The bitter end

Got that long-awaited response from Aurealis today, and as you can guess from the subdued subject line it wasn't an acceptance. However, the reader's comment on 'Displeasures of the Flesh' was actually quite helpful. S/he pointed out that the ending was kind of disconnected from the rest of the narrative, and subconsciously I think I knew that already. It's amazing how hard it is to acknowledge that quiet, niggling but ultimately sage internal voice until an objective reader seconds its notions.

'Displeasures' is now going on the pile with 'Adam Marked 1' as a terrific story idea that needs a terrific ending.

Read through 110 of 147 pages of Truck Me. A few more inconsistencies have cropped up (the age of the protagonist's car, how much money he has in his wallet, and what day it is among them – the latter being one of my worst bugbears in every book I've ever written) but overall it's still pretty clean and has a pleasingly smooth flow of language and well-drawn characters. The more I read, the more I'm convinced an Aussie publisher will take it on if I can just get some sample chapters in front of an editor.