What I've Done So Far...

This isn't as short as you might think, considering this is a new online journal (I don't really care for the word, blog). So far, I have had five short stories published: four in e-zines and one in print, but the circulation was very small. None really count as publishing credits, not if you subscribe to the 3 or 5 cents per word idea before it counts as a credit. I've had stories carried in Alien Skin Magazine(2), Midnight Times, The Circle Magazine, and The First Line.

Currently, I have a number of novel-length stories in various stages. My first, true novel is/was originally titled, Mournful Weeps the Willow, but, while that sounded nice, it was grammatically incorrect. So, I altered the title to, Weeps the Willow. The story is too long for the market, however, and maybe even too boring for all but the sappiest among us - and that apparently includes me. It is a tale of police detective, Sgt. John McCourt, who takes on the case of a missing biracial girl (Sara Jane Lawrence) in the racist times of 1959 Maryland. He has some demons from the past that haunt him, though: the death of a woman and blood he still sees on his hands. Alcohol and thoughts of suicide are the only effective weapons to combat the demons. Sara Jane's case takes him down a road that leads to love and obsession. Finding her is no longer his job, it has become a life's quesiton, one that could save him, or kill him.

Two other tales are in final draft: The Forgotten World and The Book of Lore. These two are the ones for which I am seeking an agent first. These are about a group of friends and relatives from Medieval Ireland (Eirinn) who travel to an old, forgotten world. More on that later, as I come up with a pitch to send to an agent. I might try Book Ends, where fantasy is one of Jessica's specialties, but they don't list fantasy as a genre they are accepting. We'll see, I guess.

One last note: please forgive the typos. I'm composing this in the web page, but I'll do my best to compose future posts in Word, so I can use the spell-checker at least. Of course, I could always proof-read it, but where's the adventure in that?

Shaun