stories and launch

[Holly Stacey]

Well, I'd been away for a long while and now I'm debating which bit of news to post first.

Okay, good news... I have had a short story accepted, which I'm very excited about. I'd been pulled away from my novel for many short stories. This year I've sent about 6 stories to US e-zine Shimmer and each time they come back saying they really loved it but there was just X wrong with it, etc. It seems that I've been teetering on the edge of a good story, but not actually crossing the brilliant line.

My first attempt at the Arts Council Grant to fund my historical ficiton, Blood Tide had been rejected as it overlapped three departments and needed to be refocused. I split the idea down into two: one half to be presented to Essex Extended Schools with lesson plans and book extracts, the idea being to have a more interesting telling of the slave trade (I hated textbooks as a teen). Part two is the development of my writing. That's where the Arts Council comes in. I'm applying for a grant to help with writing...a Cornerstones report, Writer's Conferences, and a few trips to London for a little extra historical research. I'm not getting my hopes up...okay, yes I am.

The novel in quesiton had already been looked at by Peter Buckman, the agent I keep failing to impress, but continues to read what I send him. (Remember, I'm still teetering on the edge of being discovered ;)

Now to swap topics (why didn't you have two blog posts, I hear someone snigger). Tomorrow is the Dragontales launch and I'm very excited to meet many of the authors that helped make it such a beautiful book. I've sent out a press release to all the local papers who have yet to respond (sigh). The food is organized, cake too (with an image of the book cover on the front). My cover designer has been supportive and gone far beyond what I expected by creating a billboard for the event.

I'll post some photos and details next time.