That said, it promises to be a mixture of lots of work, a great learning curve, and hopefully some improvement to my own writing. I agreed to take on the gig primarily because I really enjoy Doctor Who, I enjoy writing Doctor Who fiction and reading the work of others with an eye to bringing out the best in the story and the author’s intent can only help me to improve my own writing.

Got back from a weekend away with the family (summer has finally arrive, unfortunately) to find my inbox brimming with stories slated for the latest ‘season’ of TDWP – it’ll be a challenge to juggle the time between editing these stories, working on my own, and getting sufficient sleep to pass as human!

Lots of information about TDWP can be found here In essence, it started as a way of continuing the show after it was suspended (i.e. killed off) by the BBC in 1989. Twelve or so seasons later, and it continues from strength to strength, with some great stories of adventure featuring our favourite Time Lord.

And hey, with the series riding high around the world (seriously) it’s a great time to get on board while the tv show is on holidays and read some of the very best in Doctor Who fan fiction.

You know, I’m reasonably sure I posted last week. Not sure where it went, but it was certainly the wittiest, smartest, most controversial thing ever on the internet.

In its place, you’ll have to put up with this.

On the writing front, finished a story I started just after the new year – letting it rest for a bit before I beat it into coherency.

Widdershins is now out in the world as an mp3 download – comments on the Pseudopod forum range from brilliant to ‘not one element in the story was original’ or words to that effect, which can be pretty sobering!

I’m a bit annoyed the previous post for the 7th January appears to have gone missing, as I did go on an extended rant about finding a copy of a horror anthology dating from the early 80s I’d been looking out for the last twenty years. The Armada Book of Monsters edited by R. Chewtwynd-Hayes, which is just the best surname out there, let me tell you. At the time, the stories were definitely spooky, but I was ten years old. Now, they’re a bit twee and juvenile, but I have a soft spot for it and for only $2, a bargain!

It all puts me in mind of those cash in horror collections from the late 70s, early 80s – The Target Book of so and so, usually featuring an actor who played, or was playing, Doctor Who. I think I’m having another burst of nostalgia!

On the reading front have finally started in on Guy Kay’s Under Heaven. Kay is one of my fantasy gods, up there with Eddings and Gemmell. I remember reading the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy in my final year of high school and being captivated by them. Under Heaven has started well, though there was a patch where I thought it could’ve been tightened up a bit.

A final word on the writing – started on a new story, aiming to get it into a competition Rogue Blades Entertainment has going. There have been a couple of false starts, an abandoned beginning, but 1500 words poured forth on Friday so hopefully I’ll have something to submit in about a two weeks time.

Oh, and the announcement? Oh yeah. I’m now the editor of The Doctor Who Project – great news in that I’ll be working on getting the best out of a disparate group of writers, helping to shape a ‘season’ of stories and hopefully picking up from better writers what works and doesn’t. The announcement is here

Now, if I press Publish correctly, this post should make it out into the world…

I’ve been thinking about this blog and how I’ve been using it over the last year or two. I’ve decided I’ll a)have more frequent posts and b)branch out a little (I’m sure readers are bored of me updating it with news only of story successes and failures). I’ll stick close to things I know, particularly books I’ve read, but might strike out in other directions.

There’s going to be a bit on in 2012 on the writing front. There’ll be an announcement in the new year about a project I’m taking on, and there are several writing projects that will be competing with each other for my attention. I’ve been busy with re-writes and editing of some stuff that’s lingered a buit longer than I’d hoped, so I’m keen to get back into some writing.

In terms of writing in 2011, published credits haven’t been as numerous as 2010. By my estimation, the following saw the light of day:

Widdershins: published twice this year, first up in Midnight Echo and then very recently as a podcast from Pseudopod.rog

Shivers: in the Big Book of New Short Horror from Pill Hill Press.

The Well: in the Winter Journal of the British Fantasy Society

This Is How the World Ends: Doctor Who short story from The Doctor Who Project.

A couple of previously announced stories are yet to see the light of day: Blood Fire from Rogue Blades Entertainment and The Lighthouse from Screaming Dreams. Certain to be available in 2012.

So, not a bad year, but not as good as I’d hoped. I think my writing has improved, though I don’t think I’m going to be anything more than a straightforward horror writer – which isn’t bad, but isn’t enough to differentiate me from all the really good writers out there.

Hmm, that sounds a bit sad. Oh well, we push on.

Happy New Year to all of you out there and expect to hear a bit more from me in 2012. You lucky bastards!

http://pseudopod.org/2011/12/23/pseudopod-261-widdershins/

Log into the Pseudopod forums and leave your thoughts, or just spread the word – the more the merrier.

And a Merry Christmas to you all at home – I’m off to have some festive turkey!

Christmas – a time for family gatherings, where people who haven’t seen each other in months cram around the table and stuff themselves stupid with food and drink, happily oblivous to the gathering darkness outside, as furtive eyes peek through the window, hungrily wondering what a piece of man flesh tastes like…

Well, that’s one version of Christmas! You can see why, at least in the northern hemisphere, ghost stories go particularly well with this time of year. The cold, the gathering darkness, people together under one roof – a great chance to entertain each other with spooky tales that suit the atmosphere of the year. Discounting the birth of our Saviour, of course, which is a really peachy moment, except for the slaughter of the innocents a little while later…

Anyway, just under one week to go until Widdershins is available to assault your ears on the eve of Christmas at Pseudopod.org. A darlk tale of obsessive madness, and the lengths a man can be driven to to put into place an arcane, occult ritual. Our protaganist is an unbeliever, but even he can’t ignore the things that gather on the edges of his vision as he treads widdershins around a graveyard.

Six days, people. Six days!

1. On December 23 my story, Widdershins, originally published in Midnight Echo, will be available as an audio reading to download from Pseudopod.org. I’ll talk more about this in the lead up to its release.
2. First draft completed on my Doctor Who story for The Doctor Who Project, and the edits are back! Release date is mid Jan 2012, and I’ll be setting most of December aside to work on the final version. 30k of verbiage needs polishing!
3. Have been working on a couple of new stories, but nothing much to say about them at the moment. Have been revising a story I agonised over earlier in the year (Pipes) which after a second draft, isn’t in too bad shape. It is, however, much too long, and needs the theme inserted more seamlessly instead of being dropped into the story from a great height. It also needs to be more coherent. I’ve a market in mind for it, so we’ll see how it goes.
4. More rejections! Seeing Things copped a form letter rejection, which is a real pity as I think the story is quite good. It maybe that I need actual beta readers to make sure my opinions stay closer to reality.
5. Several stories out in the market, though at my last count I’ve got about seven all up that are ready to go. I need to get a move on. Tropic of Cancer is with Three Lobed Eye and Into the Green is with Pendragon Press. Must be more proactive.

So, other than Shivers and Widdershins, I’ve not much concrete news. Things are a bit flat at the moment with my writing, and I sometimes feel I’m treading water with the shore ever distant. That said, I’ve kept up a pretty constant schedule and I think my new TDWP story will be the best of the three I’ve previously had published by them.

Speak soon!

At the moment it looks like the e-book version is the only version available, but there will shortly be a paperback and hardcover available.

You can go to Amazon or Barnes and Noble to organise a copy, all for the princely sum of $2.99 of your US dollars.

It’s been a long time coming (but as with this sort of thing, the final part happened all at once) but I’m very much looking forward to having a copy in my hands.