Happy Turkey Day (Tomorrow) & Links

As I spent the evening at urgent care to see if my daughter had a fractured finger (she didn't), I didn't have time to go through photos for [Mostly] Wordless Wednesday, so I'm going to jump right into helpful links.

Courtesy of Marty Palecki, clker.com

Well, almost right into it. First, to my fellow U.S. folks, an early Happy Thanksgiving! I'll be hosting my family this year, and we should have quite the crowd (as always.) We're a boisterous (read: loud) bunch, but it should be fun. I have some turkey day questions for you below the links. I'd love to hear about your Thanksgiving plans. We're barbecuing a turkey for the first time ever, and hoping it goes well. I'm trying out a couple new recipes, but sticking with a lot of the same ones we have each year, as well, like mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, etc. My husband, who I call Clark Griswald this time of year, is looking forward to decorating the house for Christmas, which I refuse to have happen before Thanksgiving. Thus, each year he writes "Decorate House" on the calendar for the day after Thanksgiving. In an attempt to get into the spirit this year, I've already searched out some fun decorations for Skip Skellington. I'll have to share pics of the decorated house and my skeletal co-pilot next week. (Or the week after...next Wednesday's post is looking to be a full one.)

No matter what you're doing tomorrow, I hope you have a wonderful day!

Accepting Submissions:

Vitality is looking for prose, poetry, and art with LGBT characters, though the focus of the stories should not be on LGBT issues. Genre fiction preferred. Deadline December 20. Pays $.05/word for prose, $50 for poetry, $75 for art. They're also seeking illustrators and cover artists.

Parenthetical is open for poetry, fiction, non-fiction, and artwork. Deadline December 21 (though they have rolling deadlines.) Token payment of $15. Word count varies depending upon type of submission.

Chicken Soup for the Soul has several collections closing for submissions soon. Topics include Dreams & Premonitions, Inspiration for Nurses, Support for Therapists/Mental Health Professionals, and Time to Thrive. Most of these close on December 31, but the nurse collection closes November 30. Pays $200.

Red Moon Romance has three anthologies open for submissions. Topics include Too Alpha to Handle; Sexy Secret Santa; and Demons, Imps, & Incubi. Deadline December 31 for all. Pays in royalties. Romance.

Dappled Things is open for fiction, poetry, art, and book reviews. This is a Catholic literary magazine, though they don't require submissions to have religious content. Unsure of pay.

Bloodbond is seeking short stories, articles, poems, artwork, reviews, and more. These should be related to vampires, werewolves, and shapeshifters. Up to 8000 words. Pays $20 for short stories, and varying amounts for other types.

Whole Life Magazine is looking for well researched stories on health, the environment, and many other things related to this. 800-1100 words per article. Pay varies from $25 to $200, depending upon article type.

Contests:

Really Slow Motion: Of Mist and Magic is a contest that combines music and flash fiction. Brought to us by Samantha Redstreake Geary, Epic Music Vn, and Really Slow Motion. Listen to the song selection and write your own re-imagining of a classic fairy tale in 500 words or less. Deadline December 15. Winner will appear in the anthology. A variety of other prizes are being rewarded, as well.

Of Interest:

The Write Life put out an article on The 100 Best Websites for Writers in 2014. There are links for bloggers, for writers wanting to freelance, for making money as a writer, for creativity, etc.

Writer's Circle put out an article on 6 Free Writing Podcasts. If you're not like me and are able to pay attention to someone talking, these can be a great resource.

Any of these of interest to you? Have you submitted to any of these publications in the past? Anything to share? What are you doing for Thanksgiving? Do you have any Thanksgiving traditions? Do you always have turkey? What special foods do you only pull out for the holidays?

May you find your Muse.