Production errors all over – story in CrimeSpree

My story “The Boxer” appeared in CrimeSpree 41, April/March this year (link goes to Amazon, Kindle edition $2.99 – non-affiliate link). It turns out there was a production error in the printing, with part of the story missing. And so the story appears in full on the CrimeSpree Website. Hope you like it.

Funny thing – I had my own little production error with the story. “The Boxer” was a kind of working title, but it quickly got changed to the final title – “Take the Fall” – which makes more sense. Somehow when I submitted it, I put the old title back on, and that’s how it’s stuck. To add to the irony, there’s a boxer (professional?) with my name too, so if you do an internet search for Sean Monaghan The Boxer, you’re going to find that guy way ahead of finding my story.

BTW “The Boxer” (“Take the Fall”) is an interlinked story with some others – “While He Lay Crumpled” published in The New Flesh, “Join The Band” published in PowderBurnFlash and “Breathe In published in Flashes In The Dark. Read in any order.

The issue of CrimeSpree also includes an interview with Don Winslow. I recently read his book The Dawn Patrol – very different kind of crime-thriller. Interesting guy.

Two stories in The New Flesh: Year Two ebook

Two of my stories – Fledgling and Zombie Love For Morons – have been selected for The New Flesh’s second ebook. Download for free from here. The ebook is a selection of the 50 top stories from the year. It’s a fun and eclectic mix of stories (my own two are from the opposite poles of my writing) – including some from known authors like Jodi MacArthur, Angel Zapata, Laura Eno, Erin Cole and … well, too long a list. Download it now and enjoy.

The best of 2010

December 31st, 2010

I’ve published a lot of stories this year, as you can see from my bibliography. They’re all, for one reason or another, personal favourites, though some I might have thought a little less of have proven more engaging for some readers. I’ve tried a variety of styles and genres this year, from hard sci-fi to humourous horror and been published both in print and online.

Anyway, this selection is my favourite five online stories from the year:

Fledgling (The New Flesh)

Sunset Photographer (365Tomorrows)

Jacob’s Naked Aquarium (Bewildering Stories – selected for best of quarterly review, 3rd quarter 2010)

Zemogorgon (Pulp Metal Magazine)

Zombie-Eyed Girl (Flashes in The Dark)

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Overall, it’s been a good year, a banner year in fact – I’ve published more this year than all previous years combined – exceeding my own ridiculous goal (lesson: aim high). I still have so much more to work on and a set of new goals that will push me and challenge me – I will publish far fewer pieces, but look for longer stories, and different approaches.

See you in 2011.

Zombie Love for Morons in The New Flesh

Well, it’s Christmas here, but my special Christmas Eve story “Zombie Love for Morons” should be appearing in The New Flesh right about now.

I’ve always thought those “for dummies”, and so on, series had a kind of built-in problem, but they seem very popular (our library has around 150 titles – thinks like “Rugby Union for dummies” [well, duh], Golf Rules and Etiquette for dummies”, “SQL for dummies” [I mean, how many dummies are computer programmers?]). Zombie Love seemed like a good topic to parody that – but how to do it without getting too boring? Flash fiction, of course. How to write it as flash – ah, well, that’s the approach: have a read.

Happy Christmas, all.

Fledgling – magic realism at The New Flesh

All of my stories are special to me, for one reason or another, yet Fledgling is one of my personal favourites – perhaps the closest I’ve come to getting the whole thing right. If you were to ask me to recommend just one of my stories to read, this would be it.

My thanks to the editors of The New Flesh Magazine – William Pauley III and Brian Barnett for publishing the piece – I didn’t know if it was quite the right fit, but I guess it was. Also my indebtedness to Jodi MacArthur for her invaluable feedback on an early draft of this story.

Oh, what is magic realism anyway? I was looking for a way to describe this story quickly and that seems to describe it – real, but with the tiniest hint of magic.

Year One – table of contents

Fifty-one stories here – and definitely with Angel Zapata this time!

The New Flesh – Year One

Contents
The Lump by William Pauley III
The Woman Without the Red Dress by Michael A. Kechula
The Girl Who Followed Bees by Christie Isler
The Wooden Door by Michael A. Kechula
Grub by Angel Zapata
Heartless by Donna Jean Lyons
Kids in a Candy Store by Spencer Wendleton
Fun and Games by Brian Barnett
Penelope’s Good Day by Suzie Bradshaw
Aloisius Cottonbottom’s Surefire Image Reconstructive Services by Steve Lowe
Submissions by Sean Monaghan
Illusion by Michael A. Kechula
Figure Ate by Stephanie Barnett
The Man Who Held Hands by Brian Barnett
Rigged by Jodi MacArthur
Midnight Stroll by Joshua Day
Evolution by Angel Zapata
Demons and Acid Don’t Mix by Laura Eno
Distractions by Suzie Bradshaw
The Penguins Revolt! By Brian Barnett
The Car Park by Dan Powell
Foul-Mouthed Teenage Zombies by Suzie Bradshaw
Superstition by Robert C. Eccles
Oh My God by Chad Case
Two’s Company by Graeme Reynolds
Melissa in a Jug by A.J. Brown
Forbidden Desire in a Cave by Annemarie Bogart
Hunting J.K. by Kevin Shamel
What Comes Next by Andrew Kaspereen
Cheeto Monkey by Chris Bowsman
The Pull Out Method by Dustin Reade
Bloodline by Sheldon Lee Compton
Mangeni’s Lullaby by Eugene Gramelis
The Neuron Thieves by Sean Monaghan
Adventures of My Little Carnivorous Pony
by Jodi MacArthur
Accused by Chris Reed
Anything More Than Two by Lee Hughes
Guide Number 3 by Sean Monaghan
Fears of a Clown by Graeme Reynolds
Searching for Storms by Tania Luna
Teeth by Chris Bowsman
Feeding Time by Richard Godwin
Jared’s Gift by Mark Anthony Crittenden
The Grump by John Harrower
Septic Infusion by Bryan Lindenberger
In Case of Armageddon by Magen Toole
Mr. Fantastic by Garrett Ashley
Cleveland Cassidy’s Dick by Nathaniel Tower
Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One by Jimmy Callaway
Blink by William Pauley III

A wonderful range of stuff here – just look at those names. And it’s free – what a great thing for your Kindo or Kable or whatever those ebook reader things are 😉

Plus – keep reading The New Flesh for more stories – a new piece of weird flash almost every day.

New Flesh Magazine Year One – free ebook

New Flesh Magazine editors William Pauley III and Brian Barnett (with a nod to Suzie Bradshaw too, I’m sure) have compiled an ebook of their favourite stories from New Flesh’s first year – including some of my pieces.

The New Flesh is an online flash fiction publication, filled with misfit, bizarre and weird stories, so this ebook will be pretty unusual. You can download the ebook for free through the New Flesh Magazine website. Happy reading.