An Opportunity and a Review

I was recently given the opportunity to read and write an inner comment for a short story collection of a writer friend and (hopefully soon to be for me) publisher. Of course one has to seize such opportunities, so I read the collection, liked what I read, and decided to do a full blown review right here!

This is my first attempt at a review, so be gentle with me!

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Review of:

Death's Too Short

A Zombie Short Story Collection by Lyle Perez-Tinics

I was dubious to say the least, starting into this collection. I am a big fan of zombie movies and books, however I've been feeling lately that the market is quite saturated. And there I was, sitting before a PDF of seven zombie stories in one book. 

Right from the outset though, I began to be turned (pardon the pun)... and that only from the table of contents page. In a nice touch, Perez-Tinics provides a short synopsis of each story in the table of contents, and we all know that a well written synopsis is enough to set our fingers itching to get into a book. I was sold.

The predominate theme throughout, besides zombies of course, is genuine, edge-of-your-seat action, with a few surprises thrown in. These really are zombie stories with a difference. Within these covers are some really unique concepts; 'The Gingerbreads' sits at the head of these. A young boy finds himself in a hopeless situation, with a harrowing fallout in, 'A Kid Named Layne.' And then we see a futuristic side to the timeless zombie in, 'The Dead Side of the Moon.'

My favourite stories in this collection were the above-mentioned, 'A Kid Named Layne,' and 'Radio Dead.' Radio Dead is a grim tale that really brings to home the hopelessness of a zombie apocalypse, and deals with the inevitable 'anything goes' mindset that would surely be ripe in some individuals, at such a time.  

Now of course there are your usual hacking-of-heads, tearing-of-flesh scenes, but this is okay, we like this... when there is intelligence behind the gore, and this there is throughout the collection. As well as solid, clean writing, there is an extensive knowledge of weaponry that makes you suck in a breath and say, Feck (if you're Irish) this guy knows his stuff.


Death's Too Short is a worthy addition to any avid zombieist's collection, and well worth a read for the rest of us just looking for some nighttime thrills (nothing dirty intended there, for you out there with the smutty mind.) While all stories may not be to everyones taste, this collection certainly has enough variety to scratch that proverbial itch, and I'm chuffed to have my name inside the cover.

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The End 

(How was my driving?)   

     

A Watched Pot Never Boils

An old cliche, but one of the only that holds any weight. Every writer knows, that once you click that dreaded 'submit' button on a story, you become a chronic inbox watcher. Even a five minute trip to the bathroom ends in a mad dash back to the laptop to see if there is any reply.

Well, it's been a busy week, with the auld sister coming to visit, and then me heading home for a visit. Needless to say, I've been spending far too  much time with my head stuck in a pint to think about the laptop. But on the odd sober moments I've come across, I have been popping on to have a look. And to good news!

Yesterday I had a lovely mail from Jessy at Pill Hill Press accepting my story, 'That's What Little Boys Are Made Of', to the anthology, 'There Was a Crooked House'.

And today there was another welcome acceptance. This one from Sam at Panic Press accepting my story 'Raising the Roobling' for the anthology, 'Monsters Doing Something Funny for Money'. This is an extra proud one, as proceeds from the sales of this book will go towards Comic Relief. The second of my good writing deeds.

Monsters Cover

One has to wonder, if one could stay away from the inbox would all replies be so welcome... hmmm

New Covers

The working covers of the three volume, Halloween Frights have been released. And quite cool they are too. Each cover works on its own, but when put in sequence, they work as a mural. Have a look. My story appears in volume 3.

Volume 1

Volume 2

Volume 3
including my story, 'Night of Nights'

And when put together it all looks like this:

Mural

Pretty decent wouldn't you think? Now I may buy all fecking three...

Giving Something Back

So for the last week I have been working on a number of stories for charity anthologies. I've always liked to do things for charity, be it dressing up like, well a hooker to put it bluntly, and traipsing around the town, to regular donations. Not to mention going halfway across the world to live in the wilds of Kenya (slight over exaggeration there, but I earned it!) So I went crazy writing when I realised I had the means to combine the two.

And it has paid off! I've had my story 'This is 2012' accepted for the anthology 'Quakes and Storms' by Panic Press. The proceeds of this book go to the American Red Cross, towards the Japanese relief fund.

The anthology can be bought here:

http://panicpress.org/

and it's one of a number that I will be urging people to buy because it's for such a good cause. Not only are you getting a padding for your conscience, but there are some quality stories there to enjoy, by a number of talented writers, besides myself!

But that's not all! This acceptance comes with a triple whammy. Yes, you heard me, triple! It's my first acceptance with Panic Press, and also, my first story with a UK company! I'm getting closer to home. Ireland, watch out; the prodigal daughter will return, with a pen in her hand and a book under her arm!

Another Proud Acceptance

Yesterday I woke up to a lovely email from Dorothy Davies, editor at Static Movement, accepting my story, 'Fern of the Forest' for her anthology 'Grim Fairy Tales.' Just love the cover for that one.

Grim Fairy Tales

Fern of the Forest takes the classic, Snow White, and brings it back somewhere close to the original story, before Disney got their hands on it, which, according to Dorothy, is a 'gorgeous gory twist on the old story.' She also mentioned the word 'genius', but we don't want to go overboard on the self praise or anything!

I Got Me One Fan!

Tonight I got the best review of my relatively short writing career... and it came from none other than my sister! Now I know what you're all thinking, of course she's going to have a biased review, however, let me reassure you, had I produced something muck, she would not hesitate to string me up by the short and curlies and inform me of it.

It was in reply to my latest story, 'This is 2012' which will hopefully go into an anthology, the proceeds of which will go toward the Japan tsunami appeal. This is what she said:

That gave me goose bumps and actually nearly moved me to tears. You have a fantastic talent sister dear and it is getting better by the day. I honestly cannot believe any sister of mine wrote that. I genuinely look forward to reading what you next come up with as you seem to excel at any style or topic. Another one of your best!

Now I don't give a rats ass who says it, I'll take that thank you very much! Here's hoping the publisher is as impressed. Thanks Tell ;)

New Book Available

Shadows Within Shadows is now available for purchase. It's a bit early for Amazon, but I can't hold my horses, so for the moment it can be purchased at:

http://www.pillhillpress.com/shoppe-static-movement.html

My story in this anthology is called, 'Frozen Outpost' and it's a hair-stand-up-on-the-back-of-your-neck tale about an evil Indian spirit, back in the times when the west was still wild. 

That's five anthologies on the shelf, and counting. Now where did I put my saw and hammer?