Remembering Fall & Links

I don't believe I posted any fall foliage pics this year, so here's one I took on a new drive we went on this year. There was a meandering stream (or lazy river...I don't know the distinction.

Now for some links. Bear in mind that I am not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

67 Press is accepting submissions for the 67 Press Anthology, Volume 3. Literary. Fringe. 5000 words or less. They prefer flash fiction. Pays a flat fee plus royalties (flat fee not listed). Deadline December 31.

The Kickstarter for Humans Wanted: A SF Anthology went well, and they are still taking submissions. Seeking SF stories about the helpfulness of humans. 3000-6000 words. Pays $250. Deadline December 31.

Book Smugglers Publishing is accepting submissions of short stories for their anthology Gods & Monsters. Speculative fiction. 1500-17,500 words. Pays $.06/word. Deadline December 31.

CWTCH Press is open for short stories for their anthology If Mom's Happy: Stories About Erotic Mothers. 1500-4500 words. Pays $50 + 2 copies. Deadline December 31.

Comet Press is open for reprint submissions to their anthology Year's Best Hardcore Horror, Volume 2. Must have been (or will be) published in 2016. Short stories/novelettes. Pays $.01/word. Deadline December 31.

Zombies Need Brains LLC has three anthologies open for submissions after having met their Kickstarter goal. Up to 7500 words. The anthologies are: Submerged (F/SF set underwater), All Hail Our Robot Conquerors! (50/60s style robots), The Death of All Things (Death is a character in the story). Pays minimum of $.06/word (depending upon how much more the Kickstarter makes). Deadline December 31.

Carte Blanche is looking for fiction, creative nonfiction, photo essays, poetry, artwork, and more. Up to 3500 words. Pays a modest fee (not specified). Deadline December 31.

Darkhouse Books is seeking short stories, flash fiction, poetry, and essays about descansos (roadside memorials). Up to 3000 words. Royalty share. Deadline December 31.

Contest:

Story Shares is holding The 2016 Relevant Reads Story of the Year Contest. 1000-10,000 words. Middle Grade up. Several categories for prizes, including diversity and genre. Prizes vary from $500 to $3000. Deadline December 31.

Of Interest:

Chrys Fey put out an excellent post (with downloadable PDF) with 100 Marketing Tips.

Has it been fall or winter in your area? Had any snow yet? Any of these of interest to you? Anything to share? How are your submissions going?

May you find your Muse.

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday - Rock With a Bun & Links

For today's images, here are some more rock formations from Garden of the Gods. These are all different angles of the same big formation.

My kids are out of school as of next week, so hopefully we can get out on some summer adventures and get some new pictures!

Now for links. Bear in mind that I am not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence when submitting.

Accepting Submissions:

Grain Magazine is accepting submissions of eclectic literary fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry. Up to 3500 words. Pays $50 per printed page, plus contributor copies. Deadline May 31.

Scratchpost Press is seeking submissions for their anthology, The Society Pages. These should be stories exploring a civilized furry community. 2000-8000 words. Pays $30, plus contributor copy. Deadline June 1.

Sunvault: Stories of Solarpunk & Eco-Speculation is seeking speculative fiction. They should involve an environmental crisis. 500-7500 words. Pays $.06/word or $15/page, depending upon which is more. Deadline June 4.

Third Flatiron is seeking stories for their anthology Keystone Chronicles. 1500-3000 words. This is a paying market, but pay is not specified. Deadline June 15. 

Tanstaffl Press is seeking short stories for their anthology, Enter the Apocalypse. Less than 8000 words. Pay range will be from $.01/word to $.08/word. Deadline June 15.

MatterPress is seeking fiction, creative nonfiction, poetry, mixed media, visual arts, etc., for The Journal of Compressed Arts. Pays $50. Current deadline June 15. 

Lackington's is accepting speculative fiction with the theme of animals. 1500-5000 words. Pays $.01/CAD/word. 

Duckbill Anthology is accepting flash fiction and poetry. Up to 800 words. Pays $5. 

Any of these links of interest? Anything to share? Do you have any publishing news? 

May you find your Muse.

IWSG, Night Visitors & Links

It's that time again. That time where all us insecure folks get together to discuss our insecurities in the Insecure Writer's Support Group, created by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Sit down, grab a cup of bitter coffee and a stale doughnut, and let's share a little about what ails us. Anyone can participate--just go to the link above and sign up!

The way I'm feeling right now, the better question would be: What am I feeling secure about? The answer is: Not much. But here's what I do know. I love writing. I'm happy when I'm writing. No matter what my publishing status, I will continue to write, even if it's just for me.

Isn't it ourselves we should be writing for in the first place? Publication is the bonus, sure, but the words we write are for ourselves. That's where the joy is. Everyone needs that pat on the back, in whatever way they desire it, but the real joy is taking those ideas that seed in our minds, planting them on the paper, and watching them bloom before us. I say hold onto that joy. Don't let it go, whether you're struggling to be published or already published and trying to market it. Don't let the business of writing keep you from the pleasure of writing.

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday is a peek at a little peeping tom I had on the back porch last night, along with his little buddy.

These little guys moved furniture around on my porch, causing me to shut the lights out and check out the windows to see who was out there (it was around 1:30 in the morning). There was a squeak at the back door, and not seeing anything outside, I opened the shades (I have french doors) and bent down to look. Staring back at me were two curious raccoons. My poor puffed up cat and I sat there for a moment studying them while they did the same. Finally, I grabbed my camera and opened the door and they scurried over to the stairs, but one continued to watch me. That's his face there. He was also the one who kept standing up down in the lawn to look at me when I stood on my porch photographing them. The pictures suck because it was pitch black, but it was a kick to watch them frolicking in my backyard for at least thirty minutes. I can't believe I've lived here for so long and never run into raccoons before!

Now for some links.

Accepting Submissions:

The David Tyson Report is putting together an anthology on ghosts. Horror, but it can be mixed with other genres. 2000-5000 words. Pays $10 and a contributor copy. Deadline September 28.

Blue Skirt Press is putting together an anthology about the loss of parents. Poetry, stories, art, photography. Deadline September 30. Payment is a contributor copy.

Chicken Soup for the Soul is seeking stories along the lines of "Thanks to My Mom." Prose and poetry. 1200 words or less. Pays $200. Deadline September 30.

The third issue of Phobos Magazine is looking for entries with the theme "Troublemake." Short and flash weird fiction or poetry. Must have elements of the macabre. Deadline September 30. Limit 1000 for flash, 2500 for prose and poetry. Paying market.

Firbolg Publishing would like your stories for Enter At Your Own Risk: Dreamscapes Into Darkness. 3000-5000 words. Deadline September 30. Pays $50 and a contributor copy.

Crossed Genres current theme is "Indoctrinate." Deadline September 30. Must possess elements of sci-fi and/or fantasy. 1000-6000 words. Pays $.06/word.

Contests:

Book Trust and the Sunday Times are holding The Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award. Maximum of 6000 words. Must have been published in UK and Ireland. Deadline September 26. Cash prizes.

The Freeman Family and Drake University Department of English are holding the Payton James Freeman Essay Prize. Write an essay with the theme "After the Unhappy Ending." Up to 3500 words. Prize is $500, publication, and being brought out as a speaker. Deadline September 30.

The L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Award is open through September 30. First prize is $1000. Prose up to 17,000 words. For new writers of short fiction or novelettes in sci-fi or fantasy.

The University of Iowa Press is holding the Iowa Short Fiction Award and John Simmons Short Fiction Award. Must be a collection of short stories, at least 150 pages. Deadline September 30.

On a final note, A-to-Z co-hosts, past and present, have written a tribute to Tina Downey at the A-to-Z blog.

What are your insecurities? Do you still feel the joy of writing? Had any run-ins with raccoons? Any of these links of interest to you? Anything to share? Publishing news?

May you find your Muse.

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday - Fire & Fine Art + Links

Wednesday already?  Boy, the days go by quickly!

Today's [Mostly] Wordless Wednesday will be two-fold.  First, I just wanted to share a bit of what my city looks like right now.  There are a couple wild fires going, one having surpassed 59,000 acres and 181 homes destroyed.  While we've had smoke from that fire some days, depending on the direction of the wind, there is now a smaller fire burning about 40 miles from where I live.  That one is at about 1100 acres, but it's pumping smoke into the Pikes Peak region quite heavily, at least at times (again, depending on winds).  I snapped a couple sunset pics the other night as I was driving home.

A smoky view of Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods.

A southwest view down the Rockies, barely visible, with a portion of Cheyenne Mountain at the far left.

The good thing is that there has only been one death from the fires, though that is one too many. I'm desperately hoping for some rain all around the state, but we are in a perpetual drought, so rain is fairly rare.

Despite the lingering smoke, the kids and I still went on our weekly adventure field trip.  This week's trip was to the Fine Arts Center and the American Numismatic Association Money Museum.  Unfortunately, only the Fine Arts Center allowed photography, but I thought I'd share a couple of those photos.

(Yeesh, I went through selecting photos and chose waaaay too many, so I will try to trim it and pass along far fewer.)

As you walk in the front door, you're greeted by a chandelier made by Chihuly. I really regret having missed his show there a couple years ago.

This is a close up of a bigger painting, which is vivid and amazing on its own, but I find something so compelling about his face. This is David from the painting Study for a David and Goliath, an acrylic painting done by Paul Cadmus in 1971.

Ow! My eyeballs! I tell you, I could not look at this painting without getting dizzy. This is Vibrations of Scarlet on Blue and Green, No. 5, by Vance Kirkland, 1967, oil on canvas.

This is a portion of the sculpture Sacred Rain Arrow by Allan Houser, 1988, in bronze.

Last one! I had to pass this along for my fellow writers out there. This is Monster Pencil Tip: An Endlessly Enlargeable Monument to Human Imagination, Interrupted - Pay no Attention to its Highly Suggestible Shape, by Sean O'Meallie in 2005, polychromed wood. The highly suggestible shape is that of a warhead. To quote the placard: "Implicit in this dual appearance is dual meaning: the productive nature of a pencil with the destructive reality of a warhead. [...] as the words scrawled by a pencil can be more dangerous and destructive than any bomb."

There were so many things to choose from! It was definitely worth the visit, and I'll happily go again and pay (it was a free day). My kids, ages 7 and 4, loved it, as well, which I was a little surprised by. I was afraid they'd be bored, but nope!

Now, if you made it through all of that, here are this week's links:

Does anyone remember when I was on that kick to find a program that would allow me to hear typewriter sounds while writing?  Well, here is another one!  And this is also one of those lovely programs that puts you in a distraction-free screen while writing.  I haven't tried it yet, but it was recommended: Write Monkey

Stone Thread Publishing is running a writing contest in honor of Ray Bradbury, no entry/reading fee, deadline July 31.

If you're writing memoirs or something set in the past, this dMarie Time Capsule is pretty awesome.  You can plug in a date and the time capsule will pull up pertinent information that helps you set the scene, such as music/movies of the day, headlines, prices, the president, etc.  Very interesting.  I just got sidetracked because I plugged in my birth date.

Shelf Stealers runs a monthly writing contest, but there is a $5 entry fee.  

WEbook is running the Nameless Icon Writing Contest, which challenges you to write a description of an iconic person that people will recognize without being told the name.  Sounds like a fun activity!

Wily Writers Audible Fiction has an interesting twist and is a paying market.  They publish your piece in both text and audio.

Once Upon an Apocalypse is looking for stories for two different anthologies, both dealing with mixed up fairy tales/nursery rhymes, with one wanting them zombified and the other Lovecrafted.  Paying market.  Deadline July 31, or first filled.

Penumbra Magazine is taking submissions for three different months, each with different themes.  Paying market.

Ticonderoga Publications is a paying market, taking submissions for an anthology with the working title Dreaming of Djinn.

Woo!  Did you make it through all that?  I hope there was something helpful for someone in all this!  On Monday I'll be passing along some fantastic information from the Write Brain I attended last night, dealing with computer security for writers.  I will also pass along the author/presenter's website, where I believe you will have access to his handouts.  It was a fantastic workshop!

Anything helpful in here?  Did you have a favorite of the pieces I posted?  How are the temps/weather in your area?

May you find your Muse.

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday (Klingon Rock) & Helpful Links

Stephen Tremp will be guest posting tomorrow, so I will be posting the Thursday helpful links today, following the [Mostly] Wordless Wednesday photo.

In celebration of my first ever time as a chaperone on one of my son's field trips, today's [Mostly] Wordless Wednesday is representing the place we'll be going: Garden of the Gods! I've previously posted a photo of one of the shapes I like to seek out. This one is no different:

I like to call this one Klingon Rock, because I see a specific kind of profile. It doesn't necessarily look like a Klingon, but that's what came to mind anyway. Or a dinosaur.

Now for the links!

Ladies, it's time to get your horror on! Dark Moon Books is taking submissions for a women's horror anthology, written by women, any horror subject. Click the link for guidelines.

THIS sounds interesting to me. I would like to note that I have not done research on this and can't swear to the validity. It is a three-month residency project for writers, where you would live in a writer-friendly building with other writers somewhere in L.A. There are costs involved.

Funny Books is taking submissions for a My Funny Road Trip anthology. This is a non-paying anthology.

I'm too old to participate in this one (I can't tell if I'm offended or amused by that), but social platform Ether is holding a contest for short stories, flash fiction, essays or poetry, less than 3000 words. There is an app for people to vote for the winner, who will then get a contract with Ether. You must be 18-25 years old to enter.

That's all for today! Tomorrow I will be posting my Getting to Know You Post on the A to Z Challenge Blog. Want to know something shocking about me? Check it out!

What do you see in the rock formation above? Any helpful links you want to pass along?

May you find your Muse.

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday & I've Been Tagged!

I was tagged by Jeremy over at Geeky Tendencies. Jeremy is participating in the A-to-Z Challenge, and has been a great proponent, helping us get the word out. He also answered the Getting to Know You questions we co-hosts are answering for the A-to-Z, which was great fun! You'll find my answers to his questions below the [Mostly] Wordless Wednesday photos.

A friend recently announced she was moving into our area, and she mentioned that someone had told her she might see bears and deer. That made me laugh, because of course she will see them! This area's lousy with them! And I'm sort of missing hearing about sightings of mamas and their cubs around here, so how about a pic of a couple bears in my parents backyard. Well, they were in the neighbor's tree, but I got a call from my dad, who knew how much I wanted to get pics of the local wildlife (I'm sure mom was none too delighted with him giving me the opportunity), saying he'd had a run in with a bear and her cub, and that they were still out there if I wanted pics. (This is far from mostly wordless...sowwy). He had let their dogs out for a night time potty break and they'd gone berserk. It should be said those vicious little ruffians are some manner of tiny terrier. But they think they're tough. Dad walked down to figure out what they were barking at, looked up in the tree and saw bear booties. Yeah, he was standing right below the mama bear and her cub.

Only there wasn't one cub, which we didn't realize until I blew up the picture at home. She had a couple cubs with her. See if you can spot cub number two (we discovered there was a third, too, but I don't think it was in that tree).

"Hey, Ma, why's that crazy human standing there pointing some little black thing at us?"

"I don't know, Honey Bear. Humans are weird. I'll never understand them. Just ignore it."

Now for my tagging, the request is to answer the following questions:

1. What is your dream vacation?
Really, anywhere I can drag my camera and my family and have fun with both. I'd love to go to Australia, Egypt, England, Scotland, Yellowstone.

2. Are you spontaneous or do you like to plan ahead?
Uhhh...both. Maybe it's my ADHD, but I'm either a "plan well in advance and get all excited about something that may or not happen, despite the fact that I have it thoroughly planned" kinda' girl or a "I'm bored, let's go do this RIGHT NOW" kinda' girl. Either way, I'm sure I drive people nuts. When we schedule a vacation, for instance, I have it researched a year (or more) in advance.

3. Tell us one thing you want to do but don't dare do it.
Participate on Wipeout. It looks like fun. I have severe back and neck issues, though, and I don't see that show going well at all for my physical health. Pretty sure my Physical Therapist would smack me if I even suggested it.

4. What's your biggest phobia?
Sheesh, all I can think about is the one that Jeremy said (waking up in the middle of a surgery), but I can say I am freaked out by the thought of being on a boat in the middle of, say, the ocean. I feel like there's not much you can do for yourself should your ship go down, and I'm all about having an escape plan. My husband wants to go on a cruise to Alaska. I asked him if he'd like to watch Titanic again. I mean, we're going up there in the choppy Pacific to see ICEBERGS. Are you kidding!?

5. If you were stranded on a desert island-what three things would you want with you? (Not including your laptop or family)
I actually sort of hate this question, because...I don't bloody know! A water filtration system, tampons and my contacts? Because I can't see without those darned things. And, well, I'm not going to explain the other two. If you don't get it, you never will!

6. Name three blessings in your life.
My husband and my two children. I've got the best husband ever, and both of my babies are miracles; I wasn't supposed to be able to have them. :D I would call that a blessing, wouldn't you?

7. What was your nickname in High School?
I didn't really have one in H.S. unless you count my siblings calling me Sissy or one single friend calling me Non (which I explain in my Getting to Know You post on March 8th on the official A-to-Z Challenge blog.)

8. If you could meet the President of the United States, what would you say to him?
I imagine some people would have plenty of things to say to him, whether positive or negative, but, at this point, I'd just say hello.

9. If you could be any literary character, who would you be?
Oh man, I forgot that I meant to be thinking about this after I originally saw the question. I mean, I'm pretty happy being me. So the literary character I would be would be whichever one never has pain and whose life is just perfect. Is there one like that?

10. What is your favorite quote?
Anne Frank: "In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart." If that child, in that situation, can be so wise, hopeful and optimistic, everyone should be able to.

What do you think the bears are discussing in those photos? Care to answer any of these questions for me? How about your favorite quote or what literary character you'd want to be? Feel free to take these questions and run with them, but be sure to let me know you answered them, too, so I can stop by!

May you find your Muse.

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday: No SOPA, A to Z Video Challenge Up!

Today's [Mostly] Wordless Wednesday is a statement against SOPA and PIPA:

Image courtesy of OCAL at CLKER.com

I am delighted to announce that the A-to-Z Video Challenge is open for entries! You can find the rules, some samples, and the entry form at the official A-to-Z Blog.

Also, I went to a great writing workshop (Write Brain) last night, put on by Pikes Peak Writers. I intend to type it up and pass it on to you Monday. It's on New Models in Publishing. More on Monday! Tomorrow I'll have some helpful links for you.

May you find your Muse.