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It was always going to be a long shot . . . Sadly, I failed the task which I set myself back on November 1st - to write a 50,000 word novel in thirty days. Yep, I'm a NaNoWriMo Loser. But I'm not disappointed. Oh no. Because, out of the flames of disaster, a phoenix has risen. About halfway through the month, I had a flash of inspiration and saw the story I was writing from a different (and far more interesting)character perspective, which meant rewriting virtually everything I'd written (all 20,000 words almost!) This is why I failed NaNoWriMo, but I have now, the first third of a much better novel. I will finish it, but at a more sensible pace. And even if I don't, there's always next year...

Revelation magazine has accepted my story 'Deus Ex Machina' for publication in their December issue. I'm very excited about this, and can't wait to see it - artwork and all! Unfortunately, due to personal commitments it looks like I'm not going to finish my 50,000 word novel before the end of NaNoWriMo (Nov 30th). I reached 20,000 words at the weekend, but things have ground to a halt. Still, I do intend to try and get it finished at a more leisurely pace, hopefully completing the book before Christmas. I'm still very excited about it.

I've only gone and signed up for what I can only describe as Organised Lunacy on a Global Scale. Yes, Novemeber is the official month for bashing out a 50,000 word novel in a mere 30 days. Easy. And peasy. Sometimes I knock out a novella in my lunch break at work.! (NOT!) This is my first attempt at this, and I'm being cautiously optimistic. My biggest problem is choosing which story to write, because right now I've got loads. (Believe me, this is not boasting. It's frightening!) I've managed to decide on what I think is the most promising idea, a story called (for the moment) 'Envy', which came to me this morning when I wrote down a one-line what-if synopsis thing, and the whole novel kind of exploded in my mind like one of those instant assembly tents, you know the ones where you just pull a cord and voila! Ici! Anyway, it's all kicking off on November 1st. I'm desperately trying not to cheat by starting it early -- you know, give myself a headst...

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's issue 2 of new spec-fic mag Scifantastic , silly! And guess what? I'm in it!!! Hooray! Yes, turn to page five and you'll find my story 'Killing Gloria' looking very comfortable and all printed-like, with a great illustration by Roderick Gladwish. Superb! This is officially my first story in print! You can purchase this fab magazine by going to the following address: www.scifantasticmag.co.uk . Well, go on then, hurry up. Phew, need to lie down for a little while, chill . . .

I am such a bad blogger! It's been over a month since my last blog entry, but then I've been a busy little person. Several stories currently with print magazines: One story - 'Killing Gloria' - has received a hold request from brand new print mag Scifantastic . Their first issue is out next month, and 'KG' will hopefully appear in issue 2, November. 'The Man Who Ate Planets', which was being considered for inclusion at Andromeda Spaceways , was returned to me a little while back because they'd had it for three months, and couldn't find a place for it. I have since submitted it to Apex SF & Horror Digest . I then sent 'Deus Ex Machina' to Andromeda , which is now on the second round of reading. I've got two more stories waiting to be submitted during August reading periods (one to Interzone , one to new mag Farthing ). Other than that, I'm reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, whilst simultaneously working my way th...

"Pants" 

Probably one of the slowest weeks so far, with virtually nothing - I repeat, nothing - happening on the writing front. No responses from the current sub editors, and very little work done on the pending stories (apart from some work on ‘Symbiosis’ last night). What does the future hold? ‘Juju’ could be with TTA for at least another two months, with no real guarantee of being accepted. ‘The Midnight Men’. The Farthing submission deadline ended tonight (12 June), but as the editor Wendy Bradley has had computer-crashing issues, there’s no guarantee when responses will be going out. ‘Voices’ has been submitted to Whispers twice now, so I’m hoping to hear something by mid-week at the latest. And as for ‘The Man Who Ate Planets’, will they keep me waiting the entire three months? Will they decide not to use this story? Who knows. ‘Medea’s Children’. The Writers of the Future judging results response period ended last Thursday (9 June). Allowing an extra week for postage to Britain, I am h...

Well the first (new) series of Doctor Who is drawing to a close, and appears to be going out with a big bang (this evening's trailer for next week promised a war on the Daleks - always good value). I've enjoyed this series. It's so nice to see good sci-fi, and particularly British sci-fi, on prime-time telly. For so long now we've been inundated with stock US fare (Buffy, Xena, Star Trek in all its various incarnations, Andromeda etc) which have all been very good, but I feel they lack that 'edge' which British-produced stuff has in spades. I think that has a lot to do with the stringent restrictions imposed on US shows by the broadcasters, who don't like anything too challenging to upset the viewing audience. God forbid the audience might be asked to think whilst watching their fave tv show! The last US show which was starting to show promise was Star Trek: Enterprise, which in its later episodes was exploring some edgy themes and new Trek territories - an...

The Doctor and Rose 

I know this is kind of off the beaten track, but I just wanted to put down a few words about George Lucas's latest (and final) Star Wars epic. It seems to me that Revenge of the Sith has received two opposing responses: either it's great, or it's cack. Now I saw it the first weekend it came out and I liked it. I've always liked Star Wars, although I wouldn't regard myself as a die-hard fan (wears Jedi cloak at the weekends; registered as a practicing member of the Jedi 'faith'). I accept Star Wars for what it is, which was first and foremeost a return to the pulp cliff-hanger serials of the 30's-40's. Almost all of the bad crits Sith has received have focused on the "clunky dialogue" and the "wooden" acting. Well, hello! Look at the original three! Look at the script/acting in Return of the Jedi , for crying out loud! And yet they're regarded now as "classics". I agree that the prequels, despite their vastly-superi...

Things are moving very slowly at the moment with regard to the current submissions. 'The Man Who Ate Planets' has been with Andromeda Spaceways since early April (shortlisted stories are kept for two or three months. Should hopefully hear something soon. 'The Midnight Men' is with Wendy Bradley, editor of new spec-fic magazine Farthing (first issue due out in August). Deadline for subs is 12 June. 'Juju', which received an honourable mention in the Aeon Award 2005, has been with The Third Alternative since 19th May. Response time with both TTA and Interzone seems to be around three months. 'Flotsam and Jetsam' has been entered in Flash Me Magazine's Lightning Fiction contest (stories under 250 words). 'Voices': Submitted this to D at Whispers of Wickedness. 'Medea's Children' was entered into the first quarter of Writers of the Future (deadline Mar 31st). Should received judging results any day now. For aspiring writers, patie...

"Loneliness" by Romeo Esparrago 

How does one start a BLOG? (By not speaking in the Queen's English, for starters, matey!) I've been keeping a written journal since April last year, and I've found it very helpful in recording the incremental successes of this early period in my writing endeavours. (Eh?) I'm not sure what extra benefits an online journal such as this will have, but I'm willing to give it a go. I think the most exciting thing is that the BLOG acts as a kind of webpage which should hopefully tell people a little bit more about me and what I'm doing (or trying to do). If they want to know, that is. So, a quick resume of the story so far... I was born in 1971, in Aylesbury, Buckinghamsire (no, no, that's too far back.) I recently turned thirty (that's better, cut out all that boring teenage angst, young adult hooplah), and having reached said milestone, realised I had been writing for twenty years and had never actually sent anything off! Part of the reason (apart from an a...