Non-fiction!

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away another world (it sometimes seems), I was made redundant from a job I quite liked but was never particularly taxing. One of the things I did in that job was develop databases using a Microsoft product called Access and, if I do say so myself, I'd become rather good at it. To the extent that, in the six months I spent bumming around and travelling before I got another job, I actually entered into discussions with a publisher about writing a textbook on the subject - a sort of "build Access databases my way". But then I got that other job, and parked the idea permanently.

Now though, I've sort of revisited it. Because back then, in that former life, I also developed a website full on tips, tricks, code samples and other info for Access developers. Enough info, in fact, to fill a book...

And so my first piece of non-fiction is published: Accessory - the real-world workbook for Microsoft Access developers. I know - snappy title. You can buy it from Lulu as a PDF (the only format that would support embedded hyperlinks), right here.

Turn Around Where Possible

Hmm. The village is called Grave. Maybe not a good sign?

Last October, I tried to write a Halloween-themed short story. Except, me being me, I disregarded the theme and instead just tried to write a scary story of the "don't go in the woodshed" variety. The rough draft I came up with was entirely silly, but I had a lot of fun writing it. And it turned out okay, I think.

Okay enough that I subsequently spent some time rewriting it. Even though it's not my usual kind of thing - I prefer psychologically unsettling stories to those with axes and blood - it came out well enough, I thought, to submit to One Buck Horror in the hope of actually selling a story to a publication. I know - ground-breaking!

One small snag though. OBH have a 3,000 word limit. Try as I might, I couldn't get the story down below about 3,500, and that was with hacking it to the bone. Since their word limit is completely inflexible (presumably because they pay by the word), that was the end of that little plan.

What to do with the story then? Why, give it away, of course. Because it's not my usual kind of story, I don't see too much point in holding it back for a future collection - I doubt it would fit in too well. Far better to make it freely available, in the vain hope that it helps to draw attention to my other works. Well, it doesn't hurt to dream, does it?

Turn Around Where Possible is available as a PDF right now, for nothing, from Lulu and Smashwords. I recommend the Lulu version - it handles the fonts better. Please do have a read, and maybe let me know what you think. Plus, if you can see a way to cut another 532 words, feel free to suggest how!