Tom Jolly

Good news; I had a story make it to a magazine’s second reading round.

Bad news; they won’t make a final decision for over a year from now.

It’s a writer’s life for me!

Is Army of the Dead’s plot basically the same as Kelly’s Heroes? But substituting zombies for nazis? Going behind enemy lines to steal an unprotected pile of money?

My short story “The Hanged Man” was selected for Amazing Stories Best-Of collection for 2024. Find out what happens when gravity reverses! books2read.com/u/bax1rx

I find it irritating when the cops ask a suspect on TV, “where were you two weeks ago at 12pm?” And they always know. Who remembers crap like that? I’m lucky if I know what day of the week it is the day they ask me the question.

I’ve been reading Scalzi’s latest, “When the Moon Hits Your Eye,” in which the Moon actually turns into cheese. It’s fun. But I was slightly disappointed with the line “To cheese or not to cheese,” which, IMHO, should have been “To brie or not to brie.”

Thanks

What book?

Taxes are just another excuse to not write. I hate taxes.

Eating and sleeping are also excuses to not write.

So many excuses.

That’s “Damn the Asteroids…” not “Dam.” I mean, really, how would you dam an asteroid?

An Unusual Practice Amazon.com: An Unusual Practice eBook : Jolly, Tom: Kindle Store

If you’re not done Christmas shopping, might I suggest some SF or fantasy to entertain your friends? For example, “An Unusual Practice,” or “Ayo” or “Dam the Asteroids, Full Speed Ahead.” (from Amazon); www.amazon.com/Unusual-Prac...

I’m sending out Christmas cards. Is it weird that I use Star Wars droid stamps for some friends, D&D stamps for certain others, and Christmas stamps for my friends who think the other two groups are going to hell?

Tree is up. Time to hit the Christmas and Holiday card mill. Oh, and the dreaded Christmas Letter. “Not dead yet, but if you don’t get a card next year, you might check our house in case the dog is feasting on our bodies.”

When I was young (1970’s), my wife and I were writing love letters. Back when writing letters was a thing. When cursive was an option. I came across a bundle of old letters a few days ago and took awhile to refresh some fond memories.

Now, letters are ephemeral, lost with each phone upgrade.

The large majority end up in a file cabinet as “unplayable” so don’t hold your breath!

It’s a nice night for light rain, a hot chocolate, and writing game rules.

‘A Fair Exchange’ by Tom Jolly - PULP Literature Omens and Ravens In 'A Fair Exchange' by Tom Jolly, unforeseen riches pose the usual problems. Glimpse the first of fair exchanges with this excerpt from Issue 44, Autumn 2024. A Fair Exchange by Tom ...

Pulp Literature posted a preview of my short story, “A Fair Exchange,” which you can sample here: pulpliterature.com/a-fair-excha...

It’s fairly light fantasy. If you like the style, you might try out “The High Witch of Westham,” a collection of short fantasy stories available on Amazon.

I haven’t figured out yet how to filter out “follows”. If a person has zero posts, what’s the likelihood that they are real?

That’s happened a couple of times to me. Find another market and press on. I’m assuming they didn’t publish your story before folding? Then you’re kind of screwed. Lick your wounds and write a new story.

I finished reading Salmon of Doubt yesterday, which contains a partial novel in the Dirk Gently series. I kind of wish there was some fanfic out there that finished the novel.

Spent the last couple of days inside, listening to the rain, reading and wasting time on the 3n+1 number theory problem. I don’t know why I enjoy nigh-impossible unsolved number theory problems so much. I don’t really expect to solve any of them.

Issue 44, Autumn 2024 - PULP Literature ORDER YOUR COPY HERE In This Issue ... Ceren of the Surf, one of cover artist Bronwyn Schuster’s Knights of the Drowned Table, guards the watery portal to our autumn offerings. But more than water flo...

My latest story, “A Fair Exchange,” is out in Pulp Literature! Why would a raven trade gold nuggets for peanuts?

Many other great stories here: pulpliterature.com/back-issues-...

The Wandering Tavern Podcast The Wandering Tavern is an immersive high fantasty themed storytelling podcast. Bi-Weekly release schedule featuring stories from authors around the world.

"The Tree and the Wind," my fantasy story originally printed in MYTHIC magazine, got an audio treatment in The Wandering Tavern podcast, narrated by William Walker. Nicely done! Find it here: www.thewanderingtavern.com

Thanks!

Yup, the ones around Trump were constantly being fired and indicted. It felt like there wasn’t a day without some new scandal.

Both of Travis’ books are fun, cozy reads. I got to meet him at NorWesCon, he’s very easy to talk to.

Amazon.com: Stupefying Stories 23 (Stupefying Stories Magazine) eBook : Bethke, Bruce, Stadt, Kevin, Frost, Julie, Lackey, Jamie, Faust, Terry, French, Helen, Dandenell, Karl, Pattinson, Gary, Jolly, ... Amazon.com: Stupefying Stories 23 (Stupefying Stories Magazine) eBook : Bethke, Bruce, Stadt, Kevin, Frost, Julie, Lackey, Jamie, Faust, Terry, French, Helen, Dandenell, Karl, Pattinson, Gary, Jolly, ...

More news for today; Stupefying Stories #23 is now available for free for Kindle Unlimited users. My horror-lite story, "The Worm's Eye," is available there for your reading pleasure. Worms, you gotta hate 'em.
www.amazon.com/Stupefying-S...

Amazon.com: Ayo eBook : Jolly, Tom: Kindle Store Ayo - Kindle edition by Jolly, Tom. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading Ayo.

After five years of development, my book "Ayo" is finally out (in ebook and paper). Follow the adventures of the first Kenyan teleporter, Ayo, as he combats drug dealers, murderous relatives, and troublesome police. And somehow, he still manages to fall in love. www.amazon.com/dp/B0D6M83C8B

In "A Matter of Some Gravity," detective Jonah Jones visits the asteroid belt to solve a mystery: one-third of a high-value asteroid has gone missing. And someone is willing to kill to keep Jonah away.

The paper version finally came out! Tales of Mystery: The Gravity of Death, on Amazon.

…which got a great review in Tangent Online this week.