New Story Sale

I've just sold a short story called "What Would Nicholas Cage Have Done?" to Colin Harvey's forthcoming anthology Future Bristol, due from Swimming Kangaroo Books in April next year.

First Review of The Last Reef

The first review of The Last Reef is now online at The Fix, and it's positive. The reviewer, Rae Bryant, writes:

"In The Last Reef, Powell holds a cross-section of science, nature, and technology in his quintessential human hand and gives it a roll across the universal table. What turns up is an eclectic mix of possibility, tragedy, and hope—a gamble worth betting on."

And:

"Powell’s depth and breadth of characterization work, and his settings are truly impressive. His work displays a willingness to show truths and flaws for what they are, rather than gratuitously exaggerating only strengths. With his instinct for subtlety, Powell is an author to watch. His work is the spyglass of science fiction, the ship just over the horizon."

Read the full review here: http://thefix-online.com/reviews/the-last-reef/

Six Lights... Reviewed in Danish

My story SIX LIGHTS OFF GREEN SCAR has been reviewed in Danish by Lise Andreasen.

New Short Story: Memory Dust

I've just finished the first draft of a new short story called MEMORY DUST, which clocks in at 5300 words. It's set against the same background as my earlier story SIX LIGHTS OFF GREEN SCAR and features the exploits of another "random jumper".

Incidentally, if you've read SIX LIGHTS, you'll know it ends on a cliffhanger. To find out what happens next, you'll need to stay tuned for this week's Friday Flash Fiction...

꼭 성공하기를 바랄 뿐입니다.

It's possible some of my stories will shortly be translated for a Korean audience.

Best Space Opera

On the Asmiov's forum, editor Rich Horton has posted the proposed table of contents for a new "Best Space Opera of the Year" anthology, including my short story "Six Lights Off Green Scar".

Unfortunately, he also says the book has been cancelled...

New Projects

With Eastercon out of the way and the short story collection and flash fiction anthology both complete, it's time to turn my attention to some new projects. I didn't write as much as I wanted to last year, so I'm hoping to make up some ground over the next few months.

First on the list is a 5,000 word short story called "Gas Mask Girl". This is for a new anthology edited by Colin Harvey, and needs to be submitted by the end of June. I have written the outline and some character notes, now I need to get the story itself down on paper.

Second, I have written the opening 900 words of another 5,000 word short story with the provisional title "Caesar Murphy" - a sequel to my previous short story "Six Lights..." - and I'm hoping to enter it in the BSFA 50th Anniversary Short Story Competition. The closing date for that is 5th September.

I also have notes for a third short story called "Frankie" which I expect will stretch to around 3,000 words.

And over and above all of these is the next novel, which I hope will weigh in at around 100,000 words. I've written an outline and a whole box file full of notes, and now I just need a little time to clear my head and actually start writing the beast.

Work In Progress

I'm currently working on a loose sequel to my short story 'Six Lights Off Green Scar' (which first appeared in Aphelion in April 2005 and was then translated into Polish for the magazine Nowa Fantastyka, before being heavily revised for the Infinity Plus website in June 2007, where it appeared alongside work by Michael Moorcock, Jack Vance, Gene Wolfe, and Greg Egan).

The working title for the new story is 'Caesar Murphy'. I'm currently around 600 words into it and I'll post updates as I progress.

If you want to read 'Six Lights...' it's available here, for free: http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/sixlights.htm

New Short Story

No flash fiction this week because I've been spending my writing time working on a new short story. It's still early days, but it's looking good. I don't want to say too much about it, except to say that it's a sequel of sorts to Six Lights Off Green Scar.

I've also been involved in another exciting project... but I can't talk about that right now either. Suffice to say that a press release has been written and there should be an announcement before Eastercon...

The Winding Curve

Robert Starr's second short story collection - "Sophistry By Degrees" - is now available, featuring a short story I co-wrote with him, called "The Winding Curve", about a late night confrontation on a lonely coast road...

Robert's first collection - "Creek Water" - featured the following endorsement from me on its back cover:

"One of the reasons it's so easy to identify with the characters in these stories is that the horrors they face are the ones we remember from our childhood nightmares. Whether lurking in our darkened rooms or prowling in the winter storm outside, they're all chillingly familiar. They speak to us on a deep, primal level."

Both books are available to buy directly from the publisher, or via Amazon.

Cover Art For "The Last Reef"

Bang, Bang: Cover Art by ~pyxelated on deviantART

"The Last Reef" - my first short story collection - can now be pre-ordered from Amazon, or ordered direct from the publisher, Elastic Press.

Book Launch Update

The provisional date for the launch event for my short story collection is Saturday 9th August.

Currently Reading

• Ascendancies by Bruce Sterling
• The Collected Stories of Vernor Vinge

Short Story Collection

Last night I submitted my short story collection to Andrew Hook at Elastic Press for editing, proofreading and typesetting. The collection is due out in August under the title: "The Last Reef ".

I also submitted ten short fiction pieces and the introduction for another book... one I can't talk about right now, but there will be an announcement shortly.

Review At Scifi.UK.Com

The UK SF Review site is back up and running, featuring a review of Fiction #4, which included my short story "A Necklace of Ivy".

New First Draft

There's no Friday Flash Fiction this week because I spent my writing time finishing up the first draft of a brand new story with the provisional title "Flotsam". Weighing in at 4,100 words, and set on a container ship in the Mediterranean, it takes place against the same fictional background as my story "The Last Reef".

New Story Online

I have a brand new short story called "The Redoubt" included in the December/January issue of Aphelion, now online.

The story follows a pair of young lovers - Scott and Anna - in the last hours of a doomed holiday romance, and asks: if you were given the chance to live forever, would you take it?

The setting for the story comes from a week I spent in France at the age of sixteen, camping with friends in the grounds of an Ecumenical monastery near Cluny. Although the characters and events in the story are fictitious, I’ve tried to describe the countryside, the village church and the hot, sticky weather as accurately as possible.

Also in this issue of Aphelion is a story by fellow Friday Flash Fictioneer, Neil Beynon.

Review of Fiction Magazine Issue 4

From Gareth D Jones review of Fiction Magazine Issue 4:

"Gareth L Powell’s contribution is A Necklace of Ivy, a realistically rendered tale set against the backdrop of a mysterious alien plague sweeping through Cornwall. A young couple are making their way out of the county in advance of an army curfew, but make the mistake of stopping for one last break. The realistic dialogue and briefly sketched description make it a compelling little tale."

"The Last Reef" Podcast Now Available

Part one of my story "The Last Reef" was broadcast on the "Beam Me Up" show on WRFR Radio on 1st December. The show is now available to listen to as a podcast. Part two will be broadcast next week.

"The Last Reef" To Be Broadcast On WRFR

On Saturday December 1st, Paul Cole will play a reading of my short story "The Last Reef" on his show on WRFR Radio in the States.

WRFR broadcasts live from studios in Knox County, serving the Rockland Maine area. The show will be live streamed during the radio broadcast, and will be available online afterwards as a podcast.

Because of its length, the story may be broadcast in two parts.