I am both shaken and stirred to announce that I have been chosen as Guest of Honour at Fur the More 2019, to be held in Tysons Corner, Virginia, from 15th - 17th March next year.

This will be the convention's seventh year, so the theme is Fur the More 007: Furry Never Dies. (I know. I can't think why they picked me, either.)

It's a great honour and an amazing opportunity - one that might only come my way once - and I plan to enjoy it to the full. I'm so, so pleased and proud and grateful to the committee for wanting me.

I will try my absolute best to be a good ambassador, and I look forward to keeping the British end up in Virginia.

Maybe see some of you there?

This October, we're raising the profile of anthropomorphic literature and bringing furry stories to a wider audience.

The Furry Writers' Guild has joined forces with some of our fandom's great authors and publishers to offer special deals during the month, from free shipping and discount codes to free books.

If you don't read furry fiction, take advantage of the special offers and try a furry book in October.

Already a reader? Give a book to a friend, try a new author, or write a book review. Reviews on Amazon and Goodreads needn't be long, and really help authors.

What will you do this Furry Book Month? Spread the word on social media using #FurryBookMonth!

Visit https://furrywritersguild.com/furry-book-month/ for the list of offers.

I’m over the moon to announce that my story The Analogue Cat has won the Ursa Major for Best Short Fiction.

To everyone who read the story and dropped me a comment, thank you.

To everyone who took the time to nominate and vote on their favourites from last year, thank you.

You guys make creating things worthwhile.

My short story 'The Analogue Cat', published in The Furry Future from FurPlanet, is among the nominees for Best Short Fiction in the 2015 Ursa Major Awards!

I am really thrilled. I've been writing in the fandom for a good few years, and this is a first. A lot of short stories get published in a year, even in this relatively small pool, and for mine to be among the five on the final ballot...wow.

I've had some great feedback for this story and it's made me very happy. The piece is just 2,000 words long and was written in an evening (admittedly it was winnowed from the chaff of an 8,000-word story that didn't quite gell), yet here it is punching its weight in the up-to-40k category.

A huge thank you to everyone who made the effort to nominate their favourite pieces from the year. Now keep up the good work and vote!

Read ‘The Analogue Cat’ here

Civilized Beasts is a charity poetry anthology, with all profits going to the Wildlife Conservation Society. You can buy it in both physical and ebook formats.

I contributed a poem, Sled Dog Cadence, which is, as the name suggests, a cadence, call-and-response song or jody call, huskies and other hauling dogs, for the use of. I figured dog teams would have similar preoccupations to soldiers on the march: food, rest, sex, and how much better they are than all the other teams.

I had to look up the technical term for these songs, though I was familiar with the genre from Air Cadet camp. One we sang there went:

"Here's to the girl that I love best
Many's the time I've washed her vest."

...at least, when the CO was listening. Air Cadet camp was very educational.

When you take up karate, you imagine the black belt, impossibly far off, as the end of your journey and the pinnacle of achievement. Pretty soon, you'll be told that grading to black belt is merely the beginning of the real karate journey.

Yesterday, I embarked on that journey. At the end of a senior grading lasting over three hours, in which we were tested and punished as we demonstrated our understanding and capability through strikes, blocks and kicks, through the various kata, sequences of memorised moves, and through kumite, sparring, I was presented with the black belt of a shodan-ho.

I started going to karate classes in 2002. It’s possible to reach black belt in seven years; I’m not actually all that good at karate. I certainly never thought I’d make it this far.

Technically, shodan-ho is a provisional grade, a placeholder until that time at least a year in the future when I have to go through it all again to grade to first dan. But I get to wear a black belt. I'll take it.

Savrin Drake (who narrates the audiobook versions of Kyell Gold's Out Of Position series, amongst other things) has recorded my short story 'A Blacker Dog' as a promotional teaser for the Inhuman Acts anthology!

I wasn't sure an American accent would work for my story, which is pretty firmly set in London, but I needn't have worried; the guy's voice sends chills down my spine.

Here you go: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Xm.....youtu.be&a

I was going to do the FC Meme, but large chunks of it are irrelevant to me. So, herewith the salient points!

If all goes according to plan, I'll be attending on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday; I'm staying with friends in San Francisco and commuting in. I'll be with my partner, who has not only never been to a furry con before but never been to the USA, so be very very nice to him or I'll bite your ears off.

Places you can find me include, but are not limited to, the Furry Writers' Guild meet and greet (currently scheduled for 3PM on Friday 16th) and the Furry Historical Fiction panel (11AM, Saturday 17th).

Hugs? Probably.

Drinks? Definitely.

Contact? Twitter to Huskyteer will probably work best.

I also have a story in Fred Patten-edited anthology The Furry Future, launching at the con. If you buy a copy and ask me to sign it, I will be unreasonably excited. I'm bringing my special orange pen just in case.

'Learners' consists of 'Mirror, Signal, Manouevre' (first published in Hot Dish from Sofawolf Press) and a bonus story, 'Baby on Board', featuring the same characters (which can be read here, though beware spoilers). The first story contains adult material, but the overall feel is more romantic comedy than erotica.

Word count is > 20,000, and you can buy from Bad Dog Books as well as Amazon (US / UK). (It's slightly cheaper on BDB, and you'll be supporting an indie publisher.)

Cover art by the talented and reasonably priced  FelineMyth.

On a miserable October night in the trenches, Captain Bentley Pringle ffox tries to bring his men together with a spooky tale from his cubhood: Jenny-Burnt-Tail…

I have a story in Trick or Treat Two: Historical Halloween! I loved the concept of the first Trick or Treat anthology, which combined scary Tricks with romantic/erotic Treats, and I'm delighted it's come back for a second helping.

My chosen period was the First World War, which has always interested me a great deal, and I'm especially happy to have had a WW1 story published in this centenary year of the war's beginning.

If you'd like to learn more about Captain ffox, you can start here (warning: my anthologised story is general audience, but much of the SoFurry folder is mature.)

I have a poem in Apex Magazine #61! It's free to read online. Also, it's furry. Also also, there's a photo of me in a scooter-print onesie. What more could you ask for?

Afterwards

"My name is Dutch, and I used to be the best damn nose on the force."

I have a story, Cold Scent, in Allasso #3 (free to read online)! It's about a genetically-engineered police dog who struggles to reassess his life after losing his sense of smell in an accident, and it's one of my favourite things that I've written to date. Dig in.