Latest News
The Bone Picker Review
My internet colleague Ed, from Cafe Doom, had these nice words to say about the latest western: "Sam 'Buzzard' Jones is an unlikely hero, but he's somewhat deeper than folks give him credit for. He is a 'bone picker', a bit like a vulture -- he takes possessions from the dead and redistibutes them to the living. Widely despised and living on the fringes of society, he gets pulled, reluctantly, into a cause that divides families, sets brother against brother and makes friends into enemies.
"I've never read a western before, and I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised by the lack of John Wayne 'strong, silent' types, and giddyup-thur-varmint lines. The characters are all well fleshed out and believable. Some coldly horrific. It's a whodunnit mystery, a thriller and, in part, believe it or not, a horror story. There's a love interest, honour, betrayal, and sacrifice are all explored, culminating in a climax that will have you on the edge of your seat, with more twists and turns than a sidewinder in a twintub. A cracking read in just under 170 pages -- utterly refreshing."
15.08.11.
RuneWright Eye For An Eye Anthology
Early days, but I've just heard that my tale "Where The Pretty Girls Are" has been accepted for this anthology - which has a theme of revenge. My story concerns a group of sewer children from Colombia seeking venegeance on gangsters who have for too long taken terrible advantage of the kids' plight for their own sordid pleasures. More details.
15.08.11.
Escape Velocity Anthology
My story Silver has been reprinted in the wonderful Escape Velocity Anthology. Currently available on Kindle, paperback version due in a couple of weeks.
05.05.11.
Another Honorable Mention
I've just discovered that my story "Yellow Water Pike" from Blade Red's Dark Pages anthology (see below) has been included in the list of honorable stories in Ellen Datlow's Best Horror Stories 2010.
16.03.11.
Dark Pages up for Australian HWA Award
Blade Red's anthology featuring my tale Yellow Water Pike is currently up for an Australian Horror Writers Association for best anthology, which is nice.
06.03.11.
Doomology
Doomology featuring my tale The Only Child is now available.
18.02.11.
The Bone Picker is out...
Today's the day The Bone Picker is released. Buy it now before it's sold out. Or better still (for me), borrow it from the library!
29.10.10.
Escape Velocity Anthology
My story "Silver" has been chosen to be reprinted in the forthcoming Escape Velocity anthology featuring new material and the best of the old...
21.07.10.
Interview With Derek Rutherford
I was recently invited to be the featured author on the Yahoo Black Horse Westerns newsgroup. Extracts from the interview can be found here. It was a great experience and gave me chance to talk about my philosophy of writing - here, with a focus on Westerns, but it's pretty much relevant to all the genres that I dabble in.
26.06.10.
The Only Child
This story has been accepted by The Library of Science Fiction for their "Doomology: The Dawning Of Disasters" anthology. More details to follow.
19.05.10.
The Bone Picker
The release date for this Black Horse Western is scheduled for late October.
04.05.10.
Yellow Water Pike
The first Blade Red Press anthology of dark speculative fiction, Dark Pages Volume 1, feat. Yellow Water Pike is now available via Amazon and all good online retailers. An ebook edition should follow shortly.
13.04.10.
Better Late Than Never
I've just discovered that my ghost story The Making Of Mark, published in All Hallows back in 1999 actually received an Honorable Mention in that year's "Best Fantasy & Horror" anthology, which is put together annually by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling. Okay, so it's only a mention, but it's still nice. Wonder what else is out there that I know nothing about...strange translations of "The Graveyard Boogie" for example!
15.01.10.
A Fistful Of Legends
A first review of a Fistful Of Legends (see below) has been posted here.
12.01.10.
Yellow Water Pike
Blade Red Press have just accepted this sci-fi/horror story for their forthcoming anthology "Dark Pages - Volume 1". Like "To Touch A Witch" (mentioned below) this is a 7000+ word story. It's always nice to place these longer pieces as many markets keep things to much shorter word counts.
11.01.10.
Austin
The "What If" anthology featuring this tale is now available.
05.01.10.
Austin
My story Austin has been accepted by the Short Story Library for their "What If" anthology.
27.09.09.
To Touch A Witch
My 7000 word horror story To Touch A Witch has been accepted by the Library of Horror for their Tales From The Cauldron anthology. More details to follow soon.
01.09.09.
09.11.11.
Not Clean
This SF story about an intelligent shower that refuses to let a man get away with any uncleanliness whatsoever has been accepted by Escape Velocity. Publication estimated late autumn.
01.09.09.
09.11.1.
The Bone Picker
This western novel has been accepted by Robert Hale Ltd for their Black Horse Western imprint. Publication date tba.
22.07.09.
Dead Man Talking
This western short story has been accepted for A Fistful Of Legends - the follow up to Where Legends Ride. Launch date is Jan 31st 2010. The book features an introduction by James Reasoner and 21 great new western tales.
10.07.09.
Special Delivery, Bloom
This anthology is now available: See Necrotic Tissue Shop. for more details
10.03.09.
Special Delivery, Bloom
A different take on the vampire story has been accepted by Stygian Publications for their forthcoming anthology "Malpractice: An Anthology of Bedside Terror." See Necrotic Tissue. for more details
12.10.08
Talking About Chet Baker
This short story about a young trumpet prodigy who attracts the wrong sort of attention has been accepted by Arkham Tales.
20.08.08
More on Crush
Crush, for which reader Bob Weber says "I think this is the most distrubing podcast story I've heard to date." is now available here.
07.08.08
Crush
My story Crush, set in a world where any human contact can prove deadly, has been accepted by Well Told Tales who will be producing an audio version of the story and distributing it as a podcast.
23.05.08
Silver - Review
A review of"Silver" (see below) has been written in The Fix. The full review contains a few spoilers but...
"Rutherford has a talent for dialogue and for providing insight into his characters through speech. His writing is economical and considered, and as a result, the story's pace is quick. A superior entertainment." Alvaro Zinos-Amaro
24.03.
Silver
My SF short story "Silver" is now available in Issue 2 of Escape Velocity
27.02.08
The Man Who Tracked a River
The Man Who Tracked A River, is now available in the Western anthology Where Legends Ride.
Read a review or get the lowdown on other contributors .
27.02.08
She Touched Me Once
She Touched Me Once has been accepted for All Hallows, the Journal Of The Ghost Story Society. Publication is likely to be in 2009.
27.02.08
I don't know for sure, but I don't think this was ever published.
09.11.11.
Hook
A flash fiction tale of mine titled "Hook" is available at MicroHorror
27.02.08













