Three New Reviews

Found some new reviews for three of my short stories.

For “Stomach Acid” which appeared in Cthulhu Unbound 2, Matthew T Carpenter said: “Once again we and Australia's finest, Major Peel, have been asked to do the impossible, given no choice but to risk life and limb (or other organ) and sanity at the intersection between humanity and the unknowable cosmos ... I'm a big fan of both Conyers and Sammons and I have to be grateful for what we have (feel free to expand it for the next collection, guys). Stomach Acid was a fine edition to their ongoing story arc.” Read the rest of the review here.

I found this review for “Homo Canis” from 2008 Award Winning Australian Writing in an unlikely publication, the Bellarine Times. Written by Mark Farrugia he lists my story as one of his favorites. “"Homo Canis" by David Conyers, which takes a less than conventional look at corporal punishment. This story won the Australian Horror Writers Association's Flash Fiction Competition in 2007 and is an excellent example of how an abstract idea can be entertainingly expressed under 1,000 words.” Read the rest of the review here.

The Fix gave “Black Water” from Jupiter #24 an overall positvie review with: “Conyers is pretty good at evoking his future, in particular by dropping in telling little details that hint at broader goings-on outside the frame of the narrative.” Read the rest of the review here.

I’m proud to have been published in Jupiter, as I’m find its stories to be rather good compared to other magazines that are unable to pay for stories. To its credit Jupiter gets consistently good reviews from SFRevu, SFSite, SFCrowsnest and other places. I just hope that the editor, Ian Redman, makes enough in the long run to be able to transform the magazine into a professional status publication and become the next Interzone or Albedo One.

Been Away

I've been away from posting and forums and so forth for the last couple of months, and there is a good reason for that. I've changed jobs, moved house and a couple of other issues I won't go into. Needless to say circumstances have settled down somewhat and I can again focus on my writing.

Quick updates, I've appeared in Midnight Echo #2 edited by Shane Jiraiya Cummings and Angela Challis for the Australian Horror Writer's Association, with my award winning short story "Homo Canis".

I've got reviews appearing in Albedo One where I've now been made a contributing editor (thanks guys!). Those reviews incidentally are Year's Best Australian Science Fiction & Fantasy Vol. 4 edited by Bill Congreve and Michelle Marquardt, Matter by Iain M. Banks, Angel Rising by Dirk Flinthart, and The Second Black Book of Horror edited by Charles Black.

My Call of Cthulhu gaming scenario "The Burning Stars" appeared in Terrors from Beyond from Chaosium. Although there were some layout and editing problems, the book otherwise looks impressive. It got a pretty good review from Pookie on Game Cryer. Here is an extract:

Terrors From Beyond saves its best for last. David Conyers’ “The Burning Stars” is the highlight of the collection, managing to meet the book’s lofty claims with aplomb. ... Another pleasure of reading this scenario is discovering how much of it is tied into earlier Call of Cthulhu scenarios and campaigns, the author taking the time to make it as much part of Call of Cthulhu canon as no other author does. It is refreshing to see an author acknowledge the history of the game in this fashion and it would be fantastic to see the author carry this into a full campaign – which David Conyers should be allowed to write…

I attended Conjecture where I didn't win a Ditmar, met some really familiar faces including D.M Cornish, Sean Williams and Jeff Harris, and met some new writers and editors I'd only previously known through email or reputation including Jason Fischer, Pat McNamara, Dirk Flinthardt, Jason Nahrung, Peter M. Ball, Kirstyn McDermott, Alisia Krasnostein and many others. Nice to finally put faces to so many names.

I've had some interesting developments behind the scenes too, interviewing one of Australia's most prominent science fiction authors which will appear in a future issue of Albedo One. And a couple of projects in the works in the United States which are looking very promising. More news on that later.

Midnight Echo #2 Released in June

Coming next month: Midnight Echo #2, edited by Angela Challis & Shane Jiraiya Cummings, and featuring creepy stories by Kurt Newton, Bob Franklin, David Conyers, Andrew McKiernan, Joanne Anderton, Shaun Jeffrey, Felicity Dowker, and many more... plus artwork from David Schembri and many talented dark fantasy artists.

Features my Australian Horror Writers Association's Flash Fiction Award winning story "Homo Canis" which originally featured in 2008 Award Winning Australian Writing from Melbourne Books.

"Homo Canis" - Aaron Sedgwick broke the law, killing his wife in a car accident while intoxicated with alcohol. For his punishment, he is sentenced to eighteen years hard labor, remade as a dog.