Stumpy Stumperson & Links

It's been nice around here lately, so I've been hiking again. I took my camera out the last time and snapped a bunch of pictures. Signs of spring are starting to peek out here and there, birds nesting, trees budding, and a few flowers blossoming. But one of my fun discoveries was a tree stump that looked to be multiple trees that grew into each other. It's delightfully twisted and full of character. So meet Stumpy:

If you look closely, you can make out shapes, even faces. One of the gnarled branches looks kind of like a demonic puppy.

Without further ado, links:

Accepting Submissions:

Arcadian Media is seeking submissions for their Starbound anthology. Science fiction. Should have something to do with the stars. 2000-10,000 words. Pays $10 per story. No deadline, but it will close when full, and they're aiming for a publication of this summer.

World Weaver Press has an open call for their Frozen Fairy Tales anthology. Up to 10,000 words. Pays $20 and contributor copies. Deadline May 15.

Horrified Press has multiple anthologies open. The King of the Living Dead, 3000-5000 words, deadline May 16. The Fall of Cthulhu Vol. II, 3000-5000 words, deadline May 28. Both pay in royalties. There are also several open until filled, so it's worth perusing the page.

Wherever Magazine is open to narratives, journalistic pieces, and non-linear reflective works. Up to 3500 words. This is a paying publication, but pay is based on length and a discussion with the editor.

Home Business Magazine is looking for nonfiction articles on home businesses, including how-tos and work-from-home success stories. Pays for stories they have assigned, but not ones submitted blindly. No deadlines.

Grievous Angel is seeking poetry and flash fiction in speculative fiction genres. Poetry up to 36 lines, flash fiction up to 700 words. Pays $.01/line for poetry, $.06/word for flash. No deadlines.

Fantastic Stories of the Imagination is looking for fantasy and science fiction. Up to 3000 words. Pays $.15/word. No deadlines.

T. Gene Davis's Speculative Blog accepts speculative fiction stories to be published Mondays and in an annual anthology. This is not for kids, but should be family friendly. 250 to 6000 words. Pays $75 per story. No deadlines.

Number 13 Press is looking for pulp crime novellas. 20,000-35,000 words. Pays author royalties of 60%. No deadlines.

Triptych Tales is looking for mainstream, fantasy, and science fiction. They should be set in the here and now. 2000-6000 words. Pays $100 per story.

Any of these of interest? Ever seen a tree stump quite so gnarled? Do you see any shapes in the trunk? Anything to share? Publishing news?

May you find your Muse.

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday - A Sun Shrine-y Day & Links

As promised, I actually got out of the house and took some pictures this week. One of our treks was to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. About 1400 feet above the zoo (about 8100 feet elevation) is a shrine dedicated to Will Rogers and bearing the ashes of two of the folks instrumental in developing Colorado Springs with things like the zoo, the Broadmoor, El Pomar Foundation, and the Fine Arts Center: Julie and Spencer Penrose. I'm not sure why the shrine was originally being built, but during the building Will Rogers died in a plane crash in Alaska, and Penrose decided to dedicate it to him, or so the story goes.

The shrine is made of granite, and is said to contain no nails or wood. It was completed in 1937.

A view from the shrine of the road we drove up to get there, as well as Ft. Carson and a portion of Cheyenne Mountain

Front door to the shrine (one of a pair of French doors)

A view of a portion of Colorado Springs. In the center, downtown Colorado Springs. Nearer the bottom center, the Broadmoor.

A peek at Pikes Peak (the snow covered mountain in the center) from a different angle than I usually post.

A bust of Will Rogers rests at the foot of the shrine.

Ah. The eccentricities of the rich, eh? In case you're curious, this is considered to be Romanesque Revival architecture.

Now for some links!

Accepting Submissions:

Ideomancer is accepting speculative fiction and poetry. Up to 7000 words for fiction. Pays $.03/word, flat fee of $6 per poem. Rolling deadlines, with current deadline being April 30.

Story Emporium is seeking steampunk and weird westerns. 2000-6000 words. Accuracy in details will matter with this publication. Pays $20, plus contributor copies. Deadline April 30.

Breaking Fate Publishing takes short stories for themed anthologies. Currently, they're looking for horror stories with the theme of "13." They also accept novellas and novel submissions in dark genres. Short fiction for anthologies should be 1000 to 15,000 words. Deadline for this anthology is April 30.

Crossed Genres is taking submissions for Hidden Youth: Speculative Fiction from the Margins of History. 2000-8000 words. Must be set before 1935 C.E. The protags must be young people who were marginalized in some way. Pays $.06/word. Deadline April 30.

Meerkat Press is looking for short stories for their anthology Love Hurts. Speculative fiction. 1000-5000 words. Pays $.01-.04/word. Deadline April 30.

TuplipTree Publishing wants stories for My Favorite Apocalypse: A Collection of Stories. How do you think it ends? No word limits. Pays $100 and contributor copies. Deadline April 30.

Crossed Genres Magazine's theme for April is "Portals." Science fiction and/or fantasy. 1000-6000 words. Pays $.06/word. Deadline April 30. Note: their novelette edition is still open for submissions through March 31.

Suddenly Lost in Words has reopened to submissions. They want short stories, memoirs, and serials for young adults. 3000 words or less. Pays $.05/word. They take submissions from minors with an adult signing the contract with them. No deadline.

Shroud Quarterly is looking for literary dark fiction. Submissions are free, but they do offer a paid submission option that will get you a critique with your rejection. 500-6000 words. Pays $25-65, depending upon length. No deadline.

Grimdark Magazine wants your grimdark stories with medieval fantasy or sci-fi settings. Up to 4000 words. Pays AUD$.07/word. No deadline.

Are any of these of interest to you? Anything to share? Publication news? (Seriously, tell me your publications news--I love good news!) If you were millionaire, what or who would you build a shrine to? Would it be castle-like or something else?

May you find your Muse.

Links Straight Up

We're going straight to the links today!

Accepting Submissions:

The Big Click is looking for short crime fiction. Pays $100 per story. Open submissions.

Collidor is open for submissions of short speculative fiction. 2000-18,000 words. Also accepting non-fiction and art. Pays $.25/word for the first 5000 words, with amounts varying after that.

The Act Itself is looking for erotic literature. 8000 words or less. Pays $.03/word.

Freeze Frame Fiction is seeking flash fiction of any genre. They also have a themed edition with the theme YA. 1000 words or less. Deadline for the open edition is March 15. Deadline for YA edition is June 15. Pays $10 flat rate. Personal note: They give personal feedback from each editor on rejections (or they used to).

Neon Literary Magazine is open for short stories, poetry, and flash fiction. The topic is open, but the editor tends toward the dark and speculative. They will also take images, comics, and graphic poems. Pays in royalties.

Wicked Words Quarterly is seeking flash fiction and short stories. Science fiction, fantasy, or horror with a twist. Up to 750 words for flash, 1000-7500 words for short stories. Pays $.01/word.
Update: Wicked Words Quarterly has shut down. Thank you, Christine!

Tryptich Tales is looking for mainstream, science fiction, and fantasy. 2000-6000 words. Pays $100 per story.

Prose n' Cons wants short stories, flash fiction, non-fiction on forensic/investigative techniques, features on mystery fiction and crime, etc. Flash if up to 1000 words, short stories up to 3000 words. Pays between $5 and $40 depending on submission type.

Of Interest:

Alex J. Cavanaugh is seeking support in his Thunderclap for Dragon of the Stars, scheduled to go out April 7. If you sign up, Thunderclap will automatically send out a Facebook status or Tweet at the pre-determined time with information on Alex's book release. It's super easy to do, and only goes out when it says it will.

Toi Thomas ,author of the Eternal Curse series, is looking to do video interviews with authors and book bloggers. As in, she wants to interview you! You can find more information on this, as well as other promotional services she's willing to provide on her blog, HERE. You can contact her via her contact page.

Any of these of interest to you? Anything to share? Have you tried out a Thunderclap yet, or been part of one? What did you think? Any publication news?

May you find your Muse.

Linky-Dinky-Doo

Having a snow day confused me, and I almost forgot today was Wednesday! So directly to the links I go.

Also, there is a really good chance that my horror list book review will be next week instead of this week, because of limited reading time and having trouble getting into the next book I was going to review. We'll see.

Accepting Submissions:

Evil Girlfriend Media is putting together an anthology of strong females in fantasy: Women in Practical Armor. 2000-5000 words. Advance of $.06/word. Deadline April 1.

Hidden Clearing Books is accepting submissions for Shorties. Short story up to 1500 words or a poem up to 100 lines. Literary or speculative. Deadline March 31. Pays $15, plus a contributor copy.

Explicit Books is accepting erotic short story submission for an anthology. 3500 to 7500 words. Pays $.03/word. Deadline March 19. 

Darkhouse Books is seeking submissions for the anthology Destination: Mystery. These should be cozy mysteries set in vacation destinations. 2500 to 7500 words. Pay unknown. Deadline March 31. 

Crossed Genres Magazine has a monthly theme for submissions. This month's is Novelettes. Typically, they do short stories, so this is a one-time theme. Any speculative fiction. 6000-12,000 words. Pays $.06/word. Deadline March 31. You also still have a few days for the Success theme. Deadline February 28.

eSpec Books is seeking Weird Wild West stories for an anthology. 3000-9000 words. Royalty share and contributor copies, plus discounts on additional copies. Deadline March 31. 

Broken Eye Books wants your stories for Tomorrow's Cthulhu. 4000 words or less. Pays $.06/words. Deadline April 1.

Maxim Jakubowski and Constable Robinson need Jack the Ripper stories for The Mammoth Book of Jack the Ripper Tales. 4000-7500 words. Pays $215. Deadline April 1.

Imaginate posts a photo prompt every quarter. The current prompt is up. Flash fiction up to 100 words, short stories up to 2500 words. Pays $.05/word. Deadline April 1.

Contests:

Brilliant Flash Fiction does photo prompt contests every few months. The current photo prompt is up with a deadline of March 15. Up to 1000 words. Prize is 100 euro.

Any of these of interest? Anything to share? How are you doing with submissions? Got anything out there? Any publishing news?

May you find your Muse.