"If you haven't heard back from the editors by now, then I'm sorry to say that you won't be hearing back from the editors at all."

I don't think he was sorry...

So it did not take me very long to fail at my self-set task of at least one blog entry a month, but nevertheless: Welcome to the third installment of Fan F(r)iction, my blog about my journey to become a professional author via the cunning plan to get my foot in the door through the Black Library, purveyors of all fiction of a Warhammer-bent.

I had submitted two stories to the Black Library during their open submission window last May. Unfortunately, despite high hopes and immense pride in my work, I was unsuccessful in my bid for publication with them at this time.

One of the unsuccessful stories, Honour Paid, has been uploaded to my main blog if you'd like to have a gander (I would welcome the feedback)

The other story is being...repurposed, but more on that at a later date.

Anyhoo, this was obviously hugely disappointing for me, as I really did believe my work was of a quality that stood alongside their existing published works. However, I am not one to let soul-crushing-depression-because-I-was-rejected-and-oh-god-why-won't-someone-give-me-the-approval-and-ego-stroking-I-so-obviously-crave get me down, so I continued on with writing, deciding to do something a little bit different and aim for other, smaller publishers and/or contests. I figured I would not have the greatest of chances at succeeding considering I had written so little original fiction, but that the practice would be handy and keep me sharp until the next BL window rolled around.

Then I wrote a horror short story and submitted it and got accepted for publication. In a book.

An actual, physical, book.

I'm not looking to go into shameless self-promotion here (ok, I am desperately resisting going in for shameless self promotion here), so I will provide a few, scant details:

‘Der Teufel Sie Wissen (The Devil You Know)’ is a horror story set in Berlin during the dying days of World War 2, and will be published in Fading Light: An Anthology of the Monstrous, edited by multi-published dark fantasy and horror author Tim Marquitz, and to be published by Angelic Knight Presson the 1st of September, 2012 (TBC)

This is naturally a huge opportunity for me, and I couldn't be more excited. The really hilariously awesome thing about all this is I will officially be considered a professional author (not that that really means a huge amount of course), having arrived there after writing a story on a whim in a genre I had never even considered writing in before.

So I guess if there's a writing lesson from this one, it's don't be afraid to work outside of your comfort zone. The internet has brought about a wealth of publishing opportunities and contests for people interested in any form of fiction, and short stories have quickly become a very large market again after languishing for years. I'm glad I took the advice to expand my horizons and do some searching online, and I heartily recommend that all budding writers do the same.

Now to decide if I'm going to use a pen name...hmmm

In Gaming News:

Mass Effect 3 is great, but the news of ending DLC has made me hesitant to pull the trigger on starting the last mission. I find it weird that everyone is flipping out over the ending the way they are, but I'm not going to get all soapbox-y about it here.

Overall I think the game shows many signs of being rushed to market, but the strong dialogue and interesting major events make up for it to a large extent. Shame the side quests and other trappings are piss-poor.

Otherwise, my gaming time has been pretty limited. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective on iPad continues to be phenomenal, and has made me somewhat reconsider my unreasoning hatred of everything gaming-related that comes out of Japan due to how amazing it looks and how charming it is.

Also, Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP is really freaking interesting. I love the style and the music, and even the mellow exploration is great in short bursts. Perfect for a train trip or a quick game before bed, but I'm reserving my final judgment until I'm further in.

Excerpt (because hey, I want to sell books to you in the future):

Honour Paid

They drifted silently toward the end of the world.

Matte black, invisible against the void, the unpowered Thunderhawk Grind-Two-Eight rotated gently along its axis, almost imperceptibly, one downturned wing lifting to allow the passage of a piece of hurtling debris.

Staring at the external sensor display, Veteran-Sergeant Fenan Husq of the Executioners grunted as he saw the twin-headed eagle of the Imperium etched into the detritus flash past, a mere whisper from ripping a hole in the side of the gunship.

“Close,” muttered Kruss from his seat opposite the Sergeant, the words buzzing through his damaged vox. The burly assault specialist, one of the First Company Vanguard, cradled a huge power axe across the knees of his battered, bastardised armour. Kruss, like the rest of the infiltration team, had daubed himself in Codex-approved swirls of white and blue, the better to suit the icy hellhole they flew toward. Read More

Final Word:

I'm getting married in just over a month. Everything has come together surprisingly well, and I can't wait to leave Sydney on the cusp of winter to head to (hopefully) sunny Hawaii for the honeymoon.

Been hitting the gym to ensure that I don't look like an albino beached whale by the time the honeymoon rolls around, plus I want to look as sexy as possible in my kilt and fly plaid for the wedding (especially since I've lost about 15 kilos since the last time I wore one as a groomsman), to ensure that the wedding photos don't show my gorgeous bride standing next to a tartan-coated meatsack.

Life is really fucking weird.

http://timsweeney.net

Tim the Corsair on Steam or XBLA

@TSPSweeney on Twitter

Or just send me a PM.

Hope this was interesting to somebody,

Tim ‘the Corsair’ Sweeney (maybe T S P Sweeney as a pen name?)