Featured Story

My fantasy tale Fear Factor is one of five others in the featured story spot over at Sniplits, for the week of 7/26/09. It was produced last year, voiced by Malcolm Rothman, who did one of the best readings of any of my stories. It's available year round but this week its up on the Sniplits home page so I'm hoping it gets more notice. It's not my usual kind of story but its definitely one of my favorites.

www.SnipLits.com

Hate Mail

I guess it was bound to happen. I just received my first bit of hate mail in regards to writing. This came in today about noon.

Date: July 15 2009 12:28 pm

You are a terrible obvious writer with clearly a very limited imagination. Please stop writing. You are an embarassment to writers everywhere.

Wes Yoakam

I don't mind saying that I was stunned. Somebody actually read my stuff. And they think I am well known enough to be an embarrassment to other writers. Wow. But on the down side, he was being pretty harsh about my writing skills, so that's kind of negative. I wondered if I should write the guy back, find out what he really meant by "Please stop writing," which seemed a very sincere request, not to mention polite. He did say please.

So I wrote back

Date: July 15, 2009 1:43 pm

Very sorry that you feel this way Mr. Yoakam. May I ask, was there a particular piece that made you feel this way?

He then responded

Date: Wed, Jul 15, 2009 3:47 pm

Well I will say I'm impressed by a personal reply. I bought "the edge of the world" (or something close, I don't have it with me)because I was entrigued by the title, as I wrote a song with a similar title a few years ago, and I love Sci Fi and a good adventure story. But I must say it just seemed like really lazy writing. There were the Christians, Muslims, and the Jews Fighting it out in Jerusalem (I mean the Tierrans, Urabans, and the Saedreans fighting it out in "ishsalem". I mean really, with the creativity you show in parts of the story, I'm sure you could be a little more creative in the names)The real story of Jerusalem is facinating enough, so do the research and write that amazing story! Keeping the stereotypes with barely disguised name changes just felt so contrived and really ruined the story for me. So there it is...but you still got the money, so here's to good marketing! Good luck and continued success.

Wes Yoakam

My response

Date: Wed, Jul 15, 2009 7:58 pm

Dear Mr. Yoakam

Thank you for your last response. It has relieved my confusion. I understand you are dissatisfied with The Edge of the Earth, and I am pleased to announce, that I did not write it. I am Kevin Anderson, a writer of short stories, mostly horror. The author deserving of your comments is Kevin J Anderson, Sci-Fi novelist.

You can reach him at his website at www.wordfire.com,
or email him at anderzone@wordfire.com.

He receives fan mail via snail mail at:
AnderZone PO Box 767Monument, CO 80132

You can comment on his novel on Amazon at:
http://www.amazon.com/Edge-World-Terra-Incognita/dp/0316004189

I hate hearing that anyone has had a bad reading experience, and I am sorry for that, and I apologize for any confusion my name may have caused. As for your opinions on Mr. Kevin J Anderson’s talent I can neither confirm or deny them, as I have not read any of his novels.

On a side note, I had the pleasure of listening to some of your music this afternoon. Brilliant, Fantastic. I particularly enjoyed, In Space, A Postcard, and One Second – with In Space being my favorite. You have a new fan.

I sincerely wish you good luck in all your creative, artistic, and musical endeavors.

Take Care
Kevin Anderson

Missed my own Deadline

Well I missed my self imposed deadline for my Zom-Com novella, which is on its way to becoming a Novel. Most definitions cut off the word count for a novella at 40,00 and I'm already at 46,000. Novel or Novella I wanted to have draft number one done by the end of June, but its looking more like first of August. For my beta readers who signed on to read in June, I apologize, and I hope you can still read in August. If not I understand.

My wife is doing a brilliant job of reading as I write, adding input that is definitely making it stronger. I feel pretty good in my ability to write action, dialogue, and keep a story moving, but sometimes I get way to focused on those things and I forget to develop the characters. My wife is a MFT, therapist, and can easily spot when a character is not acting true to life, not exhibiting the appropriate emotional response, or just plain turning into a robot.

On the short story front I recently sold a short story to a new magazine coming out in August. It's a reprint, so I'm kind of excited about it but not ecstatic. It's the only thing I've sold in 2009 so far and none of my new stuff is getting picked up. Withersin Magazine held a story of mine for a second read, but in the end it did not make the cut. In the last month I've gotten rejections from Podcastle, Psuedopod, Flash Me Mag, Nossa Morte, Fantasy Magazine, and I've had stories with Brutarian and Murky Depths since the beginning of the year and neither are responding to queries. Anybody know if those last two are still kicking?

When not writing I read, and I recently finished Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking. Very funny, extremely blunt, and full of odd trivia - Did you know Cary Grant took LSD? Currently I'm reading William Shatner's Get a Life. Its a kind of history of Star Trek conventions and his journey to get to know and understand Trekkies, and or Trekkers. I'm about halfway through and really enjoying the read, and I'm beginning to come to terms with the fact that I'm a bigger Trekkie than I ever realized. But that's okay, becouse it would seem, as luck would have it, that I am married to one. My wife and I recently had a heated discussion about who is the best Captain in Star Fleet. I'm on the Kirk side of the argument, she is for Jean Luc Picard, all the way. I see her points, but my problem with Picard is that Patrick Stewart is just to fine an actor. He just dosen't have any Shatnerness.

Oh well, when not writing or reading, I've been re-watching my favorite Zom-Coms for inspiration - Dead and Breakfast, Boy Eats Girl, Undead or Alive, Fido, Dead Meat, Black Sheep, Return of the Living Dead I and II, Dance of the Dead, Night of the Living Dorks - I've pretty much seen them all, but if you have any recommendations please send them on over.

That's it for now. Take care, and remember to aim for the head.

The Youthful Face of Unemployment

Today's Press Enterprise (main newspaper in the Inland Empire, Ca) is running my essay (Op-Ed piece) in the opinion section. Originally titled The Youthful Face of Unemployment, the editors changed it to Tattoos Torpedo Job Interviews. The new title is more to the point, which is what an opinion piece needs to be, and I guess its the fiction writer in me that keeps trying to create mystery with titles, the exact opposite of what a newspaper whats to do. Its hard to switch gears sometimes. But I was a bit curious why they removed a paragraph with statistics from a source that gave support to my position. I can only conclude that an opinion editorial needs to be just that, opinion, not facts. Too many facts and it sounds to much like a news story.

Not sure if this is something to worry about, but the subjects of my essays, may indicate that I am in danger of becoming (or I am already) a grumpy old man. My last essay, Put down the phone and be a parent criticized young parents for being over involved in cell technology and ignoring their children. Kind of a grumpy old man point of view. Oh, well. Change happens. We grow, we learn, we age, and some of us become grumpy in the process.

Both essays are available online in Text and Audio

1. Tattoos torpedo job interviews May 27, 2009 - ... Tattoos torpedo job interviews. Download story podcast. 10:10 PM PDT on Tuesday,May 26, 2009. By KEVIN ANDERSON. ... Kevin Anderson is a resident of Menifee. ...
   
2. Put down the phone and be a parent Feb 14, 2009 - ... parent. Download story podcast. 09:06 PM PST on Saturday, February 14, 2009.By KEVIN ANDERSON. ... it. Kevin Anderson is a resident of Menifee. ...

There is a typo in this mornings Tattoo essay (first person to catch it gets a cookie) Even professional Copy Editors are human. And here is the missing paragraph from the Tattoo piece. Still not sure why they cut it.

But it is reversible, and when done, has measurable results. Clinic Officials at a North Hollywood Medical Clinic, offering laser tattoo removal, recently reported that 80% of those that have tattoos removed were able to get better jobs and were more likely to receive promotions at current jobs.

I think I found a topic for my next piece. Pet Piercing - pros vs. cons.

Popping Kernels

I got some nice news this morning in an email from Withersin Magazine. My Flash Fiction story - its about 1600 words - is being held for a second read. Not a home run, but I'm on base, and looking to steal. WM will make their final decision by mid June, and if I make it in, it will be my second appearance in the magazine. They ran my story "Liberation," in 2008, with some outstanding, and creepy artwork by B.A. Bosaiya. If you haven't picked up a copy of WM, its worth checking out. It's one of the most intelligent Speculative Fiction magazines in the small press today.

In other news - I've recently tried to increase the amount of my submissions. I think I've been putting all my eggs in to few baskets of late, so I'm going back to the philosophy I utilized when I first started writing, that of having as many kernels in the frying pan as I can. The theory being that eventually, one will pop.

Currently I have submissions in at: Flash Me Magazine, Brutarian, Murkey Depths, Sinister Tales, Withersin, Uncharted Sky, and Pseudopod. And I hope to send out at least two to three more this weekend. Something has got to pop.

Another interesting thing that has happened recently, is an invitation to submit some stories to a company that produces some edgy audio drama. I don't want to give out to much here in case it doesn't go anywhere, but if something I send them pops, with them, I'll definitely blog about it. It does sound interesting and I'm very intrigued at the possibility of having a full cast audio production of some of my stuff.

I'm still plucking away at my novella and hope to have the first draft done by the end of June. I'm really considering producing this one, or having it produced, as a podcast novel. But first, before I get ahead of myself, I need to finish the damn thing. Then off to the beta readers. Speaking of Beta readers - I need some. Anyone interested please let me know. I need people that have an appreciation for Zom-Com, or at the very least, have a sense of humor.

If you enjoyed Blood, Gridlock, and PEZ, Fear Factor, or Framing and Mounting Fairies, then I could very much use your thoughts on the new novella this summer.

Award from Preditors & Editors

This evening I got an e-mail from Dave Kuzminski, Editor at Preditors & Editors, informing me that my web site AudioMarketList.com was nominated and later selected as the latest recipient of the Preditors & Editors' Truly Useful Site Award.

My sincere thanks to person who nominated the site - whoever you are.

In the last two weeks I've gotten rejections from Strange Horizon, Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, and Intergalactic Medical Show. No biggy. Still working on my Zom-Com Novella. Hoping to finish first draft by May, or at least before the Zombie trend goes the way of the housing market.

In the meantime I've put up a Market List of audio markets that other writers might find useful. I spoke via email with Ralan about a month ago regarding the need for an Market List exclusively of Audio Markets, and it was something he wanted to do over at Ralan.com, but for a variety of reasons it just wasn't feasible at the moment. So, I went ahead and made one. If you come across any Audio Market News, please send it on over.

AudioMarketList.com