.Alban Lake have just released the latest issue of Frostfire Worlds May 2018 and I have two stories in it. (They must be short of contributors) Chicken Feed is about a town pestered by Harpies. Captain Hastings and the Flying Saucer is about a free trader falling foul of aliens when he goes mining in their territory. I’m glad to be in this magazine.

Click on the cover for a universal link to choose your retailer. Just $2.99 for the e-book.

As a token of my appreciation for editor Karen Otto I’ll use this post to let you know about her new novella Bugs In the System. It, too, is just $2.99 for the e-book.

Parasitic brain slugs that control sentient species. Hulking space alligators with bad attitudes. Beautiful blue creatures with psionic gifts that make them perfect therapists and lovers. All of this and more lies within an area of space known as the Sarkos Cluster. Their interactions and clandestine machinations, are just a few of the things you will find floating in The Void. Grab a piece of the action for yourself, and come along to find out how a unique crew came together in a time before a great war tore apart their collective worlds.

End of shameless plug.

 

I’m grinding again today.

Those of us who write short stories generally follow Heinlein’s fifth rule of writing: send it out and keep sending it out until it sells. For lesser talents than Heinlein, that can take a while but never give up. I sold a story ten years after I wrote it. One editor’s meat is another editor’s poison.

There are various websites that give market information and allow you to track submissions but my favourite is The Submission Grinder, mostly because it’s free, though you can make a donation and I have once or twice.

I used to used Duotrope before they started charging. I even tried them after they started charging but found little difference for my SF and Fantasy purposes between them and the Grinder, though Duotrope may be better for other things.

So hurray for The Submission Grinder. May it live long and prosper.