Done and dusted

Well, I've officially decided to bring the blog to an end. I'll leave it here with a link to my website, but I am replacing it with a News section on my website.

It's been quite a ride. I hope the odd aspiring writer might take solace and inspiration from it's often moody and sometimes jubilant entries.

Kris Ashton

An end to the diary?

I'm giving serious consideration to ending this blog. As well as taking up time I will increasingly not have, it appears more and more to be a liability. I have a feeling one of my stories was looked upon less than favourably courtesy of a recent post... and it's really not much more than me talking to myself anyway.

Well, for now - I've had a bit of a story idea that might suit Back Roads (which has switched to a bi-annual book format - even more of an incentive). It's to be based in part on a real-life experience, rare for me.

Now it's just a matter of getting my laptop back so I can get to work on it...

The sweetest Kiss

Boy, it's been a while between posts. While making new friends and relatives in Southern California, I more or less forgot about the whole writing and publishing process. During that time, however, I had two short stories rejected - 'Buried Potential' at Abyss & Apex (bummer) and 'Other Intelligent Life' from Yog's Notebook (for the best, as I've now submitted it to AtomJack's short story competition).

Upon my return, I also found what amounted to a glorified form letter from Allen & Unwin, rejecting Loaded. That wasn't fun.

Then this morning, I opened up my email to find that Asylett Press had accepted Ghost Kiss as an e-book! Contracts and other such things are coming my way presently, as no doubt, are a lot of editorial changes. More details as they arrive...

Up and away!

Another hour and a half and I will be on my way to the airport for two weeks of American culture.

Just thought I'd post and say that I completed 'Left Behind' yesterday. It came out at just over 4,800 words, a useful size for a first draft.

Turbo snail

By most measures the publishing process moves like a sedated snail, but occasionally things can happen quickly. Since my previous post, I have seen both 'Level Two' and 'Blue Diamond Pool' published, and even more exciting, a small American publisher has asked to see the full MS of Ghost Kiss.

On top of Allen & Unwin's cursory interest in Loaded, I'm almost afraid to go on holidays ... which I do this Saturday!

These are small steps, I'm under no misapprehensions there. But I'm quietly confident Ghost Kiss could go all the way. I'm due to hear from the publisher, Asylett Press, in about a month.

My new story, 'Left Behind', is about 3/4 done. I'm aiming to complete it tomorrow morning. Looks like it will come out at about 4,000 words - a handy size.

Yog's Notebook is going to take longer than expected to get back to me re: 'Other Intelligent Life'. I was rather sceptical about their stated one month response time, and I notice that since the first issue's completion this unrealistic claim has been removed from their site. The question now is whether I wait for them to reply, withdraw the story and send it to AtomJack, or send AtomJack another story ('Buried Potential' might suit).