"Misdial" Published in Flash Fiction Online

My flash story, "Misdial",is up today at Manawaka Studios, Flash Fiction Podcast.

The story originally appeared in Active Voice/Voix active, the Editors Canada newsletter, Spring/Summer, 2019, and reprinted in Metastellar March 8, 2021.

Three Drabbles Published

Issue #63 of Sirens Call is out today and contains three of my drabbles (p.334): "The Family Home" (original to this issue) and two reprints: "Staked to the Stars" originally published by Microfiction Monday and "Spellcheck" originally published by ScribesMicro. Siren's Call is free to download:http://www.sirenscallpublications.com/pdfs/SirensCallEZine_Halloween2023.pdf #63 is the Halloween issue.

Guest of Honour Speech Re-Podcast

I've just noticed that When Words Collide republished an excerpt from my 2016 Keynote on their August "Collision Reconstructed" podcast. https://whenwordscollide.libsyn.com/2023-006-collision-reconstruction-life-hacks

I'm not entirely sure how my curmudgeonly opening qualifies as a "Life-hack" but still happy to be included along with Jack Whyte and Leanne Shirtliffle. (The rest of my speech was hopefully more positive than this excerpt...my concluding prognosis was that things were actually pretty good for the long term. Original, complete speech here: https://whenwordscollide.libsyn.com/2016-004-goh-robert-runte )

New Drabble Published

My drabble, "Cabin Fever" was published in Fairfield ScribesMicro #34. This was their contest issue, and my story received an honourable mention. You have to scroll down to find my story, but the winners are well worth reading. (I particularly related to the 1st-place winner. A nice summation of what I was trying to do in my short story, "Time in the Garden" in Lamp Lit Underground Vol. 6, (2021) pp. 8-12.)

The Bad Day Book Published

The Bad Day Book (Vol.1) is up on Amazon.ca today. I have two (hopefully humorous) flash memoir pieces in this volume: "The Lecture" and "Of Mice and Cannibals". The ebook version is on sale this week for $6.73 CND ($4.00 US) but will be double that next week.

My writer friends might want to note that there are many more volumes planned for the future (assuming always this one sells, but it's the sort of book one could see being sold at Costco or Walmart, so I'm assuming they will be a go.) The contract is very similar to the rights Chicken Soup of the Soul asks for, so that may disqualify the market for some writers, but they do accept old blog posts, which gives these pieces a significantly larger audience than the 7 people subscribed to my blog. The editor, Amilee Weaver Selfridge, is a delight to work with.

Fami's Dissertation Defense Republished

My flash fiction, "Fami's Dissertation Defense", has been reprinted in Polar Borealis #26, out this week. Polar Borealis is available free for download as a PDF, the story starts on page 42.

[The story originally appeared in Ripples in Space Magazine (which appears to have been inactive since 2020)].

My review of Matthew Hughes' Cascor

My review of Matthew Hughes' lastest short story collection, Cascor, is up at The Ottawa Review of Books (now in its 10th year!"

https://www.ottawareviewofbooks.com/single-post/cascor-by-matthew-hughes

New Short Story in Occult Detective Magazine

My short story, "An Isolated Case" has been published in Occult Detective Magazine

My Itinerary for When Words Collide, August 4-6, Delta South, Calgary

I'm looking forward to attending When Words Collide in Calgary August 4-6. I'm currently slotted on the following events:

Friday 1 PM - Practice Pitch: People hoping to pitch to acquisiton editors/agents later in the conference get to practice and get feedback from me first.

Friday 3 PM Working with an Editor panel
Fireside

Friday 4 PM -Writer/Editor Speed Mingle: like speed dating, editors/writers meet each other for 5 minutes each
Atrium commons

Saturday 2 PM - Why Are Zombies Essential to a Writer’s Group? panel session
Waterton

Saturday 4 PM - What are SFF Editors Looking For? panel
A-Waterton

Sunday 10 AM - Blue Pencil Cafe: quick feedback on opening pages -requires sign up
Jasper

Sunday 4 PM B- - Multiculturalism in 2023
Canmore

I will also be hanging out the rest of the con to meet people etc.

My Latest Drabble

My review of Sally McBride's "Fragrance of Orchids and Other Stories"

My review of Sally McBride's "The Fragrence of Orchids and Other Stories" is up at the Ottawa Review of Books. https://www.ottawareviewofbooks.com/single-post/the-fragrance-of-orchids-by-sally-mcbride

My Story "Inuksuk" Reprinted Online by Metastellar

My story, "Inuksuk" (originally published in Polar Borealis #15 (June 2020), is now available online at https://www.metastellar.com/fiction/inuksuk/

My Drabble, "Staked to the Stars" Published in Microfiction Monday Magazine

My drabble (a 100-word story), "Stalked to the Stars" leads the 187th issue of Microfiction Monday Magazine (May 22, 2023).

Round Table on Canadian SF&F — On Spec Magazine

Of possible interest: "Canada in Conversation – SFF from the Global South to the Meeting Point of all Worlds" By Emad El-Din Aysha, PhD up at On Spec Magazine https://onspec.ca/a-round-table-conversation-about-canadian-science-fiction-and-fantasy/

A long exchange with Emad with myself and other Canadian SF authors. Someone needs to write a book, though.

My own comments are thin on Quebec SF and newer writers--I even missed many of the old established authors--but still of possible interest.

My Drabble, "Disposable" published in Fairfield Scribes Micro #29.

https://www.fairfieldscribes.com/issue-29.html