Life is not fair

I’ve just got an email (well, actually it was last night, but at the speed my brain moves, that counts as ‘just’) informing me that I’ve sold two stories to the estimable Shawna at Realms of Fantasy. Mmm. Stoooories . . .

The two are Leviathan’s Hooks, and Long is the Shadow. (Originally, this was Long is the Shadow of the Moonlit Hills) but I thought the shorter one was snappier. The title of the other comes from Cans’t thou draw out Leviathan with an hook? (it’s in the Bible, dumbass), and has nothing to do with the story at all. Except tangentially. Maybe. Kinda. Well . . . I don’t know, really. It’s that kind of story.

I wasn’t sure RoF would take Leviathan’s Hooks actually; it’s got some nasty horror in it. Not on-screen, but nasty anyway.

Adventures Fantastic has reviewed the June 2011 issue of Realms of Fantasy. They liked my story:

Euan Harvey’s “Wisteria” was the highlight of the issue for me, and not just for the great illustration.  It was the closest thing to sword and sorcery in the magazine, and one of the few where the action wasn’t solely emotional or internal.  The structure of the story, with nested narratives, will require attention, so I don’t recommend this one right before turning out the light at bedtime.  Harvey had a story in the previous issue, and I have to wonder if he’s going to go for a hat trick and get one in the next issue.  I hope so, because his stories seem to be more to my taste than most of the other stories in the two issues he’s been in.

Ah, yes, that illustration is awesome. I still haven’t got my contributor copies yet, but I can almost smell them now . . .

Tangent Online is running a few months behind reality. They’ve just posted a review of the April 2011 Realms of Fantasy:

“By Shackle and Lash,” by Euan Harvey, tells the story of a mysterious prisoner with blue eyes like the warm harvest days of summer. Kemal and Wahid are men of the Mukhabarat, a sort of police organization that serves the Shah, but they abandon their duties and are sentenced to work in the dungeons. It is here that they come across the woman in cell Alef seven. She is weak and sick and has recently soiled herself, but she has her eyes and a mouth that tells the men things they cannot remember and cannot disobey. I am unfamiliar with folk traditions from the Middle East, so it very possible I am missing references; I do know, however, that the story stands on its own. It has a hypnotic quality that should not be denied.

Which is an okay review, I guess. I’m never entirely sure what to make of Tangent; they seem kind of out of step with other review sites. (And generally, they don’t seem too keen on my stuff.)

My story Wreathed in Wisteria, Draped in Ivy is in issue 100 of Realms of Fantasy. It’s just been reviewed by Lois Tilton at Locus Online:

This title seems like it should belong to the Bobet story above, but in fact the author is only using the vines to drape a tomb in this dark historical fantasy of revenge and undeath in Han dynasty China. It is in the “ancient manuscript” mode, the text redacted in places for good reasons the reader will discover by the end, and the narrative is triple-nested. Its core is a tale told by an old, old man.

The ancient’s beard reached down past his chest. His face was shrunken, cheeks fallen in, skin deeply wrinkled. His eyes had sunk deep into his head, and now they peered out from caves under thick eyebrows of bushy white.

In his youth, he had set out for the imperial examinations and in one village encountered a demonic sorcerer who predicted that he would meet death in three days. The young man suspected extortion and refused to pay the fee for warding off this fate. And death did come to him, sent by the sorcerer, but he managed to defeat it three times. It will not come again.

This is a horror story, and an effective one. The author connects his narratives well, including redactions and notes by both author and a later editor, which all combine to complete and enhance the tale. The story does not require specific knowledge of the historical figures mentioned in the text, which I find just as well, given the variations in translation and transliteration that can snare the uninformed. Yet the author writes with sufficient authority about this setting that I hesitate to point out that the imperial examinations would not have been established by the time of Yu’s youth, if I have understood the author correctly.

I think she’s right about the imperial examinations. But, um, [footshuffle], ah poetic license? Yeah. That’s it.  Otherwise, I thought the review was pretty good.

From Rich Horton in Locus, reprinted* in entirety by Doug Cohen at Realms of Fantasy. Here.

And the review of my story is below:

Euan Harvey’s ‘‘By Shackle and Lash’’ is a strong Persian-flavored story about a couple of soldiers whose cowardice gets them assigned to cleaning duty in a prison – and to dealing with a mysterious woman and, eventually, her hopes to escape to her city – a city long vanished.

Sounds good to me. Better go and buy a copy of the mag. (Follow the link above; you’ll see a link to buy an ecopy of the magazine.)

Wreathed in Wisteria, Draped in Ivy is going to be published in the 100th issue of Realms of Fantasy. Dave Leri has done the illustration, and it’s pretty awesome. In fact, it’s so awesome, I had to shrink it a little, because the first time I posted it,  its sheer power BROKE THE INTERNETS!

Doug over at RoF has announced the magazine’s latest buying run. My two submissions aren’t in it–but reading on it seems they’re only caught up to September of last year, and I subbed in January this year. The post is worth reading, especially if you’re thinking of submitting. You’ll need to be patient when waiting for a reply. (And yes, they do take Sword and Sorcery and Heroic Fantasy . . . )

My story By Shackle and Lash is out in this month’s issue of Realms of Fantasy. It’s the third short story published in the city of Quysayrah–the first two were The Claw Unseen and The Hand of Afaz. So if you enjoyed those, then get yourself a copy of RoF. It has a cool-looking cover as well.

And . . . it’s already been reviewed by Lois Tilton at Locus. “A strong story of tyranny and freedom,” she says. I think that means she likes it. Which is good–I think it’s a good story. (But I would say that . . . )

One minor point: I’m second on the TOC. When will I make first place? When? When?

But then again, I think they put Harlan Ellison last when he appeared, so maybe second is okay.

Edited to add: Actually, I’ve just seen that cover again. Harlan Ellison got his own billing above every one else. Damn him.

Well, it’s been a looong time since I updated here. The reasons for that are manifold, but the main one is that I now post regular updates on Facebook. If i know you and we’re not linked on facebook, send me a friend request. The email address I’m using there is euan DOT harvey AT gmail.com. Replace the whatsits with the doodads, of course.

For people I don’t know personally, I’ll divide this update into bits. First is health. The cancer seems to be stable at the moment. I’m not getting any new symptoms, but it could start growing again at any time, so I’m not holding my breath or about to announce that I’ve beaten it. The last conversation I had with my oncologist went something like this:

Him: “No symptoms?”

Me: “No.”

Him: “Hm.” [Grins]. “Well, that’s unusual.”

Which I guess is good.

I’m running a lot, which helps my mood and (may) help with keeping the cancer at bay. I’m registered for the Watford Half-Marathon (at least, I’ve sent off my form and they’ve cashed my check, so I guess I am), and I think they still have places. So if you live around Watford, get in there!

For writing, I haven’t touched pen to paper, or finger to keyboard, for a long time, but I will be starting again now I have achieved some measure of mental stability. The impetus came from selling two stories to Realms of Fantasy. I’m going to start with revising a couple of shorts I’ve got hanging around, and then perhaps think about starting something longer.

The family’s all good. My wife is very slowly adjusting to living in the UK. She’s started work now, which gives her much more focus. She complains about being tired–but she’s never really happy unless she’s complaining about something. She’s smiling a lot more, which tells me how she really feels.

I do intend to post more on this blog. So be prepared for a deluge of posts about running, and writing (and cancer).

Best wishes to you all for 2011.

My short stories HALLOWEEN: COMPRISING A CAUTIONARY ACROSTIC OF NINE BEDTIME STORIES FOR READING TO THE TIRESOME OR DISOBEDIENT CHILD is going to be published in the October 2010 issue of Realms of Fantasy. The cover for the issue is below:

Realms of fantasy october 2010 cover

Now I want to know why I’m at the bottom again. I’ve got the polar opposite of star billing. Why? Whhhhhhhhhyyyyy?