House of Horror Best of 2010 Featuring...me!

Earlier this year, I had a story accepted for publication on House of Horror. That story was Mike Patterson, Murderer, and you can read it here.


Mike Patterson, Murderer, is a tale about a man undergoing a mid-life crisis, who kills without compunction as an alternative to what he sees as the more pathetic middle-aged antics of his peers.


The excellent news is, my story has been selected as one of the best pieces on House of Horror in 2010 and therefore features in the anthology! So if you would rather read it in a book than off the screen...

You can order a copy of House of Horror: Best of 2010 on the House of Horror bookshop.





If you do order a copy, please quote my name as I get royalties that way!

Even if you don't order a copy of this book, it's well worth taking a look at the spooky House of Horror website.There are loads of great stories, poems and book reviews to read, and plenty of other anthologies to buy, including Stitched Up! which also features one of my stories, a zombie-tale called White Christmas.







You can also follow the owner and head editor of House of Horror, S.E. Cox, on blogger - for updates on House of Horror including calls for submissions, anthology releases and more news on HoH's plans to seek novel submissions next year, as well as book reviews and interviews. S.E. Cox's blog is here: http://house-madam.blogspot.com/

Over all 2010 has been a great year so far - I've had quite a few pieces accepted for anthologies now. Can't beat seeing my name in print!

Bank Holiday Weekend

So my scheduled posts posted, that's good to know!

I wasn't on much as it was a bank holiday weekend, we wanted to treat it a bit like a mini-holiday.

Worked quite well. Did very little on Saturday as the other half had a killer toothache, but on Sunday we saw some friends and went to the cinema to see Inception (which was very good - layers of reality/what's real and what isn't, nicely confusing) and then yesterday, went to the zoo in Belfast. Haven't been to a zoo in about 8 or 9 years. Quite a few of the animals were asleep, though the sea lions were lively, and the Andean bears were great as well. Plus there was this giant hamster-type thing that I'd never heard of (and forgotten the name of again) before. Might post pictures another day!

Oh, and I got an email this morning - there was a problem with the orders for the House of Horror Stitched Up Anthology, so if you have ordered one, please cancel it through paypal!

What I'm working on...

So, Friday rolls around again...

What have I been working on for the last week? Well, I spent some time updating this blog.

I've also been working on a sort of serial killer piece. In first person, about a character who delights in her evil. That was difficult, as I had to get inside her head, and since I was working on it yesterday as that story about the woman in France who killed her babies was breaking...well, as I say - it was difficult. Sometimes reality is even more gruesome than fiction.

Then there's an idea that came to me while walking the dogs one day this week - about an old married couple who have grown apart somewhat. I suppose that'd be classified as literary.

I also had another idea, about a woman who is trapped...I have started it, but it may be too similar to my Just the Dust story which appears in Casting Shadows. Still, I may be able to do something with it.

I've also been tweeting and mentioning on here and on facebook about Stitched Up, the House of Horror anthology which will feature one of my stories. Yup, that's me mentioning it again!

I've been writing a few funny/silly little poems as well. Not sure where to submit them to, so you never know - I may post one or two on the blog!

It's a bank holiday weekend so that means time with friends and family - not a whole lot for writing, probably. Though I do have Folded Word 24/7 coming up. I have to write a piece a day for that, starting on Sunday. Still. I never go anywhere without my notebook anyway!

Ah, validation...

Yes, I know that as writers, we write because we have to write. Because there's a story inside that needs to be told.

But inside, many of us...certainly me, are insecure creatures in need of validation and ego-stroking. So validation in the form of an email that reads "yes I would like to publish your story" or some variation thereof is always particularly welcome. I write because I want to write, but that doesn't mean I don't like to be told I'm good at it, from time to time!

Yesterday evening, I received such an email. I'm going to have a story in the House of Horror's Stitched Up Anthology. It's a tale of zombie-type creatures, and it's called White Christmas. I can't wait to see more of my work in print!

So funny how one acceptance can make a ton of rejections seem suddenly insigificant. There's a psychological term for that. I can't remember what it is though, because I'm in such a good mood!