Austin Worley's Blog: Writing, Reading, and Living with Austin Worley, page 3

Update: June 2025

Summer’s in full swing, which means it’s time tell you all about what I’ve been up to this June!

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My efforts this month have been focused on two fronts: covers and other final touches for standalone editions of Hanging at Crosbhothar, The Gale at Quiet Cove, and The Skull in the Tree and a rewrite of “Dusk and Dawn at Laufenden” for inclusion in a collection of short fiction.

If you’ve been following this blog lately, you’ve probably seen the covers. Everyone who’s commented on them so far thinks they’re fantastic, and I couldn’t agree more. Especially the latter two. When I first set out to self-publish reprints of these novelettes, I didn’t have a clear vision for what I wanted for the cover of The Gale at Quiet Cove. All I knew was I wanted a sort of minimalist theme across the whole novelette series, since Canva was the best available tool for cover design and anything too elaborate would be beyond its abilities.

At first, I was thinking about maybe a pearl or clamshell, since the selkies dive for pearls. Or a seal because…well, selkies. But when Rachel came back to me with the cover for Hanging at Crosbhothar, her use of color and silhouettes fired my imagination, so I decided to roll the dice and asked her to see if she could showcase the titular storm. Just in case this proved too complex, I had a simpler concept of a lightning bolt against a stormy sky as a backup, but she knocked it out of the park. Ruby Isle looked perfect silhouetted against storm clouds and surrounded by crashing waves.

The Skull in the Tree kinda had the opposite problem: I had a very clear idea of what I wanted–the cursed skull at the heart of the story nestled in some tree branches–but I was worried it might be too detailed for us to execute with Canva. Or if we did it well, it would be too different from the other two covers. But once again, Rachel came through. She found a skull that fit our established art style like a glove, and she tucked it seamlessly into some branches that did the same.

I still need to order proof copies of The Gale at Quiet Cove and The Skull in the Tree, but both books seem like they’re in excellent shape at the moment. Otherwise, all I have left to do is set prices and settle on release dates for all of them. My current vision is Hanging at Crosbhothar in October, The Gale at Quiet Cove in November, and The Skull in the Tree in December. But we’ll see what the future holds. It’s always possible there’s a hitch somewhere along the way.

Since “Dusk and Dawn at Laufenden” is so old and never reached a wide audience, I’ve decided to overhaul the story on a textual level. Pretty much all the big story beats and themes will remain the same, but I’m aiming to add a lot more detail. Not just tactile feel but also what Arlise thinks and feels as her orders cause the battle to become a massacre. I want to dig deeper into how this event traumatizes her and comes to define the choices she makes for the rest of her life.

So far, the rewrite looks like it’ll be heftier than the original. I’m almost halfway to the word count of the original version but somewhere between two-thirds and three-quarters of the way through the first scene, and there are three of those. Progress hasn’t been fast, since I’m still getting used to writing prose again after all the worldbuilding in May, but it’s progress all the same.

For now, my plan is to finish the rewrite, then work on more stories for the collection about Arlise. Maybe I’ll dust off “In the Web of Fate”. Maybe I’ll start one of the other ideas noted in my outline. Only time will tell, but I look forward to telling you all about it in future updates.

You might’ve seen I also had some delightful, unexpected news on the poetry front earlier this month. I’d dusted off an old haiku, touched it up a little, and shared it in the workshop of a writing forum I’ve been on forever just to see what folks thought of the revisions, and the feedback was so overwhelmingly positive I decided to try submitting it for publication.

Normally, I wouldn’t bother. Most poetry markets pay so little and have so few readers it’s just not worth the hassle of carefully crafting submissions only to receive rejections anyway. But since this one seemed like a real winner, I sent it to 5-7-5 Haiku Journal. Four hours later, I received an acceptance. Their schedule moved like lightning, and my haiku released on June 12th. You can read it for online here.

Given my focus on action, adventure, and sword & sorcery lately, it’s probably no surprise I’ve been reading a lot of Robert E. Howard.

First, I finished off the Del Rey collection of his Middle Eastern adventures following the likes of El Borak, Kirby O’Donnell, and Steve Clarney. My favorites were probably Hawk of the Hills, “Blood of the Gods”, “Gold from Tatary”, and “The Fire of Asshurbanipal”, though I think I prefer the weird fiction version of the latter from the horror collection more.

More recently, I decided to finish off my Conan reread with “A Witch Shall Be Born” and The Hour of the Dragon. The former has a lot of cool concepts, but it’s a rare instance where Howard runs afoul of the old “show, don’t tell” rule; a lot of the most thrilling bits of the story are retold by other character rather than witnessed directly, which dulls their impact. Nevertheless, those cool concepts do make for some vivid moments: Conan on the cross, Thaug’s emergence from the Temple of Ishtar, Salome as the titular villainous witch.

I’m still early in The Hour of the Dragon, but it’s a far more satisfying tale. In a lot of ways, it reads like a greatest hits album of all the other Conan stories by REH. Also, Zenobia’s rescue of Conan from the dungeon in Belverus feels like it could’ve walked out of a fantasy romance, and I’m certain you could turn “Harem girl helps captured king escape sorcerer’s dungeon” into an awesome on-the-road fantasy adventure romance. Ahh, my brain’s giving me too many ideas to write again!

Once I finish The Hour of the Dragon, I’m hoping to pick up a complete collection of Howard’s westerns, which I’ve only read a few of in Del Rey’s The Best of Robert E. Howard series.

June might mark the start of summer, but it’s been an awfully rainy month. One of our wettest ever. Clear skies have been few and far between, so I haven’t really had a chance to go stargazing lately. Hopefully that changes in July and August!

At the same time, I don’t want to wish the rain away for long, because it’s been keeping temperatures down. As soon as the storms cleared off, they spiked into the 90s with heat indexes in the 100s. I’ll take thunderstorms over that any day of the week!

Now, whatever’s at the root of my nerve issues, it’s definitely not the weather. I’ve felt about the same as I did in May: better than when things were at their worst in February and March, but uncertain whether there’s any actual healing going on or I’ve just become accustomed to it. I have a hunch this could be cubital tunnel syndrome, but I can’t say for certain until my next visit to the doctor, when we can talk more about other diagnostic and treatment options.

Hopefully I’ll have some good news to share on all fronts in July.

“The Skull in the Tree” Cover Reveal

Wednesday turned out more chaotic than expected, so I didn’t get this post out yesterday, but here it is now: the cover reveal for the new standalone edition of The Skull in the Tree!

Art by Rachel Bowdler

Better late than never, right?

I had some doubts with this one. The titular skull inscribed with curses and tucked into the tree branches offered a really striking image perfect for cover art. It screams dark fantasy. But it’s also a lot more complicated than the silhouette-based covers Rachel did for Hanging at Crosbhothar and The Gale at Quiet Cove. Did Canva have the right assets to pull this off? Could we execute it well without looking too different from the first two novelettes?

As you can see, the answer to those two questions was a resounding yes! Once again, she (@RachelBowdler_ over on Twitter) aced the dark fantasy vibe of this story, and she went above and beyond in getting there; I think she showed me around half a dozen different mock-ups based on the ideas I laid out for her? All of them were pretty good, but this one immediately stood out to me. Head and shoulders above the rest, and I couldn’t be prouder to have it on my book.

Again, if you’re in the market excellent covers–especially on a budget–I wholeheartedly recommend checking out Rachel. Her services offered over on Ko-fi are fantastic!

Same as the other two, I can’t upload the full wraparound because it’s a PDF, so I’ll share a snip of the back cover.

We’re in the home stretch with these novelettes! I still need to order proofs of the paperbacks for The Gale at Quiet Cove and The Skull in the Tree, but I’m not expecting any issues from either of them. From there, it’s all down to finalizing release dates and prices for all three books. Right now, I’m aiming for releases in October, November, and December. But who knows what the future holds?

The Gale at Quiet Cove Cover Reveal

Time to reveal the cover of the second novelette I’ll be releasing later this year, The Gale at Quiet Cove!

Art by Rachel Bowdler

Once more, fantastic work from my cover designer, Rachel Bowdler (@RachelBowdler_ over on Twitter). My jaw was on the floor when this one came in; we didn’t even need edits. I never expected the endless storm at the heart of this novelette to translate so well into cover art.

Again, if you’re in the market for excellent cover art (especially if you’re on a budget), check out her services over on Ko-fi.

As with Hanging at Crosbhothar, this novelette is too short for spine text on the wraparound cover for the paperback, and because the paperback is a PDF, I can’t upload the whole thing here. But here’s a snip of the back cover:

I still need to review a proof copy of this one, but things are coming together fast! Keep an eye on this blog: next week, I’ll be revealing the cover for The Skull in the Tree!

Haiku Published in 5-7-5 Haiku Journal

Today’s the day! My latest haiku is out now in 5-7-5 Haiku Journal.

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You can find it here. 5-7-5 Haiku Journal is free to read, so don’t hesitate to check out some of their other fantastic work, either.

Haiku Accepted by 5-7-5 Haiku Journal

A pleasant surprise over the weekend: one of my haikus received a swift acceptance from a small poetry e-zine, 5-7-5 Haiku Journal.

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I don’t usually submit poetry–it’s just not worth the effort most of the time–but this haiku received pretty rave reviews when I workshopped, and I felt like it was one of my best unpublished haikus, so I decided to roll the dice.

5-7-5 came back with an acceptance in just four hours(!!!), and the haiku is set to be published on their site on June 12th!

Stay tuned for the announcement post and link on Thursday.

Hanging at Crosbhothar Cover Reveal

At last, the time has come to show off the cover for the new standalone edition of Hanging at Crosbhothar!

Art by Rachel Bowdler

Isn’t this fantastic? My cover designer, Rachel Bowdler (@RachelBowdler_ over on Twitter), did a magnificent job capturing the “dark fantasy in autumn” vibe of this novelette. If you’re in the market for quality cover art on a budget, I couldn’t recommend her services more highly!

Because this is a novelette–and a small one at that–there’s no spine text on the paperback wraparound, and because it’s a PDF, I can’t upload the full thing here. But…check out this snip of the back cover:

With the cover all taken care of, there’s little left to be done. I’ve already looked over a paperback proof copy, and I’m pretty happy with the result. Once the other novelettes have their covers, I think I’ll be ready to set a release date. Keep an eye out for more announcements!

Update: May 2025

If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring? Another monthly update from me, among other things!

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May started off rough: flu ripped through the whole family, myself included. It laid me out for almost an entire week, during which time I accomplished nothing. Well, nothing tangible. I had a few ideas for some stories and worldbuilding stuff, but I was too sick to write them down until afterwards.

Fortunately, I bounced back well enough. On the 7th, I sent “One Bitter Note” off to Goblins & Galaxies. Fingers crossed they like it! Competition seems stiff; the Submission Grinder alone shows 187 pending submissions, so they have ton of fiction to work their way through. Nevertheless, “One Bitter Note” is, in my opinion, one of the best stories I’ve ever written, so I think I have a decent chance. It may help that it’s more dark fantasy than sword & sorcery. Since most of the discussion around G&G that I’ve seen has been as a sword & sorcery market, my guess is they probably received less dark fantasy and science fiction submissions. But there’s really no way to tell until they start sending out rejections.

After “One Bitter Note”, I dusted off Folk of Rock and Water, polished it up a little, and sent it off to Cloaked Press. It could be a while before I hear back, but I’m in no rush. There aren’t too many markets for a western fantasy novella, so it can’t hurt to try my luck with them, even if it means a long wait.

I finished off that first week back to work with commissioning the cover for Hanging at Crosbhothar, the first of my novelette reprints due out later this year. My chosen artist has done a fantastic job. Once I have the paperback wraparound in hand, expect a reveal post to show it off. I can hardly wait!

As my recovery continued, I returned to worldbuilding. My main focus so far has been the Malleus Monstrorum, a sort of in-universe field manual detailing the various arcane threats encountered by the Order of Watchers. It’s been very useful in organizing my thoughts on the mechanics of magic, the nature of demons, possession, etc. I’m not even that far in and it’s already over 7500 words. Thanks to the sheer freedom and low pressure of worldbuilding, the words almost seem to fly out of my fingers.

I’ve also returned to “The Throne of Ptalis”, upping its word count by about 50%. I’m a little rusty when it comes to writing erotica, so I need to do some comparative reading before I dive into the steamiest bits of the story, but I’m hopeful I can bring it in under the 869-word limit of Bothered Stories’ Just the Sex flash fic series. If not, oh well. It’ll still be nice to finish something.

Otherwise, I’m still torn on what to write next. “Dusk and Dawn at Laufenden” needs a rewrite, but I also have my eye on a small sword & sorcery anthology closing for submissions at the start of August. I may see if I can whip up something to send them, whether it be one of my ideas for a fresh story in The Skull in the Tree and Other Stories or something entirely new.

I’ve been on a Joe Abercrombie-kick lately, finishing off his first First Law trilogy with Last Argument of Kings before starting the standalone Best Served Cold. Let’s just say there’s a reason he’s known as Lord Grimdark!

What a good ending Last Argument of Kings was for The First Law, even if it wasn’t good for any of the main characters (except arguably Glokta). I’m still early in Best Served Cold, but it’s already shaping up to be a fun ride.

While I was down with the flu, I also worked my way pretty far into the audiobook of Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea. The naval aspect of World War I is so often overlooked, outside of U-boats and Jutland, but that’s not an issue here. Massie is a very thorough historian, and the audiobook is well-narrated.

I can’t say whether my nerve issues have improved or I’ve just become accustomed to them, but either way, they’re not bothering me as much. We still don’t have a concrete cause, though the X-rays we did last month ruled out arthritis. My back in particular does seem better, helped along by my prescription.

For now, it’s wait and see. Hopefully things are continuing to look up when I see you all for my next update in June!

“What Good Fathers Do” has an official release date!

Earlier this week, I heard back from the editor at Bullet Points. We now have an official release date–and issue number–for “What Good Fathers do”!

Map of the Eleutherian League, circa 3461

While there could still be some schedule slippage, our current plan is for “What Good Fathers Do” to join a bunch of other fantastic military spec fic flash fiction in Bullet Points Volume #13, slated for a midnight (EDT) release on April 21st, 2026.

This means it’ll be out a little over a year after it was accepted, but you won’t hear me complaining! After a close brush with publication followed by a string of (often complimentary) rejections, I’m just glad it found a home in a magazine whose audience is sure to love the story.

Flag of the Eleutherian League

For Captain Zamile Kani, the mission is simple: escort transports loaded with thousands of soldiers, civilian contractors, and their families (including his own) to reinforce the fleet base at Desolation. But when he arrives to find the base destroyed and a swarm of enemy missile boats bearing down on his convoy, Zamile must reckon with his failures as a father…and what it means to be a better one.

If this little teaser piques your interest, I hope you’ll check out Bullet Points #13 next April!

Update: April 2025

We had tons of rain this month, but things have been anything but stormy over on the writing!

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The most momentous event of my April came right at the start: “What Good Fathers Do” received an acceptance from Bullet Points!

For Captain Zamile Kani, the mission is simple: escort transports loaded with thousands of soldiers, civilian contractors, and their families (including his own) to reinforce the fleet base at Desolation. But when he arrives to find the base destroyed and a swarm of enemy missile boats bearing down on his convoy, Zamile must reckon with his failures as a father…and what it means to be a better one.

“What Good Fathers Do” almost found a home once before, in Sour Spaghetti and Other Stories from Paperm!nd Press, but the anthology ended up canceled. After almost a year and a half of constant submissions, all I had to show for the effort was a bunch of complimentary rejections and an Honorable Mention from the Writers of the Future Contest…until now. Bullet Points seems tailormade for it; there’s nowhere else I’d rather debut the universe of the Eleutherian League.

Even so, I never would’ve known if not for a lucky break. The acceptance email landed in my junk folder, and I didn’t find it until a few days later. Fortunately, I did find it, and we’re headed down the long road to publication.

Otherwise, I turned in a master file of all my notes and ideas on the ghostwriting project for my client and finished the brief beta read he commissioned, so the contract is all closed out. A shame I couldn’t finish the book for him, but what can you do when weird medical issues rear their head? He’s been very understanding, though, leaving me a five-star review and inviting me to come back as a developmental editor of sorts once he finds another ghostwriter, so fingers crossed that works out!

Most of the rest of this month went to prepping “Hanging at Crosbhothar”, “The Gale at Quiet Cove”, and “The Skull in the Tree” for reprint as self-published standalones. First came blurbs for all three, then afterwords, an author bio, and interior formatting. Once I finished the first one, the rest weren’t too bad. Kindle Create was a massive help with the paperback versions; it would’ve taken forever otherwise. All that’s really left now are the covers. From there, it’ll be time for proof copies and the home stretch: setting the price, release date, etc.

At the moment, my plan is to release one novelette a month in October, November, and December, but we’ll see what the future holds!

I’m a little uncertain what to write right now, so I’m overhauling some ancient worldbuilding notes from back when I first created Arlise. Stuff about the mechanics of magic, Elissanite theology, monsters, the Watchers and how they’re organized, etc. Most of the basics will remain the same, but I want to flesh them out, align them with my current vision of the setting, and add on to them.

If I’m lucky, they’ll also fuel some ideas for other stories to include in the collection or story beats for Seven Tears on the Tide!

This month, I’ve read a lot of sword & sorcery. Gollancz recently reprinted the first two books in Charles R. Saunders’ Imaro series, set in the fictional African-analogue continent of Nyumbani. I’ve heard a ton about these books, so I decided to spring for the paperbacks. I’m about a third of the way through Imaro, and they haven’t disappointed so far!

Otherwise, I reread the awesome Del Rey collections of the original Conan stories by Robert E. Howard and finished off the first volume of Fritz Leiber’s Adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser.

April has been hit and miss when it comes to the nerve pain. Even with labs and x-rays, we haven’t identified a root cause yet. It’s bounced around a little and even awoke an old back injury. Still, I might’ve turned a corner recently thanks to my most recent prescription. I guess time will tell, right?

Here’s hoping things continue to hum along in May!

“What Good Fathers Do” Accepted for Publication in Bullet Points

Some very exciting news I’ve sat on for a couple weeks: my military sci-fi flash fic “What Good Fathers Do” has been accepted for publication in Bullet Points, a military spec-fic magazine!

Map of the Eleutherian League in 3461, just before the events of “What Good Fathers Do”

For Captain Zamile Kani, the mission is simple: escort transports loaded with thousands of soldiers, civilian contractors, and their families (including his own) to reinforce the fleet base at Desolation. But when he arrives to find the base destroyed and a swarm of enemy missile boats bearing down on his convoy, Zamile must reckon with his failures as a father…and what it means to be a better one.

Some readers may remember “What Good Fathers Do” has been accepted before, in Sour Spaghetti and Other Stories which was to be published by Paperm!nd Press. Alas, the publisher cancelled the anthology in late 2023, and I’ve been searching for somewhere else the story could call home ever since. There’ve been a lot of rejections (and an Honorable Mention from Writers of the Future) over the last year and a half or so, but the search is finally over!

I’m especially happy I’ll finally be able to show off the Eleutherian League. Their world is one I built a few years back, but since there aren’t many mil sci-fi short fiction markets, most of my stories there are novels, all of which are still in their earliest stages. A finished work out in the wild makes this setting feel so much more real!

We still have a long way to go towards publication–I don’t have any sort of detailed timeline, but we’re probably looking at months–but it makes for exciting times, nonetheless. Keep an eye on this blog and I’ll let you know more as soon as I learn more!