Popular
Captain Quasar may not have won "The Popularity Contest on Goobalox Five," but he did all right for himself last month, earning the coveted (?) title of February's top story at Every Day Fiction. (Cue canned applause.)
As part of the ensuing fanfare, Sue Ann Connaughton interviewed me at Flash Fiction Chronicles last week, and her questions covered my "use of humor, character-building, accessibility versus genre loyalty, student involvement in [the] writing process, and the advantages and drawbacks of flash fiction versus novellas and novels for the writer of science fiction." She obviously gave me a lot to think about, and to find out if my responses were in any way coherent, you can read the interview in its entirety.
I'm hoping there will be another Captain Quasar misadventure available in the near future. Ray Gun Revival asked for a second rewrite on "The So-Called Emperor of the Universe," demanding more action and less banter, and I of course complied. The 12-year-old Milo who originally started this writing journey loves any excuse to add more WHAM! BAM! POW!
In other news, a reprint of my very short and very horrific tale "Just Leave" appeared at MicroHorror this week. Originally published in the Frightmares anthology last November, it was my Write1Sub1 from Week#2. The idea of a home invasion seriously creeps me out, and having a five-year-old save the day was just too much fun.
Not so much fun: learning that the font I used on my "Fool's Gold" cover was not intended for commercial use and having to pay its creator a nominal fee. The upside: I can now use the font for every Coyote Cal reprint I sell on Amazon from here on out. The downside: I felt like such a noob!