Thursday 31 January 2013

Impossible Dreams

Everyone has them, or at least ought to have them: goals that they want to reach that are just on the other side of believability. Not the ones that involve conquering a country or elaborate revenge, though those are probably doable for some people. I mean the things that seem out of reach now, but might be possible if the dice fall the right way.

I used to think that living in England was one of those pipe dreams, along with royalties (of any amount) and getting into a Master's program. And now I'm here. Other pipe dreams have taken their place:


  • Walking the coast of England for mental health research and awareness.
  • Getting into and through a PhD program in one piece.
  • Living in a country where the official language isn't English.
  • Telling my dad to go buy a copy of the New Yorker so he can turn to a specific page and see my name.
  • Selling a novel. Heck, selling three novels and being able to buy food from them. 
  • Going back to the home I dream about. 
  • Living without medication. Or mandatory doctor's appointments. 
  • Not having to worry about visas and length of stay while I'm in the UK. 
  • Fencing in the Olympics.
Ok, maybe the last one is a little far-fetched, but the rest could possibly happen, if I make them happen. Which makes me wonder, how many dreams have I let die because I couldn't see how to get there from where I was standing? And how many dreams have others let die for the same, or similar reasons? And the biggest question: Why?

Monday 14 January 2013

Anthology Launch!

It's here: the Deep Cuts Horror anthology. 19 short stories, and recommendations of dozens more, all intended to thrill, chill, and etc; it's a pretty hefty volume for the money. You can find a table of contents here, and the book itself is available from Amazon electronically, and will be available in paperback and from other venues imminently.

My contribution to this is titled "Practical Necromancy," in the 'mayhem' section of the book, though it is much more coherent than the drivel that I normally post here. The story is about three sisters as they deal with the aftermath of their parents' death by turning to work, love, and black magic. There is also defenestration. The original title was 'All Through the Night,' after a lullaby my dad used to sing. It contains the line 'I my loving vigil keeping all through the night,' which is ironic in the context of the story, but not everyone knows the song, so the title was changed.

I never expected that the first book in which my work would be featured would be a horror collection, but that doesn't mean I'm not thrilled. The piece was as difficult to write as any of the literary fiction I've done, but was still one of the most enjoyable pieces that I've written.

Edit: Oh look! It's also available from Amazon.co.uk! I was not expecting that. 

Friday 4 January 2013

Technical difficulties

The apocalypse didn't happen! Unfortunately, no one told my computer that. It proceeded to give itself a Viking funeral the day that the world didn't end, and as I was on the road the bastard didn't go into the shop until yesterday. The money that was going to become a pair of boots that don't leak and a waterproof jacket - as well as a few months of food that isn't eggs and rice - will now be turned into a new motherboard, with fingers crossed that all that cash will rescucitate the thing. C'est la vie. There will, hopefully, be more and more pertinent thoughts once I've regained the lost ground; coursework deadlines are less than a week away and I'm not sure at this point what to toss out in order to keep the slavering beasts at bay.

Random tip - when you're in a foul mood and a lecturer asks a stupid question via e-mail, log off and walk away until you can give an answer that doesn't strip paint and melt bone with its pure acidity. And yes, lecturers ask stupid questions.