Category Archives: Short Stories

Some recent findings.

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I decided a few nights ago to share a poll to my readers in order to see what kind and method of content from me that they’d like to see going forward. The reason for this is simple, I have enough projects on my plate that I crave the chance to do, but I can’t decide on which one to buckle down on. So I took it to the readers to try and help cure me of my predicament.

First off, if you missed the link to the poll that was on my social feeds, it is right here. It’s still open, so if you want to contribute, just click the link and pick an answer.

So what kind of data have I been able to gleam from the results? Actually, there are three separate pieces of info I’ve been able to gather from the results thus far. First, let me detail what votes have been cast and where.

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A – Go for a novel – 3 votes.

B – Pound out short stories and submit them to magazines – 1 vote.

C – Write and assemble a collection of short works and release it on Amazon – 2 votes.

D – Write and release separate short stories, novelettes, ect, on Amazon – 2 votes.

E – Do whatever the hell you want, moron – 3 votes.

Now, these answers have provided some rather interesting pieces of data for me. Let me explain how I’m interpreting this info so you can see where I am coming from.

1) I’ve got 11 votes. While I haven’t been shoving this poll down everyone’s throats, I think this is indicative of a smaller audience. As far as the readers go, this isn’t a bad thing.

To me, however, it means that I should be looking into ways to expand the existing readership and start bringing in a newer crowd. This could include things like promotions, giveaways, ect. Who knows, but it is definitely something for me to think on. This might also tie directly into the next couple of points though, so we’ll see.

2) The magazine option only has one vote. Sure, we haven’t seen a terribly large results base, but this seems rather interesting. Is it that you all would rather see projects from me that are entirely independent from other publications? Do you lot believe my stories and their quality are able to stand up entirely on their own in the Amazon marketplace? Also, could moving independently into the Kindle store create more visibility and increase my readership size? It’s an interesting question.

3) The “Do whatever the hell you want, moron,” option is tied for the lead with the novel approach. This makes me wonder if there really is a preference amongst the readers about what sort of content that is desired. I had almost expected the short fiction or collection options to take the lead, not either a novel or whatever.

While the “whatever you want,” option doesn’t help solve my priorities question, it definitely raises my eyebrow. Does the notion that some viewers want to see a larger, grander effort while others don’t particularly care what they get so long as they get more actually ring true?

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So, do these findings raise my hopes or give me a sense of direction? Yes, in its own way, it does. It gives me hope at the prospect of moving into the independent marketplace, relying more on my own stories and their quality rather than a magazine and the other contributors to help sell it and possibly cast attention my way.

I’ll continue to watch the findings and see what further results or feedback might develop. However, if you want to make your thoughts on these questions heard, feel free to leave either a comment or email discussing your feelings on the matter.

In the meantime, I’m heading back to doing some editing for Guns of Asgard. I know the prospect of further work on that has at least a couple people rather excited, so I figure it’s time to get on with that. Afterward, it’s back to work on Under a Falling Sky. The foot is in the door, so now it’s time to capitalize on that.

Project “S” revealed.

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As I mentioned back in this article, I had “set a ludicrous goal.” You might also have seen me mentioned Project “S” on my social media feeds. These two are one and the same, and now will be revealed.

Project “S” is actually a short story that I’ve written since falling ill back on the 10th, titled “Salvaging Life.” At just under 4000 words, it’s a Science Fiction tale about a space-based salvaging crew that makes first contact with an alien species. Its entire purpose – besides telling a story that I wanted to create and all that jazz – was simple: have it be my first piece ever submitted to Clarkesworld Magazine.

Yeah, talk about shooting for the stars, right? Well, that was entirely the point. Due to the recent euphoric experience I had when I was accepted by Fireside Magazine, I decided that I needed to make an effort that either went big or went home. So I wrote the story, edited it multiple times, then sent it out for consideration.

It took less than 24 hours before I received a form rejection. When I saw it, I smiled happily.

“Wait, who the hell wants to hear they’ve been rejected?” I can hear you yelling. The answer is, the guy who wanted to be told that he wasn’t some jewel that just hadn’t been seen yet, who wanted to know that he wasn’t squandering some miraculous gift during those long nights where no progress was made.

If I had been accepted, I’d have sincerely felt like there was something wrong with the universe. I’d then also feel self-loathing at my squandering of my literary abilities (as if I didn’t already, but still). In a way, as amazing as being accepted would be, it feels better that I was knocked back down a peg.

It has felt like every time I shot for the stars – first being published, then being accepted by Fireside, ect – I wound up striking my mark. I needed to feel like I wasn’t infallible. So now here I sit with a complete short story that is looking for a home. There are plenty of options for me to take, so I’ll figure out what to do with it at some point.

For now, however, I’ll be quite content to be in the same mud as many of my fellow writers and work on more edits for other projects and imagine new tales to tell.

New release: When Death Comes.

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Today we welcome a new member to the “published” family. This newcomer is titled When Death Comes, a Paranormal Fantasy. It has officially released with eFiction Magazine‘s  March issue.

A story about a man living up to the consequences of his life and his actions therein, it brings me great pleasure to see it become my third published piece (not counting the two free pieces on my website). In a way, I figured I’d never see this piece actually make its way to market.

I’m all too glad to be wrong.

As I mentioned in this prior article, this story had a bit of a troublesome streak to it. It was my first piece to ever earn me not only a rejection, but actually two separate denials. With those rejections in hand, along with dealing with NaNoWriMo at the time, I wondered if anyone would pick it up at all. Luckily enough, eFiction did.

So yes, by this point, the Kindle copies of the March issue should be up and ready for your download an enjoyment. The eFiction website has yet to explicitly list the March issue, but they should be up shortly.

I hope you all enjoy the story. As always, feel free to let me know what you think of it. Until then, however, it’s back to the grind.

Upcoming release: When Death Comes.

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A story of mine that I’d written awhile back, When Death Comes, was originally rejected by Fireside Magazine. I’d written it, initially, just for them and it was meant to fit into their guidelines.

Now, Fireside only had a couple of slots for their seldom released issues, and they had an absolute ton of people apply for those spots. With their previous line-up including such names as Neil Gaiman and Chuck Wendig, however, I knew I was throwing myself to pure-blooded wolves.

It was, however, my first actual form rejection. While I had braced for rejections before, it hit me in a different way than I had expected. Instead of the gut-wrenching “I am a miserable sack of crap that shouldn’t bother writing” idea, it subtly made me slow down on sending out other material or even opening Scrivener. It was slow, it was subtle, and it was toxic.

After I got that first rejection, I looked at this story and it made me second guess the whole thing. “This story is just … too much of a sharp turn,” I remember thinking. I thought it would be impossible to have someone pick it up.

So then I sent it out to another magazine, Petrichor Machine. It took a couple months, but I was finally handed a personal rejection there. While I took comfort in that it was personalized, it was still a rejection none the less.

After that, the feelings from earlier had been renewed. Again I found myself staring at the story, wondering just what in the hell I’d actually bothered to write, to create.

Then, come January, I found myself getting back into my writing circles. That isn’t to say I found myself leaving a reclusive lifestyle, since this hobby of mine lends itself to the reclusive attention-whores like myself. Either way, I found myself chatting with Doug Lance, Editor in Chief with eFiction Magazine. We talked and bantered, then I remembered I hadn’t sent him anything in awhile.

Resolving that I needed to get something out, I took another look at When Death Comes. I liked what I had, even if I knew it was a bit different towards the end. Call it creator’s bias or what have you, but I decided I’d send it to Doug and see if he could make something of it.

It was at the tail-end of January that I sent him the story. On Friday, 2/22/13, I signed the contract with eFiction for them to pick the story up for their March 1st issue. I haven’t heard explicitly why they chose to pick it up, but I can only imagine if they’d seen the same thing in the story that I did when I wrote it.

So yes, Ladies and Gents, When Death Comes will reside in the March 1st issue of eFiction Magazine. If you want to have a read at it, you’ll be able to pick up a copy this Friday (the 1st) from their website, Amazone, Barnes & Noble, ect.

The story itself is about a man waiting to have a face-off with three other partner’s in crime, but recounting his actions that led him there to a strange woman who shows up at his doorstep. I tried to drop a few hints and allusions to what comes later in the story, including using one character’s name as an anagram, so keep your eye open.

Until the release, and for some time afterward, I get to contemplate how my seeming failure has turned into another success. For the immediate and foreseeable future, however, it’s back to work on a mixture of Under a Falling Sky and Blood in the Machine.
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What the hell is wrong with me, and how come nothing seems to stay a failure?

New release: Eyes of Madness.

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Hey folks! Remember a few days ago where I made that absolutely ludicrous promise to release a new short story, for free, as a Christmas gift for you all?

Well, it’s here. In truth, it’s on the Download page as well, but the link goes to the same place.

So what is the story? It’s a brief glimpse at one of my earlier characters, Alec Rho, as he’s being questioned by an official with the FBI. What’s his deal? Well, he had an … “incident” where he wound up with a runic scar on his shoulder, his eyes turned from brown to glowing silver, and he now sees Seraph (angels) and Demons. He’s got a couple other tricks up his sleeves, but in reality, he’s an average guy given a few extra tools and stuck in a horrible situation.

How did I come up with this story? Well, Alec is actually the product of the first full-length novel I’d written, but the book was mothballed before it ever saw the light of day. Pacing was horribly off, I needed to rewrite the thing anyway but nothing was working, ect. So the story and character have sat in storage for some time.

When it came time to pen a new story for this challenge, however, my thoughts drifted back to Alec. There was no where I could conceivably write his origin-story again, not with the limited time frame, but a teaser seemed possible. From there, the story took shape and became what it is.

I had put out a single call for beta readers but nobody responded. Let’s face it, most rational folks are busy doing Christmas-y stuff that would demand their attention, so I most certainly couldn’t blame them.

Instead, I took the liberty of doing what editing work I could, along with formatting. Am I as confident in its quality as if it’d been put through a workshop? No, of course not, but the circumstances demanded it.

That said, give it a read. It’s a free download, it’s only about 3,800 words in totality, and it’s the most recent “finished” product of mine.

I hope you enjoy this story, as well as have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.