My poem “Five Arrows” has been accepted by Songs of Eretz Poetry Review. It’s a poem about King Xau: not one with battles or dragons, but instead one where his youngest daughter tells him a story.

My poem “Daunted” is in the new issue of Dreams & Nightmares (issue 105). It’s one of the longer Xau poems, over a hundred lines, and features the dragon, Captain Li, and Xau, all of whom I am very fond of. The failings of the poem are mine, not theirs 🙂 I note that pdfs of the issue can be ordered for $1, and that the issue contains poems by Ann K. Schwader, Sandra Lindow, Marge Simon, and more.

My poem “Advice to a Houseplant” has been accepted for a Nano Tech anthology forthcoming from Medusa’s Laugh Press. It’s one of my shorter poems, just six lines long. It’s also lighthearted (unless you are a houseplant, in which case it is rather grim reading).

Today I received payment for my poem “The Path to Peace,” accepted a week ago by Fantasy & Science Fiction. I think it is the most I’ve yet been paid for a poem ($150), and stands in sharp contrast to the majority of mainstream poetry publications, which pay only in contributor’s copies. Many SF/F magazines do pay for poems, but usually not very much. Poetry is a poor way to make a living! (But satisfying.)

My poem “Afternoon Tea” has been accepted by Concho River Review; it’s a poem about preparing afternoon tea with Lucy.

My poem “Shade” has been accepted by Silver Blade. I wrote the poem as I was nearing the end of the first draft of The Sign of the Dragon, but it takes place about halfway through the story. (I didn’t write the poems in chronological order.)

I am very happy to say that my poem Not Like This, first published in Apex Magazine, has been nominated for the 2017 Rhysling Award 🙂 🙂 “Not Like This” is a King Xau poem told from the perspective of his guard Atun. (I am very fond of Xau’s guards.)

My poem “The Path to Peace” has been accepted by Fantasy & Science Fiction, which makes me very happy 🙂 The poem is part of The Sign of the Dragon, taking place 12 years into the story. It will be my second poem to appear in F&SF. (I also have a poem in their current issue, and, years ago, they published four of my short stories.)

N.B. I have found Charlie Finlay to be a very nice editor to work with. He is always friendly, usually fast, and his comments are helpful.

I had two King Xau poems published today. Respect, a personal favorite of mine, appeared in Polu Texni, and The Imperial War: Onset appeared in Grievous Angel 🙂

My poem Undecorating has been published by Songs of Eretz Poetry Review. If my tally is correct, it is my three hundredth poem to be published!