Vegan Science Fiction, You Say?

I swear every time I look through my weekly email of potential short story markets, something truly different and not even remotely in my wheelhouse shows up. Last time it was an anthology based around subverting gender norms via the lifestyle of Furries and, while this one isn't quite as remarkable as that, it's still pretty damn different!

Metamorphosis Books is looking for Vegan science fiction. But not just Vegan sci-fi. The Best Vegan sci-fi of the year! And as any published author will tell you, "Best of" usually indicates reprinted fiction from the previous year. That means an entire collection of previously published Vegan Scifi. Now don't feel too bad if you're confused. You're not alone. Fear not, however, for this non-Vegan, unqualified individual who literally just learned about this a few minutes prior to writing this post is here to guide you through the maze.

Below is the most comprehensive example of what Metamorphosis is looking for:

What ‘vegan’ means here:

• We’re looking for stories happen to be vegan – no meat, no hunting, no horse-riding, no leather.
• Stories don’t have to be about veganism (though we don’t mind that).
• Still not sure? Here’s one definition of veganism: https://www.vegansociety.com/try-vegan/definition-veganism

Get it now? Yeah, me neither. If the stories aren't necessarily focused on Veganism, how exactly are they Vegan. If I submit a story to a Christian publication that isn't really about Christianity literally or metaphorically and is, in fact, a basic morality tale, does it still meet the criteria? I would venture to guess it depends on how fundamentalist the Christians in question are. Less rigid thinking adherents would argue that God can be found in any worldly take if one takes off the blinders. Can this also be true with Veganism?

Make no mistake: Veganism has its religious and, let's face it, cult-like aspects. Vegans often feel the need to criticize non-Vegans for their obscene eating and hunting practices and to proselytize for the faith. They even sometimes resort to the use of pseudo-science to make their points in admittedly more sophisticated ways than their Evangelical brethren.

Still, this post isn't for insulting Vegans. I admire anyone who can dedicate themselves to avoiding harming animals. And while I find Veganism a tad extreme, I have often flirted with Vegetarianism from time to time. My main point here is my confusion over how one can write and/or publish Vegan Science Fiction that doesn't have to mention, include or focus on Veganism? How does that work? Is the example I provided above insufficient? If so, allow me try another:

I have decided to once again self-publish an anthology of apocalyptic science fiction. But don't concern yourself with that first word to the point of stymying your writing! It doesn't actually have to concern the end of the world! Just don't include elements of a world not descending into apocalypse.

So, maybe that's the key. Avoid using concepts and elements Vegans find objectionable and you, my friend, have a potential Vegan Science Fiction story. Talk about high-concept.

Two Reviews/One Announcement.

I'll get to my "big announcement" in a moment but let's start with the reviews I ran across. The first is of the 2011 anthology "Legends, Denim & Silver" which featured my stark monster hunter story "Finally, the Source." This is still my favorite review of anything I've had published mainly because the reviewer really gets me, man! The response was exactly what I was going for, which is a rare thing indeed:

 

Finally, The Source barely edges out the tales as my favorite in The Monster Hunters section, if only for its fantastic 'oh shit, did you just go there?!' ending. Wilson, a monster hunter, is recruited by the Nightmare Guild — his arch enemies if there ever were any — to take out the cause of all strife; for both monster and humans alike. After his eyes are opened to the trouble this new target has caused, he reluctantly takes on the task. While I suspected the ending before it came, I have to admit that it was still surprising that author Christopher Nadeau carried through with it. Sure it can be argued that his ending is open ended, but not so much that, yeah, that just happened.

Read the entire anthology review here.

The other review doesn't mention me or my story but it is by the prestigious Publisher's weekly of the anthology pictured below:

  

 

 

You can read that review here.

 

You may be wondering why I ran across these reviews, or maybe you're thinking, "This MF's ego is off the charts! He's just randomly Googling reviews of his older work and then posting about it. How sad. What a tiny, pathetic man." Any other time you'd be right but this time I am doing it for a good reason. This is where the announcement portion of our program comes into play.

 

*Cue the trumpets*

 

I have finally decided to compile a short story collection comprised of previously published works, work that was published but is no longer available, and previously unpublished work.  I even know which publisher I would like to send it to. So, shot in the dark, I know, but if there are any stories of mine you've read and feel deserve inclusion, feel free to let me know. I've already created a list but it's not written in stone.

 

Staving off the Rejection Blues

This first half of 2019 is turning into rejection season for me. I normally have better luck in the Fall and Winter but I'd be lying if I told you it doesn't still get to me. However, I refuse to let it get me down, so I have decided to post a link to a post of mine from 2008. It's one of my favorites and it, I hope, puts situations such as these in their proper perspective.

Read the post here.

Reading it helped me remember where I started out and where I am now. Perhaps it will help others with their own struggles with self-doubt and uncertainty...

When Writing Hurts.

Two days ago, I finally located the flashdrive that had so much of my work on it, both finished and in-progress. I wasn't too worried about finding it. I knew it was safely put away in my house and I had gone through a rather impressive creative spurt these past few months that kept my submission rotation going strong.

While revisiting some of the stories on the drive, I located one that I thought had been published before. However, when I asked Google, the only result was a post by yours truly discussing the odd rejection letter it received from an editor. That post was written nine years ago and can be read here. (For the record, it is no longer the oddest rejection letter I've received) Since this was the only thing I could find associating that title with my name, I had no choice but to conclude that it had never been published. There's probably a good reason for that.

This story, possibly more than any other I've written, is so uncomfortably personal, so intense and unflinchingly honest about its subject matter, namely the complete loss of sanity from rejected love and the depths to which one can sink, that I'm surprised I finished it without winding up in a fetal ball in a puddle of my own drool.

Yes, it's that intense.

The amount of pain and anger that went into that story makes me uncomfortable, so I can only imagine how the editor felt!

But a writer shouldn't shy away from baring his or her soul. Ever. If you ever doubt that I fully embrace that philosophy, you should probably pledge at least a dollar to my Patreon page and see for yourself.  The third and latest post in particular will tell you everything you need to know.

I feel this decade-old story deserves to be published, but I also know it's a difficult sell because of its subject matter and execution. So, I'm going to send it out once or twice and see what happens. If no one bites, it will wind up on the Patreon page and, somewhere down the line, in a short story collection.

When writing hurts, share it with others so they can experience it, too. Not to be sadistic, but shared human experience shouldn't stop at fuzzy self-help moments. Unless you're open as a reader to all that life offers, you are cutting yourself off from truth and that, my friends, is when things will really start to hurt~

Latest Short Story Released!

I'll be honest. I  received a rather painful rejection this time. Not because I worked "really, really hard" on the story, although I did, but because it was one of the stories I had that feeling about. I think most writers who have had their work published more than a few times develop it. Some stories just feel like they will be accepted by the editor. The last time I felt that feeling, it was after I finished editing, "Your Future for a Low, Low Price," which was recently published in this anthology. The time before that was once I'd completed, "The Last Big Gamble" for this one. Both times I just knew this was what the publisher was looking for, and I was right.

Sadly, that feeling isn't 100% effective. Sometimes I'm wrong. In this particular instance, the editor "thoroughly enjoyed reading" it but not enough to include it in the anthology. I must admit, it hurt a little. It isn't as if I wasn't prepared for the possibility, but I felt really good about this one. I still do. I hope to find it a home soon. That brings me to the celebratory portion of this post.

The story appearing in the just-released print issue of the Horror Zine was originally written for an anthology that chose not to publish my story. When that happens, I usually wait 24 hours before resubmitting my work to someone else. One day to lament, that's it. Since the one that was just rejected is so specific to the theme the rejecting anthology wanted, it might take a little longer, but that rule has served me well.

The proof can be found here.

Check out the Horror Zine Magazine Cover!

Horror Zine Publisher and Editor Jeani Rector decided the previous cover she was going to use was "too intense" and went with the one pictured below:

I love it but I can't stop chuckling. Only in the realm of horror fiction would this cover not be considered too intense!


The Spring 2019 issue will feature my new short story, "The Time of Expansion," an odd one even coming from me. It really shows how influential Lovecraft was on the field; no matter how much of  a bastard he was in real life or how purple was his prose, the man's flawed brilliance bleeds over into modern work even when the author isn't consciously channeling him. Maybe I was channeling him, considering how ineffectual and uptight the protagonist is. He's a perfect symbol of Lovecraft's obsession with the English gentleman cliche.

It will be out soon!

Quick Rumor Mill Update:

A short story I recently had accepted that I assumed was only going to be published online just might be appearing in a physical publication as well! More on this once I've received confirmation.

Meanwhile, here's a free online story of mine for you!
(Feel free to leave a comment)

Things People Say to Writers

I have heard numbers 4, 6, 7, 8, and 10. I guess that means I've been fortunate.

AND JUST LIKE THAT, THE BAD LUCK STREAK ENDED!

Regular readers of this blog know what the title is referring to, but for those who don't, permit me a brief recap. Basically, I've been receiving more rejections than a Trump staffer in Washington, D.C. looking for a date. That wasn't a slam, by the way. It's a documented fact.

I realized early in February of this year that part of the reason for the high number of rejections was based on when the stories had been submitted. Most of them were sent to their prospective anthologies in the closing few months of 2018, so naturally the editors would want to clean their slate as early in the New Year as possible. Unfortunately, the decisions they made did not swing in my favor.

It wasn't as if I had nothing being published this year, but the rapidity with which I received the rejections felt like a bombardment. Today, that all came to a screeching halt thanks to The Horror Zine editor Jeani Rector. I have published stories with her before. Two were published and can still be read on the website here and here, and in two published volumes here and here.

Describing my story as "creepy and odd," she found it a good fit for her online, award-winning zine.
More on that as it materializes.

Good news for you cheapskates out there...it will be free to read!

A Different Kind of Published Piece

The beginning of 2019 has not been a stellar one for me in the short story acceptance arena. As the stories I submitted toward the end of last year have started getting read, they have not wound up finding a home at their intended anthologies. It's been a tad disheartening, especially considering the relatively good year I had in 2018. Fiction is my main focus as a writer but it's not all that I write. It's been a while since I had any non-fiction published, but that changed recently with the impending release of a collection that means a great deal to me.

The above pictured collection features something that means as much to me as any speculative fiction anthology. XTC has long been my favorite band and it's an honor to be included in a book by Mark Fisher with, among other things, recollections from the members as well as fan remembrances. To know that my name will now be forever linked with XTC...well, I have no words. Most likely you've never heard of them and while they're not for everybody, their influence can be felt everywhere.

You can preorder the book here.

Pre-Order your copy of "Deadly Bargain" NOW!!!

The  Kindle edition of "Deadly Bargain: A Colors in Darkness Anthology" is now available on Amazon for pre-order. The rule for this one was simple, so of course I almost didn't do it correctly. Basically, the stories needed to involve a bargain struck with a stranger that turns out badly for the protagonist. In other words, just enough detail but not so much that the act of creation becomes an act of constriction.

However, it wasn't until I was three-quarters of the way finished that I realized I'd missed one final detail: The bargain supplier had to be the same guy in every story. Normally that wouldn't be a problem if not for that fact that my contrary ass (apparently even on an unconscious level) had created a character who could not have been more opposite in appearance and national origin.

In a flash of inspiration (or desperation, if you prefer) I came up with a solution to what turned out to be a tiny problem. The point being made about hatred of the other carried even more weight now and, because I despise preachy fiction, I chose not to dwell on it for longer than a few sentences. What resulted was a story I consider one of the better ones I've written in the past year, my so-called "comeback" period.

Click here to learn more!

"Fairy Hunters" is Still Available to Read for Free!

At the start of what I now consider my dry-spell, I wrote a short story based on the image of a sign that said "Fairy Crossing." I wasn't sure if the publisher would use what I came up with but I liked it enough to confidently send it to them. They, in turn, liked it enough to pay me for it and artist John Skewes sent me a copy of the cover image via traditional mail (Below).

Published on the Trigger Warning website in 2016, the story can still be read for free if you click here.

Feel free to write your thoughts in the comments section even, actually especially, if you hated it!

Apparently I'm Available for Bookings!

Like all naughty authors, I sometimes Google myself when nobody is looking. Or maybe I hope someone is looking because I'm such a naughty author. Either way, through the sinful act of self-Googleation, I happened upon this website advertising an opportunity to book me for an event of some sort (the imagination wanders aimlessly) and even provides contact info. I checked them out and they seem legitimate.

I was rather reluctant to allow this to go any further, then I got a look at this picture of what I assume is the staff:

It's cool. Book away.

#naughtyauthor

10 of the Oddest Story Rejection Reasons I've Ever Received. (Updated with a correction)

This is a post I've been contemplating writing for a few years now and I feel I've finally reached a point where I can do it the right way, namely without employing unwarranted insults or naming names. The younger, less confident me might have indulged in both just out of spite but I've reached the conclusion that people be different than one another and no amount of pointing out how ridiculous you find their points of view will change a thing about most of them.

Whenever an editor takes the time to provide personal feedback, it's a good thing. It's also rare. Most rejections consist of "Sadly it wasn't for us," which is not at all helpful. But when someone is taking in hundreds of submissions per month, it's understandable. And I have received some very helpful feedback in the form of rejection letters. These are not the helpful ones.

However, at the risk of incurring undue wrath or burning bridges, I'm going to keep my reasons general without mentioning the particular stories (several of which wound up published elsewhere) or their precise themes. Keep in mind these are in no particular order and they are mostly paraphrased:

• "Your story about revenge from beyond the grave is too angry for my anthology about revenge from beyond the grave."
• "We didn't believe your character could be so desirable to so many employers because she is a customer service rep so the story didn't work for us."
• "Your story about the Old West has a truck in it because it goes back and forth between past and present so it's not really about the Old West even though 80% of the story takes place there."
• "There's too much showing and, presumably, not enough telling in your story."
•  "This story might offend people who like to read because it presents a book store in a negative light."
• "I misinterpreted your homage as fan fiction which we don't publish."
• "Your realistic horror story was too dark and disturbing and might make readers uncomfortable."
• "Readers can't be expected to go back and forth in a short story despite the literal volumes of stories published that make them do exactly that."
• "All the editors LOVED LOVED LOVED this story, so of course we don't be publishing it."
• "The voice of the narrator is well done and fits the eerie setting perfectly.  The suspense carried me along, and your writing is exceptional and even though those would be reason enough, I am one of those people who judges every story by whether or not it has an ending that floors me so it's a no from me."

Every single reason listed above is genuine. I did not pull a fiction writer and fabricate any of them. With time, most of them wound up being funny to me and as with any field, some are indicative of a general incompetence on the part of those doing the evaluating. If you're an aspiring writer reading this post and feeling in any way discouraged, perhaps this next part will make you feel better: Each of the reasons listed above pertains to a different story, meaning there were ten stories. Eight of those stories were published elsewhere. It takes persistence and faith in one's self to take these types of things in stride and keep submitting. Then you too will one day have ridiculous stories to tell~

Correction: The editor who sent me "There's too much showing and, presumably, not enough telling in your story" as a reason replied to my email apologizing for what turned out to be a typo. So, thank God at least that one was an error.)