More children at home = less writing time and less time to blog about the nonsense I like to blog about.
Here is today's smorgasbord. (Mmmmm... smorgasbord...)
Both SF Revu and Locus have reviewed Shimmer #14, saying things like "unsettling little tale" (Sam Tomaino, SF Revu) and "I am not entirely convinced that there is anyone actually alive in this world. Except the bugs and worms." (Lois Tilton, Locus) about my story, "This House was Never a Castle". I'm not sure the bugs and worms are even alive--at least for long (the children eat them, you see).
Morpheus Tales has collected a "best of" issue and included my story about fungus gone wild, "A Most Unfortunate Gaffe". You can check out the always disturbing cover art and buy a copy here.
And finally, Echoes of the Dead hit some sort of milestone yesterday--I've never had a sales burst like this for one of my books before, even after going free. Maybe it's a little instant karma for the pirate/plagiarism bullshite? It's sales rank was around 7K when I woke this morning. I'm no "J.K. Patterson" (all sarcasm intended), but I'll take it.
Have a great weekend, folks
Showing posts with label Morpheus Tales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Morpheus Tales. Show all posts
Friday, February 3, 2012
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Halloween Treats
Treat #1: Being an obsessive Googler of my own name (as all good authors should be, right?), I'm not sure how I missed this lovely review of "Empty Vessels" from Morpheus Tales VIII:
"... modern-day horror story set in the bayou and the Gulf of Mexico after a disastrous flood has drowned hundreds of local people. Elroy Jantz, a boatman who occasionally contracted for shrimp companies, is drafted along with many other small boatmen to retrieve the water-logged bodies from the waters. This was one of the gems of this issue and made for a strong finish. The imagery is dark, but unique, and the development of the reader’s understanding of Elroy’s past is revealed carefully, without stunting the pace of the story."
Read the rest of reviewer Maggie Jamison's take at Tangent Online.
Heck, read "Empty Vessels" for free via Scribd.
Treat #2: Tangent keeps coughing them up...a bit about "Precious Metal" (Albedo One #38) from reviewer Dave Truesdale:
"...Aaron Polson's "Precious Metal" gives a snapshot of a post-collapse world where professional gangs ravage the countryside for anything of value, in this case scrap metal of any sort. Using mob tactics, they regularly extort from one old man who lives in a junkyard and who, on the sly, makes the most wonderful creations. His pride and joy is a mechanical owl who can think (think steampunk here). When the mobsters visit the kindly old man in what turns out to be their final visit, the tragedy turns poignant as we learn the mechanical owl has been imbued with feelings as well as thought. Though reminiscent of the devotion flesh and blood animals feel for their owners/masters (especially dogs), this—for want of a better decription—"emotional vignette" achieves its purpose. The final image is well drawn."
More here.
Treat #3: The incomparable Gef Fox allowed me to write about two of my favorite movies (with the same name): Thing One and Thing Two for the Monster Movie Marathon. I like to talk about monsters...
And finally, Treat #4: Joe Nazare has some author blurbs about their favorite Halloween costumes. The blurbs won't be posted until Halloween, but I suspect I'll be busy. Check it out at http://www.macabre-republic.com.
"... modern-day horror story set in the bayou and the Gulf of Mexico after a disastrous flood has drowned hundreds of local people. Elroy Jantz, a boatman who occasionally contracted for shrimp companies, is drafted along with many other small boatmen to retrieve the water-logged bodies from the waters. This was one of the gems of this issue and made for a strong finish. The imagery is dark, but unique, and the development of the reader’s understanding of Elroy’s past is revealed carefully, without stunting the pace of the story."
Read the rest of reviewer Maggie Jamison's take at Tangent Online.
Heck, read "Empty Vessels" for free via Scribd.
Treat #2: Tangent keeps coughing them up...a bit about "Precious Metal" (Albedo One #38) from reviewer Dave Truesdale:
"...Aaron Polson's "Precious Metal" gives a snapshot of a post-collapse world where professional gangs ravage the countryside for anything of value, in this case scrap metal of any sort. Using mob tactics, they regularly extort from one old man who lives in a junkyard and who, on the sly, makes the most wonderful creations. His pride and joy is a mechanical owl who can think (think steampunk here). When the mobsters visit the kindly old man in what turns out to be their final visit, the tragedy turns poignant as we learn the mechanical owl has been imbued with feelings as well as thought. Though reminiscent of the devotion flesh and blood animals feel for their owners/masters (especially dogs), this—for want of a better decription—"emotional vignette" achieves its purpose. The final image is well drawn."
More here.
Treat #3: The incomparable Gef Fox allowed me to write about two of my favorite movies (with the same name): Thing One and Thing Two for the Monster Movie Marathon. I like to talk about monsters...
And finally, Treat #4: Joe Nazare has some author blurbs about their favorite Halloween costumes. The blurbs won't be posted until Halloween, but I suspect I'll be busy. Check it out at http://www.macabre-republic.com.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
The Contest (And Free Stuff for Everyone)
I've added a "Free Stuff" section to the sidebar, including a free story in PDF format (a piece that was published in Morpheus Tales #1 last summer), an audio story (more to come), and my website (yeah, I have one of those too...what a geek). All I hear about lately is "give stuff away" so I am. Listen to this wonderful story from NPR about the future of publishing. In my opinion, it doesn't sound like a time to protect content.
So the contest: I'm begging for feedback on my query for The House Eaters. If you need more information, I can forward a synopsis if you email me at aaron_polson(at)hotmail.com. The rules: post a constructive comment (positive, negative, helpful) between now and Sunday, and I will draw a winner from the lot. Said winner will receive a copy of either Monstrous or The Black Garden (winner's pick). I will even sign the book, although that is likely to lessen its value.
Here is the query (at least the hook bit; I'm still working out the bio):
I am seeking representation for my young adult dark fantasy, The House Eaters, a novel blending coming of age trials with Native American mythology and a non-traditional haunted house narrative.
When high school senior Nick Gillingham’s mother loses her job in Kansas City, his family moves to a small town—his father’s hometown—to save money. A new house and a new school are the least of Nick’s problems. On his first day in the neighborhood, he discovers The House, a ruined mansion tucked inside a crevice carved from the surrounding hillside.
It’s not bad enough that Nick begins to hear disembodied voices after the discovery; the local football team decides he is their new tackling dummy, the queen of the school tries to manipulate him for her own selfish purposes, and his parents’ marriage begins to disintegrate. Could something in the ruined house cause all these problems? Does his elderly neighbor know what lurks under the hills surrounding Broughton’s Hollow?
So the contest: I'm begging for feedback on my query for The House Eaters. If you need more information, I can forward a synopsis if you email me at aaron_polson(at)hotmail.com. The rules: post a constructive comment (positive, negative, helpful) between now and Sunday, and I will draw a winner from the lot. Said winner will receive a copy of either Monstrous or The Black Garden (winner's pick). I will even sign the book, although that is likely to lessen its value.
Here is the query (at least the hook bit; I'm still working out the bio):
I am seeking representation for my young adult dark fantasy, The House Eaters, a novel blending coming of age trials with Native American mythology and a non-traditional haunted house narrative.
When high school senior Nick Gillingham’s mother loses her job in Kansas City, his family moves to a small town—his father’s hometown—to save money. A new house and a new school are the least of Nick’s problems. On his first day in the neighborhood, he discovers The House, a ruined mansion tucked inside a crevice carved from the surrounding hillside.
It’s not bad enough that Nick begins to hear disembodied voices after the discovery; the local football team decides he is their new tackling dummy, the queen of the school tries to manipulate him for her own selfish purposes, and his parents’ marriage begins to disintegrate. Could something in the ruined house cause all these problems? Does his elderly neighbor know what lurks under the hills surrounding Broughton’s Hollow?
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Social Blunders and Aggressive Fungus
"A Most Unfortunate Gaffe" is in the debut issue of
now available from their website.
If you're a fan of fungus, you may want to pass on the mushrooms for a few days after reading this one...
now available from their website.
If you're a fan of fungus, you may want to pass on the mushrooms for a few days after reading this one...
Friday, May 16, 2008
News, Updates, Random Wanderings
There are some strange things afoot here at The Other Aaron. I'm trying out the blog as a place to experiment on my "off" writing days. This leads to a few entries that are rather non-sequitor and rather filled with nonsense. Fun nonsense, but nonsense all the same.
On the writing front, it has been a good week. A new magazine, Morpheus Tales, has picked up one of my short stories, and the oft-revised "Hunting" will be in Bloody October, an anthology due out in...ta-da, October from Corpulent Insanity Press. There are some well known small press names in the anthology, so I'm pretty excited. Clockwise Cat will be publishing my surreal grocery store rant ("The Grocery Peril of Bagged Cereal Mascots") in July, and Neonbeam picked up two poems ("In the Jar" and "The Secret in the Rain") for their June issue.
As usual, it's feast or famine, and I'll probably wait another month before I find another acceptance, but such is life.
Vive la Nonsense!
On the writing front, it has been a good week. A new magazine, Morpheus Tales, has picked up one of my short stories, and the oft-revised "Hunting" will be in Bloody October, an anthology due out in...ta-da, October from Corpulent Insanity Press. There are some well known small press names in the anthology, so I'm pretty excited. Clockwise Cat will be publishing my surreal grocery store rant ("The Grocery Peril of Bagged Cereal Mascots") in July, and Neonbeam picked up two poems ("In the Jar" and "The Secret in the Rain") for their June issue.
As usual, it's feast or famine, and I'll probably wait another month before I find another acceptance, but such is life.
Vive la Nonsense!
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