Shades of Amber published at BCS

Marie Croke — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:32:04 +0000

Shades of Amber has gone live today in Beneath Ceaseless Skies‘ 95th issue. It is a short story set in a world where vibrant color swirls upon the skin of every person and limited spectrums are looked down upon. This is my third professional publication :)

The other story in the issue is Margaret Ronald’s The Governess and the Lobster, so I’m in some very good company.

Writer’s of the Future’s Vol. 28 PW Review

Marie Croke — Wed, 02 May 2012 17:10:32 +0000

Writers of the Future Vol. 28 has been published in ebook format (mmp forthcoming July 21st) with my story, Of Woven Wood, taking the first slot in the anthology.

I’ve recently returned from the workshop week and awards ceremony and will have decently thorough write-ups of my time out on the west coast out in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, I just found out that Publisher’s Weekly reviewed the anthology:

“The 28th installment of this venerable anthology series collects the 13 winners of the Writers of the Future contest for 2011, drawing from the ranks of new authors and artists. Many of the contributors have already seen other success in the field, and it’s not hard to imagine some of them making award lists in the near future. The offerings are thought provoking and varied, with a general trend toward excellence. Standouts include Marie Croke’s “Of Woven Wood,” in which a golem learns to deal with his creator’s death; William Mitchell’s “Contact Authority,” a tale of outer space espionage; and Scott T. Barnes’s lyrical “Insect Sculptor.” The selections are weighted toward science fiction, with several fantasy pieces and some that defy genre, like Nick T. Chan’s “The Command for Love.” The future is in good hands.”

Bolding mine. Yay for good reviews and personal mentions :)

Sale to BCS

Marie Croke — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:43:06 +0000

When I first summoned up the courage to begin submitting my stories instead of hiding them pointlessly in notebooks, Beneath Ceaseless Skies had only just started publishing a few months before.

At the time I set my sights on it because it was gorgeous (I’m a sucker for pretty) and was one of the mags that published a higher percentage of stories I enjoyed reading (go figure, since about 90% of what I write is . . . secondary world fantasy).

Luckily for me Scott Andrews never accepted any of those submissions because I’m a whole hellava lot prouder of the story he did just accept.

I’m super excited to announce that my short story ”Shades of Amber” will be appearing in Beneath Ceaseless Skies!

This is also my third pro sale :)

The Rains of Imarcia Published

Marie Croke — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:00:50 +0000

I’m excited to announce that The Rains of Imarcia has become my first published novel. You can find it for $5.99 at Amazon, B&N and download many different formats of it available at Smashwords.

Windrunner Sey arrives upon Imarcian soil to help stave off an impending war between two cities. What she didn’t anticipate was setting down in the midst of a storm that almost ruins her chances of success before she’d even begun.

For on Imarcia, the rains kill…

Sand-child on Daily Science Fiction

Marie Croke — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:14:07 +0000

My story Sand-child is now available as a free read on Daily Science Fiction’s site.