On Secret Identities

I know just how superheroes feel now. I do! Apart from all my super powers (my most often used one is sleeping through my alarm clock, very handy that one) I have my own secret identity in place so no super villains go after my friends and family and say "He can't write, you know!" right in their faces.

In other words, I have decided to write under a pen name. Nothing to do with super powers and all that whatnot at all, unfortunately.

I used to write a fair bit some years ago. I remember loving it at the time. Now as all the inspirational people around me grow I am all inspired again to pick up my pen and get back into it. It's a slow process. I haven't found my writing feet quite yet, I'm managing to write a few hundred words here and there and slowly building up a story that will hopefully be much better than all that other drivel I used to work on. What I found is that to get me into a more comfy mental state to actually put pen to paper developing an alternate me worked quite nicely.

So...

I'm Batman.

Haha! Not really! No...

The truth is... I'm Iron Man!

Haha! No.

I'm Douglas Strider and I'm currently working on a Sci-Fi Novella series and am really enjoying myself.

Here's the Twitter for my writerly self: twitter.com/DougStrider

Here's the blog for the self-same fellow: dougstrider.posterous.com/

So if you see Doug around go and say hello! You'll know it's me stalling and faffing about but still having good thinks about writing and writers and tea.

And finally, here's to you! You're all awesome and I love that.

The New Dark

When the Elders of Dark Fiction Magazine cornered us we begged, pleaded desperately, even went to the bar to get the drinks in. They spared our lives but tasked us with running DFM as they wanted to take a step back and leave things in hands deemed capable.

I looked at my hands seriously, and thoughtfully, to emphasise my responsible nature.

Then Jen and I went for beers, ciders and sausage rolls in our local to discuss whether we could feasibly do this thing.

Could we?

We have so many other things to do, we just don't have the time.

So we agreed to do it anyway. We'd find the time.

And we did.

Our first issue at the helm, Issue 11, is now done. It's out there (or in here) and it's a beauty.

Great stories, great narrations, great artwork too. All the things you would expect DFM to deliver and we really hope people like it because The Elders wouldn't take kindly to us mucking it up. We signed in blood, see, and that's like well serious and stuff.

It was a good challenge learning how to put everything together for this, so many fiddly bits to click, arrange and wonder where it's disappeared to... There have been quite a few hours put into this as Jen might agree. Now it's done we're working on the next issue and hoping that in time it all becomes as familiar as an old black cat.

So please, enjoy! Enjoy A LOT. Or... or... something.

A bit of a Narration-and-Other-Audio update thing

Since last I updated this place there have been a few things going on that are very much well worthy of your ears.

In Dark Fiction Magazine - Issues 8 and 9 - There are these two beauties:

Issue 8, Voices from the Past,  I read Paul Cornell's story A Map of Lychford