Upcoming Autumn Fiction

Last night was Hallowe'en. Go ahead, have another piece of that leftover trick-or-treat candy. I hope you had something (or someone) spooky to curl up with. The nights are drawing in, the winds are picking up, and I'm still hunting for representation for my novel. On the bright side, it's looking like a good autumn for my short stories. Three are on the publication horizon. Stay tuned for:

"Ursa Major", a novelette accepted for probably the next issue of S tupefying Stories, Bruce Bethke (ed). (humorous horror).
“Cold War”, Deep Sea Monster Hunter: Leviathan. Miles Boothe (ed), Emby Pres s. Short story in anthology coming this fall (horror).
“Storm Wife,” in On Spec Magazine (dark fantasy).

All three of these stories draw upon some of the Canadian locales I've lived in. The first two ("Ursa Major" and "Cold War") are set in the remote North, inspired by the subarctic boreal forests and amazing people there. I lived in Yellowknife, NWT for a while, conducted research up there even longer, and have family I visit still in the Yukon. The North has its suggestive and scary side - I spent a very long weekend I will never forget in the Northwest Territories reading Stephen King's "It" in a log cabin, cat-sitting alone while an early winter tempest raged outside. Thanks, Stephen. The third story, "Storm Wife", takes place in the middle of a prairie winter, the stark but beautiful world where I grew up and spent a large part of my life. These are all "no holds barred" kind of places that pull for the otherworldly. At least for me. I hope you enjoy them.

For more details on the stories, please see Upcoming Fiction.

MENACING ENTITY OF THE MONTH

This month starts the set of poisonous, er, medicinal plants featured in my novel. Let's start with an old favourite, shall we?

Atropa Belladonna, otherwise known as Deadly Nightshade, has highly toxic berries and leaves. Although used as a poison for hundreds of years, it was also used for medicinal purposes. The patient had better hope the practitioner knew what she was doing. It's from the same family tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants and chili peppers. Don't eat tomato foliage. Please. Or your tale could end up in someone's dark fiction.

Have a great November. Thanks for reading!