acceptance
My writing year 2021
In the years (or rather, decades) I’ve dreamt of my first novel*, I didn’t expect I’d end the year that dream came true with a predominant feeling of intense relief that it was over. Whatever 2022 brings, it’s one step ahead through simply not being 2021. That’s the painful truth of debuting in a corona […]
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A Dream Come True: My Publisher Bought My Thriller
Even the title of this post is a dream-come-true: being able to utter the words “my publisher”. But this is more than that. I’ve dreamed of being a published author since I first understood that such a thing exists, so at least 40 years. I’ve been working towards that dream for almost a decade. I […]
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The Rewards of Pig-Headedness
Stubborn persistence pays off, as Heinlein teaches us. Can I have a Hallelujah to that? All the way back in 2009, when my marriage was only four years old, and I wasn’t even a father yet, we took a trip to the mid-Atlantic island of Sao Miguel. The volcanic beauty and verdant exuberance of the […]
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I Wrote A Hundred Thousand Words In 2016
Well, let me rephrase that. I wrote1, edited2, revised2, outlined1, translated3, reviewed4, critiqued4, and miscellaneous-othered5 100010 words. I set my goal for 100,000 words way back in January, performed some long division, and set up a Beeminder Goal for 274 words a day. Halfway through the year, with Summer approaching, I felt all stressed out […]
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The 100K Year – February
Still going strong. The second month of my 100K year (the year in which I enlist the help of Beeminder to write at least a hundred thousand words) has yielded: a pro sale of one of my January stories; 8680 words of newly drafted, edited or revised short fiction; 1170 words of edited or outlined novel; two brand new […]
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“Diamond Sharks” now on Moozvine
My short science fiction story Diamond Sharks is now available from Moozvine, in all current e-book formats as well as online. And the e-book versions come with the gorgeous cover art by Gil Rodrigo! Get it now, it’s free (except any amount you may feel inclined to give to support both Moozvine and this struggling […]
Read MoreMy Year In Writing – 2014
EDITED TO ADD (with a huge facepalm): Oh, and I won the SF Comet contest! Another year over A new one just begun It may be corny to the point of maudlinity* to quote this particular song by Mr Lennon, but I can’t help getting a bit reflective upon the new year. Big changes occurred in […]
Read MoreLosing My Beans, Spilling My Marbles
Unexpectedly, my story Beans and marbles has been published in translation today. This took me completely by surprise. Given that it’s in Dutch, the full story behind this unexpected—and only semi-authorized—publication is available in the Dutch version of this post…
Read MoreThe Ins And Outs Of Selling English-Language Stories
This is something I’ve wanted to blog about for years. High time I got around to it. How do you know your story is ready to go out? Where do you find the publications that might buy it? What are all the things you need to think about before submitting? And many other details… The […]
Read MoreDaily mashup
Eleventh story sold! Got the wonderful news today that Daily Science Fiction, a professional webzine that sends speculative fiction stories to its subscribers every single day, is snatching up my story Mashup for publication. If you subscribe to DSF now, the story will drop into your Inbox somewhere over the coming months–and in the meantime, many […]
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