Feeler Strikes Again

It's funny how things work out. Even when sometimes it doesn't look like they're going to be the least bit funny.

Regular readers will know that my story Feeler was recently accepted by Tyree Campbell for a new Sam's Dot publication going by the charming Shelter of Daylight. This was of course good news, if for no other reason than that I'd had a hard time placing Feeler, and it was a story I felt sure of and believed in too much to see it languishing on my harddrive forever.

Before Sam's Dot, Feeler had been with Ballista, who recently announced that they would be closing shop with their seventh issue. Perhaps understandably, I took this as a rejection - those of you who write will no doubt understand my logic. It's a sad fact of the industry that magazines, even very good magazines, fold on a fairly regular basis, and it's rare to ever get a reply back once that's happened.

Long story slightly less long, Ballista just got back to me saying that they would like Feeler for their final issue. My first reaction was to feel pretty gutted, since acceptances are a rare breed at the best of times and it's no fun having to tell an editor you've sold a story out from under them. In desperation I threw myself at the mercy of Mr Campbell, and he very kindly agreed to let Ballista have the first shot, so to speak.

So I'm immensely pleased to announce that Feeler has found not one but two good homes. Expect Ballista along in the near future, and Shelter of Daylight in April of next year.

End of August News: Part 2

Being, as the name suggests, a contination of yesterday's rambling:

I had a novel experience at the back end of last week, in that I submitted a story for one magazine and had it accepted for a totally different one. I sent in my Feeler - a cheery tale of an empathic counsellor struggling under the weight of other people's pain, and her quest to hang on to a little sanity - to Tyree Campbell at Aoife's Kiss, which featured my The Burden of Kings not so long ago. Mr Campbell decided to accept it, but for Sam's Dot Publishing's new imprint Shelter of Daylight. Expect to see it in April of next year.

Finally, I just received the artwork for my comic strip The Unleashing of the Ineffectual, forthcoming from Futurequake Press, from artist Duncan Kay. Duncan's been teasing me with character sketches and suchlike for months, one of which was so damn neat that it's currently sitting framed on top of my bookcase, and the final product doesn't disappointment. No idea yet when it will actually see the light of day, but I'll post when I know more.