Monday 2 April 2012

Ebook publication news!

This post is entirely self-promotion, so feel free to skip to the next one, which hopefully will be something useful...

I have finally uploaded some of my short stories to Amazon. These are all previously published short stories (with the exception of one original), and they appeared in magazines like Realms of Fantasy, Strange Horizons, Interzone, and Black Static. Most of them are fantasy or dark fantasy. A couple of them are YA fantasies.

I'm really proud of these stories, and if short fantasy stories are your thing, I hope you'll enjoy them too.

Let's get down to it. Here are the stories I've uploaded:

Bone Roads

This is actually a collection of nine short stories. Eight are reprints, and one is an original. Here's the blurb:

A ghost searches for revenge in ancient Egypt.
A girl risks awakening a dark god to save her dog.
A boy unearths the bones of a dragon…

The Stories:

- When the Dragon Falls
- A Field Guide to Ugly Places
- The Frog King
- Five Things of Beauty
- Dawn, by the Light of a Barrow Fire
- The Sea Beyond Thule (Original to this collection)
- The Land of Reeds
- The Western Front
- At the Gates

On amazon.com | on amazon.co.uk

Uncle Vernon's Lie

This short story was first published in Realms of Fantasy.

The blurb:

In Uncle Vernon’s garden, the river of stars might sweep you away. Satyrs weave tales on looms made of moonbeams. Worlds fall and die in every single teardrop. And Uncle Vernon tells stories that can’t possibly be true.

But Benji knows that his uncle will only tell him one lie in his whole life, and hidden among those stories full of secrets both frightening and wonderful is the single lie that might break Benji’s heart.

On amazon.com | on amazon.co.uk

Crab Apple

This short story was first published in Realms of Fantasy, and reprinted in Year's Best Fantasy.

The blurb:

"I saw her first the day I found Dad on the kitchen floor. The new girl. The wild girl..."

When Josh’s dad falls ill with lung cancer and a strange new girl appears at his school, Josh has to face up to two frightening threats. They may be more closely linked than he realizes.

It's a YA fantasy short story.

On amazon.com | on amazon.co.uk

Finisterre

This short story was first published in the much-missed The Third Alternative magazine.

The blurb:

For twenty five years, since the death of his lover, Thomas Carlyle has drifted from dead-end job to dead-end job. But when he meets a stranger on the subway, and the stranger tells him a secret, he can ignore his grief no longer.

Somewhere, no more than a pen stroke away, his past may be waiting … in Finisterre.

On amazon.com | on amazon.co.uk

Camelot

This short story was first published in Interzone.

The blurb:

Sam may only look 22, but he's spent the last 67 years searching for his brother, who was shot down over France during World War II. All he has to go on is a dream of his brother in a ruined castle, and the knowledge that his brother would never have abandoned him if their positions were reversed.

But now Sam is running out of places to look, and when he meets a strange woman, he starts to dream of things that never happened. His search is coming to its end, and somewhere, hidden, Camelot is waiting.

On amazon.com | on amazon.co.uk

At the Gates

This short story was first published in Black Static.

The blurb:

When Grace comes across a sick, stray dog in an alley, she thinks paying the vet’s bills and hiding the dog from her mother are going to be her biggest problems.

She’s wrong. Something is awakening. Something dark and old, and her problems are going to be much bigger, at the gates…

This is a YA dark fantasy story.

On amazon.com | on amazon.co.uk

A Veil, a Meal, and Dust

This short story was first published in Ideomancer.

The blurb:

The time has come for the Catechist of Yeratet to choose a new spouse. Parteeka Ren Sussu is determined that she will be the Catechist’s wife. All that stand between her and that exalted position are the other two remaining candidates.

Now all must tell their stories. Only one will be chosen. The others will die.

This is a science fiction story set in the far-future.

On amazon.com | on amazon.co.uk

You can also download the stories from various European Amazon stores. You can find the ebooks via these links:

On Amazon Germany

On Amazon France

On Amazon Italy

On Amazon Spain

Sorry, the stories are only available on Amazon right now, but I'll start converting them for Smashwords and the markets it supplies over the next few weeks.

4 comments:

Lisa Campbell said...

Hmm. . . Which one to read first? I love reading ebooks and am actually more likely to buy them because I like reading on my iPad. If you could choose, which one would you want a new reader of your books to try first? I'll have to get more of your tips some time about self-publishing when my first book is ready.

Patrick Samphire said...

Hmm indeed.

I guess it depends what you like. :)

I'd probably go for Uncle Vernon's Lie for the first story.

If you like YA, then either At the Gates or Crab Apple. At the Gates is darker, edging on horror (but not of the too explicit kind).

Camelot and Finisterre are more 'adult'.

A Veil, a Meal and Dust has more of a traditional science fiction feel.

The story collection (Bone Roads) has a mix of stuff.

Okay, this may not be too helpful...

I know what you mean about reading more on ebooks. I read a lot on the iPad when I'm sitting with my kid when he's going to sleep. (Reading in the dark! Yay!)

Lisa Campbell said...

Alright. I just bought Uncle Vernon's lie. Thanks!

Patrick Samphire said...

Hope you enjoy it!