As I mentioned earlier, I have moved cities: I’m still in more northeastern New England, but in a more built-up area. Among other changes, I have a much larger office than I had before, with two nice big east-facing windows. I also have almost no furniture, having gotten rid of much of it in the […]
10. I wasn’t kidnapped by aliens, exactly — they did ask politely, and it’s just a matter of infinite improbability that the Thraxxi phrase for “Would you like to toil in our Crisco mines?” sounds a lot like the English phrase “Would you like ice cream? There’s some in our van.” That took a while […]
My Halloween story Mister Yuk won honorable mention in this quarter’s On The Premises. It’s a combination of an old eastern European folk tale and the kind of stories we used to tell each other on Halloween as kids.
I’ve seen a number of articles recently about schemes to sell “used” e-books, mostly spurred by Amazon’s recent patent on such a process. I’ve seen lots of enthusiasm about this, but I think it’s misplaced. There are two main points that I’d like to see made more prominently in this discussion: First: This can’t work without […]
At Nature magazine’s Futures column, available here. This story started off life as an entry in Codex‘s yearly Weekend Warrior contest. Nature Futures is a great short fiction market: they’re quick, they pay well, they illustrate, and hey: it’s Nature. The guidelines are a little rough (strict 850-950 word count, because it has to fit […]
An Interview With Me I was recently interviewed by Rick Novy, an Arizona author, fellow Codex member, raiser of fish, and all-around good guy.
The Occult Wisdom of Cover Letters What I wish someone had told me when I first started submitting short stories for publication. Edit: The link seems to be broken now; in trying to track down its new location, I found this. Bottom line, though: cover letters are business communication, not a college application. They should […]
I am home from Boskone and very nearly recuperated. I had a great time, but I ignored the advice that an hour of being on a panel is like three hours of attending them, and it was to my detriment. Said panels went well, I think. In “Is the Internet Reprogramming Our Brains?” I did […]
For any of you in the Boston area, I’ll be at Boskone 50 next weekend. It looks like they’ve got a great schedule planned, with Guest of Honor Vernor Vinge. For myself, I’m looking forward to three panels with fascinating people: Is the Internet Reprogramming Our Brains? (Panel), Fri 18:00 – 18:50, Harbor II Short […]
I recently passed a milestone that some might consider dubious: 100 rejections for my short fiction. I’m not actually sure which one was my 100th, since two recent ones have no entry in my Duotrope database, but I’m going to say that it was for my story “In Training” just because I like the sound […]
John P. Murphy 