Fresh Blood and Dark Pages

As some of you might already know, a few days ago I found out that I’m officially in the top three in the Fresh Blood contest, the prize of which is a publishing contract with both Leisure Horror (paperback) and ChiZine Publications (limited hardcover run).

Advancing this far in the contest has been a wonderful surprise. Making the final three, this is perhaps the first time I’ve seen even the glimmer of a possibility of making it to the end. But to do that, I need to ask for your help.

This month’s round is the “scary scene” round, so if you go to their website, you can read scenes from each of the three remaining novels. You can also still see the postings from the other months including first chapters, cover copy, and author bios. Just arrow down to the bottom of the page where the contest is broken down month by month. Plus you can also see comments the judges have made on each of the novels over the months. Voting information is at the bottom of the page.

The quick how-to for voting is this: send votes to freshblood@chizinepub.com. In the email’s subject line put “Fresh Blood Vote: Heart of the City.” (**Votes without this in the subject line will not be counted). One vote is allowed per unique email address. And while I really appreciate your vote, if you visit the contest site and decide you'd rather vote for one of the other two novels, I will absolutely understand.

I know so many of you have already sent in votes over the past few months and I want you all to know how very much I appreciate it. I don’t take a single one of your votes for granted.



On a second note, I wanted to take a minute to mention that Blade Red Press’s Dark Pages anthology (which contains my short story, “Neptune’s Garden”) is now available through Amazon. I just got my contributor’s copy today and it looks absolutely beautiful. Edited by Brenton Tomlinson, the anthology includes authors from all over the world.

On a personal note, I know the amount of work the editorial staff took with me to make my story the best story it could be, so I have no doubt that this is a top-notch anthology, and I’m proud to be a part of this wonderful book.