Slasher Sports Cinema Podcast & December Submission Roundup

Hi there! I'm actually posting on time for maybe the first time in a few months. I feel so accomplished. :D

Before I jump into links for December submissions, I was a guest on Slasher Sports Cinema, where I got to chat with Billy, the host, about Nightmare on Elm Street, my first and favorite slasher film, and one of the first horror films I saw and remembered (after Jaws and Cat People). As someone whose had insomnia since the age of twelve and who has also suffered sleep paralysis that involved a figure standing over my bed (pretty common in sleep paralysis), Freddy always stood out to me as different than the other slashers. And far scarier. 

You can listen to it (and view it, in the case of the YouTube link) in several places: 

ANCHOR - https://anchor.fm/slashersportscinema

SPOTIFY - https://open.spotify.com/show/4FabrHyO4FpbvTHeuG8Ksd

APPLE - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/slasher-sports-show/id1633502252

IHEART - https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-slasher-sports-cinema-102543354/

YOUTUBE - https://youtu.be/_h0_3rmI8Fg

Now onto markets open for submissions in December. As we ease our way into winter, the numbers dwindle slightly, but there are still plenty of short story/flash fiction/poetry markets looking!

Please bear in mind that I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

December

Outcast Press is seeking noir-style stories where diners (or similar) are an integral part of the story. 2000 to 7000 words. Pays $25-$100. Deadline December 1.

R. Saint Claire is seeking horror short stories for a new magazine: Book Worms. 500 to 3000 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline December 1.

Parabola is seeking stories and articles with the theme "Transformation." Up to 3000 words. Paying market, but I'm not finding the pay. Deadline December 1.

Lost Boys Press is seeking stories involving societies of anthropomorphized animals for Empire of Beasts. 3000 to 9000 words. Pays $40. Deadline December 1.

The Other Stories is seeking short horror stories with the theme "Tunnels." Must be 2000 words, give or take 10%. Pays 15 GBP. Deadline for this theme (other themes are also open right now) December 1.

Crystal Lake Publishing is seeking dreamy, psychedelic or related horror for their Never Wake anthology. 2500 to 4500 words. Pays $.08/word. Deadline December 4. 

Eye to the Telescope is seeking speculative poetry about Frankenstein and what it means to you. Can submit 1-3 poems. Pays $.04/word. Deadline 15. 

The Showbear Family Circus is seeking stories that involve deities connected to constellations for Of Gods and Globes. Prefer stories under 7500 words. Pays in a royalty split. Deadline December 15.

Freeze Frame Fiction is seeking flash fiction in any genre. Up to 1000 words. Pays $10 per piece. Deadline December 31.

Manawaker Studio is seeking sci-fi retellings of Briar Rose (aka Sleeping Beauty) for Project Briar Rose. 1500 to 5000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline December 31.

Arc Poetry Magazine is seeking poetry. Up to 3 poems or 360 lines. Pays $50/page. Deadline December 31.

Dead Fish Books is seeking speculative stories about alien first contacts that start well, but go terribly wrong for Yay! They're Here! 2000 to 6000 words. Pays $5 + royalties. Deadline December 31.

Eerie River Publishing is seeking horror stories involving wind and its various forms. 1500 to 7000 words. Pays $.01CAD/word. Deadline December 31.

Dragon Soul Press is seeking stories for two anthologies: Carried Away (Romantic Comedy) and Liberty (LGBTQ+ Fantasy). 3000 to 15,000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline December 31.

Any of these of interest? Are you submitting? Anything to share? Know of any open calls? Do you enjoy slashers?

May you find your Muse.

IWSG - Saying Nope to NaNo & October News

It's November! My birthday month! But first it's time for the Insecure Writer's Support Group.

Created by Alex J. Cavanaugh, the IWSG provides a place where writers can air their insecurities and both get and give support to fellow writers. Anyone can join. Simply click on Alex's name and put your blog on the linky list.

This month's co-hosts are Diedre Knight, Douglas Thomas Greening, Nick Wilford, and Diane Burton.

The optional question: November is National Novel Writing Month. Have you ever participated? If not, why?

I've never fully participated. While running local events for a writer's group, I had several unpleasant experiences with whatever the "official" local folks are who run things under the guise of the overarching group. Ever since then, I've had zero interest in being a part of anything they have to do. 

However, I've long done my own version where I set my own rules, especially as I'm primarily a short story author. It started as ShaNoShoStoWriEdSubMo (Shannon's Novel and Short Story Writing, Editing, and Submitting Month). I set my own realistic goals for what I needed to achieve to further my own specific career. This month I'm in a class and I also have novel editing to work on, plus I'll be attending the 20 Books to 50k writing conference in Vegas, so I likely won't be setting any ShaNo goals, but I encourage others to use the energy of NaNo to set their own goals if they don't want to or can't participate in the bigger group. That gathered energy of writers can promote a lot of progress and provide support.

I have some news before I jump in with my October submission stats. October is always a busy month for me (gee, I wonder why), but the below are some things you can enjoy for free!

I had a story come out on Halloween in a special double issue, and it's free to read! You can check out "A Few of His Favorites" at Indecent Magazine.

I was also a guest on two podcasts, both of which went live in the last week:

The Bookshelf Odyssey is an author podcast. You can listen to my conversation with Art at Buzzsprout or search your favorite podcast platform. The video version can be viewed on YouTube.

Paranormal: The New Normal is a paranormal podcast (clearly, haha), so I talked about some experiences from my life. I did previously post the video of this, but it is now out on podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple.

I also did a reading of one of my unpublished stories, "The Pitter Patter of Little Feet" for Stories Live! The theme was: The future is dark. You can view it on YouTube. (If you're interested in reading on one of the monthly episodes, let me know on here and I'll connect you with Amy Armstrong, who puts these together and hosts them.

Okay, time for my submission stats for October. I do this each month with my IWSG post in order to keep myself accountable. 

2 acceptances

1 request to send a new story

1 publication release

7 rejections

11 submissions

20 stories currently on submission

8 stories in limbo until I have time to sit down, research, and submit

Are you submitting? Any submission news? What are your insecurities? Are you participating in NaNoWriMo?

May you find your Muse.