BIO

KIERAN SHEA’s fiction has appeared in dozens of venues including Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Thuglit, Dogmatika, Word Riot, Plots with Guns, Beat to a Pulp, Crimefactory, and Needle: A Magazine of Noir ...as well as in some beefy-looking anthologies most of which will make you question the tether of his shiny, red balloon. To his self-deprecating astonishment he's also been nominated for the Story South’s Million Writers Award twice without sending the judges so much as a thank you note. He co-edited the satiric transgressive fiction collection D*CKED: DARK FICTION INSPIRED BY DICK CHENEY and his debut novel KOKO TAKES A HOLIDAY is out now from Titan Books. Kieran divides his time between 38°58′22.6″N- 76°30′4.17″W and 39.2775° N, 74.5750° W.

12/17/12

KOKO TAKES A HOLIDAY

This morning the news finally broke that my fantastic agent, Stacia Decker, secured a book deal with Titan Publishing for my debut novel KOKO TAKES A HOLIDAY. Truth is I've been sitting on this news for over a week now, and it's been driving me bonkers. I mean, you make it to the other side so to speak--from aspiring author to "officially" having real skin in the game--and there's a huge urge to shout it from the rooftops or run around the yard banging pots like Ruprecht. Long, long, long journey...and many people to thank along the way...those who knew about the project and who never lost faith in me (my wife and kids, Jed, Steve, David, Cam, Bards, Frank, Keith, Chris, Stephen, Karen, Sophie, etc.) and the many who have cheered me on from the sidelines over the years as I hacked away at the writing game. I suppose I should especially thank crime novelist Anthony Neil Smith who's push-back on several of my early submissions to the Plots With Guns' - "Rayguns" issue forced the first incarnation of my smart ass protagonist, Koko Martstellar. God damn, there were so many ugly, early drafts of this book...so many setbacks...days when all hope was lost (please...let's not revisit 20K worth of words getting blown away in a technical glitch--back up your work, people.) It all doesn't seem real, but wow...am I grateful. Much work ahead. Onward.