Worms on a Helicopter!

Over at the blog of Shane Jiraiya Cummings, he's put up a simple writing comp. The winner will be published in Black Box, the sequel to Shadow Box.

120 word horror story, with the theme of the tackiest movie title of all time: "Snakes on a Plane". Check out my entry while you're there. I tried to get some depth of character in, and snuck in references to Samuel L MoFoJackson, Black Box itself, and what I hope is an innovative take on the snakes.

Still Moving

Another review of Moving Dad just popped up at Australian Specfic In Focus (scroll down to it), by Talie Helene. She writes:

“Moving Dad” is Steven Cavanagh’s Second Place winning story – beginning with whimsical familiarity, moving to poignancy. A lovely slow reveal, blurring the line between the infirmity of advanced age, and the shambling corruption of undeath. An exploration of a universal horror – the realisation of the mortality of the father – I won’t spoil the ending, but Cavanagh kicks off beautifully into an even deeper horror in the last line. Fantastic dialogue in this one too.

It's good to see someone who really got the central concept (the similarity between how we treat the old and how we treat the dead). Very nice of Talie to say such kind words. Poignant? Hell, wait till she sees Finding The Words! Pop them tear ducts right open, it will.

Hmm, speaking like Yoda, I was.
Digressing, I am.

Fastest rejection in the west

I got word of new market Clarkesworld Magazine from the Horrorscope Blog, and thought I'd send 'em a story.
A rejection was back in my Inbox, with quotations and detailed reasons for the rejection within an hour! For those who read this and don't write, the normal procedure is to wait a year and then nag them.

The rejection was polite, professional, and made me feel like I'm a kindergarten kid going for the Pulitzer. The further I go as a writer, the further I have to go.

Just got an interior art sample for Street Smarts. The artist wanted to know what I thought, and some pointers on fitting the characters with how I pictured them. This is the second time an artist has brought my characters to live, and it's such a buzz. It's great art, too.

Things to do before I die: con someone into making a movie of something I've written. Even if it involves a Jedi, a Sith and a forest.

By the Numbers published.

The August Infinitas newsletter has just been released. It includes my story By the Numbers. Click here for a free read!