Meanwhile…

I received word over the weekend that “Apotheosis Cake” was chosen for the Every Day Fiction Best of 2009″ Anthology!

Erin is featured as well, with a staggering four stories. I think that might be it for the Writer’s Inkers this time around – we had a fairly light presense on EDF this year compared to last year.

EDIT: Oop, apparently Jens and Stephanie are in as well! Yay! Perhaps we can do that book signing we tried to put together last year?

The full list hasn’t been posted yet, but I expect a lot of familiar names to be featured. It really is a great anthology. If you missed last year’s you can still find it at Amazon or order it directly from the good folks at EDF.

I’m seriously considering making the trip up north this time to make the launch party. I think it would be a blast. I’ll just have to see if I can put the money together for the trip. I’ve never been to the barren tundras of Canada before, though. Do they have cars up there? Should I bring my own food? Or perhaps a weapon with which to hunt for game (and if so, will the natives be frightened of gunpowder)? Someone let me know.

I have a new flash piece up over at Big Pulp. It’s fun! Check it out here!

In case you are interested, there really was a train called the Ak-Sar-Ben Zephyr, it was the overnight return trip from Nebraska to Chicago. They just reversed Nebraska. I suppose they should have also reversed Zephyr, just for consistency, but wants to try and explain how to pronounce Ryhpez? This, of course, was all back in the first half of the 20th century, when trains still had personality.

At any rate, let me know what you think! These are characters I wouldn’t mind returning to. I love the scientist-adventurer archetype.

New story up! “Stragglers,” a dramatic piece of crime fiction, is up over at the excellent 10Flash. I’m pretty happy with this piece. Check it out and let me (and superstar editor KC Ball) know what you think by leaving a comment over there (and here, too, of course, if you want).

Make sure you check out the other stories as well. There are some great authors featured there.

Speaking of KC, she’s got an awesome piece of crime fiction of her own up today over at Every Day Fiction.

I have a new short story up over at The Future Fire, “The Overdue Protocols.” Check it out!

This one was inspired by the Beverly Cleary book mentioned in the story (though if I recall correctly it was initially launched from a writing exercise). I hope I captured at least a little of the spirit of Cleary’s novel. Let me know what you think!

This is also my first illustrated story, which is fun.

My short story, “Big in Ak-Sar-Ben,” in which a stalwart scientist battles giant monsters with math, has been accepted by Big Pulp. I’ll post more when it comes out in October! That’s a story I’m pretty happy with. It was hard to sit on it, waiting for Big Pulp’s submission period. But the patience paid off.

I managed to pull off the nigh impossible – well, okay, perhaps it was only the slightly difficult, or even moderatedly challenging – task of winning the writing group’s July contest. I wrote the last piece with about 25 minutes to spare. I may have a couple of publishable works out of it, actually; maybe I should just be dashing things off without putting so much thought into them. Maybe I’m overthinking things. For first drafts, anyway. I would post an excerpt but I don’t have them handy.

Also on the to-do list: send in submissions for the Norton Anthology Hint Fiction contest. I’ve got one ready to go, and ideas for a couple more. Competition will be fierce!

Best of all, I think I have a solid piece that I can send to 10Flash. Once it’s been through the ringer at the writing group I’ll send it in.

I just noticed that my steampunkish story “Four Liars” is live over at the premier issue of 10Flash. Check it out and let me know what you think, over there or here.

There are some other awesome writers featured there as well, including Jordan, Gay, and Erin, so you should find something you like. I need to check them all out myself.

I hate it when people use onomonopea in titles. Oh well.

It was a good weekend for librarians here at Meanwhile…not one but two stories accepted. You may or may not recall that some time back I wrote a story about a robot librarian, “The Overdue Protocols.” I’ve received word that it’s been accepted over at The Future Fire. It should be out in their August issue.

It may seem like it was planned, but I actually wrote “The Overdue Protocols” last year sometime. Complete coincidence!

Sadly, neither of my librarians is a hot librarian with the glasses or the pinned-up hair. My apologies. I’ll get on that one next.

Oh, also, a huge huge huge grats to KC, who nabbed third place over at no less prestigious a contest than The Writers of the Motherfucking Future (that’s their new title, just so you know).

Steampunk story “The Four Liars” accepted! Look out for it in the premier of 10Flash in July. I will, of course, post a notice when the issue is up. Exciting! I’ll be featured along with some really great writers who should be familiar names by now, including Gay “L&O” Degani and Erin “Babymamma” Kinch.

I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll save further discussion of the story for after it’s out.

Greetings from the distant past (last Tuesday)!

My latest flash piece, “The Squeeze,” should be live on Every Day Fiction right about now. Check it out if you haven’t already! Comment! Vote! Tell your friends (and enemies – I have nothing against evil support).

It’s an odd story, one that you’ll probably either totally get and think is hilarious, or not get at all and think I’m insane. I’m not sure which demographic I envy more. So it’ll be interesting to see the reaction.

I’ve got a new post up over at the Flash Fiction Chronicles, about what to do when real life and fiction pass uncomfortably close in the night. Check it out! Comment!