MetaStellar story publication

A Happy Reprint My short story, “Occupational Hazards, or The Quite Curious Tale of Ástridr Grimsdottir”, appears today at MetaStellar. It’s a weird bit of urban fantasy fiction about an artist who has been drinking scotch-er-tea. It’s a five minute read which should have you snickering in your scotch-er-tea. The story first appeared in Neo-opsis Magazine, Issue 25, May 1, 2015. Happy reading!

Writers’ Craft 13: Marketing and Promotion

A tricky subject There’s a reason I’ve left the subject of marketing and promotion to one of the last articles on the subject of writers’ craft: it’s a tricky and often highly individual decision, dependent on personal preference, budget, and influence. I don’t think there’s any one perfect strategy. Sure, there are alleged experts who are going to sell you their version of the holy grail of marketing. But I’ve been at this for 40…

Pandemic, publishers and writers

And another one bites the dust I learned this week, with regret, the closure of another excellent small publisher, Bundoran Press. Headed by Hayden Trenholm, Elizabeth Westbrook-Trenholm, and Mike Rimar, Bundoran had a good run in the SF genre, giving voice to Canadian SF authors, and producing work which received literary acclaim. Speaking on behalf of the Bundoran team, Hayden Trenholm said: “While we still love the press and our artists, we no longer have…

Five Rivers editorial team share a table of contents

It’s just very cool that both Robert Runté, and Lorina Stephens both have short stories published in Laksa Media Groups’ Strangers Among Us: Tales of the Underdogs and Outcasts.   Robert had this to say on his blog: Got my contributor’s copy of Strangers Among Us in the mail yesterday. Pretty pleased with the production values, and the company I am keeping in this anthology. The anthology will be officially launched August 12, 2016 at When…

Thoughts on editing styles

I must admit to not pulling punches when I edit. That attitude comes partly from my experiences with editors whose brutal honesty I have come to respect and appreciate, and partly from their admonition to return the favour when my time came. And, like our Senior Editor Dr. Robert Runte, I have also received comment from colleagues who are surprised I am so blunt, and have been called mean as well. I was once asked…