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"Four Felicitous Flash Fiction Foibles" is now published online at Whispers of Wickedness

To read these flash fiction stories click...

added 2nd December, 2006

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My review of "Heaven's Falling Volume 2, Redemption" by Garry Charles is now published online at Whispers of Wickedness

To read the review click...

added 2nd December, 2006

* Out now!
Whispers of Wickedness
Issue 13, summer 2006

Fiction:
Soft Flesh, Cold Steel by John Saxton
The Dead Which Were In It by Barry J House
The Therapist by Jason Gaskell
But It Pours by Rhys Hughes
Pretty Much Damn Near Perfect by Alison J Littlewood
The Way To A Man's Heart: Ask Dr Lippman by Kristine Ong Muslim
The Tower Struck By Lightning by Peter Tennant

Poetry :
The Dead Have Ears by Greg Schwartz
Devil In The Clock by Alexis Child

Non-fiction :
The Blue Pootle Column by Aliya Whiteley
Where Science and Magic Meet: Steven Pirie interviews Storm Constantine
Pyewacket and Vinegar Tom: The Story of the Witchfinder General by Terry Grimwood

To buy a single issue, or to
subscribe to Whispers, click...

added 24th August, 2006

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"Harry, the Wife, and Mrs Robson, Hell's Temptress from Number Six" is now published in Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine issue 24

"Alone in bed that night, the answer came to Harry in a dream. It was not a pleasant dream; it was full of the wife, for a start. She was a tarantula, huge and hairy and menacing, and he was her mate, miniscule and quaking in her web, and little more than a spot of lunch after copulation. She was the queen of some terrible, dark universe, and he was a lowly courtier so often on the wrong end of the royal boot. She was a brooding thunderhead, and he was alone in a damp field, slumped and pathetic in his copper-plated headgear, and awaiting such terrible discharge as only the wife might muster."
Buy a single print copy

Download a PDF copy

added 25th July, 2006

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My short story "An Occasional Card" is now published in the anniversary issue of Tryst

To read this story, click...

added 16th June, 2006

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A Fun Rejection
I received this rejection from the people at 'Until Someone Loses an Eye' anthology, and I thought it so good as to be worth sharing.

Dear Steven, Thank you for submitting "Mary: Edith: Bob: Frank" to UNTIL SOMEBODY LOSES AN EYE. Sadly, this is one of those "We're going to have to pass on your material" notes. I know, I know, it sucks, but please believe me when I say that the problem isn't you. It's us. We're afraid to commit. We're afraid to love. We're dead inside.

Also, we're bumbling dorks who are incapable of editing a decent anthology. I mean, we'll be lucky if the final book has the freakin' title spelled right. You're better off without us. In fact, if this WERE an acceptance, your best bet would be to shred the contract and flush the confetti down the toilet like foul-smelling sewage.

Not to mention that we've have acquired 275,819 rejection slips between us, and we're just dying to give a little back. So, really, you're paying the price for every bastard at Random House who told us that our material didn't suit their present needs. Who's sending the rejection slips NOW, huh? Oh, the sweet, glorious power...muahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!

Anyway, there are plenty of markets around that are much better than our loser book, and we hope that one of them snatches up your story. Don't let goobers like us get you down. Fight the power!

With love,

Jeff Strand

John McIlveen

added 16th June, 2006

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My short story "Mrs Mathews is Afraid of Cricket Bats" is now published in "Dark Doorways" anthology. Click on the cover below for details of the work.

added 2nd May, 2006

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Out now!
Whispers of Wickedness
Issue 12, spring 2006

** The Steven Pirie Interview Edition **

With a delicious mix of fiction, poetry, and non fiction by Steve Redwood, Aaron Callow, Stephen Melling, Jim Steel, Garry Charles, Dan McNeil, Jon Brown Aliya Whiteley, and Rachel Kendall. Artwork by Marcia Borell, Carole Humphries, and Sheridan Morgan

To buy a single issue, or to
subscribe to Whispers, click...

added 16th April, 2006

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Caroll and Graf in the US has now issued a hardback version of "The Mammoth Book of New Comic Fantasy" with the new cover art as seen below

added 30th March, 2006

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My short story "The Soup in Uncle Norman's Beard" has been listed as one of the notable stories of 2005 in the Story South Million Writers Awards

added 20th March, 2006

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Neil Davies reviews "Digging up Donald" online at oncewritten.com

added 28th February, 2006

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Christopher Teague reviews "Digging up Donald" online at infinty plus

added 28th February, 2006

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My short story "Leonard Rom" is to be published in the next issue of "Premonitions"

added 10th February, 2006

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My short story "An Occasional Card" is to be published in June's anniversary issue of "Tryst"

added 10th January, 2006

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Out now!
Whispers of Wickedness
Issue 11, winter 2005

To subscribe to Whispers, click...

added 17th December, 2005

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My short story "The Soup in Uncle Norman's Beard" published by "Tryst" has been nominated for the prestigious Pushcart award.

added 7th December, 2005

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My short story "Mrs Mathews is Afraid of Cricket Bats" is to appear in "Dark Doorways" anthology scheduled for release April 2006.

added 22nd November, 2005

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My short story "Harry, the Wife, and Mrs Robson, Hell's Temptress from Number Six" is to appear in "Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine" issue 24, scheduled for release April 2006.

added 9th September, 2005

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Dark fiction magazine Whispers of Wickedness is going upmarket!

From issue 11, the magazine will be glossy, perfect bound and around 60+ pages thick.

For my sins, I'm the first slush reader - it's certainly fun seeing things from the other side of the writerly fence, and I find I agonise more over rejection when I'm sending them out than receiving them!

To subscribe to Whispers, click...

added 9th September, 2005

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My short story "The Two Funereal Urns of Mrs Tate from Number Three" is now printed in the summer 05 issuse of Whispers of Wickedness print magazine.

For details of how to receive this free magazine go...

added 9th June, 2005

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My short story "The Soup in Uncle Norman's Beard" is now published online at Tryst

Read the story...

added 9th June, 2005

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I've picked up a superb review of Digging Up Donald in The Horror Express.

Read the full review...

added 30th April, 2005

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This is the cover artwork for the Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy, published by Robinson.

Click on the cover to view a higher resolution image.

Neil Gaiman and Tom Holt are among the big names featured in this volume. I'm one of the 'many more', though I am the only one to place two stories!

added 24th March, 2005

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The Peter Tennant Third Alternative review of Digging up Donald is now added to the site with the kind permission of TTA Press.

Read the full review...

added 21st March, 2005

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The Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy, published by Robinson have now also agreed to publish my short story "The Black Arts of Mrs Beelzebub from Number Six", this in addition to "Colquitt..." listed below.

added 7th February, 2005

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My short story "Colquitt's High-energy Trousers" - a tale of love, and lust, and high-energy physics, first published by Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine (issue 7) has been picked up by the forthcoming Mammoth Book of Comic Fantasy, published by Robinson.

added 16th January, 2005

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My short story, "Lucy's Flower" - is due out soon in The Horror Express.

added 16th January, 2005

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Marc Shemmans of The Horror Express has agreed in principle to carry a review of my novel "Digging up Donald" possibly in the summer issue of the magazine.

added 16th January, 2005