tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-123589302012-01-29T18:29:27.476+08:00Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.comBlogger3821100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-59764461900327862482012-01-29T18:29:00.000+08:002012-01-29T18:29:27.485+08:00

Free, for lack of a better word, is good. Free is right. Free works. Free clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. -Anti-Gordon Gekko So Mike, you say. It's nice and all that people are downloading your stuff. But how do downloads of free stuff compare to real, actual for-sale books? Let me put it this way: In the fantasy category on iTunes (which includes

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-70200085807916133242012-01-29T12:55:00.000+08:002012-01-29T12:55:50.468+08:00

Right now there is a gold rush going on in terms of digital content. A lot of writers who have no business letting their work see the light of day are publishing willy-nilly, hoping to cash in. This does not dismay me: far from it. Those readers who have read terrible self-published hack-work have a greater appreciation for self-published work of a professional standard. I try very hard to only

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-44814720535884717742012-01-28T18:52:00.001+08:002012-01-28T19:08:07.697+08:00

Have you noticed how nobody - and I mean nobody - talks about Borders bookstores anymore? Have you noticed how little press Barnes & Noble has got about their plans to sell off their Nook business? It's freaking eerie. Here's how the fiction food chain used to flow: Writers wrote 'x' and tried like hell to get an agent. Agents tried like hell to get an editor to look at 'x'. Editors who like 'x'

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-91428042215230447782012-01-28T10:41:00.002+08:002012-01-28T11:48:54.673+08:00

So 'Waste Land' has been live on iTunes for roughly a day, in the free science fiction short stories category. As of right this minute, it is: #7 in Canada #7 in the UK #10 in the US #23 in Australia Them's the numbers. Now for the thoughts: There's an old Russian fairy tale called 'The Three Ivans'. In it, the main hero, Ivan Gardener's Son, fights three ogres, each more powerful and hideous

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-58409180291727757152012-01-26T20:23:00.000+08:002012-01-26T20:23:26.550+08:00

On iTunes, in the free epic fantasy category: #1 in the US #1 in Canada #1 in Romania #2 in Australia #2 in Luxembourg #3 in the UK #3 in Greece #3 in Switzerland #4 in Germany #4 in Spain #9 in Sweden #11 in France To which I can only say, Romania? It must be much cooler there than I  ever imagined.

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-57611914749452686522012-01-22T10:52:00.000+08:002012-01-22T10:52:28.055+08:00

There is a disease, my friends, that affects all creative types - the inability to create. For writers, it's known as writer's block. Some people will tell you it doesn't really exist. Some people are lying sacks of shit. After the publication of my first book, the world looked like it was my oyster (man, was I a naive writer). I mean, I'd found the shortcut to literary success, right? No years

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-56874984638034958582012-01-19T21:06:00.002+08:002012-01-19T21:09:44.369+08:00

via http://paperpapereverywhere.tumblr.com/

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-50627748511521736332012-01-18T12:41:00.000+08:002012-01-18T12:41:45.827+08:00

Deborah Walker asks an interesting question over on her blog about short form writing vs long form. Am I a short story writer or a novelist? Is one predisposed to be one or the other? If you just consider the numbers, I have a lot more completed short works than long ones. I don't really consider myself a short story writer, though. I never really thought about my writing that way, to be honest.

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-32057346542208459152012-01-14T14:35:00.000+08:002012-01-14T14:35:02.866+08:00

2011 definitely had its ups and downs. I'm not gonna lie. I don't talk much about personal stuff on this here blog anymore, but for the year that was, the highs were high, and the lows were low. To be honest, all I've ever wanted was a nice, quiet life. Well, that and a t-rex. That I could ride like a pony. Writing-wise, 2011 was the best year I've had in quite a while. Two stories published in

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-10363910980789057052012-01-11T21:05:00.003+08:002012-01-11T21:07:08.467+08:00

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-2918993693108351712011-12-31T19:28:00.002+08:002011-12-31T19:28:30.085+08:00

Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey My rating: 5 of 5 stars I gotta be honest. Sometimes this book gave me the feeling that the paint was still wet and the glue wasn't set. Why the five stars, then? Because I actually gave a crap about what happened next, what twisted bit of ultraviolence was about to be smacked down, and what wisecrack was going to be snapped out and by who. You don't read

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-37021819389781433542011-12-30T23:26:00.002+08:002011-12-30T23:26:50.323+08:00

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-42353648292924027682011-12-28T21:44:00.000+08:002011-12-28T21:44:44.729+08:00

You ever see the movie 'Better Off Dead'? No? Go watch it right now. I'll wait. Ok, the part where Monique tells Cusak, more or less, "Once you get a small taste of success, I think you will find it suits you" describes how I feel right about now. When I put out 'Thief Who Spat' I had no expectations. None. Zero. As much as I want to believe in the promise of self-publishing, I'm a realist.

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-47307221224029971422011-12-26T14:59:00.001+08:002011-12-26T15:25:28.968+08:00

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-64937349997875223712011-12-15T22:44:00.001+08:002011-12-16T08:53:14.525+08:00

iTunes Epic Fantasy Chart (free): #1 in the US (52 reviews, average 4 stars)#2 in Canada (11 reviews, average 4.5 stars)#2 in the UK (11 reviews, average 3.5 stars)#3 in Australia (15 reviews, average 4 stars)#7 in Germany (no reviews, no stars)#8 in Spain (no reviews, no stars)#9 in Italy (no reviews, no stars)

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-67041823530005321762011-12-08T18:49:00.002+08:002011-12-08T18:49:56.037+08:00

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-8902163543923733952011-12-06T19:22:00.000+08:002011-12-06T19:22:11.303+08:00

Before I ever started reading 'genre', I was pushed down the path to read 'The Hobbit' as literature. (Tolkien not literature? The boy from the South Side of San Antonio was reading an Oxford don; close enough.) Anyway, that's where I first encountered Darrel K Sweet's art - from Tolkien. The next place I ran into Sweet's artwork - consciously, at least - was Rosenberg's Guardians of the Flame

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-73487983999858662122011-12-03T01:03:00.000+08:002011-12-03T01:03:21.427+08:00

http://www.write1sub1.com/

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-32793228499148594292011-12-01T07:57:00.001+08:002011-12-01T08:31:20.051+08:00

The Trigger Reflex is now available as a trade paperback as well as in ebook form. My flash fiction story 'Shift200' has been shortlisted at Daily Science Fiction. I'll hear back in 2-4 weeks about the final disposition. If we continue to have daily thunderstorms, my dog is likely to die of dehydration due to fear-drooling. Melanie Nilles, author of Legend of the White Dragon thinks she can come

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-31392799323245707422011-11-30T10:06:00.000+08:002011-11-30T10:06:41.807+08:00

The artist, not the annoying brit.

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-3716326747167305692011-11-23T21:00:00.002+08:002011-11-25T18:33:53.438+08:00

I do wish iTunes/iBooks wasn't a walled garden, so I could share links, but right now 'The Thief Who Spat in Luck's Good Eye' is: #1 in Top Epic (Fantasy) Free Books #9 in Top Fantasy Free Books #18 in Top Sci Fi & Fantasy Free Books Thagoth comes in at #190 in Top Epic Paid. It doesn't make the more general categories' Top 200, but that's fine. I'm more than happy with what I have. Hell, I'm

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-84762579208576748382011-11-23T10:06:00.002+08:002011-11-23T10:06:23.507+08:00

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-76984130914298516262011-11-22T18:03:00.000+08:002011-11-22T18:03:24.456+08:00

The Thief Who Spat in Luck's Good Eye is the #1 free Epic Fantasy on iTunes. That is all.

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-63648704935997227322011-11-21T10:49:00.002+08:002011-11-21T10:50:44.287+08:00

By Jamison Wieser

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-86723762358646299972011-11-19T08:06:00.000+08:002011-11-19T08:06:55.772+08:00

The monster hunting anthology The Trigger Reflex is now available at Amazon for the low, low price of $3.99 (US). My vampire hunter story 'Night & Day' pulls rearguard on this one, being the last in the anthology.

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-71773788025727720782011-11-12T09:07:00.000+08:002011-11-12T09:07:49.581+08:00

As you may have surmised, I'm in the process of quitting smoking around here. At the risk of being boring I've got some thoughts I'd like to share about smoking and about quitting. I consciously started smoking when I was 17, but in reality I have been addicted to nicotine literally all my life. My mom smoked during her pregnancy with me, and there was always someone smoking in the house growing

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-49000608549527794882011-11-10T08:15:00.000+08:002011-11-10T08:15:28.075+08:00

For example, I have no idea what the hell this is about, but I can't stop laughing.

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-16645442399285847382011-11-03T08:28:00.000+08:002011-11-03T08:28:54.448+08:00

I wanted to do one of those satirical little posts that riff off the Mastercard ads where the punchline is 'blah blah blah... priceless' but then I realized a) that was done to death and  b) meh. So instead I'll just say that I've completed another new short story, proving to myself that the last one was not a fluke and that real progress is being made, creatively, around here. Also, this:

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-43550514175482131072011-10-21T08:45:00.000+08:002011-10-21T08:45:11.824+08:00

From clouds in my coffee (on fb)

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-67854002903810443032011-10-15T18:47:00.001+08:002011-10-16T02:26:58.180+08:00

Creatively speaking, I've been at war with myself for nearly a decade. My most prolific writing year was 2003, by just about every measure. That was the year I finished my novel. That was the year I wrote half a dozen short stories that I would consider professional or semi-professional level. That was also the year I stopped writing. I say I stopped, but what I really mean is, I stopped

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-47363023433938912132011-10-12T09:33:00.002+08:002011-10-12T09:33:26.537+08:00

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-53409971632681995792011-10-10T08:38:00.000+08:002011-10-10T08:38:19.086+08:00

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-2810483915325143892011-09-29T06:38:00.000+08:002011-09-29T06:38:02.487+08:00

"...The game is a Chinese finger trap of the mind: soon you realize that inspiration is free, which, in economics terms, means that the inflated value of single-energy-point actions when “inspired” is not a “bonus” or a “maximum” value — it’s the baseline; it’s the “minimum”. Once you grasp that your character can be made inspired with a little flick of the game’s mechanics, you’ll never want to

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-81265568936670070042011-09-22T16:32:00.002+08:002011-09-22T16:32:39.965+08:00

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-21734515788477272972011-09-21T21:14:00.001+08:002011-09-21T21:16:55.322+08:00

Currently available as an ebook on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Hardback and trade paperback to come.

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-39416003828314028142011-09-19T10:10:00.000+08:002011-09-19T10:10:41.270+08:00

The Thief Who Spat in Luck's Good Eye is now available for free on Barnes & Noble's Nook ereader. It has a 'sales' rank of 29,686 The Big Book of New Short Horror should be available this week in hard cover, trade paperback, kindle and nook I have this weird rash on three fingers that won't go away You can read the first paragraph of Villette & Vampires below I'll be mostly unavailable til the

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-2073346638680603882011-09-16T16:25:00.000+08:002011-09-16T16:25:55.000+08:00

For those of you fortunate enough never to have been forced to read Charlotte Bronte's Villette, it's um, boring. Really, really boring. I say this not because I am spiteful, but because it is true. It's not bad. It's not awful. It's just really, really boring. Don't worry, though, because I've decided to fix that for you. In the grand (?) tradition of Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, Android

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-13224268382012261592011-09-13T23:23:00.001+08:002011-09-14T02:53:42.670+08:00

I like to spend time on other writer's blogs - this should come as no surprise, really. One site I especially like is the Night Shade Books blog, The Night Bazaar, as the blog entries aren't churned out by some underpaid junior editor or unpaid intern, but by Night Shade's authors themselves. So when Thomas Roche put up a meditative post about zombies, I left a comment. I do that sometimes. I

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-65238279820673981622011-09-11T11:01:00.003+08:002011-09-11T13:20:28.284+08:00

According to the numbers available to me, Thagoth's record low ranking on Amazon was #428,352 back on July 15th. Now I know it has been lower than that; the book's been around a good long while, and there were vast stretches of time - months - where not a single copy was sold. But the data made available to me only goes back to June 16th. Last night I visited Belinda Frisch's blog (an excellent

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-34483091552586652642011-09-08T20:54:00.001+08:002011-09-08T20:57:30.625+08:00

I received my galley for BBNSH (seriously, I'm not gonna type 'the Big Book of New Short Horror' more than I have to, ok?), and it really is big: 58 stories. 354 pages. Luckily I only had to proofread the six pages of my story. So I have to admit, I'm a little nervous about this anthology. The first story, ('Twilight' by Ron Koppelberger) is a fine flash fiction story- just a

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-86106340776108680192011-09-03T08:25:00.003+08:002011-10-17T09:31:23.158+08:00

From editor Miles Boothe: 28 Stories * 13 Returning to the Hunt * 15 New BloodThe Trigger Reflex1. Night and Day by Michael McClung 2. Hunting Vengence by Steven Gepp 3. Iron Bells by *Joshua Reynolds 4. The Pretty Ones by Angel Propps 5. The Shomer Express by Edward Erdlac 6. Rancho Diablo by *John Whalen 7. Blood Red by *Thom Brannan. 8. 'Til the Sun is in the Sky by *Rob Pegler.  9. Alpha by *

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-82312277785901923982011-09-01T22:18:00.000+08:002011-09-01T22:18:36.479+08:00

...but 'The Thief Who Spat In Luck's Good Eye' has been downloaded 108 times on Smashwords, and 97 times on Scribd. At least one person whom I have never met read it and liked it (hi Julia!) so I can already call the experiment a success. Of course I've no real idea if it has bumped sales for Thagoth, as I don't get sales info until Random House sees fit to send me a sales statement (supposedly

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-56880312913950920992011-08-29T09:46:00.001+08:002011-08-29T09:46:47.150+08:00

I know I said I was out of office, but I decided to do some more writing-related work (not actual writing, mind you, but still). I have been avoiding doing anything on smashwords because of the formatting and uploading process, affectionately (?) called, both by those who created it and those who use it, 'the meatgrinder'. It just sounded like  a lot of bother for someone as short on patience

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-2371986042277138612011-08-27T13:40:00.000+08:002011-08-27T13:40:32.791+08:00

I'll be going offline for a few days (until Wednesday latest), as I try to finish up some writing. I've been trying to do some promotion for my writing, and have made some concrete steps (Joined Goodreads, set up an author facebook page, got Thagoth featured on the-cheap.net's facebook page, set up a twitter acount). But this is a marathon, not a sprint, and the most important thing is writing.

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-36997167196049910352011-08-26T12:44:00.000+08:002011-08-26T12:44:43.177+08:00

Here are a few free fantasy/sci fi ebooks available from the kindle store. Please note, unless I mention otherwise, I've no  idea if the are stellar or if they stink up the joint :) Swashbuckling Fantasy: 10 Thrilling Tales of Magical Adventure(Except I believe it's not all 10, just a sampler) Bright of the Sky (Book 1 of the Entire and the Rose)(Lots of good reviews...) The Unsuspecting Mage (

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-35570637336418939342011-08-26T09:35:00.000+08:002011-08-26T09:35:06.976+08:00

It was free. One shouldn't complain about free, right? Wrong. If someone gives you a gift, and you open up the box, and there's a steaming turd inside, you are allowed to complain. I'm not saying David Dalglish's The Weight of Blood is a steaming turd. It's not. It's just not very good, and it has some serious problems. Top three reasons I won't finish reading it: 3. When someone in an epic

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-85823845486054926682011-08-24T22:48:00.001+08:002011-08-24T22:49:42.659+08:00

So I (finally) received my royalty summary statement for Thagoth. Latest royalty check? US$82.78. That's not the interesting part. The interesting part is the title of this post. 434 copies of Thagoth have been sold from day 1 through March, 2011. 434. Now, there are two ways I could look at this number. In fact, there are two ways I DO look at this number. The first way, the pessimistic way

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-51634038265966693722011-08-22T00:44:00.000+08:002011-08-22T00:44:14.783+08:00

This one I hope to have up by next week. The idea of course is for all of them to be instantly recognizable as a 'series' but differentiated by color scheme. Also, bright colors to catch the reader's eye. I'm going for a movie poster/old 60's and 70's paperback feel with these covers. It may not be the best choice, but it feels right, and I'm happy with them. :)

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-41770830120640706852011-08-21T23:49:00.000+08:002011-08-21T23:49:26.066+08:00

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-38065458307167990792011-08-21T11:46:00.000+08:002011-08-21T11:46:59.069+08:00

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-79709203981569699542011-08-21T07:59:00.000+08:002011-08-21T07:59:49.340+08:00

So I was checking out Ralan's, as I often do (being a writer and all), and noticed a particularly brain-scratching, uh, thing--in the submissions guidelines for an anthology titled "Best NEW Zombie Tales Vol. 5" the editor is ONLY looking for reprinted zombie stories. Which sort of makes all the stories in the anthology, by definition, not new. *smacks head, moves on*

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-4016575836133957302011-08-18T10:28:00.000+08:002011-08-18T10:28:25.825+08:00

Well. After shamelessly begging friends on facebook and brazenly posting a review of My Own Damn Novel™, I also did a couple other things: I gifted the book to two sci fi & fantasy reviewers whose blogs I follow and whose opinions I respect, and I (finally) set up my author page on Amazon's Author Central. (Niall Alexander, by the way, is a pure gentleman. If you're at all interested in sci fi/

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-9328233358640650802011-08-17T22:29:00.001+08:002011-08-17T22:52:03.373+08:00

I confess. I did it. Lord knows I had the means, the motive and the opportunity. The only real surprise here is that it took me so long to give in to the urge. Was it cowardice that kept me from committing the deed? No, not that at least. Was it some tattered vestige of morals? Of pride? Maybe. I can't really say. And the act itself is a blur, now that it's done. I reviewed my own damn book on

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-13851561952139970132011-08-14T13:57:00.000+08:002011-08-14T13:57:31.941+08:00

It has been very heartening to have a couple of stories selected for inclusion in anthologies this year. 'Children of the Mandrake' was the first publishable piece of fiction I ever wrote, way back when I first moved to Austin those many years ago. Bruce Sterling took a look at it and pronounced it 'salable'. More than a decade later, he was proven right: It will appear in The Big Book of New

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-61941552169595118692011-08-06T20:49:00.000+08:002011-08-06T20:49:03.675+08:00

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-87977063820059063832011-08-06T20:39:00.000+08:002011-08-06T20:39:11.504+08:00

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-69323736354613947932011-08-06T07:19:00.002+08:002011-08-06T07:19:28.806+08:00

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-82459817405653271332011-07-29T08:22:00.000+08:002011-07-29T08:22:31.533+08:00

I'll be representin' in this anthology.

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-15288940924517678962011-07-24T09:25:00.002+08:002011-07-24T09:25:56.385+08:00

That is all.

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-63456942087070433332011-06-26T11:12:00.003+08:002011-06-26T11:14:56.450+08:00

Credit to Miles Boothe, editor of the monster hunter anthology Leather, Denim and Silver and the upcoming The Trigger Reflex

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-32373232771046487832011-05-28T20:12:00.002+08:002011-05-28T20:12:37.531+08:00

Looks like I've got a short story accepted for the monster hunter anthology The Trigger Reflex.

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-38440774917058592722011-05-08T23:44:00.003+08:002011-05-08T23:46:19.705+08:00

200,000 words a month. Holy hell.

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-29014004226847909112011-05-08T22:45:00.000+08:002011-05-08T22:45:18.246+08:00

My story 'Children of the Mandrake' will appear in Pill Hill Press's Big Book of New Short Horror. This, needless to say, makes me happy.

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-48218858936782215142011-05-06T20:19:00.000+08:002011-05-06T20:19:59.244+08:00

So yeah, I've been working on that book I told you about earlier, the one that's at 35,186 words? Yeah, It's not at 35,186 words anymore. After about eight hours of going over it again and again, trying to figure out what happens next and making a few small corrections and changes here and there, I've managed to somehow lose over a thousand words. Yes, I've made the opening chapters tighter. Yes

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-65706320456260563292011-05-04T23:54:00.000+08:002011-05-04T23:54:16.790+08:00

Very sleepy. Almost forgot WIP Wednesday (bad blogger!). This Wednesday's WIP is The Blade That Whispers Hate. It is, as I've mentioned in other places, a prequel of sorts to Thagoth. Prequel in that it happens before the events of the other book, but not prequel in that the only connection the two books have are the two main characters and a bit of setting. The plots are not really connected.

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-35050345946826687862011-05-03T05:52:00.000+08:002011-05-03T05:52:40.040+08:00

I've got too many unfinished stories. Far too many. Now my normal style is to do a little on this one, do a little on that one as the mood strikes, but that just isn't working. More story ideas keep popping up, and nothing gets done. I need to finish something, at least to first draft status. So I'm limiting my writing to three WIPs; one novel and two short stories: The Blade That Whispers

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-36032023285038670152011-05-02T19:53:00.003+08:002011-05-02T20:12:18.167+08:00

The original entry was in 2005. It struck a chord. People still show up at this blog searching for it. I thought I'd do a brief  'where are they now'. Some were originally left as anonymous comments and so there is no way to follow them up. *** I’m the one you said would end up a chain-smoking, loveless, alcoholic lawyer. I’m the guy who sometimes believes you. I’m the guy you once tried to

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-3729435315286892232011-05-01T08:20:00.000+08:002011-05-01T08:20:27.317+08:00

...including political correctness. Has everyone seen the various iterations of the Hitler video meme? My new favourite is one sent to me by my good friend Christien about a particularly popular bbq restaurant in Austin. It takes a certain skill and wit to do one of these retellings in a funny, effective way. Of course, some people will never, ever find anything to do with Hitler in any way

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-58607924986245088462011-04-29T10:21:00.000+08:002011-04-29T10:21:11.316+08:00

...is, unfortunately, for marking papers. In other news, have I mentioned that I like sitting on grass? Yesterday during a break, I sat down in a little grassy patch by the MRT station (garnering a few odd looks, but meh) and thought a bit about The Blade That Whispers Hate and the plotting problems I've been having with that one. And I think I have a least part of a solution. In other news,

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-5800224077434802642011-04-27T23:56:00.000+08:002011-04-27T23:56:32.681+08:00

Taking a page from Aaron Polson, I thought I'd try something new on Wednesdays. Wednesdays- very long days for me. I leave the house at 8 am, and get back at 10 pm. Maybe WIP Thursdays would be a better idea, but then I don't get the alliteration. So, I'll introduce one of my works in progress every Wednesday, give you an excerpt, a brief idea of what the story is (supposedly) about, and some

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-47197448548830172472011-04-26T22:25:00.000+08:002011-04-26T22:25:36.780+08:00

Over at Horrortalk, Steve Pattee had some nice things to say about the Pill Hill Press anthology Flesh & Bone: Rise of the Necromancers -- including my short story therein. Thanks, Steve!

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-89181183709084894772011-04-25T08:17:00.000+08:002011-04-25T08:17:59.986+08:00

So Anthony asked me some time ago about when I was going to write a sequel to Thagoth. As I mentioned previously, there are several bits and pieces floating around, sequel and prequel and short story. I thought I might share a bit of the prequel, The Blade That Whispers Hate. In this scene, Holgren the mage gets to act like a bit of the bad-ass he is: In a place like the Cock’s Spur, they don’t

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-75801997523140324982011-04-24T09:29:00.000+08:002011-04-24T09:29:13.495+08:00

I've had this blog since 2005, and much of the early focus was on Singapore and things Singaporean. Some of the posts were funny (and some nearly as funny as I thought they were as I wrote them), and some were serious. Now it's 2011. Looking at the stats that blogger has (finally) helpfully added to blogs, I notice that on a daily basis, people stumble onto this blog using variations on two

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-59273040579008412332011-04-23T06:20:00.000+08:002011-04-23T06:20:21.297+08:00

So I spent like five hours at Singapore General Hospital yesterday, where they did lots of tests and scratched their heads and made me lie down on a gurney and stuff. Lungs ok. Blood sugar ok. 14 different blood tests, all that came back was 'slightly elevated white blood cell count'. Heart seems ok, but have an appointment with a cardiologist. Guess we'll see. My guess is I'll soon be turning

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-90694769890364143022011-04-22T08:18:00.000+08:002011-04-22T08:18:37.877+08:00

I used to fuss over every word I wrote, but especially the first paragraph. I'd agonize over word choice and word order. I would spend as much time polishing as writing, which meant, I'm afraid, that I spent a lot of time polishing turds. I wouldn't say it was an obsession, but it was a preoccupation. Why? Because I couldn't get this image out of my head of an editor, pipe in hand, opening the

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-4081746035563023382011-04-22T01:37:00.002+08:002011-04-22T01:47:17.826+08:00

One of the stories that I mentioned would be published in an anthology will now not be. It was a last minute replacement for another tale. Didn't work out. I had a feeling about it (scrunches up face). I am so gonna finish and polish up The Crimson Witch to submit to Sword & Sorceress XXVI. Tomorrow I go see the doctor to find out why I have been dizzy/short of breath for more than a week. Well,

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-47136674631718875472011-04-21T03:18:00.000+08:002011-04-21T03:18:02.973+08:00

via

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-87213755851115927972011-04-20T00:23:00.000+08:002011-04-20T00:23:54.664+08:00

No, really. Erotica sales on kindle are through the roof, apparently. I can find no concrete data on Amazon's sales figures (and yes, I've looked, though not exhaustively), but one of the things I've turned up in my research is anecdote after andecdote of authors comparing their erotica sales (or the sales of their 'friends') to their non-erotica sales, and apparently it's like 100-1. Maybe I

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-74231022642807145702011-04-19T08:56:00.000+08:002011-04-19T08:56:39.409+08:00

I'll be having a couple of short stories coming out in anthologies this year.  As I have more info, I'll update here.

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-373233070223096672011-04-18T20:32:00.000+08:002011-04-18T20:32:09.032+08:00

The madness of the modern economy displays many morbidly fascinating symptoms: I wonder what it says about me that I was thinking about all this in terms of a story as I watched. Nothing good, I'm sure.

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-72662019999292267532011-04-18T11:12:00.002+08:002011-04-18T22:17:25.177+08:00

...I bet Joe's wife would be really pissed. But seriously, here's the thing: For the past two weeks I've been researching the new world of publishing, trying to find the common denominator between the success that Joe Konrath has enjoyed in selling his works in electronic format, and the success that Amanda Hocking has had. A few conclusions: Konrath and Hocking write in different, almost

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-8618052193221041492011-04-18T09:21:00.000+08:002011-04-18T09:21:42.912+08:00

Do you like short-short fiction with lush imagery and startling O. Henry-esque twists? Then you should really be over at New Beginnings, encouraging Dream Pedlar to write more. That is all.

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-6786109117794972442011-04-17T06:39:00.000+08:002011-04-17T06:39:38.376+08:00

Went to bed before 11 pm. Woke up at 4:45 am (approximately). This is getting ridiculous.

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-64177954087668733782011-04-16T19:19:00.001+08:002011-04-16T19:20:38.384+08:00

At last the mystery is de-mystified. Also at the end you'll see he says I pressured him. Absolutely untrue. I threatened bodily harm. -MM   Observations on Blogging in 2011 Yep, I'd say the rise of Facebook has pretty much put the kybosh on blogging being a smoothly functioning social networking tool. 2008 is to blame (or to be thanked, depending). The social blogging that once had

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-26449285564702708662011-04-15T10:33:00.000+08:002011-04-15T10:33:31.591+08:00

Those you waiting for the Guest Blogger today will need to wait until tomorrow due to circumstances beyond our control. The official reason is 'Got wasted last night and the dog ate my homework'. Sounds reasonable : D

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-446338073487752552011-04-15T08:17:00.001+08:002011-04-15T08:18:59.605+08:00

She says she still wants to play around with the font, or as Expat insists, the typeface. Izzy can call it what she wants, because I call it awesome. Once all is ready and I parang my way through the formatting for Kindle, I'll be uploading this book of short stories to Amazon. I just wish they'd sell to Singapore. I need to find another platform that does. Currently considering Smashwords.

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-79003748227025452982011-04-14T07:04:00.000+08:002011-04-14T07:04:46.131+08:00

Sleep and I have had a difficult relationship for years- bouts of insomnia that would last for months, leaving me a withered thing that shuffled through my days cringing away from a too-loud, too-bright blur of a world. In recent years, that insomnia has trailed off and become a rare occurrence, but what has taken its place is this freaky 'no matter what time I go to bed I will wake up at an hour

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-50537248960712311482011-04-13T11:49:00.000+08:002011-04-13T11:49:30.708+08:00

Just to let you know, there will be a super-secret guest blogger here at SomethingSticky on Friday. I could tell you who it was, but then it would not be super-secret, would it? Geez. But feel free to guess who it might be in the comments section. I will give you three hints: He (yes, it is a he) is not dead, nor fictional  He may have some prior blogging experience He is not the other voice in

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-78960845269555188122011-04-11T10:26:00.001+08:002011-04-12T11:15:17.866+08:00

So I was perusing submission guidelines, as I am sometimes known to do, and came across this from Clarkesworld Magazine: Though no particular setting, theme, or plot is anathema to us, the following are likely hard sells: •stories in which a milquetoast civilian government is depicted as the sole obstacle to either catching some depraved criminal or to an uncomplicated military victory •

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-87572786327879706022011-04-10T12:41:00.001+08:002011-04-10T12:42:11.333+08:00

I kinda like it :)

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-3454227896262610422011-04-10T08:53:00.000+08:002011-04-10T08:53:55.217+08:00

via Pat's Fantasy Hotlist

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-42173401099205870532011-04-09T22:57:00.000+08:002011-04-09T22:57:57.869+08:00

...from Kris Kuksi

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-68817824998067604822011-04-08T19:37:00.001+08:002011-04-08T22:23:57.336+08:00

I barely remember writing this. It's like somebody else wrote it, honestly, and I'd like to read more: They sent me to Singapore. To be more exact, they sent me to New Braunfels, Texas, and from there I got sent to Singapore, but the distinctions are too fine at this point to matter much. New Braunfels, time-wise, was simply a layover, unimportant except for the fact that I met Buddy Terkel.

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-86734030863914826532011-04-08T17:23:00.000+08:002011-04-08T17:23:52.944+08:00

So I managed to get a large chunk of my writing off the old, schizophrenic laptop's hard drive (it chuckled evilly all the time, but didn't actually crash except the once) and have added almost all my viable works in progress and their word counts over there on the right side of the blog. One down, two to go. The PC is going to be a bugger. It doesn't recognize the keyboard or the mouse. I'd

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-56977826915562575672011-04-08T09:45:00.001+08:002011-04-08T09:45:36.699+08:00

Hatred is one long wait. ~René Maran

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-8850346316905918122011-04-08T00:03:00.000+08:002011-04-08T00:03:51.832+08:00

Wisdom keeps its mouth shut.

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-88712419277009859842011-04-07T09:11:00.001+08:002011-04-07T09:14:21.853+08:00

what? It's only Thursday? Crud. In other news, I'm pulling All the World a Grave from Amazon. I'm not comfortable just selling single short stories; too much risk of confusion, people thinking it's a full novel or a full collection of short stories. Out of the three sales on it so far, it's already happened at least once (sorry Izzy! I'll send you a hard copy of the short story collection) and

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-17786614839258912982011-04-06T14:58:00.000+08:002011-04-06T14:58:01.809+08:00

Alderaanian Death Legion

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-26999716047882843592011-04-05T23:25:00.001+08:002011-04-05T23:26:16.711+08:00

not so speshul, reely. Need to mark some papers, so I bid the intertubes a fond goodnight and leave you with some random images: Now choose one and write a 500 word short story, using it as inspiration. The best one gets an autograped copy of All the World a Grave, but don't let that stop you. 

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12358930.post-2780565123587410332011-04-04T20:47:00.000+08:002011-04-04T20:47:21.828+08:00

The first 15 minutes of A Game of Thrones: http://www.hbo.com/video/video.html/?autoplay=true&vid=1170886&filter=game-of-thrones&view=null

Michael McClunghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14708067144914238641noreply@blogger.com1