C.L. Holland

Hi. On hiatus.

2010-12-08T15:58:00.003Z

You may have noticed it's been a while since I've updated. Unfortunately, it's proving too time consuming to maintain this blog on dial-up as well as my blog on Livejournal and a Facebook page.

So I'm placing this blog on hiatus for the time being. If my lack of organisation and tech-savvy haven't scared you off, please feel free to check out my Livejournal over at http://xanthalanari.livejournal.com/, or my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/pages/CL-Holland/70858039099.

Thanks for being interested enough to come over here in the first place.

C.L. Holland

A sale

2010-06-03T13:30:00.003+01:00

"A World in Clockwork" has sold to The Lorelei Signal. It will appear in the October issue, as well as the November issue of Mystic Signals.

"Of Corn and Crows" sale

2010-04-09T12:17:00.002+01:00

"Of Corn and Crows" has been accepted by Bards and Sages Quarterly for their October issue.

Poetry Reprints

2010-03-11T12:34:00.001Z

My poems "Plain English" and "The Charge of the Lightweights" have been selected for inclusion in the first Every Day Poets anthology.

"When the Harlequin Dances" now available

2010-02-11T16:51:00.003Z

"When the Harlequin Dances" is now available in Bards and Sages Quarterly, January issue.

2010-02-01T12:58:00.003Z

My flash stories "A Chime of Reds", "Beyond the Gate" and "Gods of Concrete and Steel" are now available as reprints in the anthology The Best of Every Day Fiction 2.

2010-02-01T12:55:00.002Z

"On the Penitents' Road" is available in the January issue of 10 Flash Quarterly.

Once, back when he’d been human, he might have appreciated the irony of this particular spot.

It was called the Penitents’ Road because centuries ago it was where heretics were made to repent before they were burned. Of course, humankind had long since evolved beyond the need for such a silly superstition as religion.

Argen Fuller hoped it wasn’t too late for them to evolve beyond the need for mere flesh and blood, too.

"The Reflection of Memory" now available as a podcast

2009-10-22T09:01:00.002+01:00

"The Reflection of Memory", my Writers of the Future winning story, is now available as a podcast over at StarShipSofa's Aural Delights no. 105.

"Beauty Sleeping" published at Every Day Fiction.

2009-10-21T11:34:00.000+01:00

"Beauty Sleeping" is published today at Every Day Fiction:

Over the years, rumour grew like the roses. It was said that the castle behind the thorny hedge contained a beautiful princess, who would be woken from her slumber by a kiss. Her name was said to be Briar Rose, or Rosamund, or some such derivation of the plant which entombed her. Most however simply called her Beauty.

Writers of the Future book trailer

2009-10-17T12:45:00.001+01:00

It occurs to me I haven't posted a link to the Writers of the Future book trailer - so here it is!

"Child of the Pact" published by Alternative Coordinates.

2009-10-07T09:31:00.000+01:00

"Child of the Pact is published in the new issue Alternative Coordinates - and it's the free story to boot!

The dream hounded me from sleep; the same one as always. It took a moment to realise that the vines tangled in my limbs were my own blankets, and that I was in bed rather than trapped beneath layers of smothering earth. I pushed the covers from my face and sat up.

Interview up at StarShipSofa

2009-09-05T00:10:00.001+01:00

Sofanauts 23, an interview with me, fellow Writers of the Future winner Mike Wood, and past winner and New York Times bestslling author Sean Williams, is now available at StarShipSofa.

Writers of the Future

2009-09-04T22:09:00.001+01:00

Here are the links to my Writers of the Future posts on Livejournal:
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday

"Gods of Concrete and Steel" published

2009-08-09T11:58:00.001+01:00

Gods of Concrete and Steel" is now up at Every Day Fiction.

Niall knew what people said about him. They said he was slow, simple. Not right in the head. They looked at him staring off into space, at the girders on the local building site, at the opaque water of the canals, and then they gave him a slap on the side of the head and told him to stop lollygagging. Stop staring at nothing, they said. He wasn’t staring at nothing though. He was watching the gods.

"Gods of Concrete and Steel"

2009-07-31T11:37:00.002+01:00

"Gods of Concrete and Steel" has just been accepted by Every Day Fiction.

"Child of the Pact" sold to Alternative Coordinates

2009-07-18T22:36:00.001+01:00

I've just received confirmation that "Child of the Pact" will be in September's issue of Alternative Coordinates.

"Mr Bad Man" now available

2009-07-11T12:32:00.001+01:00

"Mr Bad Man" is now available as a reprint in AnthologyBuilder.

Since Mr Bad Man split, one song in particular has become the band's most popular download. So why do they deny ever recording it?

Cancellation, and apologies

2009-07-11T12:29:00.002+01:00

I will now no longer be attending the Parallel Dimensions/Hadley Rille event in West Kirby this afternoon, due to illness.

My apologies to the other authors and attendees.

"A Celebration in Blue Silk"

2009-07-01T13:34:00.001+01:00

"A Celebration in Blue Silk" is published today at Lorelei Signal:

As her husband grunted above her in the darkness, Allegra lay back and thought of home.

"A Primary Function"

2009-06-15T13:30:00.001+01:00

"A Primary Function" is up at Every Day Fiction.

This time when Roo woke them up, some of the colonists began to cry. They looked around with eyes still bleary from deep sleep, at the medical robots that stood ready to check their status and Roo waiting to take them to their scheduled entertainment, and burst into tears.

Hadley Rille Books Event

2009-06-10T21:40:00.000+01:00

"The Owl and Great Cthulhu"

2009-05-30T17:46:00.003+01:00

"The Owl and Great Cthulhu" is now up at Every Day Weirdness.

"The Owl and Great Cthulhu went to sea,
In a pea green boat compact...."

Sale to Everyday Weirdness

2009-05-26T13:26:00.002+01:00

Everyday Weirdness has accepted "The Owl and Great Cthulhu" for publication on May 30th.

Contributor over at Flash Fiction Chronicles

2009-05-19T13:23:00.000+01:00

Today I was one of a number of writers contributing to a post about writer's block over at Every Day Fiction's blog, Flash Fiction Chronicles:

"Usually I don’t get writer’s block, I get “writer’s meh”. It’s not a block so much as it ties in with depression, so that while I want to write I can’t get past the apathy."

Sale to Every Day Fiction

2009-05-12T21:33:00.001+01:00

Every Day Fiction has accepted "A Primary Function", marking my first ever sci-fi sale.

"When the Harlequin Dances" to Bards and Sages Quarterly

2009-04-27T14:03:00.002+01:00

"When the Harlequin Dances" has been accepted by Bards and Sages Quarterly for the January 2010 issue.

Facebook Author Page

2009-04-18T18:13:00.002+01:00

I now have an author page at Facebook. I'm still trying to figure out how everything works, but the basics are in place.

Guest-blogging

2009-03-26T19:19:00.000Z

Every Day Fiction has started a daily blog, written every day by a guest-writer. Today it's my turn and in my post, "Written in a Flash", I blog about how I got into writing flash fiction by joining in the flash challenges over at Liberty Hall. Every one of my published flash stories originated there, and some of my short stories, so plugging the site is the least I can do!

Tormenting schoolchildren since 2009

2009-03-19T18:41:00.003Z

My story "The Marsh Lights", which originally appeared in Every Day Fiction in December, is going to be reprinted in Step Ahead Elective Module: Learning English through Short Stories, a textbook for use in Hong Kong schools.

The Lorelei Signal

2009-03-15T12:10:00.002Z

The Lorelei Signal has accepted my story "A Celebration in Blue Silk" for the July 09 issue.

"Beyond the Gate" published today

2009-03-10T13:54:00.002Z

My flash story, "Beyond the Gate" is published today at Every Day Fiction. It's a fantasy story about a man forced to make a difficult choice: to cling on to the past, or admit that the life he knew is over.

"Progress" and "A Chime of Reds" published today

2009-02-10T16:20:00.003Z

My drabble (100 word story) "Progress" is published over at Flash Scribe today. Also today, Every Day Fiction has published "A Chime of Reds", a flash story about a young man discovering that normal is not necessarily better.

"The Charge of the Lightweights" published today

2009-01-13T16:25:00.003Z

My poem "The Charge of the Lightweights", a parody of Tennyson's "The Charge of the Light Brigade" and of typical student behaviour, is published at Every Day Poets today.

"The Marsh Lights" published today

2008-12-28T16:28:00.001Z

My fantasy flash story "The Marsh Lights", about a child learning a piece of local and family history, is published today at Every Day Fiction.

Subatomic Books to close

2008-12-20T11:24:00.001Z

Steve Libbey, owner of Subatomic Books, has posted the following on the site blog:

We regret to announce that as of December 21, 2008, Subatomic Books will be suspending our operations for the foreseeable future.

All our plans to release annual anthologies, publish weekly content on the site and novels by Portland writers and a few non-locals, and in various ways champion the cause of challenging fantastic fiction, they must be set aside for the time being.

Artist-run presses are extremely vulnerable to economic downturns because they are a labor of love. When the artists running the press come under financial pressure, the press takes a back seat to real world concerns. In this case, the publisher (me) encountered unexpected hospitalizations and the commensurate bills, which ate all the money tucked away for promotion, production and author fees. Meanwhile, the editor-in-chief had to rededicate her time to her freelance editing business.

We’re proud of the work we did in the short time Subatomic was extant. Perhaps when President Obama has repaired the economy, there will be disposable income enough to resurrect the press. A winning lottery ticket would also be useful. Regardless, we will ensure that our authors are compensated for their efforts in as timely a manner as possible.

We encourage readers to track down and follow the authors that we published in the anthology. Unleash your google skills and visit their sites for more news about their publications.

Thank you for your support.

Steve Libbey, Publisher.

Let's hope there's enough money left to pay the contributors, as payment was due in September.

"Plain English" published at Every Day Poets.

2008-11-07T16:30:00.000Z

My first ever poetry publication today - "Plain English" is up at Every Day Poets.

One Step Beyond published today

2008-09-15T16:33:00.004+01:00

What could make a band deny recording their most popular song?

My story "Mr Bad Man" is published today in the anthology One Step Beyond: Rocking Tales of the Fantastical by Subatomic Books.

"Enter the Sky Man" up at A Fly in Amber

2008-07-01T16:37:00.000+01:00

My flash story "Enter the Sky Man", in which carnival life is disrupted by the appearance of a man from the sky, is published at A Fly in Amber today.

2008-05-19T16:45:00.000+01:00

Can Shari's untrained gift of seeing the past help her former lover find the lost city of Camanac?

Today, "In Search of Camanac" is published in the anthology Ruins Metropolis by Hadley Rille Books. It's my first ever publication, and I can't wait to get copy and see my words in print for the first time.