Fundraising Thanks & An Oasis of My Own

I wanted to send out a quick thank you to everyone who purchased a copy of Bruised Souls & Other Torments during the memorial fundraiser in my dad's memory! And to everyone who helped to share the word. I'll be donating $50 each to Team Gleason and the ALSA in my dad's name!

Speaking of the fundraiser, a sweet friend purchased a copy of the paperback and asked me to send it to a front line worker. Does anyone have suggestions for a front line worker that might appreciate horror short stories? Or a way to hunt someone down for that? Thanks in advance!

My husband has created an oasis on our back porch, and we've been relaxing and unwinding back there every evening possible as the weather has warmed. This being Colorado, a portion of the state saw snow in a sudden cool down yesterday, but the temperature's already climbing back up, and we'll be back out there this evening. It's helped significantly with our mental health. When I was a teenager, I made myself a bit of an oasis in my bedroom that involved a space heater, a sleeping bag, a reading lamp, a stack of books, pillows, and my pet dobie, Jeddah. With four younger siblings, a space I could call my own was important. These days it's not so much people I'm trying to escape (well, sort of), but the stresses of life and the world, in general. I highly recommend figuring out your own little oasis that allows you to escape as thoroughly as possible.

We reopened to dine in (limited) at the restaurant where I work. We were all really stressed about it, but it's been mostly a positive experience. A lot of people are relieved to be able to get out to a restaurant, and ours is small enough that we only have three tables available inside right now with social distancing rules. Our patio has four tables. There have been stresses with people refusing to follow some of the rules and trying to coax us into breaking them, but we expected those things. The overall happiness of customers has improved the mood of anxiety and fear that has permeated a lot of essential jobs lately.

I had something I wanted to talk about today, and I've completely forgotten it. Oy.

Moving on, here's some of the media I've enjoyed over the past two weeks:

Books

The House Without a Summer, by DeAnna Knippling

One reviewer described this as a regency gothic horror. Well written, it involves a creeping red fungus destroying the way of life of a community. Or so we see on the surface. Beneath the surface, the fungus involves a lot more than the ruining of food and water. People are not what they seem. Nor is time. Despite being released this year, the book feels like it was written long ago.

The Beautiful Struggle: A Father, Two Sons, and an Unlikely Road to Manhood, by Ta-Nehisi Coates

It was purely coincidental that I'd started this book just before recent events, but it was the perfect read during this time. Gorgeously written. Coates grew up about 18 miles from me, and appears to be just a couple years older than me, which drew me into the story thoroughly. There was a lot familiar to me, but also significant differences, the most obvious of which being that I grew up in the same general area as a white girl and he grew up as a black boy. While his story felt somewhat familiar to me, his father's story was fascinating: Vietnam veteran, Black Panther, small press publisher. Coates' struggle to grow up and find himself in Baltimore in the 80s (I grew up in Columbia) tells a tale of growth, struggle, and identity.

Movies

Death Proof

A Tarantino film that was part of a grindhouse double feature, I don't remember liking this the first time I watched it, yet I loved it this time. The ending is deeply satisfying. As for the rest of it, there are scenes of insane violence, but also a twenty minute car chase with Zoe Bell playing herself and doing her own stunts in the film (she was Uma Thurman's stunt double in the Kill Bill films). The film was physically scratched to make it look retro. An insane stunt man uses set cars (made death proof for the stunt people) to stalk and murder women. This is a horror film. A Tarantino horror film. So be warned if that isn't your type of thing.

TV Shows

The  Great

A completely irreverent and sometimes inappropriate (both sexually and via language) show, it's a humorous look at Peter III and Catherine (ultimately "the Great")'s marriage while he was emperor of Russia. As Catherine gathers people from the court in attempted coups, Peter's idiocy and selfishness makes for great comedic moments. Catherine, played by Elle Fanning, is extremely intelligent and educated, but still naive and inexperienced in the world of politics. The actors play their roles well.

What media have you been enjoying? Anything you'd recommend? Do you have an oasis of your own? How are you doing right now?

May you find your Muse.

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday - A Lake With a View & Links

The annual walk to support the ALS Association was a week-and-a-half ago up in Denver at Sloan Lake Park. It was a much larger lake than in years previous, and there was a view of downtown Denver.

Now for some links. I'm not endorsing these, merely passing them along. Always do your own due diligence before submitting to a publication or contest.

Accepting Submissions:

Chicken Soup for the Soul is seeking stories from families caring for loved ones with Alzheimer's and dementia, as well as stories on the joys of simplifying your life. Must be written in first person. 1200 words or less. Pays $200. Deadline for these two is October 30. Check site for other topics ending soon.

Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing is seeking short horror for the anthology Lost Signals. They want stories about radiotelegraphy. 1000-20,000 words. Pays $.01/word. Deadline October 31.

Horroraddicts.net is seeking horror fairytales, fables, and folklore for the anthology Once Upon a Scream. 2000-8000 words. Pays $5, plus a digital contributor copy. Deadline October 31.

NonBinary Review is seeking fiction, creative nonfiction, flash, poetry, and experimental/hybrid. Up to 5000 words. Also visual art. The theme for Issue #7 is The Woman in White. Pays $.01/word for prose, $10 per poem, and $25 per art piece. Deadline for this issue is October 31.

18th Wall is seeking short stories that combine urban legends and mysteries for their anthology All the Petty Myths. 3000-25,000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline October 31.

Less Than Three Press is seeking LGBTQIA short stories about private investigators for their anthology Private Dicks: Packing Heat. 10,000-20,000 words. Pays a flat fee of $200. Deadline October 31.

The Overcast is seeking short speculative fiction for podcasts. They prefer stories from authors in the Pacific Northwest, but take submissions from everyone. Pays $.02/word. Open for submissions during the month of October.

Josh Strnad is seeking dark fiction for the anthology Silent Screams: An Anthology of Socially Conscious Dark Fiction. They want stories that give voice to those who don't have one of their own. Though this is a charity anthology, authors will be paid $.01/word. Deadline October 31.

DM Publishing is seeking horror short fiction by women for their anthology Fright Mare. 3000-10,000 words. Pays $30. Deadline October 31.

Zombies Need Brains LLC is seeking short speculative fiction for two anthologies: Alien Artifacts and Were-. Up to 7500 words. Pays $.06/word. Deadline October 31.

Any of these of interest? Anything to share or add? Do you have experience with any of these publishers? Publishing news?

May you find your Muse.

A Little Ice, a Lot of Awareness & Links

When I originally posted this, I couldn't put my dad's Ice Bucket Challenge video here, but he put it on YouTube, so here it is!

If you're not aware, my dad was diagnosed with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, better known as Lou Gherig's Disease) a little less than two years ago. A lot of people have never heard of it, though I can kind of let them know what it is by saying, "You know, it's what Stephen Hawking has." But Stephen Hawking is a rare case. Most people only live two years after diagnosis. My dad will be one of those who makes it beyond two years.

When I first heard about the Ice Bucket Challenge, I was miffed. As far as I knew, people were dumping ice over their heads instead of donating. It seemed to me to be a frivolous thing, not something that would do any good. Then the posts started popping up about "slacktivism," as in folks spreading the word about things via social media without doing anything real to fix those issues. Things like changing your photo on Facebook for a cause, private messages about "where you like it," etc. Whether those things bring necessary attention to the issues they're trying to expose is a question I can't answer. I can't say I've learned anything new from one of them.

I even posted a rant on my Facebook page saying to dump ice water over your head without donating or at least passing along some sort of information about ALS or a link to donate to wasn't worthwhile. I commented on someone else's rant that I was coming around to it, as long as folks were actually donating, but that I most certainly wouldn't be dumping ice water over my head.

But when I saw this challenge spreading like wildfire and, even better, millions of dollars worth of donations pouring in, I realized that this was a positive thing. That my self-righteous judgments were better reserved. And that it wasn't my business in the first place to decry what others were doing.

Even moreso, I saw how excited my dad got about it when he came across it. Not only was he excited about it and emailing out videos he found, but he took the challenge himself today at work, as I mentioned above. And he challenged me, one of my cousins, and the CEO of Hewlett Packard, my dad's current (though not for much longer, as it is becoming more and more of a struggle for him to work) place of business.

My dad has said from the beginning that he believes they'll find a cure. That he'll be a long-term survivor. He has been nothing but positive, even as the disease eats away at him. This challenge has given him a little bit of renewed hope, some positive energy over what is an incredibly negative disease. One that destroys every part of your body except for your mind, which it leaves perfectly intact within a frail, destroyed body.

Before I knew anything about this Ice Bucket Challenge, I had signed my family up for the Denver Walk, put on by the ALS Association. I'll have a little video for you guys next week for the Ice Bucket Challenge (hopefully). In the meantime, I'm going to break the rules and challenge you all before I've officially done it. Obviously, I will be donating money, as well, and I'll still be participating in the walk, just as I did last year. Here's part of my team from last year on the cover of the handbook! (We won the costume contest):

I know, it's not a great pic of a pic, so here's an actual photo of our team:

Even if you don't take on the challenge, even if you don't donate, pause before ranting about how useless it is. It's brought at least one person hope, and I doubt he's the only one. Bringing awareness to something like ALS can't be bad. Can it get annoying when it becomes over the top? Yes. But it will also be short lived. So I've decided that instead of insulting it, I'll embrace it. Just for a little while. And I'll enjoy the fact that maybe a few more people are aware of ALS, possibly even of what it actually is, and that just that much more funding went to the ALS Association this year to continue funding research into a cure, support and care of those suffering from ALS, and awareness. And I'll try to remember not to be so critical of the next big thing to sweep across social media.

If anyone is interested in donating to the ALS Association, you can GO HERE to donate. If you're interested in supporting our team, we're Dad's Defiant Defenders, and your money will go to the same place, but we'll get credit toward our team's goal of $1500. For that, you can GO HERE to donate. And if you happen to do the Ice Bucket Challenge, I'd love for you to drop me a note and let me know you did it. I know Livia has already done it!

Now for some links:

Accepting Submissions:

Purple Sun Press is accepting fantasy short stories. 1000-7500 words. These will be gathered into a compilation. Deadline September 30. Pays $.01/word.

Cherry Castle Publishing is looking for poetry submissions for an anthology honoring Nelson Mandela. Submit up to five. Open ended. Payment is one contributor's copy. They're also taking fiction/non-fiction manuscripts and poetry manuscripts. Reading period ends September 30.

Cleis Press has an anthology call out for Warlords & Warriors: Gay Erotic Romance & Adventure. Pays $60 and contributor copies. 3000-6000 words. Deadline September 15.

Kill Your Darlings accepts original writing during the month of September. Pay varies depending upon type of submission: lead feature commentary, commentary, fiction, or reviews.

Pink Narcissus Press is accepting submissions for their anthology (Gender) Queered Space. 2000-10,000 words. They are interested in underrepresented characters in sci-fi, fantasy, and horror. $50 token payment.

Local Hero Press is putting together an anthology under FakeEditor (you can look it up on Twitter.) It is entitled Who is Ebony Boneshaft? 3000-5000 words. Open for submissions between September 1 and 30th. Will pay in royalties.

The Puritan is accepting submissions. They take interviews, essays, reviews, fiction, and poems. Pay varies by type of submission, between $15 and $50. Deadline September 25.

Contests:

The Coalition of Texans With Disabilities is holding the Pen 2 Paper Contest. Deadline is September 22. Four categories: fiction & drama, non-fiction, poetry, comics/graphic narrative. All entries must have a main character with a disability or a theme dealing with disability.

Blog Stuff:

Alex J. Cavanaugh has announced his next blogfest, the Underrated Treasures Blogfest. It will take place September 22. Post about an obscure treasure, like a band you love that no one else seems to know about. Or a movie.

Other:

Barnes & Noble has a Discover Great New Writers Contest. They recognize one in fiction, one in non-fiction. Prize is $10,000 and promotion by B&N. This is for titles yet to be published, but no less than three months from coming out. Deadline September 25.

Any of these of interest to you? Anything to share? Have you done the ice bucket challenge? Know anyone who has? What causes are near and dear to your heart?

May you find your Muse.