Good news/Bad news

Good news: mega-cold really seems to be gone, except for a mild cough. Bad news: now that I’ve stopped knocking back the Night Nurse, insomnia has returned. Good news: while tossing and turning last night, a story idea for a Machen tribute anthology has finally gelled after months of faffing and dead ends. Bad news: the deadline is on Saturday.

Last week’s not-so-hot news: PS told me that the release of Helen’s Story had been delayed due to printing issues. Good news: it is OUT. I missed the postie when my copies were delivered, but I have proof here from my friend Sumit, who received his copy. So here is Helen, in real physical book-like form.

And now for some more potential good news: several writers/publishers are putting our heads together for a joint launch event in June. Watch this space!

Moving on to the larger picture… can we find any good news there? Later today I’ll head over to Eileen House at the Elephant for a meeting of the new South London Claimants Union. I’ll be sharing some info about self-employment and working tax credits – and the growing carbuncle of  ‘in-work conditionality’ that we must lance and disinfect before it bursts and covers us with ConDem slime!

I’ve heard that the first meeting of this new claimants’ group was very lively and positive, so this is indeed some good news in the face of the extremely shite news we’re being subjected to.

Perhaps I’ll see a few of you there…

Rustblind and Silverbright

Eibonvale Press editor David Rix has now released the table of contents for new anthology Rustblind and Silverbright. This includes a story by me and Mat Joiner, “The Turning Track”. I’m proud to be among a great group of writers that includes Andrew Hook, Nina Allan, Rhys Hughes, Allen Ashley, Joel Lane and Aliya Whiteley.

Eibonvale is an independent UK publisher that produces “beautiful and lovingly-designed editions of excellent writing in modern horror, magic realism and the surreal”.

“The Turning Track” was my first collaboration on a story. It was a great experience, and we have some more joint outings in the pipeline. I’ll be posting some more thoughts about the process and benefits of collaborative writing in the very near future.