I Only Said

I Remember When...

2012-01-11T00:56:00.003Z

My short story "Remembrance Sunday" has been accepted for publication by the website Fiction 365, which, as its name suggests, publishes a short story each and every day of the gosh darned year. The story will be hitting all your favourite backlit electronical whatnots probably in late February. That's a little way off but fear not, many fans (hi darling x), I'll post a reminder closer to the time.

This is my first acceptance of 2012, and hopefully not the last, although I'm focusing on longer work at the moment - one novel I'm pestering agents with and another I'm hurting my brain with. This goes at least some way to explaining the long gap between this post and my last, but I still have a few stories lounging against bars with a tenth beer in their hand, hoping to get lucky.

And that's all the weather. Happy newish year, folks...

It's storytime...and it's live!

2011-07-14T07:59:00.004+01:00

On Tuesday night, my story "Brothers' Eyes and Curtain Rods" was performed by the actor Terence Anderson for the Liars' League group at the Phoenix pub in Cavendish Square, London. The marvels of modern technology mean that the event is now available to all, via the glorious online you-tube-o-matic.

It was an interesting experience - a first for me to hear one of my stories read out by someone else - and a positive one. In writing, and privately reading, you only hear one version - your own. It's rather reassuring to hear a story work when someone approaches it in another way. One section in particular I'd written with a certain rhythm in mind; it was interpreted very differently, but effectively. There's some lengthy blather about interpretation and the existence of many stories rather than just one to be written there, but I'll let you fill in your own.

Anyway, a grand experience all round, and not just for the free beer. Although that is only to be encouraged.

In Search of Lost Time

2011-07-10T16:48:00.005+01:00

My story "Idle Time" was published today by the e-zine This Zine Will Change Your Life. The story takes place one anonymous morning at a suburban railway station, when, with no warning or reason, time stops, and the assembled commuters are left to discover a world without it.

Out here, where time rolls on, I've been on something of a writing hiatus for the past few weeks with various moving house, promotion-chasing, party-organising antics, but this will all be out of the way soon, and I'll be finishing the re-drafting of "Love's Girlfriend", the novella that was my winter 2010-11 project, as well as planning a new novel to begin this winter. I might even write some more short stories before I begin that...so lots more to come, I hope.

Death from Above 1963

2011-07-04T07:52:00.003+01:00

And now for something completely different, in a way. The result of my latest raid into the past for material, “Brothers’ Eyes and Curtain Rods”, has been accepted by the Liars’ League group, to be read out in front of a live audience. Mercifully for everyone, it will be an actor, rather than me, who does the reading. The event takes place at the Phoenix pub in Cavendish Square, near Oxford Circus tube, on Tuesday 12^th July, from 7.30pm. There are five stories being read out, and a quiz and other stuff in amongst it all, so it sounds pretty cool. And it’s in a pub, so if all else fails…you’re in a pub.

The story follows Lee Harvey Oswald from dawn to dusk on 22^nd November 1963, the day on which he left his wife, shot a policeman, and assassinated the President of the United States. A busy day for anyone. The story has been largely rewritten after some knowledgeable friends voiced their dislike of the approach I used in an early draft, and happily that’s paid off (and my thanks to them). I’m pleased to have something accepted by the Liars’ League; I’d fancied having a go at it for a while, but hadn’t had a story that fit.

A friend of mine had a story read out at the league last year, and he reported that it was great fun, so this is one to look forward to. I couldn’t make the night, but the readings are put up online for all to enjoy. Which allows me to present Shopping by David Braga, if you have a moment. A fine story well read.

Wiedersehen...

The Joys of Collaboration

2011-06-01T18:42:00.002+01:00

A first: "A Beer with my Father", a story of mine written in collaboration with another writer, was published today in the Summer 2011, Issue 1 of the Twenty20 Journal. The journal publishes fiction and poetry of twenty words' length. This issue is composed of stories and poems written by previous contributors to Diamond Point Press's publications. Its editor contacted me after a previous story of mine ("The German") was published in Issue 1 of Diamond Point's Muscle and Blood Journal. "A Beer with my Father" is the result of my subsequent collaboration with Christopher Przewloka, the fiction editor of Muscle and Blood. Despite my being as control-freakish about my writing as all writers should be, this was a very enjoyable experience and an interesting experiment, even over such a short piece.

Not sure which one of Lennon and McCartney I'd be. Probably I'd aspire to be Paul, because while he's less cool, his songs are better, aren't they? I think we all know.

Toodle pip...

Titanic sets sail on maiden voyage

2011-05-18T20:37:00.002+01:00

My story "Building April: Fragments of the Titanic" has been published in Issue 2 of the online magazine Diagonal Proof, out today. The story consists of ten interlinking short pieces, set at various points in the ship's history. It concludes the issue, which is nice, but of course you should read it first. Skip to page 93 for the good stuff. And make sure you do it quick, before someone tells you the end.

Beer o'clock

2011-04-25T19:41:00.002+01:00

A short addendum to yesterday's update - the 20-word short story "A Beer With My Father" that I worked on with the journal's fiction editor, Chris Przewloka, has been accepted and will be in one of the summer issues of the twenty20 Journal.

Lazy Days and other stuff

2011-04-24T09:18:00.003+01:00

For so long have I yearned to put a picture of Romford station up on my blog, and here, at last, is an excuse. The e-publication This Zine Will Change Your Life have accepted my story "Idle Time", to appear on their site some time in the summer. A little while ago I entered a speed writing contest where you are given a topic and an hour to come up with a 1,000 word story. "Idle Time" was my entry. Now tidied up, made slightly longer and (hopefully) slightly better, it has found a home here. It is set at a train station where time, for no identifiable reason, decides to stop.

A couple of other things. The production of "The Mid-Life of David K" as a podcast by the Nil Desperandum website has been delayed after the original reader had to pull out; they're going to keep me posted on when it will all be happening. Also, a couple of weeks back the editor of the Muscle and Blood Literary Journal that published "The German" last year emailed me and asked if I'd like to work on something, alongside the magazine's fiction editor, for the Twenty20 Journal put together by the same people. Tragically not all about the noble sport of cricket, the journal is constructed of 20-word stories and poems. We put together a few pieces, for consideration for the summer edition of Twenty20.

More on all that as and when. Much love to all...

Titanic Floats!

2011-03-06T20:25:00.003Z

My story "Building April: Fragments of the Titanic", has been accepted for publication by the online magazine Diagonal Proof, to be published in their May 2011 issue. The story is a series of ten interlinking first-person shorter stories based around the ship, beginning at the designs and vision for the ship and ending years after the sinking, with the grandson of one of the engineers who built it. As a Titanic nerd (and, indeed, a titanic nerd) of two decades' standing, I'm rather excited about this one, both because it was a labour of love to write something about the ship and because as it has taken some time to find a home for it - there's less of a market for longer stories (this clocks in at just under 10,000 words) and a bit of good fortune is necessary; I'd got to the point of thinking this might not make it.

This also my first acceptance of 2011, and extra pleasant for that reason. At the moment I have only a couple of stories out and about seeking attention, having been working on longer stuff, but I'm back in short story mode as of this week so they'll have some comrades-in-arms fairly soon.

In Glorious Retreat

2011-02-04T17:19:00.009Z

A break from the norm. I don’t usually do ‘blogging’ posts because, well, I’d rather be doing other writing and don’t really have much to say anyway. On this occasion, however, I think it’s worth breaking the rule to flag something up for anyone interested.

Last Sunday, courtesy of Santa channelled by my fair ladyfriend, I attended an Urban Writer’s Retreat in Shoreditch, a short walk from Liverpool Street station. The deal is pretty simple. An office, in this case The Cube in London, is hired out by Charlie, whose bright idea it was to set up a retreat in the city. At 10am, 7 or 8 writers arrive with their morning cup of tea (and, in my case, hangover), and settle in. After a brief hello and ‘what are your aims for today’ chat, the assembled sit down to work. Provided are chairs, desks, power sockets for laptops to be plugged in to, some space and, best of all, large amounts of tea and cake. That’s it. There is no internet, no TV, and no music unless you bring your iPod. Outside of a pause for lunch (included in the price), there is nothing else to do but write. At 6pm everybody who hasn't already decided they've had enough has to go home.

The absence of distractions is rare and hugely helpful. I am a fairly slow writer, turning in around 1,500 words on my very best, chore-free days before I feel I’ve done as much as I can and need to call a halt. On Sunday, I wrote over 6,000 words of the novella I’m currently working on, getting me into the final third of the story. I’d not made a huge amount of progress in the few weeks beforehand (owing to the mortal enemy of general life busyness) and this was a big breakthrough, restoring the momentum I’ve carried on since.

I’d not really thought about retreats like this before (what little I had heard of writing retreats tended to involve Shropshire, days away and expense, as well as a disturbing amount of seminars), but having been on one I’d hugely recommend it to anyone writing (and what bugger isn’t?) who wants to push on with a project that is, for whatever reason, going slowly or not at all.

In theory, the setup should be easy to recreate without going anywhere: find some peace and quiet, disconnect your internet, do nothing else but write. In reality, it just doesn’t happen, at least not for me. I wouldn’t go on one every month, but to break through a tricky spot, or write a lot in one go where I feel it would be a particular benefit – when starting a novel, for instance – I’d book up in a flash.

So there’s my recommendation. Hopefully my next blog post will be about having another story accepted. With my novel now finished and this novella nearing the end of its first draft, I’ll be back to writing short stories soon and touting them around as enthusiastically as if it was 31 January and they were a midfielder Harry Redknapp once saw play a reasonable square pass.

Bis später...

Nazi Love

2011-01-15T10:13:00.003Z

My story "In Austria, Not Skiing" has been published by the romantic fiction website Moon Washed Kisses. It was accepted way back last summer, when all this was just electronic fields. Written in April 2006 (when the electronic fields were just regular fields), this is the oldest story of my mine to end up in print or something like it, so it's rather nice. If you have a few minutes and fancy a bit of romance, it's available via the link. Also features Nazis, if that helps.

Apocalypse Now

2010-12-03T11:44:00.005Z

The kindle edition of the Terminal Earth anthology is now available on Amazon.co.uk., where my fellow countrymen can clutch it to their frozen bosoms for less than the cost of a couple of pints. Don't know if there are any snowy armageddons on offer, but fantasy can be fulfilling as well as real life...

The End of the World is Nigh

2010-11-30T14:04:00.003Z

Excellent news - the Terminal Earth anthology of apocalyptic fiction will be released in eBook format in time for Santa and his electronical helpers. The release date is set for 10 December 2010. The eBook will be available on Amazon and Smashwords, and subsequently from various other outlets. A print version will be available in the new year.

The collection features stories of people during the last days - focusing not the apocalypses themselves, but how people react to a world where the clock is running down. My story, "A Quiet Pint at the End of the World", is amongst them (and perhaps foresees my own reaction to ultimate doom...).

More updates on this and any other excitement as and when it occurs - snowbound love to all...

50 Stories for Pakistan - out now

2010-10-28T22:43:00.006+01:00

The 50 Stories for Pakistan collection is now out. My story, "The Sea", heads it up. It's available from Blurb.com for the terribly reasonable price of £4.95 plus postage. All proceeds go to the Red Cross' floods appeal for Pakistan. So buy it if you can spare the cash! It's at Blurb's store, just waiting...

In the Amazon

2010-10-07T08:14:00.003+01:00

Excitement of the most self-regarding nature. The October 2010 edition of Bards and Sages Quarterly is available on amazon.com, allowing me to put up an amazon author page. Bards and Sages looks a bit lonely next to my gurning mush at the moment, but there should be a couple of additions to it by the end of the year and it will all look a bit healthier. What sort of author pic I might have up by then is perhaps best not dwelt upon. David Brent's photoshoot for 'Inside Paper' leaps to mind...

My page is available here:
http://www.amazon.com/Robert-Long/e/B0045YKS8G/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_2

Do Not Feed the Trolls

2010-10-01T08:22:00.003+01:00

My story "The God of the Little Ted Trolls" has been published in the latest Bards and Sages Quarterly, released today. The collection also features the esteemed Harper Hull and Neil Coghlan, and so is more or less unmissable. Clicking the link through also provides the chance to vote in the 2010 Readers' Choice Awards. Vote Troll!

The Mid-Life of David K

2010-09-27T21:13:00.004+01:00

On a bit of a roll at the moment! I've sold my long short story "The Mid-Life of David K" to Nil Desperandum, a website which records podcast versions of stories of varying length. The stories are free to listen to, with the whole thing being funded by listener donations. At 12,500 words this is by some distance the longest story I've had accepted, so I'm rather excited about it. It'll be a new experience to hear one of my stories being read out as well! When word comes from sunny California about when all this will be happening, I'll update further...

Nomination for Pushcart Prize 'Best of Small Presses' anthology

2010-09-27T07:44:00.005+01:00

The editors at the Muscle and Blood Literary Journal have nominated my story "The German" for the Pushcart Prize Best of the Small Presses anthology. I know only what the Pushcart Prize website tells me, but they claim it is "the most honored literary project in America", and who am I to argue when what they claim sounds cool. Writers including Raymond Carver and John Irving had work published in the annual anthology early in their careers. This is only the start of the process, with small presses all over the US nominating stories they think worthy of inclusion, but nonetheless it's great to be put forward.

The Sea - 50 Stories for Pakistan

2010-09-26T21:40:00.004+01:00

The folks at the marvellously-named Big Bad Media recently decided to put together a collection of 50 stories, all proceeds from which will go to the Red Cross Pakistan Floods Appeal. My short story "The Sea" has been accepted for the aptly named "50 Stories for Pakistan" collection, to be published sometime in the next couple of months. These guys have good form - they put together a similar collection for Haiti that raised over £4,000. As it's for charity, I'll plug this fairly shamelessly when it comes out and not have to feel bad about it, so beware. The collection has a 'no violence, death or destruction' rule, which meant I had to find something new to write about, and also that it may even be a jolly affair.

As a sidebar, this was my 12th acceptance for the year, meaning I've hit my target for 2010, as set way back in January when the world was but young. Rumours that I'll be taking the rest of year off to contemplate all this over cocktails are sadly unfounded.

German Crash Lands...

2010-09-07T23:15:00.002+01:00

My short story "The German" has been published electronically by Diamond Point Press in the first volume of their Muscle and Blood Journal. The print version has been delayed, and is now expected to be published at the end of September or early October. Your appetite for stories about crashed fighter pilots and children mixed up in a world beyond their comprehension can be sated here.

Autumnal love to all...

Showtime

2010-08-26T21:54:00.003+01:00

After spending since December on a shortlist, "After the Show", the first story of mine to get a positive response from a publisher, has been included in the final lineup for Paroxysm Press's 100 Lightnings anthology. Publication date is as yet unknown. The show in question is a night at the circus, and the story describes the arrival of a visitor who has a new act to exhibit to the proprietor...

Incidentally, chaps, I can recommend googling 'circus ringmaster' and variants for images, if you've a quiet moment. Love to all...

Why There is No Socialism in America

2010-08-06T10:45:00.002+01:00

My story "Why There is No Socialism in America" has been accepted this morning by the very prompt editor of .insidious. magazine. They intend to publish my story by the end of the year. The acceptance email also says 'congratulations - you have been accepted for who you are', which suggests they might be welcoming me into a cult, which could be cool. More information as and when...

Quickly Down the Mountain

2010-08-02T00:23:00.006+01:00

My short story "Quickly Down the Mountain" has been published in the summer 2010 issue of The Linnet's Wings. An electronic version of the magazine is available online (see page 14), and a print version can also be ordered if you're my mum. Hello mum.

Terminal Earth: Death and Beer

2010-07-29T09:32:00.004+01:00

The noble editors of the Terminal Earth anthology have posted the final story list for the book, hopefully available in time for your Christmas stocking. Running order is as yet undecided, but here's the gang:

The Cooling Sun - Scott Davis
Beyond Black - Natalie Potts
A Quiet Pint At The End Of The World - Rob Long
The Gloss Of Midnight - Amanda Taylor
Jump - Andrew Hook
First At The Dump - Barry Pomeroy
The God Complex - Neil John Buchanan
The Beautiful Room Is Empty - Erick Mertz
On A Beach At The End Of The World - Rob Mitchell (poem)
The Tipping Point - Bill Schwarz
You Can't Force An Owl - Simon Hood
The Light At The End - Donna Burgess
As The Sun Sets - Frank Roger
Pa's Worm Farm - James Wilson
End Of Dave - Jamie Marriage
Outstanding Matters - Neil Coghlan
Tattoo - David Turnbull
Fields - Desmon Warzel
Lucky Heather - Jonathan Harris
The Fire That We Deserve - Alexander Zelenyj
Fragment - Nancy Chenier
Homecoming - John Atkinson
Cycle - Eric Steele

Get Santa's local representatives on alert...

The stories so far...

2010-07-27T14:30:00.005+01:00

With this being up, and in the name of there being something on it to read, it’s probably worth a quick rundown of how my stories have fared in the big wide world since I started sending stuff out around new year.

The following stories have been accepted and published:

“August 30th, 1992” and “A Romantic Episode” were published in Six Sentences Volume 3, released on 26 April 2010.

“Everything Has Been Done for You” was published in issue one of Black Words on White Paper in April 2010.

“Nebraska, Wyoming, New York” was published on the Powder Burn Flash website on 16 March 2010.

“A Lie” was published on the Six Sentences website on 5 January 2010.

The following have been accepted by various publications and will be published in the future:

"Quickly Down the Mountain" has been accepted by The Linnet's Wings to be published in their Summer 2010 issue.

"The German" has been accepted by Muscle and Blood Literary Journal to be published in their first issue, slated for the end of July 2010.

"A Quiet Pint at the End of the World" has been accepted for the Terminal Earth anthology, due to be published later this year.

“The God of the Little Red Trolls” has been accepted by Bards & Sages Quarterly to be published in their October 2010 issue.

“In Austria, Not Skiing” has been accepted by Moon Washed Kisses to be published in January 2011.

That's all for now. Hopefully more to follow in the not too-distant future...

Return of the Blog

2010-07-27T07:32:00.000+01:00

I have recaptured my blog for the purpose of writerly updates, should that be useful. It's got my desired address, featuring the narrator from one of my favourite books, and I've named it after a My Bloody Valentine song I love because I couldn't think of anything else at this time in the morning. And there's a picture of Donna Tartt, because a man needs dreams.

That's probably all you need to know for now. You lovely, lovely people.