Other Indie Authors Are Available #5

Continuing my quest to being you the best self-published and independently published ebooks I can find... (links are to Amazon UK)

Musings Of A Monkey - Steven Baxter


Well this is different to the kind of books I normally review. It's a collection of blog entries by Steven Baxter, who I first read on his Enemies Of Reason site. He writes about the media, politics, depression, and a whole host of other stuff. Because it's a book of blog posts, these pieces are witty, conversational, scattershot, and in places inconclusive and ephemeral... but it's a brilliant book.

The reason this book is so good is because the author's personality comes across so well; a literary illusion maybe, but you feel like you know him by the end, and he comes across so well you'd happily stand him a pint.


Speaking of which the story of 'the pint glass miracle' in here is worth the price of admission along. Splendid work.




Psychomancer - Alan Ryker


Okay this is the kind of book I normally review - indeed I've featured Alan Ryker on here a few times. This is the most conventional of Ryker's books I've read (although given that the last one was a stage play that crossed When Harry Met Sally with the Cthulhu mythos the conventionality bar wasn't set particularly high). It's a horror thriller about a psion on the run...

What sets it apart for me (apart from Ryker's typically strong and straight-forward prose) is the ambiguity of the tale to its central character - a victim or a monster? More sinned against than sinning - really? There's more going on here than you think...

Not so conventional after all then.


Infinities - Various Authors

This is a sampler of short stories and extracts from Infinity Plus - I picked it up because it was a) free, and b) contained a piece by Iain Rowan - regular readers will know I rate Rowan's writing, so I thought it was a forgone conclusion I'd like his story the best...

But you know what, there's a number of other great tales here that really run it close. Particular favourites were by Eric Brown, Keith Brooke, and Gary Kilsworth. Overall the quality level is amazingly high - I've read published anthologies with far fewer good stories than are in here. It looks good to, with nice images of the artwork of the books from Infinity Plus catalogue...

As a sample this has served its purpose, at least on me - I'll definitely be buying some of these author's collections and novels.

One Year(ish) On...

So it's been about a year since I became a published author.

I'm using the word 'published' in about the most minimal sense it can be used here - my short story Feed The Enemy was published as an ebook by Books To Go Now about a year ago, and another called Home Time was accepted by Morpheus Tales... and I was pleased obviously, but also wondering where I was going with this writing malarkey, given that I was cruising towards my 34th birthday.

And now I'm cruising towards my 35th. So forgive me, I'm in a retrospective mood...

In the last year I've concentrated on self-publishing at the expense of trying to break the more traditional markets, which I don't regret for a second. (I may also have concentrated on it at the expense of the actual writing too, which I do regret.) Like many writers I suffer from quite a lack of confidence in my own talent, and the fact that self-publishing The Other Room and The Shelter has allowed me to get my stories read by so many people so quickly, and that they actually seem to like it is probably the best thing that could happen to me at this stage in my writing 'career'. And whilst it's true I can't stand the MBS practised by some members of the self-publishing community, it's also true that I've met some very talented authors, many of whom have been generous with their time, advice, and just basic friendship. (You know who you are.) That's been great too.

I do hope to get another collection of short stories self-published next year - I have enough. But I also want to return to trying to get some stories published in magazines and the like. Aaron Polson recently wrote a post with a line that summed it up for me: "Rejection is your friend, folks. Really." And it is. I'm glad I had a few years of sending stories out and getting rejections to sharpen and hone me as a writer before self-publishing became a viable option. I don't want to get complacent - just because anything I can write will probably sell a few copies on Amazon doesn't meant that it should. There's a lot of crap being self-published and I don't want to add to that.

I've already had a couple of acceptances for stories for more traditional markets, although the lag between acceptance and actual publication can be slow. Which is why there will be another self-published collection next year - I don't want to lose any momentum I might have gained. But I don't want all my irons in the same fire either...

I'm resorting to cliche so I'd better shut up now. If you've actually read this far, then thanks. Here's to the next year...

Words... Music... Words... Music

I've been interviewed twice recently, by the two splendid interviewers. Find out why my I want my papers burnt if I die, and why I once attached a cardboard kestrel to a washing up glove.

Darcia Helle Interview

M.R. Gott Interview

Neither of them asked me what I was currently listening to, but if they had I would have answered thus:

and thus:

In Defence Of Short Stories #18: Jess C Scott

More short story writer goodness this week, this time courtesy of Jess C Scott, who is the author of new collection of flash fiction 'SKINS', on animal rights and the deplorable exotic skins trade. And anyone ends a piece with an Oscar Wilde quote is alright by me.

Take it away Jess...


I've always liked reading and writing short stories. I sometimes work on 55-word exercises to develop a technical style that possesses clarity and brevity.

Flash fiction (a category which the 55-word story falls under) allows me to get to the point quickly and without any fuss. 

For example:

No Answer (from my writing portfolio, Porcelain)

"It's so bright!" my younger sister exclaimed. She pointed to the planet Venus, which was high in the night sky. "Will it be there always?"

"Sure it will," I answered, straining as I thought the planet had flickered for a split second.

Suddenly it disappeared altogether.

"Could that happen to Earth?"

I couldn't answer her.

Father Bear & Baby Bear (from my flash fiction collection, Skins)

“Congratulations on your first kill, son!”

Junior proudly held up the fresh kill he’d made, as blood seeped into and soaked the ground below.

Junior finally felt like he was somebody ready to face the world—he had a human head to mount on his wall now.

“Your mother will be so proud of you.”

I like working in a variety of forms and genres. While I do write full-length novels, it is poetry and short stories--the two genres which are the most disdained in terms of commercial marketability--that have helped me the most with regards to writing.

Poetry is all about precision and aesthetics, while short stories allow a writer to continuously explore new styles, themes and concepts. A poem or short story can also turn out to be the foundation for an expanded, more developed piece. 

The short story, like poetry, is an art form. It requires discipline on the writer's part to be succinct (it is a form that allows less opportunities for "word padding"), and it requires effort because the focus is on quality (substance) over quantity (word count). 

Any writer that doesn't respect these forms (whether or not they choose to work in these forms) is an individual that lacks respect for the actual craft of writing.

Some commercially successful writers can get very aggressive and outspoken about how artistic integrity isn't a requirement to be a commercially successful. I like to think of what John Ruskin had to say on the subject: "All books are divisible into two classes, the books of the hour, and the books of all time."

Writers like Edgar Allan Poe, Oscar Wilde, Roald Dahl, Ray Bradbury, Vladimir Nabokov, Ernest Hemingway, Herman Melville, J. G. Ballard, Anais Nin, and D. H. Lawrence have all written memorable and superlative short stories.

As the great Oscar Wilde once stated:

"Anybody can write a three-volume novel. It merely requires a complete ignorance of both life and literature."

Cate Gardner's Scary Heart

Regular readers (a phrase I always feel I should put in inverted commas, but anyway) will know I've raved about Cate Gardner and her wonderfully idiosyncratic short story collection 'Strange Men In Pinstripe Suits' before on Scattershot Writing...

And huzzah! She has a new book out!

And what's more, you can win some wonderful prizes if you buy it and check out the competition on her blog.

As I said, huzzah!

In Defence Of Short Stories #17: Kate Monroe

Today Scattershot Writing opens it's doors to yet another short story writer; Kate Monroe is a red-headed author and editor who lives near the sea in a quiet corner of southern England. She has fatal weaknesses for chocolate, horror, sex and old movies, and there are very few things that she wouldn't do for a large glass of red wine (her words, not mine...)

Her short story 'Lullaby' can be found in the Satan's Toybox: Demonic Dolls anthology (Amazon UK | US) which has a cover I find a bit unnerving to be honest... and her newest novella, Kiss Of An Angel, was released on Halloween (Amazon UK | US).

Take it away Kate...

The short story genre is one that is much-maligned. Often, an aspiring writer will be told that crafting a short story is best left to children and those on – whisper it! – ‘creative writing’ courses. If you have any genuine aspirations to be taken seriously as an author, then it is the full length, behemoth-like novels that you must devote your attention to and attempt to write.

But wait! A full-length novel?! That’s, like, eighty thousand words minimum, isn’t it?! Daunted by the size of the task before them, many would-be writers lay down their pens before even starting – and of those who do set out to make a valiant attempt at their first novel, I’d wager that nine out of ten of them give up before even reaching the halfway mark, leaving their dreams and hard work abandoned in a dusty corner of their hard drive, never to see the light of day.

So my advice is – don’t do it. I started six or seven novels before finally learning how to finish one and see it through; and I learned how to do so by writing short stories. You get your plot down on the page, with the traditional beginning, middle and end, and then the rest of the tale comes alive around it.

When you see how easily a ten or fifteen thousand word story flies forth from your pen (or your fingers, for those new-fangled unromantics who prefer to type straight away), then suddenly, developing that novel that before seemed so intimidating before is now less so. You know, now, that you can achieve a full story, and it’s only one step further to be able to create a novel of an acceptable length – and from there, the sky’s the limit!

Even leaving aside the lessons that can be taught when writing short stories, they are a joy and a success on their own merits. There is a real skill to condensing a story down into just a few thousand words and still managing to draw in your reader. EVERY word counts.

With no word limits to constrain you, with enough effort anyone can draw a florid and vivid description that translates the scene from inside their head onto paper to share - but to do so with just a few carefully chosen and atmospheric words? Far, far more difficult, and that is something that is often overlooked. To pack a punch so powerful that it stays with a reader who has only given twenty minutes or so of their time to reading your story – that’s a skill that demands and deserves respect.

You still need more convincing? Frankly, I’m astounded that the points I’ve raised thus far haven’t already got you dashing for either your pen or the nearest short story anthology, but hey, I like you. I’ll oblige.

The Pit and the Pendulum.

Heard of it?

Of course you have – Edgar Allan Poe was a true master of words, and an utter inspiration. How anyone can decry the short story genre when it is populated by authors like Poe, HP Lovecraft, Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker, amongst many others, is beyond me.

A tale simply doesn’t have to be on the Tolkien and Rowling scale of epic grandeur to be brilliant in its own right; though it’s worth pointing out that even in the universe he created, Tolkien wrote many freestanding and interconnected short stories that, in their own way, were just as beautiful as the main tales that everyone knows.

To finish on a more personal note, I’ve written nearly half a million words this year (God’s honest truth, I just went through my files and totted them all up). Of all of them, though, my favourite is a little ditty just three thousand words long by the name of ‘Lullaby’. Writing ‘Lullaby’ frightened me more than anything else I’ve created, even within the confines of the relatively small word count; without wanting to sound narcissistic, it was this tale that showed me the power that just a handful of words can contain, and it was an honour to have it accepted for the first ‘Satan’s Toybox’ anthology by Angelic Knight Press.

I cannot urge you strongly enough; give a short story a whirl! Turn your hand to writing one yourself, or simply dive headfirst into the varied and wonderful short stories that have been crafted over the past few hundred years. Give up an hour of your time, ignore the stereotypes and open yourself up to the unparalleled joys they have to offer – I promise that you won’t regret it.

The Scattershot Writing Horror Anthology - As Chosen By You...

So I thought it would be interesting to list all the stories suggested in my competition post below - consider this some kind of ultimate Scattershot Writing anthology of goodness:

Robert Aickman: The Cicerones

Clive Barker: In The Hills, The Cities (2 votes)

Clive Barker: Tortured Souls

Algernon Blackwood: The Willows

Ray Bradbury: The Foghorn

Ray Bradbury: Mars Is Heaven

Ray Bradbury: The October Game

Poppy Z Brite: The Sixth Sentinel

Truman Capote: Miriam

Harlan Ellison: Jeffty is Five (2 votes)

Harlan Ellison: Sensible City

Neil Gaiman: Other People

Neil Gaiman: The Price

Charlotte Perkins Gilman: The Yellow Wallpaper (2 votes)

Elizabeth Hand: Cleopatra Brimstone

M John Harrison: The Incalling 

Joe Hill: The Cape

WW Jacobs: The Monkey's Paw

Shirley Jackson: The Lottery (2 votes)

MR James: A Warning To The Curious

Kafka: Metamorphosis

Stephen King: Chattery Teeth

Stephen King: Mrs. Todd's Shortcut

Stephen King: Survivor Type

Neil LaBute: Iphigenia in Orem

Fritz Leiber: Smoke Ghost

Robert Leman: There Are Feesters In the Lake

Kelly Link: Louise's Ghost

Kelly Link: The Hortlak (2 votes)

HP Lovecraft: The Colour Out of Space

HP Lovecraft: The Rats In The Walls

HP Lovecraft: Pickman's Model (2 votes)

Arthur Machen: The White People

Richard Matheson: Born Of Man And Woman

Joyce Carol Oates: Family

Joyce Carol Oates: Smother

Edgar Allen Poe: The Pit And The Pendulum (2 votes)

Edgar Allen Poe: The Raven

Edgar Allen Poe: The Tell Tale Heart

Aaron Polson: Tesoro's Magic Bullet

Jim Shepard: The Creature From The Black Lagoon

Michael Marshall Smith: What Happens When You Wake Up In The Night

Margaret St. Clair: Horror Howce

Theodore Sturgeon: It!

F Paul Wilson: The Barrens

Well if it was a real anthology I'd buy it. You guys sure have good taste... I think everyone who contributed managed to list both stories I really love, and some that were new to me. Definitely some ones I will be checking out. Bradbury, King, Lovecraft and Poe were the most popular in terms of numbers of stories nominated.

We'd also have to find room for these less than precise suggestions:


"[Can't remember title*] by Richard Matheson * sure it has a child, locked in a room, and faces painted on the wall with glow in the dark paint, not Born Of."


"A story about people in the arctic purposefully freezing and amputating their limbs that I am sure I read at chizine.com but which I can find no mention of. "

"A lot of Ligotti stories."