Spellmaking

Genehunter Artwork: What Do You Think?

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:58:00 +0000

As you may know, one of the things I'm working on in a series of SF noir novellas about a genehunter, a 22nd century detective employed by collectors to track down the DNA of famous historical figures. For various reasons. These will be eBooks in their own right, but they've also been written with a view to creating characters and a world in which Rusty Axe games and I might want to set a computer game.

We shall see. Meantime, here's the cover artwork I've come up with for #1. What do you think? Eyecatching? Confusing?

Edit. Here's another version for comparison. Different subtitle and font:

Edit 2. And another go, with bigger writing and some colour ...

Edit 3. White instead of yellow text.

I plan to write three stories initially (I'm just polishing up #2) and to make the covers for all three similar so that they clearly belong together.

The Blogging From A to Z April Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 16:32:00 +0000

Are you doing the Blogging From A-Z April Challenge this year? I came across it last year but didn't join in because it's clearly insane. Twenty-six alphabetically themed posts to write and publish throughout April. Then a whole galaxy of other participants' blogs to discover and read and follow.

Yep, clearly crazy. Except that by about the 3rd of April last year I was really regretting missing out. There's such a buzz about the whole thing. This year I'm definitely in and I'm thinking about posts already. I'm sure I'll fail to keep up with all the blogs taking part, but I aim to hit as many as I can ...

There's already a lot happening on the Blogging From A-Z April Challenge Blog. April may seem a long way away, but sign-up begins on January 30th in case you're interested. Hope to see you there ...

Eccentric Orbits Now Available for Kindle

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

The short story anthologization continues! The SF volume - Eccentric Orbits - is now out on the Kindle (or, as we're supposed to say these days, "on Kindle"). Amazon US Amazon UK.

As with Spell Circles I've signed it up for Amazon's KDP Select scheme too, which means, among other things, that I can make it free for a short time. It's free at the moment. Not sure yet if this is a sensible approach: my hope is that lots of people will grab it and some will then review and/or rate it and/or tell their friends and maybe word will get around. We shall see.

I am seeing the books being lent quite a bit under Amazon's Kindle lending scheme. This is when a purchaser temporarily lends a book to a friend because, presumably, they think they might like it. So I guess that's good.

If you're interested, Spell Circles has been downloaded over 1000 times since the start of the month and there have been a couple of nice reviews generated as a result. Now that the book is no longer free, downloads have obviously tailed off, but it is still selling.

I'll be doing various thing to help with the promotion, but don't worry, there won't be a ton of blog posts because, well, "buy my book" posts can get a little boring, no?

And I'm also learning a huge amount about how to format and layout books for the Kindle marketplace. Getting pretty slick at it now. I think this can only be useful knowledge for the future ...

The Xbox Live TV/YouTube 100 Word Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:26:00 +0000

I'm delighted to report that my entry into Caroline Smailes' 100 word challenge has been selected for publication.

The deal was to write a 100 word story inspired by a favourite music video on YouTube. The collection is to be professionaly put together and releasd as an eBook, with all proceeds going to One in Four (a registered charity which provides support and resources to people who have experienced sexual abuse and sexual violence).

My selected video was this one:

... which, according to scientists, is about the most wonderful song ever recorded.

The Travelling Theatrical Tour: Cate Gardner Takeover!

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Today, Spellmaking is given over to an interview with Cate Gardner, weird fiction writer extraordinaire.

Cate's latest work, Theatre of Curious Acts, is now available from Hadley Rille books, and she's embarking on a Travelling Theatrical Tour to help spread the word. I'm delighted to be one of her stops. Cate is a wonderful writer; when I grow up I want to be as good as her.

On with the questions!

Q. Tell us about your new novella, Theatre of Curious Acts. What's the premise?

A. A soldier, returned from The Great War, wants the world to end and, after falling into a surreal otherworld, finds himself battling (and falling in love with one of) the four horsewomen of the apocalypse. It appears he (and his friends) are humanity's only hope in the greatest battle of all.

Q. You come up with such delicious titles for your books and stories. Do you start with the titles or do they come later?

A. Sometimes I start with the titles. I keep a note of anything I think would make a good title in a little book. Although, that book is very precious to me, you wouldn't know it because I've had to hunt for it so many times. My desk is messy. And, of course, sometimes I have to think of a title during or after I've finished the story - although waiting until I've finished is rare and even then I'll have used a temporary title.

Q. Do you consider yourself "a writer" or "a speculative writer" or "a writer of weirdness" or what?

A. Gosh. I don't really consider myself at all. Seriously. Erm … a weird speculative fiction writer, I suspect. And I put "weird" at the front on purpose. The beautiful power of words.

Q. If you had to describe your work using three words, what words would they be?

A. Work in Progress.

Q. I buy my story ideas from a blind man on a local market-stall who sells the broken and rejected plotlines of others in cheap packs of five. At the risk of asking you the Most Annoying Question In The World, where do you get your ideas from?

A. From the rats who travel along the brook, which runs under my street. I suspect they're overcharging me. Maybe I'll try your market stall man.

Thanks, Cate! If you're intrigued - and who wouldn't be - do drop by her blog to find out more.

Her Long Hair Shining Published by Abyss & Apex

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:44:00 +0000

Fantasy short Her Long Hair Shining sees the light of day over at Abyss and Apex today. This is my second story to appear in the magazine, following on from Museum Beetles a few years back.

It's also my short story publication No. 42, which must mean something ...

Water ran down the walls, staining the stonework in triangles of green like a child’s drawing of a Christmas tree. Smith had to step around pools of water on the floor. The place hadn’t been used for years. Decades. Smashed windows let the wind and rain inside. It was colder inside, somehow, than it was out on the streets. The air tasted damp.

It was, he thought, a lonely place for a ghost to live.

And in other news, The Zahir Anthology for 2011 has been published on Amazon, containing a reprint of my flash story Meteorology for Beginners. Good news tempered by the announcement that Zahir is to cease publication. It will be sorely missed.

Also some micro-story successes to report: Black Beetles and The Heart of a Much Younger Man in Nanoism and A Loop as their first story in Trapeze for 2012.

Good start to the year, hopefully to continue ...

Spell Circles Now Available for Kindle

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 08:00:00 +0000

Spell Circles is now available for the Kindle (Amazon US, Amazon UK). Exciting!

Desperate magic worked in the face of terrible danger. An old house with a hidden secret. An interview with a zombie. A woman allergic to the twenty-first century. A necromancer with evil written all over his face. Literally.

Spell Circles contains twenty-seven stories of the weird, wonderful and fantastical originally published between 1999 and 2011 and now collected together for the first time. Stories range from the very, very short up to novella length.

This is the first volume in my Perfect Circles collection of short stories published over the last decade or so. Spell Circles contains fantasy (high fantasy, urban fantasy, magic realism, slipstream). The next volume - Eccentric Orbits - will cover SF, to be followed by Life Cycles, covering mainstream fiction. Then there will be Perfect Circles itself, collecting all the stories into one volume.

I hope to make all the volumes available as paperbacks and as downloads for other eReaders at some point - although my experience so far has been that sales through Amazon far outweigh all the other platforms. So, for now, my apologies to non-Kindle owners (although, of course, there are always the free Kindle apps for the iPad, PCs etc.)

So far, so good. But in this game, promotion is vital and that, dear reader, is something I'm crap at. Despite my previous experiments I'm pretty much in the dark about it all and it's something I need to get better at. Aside from the writing itself, a good cover is obviously important, and ratings and reviews count for a lot (assuming they're not bad), but other than that - where to begin? Blog tours? YouTube videos? Free giveaways? Community forum posts?

As a start, the book should be available as a free download for the next three days (January 1st to 3rd - assuming I've set it all up properly on Amazon), so if you have a Kindle and fancy a peruse, now is a good time. Any comments, ratings or "likes" gratefully received!

Write1Sub1 Week #52 Check-In

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Today is Write1Sub1 Weekly check-in day. I'm posting updates on my short fiction/poetry output here as well as over on the main Write1Sub1 blog.

Definitely the final Write1Sub1 post of 2011. The Bradbury is mine for following the scheme! Looking forward to Write1Sub1 in 2012 ...

Written :

Luminous Beings (haiku)
Dog Days (flash)

Submitted :

Luminous Beings (haiku)
Dog Days (flash)

Accepted :

Vapour Trails (Twitter) by 7x20
Heart Condition (Twitter) by 7x20
Lightning Rod (Twitter) by 7x20

Published :

The Magister's Clock by Apollo's Lyre

Write1Sub1 Week #51 Check-In

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 20:00:00 +0000

Sunday is Write1Sub1 Weekly check-in day. I'm posting updates on my short fiction output here as well as over on the main Write1Sub1 blog.

Couldn't keep away. Happy Christmas one and all!

Written :

She Touches My Skin (haiku)
Cold Aphelion (haiku)

Submitted :

She Touches My Skin (haiku)
Cold Aphelion (haiku)

Accepted :

The Heart of a Much Younger Man (Twitter) by Nanoism
Midsummer in the Southern Hemisphere (Twitter) by One Forty Fiction

Published :

The Heart of a Much Younger Man (Twitter) by Nanoism
Midsummer in the Southern Hemisphere (Twitter) by One Forty Fiction
Cernunnos by Trapeze
Rho-m10 by Trapeze

Advent Ghosts Short Story: While You Sleep

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

The I Saw Lightning Fall blog has a tradition of hosting 100-word spooky flash fiction stories on Chrismtas Eve: Advent Ghosts. I couldn't resist. Here's my own contribution ...

While You Sleep

She would stay awake this year, she would. Every Christmas Eve she made the same vow. Every year sleep betrayed her. She would awake with a gasp to the glittering presents on her bed and the cold thought he’d been in her room, standing there while she slept.

But she was ten now, no longer a child. If she stayed awake, he couldn’t come in. That was the rule. Everyone knew it. This was her room, where she felt safe. Every other night of the year.

She waited, trying to ignore the smothering weight of tiredness filling up her mind.

Thanks for dropping by and Merry Christmas!

Best Of The Net Nomination

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 07:44:00 +0000

Delighted to report that microstory Square on the Hypotenuse has been nominated for a Best of the Net award by Folded Word. A first for me! Not entirely sure what it means but I'm delighted anyway ...

Write1Sub1 Reloaded for 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

As regular readers will be (painfully) aware I've been participating in (and co-organizing) Write1Sub1 this year: a commitment to write and submit a fresh story or poem each week of the year. It's been tough at times (holidays? Who needs them?) but I've managed to stick to it. In fact, counting up, I've come up with 192 pieces this year, ranging from haiku up to novelette-length fiction. A pretty good haul. At the lastest count, 91 of those have been accepted for publication in one market or another, a fair few in paying or even pro level magazines.

The scheme has been hugely successful for me and I'll certainly be sticking at it next year. The incentive to complete the course has been invaluable, but more important has been the sense of community with all the other writers struggling through all the same stuff I am. If you're a short story writer or a poet not already doing W1S1, why not drop by and take a look? Even if you don't want to commit, there are some wonderful interviews and inspirational posts.

I'm going to move from the weekly to the monthly level as I need to concentrate more on novel-length fiction next year, but otherwise it'll be the same deal. Twelve stories good enough for pro markets to want to publish. I can do that, can't I?

Write1Sub1 Week #50 Check-In

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Sunday is Write1Sub1 Weekly check-in day. I'm posting updates on my short fiction output here as well as over on the main Write1Sub1 blog.

It's the end of the road! For this year at least. Fifty weeks of short story/poetry writing and submitting succesfully negotiated.

Time for a lie down ...

Written :

While You Sleep (flash)
Pens (flash)

Submitted :

Pens (flash)

Accepted :

Fireworks (poem) by unFold
Predators (poem) by unFold
V2.0 (Twitter) by Trapeze

Published :

Snow Angels (flash) by Bent Masses
Human Statue (reprint) in 140 and Counting

Snow Angels Published by Bent Masses

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 07:49:00 +0000

Spookily Christmassy flash tale Snow Angels sees the light of day over on Bent Masses today.

Watch out for that snow ...

140 And Counting Published

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 14:16:00 +0000

140 and Counting is an anthology of Twitter length fiction published by Upper Rubber Boot books, the stories selected from those that have appeared in 7x20 magazine over the first two years of its existence.

It's a wonderfully eclectic collection of very short stories and poems. My own slight contribution - Human Statue - appeared in 7x20 back in May. It's great to see it in such good company.

The anthology is available on Amazon here.

Write1Sub1 Week #49 Check-In

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Sunday is Write1Sub1 Weekly check-in day. I'm posting updates on my short fiction output here as well as over on the main Write1Sub1 blog.

The penultimate week for me! I always planned to take the week leading up to Christmas off. Really, I did. Although, I might still write and submit something then, in which case this would be the antepenultimate week ...

Written :

Earworms (short story)
V2.0 (Twitter)
Brave New World (Twitter)

Submitted :

V2.0 (Twitter)
Brave New World (Twitter)

Accepted :

Snow Angels (flash) by Bent Masses
Reprint : The Standing Stones of Erelong by Ether
Reprint, non-W1S1 : The Good King by Ether

Published :

Horoscope by Seedpod
Reprint : The Standing Stones of Erelong by Ether
Reprint, non-W1S1 : The Good King by Ether

Anthology Update - Artwork Comments?

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 15:30:00 +0000

I haven't mentioned the short story anthologies I've been working on much of late. A brief recap : I've decided to collect together all the stuff I've had published over the past decade or so into four volumes :

Spell Circles - fantasy

Eccentric Orbits - SF

Life Cycles - mainstream

Perfect Circles - everything in one volume

I've just about finished editing and converting the first volume - Spell Circles - and I've started to think about art work. I want each volume to have a prominent circle of some sort to make it look like they vaguely belong together. Here's what I've come up with after about fifteen minutes of downloading and hacking :

What do you think? Is it eye-catching? Does it say "exciting fantasy read" at all? Amateurish? Love to know what you think.

Write1Sub1 Week #48 Check-In

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Sunday is Write1Sub1 Weekly check-in day. I'm posting updates on my short fiction output here as well as over on the main Write1Sub1 blog.

Written :

The Zombies of Death (novelette)
Judgement Day (Twitter)
A Change of Sides (Twitter)
Midsummer in the Southern Hemisphere (Twitter)
Rips Tearing the Sky (haiku)
Brain Scanned (haiku)

Submitted :

Judgement Day (Twitter)
A Change of Sides (Twitter)
Midsummer in the Southern Hemisphere (Twitter)
Rips Tearing the Sky (haiku)
Brain Scanned (haiku)

Accepted :

Brain Scanned (haiku) by Scifaikuest
Horoscope (Twitter) by Seedpod
Shining in the East (Twitter) by Seedpod

Published :

Her Pale Smile (short story) by Electric Spec
The Accusation (Twitter) by Seedpod
North Wind (Twitter) by Seedpod
Her First Day (Twitter) by Seedpod
Delivered (Twitter) by Seedpod
Can't Get The Parts (Twitter) by Cuento
Pregnancy Test (Twitter) by Cuento
(Non-W1S1) The Flying Incredulo (flash) by Apocrypha and Abstractions
(Non-W1S1) The Good King (flash) reprinted by Mirror Dance

Let It Snow!

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 08:00:00 +0000

It's December, which means it's near enough Christmas, which means it's time for the return of the blog snow! If you're reading this via spellmaking.blogspot.com, you should be seeing it now ...

Ho, ho and, indeed, ho.

My thanks to Scott Schiller for the code that draws the snow. If you want it on your blog, too, just create one of them HTML/JavaScript gadgets for your sidebar or something and paste in this code :

<script src="http://files.main.bloggerstop.net/uploads/3/0/2/5/3025338/snowstorm.js" type="text/javascript">
snowStorm.snowColor = '#99ccff';
snowStorm.flakesMaxActive = 128;
snowStorm.useTwinkleEffect = true;
</script>

And that should do it. There are a few things you can tweak if you go and look at his original JavaScript. Enjoy!

Her Pale Smile Published by Electric Spec

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 07:44:00 +0000

Celebrations here at Spellmaking Towers as Her Pale Smile is published by Electric Spec.

This is another story that started life as a Twitter-length tale, then grew. The original piece was published in Trapeze back in 2010 as a runner-up in the magazine's Hallowe'en contest :

The worst of it was he’d had his heart-attack riding the ghost train. Now, however much he wailed and screamed, no-one took him seriously.

Her Pale Smile expands the story up to 2200 words or so, but it's the same basic idea, as you'll see from the opening :

If I’ve learned one thing in the two years I’ve been trapped in here, it’s this. Don’t ever die of a heart-attack riding a ghost train.

The story is a free read available here.

The Flying Incredulo Takes Off in Apocrypha and Abstractions

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 13:57:00 +0000

Flash fiction story The Flying Incredulo leaps into the light over at Apocrypha and Abstractions today. This is a short tale of life, love and flying trapezes.

The Flying Incredulo – Greatest trapeze artist on Earth! See him soar like an eagle! — missed the grab he had made a thousand times before and cartwheeled toward the floor of the big top. A blur of red and yellow canvas spun around him. A lurching sea of upturned faces, each mouth gaping the same O.

If you get chance, it's a free read here.

Write1Sub1 Week #47 Check-In

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Sunday is Write1Sub1 Weekly check-in day. I'm posting updates on my short fiction output here as well as over on the main Write1Sub1 blog.

Written :

A Mote in the Void (short story)
Delivered (Twitter)
The Accusation (Twitter)
Her First Day (Twitter)
Pregnancy Test (Twitter)
Church Clock Chimes Midnight (haiku)
Stargate Awaiting (haiku)
Atop Hoarded Gold (haiku)

Submitted :

A Mote in the Void (short story)
Delivered (Twitter)
The Accusation (Twitter)
Her First Day (Twitter)
Pregnancy Test (Twitter)
Church Clock Chimes Midnight (haiku)
Stargate Awaiting (haiku)
Atop Hoarded Gold (haiku)

Accepted :

The Magister's Clock (flash) by Apollo's Lyre
Delivered (Twitter) by Seedpod
The Accusation (Twitter) by Seedpod
Her First Day (Twitter) by Seedpod
Church Clock Chimes Midnight (haiku) by Trapeze
Pregnancy Test (Twitter) by Cuento
Saved! (Twitter) by Cuento
Can't Get The Parts (Twitter) by Cuento

Published :

Saved! (Twitter) by Cuento

Scifaikuest Featured Poet

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 13:48:00 +0000

Just had to show you this shot of my copy of Scifaikuest which arrived from the US today, complete with my name emblazoned across it :

Such a thrill when that happens. Sorry, I'll stop showing off now.

Write1Sub1 Week #46 Check-In

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 08:00:00 +0000

Sunday is Write1Sub1 Weekly check-in day. I'm posting updates on my short fiction output here as well as over on the main Write1Sub1 blog.

Written :

A Desert Planet (haiku)
Interstellar Space (haiku)
Aliens Watching (haiku)
Android Eyes Scanning (haiku)
Odyssey Over (haiku)
Dazzling in the Void (haiku)
Surface of the Sun (haiku)
His Last Gift to Her (haiku)
The Heat Death of Space (haiku)
Once A Thousand Years (haiku)
The Summoning Words (flash)
Can't Get The Parts (Twitter)
First Step (Twitter)
The Great Detective (Twitter)

Submitted :

A Desert Planet (haiku)
Interstellar Space (haiku)
Aliens Watching (haiku)
Android Eyes Scanning (haiku)
Odyssey Over (haiku)
Dazzling in the Void (haiku)
Surface of the Sun (haiku)
His Last Gift to Her (haiku)
The Heat Death of Space (haiku)
Once A Thousand Years (haiku)
The Aliens Land (haiku)
The Summoning Words (flash)
Can't Get The Parts (Twitter)
First Step (Twitter)
The Great Detective (Twitter)

Accepted :

First Step by Trapeze

Published :

Little

Game Writing Update: The Genehunter Files

noreply@blogger.com (Simon Kewin) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 20:25:00 +0000

So, I haven't posted anything about the game/novella deal I've been working on with Rusty Axe games for a while. Time for an update.

Actually, the arrangement has changed a bit. As you may recall, the original idea was for me to write the scenes and dialogue for a modern-day Elmore Leonardesqe thriller, along with a related novella. Rusty Axe would then write the game code, create the graphics etc. to give us a game/novella bundle. I figured that, since I've been a software developer since for ever as well as a writer, I should be able to take on this fairly technical writing task : eg. worrying about seamless dialogue in a game where the player can make free choices.

Well, you live and learn. And one thing I've learned - this may seem pretty obvious to you - is that by far the best way to create interesting, believable characters and settings is to write straight, old-fashioned stories about them first. Combining doing that with trying to design workable game mechanics just doesn't fly. A lot of effort went into trying, and what we ended up with were dull characters and clunky game mechanics.

So, back to square one. Fortunately, Rusty Axe are great people to work with : friendly, open, keen to experiment. We've decided to take a bit of a different tack. When we first discussed collaborating, I happened to show them a story I'd recently had published in Jupiter SF about a "genehunter". The set-up was a near-future, dystopian Earth where illegal cloning was commonplace and rich collectors employed genehunters to track down DNA sequences for their private "zoos".

This all suddenly seemed like a great setting for a game. I had characters, settings, technology etc. and plenty of scope for puzzle-solving and drama. So we decided to focus on this world instead.

So, the plan is for me to write the first three stories, each at about 10-12K words. These will then be published as straight Kindle downloads and, most likely, serialized at Rusty Axe too. There may also be audio versions. As well as allowing me to build up believable characters and a convincing world, this will hopefully also allow us to gauge whether there is sufficient interest in a related game. If there is, we can then work on that.

Will it work? I have absolutely no idea. But it's going to be fun finding out.

I've already written the first story - Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll - and hope to have another two drafted by the end of the year. Then we'll see how they do out there in the big, bad world ...

So, does anyone fancy a spot of beta reading of what I've got so far? Any input would be very gratefully received. I'm obviously keen to make these stories as effective as possible, so that folks start clamouring for "the game of the book".

Well, a man can dream ...