I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to have to share the news that I have been published by Ether Books on their ground breaking iPhone app today. I’m also tickled pink that my story has been published during National Short Story Week.

This is my first mobile publication and I am very excited about it to be part of.  It’s a fitting time also to say a huge and public thank you to Gary Smailes for the tireless work he does helping writers around the globe through his very excellent Bubblecow blog, without which I might have missed the opportunity  to submit to Ether and also Jonathan Pinnock for giving me the nudge at just the right moment.

One of the very special things about Ether is their willingness to publish new writers like myself and I want to say a big thank you to Maureen and Mike for giving me, and others like me, this opportunity.

There are some fabulous stories on the Ether app which can be yours for less than the price of half a cup of coffee!  The app itself is a free download and there are also some brilliant free stories available too.

And since this is a time for celebration I want to give you a chance to celebrate too. I have a brand new Mslexia 2011 Writer’s Diary to give away. I have to tell you it’s absolutely packed with  lovely writerly information and motivational stuff.

All you have to do answer a couple of simple questions:

1.Ether Books have recently been short-listed in the ME  2010 Awards for what?

a.the best App Store

b.the best Social Media Company

c.the best Mobile Book Company

2. Which 2009  Man Booker Prize winner has short stories published on Ether ?

3.What is the name of my story published on Ether?

The winner will be selected at random from the correct entries received by Friday 10 December – email your answers to eleventhjacinth at gmail dot com.

In other news my my 2010 NaNoWriMo is drawing to a close. I shall be validating my word count somewhere in the 75000 range this year — a little down on 2009 but hopefully I’ll have some words to work from it which I hope will turn into a collection of more short stories sometime in 2011.

I am working my way through another draft of my novel which I’m planning to pitch at the 2011 GetWriting event run by those sterling chaps and chapesses over at Verulam Writers Circle and approaching the final round of the 2010 Slingink Slam which has been huge fun.