as she goes." Quasar smoothed down his close-cropped blond hair and cringed as the ship released a moan that didn't sound good at all—something akin to a whale giving birth. "How are we doing, Hank?"

"Haven't run into anything yet," grunted the very hairy helmsman, hands flying across the controls.

"Status report?" Quasar half-turned to regard his first officer with a confidently raised eyebrow.

Commander Wan, a tall, slim Eurasian with impeccable posture, kept her attention riveted on her console. "Proximity scanners are offline." She swayed on her feet with the rocking movements of the ship, her sleek black hair swinging across her shoulders. "Artificial gravity is holding. Life support remains functional." A sudden frown creased her usually furrow-free forehead. "But the reactor, sir… We may have a serious problem."

"Elaborate."

"It's overheating, Captain. If we don't decelerate, it may—" She swallowed. "Explode."

That wouldn't be good at all. The folks back home were depending on Captain Quasar and company to bring back loads of quartz necessary for virtually every form of technology and transportation on Earth, not to mention haute vintage time pieces. The Magnitude could not possibly be allowed to blow up.

"Hank?" Quasar faced the shaggy helmsman. "Could we possibly slow down a bit?"

The Carpethrian grunted something intelligible, followed by, "Commencing deceleration sequence."

"Very good." The captain nodded, glancing over his shoulder at his first officer. Everything was under control. "Status?"

She shook her head without a word. Quasar checked the console on his armrest. The Arachnoid ship was nowhere in sight, and the Magnitude had begun to slow down, but only by an infinitesimal fraction of its near-lightspeed velocity.

"Uh-Hank? About that deceleration sequence…" Quasar cleared his throat.

"It will take thirty minutes, Captain. Any sudden downshift in speed would tear the ship apart."

Quasar maintained a brave façade for the sake of his crew. Such was expected from starship captains, after all. Clenching his jaw, he leaned toward Wan and whispered, "Do we have thirty minutes?"

She met his gaze, and he didn't like what he saw in her eyes—something she hadn't shown before when they'd dealt with the horrible Goobalobs or the savage Arachnoids:

Terror.

Get to know the man behind the book:

1. When did you start seriously pursuing writing as a career?

I've been writing since I was 12, but I started submitting my work for publication in the summer of 2009. I'd always thought I would pursue publication at some point—probably after I retired from teaching or turned 40. My first story was published in January 2010, and I've had over a hundred others accepted for publication since then. I won't turn 40 for another year, and I'm still teaching full-time. Doesn't look like I'll be retiring anytime soon!

2. How did you create the character Bartholomew Quasar?

When I came up with Captain Bartholomew Quasar back in the spring of 2010, I was going for a mash-up between William Shatner's James T. Kirk and Dudley Do-Right from the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show (but in Quasar's case, things seldom ever go right). He's one of those classic pulp heroes with a heart of gold whose narcissistic tendencies often land him in hot water. I hope readers can laugh at Bartholomew Quasar and root for him at the same time. He's ridiculous, but there's something about his fallible nature that most of us can relate to on some level.

3. Are you working on more Captain Quasar stories?

I've written over 20 Captain Quasar tales so far, many of which are out on the submission circuit, looking for good homes. "Captain Quasar and the Ghosts of Space Command" will be published in the next issue of Perihelion Science Fiction. "Captain Quasar and the Carpethrian Call of the Wild" will be included in the B is for Broken anthology, and "Captain Quasar and the Devious Powers of Persuasion" will be in the Geminid Press space opera anthology. I'm in the middle of edits on a novella-length adventure I plan to submit for publication soon. My collection of 15 Quasar tales Starfaring Adentures…in SPACE is available everywhere eBooks are sold—and free for the taking, last time I checked.  

Author Bio:

Milo James Fowler is a teacher by day, speculative fictioneer by night, and an active SFWA member. When he's not grading papers, he's imagining what the world might be like in a dozen alternate realities. In the past 5 years, his short fiction has appeared in more than 100 publications, including AE SciFi, Cosmos, Daily Science Fiction, Nature, Shimmer, and the Wastelands 2 anthology.

Visit www.milojamesfowler.com and join The Crew for updates about new releases.

Cover Candy

Lovely cover candy from The Literary Hatchett. I wonder if the're open? Guidelines are here. 

Children of Arkadia and Salva's Chickpea Soup Recipe

Today I welcome M. Darusha Wehm onto my blog.   Darusha's a writer and an editor of the award nominated crime and mystery magazine Plan B. She's also a great cook. Darusha's novel, Children of Arkadia has just been published.

Children of Arkadia follows three generations of humans and AIs participating in an audacious experiment — to create a just and free society in an orbital space colony. The book is, in many ways, utopian science fiction. The Arkadians are literally trying to build a better world. Of course, it’s not that simple, and this story revolves around how people can (or can’t) resolve the inherent conflict between competing views of what doing the right thing actually entails. And, of course, how they are going to feed themselves.

Arkadia is a mix of high-tech and rural living. Farming is the chief concern of most of the people — human and AI — and even those not directly participating in growing food are, to some extent or another, foodies. Among the human population, at least, everyone needs to eat.

Initially there was no dairy available on Arkadia, so Vyacheslav Haeroa’s grandparents made this dish often. Slava doesn’t know if it’s really Moroccan, but that’s what they called it, so it’s what he calls it, too. This soup is his old flame Siobhan Patel’s favourite, so he makes it as often as he can in his soup café. Whatever it takes to get her to see him.

Slava's Moroccan Chick Pea Soup

Earth-based cooks can substitute canned tomatoes and chick peas.

Ingredients

4 tomatoes (diced)

3/4 cup dried chick peas (soaked overnight)

1 onion (chopped)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 tbsp flour

2 cups vegetable stock

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp cumin

1tsp ginger

1 tsp turmeric

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp oil

Instructions

1. Soak dried chick peas in cold water overnight. They will double in size, so use a large bowl and enough water.
2. Saute onion and garlic.
3. Add spices, stir until onion is translucent.
4. Add flour, and cook a minute.
5. Add vegetable stock, bring to a boil.
6. Reduce heat as broth begins to thicken.
7. Add tomatoes and drained chickpeas, taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
8. Simmer 60-90 minutes (or about 15 minutes if using canned or pre-cooked chick peas).
9. Add a dash of lemon juice prior to serving.

M. Darusha Wehm is the three-time Parsec Award shortlisted author of the novels Beautiful Red, Self Made, Act of Will andThe Beauty of Our Weapons. Her next novel, Children of Arkadia (Bundoran Press), will be released April 28, 2015. She is the editor of the crime and mystery magazine Plan B.

She is from Canada, but currently lives in Wellington, New Zealand after spending the past several years traveling at sea on her sailboat. For more information, visit http://darusha.ca.

Children of Arkadia

Kaus wants nothing more than to be loved while its human counterpart, Raj Patel, believes fervently in freedom. Arkadia, one of four space stations circling Jupiter, was to be a refuge for all who fought the corrupt systems of old Earth, a haven where both humans and Artificial Intelligences could be happy and free. But the old prejudices and desires are still at play and, no matter how well-meaning its citizens, the children of Arkadia have tough compromises to make.

When the future of humanity is at stake, which will prove more powerful: freedom or happiness? What sacrifices will Kaus, Raj, and the rest of Arkadia’s residents have to make to survive?

Links:

http://darusha.ca/book/children-of-arkadia/

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1927881064/

For Love of the Flash

Today I welcome my writing friend Josh Vogt onto my blog. Josh is a Renaissance man, writing all kinds of speculative fiction at all kinds of length. And he has not one, but two novels out in May. Now that's what I call flashy. 

For Love of the Flash

Let’s be clear. I’m not talking about the superhero or related TV show (though I have enjoyed watching it from time-to-time).

I’m talking about flash fiction. If you’re unfamiliar with the term, flash fiction is defined as any story that’s 1,000 words or less. Sometimes this is also referred to as “micro-fiction,” or even subdivided further with “drabbles,” being exactly 100 word-long stories.

I got into flash fiction via a blog contest that ran for a few years, where writers got an image/photograph as inspiration and had to write a story in no more than 250 words. Readers then voted on their favorites, and winners got various prizes. Unfortunately that contest no longer runs, but it gave me an undying love of flash fiction, which I continue to indulge today.

For me, flash fiction is a great creative challenge. How well can you tell a cohesive, engaging story with such a limited word count? Is it even possible? Well, yes, to answer the last question first. As for the first question...

Recognize that the reader’s brain is a powerful thing. If you give readers enough of a story structure, they can fill in many of the gaps that might be left between the words you provide. So even though you may have to leave out most-if-not-all of the backstory in a flash fiction piece, readers can still pick up on the essential details through the dialogue and action of the characters within the scene. They can do a lot of the imaginative “heavy lifting” for you, freeing you from having to pad out the prose with extra description or exposition.

Flash fiction teaches you how to pare down to the essentials. It teaches you how to write punchier dialogue. It teaches subtext. It teaches you how to get into a scene as late as possible and get out as early as possible. And it can teach you how to quickly reach the core of tension and conflict in a story. You simply don’t have the space to waste!

Overall, I highly recommend every writer try their hand at flash fiction at some point or another. Try writing at least ten flash fiction pieces, whether inspired by a prompt or straight from your mind. Even if you don’t continue in that format afterwards, I think you’ll come away having learned a few new writing techniques and have a greater appreciation for how you can make a big impact with as few words as possible.

Do you write or have you written flash fiction? What’ve you learned from the endeavor?

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Josh Vogt has been published in dozens of genre markets with work ranging from flash fiction to short stories to doorstopper novels that cover fantasy, science fiction, horror, humor, pulp, and more. His debut fantasy novel, Forge of Ashes, adds to the RPG Pathfinder Tales tie-in line. WordFire Press is also launching his urban fantasy series, The Cleaners, with Enter the Janitor (2015) and The Maids of Wrath (2016). You can find him at JRVogt.com or on Twitter @JRVogt. He’s a member of SFWA as well as the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers.

Impress Me With Your Story

Today, I've invited writer, poet and editor, Allen Ashley, onto my blog, to talk about a story that's dear to my heart: the short story.

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I don’t claim to be the world’s authority on the short story but, having been a published author for over thirty years and an active editor for the last twelve, I certainly have plenty of experience; which I hope translates into expertise.  I am also the current judge for the British Fantasy Society Short Story Competition.  Ultimately, a lot of editorial decision-making comes down to personal taste but I’ll offer a few pointers as to what floats my boat and what torpedoes it.

Have something happen in your story.  Seriously.  I know that might sound trite but I have read a lot of tales where nothing much actually occurs during the 2000-5000 words.  I’m not asking for crash bang wallop video game style action but, during the course of your narrative, your lead character/s should undergo at least one experience – physical and/or psychological – that changes or grows them in some way by the end of the story.  If nothing happens it’s just a character sketch or a still life. 

Keep your focus clear.  If you’ve got to the end of page 2 and I’ve still got no idea what’s going on, I’m going to bounce the piece.  I don’t have an issue with bravura writing or necessary description but if I don’t have a clue what’s happening then I can’t engage. 

In general, stick to the one storyline.  Multiple narratives are quite common in and often work well within novels; for a 2500-5000 worder it’s best to stay with just the one path.  Two if you must; but if you change perspective after 300/500 words or so you risk breaking the reader’s empathy.  A two-track story will need some sort of convergence in its denouement.  Of course, rules are made to be learned and then broken and I have to own up to having co-written with Andrew Hook a short story that had three separate narrative lines.  We must have got away with it because “Mermaids in a Snowstorm” was published by Gary Fry’s “Fusing Horizons”. 

Avoid info dumps or what I call “Second Page Syndrome”.  This is where an author starts a story with a reasonably engaging action scene on the first page then spends the next 500 words or more explaining how the protagonist came to be in that situation or why the world they live in operates the way it does.  To my mind, in the first instance, this is cheating.  Basically, you are teasing the reader the way certain TV dramas often do by having some action before the titles or the ad break then changing down the gears into slow build-up back to where we started.  A straightforward chronology is often a better choice.  In the second instance, with a whole heap of world building lumped into pages 2 and 3, my issue is that it’s illogical.  We don’t spend our lives explaining all the things we take for granted – if I boil a kettle or catch a tube, I don’t need a thesis on the discovery and application of electricity.  Put yourself in your character’s head – if there are aspects of their world that are commonplace and assumed, let that be true for your reader as well.

Don’t have too many characters.  My average is probably four.  Honestly.  Sure, I’m not necessarily including minor bit part players – the waitress in the café, the ticket inspector on the train, etc; people who don’t need to be named other than by their function.  Let me give you some names that create enough drama without a cast of thousands: Othello, Desdemona and Iago.  Or Hansel, Gretel, the witch, the stepmother (who may also be the witch), and the feckless father.  Maybe it’s my concentration issue but I find that if there are too many named speakers I get confused about who is who. 

Use dialogue wisely.  Don’t record every “um”, “ah”, “like” and “you know” of every conversation.  Taut, well-paced dialogue can move a story along quicker than description of character or even action.  Your players are defined by what they do and, crucially, say. 

As a general rule, don’t go overboard on idiom, dialect and accent.  Sure, Anthony Burgess’ droogs had their own street slang in “A Clockwork Orange” and that is crucial to the success of the novel; but mostly in a short story it’s best to play safe and stick to Standard English.  Lynne Barrett-Lee writes succinctly about this in a recent issue of online writing journal “Words With Jam” – “Things I hate: Phonetic dialogue to denote regional accents.”  The internal voice that narrates the tale doesn’t like struggling with awkwardly rendered versions of conversation.  Save the Geordie twang or the Devon burr for when you’re scripting the TV adaptation.  

Cut the last line off your ending.  Or more.  Tell the reader enough but don’t over-explain, it spoils the magic. 

Accept that your ideas, your what ifs, might not be as original as you thought.  I once had a very gentle put down from the lovely, late Ken Bulmer when I approached him with a whole list of what I thought were cracking plot ideas for his “New Writings in SF” series.  He told me they were all quite familiar and rather generic. 

Even the classics might not be as brand spanking new as we believe.  A misfit child at a school for witchcraft and magic?  Harry who?  Sounds to me like Jill Murphy’s “The Worst Witch”.  Orwell’s “1984”?  Heavily influenced by Zamyatin’s “We”.  So I suppose that old adage is true: It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it.  

Kurt Vonnegut had a great piece of advice, which was: “Start the story as close to the end as you dare.”  This ensures urgency and drama and helps you to avoid spending pages scene setting and waffling.  It’s certainly a maxim I have tried to apply. 

Another arresting way of starting your story is what I call the trap door method.  Some might call it the rug pull.  This is where you set up an intriguing scenario to reel your readers in before suddenly revealing extra significant information that suddenly changes the emphasis and import of what’s gone before.  This is a technique I applied in my novelette “Somme-Nambula”.  In the first paragraph, the narrator John Dove talks about a magician/mesmerist he saw in his youth, someone who could catch a live bullet in his hands.  Dove imagines himself as a perfect choice to be plucked out as a foil from the audience “because I was already a noted somnambulist”.  In the very next paragraph, he reveals: “Not that I said anything of the sort to the recruiting officer as he placed light pencil ticks on my enlistment papers.”  This sentence removes him from the past and the end of the pier stage show to an immediate future in the trenches of the First World War. 

How should you end your story?  Over the years, I have veered away from the Saki or Roald Dahl style unexpected twist at the end.  This method works reasonably well for flash fiction but can be rather unsatisfying in a longer piece.  Why?  Essentially, a story that builds solely towards its twist or reversal ending doesn’t always bear a second reading – once you know the trick or punchline, there may not be enough else there to sustain interest.  Consider this as well: the story has in many ways been written backwards and in the same manner as a joke, where it’s all about hitting that final line.  So – go for a fulfilling end that at least ties up some of the loose ends but is still open enough to keep resonating with the reader for a while after they’ve put down the book or logged off the screen. 

Be bold, take chances.  The memorable stories stand out for a reason.  Admittedly, some editors like their fiction cosy and almost indistinguishable from whatever has gone before.  So here’s some advice: don’t have anything to do with those editors.  Don’t bother submitting and don’t buy their predictable product.  It’s just wallpaper; literary white bread.  Find the places that genuinely want to, or better still, require a fresh approach and an individual voice.  In 2012, the first time that I judged the British Fantasy Society Short Story Competition, I was almost at the closing of the submission window and I had some very good stories on my shortlist.  Then something popped into my Inbox which blew everybody else out of the water.  This was “Rope of Words” by Megan Kerr.  This piece was audacious yet light, taking in fairy tales and Greek mythology in a brilliantly clever and inventive tale posited on the device of words being magical, used as a currency, a treasure, artistic artefacts, etc.  What really swung it for me was that Megan used the device of relevant segments of words / word chains to demarcate the divisions between her story sections.  Like this:

*

~ refractory ~ monger ~ wangle ~ farrier ~ ether ~ rive ~ reagent ~ expiate ~ spume ~ cranny ~ sluice ~

*

Breathtaking stuff and a classic example of that holy grail for editors / judges: the “I wish I’d written that!” moment. 

Lastly, for now: I also work as a lyricist and a poet.  In those two disciplines, every single word or even syllable has to earn its place.  Treat short stories exactly the same way.  I do.  Follow this neo-chiasmus: You only have a short word count, make each word count.  Don’t waffle.  Waffle is for maple syrup and squirty cream; not for fiction. 

Of course, you are completely at liberty to disregard or disagree with any advice I’ve offered here.  Like I mentioned earlier, rules are there to be broken.  I’m sure that I’ve not properly stuck by my own maxims, so don’t bother pulling me on it.  Deborah asked me for some thoughts on the short story so, naturally, I obliged.  Now go off and write… and impress me with your story.

Thanks for reading.

– Allen

 Allen Ashley is currently reading submissions for “Creeping Crawlers”. The reading window closes 31 May 2015. Submission guidelines here: http://www.shadowpublishing.webeasysite.co.uk/shadow9_018.htm

Allen is also the judge for the British Fantasy Society Short Story Competition. Entrance closes 30 June 2015. Details here: http://www.britishfantasysociety.org/the-bfs-short-story-competition-2015/

Cover Candy

Lovely cover candy for Szortal's monthlye-zine, with a Polish translation of my story: 'Ciotka Merkel'. *waves* to Frank Roger and Mike Jansen.

I love the zany steampunk menagerie. 

What's Your Poison?

My flash story 'Venom' is up at the Lane of Unusual Traders. This is a shared world project from Tiny Owl. And they're looking for more fantasy stories this year. Check out their guidelines here.