Up and Atom(Jack)

'Level Two' is now up and awaiting interested eyes on the AtomJack website. I'm proud to have it there accompanied by stories of a quality you rarely see in an online 'zine, much less a free one. And Adicus the editor also made mention of the story's exploding apples in his introductory letter - I guess we have the same sense of humour.

One of the perks of being published in AtomJack is that you also get a free entry into its short story competition, which pays big bucks for first prize. As soon as I hear back from Yog's Notebook (I have queried the editor), and if its response is in the negative, I am going to submit 'Other Intelligent Life' to Adicus and see if that tickles his fancy as well.

I'm reading another John Wyndham novel at the moment, Chocky, and as well as being a terrific yarn (Wyndham is easily in my top 3 favourite authors), an image he used in a passing descriptive sentence gave me an idea for a horror story. I'm letting it simmer at the moment, but I might take a crack at it in the next few days, or perhaps on Saturday.

One last thing: last night, completely at random, I decided to open the first novel I ever wrote. I remembered it being totally awful, 282 pages of unserviceable mush. But as I read it over, it no longer seemed that way at all. Puffy, yes, but the body of a good fantasy novel resides underneath. Once Commune is in some sort of shape (God knows when that will be) I might even go back to Catalysts of War and see what I can make of it. It seems a shame to write 180,000 words and never give them a fighting chance at publication.

Now for the return journey

Okay, draft number two is all marked up. I suspect I have cut around 5,000 words, which will bring Loaded down to a lean 85,000 words (further recommending it to the YA market, I suppose). I now have to find the time to make the changes, which I fear will be a big ask in the next four weeks. I'm aiming to do at least an hour a night and possibly some during the day if I can wangle the necessary downtime. If Allen & Unwin calls, I need to be ready!

The accidental YA book

I visited my local Borders today (something different) with the unusual purpose of checking out the young adult section. I began to select books at random. By about the eighth or ninth book, I realised that Loaded, but for its copious swearing and single graphic sex scene, could indeed be a YA novel. It's the right length, has the right themes and features a 19-year-old protagonist. I guess I never really considered it as such because it has biographical elements -and of course I'm no longer a young adult. But I suppose 10 years don't make that much difference and it is the sort of tale a younger person might dig (as opposed to the 40+ market).

Besides, I'm in no position to be picky. I'll publish it under Gardening if Allen & Unwin wants me to.

What you least expected

I've written before about life's tendency to create situations you could never imagine, and that to try and predict how things will pan out is impossible.

Well, here's another testament to that philosophy.

Allen & Unwin got back to me and the editorial assistant (who seems quite nice) informed me that Loaded had been passed down to Melbourne because they cover children's and young adult material. There, she believed, the MS would be in better hands.

This, of course, is a dichotomy of good and bad news. Good, because it means the assistant thought enough of my writing to pass it on. Bad, because ... well, it's true I've not read young adult fiction in a while, but surely Loaded - with its drug use, sex scenes and frequent coarse language - is inappropriate for the YA market?

This development has seriously thrown me for a loop. I've emailed the editorial assistant again to relay my concerns. More when (if) she replies.

--ADDENDUM--
Another quick reply ... although it doesn't much set my mind at rest:

"It depends on the extent of the content, but I will pass on your concerns to thesubmissions editor in Melbourne, and have her return it to me if it is 'toohot'. As I recall though, the protaganist was recalling his life as a young man,and seemed to be speaking to boys of a similar age group in the text (a lotpasses these days for young adult fiction ...)"

Hoo-boy. Well, if she really read all of the first three chapters she would have found more than a few swear words and at least one sexual reference. We shall see. Looks like it's tenterhooks for me for the next 10-12 weeks.

I've got Jack!

Atomjack, that is. Yes, good tidings I bring, as Atomjack has accepted 'Level Two: Time Trial' for its next issue, due late March/early April. It's an online 'zine with token payment only (US$5) but I'm extremely happy about this one because the story is among my personal faves. I could never understand why people didn't like it, and most of the rejections I received suggested the readers took it seriously (???). This acceptance is gratifying to say the least.

On the less effusive side, I received another postcard from Allen & Unwin yesterday. Now, it could have been a rejection, which would have really sucked, but it provided deflation rather than devastation. This epistle informed me that my MS, which has been under consideration for about 14 weeks, will be under consideration for another 10 to 12 weeks. Were I naive, I might interpret this as a good thing and believe the A&U reader had passed it on to an editor. But I'm not naive, so I think this is the publisher's rather impersonal way of telling me they are running WAAAAY behind on unsolicited submissions. Anyhow, it's not all bad - it means I will be back from LA well before I can expect to hear from them and I don't have to stress about missing that all important call. It also means I should be able to get all my editing and changes done on Loaded in the event they do want to see the whole MS - I'm up to page 119 at the moment.

Displeasure of the Displeasures

I got a rejection from Fantasy Magazine this morning, which isn't much of a surprise. The note was curt to say the least: "Thanks for sending us your story, but we're going to pass."

"We're going to pass?" I don't know whether to be refreshed or offended by its honesty.

Well ... anyway, aside from that depressing piece of Tuesday morning news, the outlook is mostly fine. I've marked up 105 pages of Loaded and my computer should be out of hospital by the time it's done.

News ... in tired-man portions

It's been a hectic time of life lately ... my eyes are blurry from a frustrating balls-up at work (not my doing) which only I can correct ... my laptop gave up the ghost and now I'm tossing up whether to throw it out or get it repaired ... the Donald Maass Agency rejected Ghost Kiss so it's now with another agency called DiFiore and Company ... I'm due to hear back from Fantasy Magazine about 'Displeasures' by early next week ... turns out 'From a Vampire Film Review' (their revised title) was published in the 'winter' issue of BB&T but no one bothered to confirm that for me. Contributor copies are on their way ... Slow but steady progress on Loadaed, up to page 85 now. Right ... I think that's the lot!