When Things Go Bump In the Night...

Snap to screen at A Night of Horror

2011-03-15T15:52:00.003+11:00

My short film short film Snap will be screened as part of next month's Sydney A Night of Horror program.

The film will be screened as part of the program's Australian Horror Showcase - Short Films section on Wednesday, April 6 at the Metro Screen, Cnr Oatley Rd and Oxford St, Paddington.

It was directed by Cameron Oliver and written by myself and Cameron.

Tickets are available at the door.

For screening details on the short film segment and other films visit the festival's website.

Daily Flash available to buy

2010-10-25T16:51:00.003+11:00

Daily Flash 2011: 365 Days of Flash Fiction (Anthology), which contains my short-short story, ‘Peer Pressure’, is now available for purchase.

The anthology contains 365 stories of 500 words or less (one a day) for `busy readers'. There is a whole bunch of Aussie writers featured in this one so check it out.

You can pick up a copy from the Publisher or Amazon.

New story picked up

2010-10-24T19:33:00.002+11:00

Chris Bartholomew has picked up my story the Bite of Politics for his anthology Closet Monsters.

The anthology is being published by Static Movement and is due out some time in the near future.

Four more in the bag

2010-10-10T12:38:00.002+11:00

Apologies for the break in transmission, although I believe I had a good excuse with the birth of my daughter and all...

Just a note to let you know of some new stories which have been picked up in the past month.

Electicism has taken my story Famous for its January 2011 issue, while Paroxysm Press' 100 Lightnings anthology has snagged my story Feeding Time.

Also due out soon is Red Eye in the Cup of Joe Anthology and Peer Pressure gets another run in Daily Flash: 365 Days of Flash from Pill Hill Press.

Now if only I could find time between nappy changes to do some new writing...

Red Eye goes well with Cup of Joe

2010-08-16T16:09:00.003+10:30

My flash fiction story Red Eye has been picked up for the Cup Of Joe- Coffee House Flash Fiction anthology.

The story is about airplane crash on Christmas Eve.

The anthology is to be released by Wicked East Press and is expected out in December.

Ghost story let out to play

2010-02-05T14:12:00.002+11:00

Where The Wild Children Play is out and ready to read as part of Eclecticism #11.

Featuring the theme Ghost Story the issue also includes stories from Keith Nunes, Myra King, Trost, Lynley Stace, Nicholas Deigman, Allan Wilson, E. Armanious and Chantel Schott.

The issue looks great and best of all is free to download so no excuses not to check it out.

Eclecticism joins play time

2009-11-26T16:34:00.004+11:00

Aussie online short story zine Eclecticism E-zine has picked up short story Where the Wild Children Play for its 11th issue out in January 2010.

I recently only got my butt back into gear to send out some new subs so its great to get the tick of approval with the first response.

Here's hoping the others have just as good news.

Snap takes top gong

2009-10-04T11:14:00.003+11:00

My short film Snap has taken out four awards at the 15-15 Film Festival Gala night, including best overall film.

The film was unanimously selected as the festival's top film from a field of 168 Australian and international films. The award means the film will be shown at all screenings of the festival across Australia as well as in Japan, South East Asia and Europe. It will be subtitled for the international screenings.

The film managed to win four awards from its eight nominations taking out best male actor (Dan Wells), best cinematography and best editing as well as best film.

The film will also be archived in the National Australian Film Archives.

Needless to say, myself and co-writer/director Cameron Oliver are pretty stoked.

The film is screening at a bunch of Aussie venues over the next month or so. To check out a screening near you click here.

Snap gets eight award nods

2009-09-01T10:16:00.003+10:30

My short film Snap has been shortlisted for eight awards in the 15-15 Film Festival.

The film which I co-wrote and was directed by Cameron Oliver has been nominated for:

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
BEST EDITING
BEST DIRECTION
BEST ORIGINAL STORY/SCRIPT
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
BEST ANIMATION
BEST COMEDY

The 15-15 festival requires filmakers to produce, shoot and edit a film in 15 hours.

The film will be shown at the Melbourne Gala Night on October 2 at the RMIT Capitol Theatre from 7pm.

Award winning films will be shown throughout Australia and Europe.

Continuum ramblings and other associated news

2009-08-21T12:48:00.003+10:30

We'll I survived another Continuum festival, had a great time, met some fresh faces, caught up with a few I'd met before and managed to knock off No Award for the innagural Chronos Award for Best Fan Writer.

The trophy, a fantastic looking clock is now proudly on display above the TV - as promised in my speech.

The con itself was a little smaller than the ones I have attended previously - but with plenty of friendly faces we all had a great time. A special thank you goes out to those who put up with me in a very intoxicated state on Saturday night.

From a writers point of view the con did all the things its supposed to do to, renewing the itch to get stuck into your own work, making you more determined than ever to make sure you write something you can launch at one of these events in the future, and making you realise that yes - even the best still get rejection slips.

While I ran out of cash to get my early bird ticket to next year's Continuum in February, I'll definately be making my way back to it in the new year.

On a writing note, I have seen the proof of my story A New Year's Murder which will be out in Sex and Murder Magazine #2 this weekend. The yarn has been given a great position at the top of the table of contents so be sure to check it out.

Going... Going... Sold to Sex and Murder Magazine

2009-08-04T17:42:00.004+10:30

My story A New Year's Murder has been picked up by Sex and Murder magazine.

The story, which strangely includes both sex and murder, will appear in an upcoming issue of the new online and print magazine.

In a time where a lot of my writing time has been eaten up by my day job, it's nice to know I'm still able to keep the fiction sales slowly ticking over.

Snap caught on film

2009-07-31T14:39:00.003+10:30

Filming has completed on a short horror film I co-penned with fellow screenwriter Cameron Oliver called Snap.

The film - which is a play on the Hostel and Saw torture films - tells the story of a man who awakes bound in a dark room and is tortured by an inflatable penguin.

It was shot in one day as part of the 2009 15-15 Film Festival. Originally written as a comedy, a great acting performance and some powerful cinematography from Mark Morris has seen it hold its own in the horror genre.

The film was directed by Cameron.

I’m usually fairly critical of our short films, but I’m really proud of the way this story transferred to the screen.

Look out for it in coming months as part of the 15-15 Festival screenings.

Chronos award nomination

2009-07-09T15:21:00.002+10:30

In a bizzare twist I have somehow managed to be shortlisted as the only finalist for Best Fan Writer in Continuum's innagural Chronos Awards.

Why I have been singled out among such other great reviewers, news, fan writers is a bit of a mystery but I thank those who felt me worthy of their vote.

To be shortlisted for both this and a Ditmar in the same year is a great honour and with a bit of luck (given that I'm the only finalist) I may get to accept a nice shiny award at Continuum 5 in Melbourne next month.

I have noticed on the ballot that there is the option for no award, so hopefully enough convention goers see it in their hearts to select me above the option of not handing out an award.

Here's the full list of nominees:

Best Short Fiction
"Neverland Blues", Adam Browne (Dreaming Again)
"They Live Under the House", Felicity Dowker (Midnight Echo #1)
"Her Collection of Intimacy", Paul Haines (Black: Australian Dark Culture Magazine #2)
"Painlessness", Kirstyn McDermott (Greatest Uncommon Denominator #2)
"Dress Circle", Miranda Siemienowicz (Hecate Vol 34, #1)

Best Collected Work
Dreaming Again, editor Jack Dann (Harper Voyager)
Midnight Echo #1, editors Kirstyn McDermott & Ian Mond (AHWA)

Best Fan Writer
Mark Smith-Briggs (HorrorScope)
Best Fan Artist
Carol Kewley (Ethel The Aardvark cover art)
Dick Jenssen (Interstellar Ramjet Scoop)

Best Fan Publication
Ethel The Aardvark, editor Murray MacLachlan (Melbourne Science Fiction Club)
Interstellar Ramjet Scoop, editor Bill Wright
Steam Engine Time, editors Bruce Gillespie & Janine Stinson

Werewolf story finds a home

2009-04-02T13:44:00.003+11:00

The good folk down at Ripples Magazine have agreed to publish my tale Werewolf Story in their upcoming issue.

Werewolf Story will appear in issue 16 of the magazine, due out any day now.

This was the first story I wrote after my mentorship with Lee Battersby, so check it out and see if he was able to belt me into shape.

To grab a copy go to www.ripples.150m.com

Praise. For me?

2009-01-15T18:41:00.002+11:00

Found this in Shane Jiraiya Cumming's Smoke and Mirrors blog today. I was a little shocked to see my name on the list. Hopefully, it can provide the motivation I need to get cracking in 2009.

http://jiraiyanews.blogspot.com/2008/12/dark-fiction-writers-to-watch.html

From beneath the cloak of darkness I return... well kind of

2008-06-26T20:25:00.002+10:30

Apologies for my silence, but I assure you with good reason.

For the past five weeks I have been back into the saddle as a full-time journalist so my other obligations such as this blog and my fiction submissions have been a little neglected. That's something I'm hoping to rectify soon, but given that I'm now spending 40-50 hours a week writing news copy I'm not sure how many tales I'll get to write. Hopefully it will be a case of quality over quanity and I'll be able to keep the publication clock ticking over.

I've also been working hard on some material for the launch issue of Black Magazine for those fine lads and lasses over at Brimstone Press. My contribution will include a regular column on horror movies, plus some assorted reviews so be sure to grab a copy when it hits streets on July 14.

My horror fiction has been a little slower, with a few rejections trickling in but no new sales to report. I've also been trying to work out how to divy off my brain so I can keep a few tales ticking over while I chase a couple of dozen news leads a week. Admist the clatter I did remember to renew my AHWA membership however.

The promised website updates will also be coming, but without a handful of new sales to report it looking a little outdated. Still, if you've yet to take a look swing on by to www.freewebs.com/marksmithbriggs If nothing else it will make me feel important.

Let the inner geek shine

2008-04-27T12:45:00.005+10:30

Could this be the coolest toy ever? I think so.

It's a Jaws shark plush toy that plays the attack theme music when you press it's fin. I found it at a movie memorbilia store the other day and just had to buy it. Needless to say there has been lots of stalking around the house chasing the dogs and my wife with the theme music blaring, so much so that the pups now won't go near it and my wife has banished it to the front writing room with all my other movie treasures.

Also, my four month old puppy Indy has shown why he's destined to be the king of the canine food chain in our household this week. We had him desexed earlier this week and he has been fitted with a plastic cone for two weeks while the wound heals. We were a bit worried that our other dog Cujo, who likes to play fight with Indy constantly, would take the opportunity to beat him up a little.

But in a true fighting spirit Indy quickly realised that he could use the plastic cone as a weapon, ramming Cujo with and driving him backwards into the wall, floor etc. We don't really condone violence in the house, but it sure has been funny to watch.

Never let work get in the road of a good story... unless you really need the cash!

2008-04-22T21:01:00.004+10:30

Well my little vacation of working nights in a video store and trying to become a best-selling author by day is finally coming to a close with the realisation that a morgage, growing list of bills and pressure from my wife to some day settle down and have kids, means I need to go out and find a better paying job.

It's always a little bit weird to dust off the old resume, paraphrase what makes you so great (or at least employable) into half a page of bulletpoints and then dangle yourself around like a peice of meat and see who will bite. I guess as writers we do the same thing with our work, but that's just a creation of the mind and not the boring old pound of flesh bit.

I guess the purists would say that we're actually shopping our souls when we send out a story because every story has to be a true reflection of who we are inside, but I don't really buy that. As a horror writer myself who has shared beers with some of the countries most macarbe minds in Australian fiction I like to think that most of us are just nice guys who like to scare people with our stories, not repressed serial killers looking for an outlet with our work.

With all the job search stuff going on the fiction has taken a back step for a week or two as its a little hard to be dreaming up ways to multilate an innocent maiden while I'm trying to tell potential employees what a great catch I am. I still have three of my five latest subs out in submission land - two were kindly rejected last week - so I'll have to be content with seeing how they fare while I get the annoying life stuff under control first.

Till then...

That's right, reading can be fun

2008-04-01T18:05:00.002+11:00

After two years of having my reading time consumed by Australian Shadows entries and the odd Horrorscope book review, its nice to finally have some time to choose my reading material again.

While I really enjoyed my time as a judge and unearthed some Aussie gems in the process, the notion of having to read a designated pile of stories really does eat into your enjoyment level after a while.

So the past few weeks has allowed me to finally dig into the growing pile of books I've been amassing over the past 24 months and enjoy a few chapters when I crawl into bed each night.

In particular, I finally got around to reading Joe Hill's excellent short story collection 20th Century Ghosts and are now engrossed by John Ajvide Lindqvist's Let the Right One In. He has a definate Stephen King vibe about his work and is well worth checking out.

The good thing about reading really talented authors is that it also inspires you to work on the little things as a writer yourself. The stuff I'm reading is way out of my league at the moment, but by indentifying what I really like about each author's style I can begin to work on improving the particular facits in my own work.

Jack Dann once told me in a work shop to go through the book's of the authors I most admired with a highlighter and mark all the things that made me love their work, then replicate it in my own writing. It's sound advice and a good basis for developing your own voice. I prefer to make mentals note though, or to jot things down on a pad - it doesn't damage those precious first editions.

Sold! to the folks at Antipodean SF

2008-03-23T21:31:00.003+11:00

Sold a story to Antipodean SF today.

The flash fiction tale entitled PEER PRESSURE will be appearing in issue 122 which is online in mid July. I'll fill you in with more info, such as who else will be appearing in the issue, as I find out more.

Also, remember to check out my website at http://www.freewebs.com/marksmithbriggs Things are fairly basic at the moment but I swear I'll be adding more stuff soon. At least you can get a rundown on where I've been published and a little about my history.

Black Box revealed

2008-03-18T19:37:00.005+11:00

Okay, so the cat can be let out of the bag now. And no, despite Lee's kind suggestion it's not where I stuff the kittens I kill. I sell them to the chinese shop around the corner.

No, this Black Box is a multi-media e-anthology from the team at Brimstone Press featuring horror fiction, artwork, graphic comics and music. Released on two CDS it features more than 100 flash fiction tales from about 80 authors including Lee Battersby, Will Elliot, Stephen Dedman, Rob Hood and Richard Harland. It also has one from me entitled Scarecrow and one from a good pal of mine Christopher Elston.

The second disc includes music and film clips from Australian and New Zealand bands such as Frankenbok, Pathogen and The Eternal.

For more details, or to order a copy go to the Brimstone Press website. I think it goes for about $12.95 with all funds going to help the Australian Horror Writers Association. Copies should also be on sale at this weekend's Swancon in Perth.

2008-02-24T15:36:00.001+11:00

Houston, we have a webpage!

2008-02-06T20:09:00.000+11:00

Well after a year or so of dilly dallying around, I've finally joined the online revolution and made myself a webpage.

Sure it's one of those freewebs, with the easy to follow templates and banner add across the top, but the site looks suprisingly good, presents all the info I need to (I'll be adding pics and some other cool stuff in the near future) and gives me an official face for editors, readers and really bored net surfers.

The site is www.freewebs.com/marksmithbriggs Drop by and check it out, or better yet, link it to your own website.

In other news, I sold a story to the splatterpunk anthology Slice today. The story was one I wrote a while back with a particulary nasty vibe and the editor seemed to like it, so hopefully No Laughing Matter sates gore hounds when its released later this year.

There's a reason some of us do what we do

2008-01-02T12:23:00.000+11:00

After gorging ourselves on the trappings of another Chrristmas dinner (not to mention the piles of leftovers) my Dad stayed down a few days this week to help with a backyard project designed to make the summer months more pleasent - a pegola.

Instead of forking out thousands of dollars to some money-hungry tradesman we decided to best way to do it was to build it ourselves - after all how difficult could it be? After several trips to the local Bunnings store, and one to the bottleshop to ensure the esky was well stocked, we began the first day's task of putting together the frame. My uncle (with his long limbs) was to come help with the roofing the next day so we knew we had a bit of a job ahead of us. After mulling over a few things, and a few tiny hickups we set to work. By around four pm (and only one beer each in - we'd been busy little bees) the frame was really starting to get some shape. We'd attached the second pole and were trying to work out how to support a long length of beam that would hold the frame in place. Looking around I came up with the idea of using the second rung of the ladder to hold the wood while we coach bolted it to the pole. The ladder held the beam at the perfect height and with much mutural back-patting we screwed it into place.

"I think that deserves a beer," my Dad said and a scooted over to the esky to pluck a couple of cold ones for our efforts. It was only upon looking up on my return that I noticed our mistake. See if you can spot it...

That's right, in our obsession to hold the beam up we'd forgot to slide the ladder out, bolting it into the frame. Luckilly after a bit of a giggle we were able to undo the screws and rectify the problem and I now have an attactive, ladder-free pegola area to enjoy. But it goes to show the reason why some us are writers and not handymen.

2007: that's a wrap

2007-12-31T16:43:00.000+11:00

As the temperature soars above the 40 degree mark outdoors, so begins the countdown to the end of another year - one that began with vigar and promise and fizzled out slightly as the demands of an overcommitted workload took effect.

My goals for the year were to continue to work on my short fiction and begin to push for better recognised, paying markets. The year began slow with a string of rejections before sales (well most were unpaid) to Black Box (due out early 08), Ripples Magazine, Flashspec 2 and E-Macarbe 2.

I also applied for the Australian Horror Writers' Associations mentorship program and was teamed up with Lee Battersby. I halted my submissions and began three or so months of furious scribing, producing first drafts of 8-10 short stories. My time with Lee was fantastic, working through more than the suggested number of stories and helping to shape some of my earlier flash pieces into stronger little slabs and developing a couple of new projects for some targeted anthologies.

I learned a lot about my craft and how to identify some common mistakes I made in my writing. As a result I expected a lot more from myself and of the 10 new stories I had written only one has been submitted into the open market. The other stories remain in some cases untouched as I strive for better and stronger ideas. Still, I don't see the time spent on them as wasted - getting them down on paper freed me up to concentrate on new concepts. And I may still go back to them yet.

The second half of the year has been a lot slower, with demands from weddings, house rennovations and Horrorscope and Australian Shadows readings taking precident. In the past couple of months my writing has all but dried up, but the creative juices are still flowing and once judging is completed in the new year I plan to dedicate 2008 more strongly to my own fiction - reducing my Horrorscope workload slightly and taking a break from competition judging.

My goals for 2008 are simple. To sell more stories to paying markets and to adapt a children's fantasy TV series I created into a novel. As to whether I'm successful only time will tell...

Halloween treat (and it's free!)

2007-10-31T12:52:00.000+11:00

Well I'm back and can inform you that no my lengthy silence doesn't mean that I had died, had my hands chopped off in a logging accident, been locked up or fallen victim to some evil terrorist plot. I've just been off getting married... although now that I think about it they all share some common ground.

The event has meant that my writing time has suffered (hell there's been none), and in turn there hasn't been a lot to report to the faithful public for a while. The good news is that due to the often sluggish nature of the publishing world, rejections and acceptances can take months to come back and projects can take up to a year to come out (sometimes more) , I've still got something new to promote.

My story Gary Dwyer's Special Dance, which originally appeared in Ripples Magazine issue 9, has been released today (Halloween) in SpecFicMe's online anthology E-Macabre 2. The anthology includes my story and fiction from James S. Dorr, Rob Hunter, Karen Sandler, Davin Ireland, James Gurley and Marg Gilks.

I'll be honest I've never heard of these guys, but the anthology is FREE so be sure to check out some new talent. Heck, there could be a few gems or future superstars in there - and my story's not half bad either.

Download a PDF of it here.

Remorse gets glowing review

2007-08-18T16:24:00.000+10:30

I'm not one to go out of my way to search for reviews of my work but it's always nice when someone points you to one which compliments your work.

This comment was posted on SFFWorld.com in a review by Dan Bieger on the FlashSpec 2 anthology. He had this to say about my story Remorse.

"Remorse: Chalk this one up as a highlight. Everything works at it should to draw me in and spit me out. Well done!"

I'm not sure if the story could actually consume someone and chew on them for a bit, but he used the word highlight which is always nice.

Special Dance shows no remorse

2007-07-13T22:49:00.000+10:30

Two more of my stories have hit print and are out in public for your enjoyment.

The first entitled Gary Dwyer's Special Dance is the climatic tale in Ripples Magazine issue nine, while Remorse is featured in the Flashspec Volume 2 collection.

In other news Lee Battersby has been busy bashing me into shape for a month or so now. The advice he's offered on a few of my stories has been invaluable and they are shaping up to be the best things I've written to date. Hopefully they'll be ready to find a home in the near future.

Flash Shot delivers Unwanted Review

2007-06-21T19:02:00.001+10:30

Sorry I've been a little quiet. I've been busy enjoying Natcon, catching up on Horrorscope reviews and working hard with Lee Battersby trying to bash some of my stories into a more saleable shape.
Plus I've got a wedding to plan by October... but that's another story all together.

For those that receive Flash Shot in their email boxes you may have noticed that today's installment featured a micro-fiction story from me. It was a fun little bit I wrote up in a few minutes after a series of late nights working at the video store. For those who don't receive the emails I've included it below for your enjoyment/distain. For those who don't know Flash Shot is a email based magazine that publishes speculative fiction 100 words or less. I know some people don't regard 100 word stories as real publications but I think that there is a degree of skill to get something down to such a tight word count.

UNWANTED REVIEW By Mark Smith Ryan didn't look up when the customer dropped the DVDs on the counter. All Friday the 13th titles. He groaned and gave his unwanted "video store boy" review. "They should have ended it after part seven,'' he said. "Jason takes Manhattan? Total trash.'' The customer grunted. Ryan looked up. A large man stood by the counter. His face was covered by a hockey mask. He held a large machete. Ryan was unimpressed. "Pathetic,'' he said. "For starters, you've got the shirt all wrong.'' The man raised the machete. Ryan was still complaining as he brought it down into his skull.

A whole new personna...

2007-05-23T12:56:00.000+10:30

...well not quite.

After months of tossing it about I have changed my writing name to Mark Smith-Briggs in an effort to stand out a little more than just Mark Smith. The first of my stories under this name should be out in July. I had previously dabbled under this name at Horrorscope for a while, and noticed that my Ditmar nomination was under this name so figured, it's probably as good a time as any to make the minor alteration.

In other news, after keeping me in suspense for month or so, my story Remorse has been accepted into Flashspec Volume 2. It's even a paying gig, which is still a weird feeling for me - to have somebody pay me for something I've made up.

Now if only I could make $40,000 a year off of it and retire to the good life.

The master trains the mouse

2007-05-17T13:51:00.000+10:30

My application for the Australian Horror Writers Association's mentorship program was successful with award-winning Western Australia author Lee Battersby agreeing to take me under his wing for the next three months.
Hopefully he'll be able bash my prose into shape a bit and set me on the path to becoming a better writer.
There is a reward for you guys out of this too. By taking my writing to the next level I'll be able to scare you, entertain you and enthrall you better should you choose to stick it out for the ride.

In other news my short story Remorse has been under consideration for Flashspec Volume 2 for a few weeks. Hopefully it's still in the mix for one of the final spots.

More success

2007-04-26T11:52:00.000+10:30

SpecficMe has accepted one of my stories for inclusion in its anthology entitled E-Macbre 2.
Due out in October the anthology will be available as both a PDF format and as a POD paperback.
While the anthology is a non-paying market, it will hopefully get my work out to a whole new host of readers - some who may even like what they read.

On another note, my second submission to Flashspec Vol 2 has made its way to the further consideration pile. Getting your story considered is half the battle, so lets hope that it makes it through into the anthology. Last year's anthology was a beautifully presented soft cover book, and to get one into this year's mix would be a great honour. Fingers crossed.

So after a slow start to the year I now have stories coming out in June, July, October and January. Now if I could only get that up to one a month...

Ripples joins the cause

2007-04-13T12:22:00.000+10:30

That wonderful editor over at Ripples magazine Sam Cousins has agreed to publish my story Gary Dwyer's Special Dance in issue nine.
It was a case of third time lucky, with Sam passing on two of my earlier submissions in the past twelve months.
To finally get the nod is a great feeling and I can't wait to see the finished product when its released on July 1.
Sam described the story as a "delightfully gory" piece, so hopefully you guys will agree when the issue hits the streets in a few months time.
Find out more about Ripples Magazine here.

Writer seeks help

2007-04-06T12:15:00.000+10:30

In an effort to bridge the gap between the masters of the craft and my own writing I have applied to the inaugural Australian Horror Writers Associations mentorship program.
This program pairs a young writer with one of the countries best Australian horror writers for a three-month period as a mentor.
This mentor then works through a number of submitted stories from the young writer, identifying strengths and weaknesses and working to improve their writing style.
As I mentioned in my application, I have been very lucky to have a number of my stories published in the past year or so, but still find myself rejected from the higher paying pro-markets. If selected I hope that this program can help identify what I need to do to my own writing to take it to the next level.
Sure there are plenty of writing courses out there, I've done a couple of them, but this is the only one I know which focusses on the horror genre.
I'd advise any young horror writers to go to the AHWA website, join (it's only open to members) and apply for the mentorship program. Where else are you going to get the opportunity to be personally tutored by writers of the calibar of Rob Hood, Lee Battersby, Kaaron Warren, Cat Sparks, Paul Haines, David Carroll, Shane Jiraiya Cummings, Stephen Dedman and Martin Livings?

Ditmar shortlist announced

2007-04-04T14:05:00.000+10:30

Yesterday I received the exciting news that I have been shortlisted for a 2007 Ditmar award in the fan writer category.
I really want to thank everyone who nominated me and let you know that it is very much an honour to be shortlisted for such a prestigious award in the speculative fiction field.
Also congratulations go out to the other nominees, Stephanie Gunn, Shane Jiraiya Cummings, Danny Oz, Miranda Siemienowicz and Matthew Tait.
Many of these are fellow Horrorscope writers and reviewers and it makes us very proud to see that those in the writing and fan communities support what we do.
Be sure to check out the final shortlist for all categories here, sign up as a full or supporting member of this year's Natcon in Melbourne and vote for your favourite works of 2006.
The winners will be announced at Convergence on Saturday, June 9.

Flash Shot date set

2007-03-05T12:52:00.000+11:00

Well my micro-fiction piece Unwanted Review has been given an official publication date.
The story will be arriving in flash shot subscribers email boxes on June 20.
For anyone that wants to read it be sure to swing by to the Flash Shot website and subscribe to have a micro story delivered to your email daily.
Story quality varies from day to day, but there are some real gems in there and with a 100 word limit they won't take up much off your time to read.

Back in the box

2007-03-02T10:12:00.000+11:00

Well after a small run of rejections this year (seven or eight at last count) I finally had a break through.

My story Scarecrow has been accepted into Brimstone Press' Black Box anthology. It was one of the anthologies I had set my sights on being included in this year, so to be able to put a tick next to one of my goals is always a good feeling.

Getting something dark and nasty to work in 120 words was a real challenge and one I'm glad to say I rose to. Well, I'll let you guys be the judge when the publication comes out next January.

Where did those last two years go?

2007-02-03T13:43:00.000+11:00

Hi all and sorry for the delay between posts. I've just brought and moved into my house and never realised how work is actually involved.

I got an email today with a link to the POOL website; an online directory for all the present and past students of the Professional Screenwriting course I completed last year. If you want to see my addition to the site click here.

I thought it might be interesting to some people as it lists a lot of the stuff I've done in the writing and filmaking industy that is not horror.

Well thats about it for now. I've recieved a few more rejections so I'm busy repolishing these stories to send off to a new market. I usually try to get them back out in submission land the same day as I get my rejection, unless its obvious that the story needs reworking, but due to the move I've been without the internet for a few weeks so they've just been gathering dust.

Flashshot joins the cause

2007-01-01T13:00:00.000+11:00

Following the lead of fellow horror writer and pal Chris Elston I decided to have a crack at a 100 word story for Flashshot. After a few failed attempts (a 450 word story and a 240 worder) I finally got something down to the required word count. And those good guys over at Flashshot accepted it!

I'm still unsure on when the story - Unwanted Review - will run, but looking at the publishing schedule it won't be until at least June. Still it's a nice bit of news to see in the new year. Now lets hope those other tales I have off in submission world impress their repective editors.

Get your shivers

2006-12-24T11:24:00.000+11:00

Champange Shivers editor Cathy Buburuz emailed me recently to say that the new issue of the anthology with be released within the next week.
The issue features stories, poems, flash fiction and illustrations by more than 20 authors and artists including a story by me.
The issue is available online for $12 (US) plus postage. To order it, or just find out more, click here.

Making the most of the holiday season

2006-12-13T14:47:00.000+11:00

Well I've been trying to make the most of the reading period downtime of most publications (many are closed for submissions until next year) by working on some new stories.
The plan is that these will be ready to send out when the reading period resumes, giving me a greater chance to get a few stories into print by mid next year.
So far I've completed another two shorter peices; both inspired by ideas I'd had the night before.
It's nice to be able to sit down and work on something while the fires are still burning.
With such a hectic schedule I've had to put a lot of things on the shelf this year while I worked on school assignments and you forget how much easier an idea flows when you are pumped about it.
Hopefully readers (and editors) will see them as stronger stories because of this.

Also, remember to look out for my next published story: Hansel, Gretel and the Sugar Coated Diet in the Canadian anthology Champagne Shivers due out next month. Or not, it's up to you.

Back in the saddle

2006-11-21T12:05:00.000+11:00

Well after an extended stay away from my writing desk - mainly due to finishing an advanced diploma in Screenwriting - I'm happy to say I finally found the time to get back into the saddle and get stuck into some more short stories.

Today I finished the draft of a story about a love struck aussie and a dead starlet and last week finished a tale about the hidden dangers of a strip club.

The later is off in submission world, while the first will have a few day's breathing space before I get stuck into re-writes. Will they do any good? Only time will tell.

This week I'm also going on my first holiday in five years, so hopefully all the new sights and fresh air will inspire some more ghoulish fun.

Breakdown wins Demonminds award

2006-11-05T12:13:00.000+11:00

I'm thrilled to report that I've won my first award!
My story Breakdown was awarded the best Classic horror story in the 2006 Demonminds Author and Artist awards.
The award is part of a public voting system on the Demonminds site, in which readers can vote for their favourite stories published on the site in the past year with the results announced each Halloween.
There is also news that they will be publishing some of the stories in a hard cover anthology next year - so fingers crossed Breakdown gets the nod.
The story is still online now and can be viewed by clicking here. It's a good feeling, expecially considering the story is one of my earlier works.

Angler up for Aurealis

2006-11-04T13:53:00.000+11:00

I was surfing the Aurealis Awards page today and noticed that one of my short stories the Angler has been nominated in the horror short story category. Sure, there's about sixty other nominations but still it gives you a certain buzz to see your at least in the running.

I don't think the story is quite up to the caliber of some of the other nominated tales so don't harbour any fantasies about actually winning the award, but its nice to know that someone out there recognised it as a suitable peice to enter into the draw.

I've always had a personal rule that I will NEVER nominate any of my own works for awards so for me to be in the running someone else has to recognise my work and like it enough to enter. I know this logic will probably leave me out of the running in a lot of things but writing horror for me is never about the trophies - although I'd never pass one up if it came my way.

Shane backs the new blood

2006-10-24T13:08:00.000+10:30

Horrorscope editor and Ditmar-award winning author Shane Jiraiya Cummings is the guest host of the ASIF! forum this fortnight and was kind enough to mention me when talking about the future of Australian horror.

In a discussion on the state of Aussie horror, Shane mentioned myself along with other up and comers Susan Wardle, Steven Cavanagh, Mark Barnes, Liam Rands, Chris Elston, Stephanie Campisi, and Miranda Siemienowicz as the new wave of authors pushing through.

It's great to see Shane peddling a few new names to people in his support of the genre. Thank you Shane!

Midnight Express on track

2006-10-18T14:38:00.000+10:30

My short story word count may have dried up the past month or so while I complete end of year assignments, but I have managed to get some of my own writing done.

Today I completed the second draft, and a major year long rewrite, of my feature film Midnight Express. While I'm still not entirely blown away by the end result it is a big step in the right direction for the story. Another week or so of re-edits and I'll be able to finally get back to working on some short fiction ideas I've been tossing about. One of them is going to be particually dark and nasty - it's not something I'm going as a writer, but one of those stories I need to write.

News: Horror Day thrill

2006-10-17T15:09:00.000+10:30

I just wanted to issue a public thank you to Martin Livings and Stephanie Gunn for their great work on the Horror Day Anthology.
For those that missed it it was a special anthology put together in just one day and put online only for the October 13, Horror Day celebrations.
Despite the tight time restrictions, it turned into a fantastic collection of 15 horror stories from Australian authors Stephen Dedman, Stephanie Gunn, Robert Hood, Martin Livings, Robbie Matthews, Brett McBean, Chuck McKenzie, Nigel Read, Rhidian Rhead, David Schembri, Cat Sparks, Matthew Tait and Marty Young.
I was privelleged enough to have my story the Angler appear amongst such a distinguished and talented group.
By all reports the anthology was well received, even attracting attention from readers in the UK and US.

News: Space Junkies shuts up shop

2006-10-17T15:02:00.000+10:30

It appears I have felt the cruel and fickle hand of the publishing world. My story, Breakdown, which was to be published in a Halloween issue of Space Junkies magazine will no longer be appearing because the magazine has folded as of October 1.
Unfortunately, the only way I discovered this was to cruise across their site at http://www.spacejunkies.net/sjmindex.html

On a brighter note, a film maker I know is interested in developing the story into a short film early next year. So I'll keep you posted on the progress.

Break out the Champagne

2006-10-12T13:13:00.000+10:30

My first official payment for horror fiction arrived in the mail today. A $5 US note from Canadian anthology Champagne Shivers. My story is going to be included in the next anthology published in January, 2007. The anthology is going to feature work from 24 authors from six countries, so it's a good one to be a part of.

Also Martin Livings is creating a unique one-day anthology for Horror Day on his website tomorrow. It will feature one of his short stories and fiction from other authors. I have sent him my short story the Angler for inclusion in the anthology.

Breakdown accepted into SpaceJock Magazine

2006-09-29T15:32:00.000+10:30

Hi all,

I received note this week that Breakdown, a story I wrote a few years ago and was published on Demon Minds, has been accepted to the Halloween edition of Space Junkies Magazine.

I'm fairly unfamiliar with Space Junkies, but the Halloween issue sounds like a lot of fun and I'm keen to see the end result. It will be available online from October 31.

FlashSpec Anthology arrives

2006-07-08T12:39:00.000+10:30

I received my contributor copy of FlashSpec Volume One today which includes my flash fiction story the Kiss.
It's the first print publication my fiction has appeared in, I have plenty of non-fiction in print from my time as a journalist, and its an amazing feeling.
Collection editor Neil Cladingboel was even kind enough to include my name as one of the authors on the blurb so it's a big thrill.
FlashSpec: Volume One is available through Equilibrium Books.

Fable gets a revamp

2006-06-10T11:49:00.000+10:30

My short story Hansel, Gretel and the Sugar Coated diet was accepted to the Champagne Shivers 2007 anthology today - to be published in the US in January next year.
The dark take on the well known fairy tale was my first professional sale (in that I'll get some money for this one) so I am pretty stoked.
It's the little milestones like these that keep chumps like me chugging along.

On a wider note the first two of Lothian's Australian adult horror novels were released this week and I'd urge everyone who hasn't to rush out and buy them. Martin Livings Carnies is a story of werewolves in an Australian carnival and Prismatic by Edwina Grey is a novel of plague, madness and buried secrets.

Welcome

2006-05-09T20:20:00.000+10:30

In the era of on-line information its vital for authors to have a web presense, even if like me they still don't know how to put a decent website together. That's why I have created this site to hopefully, keep people informed about Mark Smith-Briggs while I work out how to create a better homepage.

If all goes well this site will be temporary, if not - I could be here a while. Then again I should spend more time trying to get that first real sale so that I can pay someone else to create the site for me. Ahhh, that would be the life.