Front Porch Flash Fiction

I just learned that Sink/Swim Press is doing a second run of their anthology Front Porch Flash Fiction which contains my short story "Cheaters Never Win." A husband, having learned his wife has cheated on him, exacts his revenge by forcing her to take part in a deadly game.

The anthology contains stories from a several Richmond writers, including stories from two friends of mine, Katharine Thayer and John Glover. So if you didn't get a copy on the first run, then now's your chance.

Wildcat's Writer Weekend

This weekend, I've been more "Bill, the Writer," than "Bill, the Wildcat." It's been a LOT of fun. Last night, I attended the release of the anthology Front Porch Flash Fiction at Velocity Comics. The book included my short story "Cheaters Never Win."



Just as exciting for me as seeing my story in print was being joined in the anthology by two of my friends, Katharine Hearndon ("365 Ways to Cook Chicken") and J.T. Glover ("Sufficient Pangs").

Every copy of the book's first run sold out last night. I hope Sink/Swim Press will release a second run, and if they do, I'll be sure to let you know. Until then, you won't be able to buy a copy.



We celebrated the book release with some of our friends, and my wife and I didn't get to bed until about one o'clock. Normally, we'd just sleep late to recover, but such was not an option. At 5:45 this morning, we crawled out of bed and drove to Harrisonburg, Virginia, for the Write-Brained Network writers workshop. My wife and I are friends of Ricki Schultz, the founder of the Write-Brained Network. She did a great job organizing the event. It included several folks we've gotten to know well through our work with James River Writers: Tiffany Trent, David L. Robbins, David Kazzie and Clifford Garstang. My wife and I also met fantasy writer Jodi Meadows and her agent Lauren MacLeod. Jodi's debut novel Incarnate comes out January 31st. I've really been looking forward to this book which offers a nice twist on the idea of reincarnation.

If the world keeps recycling the same million souls, then what happens if someone is born who's never had a past life? And what happens to the soul who lost the time of its rebirth?

An advanced reader's copy of the book was given away as part of a drawing at the end of the event, and guess who won it? Heh. I can't wait to read it! My webcomic's cat Frank was just as excited.

Incarnate has generated a lot of buzz. What's really cool for me is that this is the first printed copy of Jodi's book which she has autographed. Not only did she make it out to me and my wife, but to Frank, as well.





The prize from the drawing also included something that has me just as pumped. I won a critique by Tiffany Trent of the first ten pages of my manuscript. That will be a great help as I'm putting the polish to my young adult, vampire hunter novel.

In the meantime, Frank has called dibs on reading Jodi's book first, but after a busy two days, we're off to bed. I don't think Frank plans to let our copy of Incarnate out of his sights anytime soon.

Thursday Randomness: Cheaters Never Win

Next month will see two of my stories appear in different anthologies. Last week, I unveiled a bit of graphic artwork I created to promote one of those stories entitled "The Deadlands," which will appear in the anthology Four in the Hole. I'll include wallpaper versions of that graphic for your computer at the end of this entry. First off, a few details on the other short story.

I wrote "Cheaters Never Win" back in 2008. It's one of the few pieces of flash fiction I've ever written, coming in at just a little more than 500 words. The story might well be one of the darkest things I've ever written. A husband, having learned his wife has cheated on him, exacts his revenge by forcing her to take part in a deadly game. I don't want to say much more than that, lest I give too much away. After all, there's only so much one can reveal about a flash fiction story.

A local publisher, Sink/Swim Press, is including "Cheaters Never Win" in their anthology Front Porch Flash Fiction. The book comes out September 9th. They're holding a release party that night at Velocity Comics, and I can't wait to go!

I'm also excited about this anthology, because it will include stories from two friends of mine, Katharine Herndon and John Glover. I met John at last year's James River Writers Conference. Speaking of which, Katharine is the chair for this year's JRW Conference, which is being held October 7th and 8th at the Library of Virginia (you can expect me to blog about that as we get closer to the conference). I've known Katharine for many years, and my wife and I were even in a writers critique group with her called "The Ten Page Club" (or "XPC" for short). It was in this group that Katharine read an early version of my other short story, "The Deadlands." Ah, yes... that's how I bring this blog entry back to my other short story.

So, here's the wallpaper for "The Deadlands." I've included the usual sizes for your enjoyment. Nothing makes a computer look more chipper (or would that be "chipperer?") than a picture of the end of the world.

               

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