[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday - Oregon Sunset & Links

I've still got a ton of Oregon photos to go through, but when I was scanning through the photos a set of sunset photos caught my eye. I took these on the way to Portland as we drove through the Columbia River Gorge, which separates Oregon from Washington. The one with more yellows was taken from a moving car, the pink one at a pullover. I just loved the vivid colors.

As much as I love where I live, I'm actually too close to the mountains to see a really good sunset. Go figure, eh? If I drive clear across town to the plains, I can see a great view of a sunset.

Now for some links.

(Note: I pass along information I find online. I have not researched, nor am I personally vetting, any of these publications. Please do your own research on these publications before submitting to them or entering any contests.)

Accepting Submissions:

Ellipsis Literature & Art has an open submission window through November 1. They take poetry, short fiction, and creative non-fiction. They pay $10 for poetry, $50 for prose. They also take art submissions through February 9, for which they pay $10.

Timeless Tales Magazine is seeking short fiction with the theme of Puss in Boots. Deadline November 1. Pays $15 flat fee per piece, plus a free year's subscription.

Politics & Prose has put out a call for submissions for District Lines, Volume 2. The focus should be on Washington, D.C. and surrounding metropolitan areas. They seek poem, essays, short stories, comics, etc. They're also seeking artwork and photography. Deadline November 1. Pay unknown.

Girl's Life is open for freelance article submissions year-round. Pay unknown. Query first.

Collca takes queries for several Bite Size series (history, biography, travel, etc.) year-round. They pay 50% of royalties monthly.

Contests:

Pikes Peak Writers annual fiction contest, The Zebulon, closes for entries on November 1 at noon MT. The prize is a free conference or cash. This one has a different spin than usual.

Blog Hops:

David Powers King, paired with several fellow bloggers, is hosting the All I Want For NaNo Blog Hop November 1-3 in order to bring attention to their anthology The Spirit of Christmas. All proceeds from the book will go as a donation to NaNoWriMo.

Of Interest:

Tor is giving away a free Kindle e-book collection of some of their best short stories. Carrie Vaughn has a piece in there, among many other awesome authors. You can pre-order it now.

If you've posted anything on bullying and would like to submit it for Rachel to share at When a Lion Sleeps, Let it Sleep, you can email her at pertinax_puella [at] Hotmail [dot] com. She has a page on which she'll share a link to your post in an effort to bring attention to the gravity of bullying.

Have you enjoyed a sunset lately? Any of the above peak your interest? Anything to share? Any publication news for you this week?

May you find your Muse.

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday - Watch for Snowmobilers & Links

Just a quick one from my Oregon trip. I don't know why I find these signs amusing, but I do. If there's enough snow for snowmobilers to be crossing the road or on it, or whatever, how many cars are traveling at high speeds on those same roads, anyway?

Given, I'm probably just showing my ignorance of how much snow is needed to snowmobile. I actually have a fondness for these signs, because they have them up around Sisters, Oregon, where my grandma used to live (and she and my grandpa were, in fact, snowmobilers). This one is from Crater Lake, though.

Okay, links!

Accepting Submissions:

The Hugo-winning Clarkesworld Magazine is currently seeking submissions of short stories, non-fiction, and art. Pays 10 cents per word for the first 4000 words, 5 cents for each word over that. Science fiction and fantasy.

Highlights Magazine for children is seeking a variety of pieces for their magazine. Each type pays a different amount. Examples include $150 for short fiction and non-fiction articles, and $25 for crafts. They also seek verse and various puzzles and games.

Storm Cellar is a literary arts magazine seeking submissions year-round. They're eclectic, and want to receive varied submissions. They want art and writing of all creative kinds, including creative non-fiction, poetry, flash fiction, etc. Pays in a contributor copy.

Contest:

Four Chambers Press is looking for submissions for the inaugural edition of their literary magazine, so they're holding a contest. They want good work of any kind in any form. $100 first prize.

Kazka Press holds a monthly themed flash fiction contest, 713 Flash. Their theme this month is Outsiders. Submission window is September 1-20. Pays $10 per accepted story.

Blog Hop:

Cassie Mae is hosting the How to Date a Nerd Blog Hop. She wants to know what the nerdiest thing about you is. September 24-26. One blogger gets a nerd swag pack.

Just for Fun:

Buzz Feed featured 24 Photos of Famous Authors When They Were Coming of Age, by Summer Anne Burton.

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday 11/16/11 & ShaNoEdWriMo Update

First, the ShaNoEdWriMo update:

Out of 5 chapters to edit, I edited 5! Yay! I also edited those five over and over, because I submitted my novel for the Pikes Peak Writer's writing contest.

Out of 5000 words, I wrote...well, not 5000, I'm pretty sure. I think I'm in the neighborhood of 3547 unless I'm missing something, but I'm pretty sure I counted everything.

And I'm okay with that! Not only did I get a piece ready for a contest, but I did so with a nasty tooth ache that ended up requiring "emergency" oral surgery. I put emergency in quotes since they couldn't get me in right away and I got to go all weekend in intense pain when it had already been three days of pain before I went in (which is, of course, my fault). I would say that is not so bad!

And for [Mostly] Wordless Wednesday, how about a beach photo?

This photo was taken at Beverly Beach in Oregon, north of Newport (where Keiko, better known as Willie of Free Willie fame resided) and south of Astoria (where the Goonies was filmed.) I regret to say that, despite a childhood spent in Oregon, I don't believe I've ever been to the Goonies beach in Astoria. Sad, I know.

Unfortunately, I could find nothing about anything interesting happening at Beverly Beach. You can see the Yaquina Head lighthouse when you look down the beach, and the beach, itself, is gorgeous. There is a camping area right outside the beach, surrounded by these giant ancient trees. I felt like I was walking with dinosaurs when I hiked through the trees, and I got a ton of photos, though they were all point-and-shoot camera photos. I hope to go back and photograph with my SLR in the next year.

I will say, for those of you who like sea life, you can see whales, great white sharks, sea lions, and pools of sea urchins and starfish along this and adjacent Oregon beaches. I used to love watching the whales go by, though I've never seen a great white (fortunately or unfortunately?).

The photo's dark because it was night, but I liked how moody that formation was in the low light. Even though I can't see the water, I hear the waves, feel the breeze and smell the fresh sea air when I look at that picture. Those waves used to lull me to sleep at night when I stayed at my grandmother's house, and I wish I'd had the opportunity to go visit for awhile and write in the little loft to the the crashing of the waves and the the call of the seagulls.

The beaches in Oregon are unusual compared to beaches on the east coast (though my experience of each is limited to a few beaches). While there is fine sand at some of the Oregon beaches, there are also massive black rocks and large, rounded black pebbles at others. The water was always super cold, the wind a constant companion. Thanks to the heavily treed coastline, there were always bleached tree corpses littering the beach. You can see some less weathered trees in the photo above.

Ever been to Beverly Beach? Another Oregon beach? Do you enjoy the beach? Find it inspirational?

May you find your Muse.