Today I got a notification that somebody in Japan purchased my newest novel, Papaya, which seems pretty random all things considered. Given that a big part of being a member of the teeming writing masses is celebrating every little victory you get, here’s to you random person in Japan who ordered my book. I hope you enjoy it and tell your friends about it.
If you’d like to check out the novel that one person in Japan has purchased, you can via the below link:
After nearly two months of work, my first novel, The Uncanny Valley, is now fully available in an audio version which is currently free for anybody who wants to listen to it. Though the quality is not the best given my lack of equipment, I think its well worth the listen for all of those people who have told me they’d love to read my book, but only if they can do it with their ears. I hope every one enjoys it.
You can find the audio version here:
www.shawnwcampbell.com/audio
And you can find the book version here:
www.shawnwcampbell.com/uncannyvalley
Come one and come all to read Ten-Hut, my latest short story which has just been published by the online literary review BlazeVOX19. This is quite an honor given that I’ve now had a story published in each of the past three issues of this fine review. I think it might be one of the highest compliments I’ve ever received as a writer. Ten-Hut is actually one of my newer stories, having been written in July of 2019. It is also one that got published fairly quickly. I first started submitting it in December of 2019 and after only six rejections it got picked up by BlazeVOX19 in April of this year. This is the fourth story of mine to be published so far this year.
Eleven months between writing and publishing is actually a pretty good turnaround in the short story biz. For instance, most of the stories that I’ve gotten published don’t reach the public eye until 3 to 5 years after they are written. The longest period I’ve had so far between writing a story and seeing it published has been six and a half years. Part of this is my tendency to let stories sit for awhile before editing them and starting the submissions process, but part of it too is the fact that this is a hobby that requires focusing on the long game. It can take awhile for you want to put a story out there, even longer to get it accepted, and even then you have to wait, sometimes a year, for it to be actually published. All I can say is, all of your support certainly makes the waiting worth it. I hope you enjoy Ten-Hut.
Great news today, the Eunoia Review accepted my short story, The Nine Lives of Mr. Snuggles, for publication in mid-June. This pretty exciting for a couple of reasons. First, at a whopping 13,000 words this will be far my longest short story to ever get published. Second, this online literary review is based out of Singapore, so I can add it to the list of countries where I’ve been published which currently includes the U.S. and India. Finally, this will be the sixth short story of mine to be published so far this year.
Of course, you’re going to have to wait until after it’s published to read it, but in the mean time, might I suggest for your reading pleasure my new project, The People’s Republic of 47th and Long, where I’m adding a new part to the story each day, creating a book right before your very eyes. You can check it out at:
www.shawnwcampbell.com/letters
The Clackamas Literary Review published my short story, The Closet, today. This brings the total stories published so far this year to three with another two pending. The Closet is one of those stories that I just kind of wrote one day on a whim, never expecting it to get published. However, I decided to put it out there anyways, which just goes to show you never know what might happen.
I don’t usually believe in explaining stories, but I think this one is worth saying some things because stories of a personal nature involve people one loves and cares about. I had a good childhood overall. I got to grow up in the middle of nowhere in a setting relatively few people get to truly experience. I’ve never wanted to trade it for anything. I was a lucky kid. I had parents who loved me and cared so deeply that even when I was angry with them I never questioned it. If anything, I wish I could go back to my childhood and be better to them. I was not an easy child. I was a different child, or at least that’s the way I felt, though others must have seen it somewhat too for I got picked on a lot as a kid. It’s hard to explain, but I always felt like an outsider no matter where I went or who I met. I sometimes imagined a spaceship dropping out of the sky to take me to the world where I belonged.
Growing up is a confusing time, not just for yourself, but for your parents as well, especially when you feel different. I was not an easy kid. I was extremely finicky, picky, and had a violent temper. I was angry at being stuck on this world, and so I acted out against it. I latched onto odd things and ideas with an amazing amount of force for somebody my age, defending them against encroachment with a righteous fury that often came out in unhealthy ways. I know I worried my parents, and scared them a lot too. I don’t think they knew what to do with me, though they did everything in their power to help and understand me. As a kid, so many actions by your parents don’t make sense at the time they’re happening, only later revealing themselves as proof of how much somebody loves you. I don’t know how my parents could’ve done any better with me. How could they be expected to understand something that I certainly didn’t understand then, and even after 37 years of living with myself still can’t satisfactorily explain now.
I was a lucky kid. My parents loved me and cared for me. There are so many kids who don’t get such things, and who knows what I might be if I didn’t have such a foundation. I am who I am today because of them, and there’s no way for me to repay such a gift. As for the rest, I guess eventually I learned to go native, accepting as best I can that I am where I’m supposed to be. Though I will admit that I often still look up at the stars wondering if a spaceship might be on its way.
The Closet was first written in November of 2015. It was rejected 21 times before finding a home. This is my second story to be published by the Clackamas Literary Review. I hope you enjoy it.
www.shawnwcampbell.com/the-closet
Also be sure to check out The People’s Republic of 47th and Long, a writing experiment where a new section is added to the story every day. It can be found at:
This week overall has been a good week. I got notice today, or rather two days ago and I just read the email today, from BlazeVOX that they’ll be publishing my story “Ten-Hut” in their spring issue coming out in three weeks. This will be the third issue in a row of BlazeVOX’s which I’ll be published in, which is quite an honor. Ten-Hut is one of my newer stories, written just last July, and it only had a chance to be rejected six times before BlazeVOX picked it up.
Of course you’re going to have to wait for it to get published before you can read it, but in the mean time, feel free to peruse some of my other short stories.
www.shawnwcampbell.com/one-night-in-rapid-city
You can also check out my latest project, a book being written right before your very eyes with added sections everyday called “Letters from the People’s Republic of 47th and Long”.
www.shawnwcampbell.com/letters
Thank you as always to everyone for your support over the years.
With our ability to go out and about severely curtailed, one thing we can do is find challenges for ourselves to help keep us occupied. Towards this, I’m creating a writing challenge for myself where I write a new section of a book everyday, post it up for perusal, and see what happens. I don’t really have anything worked out beyond the general idea and the first week of doing this, so who knows, it might turn out bad, or it might turn out good. If you’d like to follow along, the book is entitled Letters from the People’s Republic of 47th and Long. It can be found here:
![IMG_5428[1].JPG](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5a6804c3f09ca47c27da5514/1588087406375-OE0AOSB4ULHCPDV6767K/IMG_5428%5B1%5D.JPG)
Looking to keep yourself entertained, well then look no further than my latest short story, Simple Syrup, just published by Cirque Journal in their newest issue. This is pretty damn exciting considering I was published in Cirque’s last issue too. So it’s one hell of a compliment. I wrote Simple Syrup back in May of 2017 and started sending it out maybe a year later. Sometimes I let stories sit for awhile before editing them and sending them out. I find it helps me be a better editor since I’m no longer on the post-writing high where everything feels like the best written thing ever. It got rejected 19 times before Cirque picked it up in December, and now here it is available to read in April. Writing is a long-term process. I hope you enjoy it.
https://www.shawnwcampbell.com/simple-syrup
Right now there are many heroes out their doing what they can to combat the spread of COVID. These are the nurses and doctors in our hospitals, and the may essential workers who are unable to fully socially isolate as many of us are currently doing. While it’s important to recognize the work of these individuals, we must also face the reality of our situation across our many home fronts. For many of us, as we do our part staying home to help stop the spread of the virus, one of our biggest enemies is boredom.
To help alleviate this, I’m glad to present my first novel, The Uncanny Valley, in audio format and completely free of charge. Currently there are five chapters uploaded, but there will be more soon. The audio quality isn’t the best, given that I’m doing this with the limited equipment I have available, but I hope you enjoy it and it helps you get through these difficult times. To check it out, go to:
Hello everyone. Are you bored as hell sitting around in your house with nothing to do? Well, why not try reading. That’s right, reading, that thing you sometimes see people doing in movies and on TV shows. Welp, to do my part in helping stave off boredom, I’ve cut the prices to all of my books (both print and ebook versions), to the lowest levels Amazon allows. If you’re interested in any you can follow the below links.
As well, to help support local businesses, you can buy some of my books through Powell’s. In these cases, I’ve included the Powell’s link as well, though at times the price is higher. I have no control over such things. Cheers and stay safe and healthy.
The Uncanny Valley ($8.00 book and $3.00 ebook)
A conspiracy theorist trying to do the best for his family takes them on a wild adventure towards Mexico.
https://www.powells.com/book/-9780997710540
https://www.amazon.com/Uncanny-Valley-S-W-Campbell/dp/0997710543/
An Unsated Thirst ($8.00 book and $3.00 ebook)
A collection of my earliest short stories for your reading pleasure.
https://www.powells.com/book/-9780997710571
https://www.amazon.com/Unsated-Thirst-S-W-Campbell/dp/0997710578/
Papaya ($8.00 book and $3.00 ebook)
A book involving a hurricane, a love triangle and an erotic fruit metaphor. What more do you need.
https://www.amazon.com/Papaya-S-W-Campbell/dp/1733231412/
Professor Errare Books ($6.00 books and $3.00 ebooks)
Snark and weird history, what more could you want in your bathroom.
Powell’s Links (3 of the books):
https://www.powells.com/book/-9780997710526
https://www.powells.com/book/-9780997710564
https://www.powells.com/book/-9781733231404
Amazon Links (all 4 books):
https://www.amazon.com/45-Jerks-Counting-Professor-Errare/dp/0997710527/
https://www.amazon.com/40-American-Jackasses-Worth-Knowing/dp/099771056X/
https://www.amazon.com/Then-What-Happened-Professor-Errare/dp/0997710594/
https://www.amazon.com/Random-History-Professor-Errare/dp/1733231404/
Back in early February, I got a notification that my book, The Uncanny Valley, had been purchased by somebody in Spain. Somewhat surprised, I chalked it up to one of those mysteries in life that likely will never be solved. However, I was wrong. A few weeks later, a woman named Carmen from Spain left a comment letting me know that she had just received my book, having had a bookseller order it for her after reading an interesting review of it in El País, a major Spanish newspaper. This of course left me somewhat surprised given that though I like to dream big, my book magically getting such a review in a major Spanish periodical seemed doubtful. Well, eventually we figured out that her bookseller, who doesn’t understand English that well, ordered the wrong book. However, by that time Carmen had already started reading The Uncanny Valley and was enjoying it. She wanted to know why Paul was crossing the desert, never mind the added bonus of learning new English slang. The other book would just have to wait. She finished reading it two days ago and sent me a nice review, which as follows:
“I think it’s well worth reading. I quite like the way you portray Paul, his present and past. I can’t say much, I want to avoid spoilers, but it has kept me interested all the time. Finally, I appreciate your paragraphs at the beginning of each chapter commenting on political and social issues. They are very informative. I Googled many of them and I could see you are absolutely right. Though I bought your book by mistake, I must say that not only have I enjoyed it, I have learned a lot too. Thanks and good luck.”
Thank you Carmen for the great review, and thank you for giving my book a read. To show my gratitude, I’ve put up your review on the main page for The Uncanny Valley. Cheers
I just got word yesterday that the Clackamas Literary Review will be publishing my short story, “The Closet”, in their next issue. Huzzah and other old timey calls of adulation abound. This is my second time to be published in the Clackamas Literary Review, you can check out the first time via the following link:
https://www.shawnwcampbell.com/attack
The Closet is a story that I threw together one night in a frenzy of writing which left me in a strange state of nostalgia and emotional exhaustion. I wanted to capture the feeling of childhood, when the world is less concrete and definitive. While I enjoyed the resulting story, it was never one I thought would get published, since its a rather weird story, but as last week shows, one can always be surprised.
The Closet was first written in late 2015 and was rejected 20 times before being accepted to publication. I look forward to letting you read it, but we’re all going to have to wait for it to get published. Cheers, and as always, thanks for reading.
This evening I came home and found an unexpected acceptance email in my inbox from Pilgrimage Magazine. They’re going to be publishing my story Margarita Monday this spring. This is a perfect example of the strange twists and turns of the writing world. If you asked me to rank all of the stories I’ve written from strongest to weakest, I would’ve consistently ranked this one lower in the list, but here it is getting published while so many of the one’s higher on the list keeping getting sent out again and again. It’s a wild world.
Fun fact, in writing this story I watched several Youtube videos of surgeries, something I never thought I’d do, but there you go, the lengths one goes for accurate writing.
Of course you’re going to have to wait for the story to be published to read it, but in the mean time, I hope you enjoy some of my earlier published stories. Thank you as always for your support.
I got a notification today that someone in Spain bought my book, The Uncanny Valley. It seems kind of strange. I’ve maybe sold around 100 of that particular book all told, and now one of those hundred is in the hands of some person in Spain. Being a writer who is desperately trying to become “emerging” is a effort that involves a lot of overly celebrating the rather mundane. Given this, I guess I can now truthfully say I’m an international author. Here’s to you my mysterious Spanish reader. I hope you enjoy the book.
My short blurb, I’m pretty sure its technically not a story, A Public Service Announcement was published by Ghost City Review today and is now available for viewing on the website. It’s a quick and rather random read, but it’s good for a chuckle or two, which let’s face it, is never a bad thing in this world today.
Thank you as always to everyone for all of your support.
Christmas is the time for celebrating with family or friends, or in the case of one intrepid literary review, the time to spread cheer by sending out acceptance emails. That’s right, on Christmas Day I received word that the Ghost City Review wants to publish a short piece by me called “A Public Service Announcement.” I’m not sure how to describe this one, given it’s not really a story but more of a 400 word joke, but I’m glad to see it will soon be in print and available to share.
Happy holidays to everyone, and as always, if you want to check out any stories in the mean time, please feel free to peruse some of my other writing at the website.
https://www.shawnwcampbell.com/uncannyvalley
Exciting news!! Cirque Journal has accepted my short story “Simple Syrup” for publication. Some of you might remember that Cirque published another story of mine earlier this year, so I’m going to appear in back to back issues which is pretty damn exciting…… well, at least to me. As always, you’re going to have to wait until it’s published to check it out. However, if you’d like to peruse some other reading possibilities, might I suggest my new book Papaya, available in both e-book and print formats.
https://www.shawnwcampbell.com/papaya
Also feel free to peruse your way through the short stories already published.
My short story Spirit Week was published by BlazeVOX19 today, and is now available on the website. You should check it out if you’re looking for a rather good yarn. Spirit Week is the eighth short story of mine to be published this year. It’s been one hell of a good year when it comes to writing.
If you want to check out other things to read, might I also suggest my book Papaya, available for sale at various locations online.
Thank you as always to everybody for your support over the years. It’s been a hell of a good run. Cheers.
Now this is how you start out a day. I just got word that the literary review BlazeVOX will be publishing my short story "Spirit Week" in mid-November. This is my second story to be published by BlazeVOX, my 8th so far this year, and my 27th in total. I was getting a little worried that the well might have run dry after the flurry last spring, but here we go again.
Of course, you'll have to wait until its published to read it, but in the mean time, maybe check out my novel Papaya, available in both print and ebook formats.
My new novel Papaya is available for Purchase. Check out more information via the following link: