Free Short Stories on my Blog

I've been throwing around the idea of publishing free short stories here on my blog from time to time.  I'm still not sure if I will or not, because I just can't see giving my fiction away for free, or being the judge of whether my work is good enough to publish.  Several writers I know are doing, or have done, free serials on their websites, and there has been some success with getting those serials published, but I wanted to do something a little different.  The serial idea is interesting, but I couldn't write chapter to chapter with any sense of cohesion.  The way I write, four chapters in there would be a lot of information that would have to be deleted or added to the first chapters.  When I write larger works, the beginning and end are two different things and require a lot of re-writing to bring the story together.

I can count out doing a serial, but I like the idea of using my blog as a platform to introduce readers to my work.  With my debut novel coming out soon as well as a novella, I think providing some free fiction could help encourage uncertain readers to give my longer works a shot. 

Also, I have several stories that I just can't find the right publisher for.  Stories that just don't seem to fit any of the guidelines.  That doesn't mean there isn't a publisher out there for them that I have yet to discover, but I wonder if I should just publish some of these stories here.

Still arguing with myself about it.  I may just send some of these stories to decent e-zines, that way I won't be judging my own work and the stories will still be free to read if they are accepted, though I do see myself publishing one here and there, so look for them.  I just don't want to go overboard and give too much of my fiction away for free.  Not that I would start selling my stories on smashwords or something -- I'm not established enough to do that!  It's just knowing that once a story is published, no matter where it's published, it's a reprint, and thus it's value is depreciated.  That's my greatest struggle with the decision to publish a story or two here on my blog.

But, I have a lot of stories to choose from, so expect something in the near future.

The Art of Multi-Tasking

I'm a decent multi-tasker, but I've been realizing how important that ability is concerning the world of the writer.  I have at least five projects in the works at one time, and it's a mental acrobatic act just to work on them all.  I'm in the final chapters of the first draft of my second novel, writing a novella/novel, writing a short story for a specific anthology, going over edits for my first novel, and editing stories for my latest anthology.  On top of that, I submitted several short yesterday because I've been slacking off and have noticed that the rejections have heavily outweighed the acceptances lately.  Kind of depressing.  Last year I sold quite a few stories -- this year, not so much.  But, I did sell a novella and my first novel, so I'm not complaining.  I have plenty of short stories to submit, I've just had a difficult time managing so many projects and all my submissions at one time.  I suppose I'll have to come up with some sort of method to give equal time to my current projects, but I'm not sure that will work.  Sometimes stories write themselves and it is important to focus on one work if it's flowing from me with such ease.  Maybe I'm doing it right.  Not sure yet, but what I do know is that one better learn to multi-task in the writing biz.

Great Review of Scarecrow and The Madness

Established author Gregory L. Norris was so very kind as to do a review of mine and Craig's forthcoming novella double feature, but not only that.  This review also includes a mini-interview with both myself and Craig Saunders, giving some insight on our offerings.  I had a good time with the interview, and I'm very pleased with the review.  I haven't read Scarecrow yet, and I can't wait to get my hands on it, especially after reading Gregory's review of it.  I certainly hope his review has that effect on those who read it.

Read the review HERE, and be sure to check out the rest of Gregory's blog, and follow if you like -- you'll be interested to read what this man has to say.  He's new to the blogging world, but definitely not new to writing.  I am pleased and honored that he took the time to read Scarecrow and the Madness and give Craig and I the pleasure of a review.



Gregory L. Norris is a full-time professional writer, with numerous publication credits to his resume, mostly in national magazines and fiction anthologies. A former writer at Sci Fi, the official magazine of the Sci Fi Channel (before all those ridiculous Ys invaded), he once worked as a screenwriter on two episodes of Paramount’s modern classic, Star Trek: Voyager and is the author of the handbook to all-things-Sunnydale, The Q Guide to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Alyson Books, 2008). In late 2009, two of his paranormal romance novels for Ravenous Romance (www.ravenousromance.com) were reprinted as special editions by Home Shopping Network as part of their “Escape with Romance” segment – the first time HSN has offered novels to their customers. In late 2011, his collection of brandy-new terrifying short and long fiction, The Fierce and Unforgiving Muse: A Baker’s Dozen From the Terrifying Mind of Gregory L. Norris is being published by Evil Jester Press. He has fiction forthcoming from the fine people at Cleis Press, STARbooks, EJP, The Library of Horror, Simon and Shuster, and Pill Hill Press, to name a few.

Look What I Found

Here is the cover for the anthology Look What I Found forthcoming from NorGus Press.  This book will feature my story "Contents of a Canvas Bag".  The title just about says it all.  A man finds a bag of goodies in an alley left there for a thrift shop.  Something catches his eyes, and when he gets home to rifle through his treasures, things get strange.  You could say that he watches his life flash before his eyes.

Skeletons in the Basement

I'm pleased to announce that my story "Skeletons in the Basement" has been picked up by Post Mortem Press and will appear in their forthcoming anthology Dead Souls, which will be introduced by none other than Jonathon Maberry.

"Skeletons in the Basement" deals with a secret between a father and his daughter that comes out in the wake of a zombie invasion.  Just a bit longer than a flash fiction piece, I am happy to have found a home for this story and I hope it is well received.