The Year in Review 2009

The past year, on the whole, has been a positive one. Great changes in my personal life — for the better, of course — but that's not what this blog is about. Instead, let's see just what happened over the previous twelve months in my writing life.

I sold a second story to Stephen Jones's MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST NEW HORROR series, as well as STRANGE TALES III and PSEUDOPOD. My second collection of short stories, COLD TO THE TOUCH, saw print to rave reviews across the board. It also seemed to rank on a few "best of the year" lists, include those from The Speculative Fiction Junkie, and author Michael Kelly. Also last year my story "Pinholes in Black Muslin" was nominated for a British Fantasy Award. I attended ReaderCon 09 with fellow writers Richard Gavin and Ian Rogers, cementing two good friendships that will last I suspect a long time . . . or at least until one of us gets ridiculously famous and wealthy (I'm looking at you, Rogers). I met a good number of new people this year and I feel — even if it's not true — that my light shone brighter in the dark morass of struggling writers. I did my second-ever reading in front of people and I think it went over fairly well. I also somehow managed to find time to write seven or eight new short stories to fill my coffers with.

So, all in all, a good year. There were a few personality clashes that put a damper on things unfortunately, but overall I can't complain.

Next year, I have high hopes for even more good news. I intend to take a break from short fiction for a few months to try and tackle something larger and longer, if only to prove I can. I have nebulous plans to attend the World Fantasy Convention in Columbus, Ohio, in November, and a return trip to ReaderCon in Burlington, Massachusetts in July. By then, I'm hoping my story in Cemetery Dance, "Out of Touch", will have seen print, a tale which I think is arguably the best thing I've ever written. It's a going to be an eventful year, if nothing else, and I'm looking forward to what's coming down the pipe.

One of the things I didn't do enough of over the past year was read. I wanted to — oh, how I wanted to — but life kept conspiring to keep me from it. As a result, the list of what I finished is miserably small — too small to form a "best of" list as so many others are doing right now. Instead, I'll highlight some of what I read, or am still reading.

Ian Rogers TEMPORARY MONSTERS
Robert Shearman TINY DEATHS
Reggie Oliver MADDER MYSTERIES
Barbara Roden NORTHWEST PASSAGES
Joel Lane THE WITNESSES ARE GONE
Ramsey Campbell JUST BEHIND YOU
Richard Gavin PRIMEVAL WOOD
Peter Straub A SPECIAL PLACE
Terry Lamsley R.I.P.
RB Russell PUTTING THE PIECES INTO PLACE
Gary McMahon DIFFERENT SKINS
John L Probert THE CATACOMBS OF FEAR
Joel Lane THE TERRIBLE CHANGES
John Langan MR GAUNT
Stephen King "N."

And in the coming year, what am I looking forward to?

Richard Gavin THE DARKLY SPLEDID REALM
Peter Straub THE HEART OF THE MATTER/THE SKYLARK
Michael Kelly UNDERTOW AND OTHER LAMENTS
John Langan HOUSE OF WINDOWS
Matt Cardin DARK AWAKENINGS
Gary McMahon PIECES OF MIDNIGHT
Mark Samuels THE MAN WHO COLLECTED MACHEN
Simon K Unsworth LOST PLACES
Steve Duffy THE MOMENT OF PANIC
Rosalie Parker THE OLD KNOWLEDGE

And no doubt a whole lot more I don't ever remember at the moment. Frankly, it's getting harder and harder for me to keep up with all the fiction I enjoy, which I think is a great sign! We're enjoying a real renaissance right now and I can only hope it continues indefinitely.

Here's to a spectacular 2010 for one and all! Cheers!

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Useless pretensions

You know, I've always been irritated by authorial quirks like the one — the "big one" — outlined in this brilliant post from Laura Miller at Salon. I've worked hard myself on trying to strip the affectations from my own work, things that part of my mind thinks are clever but clearly aren't. It's pretension, top to bottom, and it's a failure in the writer when he leaves unnecessary obstacles between his work and his reader.

(Yeah, I said Cormac McCarthy has a failing. Deal with it.)

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Merry Cthulhumas '09

Once again, the festive days are upon us. For any readers still online instead of stuffing stockings with nasty surprises, let me be perhaps the last one to wish you all nightmarish holidays for the next week or so.

I hope the Mad Monk brings you all you hoped for.

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BTS: Reviewed by Mark Leslie ... sort of

Perhaps "review" is a bit misleading, but Canadian author Mark Leslie, as part of the Second Canadian Book Challenge, has read my first collection, BENEATH THE SURFACE and commented upon in at his blog. Of it, he says:

"The tales within this collection contain a disturbing undertone and read like literary tales that have been injected with a solid dose of the bizarre, disturbing and surreal. This certainly isn't one of those books that you rush through reading, but is rather one that you absorb and experience."

You can read more, plus what he thinks of the other books he's read, at his blog, but I have to say it's nice to see some people are still reading and enjoying the book, even if it's been out of print for over a year now.

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A pleasant accolade

I'm proud to announce that The Speculative Fiction Junkie has picked COLD TO THE TOUCH to top their "Top 5 Reads of 2009" list. It's nothing less than an honour when someone feels so strongly about one's work.

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CTTT: Reviewed in "Flux Magazine"

The latest issue of FLUX, the UK magazine of life, fashion, and mischief, contains a short review of COLD TO THE TOUCH that calls it...

"[a]n impressive collection of stories that subtly unsettles..."

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