Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Signs of Spring? & Links

I posted a picture of a hardy desert flower last week as a sign of spring. In the days following that post, we were given completely different signs of spring. Golf ball sized hail, for instance. Thunder storms, hail, flooding, tornado warnings, and snow, all in the same day. So I figured I'd post some different signs of spring.

(Warning: Crappy photos taken from my cell phone.)

An intersection after the 1st of 3 storms. (#2 started less than a mile down the road.)

My windshield when I was stuck in the car during hail storm #2.

A view of the hail coming down in hail storm #2. The blobs are hail.


These are the signs of spring I'm less delighted with, but valid all the same!

Now for some links. I am not endorsing any of these, merely passing them along.

Accepting Submissions:

Unlikely Story is taking submissions of clown flash fiction for a collection, The Journal of Unlikely Coulrophobia. Up to 1038 words. Pays $.06/word. Deadline May 31.

One Story is looking for literary fiction between 3000 and 8000 words. Pays $500 and 25 contributor copies. Deadline May 31.

Sirens Call Publications is seeking pieces for an anthology and their e-zine. Through Clouded Eyes is an anthology of horror stories written from the perspective of a zombie. The issue they're trying to fill is about nature gone bad (Eco-Horror). They will take submissions from 100 words up to 2500 for the e-zine, 4000-8000 words for the anthology. It appears the e-zine only pays in a contributor copy, but the anthology pays $25 for accepted stories. Deadline for both is June 1.

A Murder of Storytellers is looking for speculative fiction stories on broken worlds. 500-13,000 words. Pays $15 and a contributor copy. Deadline May 31.

Submissions are open for Best Women's Erotica 2016. 1500-3500 words. Pays $100 and two copies of the book. Deadline June 1.

Contests:

Brain Mill Press is holding a novella contest. The theme is "over." 20,000-40,000 words. Three novellas will win $250 and publication. Deadline June 1. They're also holding a cover art contest and are open to novel submissions.

The Maria W. Faust Sonnet Contest is looking for sonnets. No entry fee. Cash prizes. Deadline June 1.

Inkitt is holding the Epic Worlds Fantasy Writing Contest. No entry fee. Up to 15,000 words. Cash prizes. Deadline June 3.

Blog Hops:

Alex J. Cavanaugh and Heather Gardner are holding the Blood, Boobs, & Carnage Blogfest on May 18. Post about a book, television show, movie, or all three that falls into the category of blood, boobs, and carnage.

Of Interest:

Harlequin is hosting a  Back to Basics Boot Camp online May 21 and June 18. It will be run by Harlequin editors. I'm unsure of price.

How's your spring weather been? Any crazy weather? What signs of spring do you see around you? Any of these links of interest? Anything to share? Publication news?

May you find your Muse.



16 comments:

Madeline Mora-Summonte said...

Yikes on the hail! A little while back, we had cool but sunny weather. And then the heat soared. Sigh. To paraphrase Game of Thrones - "Summer is coming...." :)

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I heard you were having some strange weather in the most beautiful of states. We went from really hot and humid to cool and windy. Spring is always a variety pack.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Tornado warning and snow all in the same day? Now that's some extreme weather.

Andrew Leon said...

I got stuck in my car during a hail storm like that once. Or, maybe, worse? There were some pieces up to the size of softballs in the one I was stuck in, but none of those hit my car. There were quite a few dings in the roof and hood after the storm was over, though.

shelly said...

Sorry for your crazy weather. And thanks for the links.

dolorah said...

The weather here is nice and warm usually, but still cold at night. Which works for me because I love sleeping under a comforter. The last couple days have been below 60 though. Well, don't want too hot of a summer!

Thanks for the links. $500 sure is a lot of payout!!

Liz Blocker said...

Ugh, I'm so sorry the weather is so crazy! I hope it settles down and brings a peaceful spring.

klahanie said...

Hi Shannon,

Good grief! What a variety of weather in just one day. It seems the advent of spring has been rather reluctant where you live.

In England, we had some glorious weather about a week ago. Then it got back to normal and rain, rain, rain, followed by more rain.

No mention of "Best Dude's Erotica." As for any mention of yet another blog hop...Argggghhhhh!!!!!

Have a peaceful and hopefully warmer weekend.

Gary :)

Shannon Lawrence said...

Happily, the big heat shouldn't hit us until about mid-June, I think. But it's still rainy here! I'm not used to so much rain.

Shannon Lawrence said...

I do actually enjoy the changes in spring and fall, when the weather's trying to decide what to do. Too much of a good thing gets tiresome, though.

When does your son begin work at the Broadmoor again? I have out of state acquaintances staying there right now!

Shannon Lawrence said...

We're used to crazy mood swings in weather here, but that one might have taken the cake.

Shannon Lawrence said...

I'm pretty sure the hail around here just made it to golf ball sized that day. We've been tallying up the damage to our house and cars. It's not pretty. It's been awhile since we had the really huge hail, though. Thank goodness!

Shannon Lawrence said...

The crazy weather is amusing when you're not in the thick of it. Looking back, that was a crazy funny day. Definitely not predictable.

Shannon Lawrence said...

I always have to double check the publications that pay that much! There are a couple, and I don't know how they do that, but I sure wouldn't mind it.

Shannon Lawrence said...

It's been pretty calm since then. We did get caught in a second hailstorm downtown a few days later, but it's been just raining off and on since then. Here's hoping the nasty stuff is done!

Shannon Lawrence said...

We do the four season in style here!