Shiny Shorts

There is no such thing as too many blogs. Really there isn't. ;-) So with that in mind, a few of us have started up a review blog specifically for all things short fiction. We'll be covering flash, short stories, novellas; podcasts, print & online magazines; anthologies & collections; fantasy, horror, SF, & crime; new releases & old favourites.

And so, announcing: Shiny Shorts!

So far we've posted reviews of Welcome to Bordertown, Beneath Ceaseless Skies #86, The Princess Trap by Peter Darbyshire (from Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #11), Lavender and Lychgates by Angela Slatter (from Best New Horror #22 but originally from Sourdough and Other Stories) and The Thief of Precious Things by A. C. Wise (from Bewere the Night), and there's plenty more reviews stacked up in the post-schedule queue so drop on by and have a trawl through.

And if any of you, dear internet peeps, fancy volunteering to contribute the odd review, please do let me know - can be of single stories/audio fic, or full magazine/anthology etc. reviews, and we'll also take reprints of older reviews - the point is to share the love of all things short-fic!

Get your Shiny Shorts on! ;-P

The Zombie Song

I already mentioned this over on the Girls' Guide to Surviving the Apocalypse, but it bears repeating here because, frankly, I love this song.

I give you, the gloriousness that is: The Zombie Song by Stephanie Mabey.

It was used in the closing credits of the excellent Un:Bound Video Edition: Zombies and it's such a wonderfully catchy song...

"If I were a zombie, I'd never eat your brain.
I'd just want your heart, yeah I'd want your heart..."

Zommmmmmbies!

Have you checked out the lol-tastic Un:Bound video covering the disturbing events of zombies running riot through Leicester? If not, do so - it includes interviews with acclaimed zombie experts and authors Jasper Bark, Wayne Simmons and Dave Moody.



Plus, in not entirely unrelated news... the first trailer for Resident Evil: Retribution has been released!



Woohoo!

Turtle Apocalypse Time!

It seems to be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle day on Girls' Guide to the Apocalypse as I've managed two posts on the little buggers - an early warning of imminent doom in The Ninja Turtle Threat and if the thought of watching the Ninja Rap video scares you too much, there's also the Ninja Turtle cocktail to help dull the pain.

And from the other Apocalypse Girls this month can also be found more cocktails; How to Destroy Humanity - A Guide for Alien Invasion (Part 1), for the Downton Abbey fans - a poll to see which one of the Crawley sisters would survive the apocalypse; more music, reading and accessories; a giveaway of Jonathan Maberry's 'King of Plagues' and, ooh, loads more.

Check us out here!

Apocalypse Girls with a Pornokitsch Twist!

I think this definitely calls for a tee-hee moment - for, lo, the Apocalypse Girls have been interviewed over on that there Pornokitsch, talking about the appeal of the Apocalypse and how the Girls' Guide came into being...

Shiny Shorts: The Princess Trap

Found in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly #11, The Princess Trap by Peter Darbyshire is a wonderfully fun story about a dragon, a not-really princess, the inevitable knights that cross their path and the mutually beneficial arrangement they work out between them.

Saleema is an orphan sheepherder who dreams of being a queen but when she loses her flock to a dragon intent on settling down nearby, necessity forces her to work with the dragon in order to survive. Being a smart young lady of quite sensible character she soon turns the dragon's hunger and the questing knights assorted demises to her advantage, sowing the seeds for what is going to be a quite useful partnership for both of them.

This is a lighthearted romp of a tale with a heroine who succeeds through her own cleverness and adaptability and promises the continuance of interesting things after the story has ended, which is always a good thing. Love it!