'Cafe' nominated in P&E Awards

Cool way to start the New Year. Eternal Press nominated my sci-fi short Cafe at the Edge of Outer Space in the Predators & Editors Readers' Poll 2008. It's in the sci-fi/fantasy short fiction category, which you can reach (and vote in) at the following link:

http://www.critters.org/predpoll/

Add this to the great sales figures I recently saw for Cafe, and it's a stellar showing for the little coming-of-age tale set in Earth orbit.

Cafe Opens at #1

Great news! Simultaneously with the record-devouring debut of The Dark Knight in cinemas, my sci-fi short Cafe at the Edge of Outer Space took the Eternal Press number one spot at Fictionwise.

www.fictionwise.com

It's still early days for the coming-of-age story, but EP boasts plenty of talent and is very competitive these days, with many genres selling consistently well. It feels terrific to have such a high-flying opening week. E-books are still minor compared to the global print market, but they're growing rapidly with the advent of pocket e-readers. Short stories in particular provide an ideal pastime for commuters and frequent travellers. Exactly how popular e-books will become in the future is debatable but all the indications point to them being a natural complement to paperbacks in this digital age. It's also telling that many of the major print publishers are re-releasing their catalogues in e-book format. Whereas Cafe would once have competed against other small press releases, it's now going head to head with established genre heavyweights.

In any event, each of my EP e-books has reached the top five. And with my first number one, I'll be dining out at the cafe this week. I wonder what the weather will be like down here while I'm gone.