Writers About to Appear on the Wrong Side of the Road

The anthology _Writers on the Wrong Side of the Road_, edited by Clayton Bye and Sassy Brit, is about to hit the shelves. Well, the internet shelves. It is mostly being targetted at online audiences, but you can buy the book in paper or e-format. If you are a local yokel (Vancouver) and want a copy, save on postage by ordering along with me when I get my copies. I have 3 stories in the book: "The Cenotaph", "Pronghorns", and "Triona’s Beans" — that last with Finnish author Païvi Kuosmanen.

You can preorder paper or e-book at http://shop.claytonbye.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=65

Shipping commences 25 November 2011.

Sorry for the lack of a hyperlink. Blogger has gone completely weird. I haven't been able to control my post details in weeks.

Three Stories in One Anthology!

Writers on the Wrong Side of the Road

edited by Sassy Brit and CC Bye:

"Anything goes" in this anthology and I can attest to that. They've accepted 3 (count 'em!) of my stories, and they couldn't be more different than each other.

"Pronghorns" is one of my bleakest stories, about two neighbours who form a suicide pact.

In "The Cenotaph" a young man considering joining the armed forces in order to fight in Afghanistan (against his parents' wishes) meets another young man who refused to fight in the First World War.

"Triona's Beans" is a whacky story suitable for kids or really juvenile adults, in which, as it says on the WWSR back cover, "a teenage girl saves a world between first and last dinner call". "Triona's Beans" was written with Päivi Kuosmanen. It was originally accepted for Ahmed Kahn's anthology Fun Times in Strange Lands, which unfortunately is still awaiting publication.

The anthology ranges from speculative fiction to erotica and covers a lot of ground between. Definitely not your normal fare.

I'll add a purchasing link to this page when I get one. Meanwhile,

Writers on the Wrong Side of the Road expected release date Is Monday, November 21, 2011.

Writers on the Wrong Side of the Road
The most dangerous rule-wreckers from Alternative-Read.com
Edited by Sassy Brit and C.C. Bye
Published by Chase Enterprises, Nov 21, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-9781774-4-7 (print) $23.95 USD
ISBN: 978-0-9781774-5-4 (eBook) $5.99 USD
6x9 Trade Paperback, 292 pages, 4 colour stock cover
Short Story Anthology/Fiction

Available soon from Chapters/Indigo www.chapters.ca

We took away the rules
and let them write whatever the hell they liked.

Fun Times in Strange Lands: A TOC Emerges

Ahmed is always publishing OUR stories. So why not plug one of his own books? This cover is from his first YA book, Ghelenden, from Whortleberry Press.

Ahmed Khan has announced the finalized table of contents for his upcoming YA SF anthology, Fun Times in Strange Lands. And here she be:

J.P. Boyd: "The Boy Scout with Three Heads"
David M. Fitzpatrick: "Four Young Ones and a Terrible Dragon"
Nancy Fulda: "Hexes and Tooth Decay"
Ralph Gamelli: "Rainy Afternoon, with Brain"
Ahmed A. Khan: "Promises to Keep"
Ted Kosmatka: "The Last Teddy Bear"
Brian Lawrence: "Mother’s Comfort"
Kevin James Miller: "The Beautiful Truth"
Marian Powell: "When the Earth’s No Longer Silver"
Mark Rayner: "Hounding Manny"
David M. Simon: "In Search of Ancient Underwear"
Casey Wolf & Paivi Kuosmanen: "Triona’s Beans"

Thanks, Päivi!

Well, this is a fun and wonderful thing!

A few months ago my brother Vic and I met a young woman online who lives far away in Finland and who has an imagination that kicks BUTT. So surprising and vivid, her images. Her name is Päivi Kuosmanen and I turned to her a couple of months ago for help.

See, Ahmed Khan had a submission call out for two anthologies (Cheer Up, Universe and Fun Times in Strange Lands). I like submitting to Ahmed's anthologies because a) he always comes up with cool ideas for them and b) he likes my writing! So it's fun and egoboo. (Usually.)

Well, I wrote a story for Cheer Up. Perfect of course. Not so to Ahmed! Sigh. "This is For Mrs. Zaberewsky" came wending home, tail betwixt her legs.

Then I started on something for Fun Times. Egads! I am so not used to writing YA! I started, I built a head of steam, I floundered.

I ask Päivi for help.

Now, Päivi has limited fiction writing experience. But she has a lively and humorous take on life. I have more experience. But I have a dour and stalwart approach. A marriage made in heaven? Who knows. But it's sure been fun.

I write, I send, she fixes. She writes, I glance over, she writers more. We debate, we miss each other, we blunder ahead on our own; we meet on gmail-chat and negotiate.

What we've written is something neither of us would have produced on our own. Whether it is good or not, who can say? It's harder to control a story when, well, you're not controlling it, and in this process I am sometimes straining in another direction, sometimes running to catch up. But whatever it's flaws may be, "Triona's Beans" has a lot of gentle humour and some very endearing beings in it. And it was a great way to have fun with someone who is thousands and thousands of miles away.

So, thanks, Pie! Now let's hope we can find a home for this.

image by Rudolf Koivu.