But first, let’s get the negatives out of the way:

NEGATIVES (in no particular order)

• I am unemployed

• We have very little money coming in and struggle to make it through the month

• My health (both mental and physical) is poor

• The health of my wife and children is also not very good

• The house needs work doing on it I can’t afford

• The house is a mess and I am a lousy househusband

• My daughter has had to deal with shit that no child should have to deal with and we’re all still heavily caught up in the consequences of it.

POSITIVES (in no particular order)

• I love my wife and my two children and, as far as I know, they love me back.

• I have always wanted to write and now have 3 novels, two short story collections and 1 stand-alone short story available for people to buy and another novel I’m currently working on with a US small publisher – and people DO buy (not enough to bring in any useful money but it’s not all about that) and what’s more the reviews so far have always been good!

• My daughter is a talented writer herself (even at 14) and I have already co-written one short story with her (available in the collection Interludes). She also is pretty amazing on piano.

• My son is a talented musician and I am lucky enough to work with him as The 1850 Project – our first full length album, The Family, has just been released and is available through iTunes and others.

• While my health may be poor I am still alive and not dying (at least no more than everyone else).

• Both my children are academically bright as well as being talented creatively and are capable of doing anything they want, as long as they put the effort into it.

• Did I mention I love my wife?

• I don’t have a lot of friends, but those I do are very good friends and I know I can rely on them in a crisis.

That’s all off the top of my head (no pre-planning in this blog) and I think, on the whole, most people would agree that the positives outweigh the negatives – so I don’t really have any excuse for feeling like I do at the moment and hopefully writing this blog will make me realise that.

This blog has been a cathartic exercise. If you have read this far, thank you for putting up with it

When Steve Drake, Space Trader, agreed to take on a trade to the Szuiltans, the only truly alien race ever discovered in man’s expansion across the galaxy, he had no idea it would land him in the middle of murder, intrigue and an interplanetary war!

Buy it now:

amazon.co.uk

amazon.com

Or read more about it by clicking here (including sample chapters)

In the case of A World Of Assassins, this was originally published by Publish America on a 7-year contract which has (finally) run out. Having refused to sign a new contract with them I can now release my own revised and, in part, rewritten version on the kindle. This is definitely my preferred (and final) version of this Science Fiction Thriller. The original expensive release was enjoyed by the few people who read it. I hope this new and improved version reaches a wider audience. I am just finalizing the cover art and then it’s ready to go.

The Szuiltan Alliance is a book that has been around, in various versions, a long time. I am about half way through a final revision and then it will be ready for release on the kindle. It’s book one in a trilogy of space adventure novels involving Space Traders, interplanetary wars and the first truly alien intelligent lifeform ever encountered by man in his expansion across the galaxy. This is not ‘hard’ Science Fiction, just an action packed adventure in space.

In terms of new (not revised or rewritten) fiction, I am currently working with an editor on the final draft of a futuristic (you might say dystopian) novel that expands on one of my most popular short stories. Full details will be given when I am free to do so.

In music news, the new album from The 1850 Project (that’s me and my son) called The Family has been uploaded to CDBaby and we’re just waiting for the news that it’s all ok and the digital distribution has begun. It’s 13 tracks of guitar-led music ranging from Classic Rock through Pop Punk to Metal. As soon as it’s available to download I’ll let you know. I hope a few of you will give it a listen.

That’s all for now. Talk again soon.

The Midnight Hour was the first paperback release from Screaming Dreams and I am proud that it is now the first kindle release from the same publisher. With its release on the kindle, this also makes this collection more accesible to readers in the US as the paperback was never easy to come by there.

I’m sure there will be more kindle releases from Screaming Dreams in the near future, but I’m very pleased to be the first

My new short story collection available on Kindle – 11 more tales of Dark Imagination – including 2 previously unpublished stories.

Full contents:

THE BOX

THE PATHOLOGICAL GOOD SAMARITAN

TRADITION

THE SARCOPHAGUS

A CHRISTMAS PILGRIM

CONVERSATION

THE KILLING TREE

YOUNG AT HEART

THE CLEANSING

TWO YEARS TO THE DAY

THE WARD ON THE HILL

Available from:

amazon.co.uk

amazon.com

The ebook is available now from amazon.com and amazon.co.uk – uk price is £2 which is a bargain (not sure of the US price because it doesn’t show for me).

The paperback version can be ordered right now direct from omnium gatherum and will be available on amazon.com in a couple of days. It will eventually be available from amazon.co.uk but that will take a little longer.

It’s a great collection of stories that I’m very proud to be part of so pick up a copy, read it, review it and I hope you enjoy my small contribution.

Here’s the description from the Omnium Gatherum website:

The impulse to collect springs from deep within the human psyche Squirrels gather acorns, rats collect shiny things, but only humans assign meaning to the objects they collect. Detritus is a collection of stories about the impulse to collect, preserve, and display gone horribly wrong.

Kate Jonez and S.S. Michaels have assembled a diverse range of exceptionally disturbing stories from authors from around the world. Each of the stories, whether about a collection that is world changing or intensely personal, is sure to linger in readers’ thoughts and make them consider the possibility that malice and evil just might lurk in their own hoard of stuff.

Featuring: Kealan Patrick Burke, Jeremy C, Shipp, Mary Borsellino, Brent Michael Kelley, Phil Hickes, L.S. Murphy, Michael R. Colangelo, Neil Davies, Louise Bohmer, Edmund Colell, S.P. Miskowski, Michael Montoure, Lee Widener, Pete Clark, and Opal Edgar

Already in place for 2012: my short story Candy Lady included in the Detritus anthology due out January 13th from Omnium Gatherum; New book coming soon, all set to work with the editor to get it ready.

Planned for 2012: Write more short stories (let this slip the last couple of years); get the rewrite if A World Of Assassins out in ebook format; get writing on next novel.

And in non-writing plans: finish mixing on next 1850 Project CD and get it released.

Should be a good year (despite the Olympics)

http://www.screamingdreams.com/ezine/Halloween2011.pdf

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The best Guy N Smith book I’ve read (so far) – and that includes the ones I read many years ago before I ‘rediscovered’ him recently. I felt the scenes of locust devastation and people under siege in their own homes were vivid and extremely well done and the whole scenario and storyline(s) excellent. I’d actually had this book on my shelf for some time and, for some reason, had avoided reading it. I’m so glad I finally did. A highly recommended read for those of you with a taste for ‘disaster’ novels or who just like a good read. It would also make an excellent film, if anyone in the business happens to be reading

View all my reviews