Author Archives: Peter Darbyshire
Idea for a story I will never write
The Martians from War of the Worlds actually defeated and enslaved us. We’re now living in a mass hallucination they’ve created for us, a la The Matrix, in which we think their invasion was only a story. But one writer knows the truth….
Humour is tricky
Luckily, Eamonn Murphy over at SFcrowsnest found my latest story in On Spec, “The Only Innocent Soul in Hell,” to be more or less a laughing matter.
‘The Only Innocent Soul In Hell’ by Peter Darbyshire is an amusing spoof about Hell’s admission clerk and his processing of a difficult new entrant. The idea of John Lennon being hauled out at Easter to sing ‘Imagine’ and add to the general suffering made me laugh and I’m a big fan of the guy. (He might have laughed, too.) One other incident was a bit disturbing as comedy for my taste, even black comedy. But, hell, humour is tricky and, overall, it was an entertaining piece.
On a related note, I love the fact that there are people out there reviewing short stories. And to think some critics say the Internet is killing reading.
Azrael rides into a BCS anthology
I’m thrilled beyond belief that my first Azrael story, “The Angel Azrael Rode Into the Town of Burnt Church on a Dead Horse,” has been included in The Best of Beneath Ceaseless Skies Online Magazine, Year Three. Every issue of BCS is a must-read for me, so this is a real honour — and I’m delighted to be in the company of such a group of gifted writers. Check out the anthology for their weird and wonderful tales if not mine.
Best of all, it’s only $3.99, and if you order it before Oct. 19 from Weightless Books, you get the Best of BCS, Year One and the Best of BCS, Year Two for free.
A couple of nice reviews in Locus
Lois Tilton reviewed my two most recent stories over at Locus, and she seems to have liked them. About “The Angel Azrael Delivers Small Mercies” she says “Strong stuff here in this dark dark fantasy” and “raises the bar for the iconic image of the lone gunslinger with a past.” About “The Only Innocent Soul in Hell” she says “Some amusing moments in this overly complicated hell story.”
I’m happy to say I’m working on sequels to both stories. More to come on that later.
"I’d like to go out of this world having brought as many good things into it as I can."
Here’s an interview I did with the Canadian Public Relations Society about how I balance my life as both a writer and a newspaper editor. It’s all about the coffee….
I’ve written plenty of books articles or columns that have come from my contacts in the writing community. And news stories have definitely led to fictional stories for me. For instance, my last published novel, The Warhol Gang, came into being after I read a couple of different articles, one about neuromarketing and one about a man who kept pretending to be an emergency responder at accident scenes. The two met up in my mind and mutated into a novel. So the two fields are a pretty combination for me.
When will this beta end?
This world really needs an update, but I fear the developer’s abandoned the project.
Will you be the only innocent soul in Hell?
I’ve got a new story out in the current issue of On Spec. The story’s called “The Only Innocent Soul in Hell,” and it features Molox, a demonic processing clerk who must deal with an unusual situation: a sinner who shows up in Hell’s waiting room without any sins worthy of damnation to Hell. The sinner wants a ticket out of Hell for the processing error, but Molox knows there’s something afoot and decides to investigate, along with his imp sidekick Malachi. Hilarity and horror ensue.
I like the character of Molox a lot, and I’ve written a sequel that involves the investigation of a murder in Hell. It needs another draft, I think, but hopefully I’ll be sending it out soon. I think this might be a character that could hold up a novel though. We’ll see if I have the time for that. I hope so. I’ve had a soft spot for demons since I read Master of the Five Magics and then the Bartimaeus books.
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