Time to Wrap Up - 2013

It's been a good, good year for me. A lot of things happened. Three of my stories are already out there (The Storyteller's Jig, Octopus Rules, and Billy McGuire's Faerie) and more are to come - 2013 was the year I signed my book contract with Constable & Robinson. Eren will hit stores next year, and there is a lot to do before then. (My editor, Sarah, is an amazing person and I stand in awe of the entire C&R team).

In many ways this has been the year I really understood what Twitter was for. Instead of saying things, I listened, took in links, asked questions, and made friendships. Earlier in the year Writers' & Artists' Yearbook asked me to do a series of posts about writing, which was daunting and inspiring in about equal measure. I co-founded We Are One Four, which has really yet to come into its own. Just you wait till 2014, though...

I started 2013 in Wales, in a small village where the pub didn't have Wi-Fi because someone had stolen the password. You can't make this stuff up, but you can cherish those memories forever. We lit fireworks looking down over a damp Welsh valley (my wife, from New Jersey, had never lit one before, and was very brave). Since then I've been to Canada for the first time, been skydiving in Pennsylvania, had a mad one day adventure in Virginia, and read a lot of books.

These flags are cool. Check out the artist - Tonemapped

I saw Neil Gaiman twice (I met him once) and Tweeted a few times with David Almond (a highlight every time it happens).

And so, yes, a good year. 2014 will bring its own highs and lows (a trip to England to see my sister get married, Eren's publication day, and who knows what else).

Books and stories are playing an increasingly large part of my life, and for that I'm eternally thankful.

My To-Be-Read pile still looms dangerously large.

Happy Christmas and New Year, everyone. 

SPC

If you want to follow me on Twitter, I'm @sipclark

To add Eren on Goodresds, click HERE

Stories, stories everywhere

Lots of thoughts and lots of writing to be done, but it's been a busy week (because of parties, which is the best way to be busy). 2014 is creeping nearer and things are starting to become a lot more real than before. Over on WeAreOneFour you can see more cover reveals happening as good books from good writers slowly take shape. It's a special magic to see words become something physical

Stone Crowns Magazine, who just published my short story 'Billy McGuire's Faerie' in their second issue, have now released ePub and mobi versions that you can find here: http://www.stonecrowns.com/portfolio/issue-6-3/ They whole thing's still free to download. Full contents is:

THERE’S SOMETHING, SORT OF, DEFINITELY WRONG WITH MARVIN – a story by Heather Rigney
HOB GOBLIN – a poem by Holly Racyhelle Hughes
Spikier Spongier – a poem by Veronica Hosking
Billy McGuire’s Faerie – a story by Simon P. Clark
Robbie the Robot – a poem by Kelsey Lessard
Billy Small – a story by Danielle Davis
a better life – a poem by Lafayette Wattles
How they’re noisy, how they’re swinging, how the zoo is a wild place – a poem by Layfayette Wattles
ORINA’S GIFT – a story by Geraldine Ann Marshal

It's well worth checking out - seeing these guys put so much into the magazine (which is all YA and kids lit) and then offering it up for free is pretty inspiring. Go! Read! Share!

Currently reading: Nesting by David Almond. And lo, it is good.

Books, Neil Gaiman, Birthday, Thanksgiving, Life

I've been ignoring the blog, I know. Sometimes it seems silly - sharing things that aren't important with people who aren't interested - but it's a good place to organize thoughts and keep track, if only for myself.

It's been a busy few weeks. I've been copyediting Eren for the last few days - one of the last stages of the editing process, but one that requires close reading and answering awkward questions from very perceptive critics (questions like 'Are daisies always white? Can notes be 'misty'? Do English kids say 'dude'?). I've called editing the 'grunt work' of being an author, and it's true. Still, that's done now, and Eren takes another baby step closer to being a Book.

It was my 28th birthday last week (contrary to reports by The Bookseller and C&R, who have both prematurely called me 28 for unknown bookworld reasons). My wife got us tickets to see An Evening with Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer in NYC, which was amazing and beautiful and surprising and fun. Neil read poems, short stories, and part of his new Dr Who story, and also sang, which seemed to scare him a bit. Amanda Palmer's skill on the piano continues to amaze me. A fantastic evening with great people.

I also (of course) got many new and exciting books, the highlight so far being David Almond's new collection of stories, Nesting. Can't wait to jump in and hear his familiar voice weaving its magic.

Then there was Thanksgiving (I gave Thanks, among other things, for my publisher) and my sister visiting and normal life to keep going - but it's calmed down now, and I'm going to try to be better on here. And also, you know, to write more stories.

New Book is taking shape. Right now it's daunting, like looking up a mountain and thinking how impossible it is to ever get to the top, even though I know I've done it before. Still, things will happen.

Also, go and see Kat Ellis' new cover for her debut Blackfin Sky. It is beautiful.