So the Ditmar Awards have now closed to nominations for another year. I expect the shortlisted finalists will be announced in August. A hearty ‘good onya’ to everyone who nominated and best of luck to everyone who is in contention. I’ll be fascinated to see the composition of this year’s shortlist.

This also concludes my free fiction bonanza-thon. The PDFs of Shards, Phoenix and the Darkness of Wolves, and “Chasing Jormungand” have been taken down. Should any of these be shortlisted for the Ditmars, I’ll consider making them available again during the voting period, but until then, ‘ave a good weekend!

In case you’re wondering what happened to the Ditmar posts, I’ve been away for several days attending a friend’s wedding in Geraldton. The wedding was festive, and our time in Geraldton was better than I’d expected.

Before I return to the Ditmar stuff (tomorrow, most likely), I thought now was a timely moment to remind you that the books and stories of mine I’ve mentioned in the earlier posts are still for sale from the respective publishers. If you’re interested in my stuff (and I published my best fiction to date last year) for an apples-for-apples comparison with the other works I mentioned, you can buy my books for remarkably cheap prices here:

• Shards – collection (from Brimstone Press)
• Phoenix and the Darkness of Wolves – novella (from Damnation Books)
• “Chasing Jormungand” – short story in ASIM #38 (from ASIM)
• Midnight Echo #2 – magazine edited by Angela Challis & me (from AHWA)

I heartily thank you for your support – and I’m sure the publisher’s would love your business!

Katherine Petersen has added to the Phoenix and the Darkness of Wolves love with another positive review, this time on the Specusphere.

I’ve always thought the plot to Phoenix was a bit convoluted to explain, but Katherine has done a great job in covering the basics. Does this sound like something you’d read:

“Australian magickal practitioners hoped to use fire to rid the continent of monsters, but instead of a controllable bonfire, they create a raging inferno that tears across the landscape demolishing everything in its path. Damon survived with the help of his totem animal, the phoenix, but he believes he’s the only one. He’d protected his family by drawing runes all over their skin and having them associate themselves with totem animals as well, but his efforts weren’t enough. His family now is condemned to a limbo where they exist as shadow wolves.

“Damon trudges across Australia, following the phoenix with the hope that harnessing its magic will bring his family back. But his family has lost patience and for a few moments near the end of each day, they hunt him, believing that his death will mean their release. Damon has to seek out high places to avoid their teeth and claws, but not even the highest water tower can prevent his hearing their words of hate.”

However, my favourite quote from Katherine’s review is this:

“Shane Jiraiya Cummings has written a powerful tale that penetrates the mind of a man both haunted and hunted… Cummings paints a grim but vivid picture of the Australian plains and cities after the fire, from the bodies of monsters to hulks of cars and stubs of trees. You can almost hear the continuous pounding of Damon’s footsteps as he trudges on day after day after day.”

Phoenix and the Darkness of Wolves is available for $4.50 (e-book) from Damnation Books or $9.90 (paperback) from Amazon.

Yet another review of Phoenix and the Darkness of Wolves has appeared online. This time, it was courtesy of Michelle Lee at the outstanding Dark Scribe Magazine.

Michelle has nothing but awesome things to say …

Damnation Books has been putting out a number of good, solid reads thus far in its brief history. But none so far have been of the same caliber in the dark fantasy genre as Phoenix and the Darkness of Wolves by Shane Jiraiya Cummings.

and:

Phoenix and the Darkness of Wolves is short, too brief at times, giving it a movie-like feel as it sticks close to the absolute essentials instead of wandering around in extra padding. It also manages to be leisurely beautiful in its world and character-building, accentuated by its race against time, rather than driven by it … Cummings spins a tale unique in its setting, intent and feel that is well worth the read and really should earn some well-deserved attention.

Thanks Michelle and Dark Scribe!

Phoenix and the Darkness of Wolves is available for a paltry $4.50 (e-book) from Damnation Books or $9.90 (paperback) from Amazon.

Another Phoenix and the Darkness of Wolves review has hit the web, and this time, it’s a bit of a mixed one. HorrorNews reviewer Anton Cancre (a delightfully outre name, don’t you think? Although I’m in no position to dissect outre names!) appreciated the realism of Damon’s post apocalyptic plight (which is heartening to read as I invested a lot of the story into getting that part right) but wasn’t so convinced about the ending.

Most intriguingly, the reviewer found the magical conflagration at the heart of the novella as an allegory for a nuclear holocaust to be a bit insulting. This came out of left field. I was fascinated as I do, in fact, mention the word ‘nuclear’ twice (once as a simile describing the force of the fire as it consumes the protagonist’s home, and once from supporting character Bill – a man in his fifties or sixties – recounting the nuclear winter hysteria he suffered through as a child in the cold war). In comparison, the word ‘fire’ appears 111 times, ‘burn’ 34 times, ‘flame’ 31 times, ‘blaze’ 7 times, ‘inferno’ 3 times, and ‘conflagration’ twice.

Read more

Following on from that review, Penny Ehrenkranz has interviewed me about Phoenix and the Darkness of Wolves. In the discussion, I chat about writing routines, the rules of magic in Phoenix, and tips for writers, among other things. Check it out for yourself.