Girl, Running

With a week to go before Nanowrimo begins, I'm pleased to present my latest story which is now available for purchase on Amazon: 'Girl, Running'.

Originally part of Samuel Peralta's 'Z Chronicles' anthology, the story follows Elie and Little Shrew, two disenfranchised American teenagers fleeing the apocalypse.

Clocking in at 6,000 words, 'Girl, Running' is available now for just 99p, or if you are part of the Kindle Unlimited programme, you can borrow it for free.

Excerpt

Little Shrew is still calculating in her mind – speed versus distance versus pain in joints – when Elie says, 'Okay, in five seconds, we're going to run for the Harbour building.'

'Elie, no. I'm in a lot of pain.'

'Sweetie, we can't wait, you know that, right? The soldiers aren't going to shoot because the sound will bring even more of these...people...over. There's not enough of them there to hold the place as it is. If the fence comes down, the military are going to close the doors and sail away.'

Little Shrew is incensed by Elie's steely calm observations. She's not sure whether the pain she is in is stopping her from thinking straight, or her inability to think is somehow contributing to the pain.

Elie slaps her on the back and practically pulls a salute. 'Time to shine, Little Shrew. This is where that time on the track is going to pay off.'

'Two more minutes,' Little Shrew pleads.

Elie vaults the wall in a single movement, graceful as a cat. One of the shamblers nearby is more alert than the others, and takes a three-iron to the temple for its trouble.

The Caladria Story Competition!

I'm pleased to announce that I've come second in Caladria's recent short story competition!  I'd like to thank everyone from Caladria, and offer my congratulations to the winner, Grace Haddon.

The Caladria short story (entitled 'The Heat at the Heart') will be published in a future copy of the Caladria 'zine, 'Fab Fables', and I'll release more information about this when it is available for purchase. 

This achievement builds on my competition win from last year, and it makes me all the more excited for the anthology projects I have in the pipeline.

On the subject of anthologies, 'The Z Chronicles', the horror anthology that I feature in alongside Hugh Howey (multi-million selling author of 'Wool') and Jen Foehner-Wells ('Fluency'), is now available for pre-purchase on Amazon.  Goodreads previews have been glowing, and reviewers have suggested that this could be the best of the Future Chronicles series so far.  What are you waiting for? :)

My Current Project List

Like most writers, I have a list of projects going on at any one time, and I thought I'd give you all an idea on my progress with each.

What Comes from the Earth (the novel) 
 
I mention it only because it's the one that people always ask about - and with good reason.

My novel has been in process for a couple of years now.  That's a long while (though I'm hoping that the time will show in the final product!)  There are a number of reasons for this - it's not a straightforward matter to write, there are a lot of other things that have to take priority (family, studying, etc) and sometimes, you just can't face sitting down at a wall of text and starting anew.

The good news is that I am 12k words into the definitive final draft and while my continuing research means that I learn new things about South Africa every day, hopefully these are all going to be part of a significant and coherent whole.

The Z Chronicles (the anthology)

The forthcoming 'Z Chronicles' anthology is expected to be released in June 2015, and yours truly will have a story in it!

I'm very excited for this - the previous entries in the Chronicles series have shot to the top of Amazon and Kindle bestseller lists,and I'll be taking my place alongside some of the most revered authors in Science and Speculative Fiction - alphabetically, my name will be sitting on the cover right next to Hugh Howey, and I figure that won't do me any harm at all.  Most importantly of all, beta readers have really enjoyed the story, and told me that it's one of my best.  I'll let you all know when it's available for purchase, and hopefully you'll go out and buy a copy. 

Crowning Glory (the film)

Some of you may remember that a little whole ago, I was approached to consider turning one of my short stories into a film.  That sounds fun, I thought, and wrote a screenplay.  Our team is set, and when our leading man recovers from his brief hospital stay (get well soon, Greg!) we should be in a position to begin production.  Rehearsals are scheduled in the next week or two depending on commitments, but hopefully we'll soon take a key step to making this a reality.

Going Silver (the idea)

It occurred to me that since many of my projects result in short stories and writing fragments, it's about time that I started collecting them together into something sale-able.  This is a long-term plan, as I don't have enough material at the moment to produce a top notch short story collection (and I wouldn't offer it to people unless I thought it was top notch.)  However, it's a goal I'm working towards, and as I progress with other things, this collection will grow in size and one day it will unexpectedly leap out at the world, all teeth and fury.

The title is a working one, but it's one I like.  It's taken from my favourite novel, 'Vurt'.

Caladria (the competition)

Who likes dragons?  You like dragons.  (Everyone likes dragons.)

Currently, the collaborative worldbuilding site Caladria are running a free-to-enter competition that sees you choose one of three themes and build a narrative around the theme.  I'm currently 1,000 words into an entry.  Dragons feature heavily, and you have the chance to flex your fantasy muscles (the writing ones, that is) and contribute to a rather wonderful shared project.

The Website (the project)

And finally...because it has to happen at some point.

This blog has been a fun ride and my desire to write remains as healthy as it ever has, but I'm now in my second year of having made money from writing, and as such, I believe it will soon be time to upgrade to a proper website.  I'm looking into costs just now, but watch this space.