Party On!

If you've been around this blog for awhile, you know that I occasionally take late night walks. On these walks, I sometimes see interesting things or get a little scare, but even if I don't, I tend to come away with tons of story ideas or to have worked out a story issue I was having.

The other day I took one of my late night walks (it's been super rainy here lately, which is weird for us, and the other night was actually clear!) While I didn't observe anything fascinating, I did walk by a party. On the one hand, I was happy they were out on the porch, as it meant there were people who were a) conscious, and b) in a position to hear me, say, scream should anything happen on this late night walk. Yes, I think about those things, and I know I shouldn't go on late night walks, but they soothe me and open up my creativity. And sometimes that is my only opportunity to get out for a walk or any type of exercise.

Courtesy of Stephanie, clker.com

Back to the party, it made me think about how parties can be used in your writing for various purposes. For instance, having a character interact with folks one way, then completely change their behavior in privacy can tell you about that character pretty quickly. And even if you don't change anything once they get away from everyone, you can still learn plenty about them. Are they bubbly and outgoing? Shy and reserved? Do they feel threatened or get aggressive? Are they highly competent and professional? Are they putting on the party? Crashing it? Or are they being forced to attend due to a relationship, friendship, or work?

A party scene can also help you introduce several characters at once, giving us a hint about who it is we should follow and become invested in. Harry is highly personable, organized the entire event, and was the life of the party. Betty skulked in the shadows, cast fake smiles at anyone who spoke to her, and left early. Ramin was friendly, albeit reserved, chatted with folks and showed interest in what they had to say, but was relieved when the evening came to a close. We've just met three characters, and if you write the scene properly, you should actually have been able to show their personalities through their actions and reactions, rather than telling us their personality traits or situations.

Courtesy of Camaher, clker.com

The type of party can also say a lot about the setting and characters. Is it a raucous, drunken orgy of energy? A sophisticated, highbrow affair? A dinner party? A barbecue? A kegger? What type of house is it being held in? What is the general setting? A field? An apartment? What's being served? Is there hired help or a frantic hostess? Even better if you can immediately set a time period for the story. Are they wearing hoop skirts, evening gowns, or poodle skirts?

Interactions between folks can also lead to the sharing of quite a bit of information. Conversations can reveal backstory, establish relationships, and lead the story forward. A character can discover clues or additional information they might not have gotten otherwise. Discoveries can be made.

Not only can information be established, but so can relationships. Did Betty glare at Ramin the entire time she was there? Did Harry look at Betty with lustful eyes or with deep love that isn't returned, because she never notices him or pays any attention to him? Is Ramin carefully studying Harry out of the corner of his eye, maybe reporting into a hidden microphone?

I'm sure I could keep going, but the point of it is, parties can be a great tool in your writing toolbox. If you're struggling with presenting some information, consider throwing a party! In your book, anyway.

Have you used a party in your writing? What did it help you establish? Can you think of other ways it could be used to help your story?

May you find your Muse.

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday: Refuse to Art & Links

Okay, I lied. No Chihuly pictures from the Fine Arts Center yet, as we didn't get a chance to go. However, I realized I never shared Hillside Gardens photos with you. Perhaps the word "garden" conjures up a certain picture to you, but Hillside is different (though I think they've got flowers in parts of the garden I haven't gone to). Instead, Hillside has an eclectic collection of all things old and antique. There's an antique washing machine graveyard, for instance. I go there on Wednesdays to listen to live music. Pretty cool place. And it looks good in black and white.

Now for some links! These are links to information I have come across, and should not be considered personally recommended. I have done no research, merely passed the information along. Always do your due diligence before submitting to contests or publications.

Accepting Submissions:

Monster Hunter Quarterly is seeking novellas about monsters and the ones seeking them. Pays in royalty shares, and is open until full.

Ruminate Magazine is open to nonfiction and poetry submissions through August 15. They do not take fiction or visual arts due to having open contests, but the next submission period begins August 16. Nonfiction pays $15 per printed page. Poetry pays $15 per poem.

Michael M. Jones is seeking YA urban fantasy stories for the anthology Schoolbooks & Sorcery. 2000-7000 words. Deadline August 15. Payment will start at $.02/word.

Inaccurate Realities is seeking short stories for young adults in all speculative fiction categories. The current them is "monsters" and closes August 15. 2000-5000 words. Pays a token fee of $15-25.

Luna Station Quarterly is seeking speculative fiction. This is a publication for female writers only. 500-7000 words. Winter issue deadline is August 15. Pays a flat $5 fee and a lifetime subscription to the e-magazine.

Fantasy & Science Fiction has a very short window for submissions. The next open submission window will be August 1 through August 15. If you go there now, it says they're closed to submissions, but it will open on the 1st. Up to 10,000 words. Pays $.07-.12/word.

Sci-Fi Romance Quarterly wants your romantic science fiction stories. 1000-7500 words. Cyborg theme. Pays $30. Deadline is August 15 for the current issue.

Noo Journal is seeking your contemporary pieces. Fiction, poetry, visual arts, and literature reviews. Pays in 2 contributor copies. No specific deadline or submission period.

That's Life is seeking humorous, positive contemporary stories of 700-2800 words. Pays $400AUS for the first page (varies for each following page). No specific deadline or submissions period.

Edwin E. Smith Publishing is looking for poetry, essays, short stories, art, and photography. $5 per published page for prose. Pay varies for other types of submissions. No specific deadline or submission period.

Plenitude Magazine is seeking literary writing and graphic narrative by LGBTTQI writers. Pay is to be determined as they work out sponsors. No specific deadline or submission period.

Thanks to Christine Rains for sharing the following: Brilliant Flash Fiction is seeking your flash pieces. 1000 words or less, all genres. No payment at this time, but your work will be considered for a future anthology.

Blog Stuff:

Samantha Redstreake Geary has done it again! Her collaborations inspire creativity and the intermingling of the arts. Her new project is Imagine: Epic Music Inspires. This time, though, it's not just about flash fiction and music. There are multiple related events going on at one time, ranging from steampunk viking flash fiction to t-shirt design, book trailer creation to book cover design. Bring your artistic self to the challenge. Going on now.

Elizabeth Seckman is hosting the Bella's Point Blog Challenge. Taking place July 15-31, she asks that you post something readers want to read. Entries will be judged, and there will be prizes.

Ever been to a place like Hillside Gardens (or heard of one)? Have you been enjoying any live music this summer? Any of these publications of interest? Anything to add?

Conversational Prompts

I'm back from vacation! It was fun, my first time going on a trip with friends. We drove up to Moscow, Idaho to visit one friend's son at college there, then back down through Montana and Wyoming. I only snapped a couple photos of a sunset one night, as we weren't really sightseeing. I do wish I'd photographed the canola fields in north-western Idaho, though. They were flush with bright yellow flowers (the canola).

Trouble

Moon over Pocatello, Idaho

Pocatello Sunset

While on vacation, I didn't get any writing done. However, I got several ideas based on conversations we had. There are gems in everything we experience, buried there, waiting to be discovered. Now, only one of the ideas was directly based on something discussed. The rest were weird random jumps in thought that were triggered by an idea or even misunderstanding of an original topic. Point being, anything can be fodder for stories. Conversations and observances, reading writing by others, and just plain writing, which can spurn other ideas as you work. I'm excited to get started on some new story ideas. First, I have to resubmit something I got a rejection for yesterday.

Today is back to work. Or, as we sang while rolling into town: "Back to life, back to reality." Back to the grind. I'm hoping to have some Chihuly art photos to share on Wednesday with the links, and I'll likely do more links than usual to make up for not posting last week.

What was your last vacation? Ever taken a road trip with friends? Where'd you go?

May you find your Muse.

On Vacation

Hi guys! I'm on vacation this week, but I'll be back next week. "See you then!"

IWSG & Links

It's the first Wednesday of the month, which makes it Insecure Writer's Support Group time!

Hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh, this once per month group posting lets us insecure writers talk about our insecurities, whatever's preying on our minds, or to offer comfort to our insecure brethren and sisteren (so what it's not a word...). This month's co-hosts are Krista McLaughlin, Kim Van Sickler, Heather Gardner, and Hart Johnson. Thanks for co-hosting this month!  

My insecurities are much as they've been. Lack of time and energy to write, and rejections rolling in with nice comments, but no acceptances. Instead of dwelling, I'll give my 2014 numbers for the year, so far:

7 pieces out on submission right now

3 stories awaiting editing for submission

13 rejections in 2014

So I'm toddling right along and working on not letting it get me down. And I'm submitting a short story to my critique group every two weeks, which means I'm writing and editing. 

Now for some links. Bear in mind that these are links I've run across online, and I am not personally recommending any of them. Always do your due diligence when researching publications and contests.

Accepting Submissions:

Kayelle Press has a all out for their romantic speculative fiction anthology. Deadline July 31. 3000-6000 words. Pay unknown.

Breathless Press is seeking entries for their October themed issue, Tales From the Haunted House. Anywhere between romance and erotica. Deadline July 31. Must be over 10k words. Pays in royalties.

Weird Bard Press is open for submissions to their anthology Torn Pages. They want stories based on social issues that elicit certain responses from you. Deadline July 31. 1000-5000 words. Pays $.02/word.

The Book Smugglers Press is looking for subversive fairy tale retellings for an anthology. Speculative fiction from MG to adult. 1500-17,500 words. Deadline July 31. Pays $.05/word up to $500.

Crossed Genres Magazine has a monthly theme. This month's is School. Must involve elements of sci-fi and/or fantasy. Deadline July 31. 1000-6000 words. Pays $.06/word.

The Mammoth Book of Dieselpunk is seeking dieselpunk short stories, as defined at the link. Deadline August 1. Pays $.05-.08/word.

Unlikely Story is open to submissions to their issue with the theme The Journal of Unlikely Entomology. Deadline August 1. Up to 8000 words. Pays $.05/word.

Slice Magazine's open submission period closes August 1. They're looking for short fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. Fresh voices and compelling stories. The theme for this issue is Resistance. Up to 5000 words. Pays $100 for short stories/essays and $25 for poems.

Contest:

Garden State Speculative Fiction Writers is holding their 20th Annual Garden State Speculative Fiction Writers Short Story Contest. Deadline July 31. Come up with the wildest conspiracy theory you can. First prize gets $75 and publication. All entries will receive critiques.

Blog Stuff:

The Armchair Squid, Cygnus, and Suze are hosting the Songs of Summer bloghop July 11. Post five of your favorite summer songs and whatever memories they bring up.

What are your insecurities? How are you doing with your writing goals? Any of these links of interest to you? Anything to add?

May you find your Muse.

Cover Reveal - Effigy, by M.J. Fifield

With about one month until the release date, I'm delighted to present the cover for M.J. Fifield's Effigy!

The survival of a once-mighty kingdom rests in the hands of its young queen, Haleine Coileáin, as it slowly succumbs to an ancient evil fueled by her husband’s cruelty.

A sadistic man with a talent for torture and a taste for murder, he is determined to burn the land and all souls within. Haleine is determined to save her kingdom and, after a chance encounter, joins forces with the leader of the people’s rebellion. She gives him her support, soon followed by her heart.

Loving him is inadvertent but becomes as natural and necessary as breathing. She lies and steals on his behalf, doing anything she can to further their cause. She compromises beliefs held all her life, for what life will exist if evil prevails?

Her journey leads to a deceiving world of magic, monsters, and gods she never believed existed outside of myth. The deeper she goes, the more her soul is stripped away, but she continues on, desperate to see her quest complete. If she can bring her husband to ruin and save her people, any sacrifice is worth the price—even if it means her life.

Release date: July 22, 2014 

Add Effigy on Goodreads

Cover art by Ravven

To visit Ravven, the cover artist

About The Author: Armed with a deep and lasting love of chocolate, purple pens, and medieval weaponry, M.J. Fifield is nothing if not a uniquely supplied insomniac. When she isn’t writing, she’s on the hunt for oversized baked goods or shiny new daggers. M.J. lives with a variety of furry creatures—mostly pets—in New Hampshire. Effigy is her first novel.

You can find her at her website or at her blog.

Is this cover gorgeous, or what? 

May you find your Muse.

Razed Cover Reveal

RAZED, a sexy romance by award-winning author, Shiloh Walker, is the much awaited sequel to WRECKED in the Barnes Brothers series and it releases this December from Berkley!

Take a look at the cover and let us know what you think!

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a chance to win a signed paperback copy of WRECKED, along with some fabulous swag! (Yes, it’s international :))

Tattoo artist Keelie Jessup can handle that someone else has claimed the man of her dreams. She’s just not pleased with her remaining options…

Keelie doesn’t believe in the “perfect man.” But the men who are worth the trouble are usually taken—like her business partner Zach Barnes. After a string of bad luck and the lost chance with Zach, Keelie decides that maybe flying solo—and living with suppressed desires—is the key to happiness.

As a photographer, Zane Barnes has an eye for the human form, and his eyes can’t get enough of Keelie’s curves. Unfortunately, Keelie is like most women—always fawning over his little brother, Zach. Zane is about ready to give up, but then a few stolen moments at his brother's wedding have him thinking maybe there's a chance there after all. Now he just has to prove that the perfect man does exist...for her.

Indiebound | BN | BAMM | iBooks | Amazon

Also in the Barnes Brothers series: WRECKED by Shiloh Walker!

An excerpt:

Humiliation burned in her.

Rejection turned her blood to ice while her skin shrank down about two sizes too small.

She wanted to sink into the floorboards, turn into something thin and vaporous so she could just disappear.

Pushing against his chest, she focused on the navy blue polo.  “Then how about you let me go, huh?  My mistake.”

The hand on her throat didn’t move.

It should have felt threatening.

But the feel of him touching her just made her melt that much more…and it was now a heavy ache inside because he—

His lips brushed her ear.

“You want to know what I want from you?” he asked, the words velvet, stroking over her like a caress.

Keelie closed her hands into fists to keep from reaching for him. He was messing with her.  It pissed her off—and, to her disgust, it hurt.  It almost felt like a betrayal, too, because she hadn’t expected to see this in Zane.

“Back off,” she warned, putting an edge into her voice and preparing herself to make him back off.  So what if he had some moves on him?  He hadn’t seen her moves yet.  Not really.

“I want…” He slid his hand down from her throat, to rest on her chest, fingers spread wide where it rested above her heart.  “This.”

The simplicity of the gesture stunned her into passivity.

She held still as he lifted his head and stared down at her.

She blinked, not moving, as he continued to stand there, his hand on her chest.  “I want five minutes of your time…over a cup of coffee.  An hour for lunch.  I want you to pick up the phone when I call, talk with me for a while,” he said, staring into her eyes while the blue-green of his gaze cut into her.

Then he leaned in and pressed a hot, open-mouthed kiss to her chest, just above the neckline of her sweater.  “I want to peel your clothes away, learn each and every one of these insanely sexy tattoos…each tattoo, and the reason behind them.  I want to know what makes you laugh, and I want to know what makes you mad.  I want to know what sort of book you’re reading whenever I’m in the office—I’ve asked, but you always toss it down when I walk by and you never answer me.”

His breath was a caress on her flesh and she broke out into goosebumps.

Her heart raced in her chest and she couldn’t even begin to understand why there was a knot in her chest.

Author photo taken by
Ayrica Bishop

About Shiloh Walker:

Shiloh Walker has been writing since she was a kid... she fell in love with vampires with the book Bunnicula and has worked her way up to the more...ah... serious vampire stories. She loves reading and writing anything paranormal, anything fantasy, but most all anything romantic. Once upon a time, she worked as a nurse, but now she writes full time and lives with her family in the Midwest. She also writes under the pen name J. C. Daniels.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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What do you think of her cover? How cool is her headshot? Did you enter the Rafflecopter giveaway?

May you find your Muse.