Science Fiction and other things

Since my last post back in the age of steam driven PCs I've been writing (got an MA in Creative Writing, went to a cool US six week workshop called Odyssey and learned loads) publishing some (eg in Nebula Rift and at Perihelion SF I've also been working in Africa working with a fantastic bunch of people at Pump Aid who help disadvantaged rural communities in Malawi with clean water. I've also been running a lot - Paris Marathon next week (hopefully - fingers crossed). Joined a running club and everything! Now I ache ALL the time!

sold a short story to Perihelion Science Fiction yesterday - very happy. Will post a link when it actually gets published. This week I'm hoping to finish the first draft of my novel but a streaming head cold is getting in the way of any kind of sensible thinking (so I may not actually manage too many proper joined up sentences). Watched the first two episodes of the new SyFy series Helix last night - don't they have any proper scientists advising them? Still, that's just details. Deadly pathogen loose n the arctic in a base with guys with scary eyes? What's not to like.

Brief update from me now - more later hopefully. Two sales since the last post - Stupefying Stories and Nebula Rift - will post when published. Loads of short stories out with various markets trying to find good homes. Last year I spent most of my time in Africa (Malawi and Zimbabwe) working with a charity ( Pump Aid ) which helps poor rural communities with clean water. That didn't leave much time for writing (though I feel a Malawi based SF story brewing nicely in my head), though I did manage to do NANOWRIMO. I now have three almost completed novels and this year I'm going to finish them (honest). Also managed a couple of short stories which I took to the Milford workshop in September. I know, not much. But I got distracted, for instance by taking up the editorship of Mensa UK's Creative Writing group magazine, Folio, and doing reviews for the SF Concatenation webzine. Lots to unpick there - will do that in later posts.