A Ring, a Ring o' Roses is an alternative-world, steampunkish sort of story I wrote a couple of years back that I've been submitting to markets ever since. It's one of my favourite little tales; even if I do say so myself, it has a pretty neat central idea. I was pretty confident it would do well, but then it racked up nine rejections and I began to have doubts. This was the story that a certain well-respected SF magazine (OK, Analog) said "is not science fiction".
Well, I'm thrilled to report that the story officially is science fiction as it's been bought by Stupefying Stories. If Bruce Bethke says the story is SF that's good enough for me!
This is my third sale to this particular magazine, following on from The Cat's Tale and Your Call May Be Recorded For Training Purposes.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
This month the Spec Fic Authors Collective have a haunted house story by Jeff Chapman, a Coyote Cal weird western by Milo James Fowler, the fifth and final novelette in my cyberpunk Genehunter stories, and five fun and frivolous flash fictions from Lyn Perry - all free for a few days.
If you download a story, please consider leaving a review. Ratings and reviews are an invaluable way for writers to build an audience. Plus they make us feel loved.
The Black Ace
A Coyote Cal Weird Western
Coyote Cal and Big Yap have met their share of villains in the past, but this time around, the line dividing good from evil isn't as clearly drawn at first, and our heroes find themselves pitted against an entire town in order for justice to prevail.
Episode 4 in the Coyote Cal Adventure Series
5,900 words - Weird Western
Originally published by eFiction Horror
Free April 25 - 29

~*~
Simms finally uncovers the truth about Boneyard. With Ballard's help, he hatches a dangerous plan to deal with Forty Days. Problem is, Simms isn’t sure whose side he’s even on. Meanwhile, he meets up again with both Devi and Kelly. One meeting goes well and one goes very badly indeed.
Simms walks a dangerous line. If he gets things wrong, many people will die. Worse still, he will die. And sometimes it seems that’s exactly what everyone wants...
Free to download from Amazon, April 25th - April 29th.
Spellmaking
Warning: contains fantasy violence, mild peril and the use of language
Engn - Anyone For a Cover Reveal?
Friday, 10 May 2013
So, I'll very soon be able to show you all the cover December House have produced for Engn. Seriously, it's fantastic; I can't tell you how much I love it. Imagine I'm holding my arms out wide. I love it that much.
To mark the occasion, we're going to be coordinating a cover reveal prior to the book's launch in July. And I'm looking for folks to take part - anyone like to join in to help spread the word? Not sure when the reveal will be, yet, but sometime fairly soon.
Excitement is mounting here at Spellmaking Towers...
To mark the occasion, we're going to be coordinating a cover reveal prior to the book's launch in July. And I'm looking for folks to take part - anyone like to join in to help spread the word? Not sure when the reveal will be, yet, but sometime fairly soon.
Excitement is mounting here at Spellmaking Towers...
Time To Get The Engn Running...
Wednesday, 8 May 2013
As I may have mentioned, December House plan to publish Engn this July. Exciting times for me. On Friday we're having a meeting (in the suitably literate setting of Stratford-upon-Avon, where they are based) to discuss plans, promotional activity and so forth. Hopefully soon after I'll be able to share the cover with you all, because I can't tell you how much I love it.
With publication date approaching, right now it all feels a little like the calm before the storm. It's all going to be fine, isn't it?
With publication date approaching, right now it all feels a little like the calm before the storm. It's all going to be fine, isn't it?
Cover Reveal: The Spirit of Nimue
Friday, 3 May 2013
Today I'm delighted to be involved in the cover reveal for Donna Hosie's The Spirit of Nimue. Here it is in all its glory:
THE RETURN TO CAMELOT trilogy concludes in THE SPIRIT OF NIMUE.
Natasha Roth and her older brother, Arthur, have removed the magical darkness that had fallen over the land of Logres.
But all actions have consequences.
Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, is now a sworn enemy. Natasha realises that the only way the land of Logres will truly be at peace is if the sorceress is removed forever. So with her beloved Sir Bedivere, the feisty Guinevere, and a trusty brethren of knights, Natasha plots to free Logres from the malevolence of Nimue once and for all.
Yet Arthur also has problems. Now a father to Mila, he starts to witness a terrifying change over his girlfriend, Samantha, as she struggles to contain the awakened powers of Morgana.
With dark magic coming at them from all sides, Natasha and Arthur decide to make use of the Falls of Merlin: a mystical landscape of waterfalls that connects 21st century England with the mystical world they fell into. A place that does not exist in the future.
And by the end, they will know why.
As Natasha finally discovers the truth about her past link to Logres a tragedy will strike at her very heart. Can Arthur get his young family back to the 21st century and still continue to be the king that Logres demands he be? What is the secret that Sir Gareth has been hiding all this time?
And who is the true owner of Excalibur?
THE SPIRIT OF NIMUE is released on Amazon on the 31 May 2013. It's the final book in THE RETURN TO CAMELOT trilogy.
Goodreads Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk
The three of them look pretty fabulous lined up together do they not?
THE RETURN TO CAMELOT trilogy concludes in THE SPIRIT OF NIMUE.
Natasha Roth and her older brother, Arthur, have removed the magical darkness that had fallen over the land of Logres.
But all actions have consequences.
Nimue, the Lady of the Lake, is now a sworn enemy. Natasha realises that the only way the land of Logres will truly be at peace is if the sorceress is removed forever. So with her beloved Sir Bedivere, the feisty Guinevere, and a trusty brethren of knights, Natasha plots to free Logres from the malevolence of Nimue once and for all.
Yet Arthur also has problems. Now a father to Mila, he starts to witness a terrifying change over his girlfriend, Samantha, as she struggles to contain the awakened powers of Morgana.
With dark magic coming at them from all sides, Natasha and Arthur decide to make use of the Falls of Merlin: a mystical landscape of waterfalls that connects 21st century England with the mystical world they fell into. A place that does not exist in the future.
And by the end, they will know why.
As Natasha finally discovers the truth about her past link to Logres a tragedy will strike at her very heart. Can Arthur get his young family back to the 21st century and still continue to be the king that Logres demands he be? What is the secret that Sir Gareth has been hiding all this time?
And who is the true owner of Excalibur?
THE SPIRIT OF NIMUE is released on Amazon on the 31 May 2013. It's the final book in THE RETURN TO CAMELOT trilogy.
Goodreads Amazon.com Amazon.co.uk
The three of them look pretty fabulous lined up together do they not?
The Genehunter Novel Released
Wednesday, 1 May 2013
So I've collected together the five Genehunter novelettes into a single-volume 60K word novel called, amazingly enough, The Genehunter. Right now it's available on amazon.com and amazon.co.uk, but other formats will be available in a month or so.
For a short time, if anyone wants a free review copy please let me know in the comments and I'd be delighted to send you one...
The five Genehunter cases collected together into a single novel, with bonus material: The Wrong Tom Jacks, The Zombies of Death, The Clone who Didn't Know, A Soldier of Megiddo and Boneyard.
Simms is a genehunter, paid by megarich collectors to track down the DNA of the famous for their private zoos.
He walks a line, pulled in ten different directions at once. The law, ex-lovers, religious nuts and anti-genehunter crazies. But when he starts to work the Boneyard case he discovers that, sometimes, you have to decide which side of the line you're on...
A future noir cyberpunk novel set on an Earth slowly going to hell. The Genehunter follows the adventures of Simms, genetic detective and all-round nice guy.
For a short time, if anyone wants a free review copy please let me know in the comments and I'd be delighted to send you one...
Hedge Witch: Read The First Chapter Free
Tuesday, 30 April 2013
So, as the culmination of Witch Awareness Month, Morrigan Books have released (on Beltane/Walpurgis Night no less) the first chapter of Hedge Witch. It's available as an exclusive free read here. And I can finally reveal the release date. The full novel will be available in exactly six months time, on Hallowe'en, 2013.
Enjoy...
Enjoy...
April's Spec Fic Authors Collective Giveaways
Thursday, 25 April 2013
This month the Spec Fic Authors Collective have a haunted house story by Jeff Chapman, a Coyote Cal weird western by Milo James Fowler, the fifth and final novelette in my cyberpunk Genehunter stories, and five fun and frivolous flash fictions from Lyn Perry - all free for a few days.
If you download a story, please consider leaving a review. Ratings and reviews are an invaluable way for writers to build an audience. Plus they make us feel loved.
The Crooked House of Coins
In a small Midwestern town at the end of a lane stands a crooked house, where deaths and secrets entwine and ghosts revisit their final moments. Two cousins, heirs to the family legacy, search for a treasure secreted in the old dwelling's walls, driven by gold lust and tantalizing clues. The Crooked House is a grudging giver, and some secrets in a haunted house are best left alone.
A Haunted House Story
Free from Smashwords with coupon April 25 - 29
~*~
The Black Ace A Coyote Cal Weird Western
Coyote Cal and Big Yap have met their share of villains in the past, but this time around, the line dividing good from evil isn't as clearly drawn at first, and our heroes find themselves pitted against an entire town in order for justice to prevail.
Episode 4 in the Coyote Cal Adventure Series
5,900 words - Weird Western
Originally published by eFiction Horror
Free April 25 - 29

The Genehunter #5
Boneyard
Simms finally uncovers the truth about Boneyard. With Ballard's help, he hatches a dangerous plan to deal with Forty Days. Problem is, Simms isn’t sure whose side he’s even on. Meanwhile, he meets up again with both Devi and Kelly. One meeting goes well and one goes very badly indeed.
Simms walks a dangerous line. If he gets things wrong, many people will die. Worse still, he will die. And sometimes it seems that’s exactly what everyone wants...
Free to download from Amazon, April 25th - April 29th.
~*~
Five Free Flash Fictions
Choose any or all of the following for free!
No time limit! But hurry anyway!
Click here for all selections.
Quick Gasps of Breath - 5 Microhorrors
Space Monkey Pirates - 3 Flash Fictions
Billy Farnsworth Zombie Hunter - 2 Quick Tales
Spam Fiction - A Flash about Spam (email, that is)
Even Superheroes! - A Fun-filled Fan Fiction
Greetings
-
Simon Kewin - Writer of fantasy, SF and some stories that can't make their mind up.
Codex member and co-founder of Write1Sub1. Signed to December House and Morrigan Books.
Books
Engn to be published by December House in July 2013 |
Hedge Witch to be published by Morrigan Books on Hallowe'en 2013. |
The Genehunter amazon.com amazon.co.uk |
The Wrong Tom Jacks |
The Zombies of Death |
The Clone Who Didn't Know |
A Soldier Of Megiddo |
Boneyard |
Spell Circles Collected Stories of the Weird and Wonderful, 1999 - 2011 amazon.com amazon.co.uk |
Eccentric Orbits Collected Stories of Starships and Spacedust, 1999 - 2011 amazon.com amazon.co.uk |
Life Cycles Collected Stories of Life, Death and Other Stuff, 1999 - 2011 amazon.com amazon.co.uk |
Perfect Circles Spell Circles + Eccentric Orbits + Life Cycles amazon.com amazon.co.uk |
The Armageddon Machine
|
Guitar Heroes
|
Live from the Continuing Explosion
|
MuseumBeetles |
Seek Alternative Route
|
Followers
The Publishometer
The publication count currently stands at 240:
Full list of writing credits
| 1 | novel |
| 4 | short story collections |
| 12 | novellas |
| 48 | short stories |
| 29 | flash stories |
| 78 | micro stories |
| 63 | poems |
| 5 | audiobooks/podcasts |
Popular Posts
- Write1Sub1 Launch Post
- Please Prove You're Not A Robot
- Open University MA in Creative Writing Shelved
- Twitter Fiction and Poetry Markets
- Anthology Update - Artwork Comments?
- The Genius Computer Hacker: How Good Does Research Have To Be?
- Amazon Hacking - Adding HTML To Your Author Central Descriptions
- The Blogging From A to Z April Challenge: O is for Ophidian
- More Hedge Witch Comments
- An Interview With Maureen Scott of Ether Books
Recently, On Twitter ...
Search Spellmaking
Loading...






















