Matthew Sylvester
short stories
What if the Roman Empire endured?
Imagine if the Roman Empire hadn’t fallen, hadn’t split into two separate empires, and had carried on from its peak under Trajan. Using our calendar, for ease, it’s now 1930. The Empire is led by Emperor Georgius the Sixth, and is broken down into three areas. The first is the west, in what we call … Continue reading
Awesome rejection – So near, yet so far!
Yes, you read that correctly, I’m happy to have had a rejection from a magazine that I highly respect and which has a stable of authors I’d love to be ranked amongst. They said that I could expect to wait 4-6 weeks for a reply. I waited less than a week and, instead of a pro-forma ‘No’, … Continue reading
Writing for the Black Library – Think you’ve got what it takes?
Writing for the Black Library is a dream for many fans of the Games Workshop universes set in Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40k. Its fans are legion and dedicated, and the universes are packed with ideas that have people salivating as they line up to buy the next Sarah Cawkwell, David Guymer or Dan Abnett book. Some … Continue reading
Costa Short Story Awards are here
Not only that, they’re offering a whopping £3500 first place, £1500 second place and £500 third. They’re going to shortlist six authors and then put them through the ringer by making them attend an all expenses-paid event in January 2015. I think I’d be an emotional wreck by then, and I’m not sure that my … Continue reading
A change of direction, and a bit more focus
Those few of you that read this blog will know that I have one published martial arts book, a number of published and to be published short stories and one steampunk novel that is currently doing the rounds. Aside from those I also have a number of stories that have either been rejected, or that … Continue reading
Matthew Sylvester 