Inner Peace Is For Losers

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That stunning bit of artwork is by Vincent Chong to illustrate the story St. Darwin's Spirituals, which is simultaneously being presented in print and audio by Murky Depths and Variant Frequencies.

Congrats and nice work to everyone involved. The rest of you, go have a look and a listen.

There's a new issue of Murky Depths about to be released. Terry Martin plans to show it off at the Bristol International Comic Expo, May 9-11. As a co-editor, I'm excited about this one. The stuff I've seen so far is awesome, in the real sense of the word. And Vincent Chong did the cover, inspired by a story by DK Thompson, which appears in the issue.



At Variant Frequencies we were impressed with the story, too. As a real first, "St. Darwin's Spirituals" will be podcast at the same time as the Murky Depths release. Rick gave it the full VF treatment, including some top-notch voice talent, and Abney Park(!!!) has kindly given us permission to use some of their music, so you'll hear that in the podcast.

Finally, if you go here and look for "Shush! Don't tell anyone..." it will lead to savings on a subscription to Murky Depths. That's the forum over at Whitechapel, Warren Ellis' place.

The newest issue of Murky Depths just hit my mailbox, with its racy cover by Richard Calder.



It's chock full of prose, poetry, interviews, articles, and art. Managing editor/publisher Terry Martin has loads to be proud of here. It's an tantalizing blend of horror and humor, and unique in its combination of stories and comics. So head on over to the Murky Depths website and get yourself a subscription!

That tasty litle piece of artwork goes with my new story, Paid In Full which just went live on the Variant Frequencies podcast. It's the latest addition to the Amarant series, a collection of tales that explore the notion of immortality. This one was a lot of fun to write. It's got sex and violence galore, and Lorrie Mennenga's reading captures the character perfectly. Follow the link and have a listen, or better yet, subscribe at iTunes and hear all of our podcasts as they come out. We think they're pretty good.

The song featured with this episode is called Division Road by Mue Sephei. My son knows some of the group's members from his college courses. It's good to have connections! Check out their unique brand of alternative rock at their MySpace page.

Also brand new is issue #2 of Murky Depths. Just look at that lucious cover art by Geff Taylor and tell me you don't want to get your hands on it! Mine arrived today and I've just started digging in to the stories. Also check out the MD team page at the Murky Depths website. Yep, that's me. Only I'm much younger and cuter in real life. I'm now a co-editor. (They like me, they really like me!)

Murky Depths has been reviewed again at Tangent Online. Once again it's a generally favorable review. I was especially pleased to see this:

"Give all the oddness of many of the other stories in the issue, it was kind of a surprise to find a pure, simple tale like “Naught But Ash” by Anne Stringer. Alien attacks (and it’s never made clear exactly what form these attacks took) have left only small pockets of humanity living a technologically bereft lifestyle not unlike the Old West. An entire family is butchered, a young man apprehended for the crime, and it falls to old Doc Cameron, a man who remembers what it was like before the attacks came, to dispense justice. Just what kind of man could commit such a brutal and violent act, both from a philosophical and physical viewpoint? The Doc has questions, and he might not like the answers. Given the complexity of many of the other stories, this one was almost like a palate cleanser, tangy and refreshing."

Nice, huh?

A friend sent me this link. It's a review of Murky Depths #1. The review is written by Jason Sizemore, managing editor and publisher of Apex Digest.

Mr. Sizemore said really nice things about the magazine, and about my story in particular. I was delighted to see this, because I'd been secretly harboring this fear that reviewers would be saying stuff like nice magazine...good stories, except for Anne Stringer's. So to have somebody like this say "Naught But Ash" was the best story in the issue was quite a thrill.

I just read an interview with Terry Martin, editor in chief of Murky Depths. Check it out.

Terry has also mentioned that the magazine is being stocked in several shops in London.

I finally had a chance (during the brief vacation mentioned in the last post) to read the magazine cover to cover. It's hard to pick a favorite, but standouts for me were Looking In, Looking Out by Gareth Jones; Come to My Arms, My Beamish Boy by Douglas Warrick; The Quality of Mercy by Ron Shiflet.

Graphic novels are not usually my cup of tea, but the strips contained in MD#1 are outstanding and I found myself enjoying them very much.

I know it sounds like I'm gushing. Seriously, though, there's not a misstep in the magazine. I'm proud to have a story in there.

I'm pleased to announce that Murky Depths issue #1 is coming back from the printers and will be available soon. I'm especially pleased because I have a story in it.

Murky Depths is a brand new quarterly anthology of spec fiction in straight prose and graphic strip form, and it also features informative articles. And the artwork is something special. Just check out the cover of issue #1! You can buy it, or better yet, subscribe at their website. It's a high quality magazine, some very big name writers, and I can't wait to get my hands on it.

Making good progress on the previously mentioned short story. It'll be coming soon on Variant Frequencies.

Speaking of the podcast there's a review up at Listening News. Check it out, listen to the stories they mention, and see if you agree.

Finally, I've seen the front and back cover for the first issue of Murky Depths. The cover art is absolutely stunning. It's beautiful and shocking. I love the two levels, the vast difference between what you see above water and below.

The editors have scored some amazing talent for issue 1. It looks like a collector's item to me. It's a geniune thrill for me to see my name in the list on the back.

There's a new spec fiction magazine called Murky Depths coming out of the UK starting in September of this year. My story, Naught but Ash, will be in it. I'm excited. This is my first print sale. Terry Martin, the editor, liked the story but suggested some changes, which I was happy to make. That sealed the deal.

Murky Depths looks like it's going to be a quality entry into the spec fiction market. Check out their website, buy it when it comes out.