The shortlist for the 2010 Australian Shadows Award has just been released, and can be read here:
http://australianhorror.com/index.php?view=256
Basically this is the Aussie version of the Stoker, and has been recognising our growing pool of horror writing talent for quite a few years now. This is the second year that the Shadows have broken entries into three categories: Long Fiction, Edited Publication, and Short Fiction. Previously everything was lumped into one category, and not only has this move resulted in clarity for the awards given, but has suceeded in generating some really strong shortlists.
The added bonus this year is that several awesome folks can be found across the board, meaning that no matter who wins in *any of the categories*, I will most likely be cheering on a buddy or colleague. I’m so pleased for all these folks, and won’t write out a laundry list – you know who you are 🙂
In other news, ascendant Adelaidean Lisa Hannett has just scored herself a mention in Tangent Online’s Recommended Reading List for 2010.
My Writers of the Future winning story “The House of Nameless” is now available on Smashwords as a free e-book, available in several different formats. While I’ve ostensibly released this free version onto the world for Ditmar reasons (with the full blessing of the publishers at Galaxy Press) it’s also my trial run at formatting and managing an e-book. It’s also quite hard to get hold of the WOTF anthologies in Australian stores, so if anyone’s interested in seeing the type of story that gets into the book, here is one example. These anthologies are all available through Amazon, and now via Kindle as well – they also contain many words of wisdom from the best-selling judges, which are well worth the small download fee. If you want a hard copy, you will generally have to order these in (hence this e-book experiment to raise some 11th hour awareness of my story).Â
Not much more to add, but it’s coming together beautifully, and it’s nice to be nailing down the “ecology of the supernatural” that I’ve explored in the related short stories. In fiction I’ve always loved the use of ephemera, and in the jesusman stories this has been kicked up a notch – the world of Now runs on a scavenger ecology, a brutalised society picking through Before-Time junk from “bleedthroughs” simply to survive. Time itself, and the brutal nature of the Crossing, has all but wiped out knowledge of the soft world these settlers left behind. All they have to prop up their broken culture is what bleeds through, and some of this drifting ephemera can shape politics, even religion itself.
All I can say is, you’ll find one in every country town…I cannot wait to give the world Lesterton. Mwahahah.
Gauntlet Fuel Du Jour
You’d better *believe* that this novel is powered by bogan tunes. For those about to write, we salute you.
I’ll admit, there was a recent moment of doubt. A respectable pile of writing and auxilliary writing goals was starting to pile up on me there. There’s a looming grant application, Project Lucy, some extensive edits for a commissioned piece, and the workload for Midnight Echo #6, just to name some of the stuff that appeared all at once, and needed to be addressed pretty damn quickly (some goals were self imposed, several of them contingent on outside factors such as deadlines, or the scornful mockery of Peter M Ball).Â
Woe is me, I cried. How will I ever prune back this growing pile of wordy goals?
I wrote down a to-do list, I listened to some 80s hair metal, made myself a cuppa, and I then proceeded to stay up late and punch said list square in the junk. I finished the mop-up of auxilliary goals with a solid slab of Project Lucy, and it felt awesome 🙂 so there is proof positive, elbow grease can get you out of just about any jam.
Also, the Gauntlet theme music du jour is as follows:
