"The Flittiest Catch" is up at IGMS! The artwork is awesome!

My story, "The Flittiest Catch," is now live at Orson Scott Card's InterGalactic Medicine Show.

The issue includes a bunch of other great stories, too, including a pair from Nebula/Hugo/some other award I'm forgetting winner, Ken Liu.

It only costs $15 a year to subscribe, and you get access to back issues. And as a bonus, my story is also featured in audio.

Very excited about this!

Check out M.Wayne Miller's artwork for the piece. It's amazing!

RLR

"Mikey Frick Finds a Flower" is now live! (Kazka Press)

My story, "Mikey Frick Finds a Flower," is already live at Kazka Press.

The October '12 issue also includes stories from
Ada Hoffman: Sage and Coco
Cat Rambo: In The Mirror's Heart
Russ Colson: Journey to the Leak Point
Mary Ann Back: The Chamber
Jeff James: Burning Love
J.D. McLaughlin: The Skeleton's Wife

RLR

"Mikey Frick Finds a Flower" sells to Kazka Press

I received word this morning that Kazka Press has accepted my story, "Mikey Frick Finds a Flower," for their October '12 Flash Fiction Contest (theme: love beyond death) guest edited by Michael Haynes (a fellow Writeshopper and Codex member, though Michael read submissions "blind," without personal details attached).

The story is one of my personal favorites, and I'm glad it found a home. And better yet, there's no agonizing wait for people to read it since it'll come out in October.

RLR

A small story sells to a big magazine! "The Flittiest Catch" to appear in Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show

I haven't added much to this blog recently, but I'm happy to report that my flash length Deadliest Catch parody, "The Flittiest Catch," should be appearing in the November issue of Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show.

As you might expect, I'm very happy to have made it into this market. IGMS is a big deal, and I'll be curious (terrified) to read what reviewers think of my little story.

I tend to write stuff that falls outside of IGMS's PG-13 range, but I have two longer stories in the the pipeline that are PG-13, so with a little hard work (and probably some luck) I'm hoping this story is only the first of many to grace IGMS's pages. 

RLR

"Leave the Stone" now live at The Washington Pastime

My historical story, "Leave the Stone," has been reprinted by The Washington Pastime.

My Penumbra Blog Entry: See it Before you Write it, Then Get Busy Day Dreaming

I did a blog entry for Penumbra Magazine. Read my words of wisdom  here.

RLR

Tangent Online reviews my story, "Path of Stones," and other Penumbra #8 Stories

Here's a link to Tangent Online's review of "Path of Stones" and the other stories appearing in Penumbra's #8, fractured fairy tale issue. 

And here's the review itself:

“Path of Stones” by Robert Lowell Russell

This retelling of “Hansel and Gretel” was obscure and somewhat tricky to recognize. It was like several old fairytales combined, but the style was artistic, imaginative and intriguing. It maintained a successful dark tone throughout and the near-ending was especially morbid right up until the final lines. I enjoyed the suspense.

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I'd call this a positive review. I tried to do something a bit different with "Path of Stones," and I think this is reflected in the "obscure" comment. I was always worried that the clues I had in the story, including the title itself, would immediately tip the reader that this was a Hansel and Gretel story, but I don't think that was the case.

 I'm glad they found it suspenseful. I prefer writing "action" stories, and there tend to be sequences in what I write where I WANT readers to constantly ask: And then what happens? And then what happens?  And then what happens? If you haven't read my Digital Science Fiction story, "Floaters," much of the middle of the story is a running (literally) gun battle and chase.   


I've got another story currently under consideration that is a guns blazin' tale filled with murderous cats. I didn't think "Path of Stones" was all that dark or morbid, but there's no doubt about this new story. 

Fingers crossed.


RLR