vaughan_stanger | Recent Entries

My Mars-set SF story, First and Third, has been published in Postscripts 26/27: Unfit for Eden (available from PS Publishing).

Here's the superb (IMHO) cover:

I'm fortunate indeed to appear in a ToC as illustrious as this:

Michael Bishop - Unfit for Eden
Darrell Schweitzer - True Blue
Mike Chinn - Saving Prince Romero
Richard Calder - Madeline Smith
Quentin S. Crisp - Non-Attachment
Matthew Hughes - The Scribe of Betelgeuse V
Eric Brown - The Room Beyond
Thomas Olde Heuvelt - The Boy Who Cast No Shadow
Christopher Harman - The Reader
Robert Reed - Emergence
Greg Ouiring - The Man Who Hated Shakespeare
Amber D. Sistla - The Summer of Our Discontent
Mike Resnick - A Weighty Affair
George Hulseman - The Sea Witch
Vaughan Stanger - First and Third
Lavie Tidhar - Black Gods Kiss
Robert T. Jeschonek - Warning! Do Not Read This Story!
Steven Utley - Crime and Punishment
Simon Unsworth - Borough Station
Jessica Reisman - The Bottom Garden
Kit Reed - Tasmin
Andrew Drummond - Dr. Calvin’s Grand Illuminated Bestial Pleasure Dome
Michael Swanwick - Pushkin the American
Michael Kelly - Conversations with the Dead
Eric Schaller - The Parasite
Neal Barrett, Jr. - Trash

If you're interested in buying this print anthology, please follow this link.

Current Mood: happy
Crossposts: http://vaughan-stanger.livejournal.com/88127.html

Prompted by this recent post by AnthologyBuilder's owner/publisher/master-of-all-trades, the inestimable

nancyfulda, who kindly suggested using one of my stories as a prompt, I've assembled another of my themed anthologies. If you like stories about robots, March of the Robots is the book for you.

I've included two of my own stories, one of which I'm currently using as the basis for my novel-in-progress, also stories by two of my LJ friends

will_couvillier and

snickelish, plus eleven other masterpieces of mechanical mayhem.

I love the cover illustration, supplied (yet again!) by the amazingly talented Frank Wu.

March of the Robots is available to purchase here, for only $14.99 of your e-money.

I've received a very pleasing Boxing Day present, namely an acceptance from Lacuna: A Journal of Historical Fiction, for a reprint of The Peace Criminal, a story which was originally published in issue 9 of Postscripts in 2006.

A very nice way to end the year.

lacunajournal.blogspot.com/

Current Mood: chipper
Crossposts: http://vaughan-stanger.livejournal.com/87508.html

As promised (quite a few months ago!), my short-short story Dark They Were, and Strange Inside has been reprinted by the good folk at The Science Fact & Science Fiction Concatenation.

Dark They Were... was first published in Nature Futures in September 2010. 'Futures' is edited by Henry Gee, to whom all due thanks. Concatenation selected it for reprinting as one of the best of the 'Futures' stories published that year.

Happy Christmas!

Current Mood: happy
Crossposts: http://vaughan-stanger.livejournal.com/87019.html

Today I attended the British Film Institute's annual 'Missing Believed Wiped' event, where the organisers present some of the long-lost televisual treasures that have been returned to the archives during the last twelve months. I don't go every year, but this year's programme looked quite enticing: A Dennis Potter play, a David Bowie clip from Top of the Pops (Jean Genie, fab), a Peter Cook & Dudley Moore sketch. Oh, plus a mystery Christmas treat for Science Fiction fans...

So I went with a similarly addicted friend.

And lo! We did get to watch a lengthy clip from a recently returned Doctor Who episode, followed by -- to our by now thoroughly disbelieving eyes -- the whole of another episode, both from the vintage 1960s B&W era. The last such find was in 2004; the one before that in 1999.

Kudos to the BFI, BBC and all involved in the return. How the news blackout was maintained, I will never know. As a result, a couple of hundred jaws dropped and their associated pulse rates soared, because, trust me, this stuff really is damned nearly as rare as the equine deposits mentioned in this post's subject line.

Happy Christmas indeed!

Current Mood: ecstatic
Crossposts: http://vaughan-stanger.livejournal.com/86680.html

From Diabolical Plots' review of Daily Science Fiction's stories published in April 2011:

“Writing on the Wall” by Vaughan Stranger (debut 4/21 and reviewed by James Hanzelka)

Nice humorous look at what happens as machines begin to think like humans. Not a deep and philosophical as longer stories by someone like P.K. Dick, but in a short work still manages to take on the subject with humor and deft. Very well done.

(It's a pity that James misspelt my name, but that happens quite regularly. I'm very pleased with his review, especially as the story is only 350 words long.)

Current Mood: happy

http://www.midnightstreet.co.uk/MIDNIGHT%20STREET%2016.pdf

This PDF-zine is free to download, although a donation is always appreciated. Sadly, it looks as though Midnight Street is going on indefinite hiatus.

Published on my birthday, too :-)

Current Mood: happy
Crossposts: http://vaughan-stanger.livejournal.com/85438.html

Well, not to any great extent, but someone must have bought a copy of my collection of stories, With Stars in His Eyes, on AnthologyBuilder.com recently, as my royalties statement now exceeds $20, which means I'll be paid the next time Nancy does a payment run. Woot!

If you fancy owning a handsome physical copy of this collection, which was created by my dear friend and mentor, Liz Holliday, and contains fifteen of my SF (mostly!) stories, then please click here here. Yours for $14.95 plus P&P.

Crossposts: http://vaughan-stanger.livejournal.com/84080.html

My contributor's (print) copy arrived today. It looks excellent.

Here's the ToC (cribbed from marshallpayne1 on LJ):

Introduction - Bridget and Marti
"Patriot Girls" - Amy Sisson
"The True Story of Merganther's Run - David D. Levine
"Repairs" - TD Edge
"Evening in the Land of Dreams" - Mikal Trimm
"Pygmalion Redux" - Mikal Trimm
"Twilight at the Change House" - Jaine Fenn
"Rejection Letter" - Edward Morris
"Black Swan, White Swan" - Eugie Foster
"The Promise" Marcie Lynn Tentchoff
"The Eye Patch Protocol" - Vaughan Stanger
"Blue Valentine" - Amanda Downum
"Inspection Day" - Gaie Sebold
"The Last Jar of Mayo at the H&P" - Jeff Crook
"Making Aliens" - Greg Beatty
"The Cries of Upward Straining Corpses" - Greg Beatty
"Why Are You There" - Greg Beatty
"The River Came: Fragmented Recall" - Lavie Tidhar
"If We Shadows Have Offended" - Sarah L. Edwards
"Silver Harbor" - Tina Connolly
"Bullet" - Marshall Payne

That's damned fine company to be in, including several friends. I'm looking forward to reading all the stories.

You can buy the book here.

Crossposts: http://vaughan-stanger.livejournal.com/83673.html

The ePub and Mobi versions of End of an Aeon arrived today. A printed copy is in the post. Nice to see 'The Eye Patch Protocol' published in pixels, at last.

If you'd like to buy the anthology, browse here. I gather that it will also be on Amazon and B&N soon.

Current Mood: happy
Crossposts: http://vaughan-stanger.livejournal.com/83081.html

I'm a published writer of SF, mostly set in the present day or near future, and, less often, slipstream and fantasy fiction. Needless to say, I'm working on a novel, but that's still some way from completion.

If you're interested in reading my short fiction, the best place to go is here: AnthologyBuilder - my stories

Or for a collection of most of my published work, there's: AnthologyBuilder - collection assembled by Liz Holliday

(All of my published fiction seems to end up on AnthologyBulder, eventually.)

There are also stories of mine free to read on-line at Hub (issues 36 and 99), Daily Science Fiction, Nature Futures (here and here), and Transcriptase.

Some more of my stories are due to be published later this year in:

End of an Aeon

Postscripts (issue 26/27)

Midnight Street.

I've also produced some well-regarded anthologies for AnthologyBuilder, listed here.

If you'd like more information about my writing and where to find it, please let me know.

I'm not advocating leaving LJ, but I must admit to having gotten pretty fed up with its intermittent (at best) recent availability. Not LJ's fault, I know, but, if one wants to blog? So, sometimes you'll find me on DreamWidth, with the same user name as on LJ. If you're already on DW, feel free to circle me, or whatever the terminology is.

I'm not going to abandon LJ, but If This Goes On, I might start generating most of my posts on DW.

If anyone wants a DW code, please ping me a message on LJ (um, good luck with that) or send an email to my gm**l address, which is constructed in the usual way from my full name.

Ironically, DW is grindingly slow too at the moment, but I guess that's a combination of mass transfer from LJ and failed cross-posts happening in real-time.

Crossposts: http://vaughan-stanger.livejournal.com/82530.html

If like me you write speculative fiction that's mostly set in the present day or near future, then sooner or later you'll end up facing the problem of event-induced obsolescence. William Gibson turned to writing fiction set in the recent past rather than the near future. I completely understand why.

To give a mundane personal example: a few years ago I realised that three of my unpublished stories contained descriptions of characters smoking in pubs, clubs and concert venues, something which was banned In the UK in 2007. So, I made some swift edits and sent them out again. One of those stories recently sold.

Even worse than that, sometimes I use real people in my stories. Believe me, that's a tactic fraught with danger. I don't recommend it, even though I continue to do it. Sigh.

Today, another of my fictional futures went away, thanks to an untimely (if much anticipated) death. Published last year in the Music for Another World anthology. Star in a Glass features a drug-raddled female vocalist, name of Diva, who was explicitly modelled on Amy Winehouse. I even gave a nod to "Dame Amy" towards the end of the story. I rather liked the idea, however improbable, that eventually she would clean up her act and become not just a member of the rock establishment, but a member of the British aristocracy. Wasn't to be. No surprise there, sadly. But I wasn't trying to predict the future, just having fun with it.

I'm no fan of Amy Winehouse's music, and like many eventually became bored reading about her antics, but I'm still sad that she died so young.

RIP

Current Mood: sad

My most recent effort, which I freely admit was prompted by finding this cover in the AnthologyBuilder picture library. More evidence of the genius that is Frank Wu, if you ask me.

Nancy Fulda, proprietor of AnthologyBuilder must have liked the line-up I put together, because she made this book her Anthology of the Week shortly after I created it.

Best story? Impossible to say, but if Liz Holliday's 'All of Me' doesn't make you cry then I don't know what will.

Available for the discounted price of $13.95 plus p&p from: anthologybuilder.com/view_template.php

Current Mood: accomplished

A while back someone told me that green book covers don't sell. Please prove them wrong. This one, by Jeliza Patterson, is a beauty, which perfectly matches the anthology's theme of all things green and growing.

My favourite story in this set is the richly imaginative and very moving When Thorns are the Tips of Trees, by Jason Sanford, which was originally published in Interzone.

If you're interested in purchasing this book, it's available for the discounted price of $13.95 plus p&p from: anthologybuilder.com/view_template.php.

This anthology doesn't only contain stories about climbing mountains, although you'll find splendid examples of that particular sub-genre here, including one of mine; but there also stories that happen to be set in upland locales, or on a high-altitude balloon, or on a space elevator.... Anywhere, in fact, that's "on high".

If I had to recommend just one story in this anthology it would be Matthew S. Rotundo's Ascension, which is giddy-making in all the right ways. It's a fabulous piece of work. There are also very fine stories by M. K. Hobson and Jaine Fenn, amongst others.

If you'd like to purchase this anthology, it is available at anthologybuilder.com/view_template.php for $14.95 plus p&p.

If you've ever fancied a great big dollop of virtual reality, cyberpunk and rogue AIs, then this is the anthology for you. It's full of great stories, it's printed on paper and it definitely doesn't reboot. In other words, you'll have a lot more fun reading it than continuing to do battle with your recalcitrant PC.

Favourite stories? Well, there's not one but two terrific Eugie Foster cyber-tales, also thought-provoking stories by M K Hobson and Cat Rambo. Plus there's the wonderfully madcap Ack-Ack Macaque by Gareth L Powell, which I've anthologised before and will doubtless anthologise again, it's that good.

If you'd like to purchase a copy of this anthology, which contains 15 stories, it's available here for $14.95 plus P&P.

I've received an acceptance for a short story from Midnight Street, a British PDF 'zine.

Very pleased about this even though there's no pay involved. I've always admired this particular small press magazine, which keeps going against the odds by publishing quality fiction in a wide range of genres. The editor, Trevor Denyer, said of Hand in Glove: "I found the story clever and engaging with a distinctive style of writing that drew pathos from the circumstances of Arthur Lamb. Very good indeed." Which made my day, needless to say.

:-)

Current Mood: happy

I've subscribed to Interzone since Issue 1, which was published way back in 1982. Since then, it has retained its status as one of the best SF magazines published anywhere. Seeing one of my stories appear in it, in 2003, was a career high for me.

I assembled Planet Interzone as a way of a thanking David Pringle, who published and edited the magazine for most of its long history, also Andy Cox and co (of TTA Press fame) who have done a brilliant job since taking over in 2004. The anthology contains some wonderful stories, with particular favourites by David Langford, Nicola Griffith, Gareth L Powell and David Redd, but my biggest thrill was to be able to include the undeservedly obscure (and frankly wonderful) The Finn by Sue Thomason.

If you'd like to purchase a copy of this anthology, which contains 17 stories, it's available here for $14.95 plus P&P.

Two years ago, I compiled Kill Your Darlings in honour of my dear friend Jaine's successful ascent to pro-dom, as signified by the publication of her first novel (Principles of Angels) by Gollancz. Since then more books have appeared. A successful career is well under way. Long may it continue.

As well as including four of Jaine's excellent stories, I took the opportunity to interleave four stories by other members of the One Step Beyond writers' group, of which Jaine was (and remains) a founder member. These include works by

lizholliday, Mike Lewis, Heather Lindsley and, um, me. Terrific writers the lot of them. Well, all except one of them ;-)

Anyone who has read much of Jaine's fiction will understand why I chose that title. M. K. Hobson's wonderful illustration matches it perfectly.

If you'd like to purchase a copy of this anthology, it's available here for $14.95 plus P&P.

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Vaughan's Other Place

Against the day that LJ...

Recent Entries

Postscripts 26/27: Unfit for Eden

March of the Robots

That end of year summation post was a little premature...

Story live at Contatenations

Rarer than rocking horse poop

Pleasing review

Hand in Glove - Published in Midnight Street

(Sings) "I'm in the money..."

End of an Aeon (redux)

End of an Aeon (electronic)

Write stuff

Hey ho, here we go

Never a dame

My Anthologies (#8 of 8): Loving the Alien

My Anthologies (#7 of 8): Green Fingers

My Anthologies (#6 of 8): On High - Tales from halfway up the sky

My Anthologies (#5 of 8): The Blue Screen of Death & Other Stories

An acceptance!

My Anthologies (#4 of 8): Planet Interzone

My Anthologies (#3 of 8): Kill Your Darlings: A Jaine Fenn Sampler