Horror – The Fane

Three, two, one, let’s jam

Posted on September 3, 2014September 3, 2014 by Ashlee Scheuerman in Other Writers, Writing

There was a surprising info leak two days back, that the mammoth science fiction and horror anthology was available to purchase on Amazon before the “official” release of the book. Word from the publisher, Written Backwards, is that the contributors told the world, and sales bloomed.

Whether you want to catch my story in the anthology, or read the phenomenal work from my co-contributors, or wish to enjoy yet another brilliant project coming out of Written Backwards, Qualia Nous is here and ready to make an impact.

Buy your copy now.

Happy release day to editor and writerlings;
Michael Bailey
Stephen King
Usman T. Malik
Gene O’Neill
Emily B. Cataneo
Erik T. Johnson
Ian Shoebridge
D.J. Cockburn
John R. Little
Jon Michael Kelley
Lori Michelle
James Chambers
Jason V Brock
Marge Simon
Peter Hagelslag
Christian A. Larsen
Max Booth III
Richard Thomas
Erinn L. Kemper
William F. Nolan
John Everson
Pat R. Steiner
Paul Anderson
Lucy A. Snyder
Rena Mason
Thomas F. Monteleone
Patrick Freivald
Mason Ian Bundschuh
Elizabeth Massie
and Gary A. Braunbeck
Know that it’s an absolute pleasure to share the pages of Qualia Nous with all of you.

Cross a name off the list

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Ashlee Scheuerman in Other Writers, Writing

Publisher Written Backwards has been responsible for some of my all-time favourite anthologies. Which makes me all the more amazed to be included in the next one…!

A short story happened one day, a strange little piece indeed. Inspired by reading about cutting edge medical breakthroughs in cancer treatment, at the same time as ancient Greek medical theories, and finding myself in a strange overlapping territory – “dyscrasia” being both the old Greek term of health imbalance, and now used in naming plasma cell cancer.

The music I happened to be listening to topped off the whole event. Somehow, I had a complete story on my hands, without being sure what to do with it.

I determined after sitting, reading, editing the whole thing that it was probably cyberpunk, a sub-genre of science fiction. And then I waited, and read, and re-read, still uncertain. What was this piece? What would I do with it? There was something very appealing in the story for me, but I don’t normally write sci-fi, and I spent a lot of time glaring at my computer screen. I edited a touch more here and there before throwing Dyscrasia at my beta readers. They got back to me, expressing opposite opinions. Add in another beta reader. Another day. Another reaction.

A new thought tickling at the back of my mind.

Editor Michael Bailey had mentioned his next anthology, Qualia Nous, was not entirely invite-only. The door might still be unlocked for those willing to knock. A great coming together of sci-fi and horror, guaranteed to be as epic as the previous Written Backwards anthologies, and here I figured, why not submit? I don’t know what else to do with Dyscrasia. Almost as if… I was passing the time. So submission goes off, I sleep, then head out for work, life goes on.

I get home again, see an email in my inbox.

It hasn’t even been 24 hours.

I’ve been formally accepted into Qualia Nous.

Dyscrasia is exactly what the editor was waiting for.

That weird cyberpunk story which bubbled up on its own accord, truthfully when I was procrastinating away from writing other novels, had landed me a place beside some amazing authors in one of the most exciting new markets out there. I can’t wait to hold a copy of Qualia Nous in my hands and see how this anthology has come together, with me, somehow, a part of it.

New books from Martin Livings, and Greg Chapman!

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Ashlee Scheuerman in Other Writers

Coming from Dark Prints Press, publisher of Surviving the End, are two new novellas from Australian authors to tickle your dark side:

Rope by longtime horror writer Martin Livings, featuring the scenic seaport Fremantle and its historical prison.

And Vaudeville by author and graphic artist Greg Chapman, with classic demonic horror awaiting.

Click here for both Rope and Vaudeville

Surprise, this is what you’re writing now

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Ashlee Scheuerman in Writing

I have been absolutely consumed by a new story.

I was doing so well! A strong start on book two of the novella series, getting through a quick edit on book one, then all of a sudden I’m just hit with this idea. It came to me almost fully-formed, ready to go. Characters popped out of nowhere, with flawless interaction, solid personalities and reason for being. I kept interrupting work to write parts of it, and as soon as I arrived home, I got right back into it.

At this stage, from what I can tell, it’s probably another short story. Horror, maybe a little more “typical” than my other horror works, which tend to be very psychological with minimal blood and gore. I don’t know an approximate word count yet, but I’m hoping it won’t take too long to write. I was genuinely enjoying the novellas. The characters in that series are really exciting to write about, and there is so much potential. This, though… this is just stuck in my head, and I’m certainly not going to let it go to waste by working around it, even if I am somewhat torn between my stories.

There’s a good chance that I’ll write part of the story and come to a point where I don’t need to continue right away; there are plenty of others in my project list that have taken that route. Of course, with it already started, I shouldn’t have any trouble coming back to it at a later date to finish it off. On the other hand, I might just be stuck with the idea until I’ve written it all out.

One of the funniest things about this story? The characters came to me with names already, all except the main character. I have no idea what his name is. Maybe it will never be revealed. Maybe he is to remain nameless. We will have to see as it all pans out.