I have not sold any stories in a while. That’s okay I am still collating (much like Ash in ALIEN but to nicer intent.)

My last publication was MOTHMAN IN LOVE which appeared in Geek Out II. This is a marvelous artbook full of photos, art, comics, essays, and stories. I’m proud to be in here.

Mothman In Love is about the archetypal Mothman who appears as a warning of disasters and shows him finding himself and falling in love. I read some of this story out loud at WorldCon in San Jose 2018.

Fun note: When I got this idea I ran it past some friends who said it was very true-to-life. And I downloaded a game onto my phone, FLUTTER: BUTTERFLY SANCTUARY, because it’s full of butterflies and pictures and descriptions. I’m not sure it helped with research very much but it is (I am still playing it) a nice gentle and information-filled game.

This is slightly different: I’m asking for help to pay for Stephanie’s round-trip ticket to Paris (and home again to complete her last year of college.)

GoFundMe to Send Stephanie to Paris

NorWesCon, held each Easter in Seattle, is a week away and I’m going to be there.

I’m not on panels this year (whew! panel participation is a lot of work) but I am participating in the Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading on Saturday, April 20. I’ve got a newish sad romance fantasy to read.

So far 2019 has been slow for sales (I’ve had none) but I will have several appearances: LUIGI’S SONG will appear in Made In L.A. to be released 5.31.19, I’ve been paid for CEDAR to be published by The Colored Lens shortly, THE LAY OF THE LAND is scheduled to be published by Smoking Pen Press, and GLORIOUS MADNESS was reprinted in Gunsmoke & Dragonfire: A Fantasy Western Anthology on March 15, 2019.

I’m currently living in Santa Ana again, in a lovely old neighborhood with plenty of garden plantings and cats.  The living situation itself is not great but will be fodder for future stories (I do this a lot, e.g.: MIRACLES WROUGHT BEFORE YOUR EYES, starring people, locations, and experiences from my time at the San Diego circus.)

I have a new writers’ group in Long Beach full of experienced novelists.  I hope they will kick me enough to get my noveling off the back burner and into production.  Plus I do love hearing these tales they’ve written.  That’s a bonus of writers’ groups, I think, all the great writing.

Don’t forget to visit my Curious Fictions page where I post previously-published stories.  Today I added this very short story:

https://curiousfictions.com/stories/1967-jude-marie-green-what-happens-next

I have a listing on Curious Fictions.  What’s that, you say?  Here:

CURIOUS FICTIONS

Discover great stories. Subscribe to authors you love.

READ FEATURED STORIES

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What are you looking for?

FEATURED ALL CLASSIC FANTASY HISTORICAL HORROR HUMOR LITERARY FICTION LOVE MYSTERY SATIRE SCIENCE FICTION STRANGE

I have three stories available to read here:  MORNING GLORIES, FAR FAR FROM LAND, and DEFYING GRAVITY.  Come read me and read others and read.

Sláinte!

Year-end (2018) round-up:
OMG.

• LAY OF THE LAND, short story (haunted amusement park), Bards & Sages January 2018.
• BRICK, flash (autistic kid), to be published as a Saturday Showcase by Stupefying Stories
• SLIM AND BENNY-BE-DAMNED TAKE IT ON THE LAM, flash, reprint (bank robbers and the zombie apocalypse), Weird Mask
• JASMINE SPAIN, flash, (space granny sings her life story), Toasted Cake podcast from Tina Connolly
• HANG TWENTY, flash, reprint (surfing werewolves!) in Fantasy For The Throne
• ENDLESS SUMMER, short story, reprint, (alien loves surf music) Made In L.A
• THE WHITE WOOD, short story, reprint, (Hansel and Gretel’s dad), Re-Enchant
• WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION, short story, reprint, (using flowers to terraform an alien world), Re-Launch
• THE COLOR OF INFINITY, flash, (alien portal takes people samples), Every Day Fiction
• NOTES REGARDING THE CALAMITY JUKEBOX AT THE SUPER! HERO! RAGTIME CAFÉ, flash, (given the choice, superheroes might choose not to be superheroes) Every Day Fiction
• CEDAR, flash, (Appalachian magic), The Colored Lens (this should be out shortly)
• GLORIOUS MADNESS, short story, reprint (Donna Quick and Jane Smith adventures) Gun Smoke and Dragon Fire anthology
• NOT ALL WHO WANDER ARE LOST, short story, reprint, (woman steps into an extortion racket, plus talking lizards), in Bunyip & Ayotochtli
• LUIGI’S SONG, short story, reprint (girl talks with sealife) in Made In L.A. 2 appearing March-ish 2019.
• ROCK, PAPER, SCISSORS, GLASS, flash (dichroic glass warrior comes home) Daily Science Fiction.

15 stories. (7 original stories of which 5 are flash.) 8 reprints. A podcast! 9 hard-copy printed anthologies. One Pro Sale.

I also edited and released QUANTUM VISIONS 7, a chapbook anthology from my Orange County Writers Orbit folks.

I participated in the WorldCon San Jose writers’ workshop with a submission to be critted and as pro-critter x3.

I joined a new writers’ group of several polished and published writers who very much outclass me, so yay! Learner here!

And, I privately mentored a budding novelist (for pay) and was recognized as the mentoring influence by a man with a published collection (which collection has garnered several recommendations on the Tangent OnLine Best Of 2018 list.)

And I still manage to not feel very successful this year. Onwards to a more rewarding 2019!

Flash story “NOTES REGARDING THE CALAMITY JUKEBOX AT THE SUPER! HERO! RAGTIME CAFÉ” has just been published on Every Day Fiction.

Yesterday they published K.C. Ball’s horror story, GOTTA SEE THE CANDY. Read my story, of course, but don’t miss K.C.’s story. It’s swell.

I’ve sold 9 stories, lost my car and moved to another address, visited Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend and Las Vegas on my birthday, attended WorldCon in San Jose, joined a new writers’ group, mentored a budding novelist, and lost a dear friend, co-writer, mentor, and all-around swell person K.C. Ball.

I’m tired.

More is yet to come! November and Thanksgiving bring the annual Quantum Visions chapbook with stories by a talented and award-winning bunch of authors and artists.

My 7″ Kindle Fire, companion of 3 years and world-traveller with me, defensetrated recently. The replacement Kindle Fire is a 10″ screen and Alexa cuteness, and I purchased a bluetooth keyboard to go with it. I look forward to using yet another writing tool.

My grandson started kindergarten this year. After a rough start he is beginning to enjoy school. The teacher concentrates on story telling. I approve.

The Color of Infinity was published by Every Day Fiction.
Jasmine Spain was narrated, or rather sung, by Tina Connolly for her Toasted Cake podcast.
Endless Summer was reprinted in the Made In L.A. anthology.*
Hang Twenty was reprinted in Fantasy For the Throne: Short Reads.*
Weapons of Mass Destruction was reprinted by Pole-To-Pole Publishing’s Re-Launch anthology.*
The White Wood was also reprinted by Pole-To-Pole in their Re-Enchant anthology.*
Slim And Benny-Be-Damned Take It On The Lam was reprinted by Weird Mask for their zombie issue.
Brick will be published by Stupefying Stories in a Saturday Showcase position.
Notes Regarding The Calamity Jukebox at The Super! Hero! Ragtime Café will be published by Every Day Fiction.

*available on Amazon

I’ve posted a few things on Facebook, mostly photos and travelogue, about San Antonio. (I’m also participating in the 7 days of B&W challenge, whose antecedents I don’t know but I’m enjoying the opportunity to expand my eye.)

But back to WFC/SA.

Last night was the “Signature Event,” a two hour autographing session for everyone.  I garnered some autographs (esp. David Mitchell, author of CLOUD ATLAS and THE BONE CLOCKS) but mostly I sat and shot the breeze with passersby.  Mary Anne Mohanraj and I talked about The Speculative Literature Foundation, and if you don’t know them, check them out.  No one was interested in my chapbooks, hardly surprising as the state of self-published work has grown in professionalism and my chapbooks are obviously home-grown.  That’s fine 🙂  While wandering I saw lots of great cover art.  Color is in!

The panels are a nice mix of theme and feminism, social liberalism and discussions to understand The Other.  The panelists are heavily weighted towards gender equality and this would be a great place to thank SPIKE in programming for the amazing job of putting all this together.  I’m impressed and relieved that panels have women on them, and POC, and varied opinion.  It’s about time.

Plenty of readings, I believe there are 2 per half hour. I organized and will moderate the Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading today, with a one hour slot (at 2pm) for 10 women to read up to 4 minutes or so of story.  Several of my authors have brought giveaway books so we’ll also be raffling those off.

We have to be johnny on the spot time-wise as the Guest of Honor, Tananarive Due, has the room right after us.

Tomorrow includes the banquet (smashed turkey hotel food) and the awards (Kij Johnson! Tina Connolly!) and the general good cheer of a well-run convention.

Then I’m off to my subsequent adventures of my continuing vacation.  And maybe finishing that story.  It could happen.

(things I’ve forgotten to mention:  Tiptree Bake Sale. Clarion West party. Sitting in the green room and chatting with David Mitchell. Other stuff.)

This has not been a banner year of story sales (pretty overwhelming in the rejection department) yet I’ve had a few successes.

1. Not All Who Wander Are Lost, a romp with flying cars and talking lizards, published in Perihelion in February.

2. Far, Far From Land, harvesting edibles from the asteroid belt leads to shipwreck and rescue efforts, published in Luna Station Quarterly in June (reprint.)

Since NorWesCon I’ve had a pretty quiet summer.  I joined a local Southern California/Orange County writers group specifically to hear Joe Ide (Eeee-day) as I seriously grokked his novel IQ.  (He has a sequel out now.)   I bought the Stephen King/Owen King novel, SLEEPING BEAUTIES, but I’m having trouble getting into it.  Once I figure out why, I’ll post why it’s not sucking me in.  Joe Hill on the other hand has a collection of 4 novellas I haven’t purchased yet and that is next on my list. He’s proven a good storyteller.

Storytelling is why I’m doing this.  My friend Marta Murvosh sold a story, CRANES RETURN, to the anthology Tales of the Sunrise Lands, specifically written in a non-Western storytelling style.  Our standard Western format includes conflict points and a rise and fall of action. Other countries have (surprise!) different forms, and Guardbridge Books specifically requested

• Kishotenketsu and other Japanese styles of story structure differing from traditional Western forms. This article has a good discussion of Kishotenketsu.

I wish I’d written something for it… but I didn’t.