After I published my first short story in 2009, and becoming addicted to receiving acceptance letters, I spent several hours scouring the internet for possible markets. Little did I know about Duotrope.com back then.

I ended up making three lists that day. One contained the names of smaller markets I wanted to submit to, and the second the name of that one market I had been published in, Be-A-Better-Writer.com.

The final list held the names of the larger markets I wanted to be pu...

It would be ideal if the world did not end in 2012. But, because that’s out of my hands (Or is it?), I’ll just set out a few goals that I can and hopefully will achieve.

Normally it’s not a good idea to make New Year’s resolutions public, but I’m going to stick to a bit of advice I grew up with: “Show your flaws. Let people notice them. Only then will you truly make an effort to correct them.” So by letting you all in on my goals for this year, I’ll hopefully be more mot...

Although 2011 was layered with personal challenges, it truly was a great year for me. As challenges tend to do, they made me stronger, not just as a writer or teacher, but as a person.

On the writing front it has been my best year yet, publishing twenty five short stories. My personal goal was to get twenty stories published before the end of the year; I’m now on thirty six. And yes, I’m still counting. Counting my blessings, so to say.

I’ve also managed to break into a few ...

Like a lot of people I know, I’ve always wanted to get more involved with charities. But, as most people, I’m just too busy. Being a teacher, writer and husband is more than a full time job. And I don’t even have kids yet.

Then there’s the famous, "I’ll do it when I have more time. When I have enough money to scale down a bit or when I retire."

But I recall someone once saying you should live your live as if you are already where you want to be. I want to be a successful...

It’s been a good month. Great, actually. After starting a facebook fanpage for my stories ('Joe Mynhardt's short stories', which currently stands on 66 fans), I’ve had another three stories published. I know I’ll have to stop counting soon, but that makes it twenty three short story publications.

I might not be much compared to a published novel, but it sure does a lot for my confidence as a writer. Writing a novel is so much easier when you know you can.

The first publishe...

Since I started writing almost three years ago, I’ve hated the fact that I’m sort of stuck down here in South Africa, while all my fellow writers are free to attend writers’ conventions and seminars in places like the UK or America. They also get to live near a lot of other world famous authors.

Then, to my astonishment, I found out that three of my favorite writers once crossed paths with Bloemfontein, where I live. Since then I’ve been quite happy with the knowledge that these...

It’s been a week of celebrations, that’s for sure. I’ve had three short stories published, reached the 1000 visitors to my website mark, and reached my goal of getting 20 stories published before the end of the year.

And guess what, it’s not even July yet. But you knew that, didn’t you. I’m on holiday right now, so my sense of time is a bit mixed up at the moment.

So to celebrate all this, especially the 20 published short stories, I’ve decided to start my own faceboo...

New Contrast is a non-profit organization and is only partly subsidized.

New Contrast is a quarterly published magazine. Subscriptions are R250 per...

I’ve had a few memorable moments since I started writing in 2008. Except of course for every time I got an acceptance letter, there were other moments, or perhaps steps, that every writer needs to take. For instance that first submission, first acceptance, first check (Or in my case Paypal payment), first review and first character that jumps out of the page and kicks you in the butt.

Well I had a new one just yesterday. One that I was really looking forward to: My first interview as a...

Although most reviewers had a problem with the format of the book, it has received some very good reviews overall.

My story Vengeance of Hades has received only one negative comment: Not enough characterization. Which allows the reader to really get to know and care for the characters. This is a good thing, as from now on I will make sure it never happens again. The problem started due to the fact that this story was originally written as flash fiction piece, which I later on wrote from ...

I'm glad to report that my short story ‘The Stranger’ has been bought by Pages of Stories. For me this is a huge step forward, as I now only need to get one more story sold at professional rates. Then I can apply for membership at the Horror Writers Association – which is one of my many medium term goals.

The story itself took almost two years to complete, as it went through multiple, excruciating rewrites. It was also the first story I wrote where I concentrated more on character b...

I’ve been stressing this day for quite some time now, and I knew whichever way it went, I should try my best not to pay any attention to it. Vengeance of Hades, a story I wrote about two years ago for the Dark Minds Anthology, has been reviewed by none other than D.F. Lewis.

I made up my mind long ago not to let negative comments influence me, just as I decided not to let positive comments go to my head. I know a lot of writers who don’t even read reviews of their books or stories. ...

I’m pleased to announce that two of my stories have been republished in Machete Moonlight Horror Fiction Magazine.

The two stories are No Man’s Land, a story about cannibalistic soldiers in WW1, and the other one is Jaws of Integrity, about criminals who get what’s coming to them.

The first issue of Machete Moonlight Horror Fiction Magazine is also stacked with excellent art, photos, articles and more scary stories. Be sure to check out Clayton Stealback’s Cell 181.

M...

I’m extremely proud and happy to say that I’ve achieved my goal of getting 10 or more stories published before the end of the year. As of right now I have 12 stories published on the internet and in anthologies.

My goal for next year is to break into semi-professional markets as well as magazines. As well as to start focusing more on writing novels and scripts.

My newest publication is called Higher Learning, and is available at FlashesInTheDark.com. This is my second publicatio...

A good friend of Mywriterscircle, the online writer’s group that I help moderate, passed earlier this year from cancer. We all got together and wrote this charity Anthology, called The Rascals of the Red Barren Bar, in his honor.

Tim Carter was best known online as The Red Barren, and was pretty much a computer genius, especially when it came to viruses and protecting your precious work. He was a great friend and a great guy to share a drink or two with. He deserves to be remembe...

Pill Hill Press’s scary version of the daily inspirational story has been released. Edited by Jessy Marie Roberts, it’s sure to be an excellent read.

My story Jaws of Integrity can be found at the 26^th of July reading.

Now for the story behind the story. I was doing a bit of marketing research a while back when I saw Pill Hill Press advertising this anthology. I was immediately intrigued. Only problem was the deadline was in two days.

Although a flash fiction story li...

My entire reasoning behind this blog is for me to record my ongoing journey as a writer, and for you the readers to know me better, not to mention the fact that I have a horrible memory. As you know I write mostly horror, but I myself am not a violent person. I used to do karate, or martial arts as most of you call it, yet even there I was taught self-discipline and restraint.

So why do I want to share this with you? Because I’m sure one day my children will read my work, and be shock...