Writing News

Recent news on the writing front has been good. More acceptances than rejections has to be positive news, does it not? It's doubly good because for one reason and another I've been through a longish period of not submitting. To pick up the baton again and start where I left off is very encouraging.

First up, my story "The Women Who Point at Men's Hearts" is now available in Sien und Werden's "The Ironic Fantastic" issue. Released in two volumes, my story is in volume two.

Sien und Werden

I also submitted a story "The Bedroom Ceiling" to Australian magazine Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine and received a super-quick acceptance back which will see me appear in issue fifty eight. This will be my third outing in ASIM, which suggests I'm doing something right as far as they're concerned.

Last but not least, I received email confirmation today my story "Not All Trains Crash" will appear in the forthcoming Eibonvale Press anthology Rustblind and Silverbright.

All in all, a decent haul.

For you, short story, the war is over

It’s nice to report that top UK dark fiction Magazine Black Static has accepted a short story of mine for publication. This will mark my third appearance in Black Static, although as yet I don’t know what issue will carry the story.

The story, War and Death According to the Common People of Hansom Street, is one of the most subtle pieces of writing I’ve ever produced. I wanted to explore warfare on the smallest, most personal level, to suggest war itself is mostly made up of little individual wars that may take many forms—both internal and external.

What resulted was a story with no real protagonist, no real plot and instead consists of a number of linked, real-time vignettes set over a very short period of time. It’s filled with ordinary people, none of whom want to be heroes but rather just want to live out their lives. I also added an ethereal character (loosely based on Death itself) whose appearances are often fleeting and deliberately vague, and whose induced confusion is an extended metaphor for how I imagine living in grave situations during warfare must feel to such ordinary people.

I’ll be interested to read any comments on this when published. I imagine opinion will be somewhat polarised—people will either ‘get it’ or not, will probably like it or loathe it. Because of this I feared I might struggle to place this story, and so I’m doubly pleased that Black Static saw its worth and decided to take a chance on it.

Mentioned Honourably

I picked up a couple of Honourable Mentions in Ellen Datlow's Year's Best Horror. Whilst there were 608 HMs in all, and it could be argued that they are 'close but no cigar' entities in that the stories mentioned didn't make it into the actual anthology, my inclusion never-the-less made me smile.

Ellen datlow

I suppose we cling to any nod that we're heading in the right direction. And there is, of course, the thought that Datlow is amongst the top editors in her field.

First mention was for my story This is Mary's Moon, published in Black Static issue 22.

The second was for 'Ruth Across the Sea', published as a flash fiction winner in issue three of Shock Totem.

To Pull a Child from a Woman

I have a story published online right now. "To Pull a Child from a Woman" is the featured story at Darker.

The story is a reprint, having been published first in 2007 by the UK magazine Sein und Werden, and again in 2010 in Sam's Dot's anthology Sideshow 2.

I like this story—I think it has a lot of depth to it. It tells of the lowly clown Hobo and his yearning for a mother's love. The fact that it's now seen three publications suggests to me editors like it, too.

The link to the story is here: Darker should you wish to take a look.

A break

I've not been in the mood for writing, so I took a break. I'm not one of those people who have to write every day or they wallow in guilt - when it stops being fun I'll pack it in!

But, I'm back, somewhat recharged and ready to dip the toe once more.

For you, Tommy, the war is over

Well, my war story came back rejected, which is a shame as I thought it a decent piece of writing. Still, such is life. Perhaps they did want Rambo after all. I'll be interested to read the published anthology to see what kind of 'different protagonists' they were looking for.

I'm doing some decorating, so if you want me I'm the one up the ladder.

There may be eye strain ahead...

I submitted a short story today. Nothing unusual in that, you might say, but in actual fact I haven't submitted much of late. Why? I don't know, really, I just seem to go through such lean patches where not much takes my fancy.

I like writing stuff fresh for a particular project rather than merely recycling old stories hoping to hit an acceptance. This story was written for the Weird War anthology.

Weird War Anthology

I liked their comment about wanting stories featuring unusual protagonists. It inspired me to write a story pretty much with no obvious protagonist. Instead it centres around a British street in world war II, and brings the war to the inhabitants of that street, sometimes brutally, sometimes subtly, but always dispassionately. The result is a story with no heroes but lots of victims, and mirrors how I tend to see warfare anyway. I'm gambling this will elevate it from the slush pile. Of course, the gamble, as always, is that it might run totally flat with the editors. If they want Rambo characters then I'm done for. Time will tell.

I'm also psyching myself up to review an anthology which came to me as a PDF file. Had I paid more attention at the time I'd have not taken the review on, as the thought of reading 240 or so PDF pages on a screen fills me with dread. Coming fresh from reading 30k words or so from Shock Totem's bi-monthly flash competition, I anticipate eye strain ahead.

Shock Totem Issue 3

Issue three of Shock Totem is now available for purchase. In this issue is my short story "Ruth Across the Sea", which won the magazine's 2010 Flash Fiction Contest.

I've spoken before of how highly I regard this publication. You should pick up a copy of Shock Totem and see for yourself what all the fuss is about.

The Reject

I received my first rejection of the year. It was a sad one as it was for an anthology I was really keen to be in, and sad in that I wrote the story from scratch especially for that anthology. Still, I can rewrite it for a more general market without too much heartache, so all's not lost.

But who'd be a writer, eh, rejected as we are? :-)

We all love a good google

I googled myself. All writers do this, even if like masturbation they tend to do it when no-one's looking (or maybe some writers do it loud and proud, what do I know?).

It's far too soon for any reaction to Burying Brian, but I found many reviews relating to Haunted Legends, and my story "The Spring Heel" therein. Perhaps I should also mention the anthology has been nominated for the Black Quill awards and was deemed anthology of the year by the Chicago Sun Times. Which is all jolly nice.

Of "The Spring heel", jawasreadtoo.com says:

Steven Pirie’s “The Spring Heel” (a Spring-Heeled Jack tale) is a fascinating reclamation where the legendary figure once rumored to haunt the streets of Victorian-era England (romanticized in the extreme by Pirie’s desperate protagonist) turns savior for a woman eager to escape the reality of her world.

Black Abyss says:

The Spring Heel by Steven Pirie is set in Liverpool and introduces us to Ruth a homeless prostitute and the mysterious Spring Heeled Jack. It’s a deeply emotional story which brings the traditional legend, kicking and screaming, into a modern world of drugs, violence and tragedy.

Of course, not all reviewers heaped glowing praise on my story. Some pretty much ignored it, and others were lukewarm.

From Sffworld

The remaining tales, including… "The Spring Heel" by Steven Pirie… tend to walk the line between the two genres, generally channeling local legends through the psyches of the stories' central characters. While I found these meldings to be interesting, the psychological element tended to dominate the narrative so much they were virtually indistinguishable from many of the ghost stories.

Skulls in the Stars didn't mention me at all. Which is perfectly fine, of course.

Read All Over says:

Anthologies are also hard to review because it’s hard to give full attention to every single story in a collection. Because, while I really enjoyed this entire anthology, there were definitely some I loved more than others:

The Spring Heel by Steven Pirie — from the title one can see that this is a tale about the English legend, The Spring Heeled Jack. I loved how this story was both eerie but had me almost rooting, in a way, for Jack.

From the Apex Book Company

The Spring Heel by Steven Pirie – This is the retelling of Spring Heel Jack as told through the experiences of Ruth, a down-on-her-luck prostitute. She fears seeing the Spring Heel means death or worse for her. In the end, joining the creature supposed to be the devil results in the most unexpected of things. This story is told well enough to make it timeless. It could be set in the modern day as well as London in the 1800s. I finished the story with a smile on my face.

Ten things you should know about sheep

I'm going to write a story about a shepherd. But, in the meantime, here's ten things everyone should know about sheep:


1 Sheep are of the Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Cordata, Order Ungulata with Sub-order Artiodactyla. They are of the Family Bovidae with Sub-family Caprinac, of the Genus Ovis and Species Ovis-Aries. Basically, this means they are alive.

2 One of the most famous sheep (which, ironically, wasn’t alive) was a sock puppet called Lamb Chop, wielded by deceased comedienne Shari Lewis. It is unique as being the singly most unfunny sheep in existence.

3 Farmers like to ‘dip’ sheep regularly. This involves fully immersing the animal in a bath of antiseptic and detergent liquid, and not what you’re thinking.

4 Calling a sheep ‘Lamb Chop’ or ‘Mint Sauce’ is paramount to animal cruelty. As is turning them into socks.

5 Sheep don’t shrink in the rain.

6 A sheep dog is not a sheep, rather it is a dog used by farmers to bully sheep into pens and things. Dog sheep, however, are sheep of easy virtue, used by farmers once the dogs have bullied them into pens and things.

7 However, sheep may shrink if tumble dried.

8 Another famous sheep was Dolly the Sheep. This was the first animal ever cloned, and so marked a momentous advance in bio-molecular sciences. Dolly died after a particularly violent dipping by a farmer in 2002, and was served to the queen with sauté potatoes.

9 Some sheep are good at clinging to precarious, mountain crags and rocky outcrops. Those that aren’t are dead.

10 Sheep dislike being carted off for slaughter. Many are heard to utter, ‘Bah!’ when so carted.

Look at these writerly muscles

I did something today I've never done before as a writer—withdrew stories from a (supposedly) pending publication.

'Why did you do that, Steve?' I hear you ask, all aghast.

Well, the stories (four flash pieces) were accepted back in 2007, and since then communication with publication's editors has been, shall we say, somewhat sporadic. Despite claims that the publication will happen, surely there's only so long a writer should wait before dismissing the sale and moving on.

And it's not as if I'm an impatient bloke in that respect—I've waited to see a story placed many times in the past. Maybe I just wanted to flex a writerly muscle. Maybe I'm growing up as a writer. Perish that thought, eh?

Advent Calendar

Peter Tennant and all the nice elves over at TTA Press are running the now annual Advent Calendar, in which during December a story a day is recommended for viewing (and encouraged for discussion in the TTA Forum).

I'm happy to say my story "Sixty Seconds of Christmas in a Victorian London Alleyway" has been selected for 'day 13'.

The Advent Calendar may be found here:

Advent Calendar

Side Show 2

I received my author copies of "Side Show 2: Tales of the Big Top and the Bizarre", published by Sam's Dot. It contains my story: "To Pull a Child From a Woman", which I think is one of the best stories I've ever written.


The tale is of the lowly Hobo and his fear of the Clown Master, Whiteface. But it's also about love, and loss, and longing, and how ultimately simple Hobo yearns for nothing more than the basic thing in life most of us take for granted—a mother's love.

Sam's Dot Publishing

Side Show 2

Haunted Legends is published

I received my author copies of Haunted Legends anthology including my story "The Spring Heel". The guidelines requested tales with a new spin on well known local legends. You might guess my story is loosely based on the Spring Heel Jack legend; a fleeting Victorian character who, with his long, spindly legs, was said to be able to leap buildings.


Haunted Legends

Amazon.com

I've not had time to read the stories yet, but it does look a rather special anthology.

Missing... but still in action.

It's been a very busy month or two. Any free time I've found has been spent writing and editing the 'wife's birthday project' which has blossomed into a 140 page book documenting her family history. It's done and dusted and now with the printer.

A year ago I was a novice genealogist. Now I feel like a seasoned professional. I poked in nooks and fiddled about in crannies, and it has amazed me how much there is to find out there, how much of a footprint we leave behind.

Now it's done I shall move back to fiction writing, probably refreshed by the non-fiction break.

Anyways, I just thought I'd say…

Those Murky Depths

I'm happy to report Murky Depths magazine has accepted for publication my short story 'The Goodship Hyperdrive'. I'm rather fond of this story. It's a gentle comedy; a tale of sexual tensions set against emerging interstellar transportation gone wrong.

This will be my second appearance in Murky Depths. My first story, 'The Loveship Guide to Seduction in Zero Gravity', was well received by reviewers, and went on to be reprinted in 'Galaxies' magazine, a much respected French publication.

Murky Depths is well worth your attention. Its proprietor, Terry Martin, works tirelessly in its production. Why not support the small press and follow the link to pick up an issue, or, better still, a subscription?


Murky Depths

82K and Counting

Burying Brian is fast approaching the finish line. It's now at 82,000 words and counting.

Over the last few years I've written mostly 'gritty' stuff. But until embracing Brian once more, I don't think I'd realised how much I've missed writing humour. It's a challenge, after all, because I'd argue fiercely it's the hardest branch of writing to 'get right'. And it's certainly the kind of writing that entertains me the most in its creation.

Whilst chasing an agent, after the completion of Digging up Donald, it was frustrating to be told time and time again that humour 'doesn't sell', this despite the bookstores being full with Terry Pratchett, Robert Rankin, Douglas Adams, etc. I know they are the big boys, but surely they're also selling the humour subgenre as well as their names.

I once was up for winning a major competition, only to be told (and I paraphrase) that: 'A well-crafted literary tale will always win out over a well-crafted humour piece, particularly if the humour is also a genre work.'

They went on to say: 'But don't give up. The world needs more humour writers.'

Cue the sound of Steve's head banging on wall.

Still, I persevere, and what will be will be.

78K and Counting

Well, I'm now at just over 78,000 words with the second novel Burying Brian. I reckon the story has about another 5,000 to 10,000 words to see it completed.

It will be shorter than the first novel, Digging up Donald, which weighed in at 100,000 words or thereabouts. Not that it's a problem; a story should be as long as it needs to be in the telling.

So, I've put 8,000 words into it in three days, which has to be something of a record for me. And the nice thing is they feel like good words.

Writers reading this blog will know what I mean by that—there're words: writing sessions that feel forced, when the writer knows what's there will need throwing, or at least major revision, and there are sessions that feel more or less right from the outset.

I've three more days leave from work, and I plan to keep pushing on with the story. Hopefully, soon, I'll be able to announce completion. And that kind of announcement always feels like an achievement in itself.

This afternoon I'm off to the football. I think I've earned it.

Necrotic Tissue

My story "Ruth's Dying Breath in the Night" is now published by Necrotic Tissue. My contributor copy arived today and it looks good. I'll post more about this issue when I've had time to read it all.


In the meantime, if you wish to pick up a copy you should go: here