[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday - Life Finds a Way & Links

A couple weeks ago, we took the Jeep up into the mountains a bit, via Rampart Range Road, which winds through part of the Waldo Canyon Fire burn area. I was struck by the greens and golds of the tiny aspens growing throughout the burn area. Aspens are springing up everywhere; someday they'll hide many of the burned trees. In some cases, otherwise burned trees had crowns of color where a few leaves grew on undamaged branches. While it was a sobering sight, it was also an inspiring sight. Life finds a way.

The smoke around Pikes Peak and the distant mountains in these photos is from fires on the west coast, which made it extra poignant.

Next week I'll be co-hosting the Insecure Writer's Support Group! All are welcome to join. Check it out here if you think you might be interested.

Accepting Submissions:

Crossed Genres will start accepting submissions tomorrow for their theme of Decoration. Today is the last day for the theme of Nonsense. 1000-6000 words. Science fiction and/or fantasy. Pays $.06/word. Theme deadline is October 31.

Hypnos Magazine is accepting submissions for their fall issue. Speculative fiction. Up to 10,000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline for this issue is October 31.

The Literary Hatchet is accepting submissions of horror. Short fiction essays, first-person narratives, short stories, poetry, photography, art, and humor. 1000-6000 words. Pays between $0 and $10, depending upon submission type. Submission deadline for the issue to be published in December is November 1.

The First Line gives you a first line and asks you to write a story from that. Any genre. Current first line is "George pressed the call button and said, 'Mrs. Whitfield, you have a visitor.'" 300 to 5000 words for fiction. They'll also take nonfiction on your favorite first line in a story, up to 800 words. They also accept poetry. Pays $10 to $50, depending upon submission type. Deadline for this first line is November 1.

Thema is accepting submissions of short stories, poetry, essays, photographs, and art. Must fit one of the themes. Theme ending soonest is The Neat Lady and the Colonel's Overalls. Pays $10 to $25. Deadline for this theme is November 1.

Microcosm Publishing is accepting "short stories and art on the theme of bicycling and utopias, with a feminist perspective" for their anthology Bikes in Space 4: Utopia/Dystopia. Around 2500 words. Unsure of pay. Deadline November 1.

Devolution Z is accepting horror submissions. Short stories, poetry, and art. 1000 to 15,000 words. Unsure of pay.

Contests:

SQ Magazine is holding a the Story Quest Contest. The theme is Unlikely Partnerships. Free to enter. Six short listed folks will be published in the magazine, and there are cash prizes for the top three. Deadline October 31.

The Insecure Writer's Support Group is holding the IWSG Anthology Contest. The top ten pieces will be published in the anthology and receive royalties. Must be a member of the IWSG, either via blog or Facebook. No entry fee. Theme: alternate history/parallel universe. 5000-6000 words. Deadline November 1.

Eco-Chick is holding their first annual writing contest: women in water. Fiction, non-fiction, or poetry. Up to 15,000 words. Cash prizes. Deadline November 15.

Any of these of interest to you? Anything to share? Experience with any of these publications? Publishing news? What signs of fall are you looking forward to? 

May you find your Muse.

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday - Gold in Them Thar Hills! Plus Links & YA Question

It's Wednesday again, and I did, in fact, get to go out for a drive to see the gorgeous aspens in all their fiery fall splendor.  Unfortunately, you have to pardon the haze in the background, as we still have smoke from the various fires around the northwest.  I hope for the end of fire season very soon, and hope everyone near the fires stays safe and gets relief soon.

Before I get to the photos, I'd like to put out a couple questions for discussion.  I've been added to a panel at the Author Fest on Friday, where we'll be discussing why YA is not just for young adults, but also enjoyable for adults.  I will be posting a few questions on this topic at the end, in the hopes of getting some feedback on why you enjoy YA, no matter your age.  I've never been on a panel before, and I'd like to have plenty of discussion points should we not get enough questions to fill the 45 minutes.

On to the aspens!  I thought about making this a two-parter since there were so many photos, but decided not to.  Hope you don't mind!

You should be able to click on them to make them bigger, if you'd like.

Now for the helpful links:

Blog Hops/Fests:

The Did I Notice Your Book Blog Fest, sponsored by Ciara Knight and Alex J. Cavanaugh, will occur on October 17.  I really like the idea behind this one, as it has to do with unexpectedly featuring another blogger's book to get the word out for them without them knowing ahead of time.

E.J. Wesley of The Open Vein is having the Bury the Hatchet Blog Fest.  You can participate any time between September 21 and October 19 by blogging about someone or something you'd like to bury a hatchet in.  There will be prizes, including a Nook Simple Touch E-Reader.

The Something Wicked This Way Comes Blog Hop and Giveaway, hosted by Rainy Day Ramblings and Babbling About Books, will be occurring throughout the month of October.  Every day host blogs will blog about paranormal and terrifying creatures, and every day those host blogs will giveaway a Halloween/horror related book.  Awesome undertaking!

Carrie Ann, of Carrie Ann's Blog Hops, has several ongoing blog hops throughout the year.  Her closest one will take place October 19-22: The Alpha Male Blog Hop.  The exact blog hop is a mystery, but it has to do with discussing why we love an alpha male.  Sounds steamy.

Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer is hosting the Fraterfest Read-A-Thon in honor of Rhiannon Frater and ghoulies that go bump in the night.  Between October 5 and October 8, set a goal of scary books you'll read and discuss what you've achieved.

Spooktoberfest, put on by Bouquest of Books and Entertaining Interests, will take place October 26 through October 29.  This is a spooky flash fiction fest, which requires 5 mandatory words to be in your piece.  Winners' pieces will be posted on Halloween, and they will receive a jumbo bag of the candy of their choice.  Mmmm.

The Ghosts and the Girls Who Love Them Blog Hop and Giveaway has already started, but you have until September 30 to sign up and participate.  This is a flash fiction hop with a fun grand prize winner.

Brenda Drake Writes is hosting the Elevator Pitch Blog Fest/Contest October 15-19.  Post a video of your elevator pitch to an agent.  Winners will be viewed by agents.

Giveaways:

Jeremy, of Retro Zombie fame, is having a giveaway when he reaches 500 followers.  Show him some love and you could win some great prizes!

Contests:

The South Wales Short Story Competition is ongoing and free to enter.  Deadline is November 9.  Open to unpublished UK writers.  Winners will be published in an anthology.

WOW-Women on Writing- is hosting a flash fiction contest.  Current deadline is November 30.  Entry fee is $10.  Optional critique available for an additional fee.  Cash prizes.

Miss Snark's First Victim is hosting the Annual Baker's Dozen Agent Auction.  You enter your piece, a specific number are chosen, and they are then placed on the auction block for a collection of agents to bid on.  There is a $10 entry fee.

Submissions Accepted:

Bibliophilic Blather is seeking submissions of horror/Halloween related flash fiction pieces for Fright Fest 2012.  Submit by September 30.  Winning pieces will appear on Flash Fiction Fridays.


Other:

The Muse Online Writers Conference is a free online conference being held in the first part of October.  I looked over the classes and there are some really interesting ones.  There are also pitch appointments, though it may be too late to sign up for those.

Pikes Peak Writers is accepting proposals for workshop classes for the 2013 Pikes Peak Writers Conference.  Find the submission form here.


That's all for today, folks!

Any links to share?  Do you have aspens?  Are trees turning in your area yet?  Do you read and enjoy YA?  Why about YA speaks to you?  What sets it apart from adult fiction for you?  Any favorite YA authors/books?

May you find your Muse.

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday 10/12/11

For today's [Mostly] Wordless Wednesday, I got to take a bit of a side trip on the way to get my daughter from school. This is one of the surest signs we get that fall has arrived:

That's snow on Pikes Peak! Of course, this isn't the first snow. I tried to get a good pic of that a few weeks ago and wasn't happy with the result. We've actually had snow down here on the ground, but it melted within a couple hours, so I look to Pikes Peak for reassurance on a day where we're supposed to hit 68 degrees. It's fall!

If you look closely, you can also see a dappling of yellow aspens on the green peak in front of the snow-covered Pikes Peak. I love the changing of leaves and can't wait until all that green around Garden of the Gods is full of blazing autumn shades.

This photo was taken at Garden of the Gods, one of my favorite places to go for some camera action. The red rock on the left is the eastern edge of the Kissing Camels formation.

Happy Fall!

Is there a landmark or event that truly, officially says "autumn is here" to you? How do you celebrate the start of fall?

May you find your Muse.