Category: fiction

Two stories published in Novus Creatura

~ Sean Monaghan ~ 1 Comment

Aurora Wolf publishing picked up the Novus Creatura anthology through Static Movement. I did see a contents list once, but can’t track it down at the moment – I’m still waiting for my copy in the post. I suspect that it includes many of the usuals, and a few new authors, so I’m in for a treat.

The premise behind the anthology was to have stories about new creatures – no zombies or werewolves or vampires – some kind of creature unseen before. My two stories are the very short and grim ‘Breathe Me In’ (not to be confused with my longer story from Flashes in the Dark – ‘Breathe In’, which is very different), and ‘Zombie Vampire Robot From Mars: A Kirsten Challenger Mystery Romance’ (okay, so I kind of twisted the rules there), something longer and lighter.

Novus Creatura is available now from Amazon.

I’ll post again with more thoughts (and more links), once I have the book in my hands.

Morning News – Microflash in Dog Days of Summer

~ Sean Monaghan ~ 1 Comment

My story “Morning News” was one of several Special Jury Award winners in Michael J Solender’s Not From Here Are You Dog Days of Summer competition. The competition called for stories exactly 101 words long that included the word ‘summer’. The story is available, along with other stories from the competition, in the downloadable E-chapbook Dog Days of Summer 2010, and will also be published online on the Not From Here, Are You blog in the near future (I’ll post a link then).

The chapbook is definitely worth downloading – some wonderful stories there from the likes of Sam Adamson (the winner – Michael interviews Sam here), Karen Schindler, Laurita Miller, Tomara Armstrong, Angel Zapata, Jodi MacArthur, Erin Cole, Lee Hughes, Eric J. Krause, Laura Eno, Chris Allinotte, and Jim Bronyaur , among others.

Final note – keep an eye out for part 3 of The Rotated

~ Sean Monaghan ~ Leave a comment

While I’m on hiatus the third part of The Rotated, my novel, should appear in the September issue of Infinite Windows – probably around September 1st. Check it out – if you haven’t read any yet, start with part one in the July issue.

There is probably a way to make this post on or around the day, but I’m staying simple and lean for the moment. For the briefest second I thought about writing twenty-four posts ahead of time and letting them out a day at a time, but you know, I just don’t have that much interesting stuff to say – I’ll stick to the fiction.

Catcha later in September

Switch off hiatus

~ Sean Monaghan ~ 2 Comments

My computer, may she rest in peace, is back at the shop. Her third visit. I am on a borrowed vessel here, a machine with exponentially more power than my own sweet baby. But it is not mine. I cannot keep it. My darling will return, I hope, soon, perhaps a little changed, but still close to how she was.

Perhaps this is timely – I am about to switch off and disconnect for twenty-four days and three hours (and some minutes, I’m sure, and seconds). No blog, no twitter, facebook or flickr. No email (not even a single one of the four email addresses who are my galley slaves: they can fish for all I care). No net. No phone, no work. Just eyes open to the world, siphoning in all she has to offer. I will write and travel, photograph and make field recordings of the birds and grasses and the sea slamming at crumbling shores. I will look around my home and garden, perhaps with a new appreciation, perhaps with despair at all that remains undone.

I will be back: I will not be able to stay so real for long, I’m sure. The moment that this cluster of journeys and returns is over I will matrix myself back aboard, let those digits stream down the glass as if hurled by some green raincloud and demolish these remaining years in the continued ranting about the collapse of civilisation, the environment, the economy and bad ice cream.

Year One – table of contents

~ Sean Monaghan ~ 3 Comments

Fifty-one stories here – and definitely with Angel Zapata this time!

The New Flesh – Year One

Contents
The Lump by William Pauley III
The Woman Without the Red Dress by Michael A. Kechula
The Girl Who Followed Bees by Christie Isler
The Wooden Door by Michael A. Kechula
Grub by Angel Zapata
Heartless by Donna Jean Lyons
Kids in a Candy Store by Spencer Wendleton
Fun and Games by Brian Barnett
Penelope’s Good Day by Suzie Bradshaw
Aloisius Cottonbottom’s Surefire Image Reconstructive Services by Steve Lowe
Submissions by Sean Monaghan
Illusion by Michael A. Kechula
Figure Ate by Stephanie Barnett
The Man Who Held Hands by Brian Barnett
Rigged by Jodi MacArthur
Midnight Stroll by Joshua Day
Evolution by Angel Zapata
Demons and Acid Don’t Mix by Laura Eno
Distractions by Suzie Bradshaw
The Penguins Revolt! By Brian Barnett
The Car Park by Dan Powell
Foul-Mouthed Teenage Zombies by Suzie Bradshaw
Superstition by Robert C. Eccles
Oh My God by Chad Case
Two’s Company by Graeme Reynolds
Melissa in a Jug by A.J. Brown
Forbidden Desire in a Cave by Annemarie Bogart
Hunting J.K. by Kevin Shamel
What Comes Next by Andrew Kaspereen
Cheeto Monkey by Chris Bowsman
The Pull Out Method by Dustin Reade
Bloodline by Sheldon Lee Compton
Mangeni’s Lullaby by Eugene Gramelis
The Neuron Thieves by Sean Monaghan
Adventures of My Little Carnivorous Pony
by Jodi MacArthur
Accused by Chris Reed
Anything More Than Two by Lee Hughes
Guide Number 3 by Sean Monaghan
Fears of a Clown by Graeme Reynolds
Searching for Storms by Tania Luna
Teeth by Chris Bowsman
Feeding Time by Richard Godwin
Jared’s Gift by Mark Anthony Crittenden
The Grump by John Harrower
Septic Infusion by Bryan Lindenberger
In Case of Armageddon by Magen Toole
Mr. Fantastic by Garrett Ashley
Cleveland Cassidy’s Dick by Nathaniel Tower
Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One by Jimmy Callaway
Blink by William Pauley III

A wonderful range of stuff here – just look at those names. And it’s free – what a great thing for your Kindo or Kable or whatever those ebook reader things are 😉

Plus – keep reading The New Flesh for more stories – a new piece of weird flash almost every day.

New Flesh Magazine Year One – free ebook

~ Sean Monaghan ~ 4 Comments

New Flesh Magazine editors William Pauley III and Brian Barnett (with a nod to Suzie Bradshaw too, I’m sure) have compiled an ebook of their favourite stories from New Flesh’s first year – including some of my pieces.

The New Flesh is an online flash fiction publication, filled with misfit, bizarre and weird stories, so this ebook will be pretty unusual. You can download the ebook for free through the New Flesh Magazine website. Happy reading.

Flash, from Static Movement

~ Sean Monaghan ~ 7 Comments

This book has been around for a few weeks, but my copy just arrived yesterday and it looks sharp, and is filled with dozens of flash-fiction stories. Editor Chris Bartholemew of Static Movement has done an awesome job of putting this out amongst the range of other anthologies she’s taking on. Neatly led out by “Tea Time With Warthog” by Jodi MacArthur, the roster includes lots of names I’m familiar with – Angel Zapata,, Laura Eno, Robert Essig, Bob Eccles, A.J. French, Jim Bronyaur … more than eighty stories in all, and yes, including one by me – “Man with Shark’s Teeth Walks into Jake’s Diner”.

A wonderful collection, and a great introduction to flash fiction.

Addendum – after a little more checking (see comments below) it seems Angel is not in the anthology – my apologies (a glaring error, perhaps), but Laura is, with her stories “Hunter” and “Two heads are better than one”. Well, that’s from my quick web-check … I will leaf through the book shortly and re-double-confirm that I’ve got that right. Anyway, I’m leaving my link to Angel’s blog there anyhow – awesome writer and you should check out his work.