2015: The year that was

~ Sean Monaghan ~ 3 Comments

japan 1drt6gAs far as writing years go, 2015 was pretty good. I’ve acheived my goals, realized some dreams, and learned a few lessons.

I had numerous publications over the course of the year, and was pleased to be in the pages of Asimov’s Science Fiction and Landfall once again. My second stories in each of those magazines, over consecutive years, and that suggests to me that the first wasn’t a fluke. I may actually be doing some things right.

I also had stories in Perihelion, Capricious, Takahe, SQMag and Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine. A good mix of literary and science fiction.

Good news on the competition front too. I was first equal in the Gernsback Amazing Stories innaugural competition this year for my story “Penny of Tharsis Montes”. That should be out in the first issue in February.

I self-published numerous short stories, and five novels. Sales of these have been unspectacular. Included in the plans for 2016 is more learning about marketing, discoverability and the like. I’m confident I have a good product: I lack the skills to get it noticed.

I’ve also taken more courses and read more books about writing and business. I’ll continue that next year.

As Shadows on the Snow, Kendall and I had a lot of music come out. Kendall’s brilliant at getting the stuff out into the world. Thanks Kendall!

I managed to fit in a jaunt to Japan (hence the photo), which was fabulous. Almost a month there visiting Hiroshima, Kyoto and Naoshima Island among other places, sampling okonomiyaki (yum) and green tea ice cream (not so yum).

For the fourth year running I wrote every day (including on the trip, albeit slower). Also for the fourth year in a row, I wrote over a half a million words. Funny thing; the goal is 500,000, but I hit that on November 19th. With forty-one days left, I wondered what to do. Why not write another novel? So I ran with that. Athena Setting will came in at around 57,000 words and I’ve just finished it tonight, New Year’s Eve (squeaked in at 11.59). These days, it’s not often I’m up at midnight for new year, but there you go. I celebrated finishing the novel (as I usually do) by starting the next piece. Might even be a new novel.

For the first year since starting that word count, I also published over a half million (about 100,000 over that – not bad). I have more words (should say complete stories/novels) written this year and last, that haven’t made it out yet. Next year.

Next year’s goals remain the same, with clear additions. Write every  day, write a half million words, and publish ten novels. Also; learn a whole lot more around business and marketing and so on.

Happy New Year everyone.

 

Conductive and Flammable in takahē

~ Sean Monaghan ~ 4 Comments
takahē 85

It’s been a little while since I’ve had any external publication news. My short story “Conductive and Flammable” has just come out in the latest issue of takahē.

Recently widowed, Beth’s dealing with a teenage son, a complicated estate and a neighbour who’s constantly burning stinky garden waste right at her back fence.

takahē has an enduring history in New Zealand literature (as you see, it’s up to issue 85) and I’m honored to be published there again. Thanks to fiction editor Karen Zelas for taking my story.

New Venus Vulture track on Leviathan compilation

~ Sean Monaghan ~ 5 Comments

So mostly I’m talking about writing here, but on occasion I have some of my music as Venus Vulture show up.

My ambient track “Night of Cerulean Sharks” has just come out on Petroglyph Music‘s Leviathan compilation from Kendall Keener of December Nightskies. I’m stoked to be included among such a cool group of ambient and experimental musicians.

It’s available to stream from Petroglyph Music’s Bandcamp site, and for free download through Archive.org.

Unboxing Dashkova

~ Sean Monaghan ~ Leave a comment

rev magicMy friend Thomas Carpenter is a prolific writer, with several series available. I recently read Revolutionary Magic, book 1 of The Dashkova Memoirs. A wonderful, compelling journey into a sort of steampunk, sort of magical, period Philadelphia. With well-developed characters, complex plotting and a headlong rush to the end, the book is definitely worth a read.

I went ahead and bought the next four books in the series. It was pretty fun unboxing them – the presentation of the series is immaculate. Fabulous covers by Ravven. I can’t wait to get started reading them.
unboxing dashkova 1

First equal in the Gernsback Writing Contest

~ Sean Monaghan ~ 3 Comments

writing-contest-logo-with-trademark-e1432910614435I’m thrilled that my story “Penny of Tharsis Montes” is one of the three winners of the innaugural Amazing Stories Gernsback Writing Contest.

The contest asked writers to visualize how the solar system would look in 250 years time. Mine ended up set on a somewhat terraformed Mars (hence Tharsis Montes).

The story will be published in the first issue of the Amazing Stories Bi-annual anthology early next year. Can’t wait.

The Harpsichord Elf in Capricious

~ Sean Monaghan ~ 2 Comments

CapriciousCover1 - mediumMy story “The Harpsichord Elf” appears in the September issue of Capricious, a new magazine of literary speculative fiction and criticism, edited by A.C. Buchanan. The wonderful cover art is by Anastasia (Mircha) Astasheva. The magazine is available for download free download. Subscriptions are available.

The story is perhaps slipstream (a little bit fantasy, a little bit sci-fi), and perhaps dovetails into “The Molenstraat Music Festival” in a way… well, with some musical themes there at least.
________________________________

The opening paragraphs go something like this:

As Shev clawed his way through the ruined floorboards into the music room, he got a splinter in his thumb. Still waist-deep in the hole he pulled the splinter with his teeth. He sucked on the sore thumb for a moment.
Somewhere deeper in the structure someone shouted.
“You can’t be in here,” a cello said. Rosewood and yew, it leant back in a stand. Out of tune.
“Quiet you,” Shev forced his way out onto the floor.

Distractions in Perihelion

~ Sean Monaghan ~ Leave a comment

fullcover034My short story “Distractions” is out now in Perihelion.

A wonderful cover by Hardy Fowler – “Taking a five minute break, a mecha pilot enjoys a quiet reverie in this secluded forest on the third planet from the sun.” Feels cool to have one of my stories hidden behind such a fabulous illustration.

This is a lighter one than my recent Asimov’s story – Robert’s boss Julianne Kette will stop at nothing to get her bounty, even if it means dragging him through hell to get it.

________________________

Frustrated that I could only return to the cafe with bad news, I beat my way back along the dusty street. Kette would not be pleased.
Some screaming kids ran out from between buildings, a hoop robot chasing them. The thing had little pincers and zappers around its circumference. It fired barbs at them
Laughing, the kids ploughed through traffic, oblivious to the enormous trucks and skimmers speeding along. Sirens blared and the hoop robot stopped at the sidewalk’s edge.
I tascered the thin little machine and took it with me.

________________________

My thanks again to editor Sam Bellotto Jr., for publishing another one of my quirky pieces.

The Molenstraat Music Festival in Asimovs

~ Sean Monaghan ~ 10 Comments

ASF_september 2015My novelette “The Molenstraat Music Festival” has just been published in the September issue of Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine. It’s a story of a far future that, among advanced technology, still has time for art.
____________________________________

“I’m Tamsin Birchall.” She stepped down from the vehicle. She was tall, thin-legged and wasp-waisted. She’d had work done, but then everybody did these days, didn’t they? She was wearing a blue single-piece dress that seemed to wrap around her legs almost like slacks as she walked. Her hips swayed, but her shoulders stayed steady. She could be a dancer.
“I can help you?” Clancy said. He pointed back the way they’d come. “Stay on that road for another six or seven miles you’ll come to a nice, isolated beach. The water’s a long way down now, with the dry, but it’s still pleasant enough. The trees grow down to the sand’s edge, and there are some grassy picnic spots. Another ten miles on, up Freyberg Road, there’s a rooming house.”
“It’s not directions I’m looking for.”

____________________________________

I’m thrilled and honored to be sharing the table of contents with science fiction luminaries once again. Brenda Cooper!, Jason Sanford, Vylar Kaftan, among others.

I’m also honored that Asimov’s editor Sheila Williams saw something in my little story. Thanks.