My conceptual sci-fi/horror story “Time of Death” has just been published in the April/May issue of Alien Skin Magazine. This has some pretty bleak humour to it, so is both fun and sad. Alien Skin does not archive – so this story is only available during April and May this year. After that the link above will go to another story (in the June/July issue, the August/September and so on), so get in now and read it quick.
New Shoes, Old Eyes – poem gets 3rd place in local contest
My poem submitted for the Urban Care – Poetry on Palmy contest has come third equal and, yay, there’s a prize-giving this afternoon. It’s great to get a place, but also neat to have something in the real world – so much of my writing now is here on your screen: I’ll be mixing with real people today. The competition was to write a poem about our hometown Palmerston North (New Zealand). The poem will probably be published at some point, but here are the first few lines:
New Shoes, Old Eyes
Returning to your frigid grid
Of fragile kerbs
And surly kids
Where turbined hills
spill spun white glass
…
If you’re in Palmy and happen to read this beforehand, the prize-giving is at 4pm at Square Edge.
I Puncture Him All Over – new story on Macabre Cadaver
Continuing on with a busy week of stories coming out. My fairly bleak short story I Puncture Him All Over has just been published on the ever-varied Macabre Cadaver. It’s a more brutal and graphic story than I normally write, but stylistically I’m very happy with it. My thanks, also, to editor Emmanuel Paige for his suggestions which have helped to strengthen the story from the original version I submitted.
My short “reading for writing” review was to be on The Engine of Recall by Karl Schroeder, but I’ll do that next week, assuming normal service resumes.
Social Media for the Undead – new story on MicroHorror
Heck with it – this is a busy week for stories of mine, so I’m abandoning my regular features, such as they are, to broadcast announcements. A new story – Social Media for the Undead – has been published on the MicroHorror site. This is a quick, fun piece of flash fiction. Well, ironically fun I suppose, perhaps loaded and pointed, but anyway I hope you enjoy.
Normal service will resume as soon as possible.
Butterfly Kisses in House of Horror issue 10
My longer horror story (ie, not flash) “Butterfly Kisses” has been published in issue 10 of the extraordinary House of Horror. S.E. is a masterful and enthusiastic editor and the site is full and busy and entertaining. Thanks to Shane, who selected the story for the issue.
I know Tuesday is usually music to write to – I was going to review The Geometry of Night by S.E.T.I. – but I’ll do that later. I figure announcements and self-promotion can over-ride. Unless something unusual happens I’ll review Geometry on Friday.
Clarity Moss 1862 – new Venus Vulture track on ReverbNation
I’m gradually in the process of releasing new ambient tracks during the year, while I focus on writing. The new track Clarity Moss 1862 is a quiet seven minute excursion with some occasional drum patterns and low-key melodies. Hopefully interesting enough to be engaging, discrete enough to be ignored.
Clarity Moss is a fictional character, of Slovenian and Irish ancestry. As a child she came to Canada via the US in the early 1800s and went on to become a bookseller and keen amateur natural historian. She did a lot of work cataloguing of fish species in Canadian rivers, some believe the most comprehensive work of the time. The notes were never published, but found amongst her letters and documents by her children after her death in 1862.
The track, as with the others on the ReverbNation page, is available to stream or download for free.
(Thursday is usually my “reading for writing” day, but really I’ve been reading two things lately: student portfolios, and a review book which is kind of embargoed until the review comes out, so next week then. I’m going to take a little break from the blog over Easter – back on Tuesday)
Stone Goddess – podcast
My story “The Stone Goddess” originally published in Horror Through The Ages, the first anthology from Lame Goat Press, has been read by Barry J Northern in the new Lame Goat Podcast. Barry does an excellent job – his pacing and tone is wonderful and really does the story justice.
Barry is creating a fantastic archive of podcasts from Lame Goat publications – “Lacerta” by Jodi MacArthur, “Beserker” by Deborah Walker and “Their Dark Master” by Mark Anthony Crittendon, with more to come.
Mikronesia – Tissue Paper Ghosts
The Gears of Sand label has an eclectic mix of recordings. Mikronesia’s album Tissue Paper Ghosts is one that straddles the lines – at times a bit glitchy, at other times quite drone based. The last track “Remember / Home” is both the longest (around 10 minutes) and quietest, and probably my favourite, and a great way to close out the album. Wonderful to write to – edgy enough to keep me alert and busy.
Green Zone is not Bourne, nor should it be
I got along to see Green Zone and enjoyed it for what it was – a well-paced political/military thriller. Some of the promotion for the movie – guns levelled, helicopters crashing and the star/director combo – seems to suggest that this is just Bourne by another name. A pity because it stands on its own as well-made cinema. Perhaps they should have made it before Ultimatum?
Pecha Kucha trainwreck
Whew, after weeks of being overwhelmed and consumed by my preparation for the Pecha Kucha event at Te Manawa, it’s done and over and wrecked. I had fun, even if I got a bit caught up in the talking and losing track of where I was, having decided to abandon my notes and talk to the slides, a little technology glitch, talking about things before the slide arrived, then talking backwards about slides which had already passed, I stumbled and careered through the 6 minutes forty and ended up back in my seat breathless. Wow, it was much harder than it had looked, but hugely worthwhile. The other speakers were inspiring and entertaining and informative, so it was a good night.
My talk was about Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville and his invention of the phonautograph, and the recording he made, and writing and the Infrequency project with Scott de Martinville’s recording, and ambient music and computer art. There were some photos taken, so I may be able to get hold of them and make them available somewhere. I took a video too, but that may well stay in the vault.
Now, on with the tutoring.
Sean Monaghan - Writer 