Of planes, frogs and scorpions…

I’m being evil with the title of this post, I’m afraid, but it’s quite appropriate since my latest short story, ‘Scorpio’, which appears at Thrills Kills ‘n’ Chaos today, is also pretty evil.  The story, about a pilot having to take a convicted murderer into the air to spot the burial site of his victim, was inspired by the old frog and scorpion fable – so don’t expect a Happy Ever After ending!  It’s all pretty dark and desperate.

I know nothing at all about handling small aircraft, but am indebted to my Other Half for the details as he regularly flew Cessnas when he was training for his Private Pilots’ Licence.  He got it, too, but has had to let it lapse since, as all the suitable airfields are too far away.  There are drawbacks to living in the Far North of England…

I hope you enjoy the story, if ‘enjoy’ isn’t too optimistic a word!

New stories

I promised more details about the stories I’d had accepted the other day, so here they are.  In the meantime I’m delighted to say that ‘a couple’ has turned into three, or four if you count the one currently appearing in the new 81 Words anthology.  It’s been quite a week!

First off, there’s ‘Scorpio’, a twisted but topical little tale inspired by the old ‘frog and scorpion’ fable, coming soon in Thrills, Kills ‘n’ Chaos magazine.

Next there’s ‘Singing From the Same Sheet’, which Near 2 the Knuckle have just accepted for their forthcoming Rogue anthology.  This dark story asks what separates the good from the bad – and you may not like the answer very much!

Finally, brand new magazine Betty Fedora, which specialises in fiction about ‘kick ass women’, has accepted ‘Going Off the Deep End’, a darkly humorous revenge story about a woman slighted by her ex best friend, for their first issue, due out this time next year.

You can find more details on the stories on my website.  Do check back from time to time, as I’ll be updating release dates etc whenever I have more information.