New Office

Tattoos, anyone?
Tattoos, anyone?

I moved into a new office earlier this month, so I wanted to share a glimpse of my inspiring surroundings.

As a writer I should be able to work everywhere as long as I have a computer, but for different reasons I don’t work from home. First, I work as a copywriter to supplement the Avalanche of Gold (*) that comes with short fiction writing, and networking is pretty important to bringing in business. Second, I start talking to the cat entirely too much when I’m alone, just as I tend to turn into Grumpy Internet Guy. Trust me, my head is a nicer place when I get out of the house.

Still, it rains a lot around here, which means I need a spare roof. I like writing in cafés, but there’s a limit to how much coffee I can drink (*), so a desk in an office hotel is pretty ideal for me. It helps me separate work and free time, and it’s also a good place to meet other small-business owners. We tend to help each other out with projects or troubleshooting, or by bouncing ideas back and forth.

There are about 10-15 office hotels in Aarhus. Most of them have white walls and people who take growth seriously, which is great if you want to grow. I went to see one such office and they promptly asked for my business plan and present their ideas for finding me an advisory board. I told them the business plan was to write more novels. They responded by saying that their in-house telemarketing department could boost my sales… (*)

So now I have a desk at another place called Galleri Grisk (Greed Gallery). It’s in an old chocolate factory with two basement rooms converted to ateliers. There’s a tattoo shop, a barbershop and a couple of fashion designers. Plus your usual contingent of graphics guys, photographers, and, you know, the odd text guy in the corner.Barbershop

It’s not home, and it sure isn’t your everyday workspace. I like it here and hope to get a lot of novel-writing done from my new desk.

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(*) No, really.

 

 

 

 

The Forgotten City – Out now in Space&Time Magazine

One of my short stories is out in the new issue of Space&Time Magazine! They’re celebrating their 50th year as a SF and Fantasy magazine, which makes them one of the oldest magazines in the business.

The Forgotten City is…Well, I guess it’s a story about love. Not a love story as such, since it features a rather desperate, self-delusional protagonist, but without love there wouldn’t be a story. There’s also court intrigue and a very dangerous magical city involved.

Even better, I’ll have another story coming out from them at some later point – a science fiction story called ‘Reconstruction’.

You can buy a single issue or a subscription on their homepage or on Weightless Books.

The table of contents for Issue 126 is here:

FICTION:

  • Heroes by John Walters
  • The Marquis by Mike Penn
  • Captain’s Children by Jamie Killen
  • Sun Melody – A Plagiarized Life by JC Hemphill
  • The Forgotten City by Jakob Drud
  • Sea Full of Stars by Siobhan Gallagher
  • Karma Kombat by Tom Joyce
  • The Witch’s Apprentice by Brian Koscienski & Chris Pisano

POETRY:

  • Mobservation #12 by Michael Ceraolo
  • Even Though The Stars Are Falling by Kendall Evans
  • Old Jeb by Frederick Stansfield
  • What I Most Remember From our First Date by John Grey
  • Beneath Jupiter’s Unwavering Gaze, Amalthea by Terrie Leigh Relf
  • The Curse of Prometheus by Matthew Wilson
  • Stranger On His Own Planet by Katarzyna Lisinska

NONFICTION:

  • Editor’s Geeble by Hildy Silverman
  • The Advantage of a Small Press Publisher by Danielle MacConnell
  • Fear Itself by Daniel M. Kimmel
  • Review: Nihala by Sam Tomaino
  • Word Ninja by Linda D. Addison