Shards Winner

Forgive me all for my absence from the interwebs Monday and Tuesday but I wasn't feeling the best. Just worn out, I think, with a few weeks of late nights and bad sleep finally taking its toll. Spent most of my time in bed, or laid-back in the recliner, reading Stephen King's "Under the Dome". About half-way through so far, and it is damn good!

Anyway, I've looked through the answers I received for my Black Friday Shards Giveaway and made a decision.

The question was: What is your biggest fear?

navicat answered: Failure

Quite a general answer, but one that is very real for pretty much every human on this planet (I think). Failure as a person, as a parent, failure in work, failure to find love or friendship, failure in accomplishing our own dreams. Its all pretty universal for us but - and here's the kicker - I think that FAILURE is also the thing that drives most of the human race to accomplish new and wonderful things! I know I'm always worried about failing in my writing - about an hour after I've finished writing anything it kicks in, overtaking any feelings of accomplishment I might have had. I also worry very much about failing as a husband and a father. But it is that fear of failure that makes me work that much harder in making all these things better. Without a fear of failure, humanity probably would have fallen on its arse a long, long time ago.

gillpolack answered: Being Invisible

I could me mean, and just pretend I didn't notice that answer at all, but this is also a big fear for many people I know. To be totally honest, Gillian is one of the least invisible people I've ever met. She's always there with great advice and wonderful writing - be it about fiction, history, food or all of the above - and she has one of the most wicked senses of humour I've ever encountered. Sometimes, with every going on in and around my life, I actually wish I was invisible. I'd probably hate it if I was, and the old adage of 'beware what you wish for' is probably the first thing Gillian will think of when she reads this. Nevertheless, Gillian, you'll never be invisible to me!

LJ newcomer kazwald answered: Being Buried Alive

This one definitely appealed to my sense of morbidity. In this day and age of medical marvels and scientific investigation taphophobia is probably one of the fears least likely to occur. But still, the fear persists. Nowhere near as many people are actually 'buried' these days - cremation now seems to be the norm in the Western World - and you're more like to wake up on the autopsy table than six-feet-under. And yet, those feelings of isolation, of being trapped in darkness and slowly running out of oxygen (not too mention the almost impossible possibility of creepy crawlies in the sealed lead coffin with you) are as real today as when Edgar Allan Poe penned his tale 'Premature Burial' way back in 1844.

And so, with the themes inherent in the collection and the Black Friday nature of the competition, I award the copy of "SHARDS: Short Sharp Tales" to kazwald!

A big thanks to gillpolack and navicat for revealing their fears to the world at large, and I'll see if I can rustle up some form of consolation prize for you both.

kazwald, if you can email me at ashr @ tpg . com . au (remove the spaces) with your full name and a postal address, I'll try and get your copy in the mail within the next week or so.

Remember, if you'd like a taste of what 'SHARDS' has to offer, check out the free PDF chapbook "SHARDS: Damned and Burning" available from http://www.brimstonepress.com.au

Reviewey Goodness

Despite recent blog advice from gillpolack, a few reviews of my work have appeared over the past week or so and I'm going to post notice of them here :)

First up, felicitydowker has reviewed "SHARDS: Short Sharp Tales" over at Specusphere.

"The overall experience of Shards is that of a dizzying, vivid, frightening rollercoaster ride, plunging the reader repeatedly into dark and horrible places, only to climb up toward the light for a gulp of air before dropping sharply into another nightmare. All lovers of dark fiction will find something to cherish here, and those who appreciate high quality artwork will enjoy McKiernan’s touches, too."
[read the full review]

Midnight Echo #2 has also been reviewed at Specusphere by Damien Smith. Of my story "The Message" he had this to say:

"Of course there are the traditional horror staples of blood and death. Particularly noteworthy among these is 'Sweet Music' by Shaun Jeffrey, which puts a unique spin on old fashioned creative pain. It would have won my prize for Biggest Reader Reaction if not for the lingering sense of sadness created from Andrew J. McKiernan’s 'The Message'. "
[read the full review]

And the wonderful azhure has also reviewed Midnight Echo #2 over at OzHorrorScope, and has some very nice things to say about "The Message":

"'The Message' by Andrew J. McKiernan is the absolute standout in this issue. Again, a grounding in real life events gives this story real impact. There’s a real emotional hit to this one that will linger long after you’ve closed the magazine."
[read the full review]

Thank you all for your kind words :)