One Hundred Voices Volume Two is now available for pre-order! Following up on the success of One Hundred Voices Volume One, there is a brand new collection of short 
stories and pieces of flash fiction from one hundred unique authors. While a good amount of the authors who will be published in Volume Two were also published Volume One, there are also many new authors from around the world (including me!).
Alistair Rennie – Attending Milford 2006
I attended Milford shortly after my first publication came out in John Klima’s now legendary “Electric Velocipede”. This was in 2006, a year when things, in writing terms, started happening for me.
Foremost among these was Milford. I submitted the two requisite pieces of work – a surrealist fantasy piece called “A Doom of My Own” (later published in John Klima’s “EV”) and a short story called “BleakWarrior Meets the Sons of Brawl”, now the first chapter of a recently released novel entitled BleakWarrior.
When I look back, it seems to me that “A Doom of My Own” gained the most favour in terms of its reception by the Milford group. But it didn’t cause as much of a reaction as the other piece, which is the basis for a very important and inspiring lesson for me.
I was nervous about submitting “BleakWarrior Meets the Sons of Brawl” because…
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One Step Beyond
One Step Beyond is an anthology that came into being in the minds of a group of SFF writers–more specifically writers that have survived the gauntlet of the Milford experience (and clamoured for more)–who are also members of the ‘One Step Beyond’ writing and critiquing group.
It was decided that each member would donate a story (a reprint) and that all proceeds from sales (bar minimum admin costs) would go to the charity English PEN, which supports writers facing legal problems around the world.
The anthology contains stories written by: Jaine Fenn, Vaughan Stanger, Mike Lewis, Heather Lindsley, Alys Sterling, Mark Bilsborough, Liz Holliday, and there’s one in there from yours truly.
Many thanks go to Vaughan Stanger, who has done all the hard work of organising and editing the anthology; and to Jaine Fenn who is publishing the ebook via her Tower of Chaos imprint. The excellent cover art was created by Tony Hughes.
The official launch of the anthology is on 17th November, but you can get hold of a discounted copy if you pre-order now. Support English PEN and enjoy a raft of great stories!
Purchase links:
Order at Amazon (UK) for £0.99
Order at Amazon (USA) for $0.99
Order at Smashwords for $0.99
Making People In My Head – by Gaie Sebold
A fun and interesting look at writing characters from Gaie Sebold.
Someone asked me recently, “Which comes first for you, character or plot?”
“Oh, character,” I said. “Character every time.”
And having said it, I realised that it might be generally true – at least, where novels are concerned – but of course, it isn’t as simple as that. A character doesn’t just stroll into my head, named, physically complete and fully costumed, with all their quirks, motivations, backstory, family and taste in beverages neatly arrayed.
I know one or two things about them, to start with. Generally I have a good idea what my major characters look like. In fact they’re often so clear in that respect that I have to remind myself to put some of that stuff on the page, because, unfortunately, readers can’t actually see the picture in my head.
I know what they do for a living. That in itself is part, of course, of who…
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MAYDAY Magazine
Published by New American Press, MAYDAY Magazine presents new poetry, fiction, nonfiction, translations, commentary, and visual art to an international community of readers. And this issue has one of my stories in it! Hurrah! Not SFF though. But hey, I’m allowed to write other stuff. Hope you enjoy reading.
What’s in a name?
Interesting piece on the challenges faced writing fantasy in a historical setting. Have read Winterwood, and can’t wait for Silverwolf to come out!
When writing historical fiction it’s sometimes difficult to pin down names. Things change and sometimes the change is gradual. For instance I live in a tiny Yorkshire village called Birdsedge, or maybe it’s Birds Edge. No one really seems to know for sure. It’s currently in a state of flux and both names work. (My preference is for Birdsedge to be all one word.) When I first moved here in 1980 the village sign when approaching from one direction said Birds Edge, but the sign when approaching from the other said Birdsedge.
Confused? You will be.
An old diary (Adam Eyre’s Diary) from the 1770s called it Bursage and if you listen to some of the long-time residents they pronounce it something closely akin to B’zzidge, the vowel after the B being an uh sound that’s not quite E and not quite U. (A schwa?)
The village doesn’t seem…
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GollanczFest16 is Coming!
Guess where I’m going to be in just a couple of short weeks? The GollaczFest, of course! I attended last year and it was a real treat. 
The panel discussions were particularly interesting, with authors giving candid views on topical issues. I especially loved the way Gollancz used the event to promote its debut authors.
This year I plan to split my time between the author panels and the events aimed specifically at upcoming writers. Have a look at the list of authors taking part. It’s going to be so much fun!
Chilling out with Pratchett
There are times as a writer when I just need to step back and chill out. Give the creative side something else to do, a sort of re-charge of the writing batteries. 
I love the quiet discipline of adding colour to someone else’s kick-ass drawings. I have several fantasy-type colouring books, but my favourite by far is the ‘Terry Pratchett’s DiscWorld’. It is packed with Paul Kidby’s amazing illustrations.
“The little dragon turned on Vimes a gaze that would be guaranteed to win it the award for Dragon the Judges would Most Like to Take Home and Use as a Portable Gas Lighter.”
Thank you Paul Kidby, and thank you Gollancz. I just need to decide what to colour next!
Thoughts on Editing
All very useful advice!
I thought I’d toss out some thoughts on the editing process – or rather my editing process because every writer has their own way of dealing with edits, and if it works, then it’s the right way. No two writers are like or follow the exact same process.
There are two phases of content/structural editing. The first is my own, done before sending the first draft of my manuscript to my editor at DAW. The second is the edit based on what my editor wants me to alter or add (more on that later).
At this stage I want to stop and tell you that a few days ago my lovely editor at DAW, Sheila E Gilbert, was awarded the Hugo award for Best Editor, Long Form. I am absolutely thrilled for her because she’s been in this business a long time and is vastly experienced and a terrific editor…
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How to Sell a Lot of SF/F Short Story Reprints – Part 2, by Deborah Walker.
This is the second part in a two-part blog post by Deborah Walker. You’ll find the first part here: How to sell a lot of SF/F Short Story Reprints – Part 1. See the original on Deborah’s Blog here.
Deborah writes:
This is the second post on reprints. The first post can be found here. The take home message was more submissions will probably lead to more sales.
This post comes with the same proviso. Every writer is different. Your mileage will vary. And if you disagree with me, do feel free to comment, because I’m interested in different opinions.
So after having made 67 reprint sales this year. (Yes, it’s gone up from the last post). I thought I’d share my process with you. This is how I make my reprint sales, I hope you’ll find it interesting.
Selecting a Reprint Venue
Once you’ve found your reprint venue…
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