[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday - Weekend Trip & Links

We went up to Estes Park this weekend to visit an out of state friend, and I snapped a couple shots, including the obligatory elk photo.

Now, straight to the links! I am not endorsing any of these places unless I specifically say I am. These are just links I happen across and pass along.

Accepting Submissions:

Liminoid Magazine is open for submissions for their summer issue. 500-10,000 words. They want fiction that challenges the boundaries of genre. Pays $20 per piece. Deadline June 10.

Inkstained Succubus Press is looking for stories for their anthology Have Quest, Will Travel. They take speculative fiction and erotica with a twist, and specialize in QUILTBAG fiction. A happy ending is required for this story. 4000-10,000 words. Pays in royalties. Deadline June 15.

18th Wall is open for submissions for Those Who Live Long Forgotten II. What they want is a mythological creature or fictional character brought to life. Pretend they were real and write us a story of how they were lost to myth. All genres. 2500-10,000 words. Royalties. Deadline June 15.

Freeze Frame Fiction wants qualify flash fiction in any genre. Up to 1000 words. Pays $10 per piece. Deadline June 15. They also have a themed version closing the same day with a YA theme.

Sorcerous Signals is reading for their November issue. Fantasy. Up to 10,000 words. Pays $5 for short stories, $2 for poetry. Deadline June 15.

Wolfsinger Publications is looking for villains for Under a Dark Sign. Speculative fiction. Up to 7000 words. Payment is $5, plus royalties. Deadline June 15.

Garden Gnome Publications has several anthologies closing the same day. The themes are Garden of Eden, Deluge (think Great Flood), Sulfurings, and Land of Nod. Flash fiction, short stories, narrative poems, and novelettes. Pays $3 to $13, depending on submission type, or $.003/word for novelettes. Deadline June 23.

Lackington's is open for stories with the themes of Dreamings and Architecture. Speculative fiction. 1500-5000 words. $.01/word CAD. I didn't see a deadline, but these are for specific issues, so I'd go with sooner, rather than later.

Of Interest:

I saw this one on Alex's page and am passing it along. Authors United Against Child Slavery is a campaign to raise money for Operation Underground Railroad. Those who contribute $20 or more get various rewards, starting with a free book from a participating author.

Blogger Traci Kenworth posted a ton of links to helpful articles for authors, even splitting them by genre. There might be something for you. And, hey, I made the cut with one of my diversity posts! For some reason, it's not letting me leave a comment for her, though. :(

Any of these of interest? Taking any vacations this summer? Anything to share? Any publication news? 

May you find your Muse.

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday - Spotted Baby (or Baby Spotted?) & Links

Did you guys know elk fawns (or whatever baby elk are called...?) are spotted just like deer? I didn't, though I can't say I'd thought about it before. Here's an elk fawn from a short two-day trip we took up to Estes Park a couple weeks ago.

This little one and two grown ups were right alongside a path we had to take to get back to our car in Rocky Mountain National Park. We all slipped behind some trees to go around and try not to disturb them, but it meant this caravan of people had all bunched up at the path and were going in single file around the trees. The little one was communicating with the two bigs through a series of fluting sounds that they'd return. I got photos of the other two, as well, and could have gotten a really good one of the last one we had to pass, because she happened to look up as I was going behind the tree across from her (I was last in line). She stared at me, and right as I raised my camera (stuck as I was while I waited for someone else to go), she started walking toward me. I figured my life, or at least intact bones, was more important than a photo. But it would have been a good one. In the end, she let me pass, waited until we'd all gone up the path a little, then resumed grazing.

Now for some links!

Accepting Submissions:

The November issue of Westerly closes for submissions August 31. They accept poems, essays, and stories. It sounds like they may prefer Australian authors, but it doesn't say it is limited to those. Pays rates from $75 to $150, depending upon type submitted.

Horrified Press and Rogue Planet Press are taking submissions for the anthology Sex Droids & Their Cyborg Toys. Deadline September 15. Flash fiction and short stories up to 6000 words. With Thirteen O'Clock Press, they are taking submissions for Steamworld through September 10. Flash and shorts up to 7000 words. Also with Thirteen O'Clock Press, they have an anthology named Killer Tracks that's open for submissions. No specific deadline, just until full. Word limit is 5000. Pay unknown for any of these, but my understanding is that it is a paying market.

Grinning Skull Press is open for submissions for Attack! of the B-Movie Monsters: Alien Encounters. Deadline September 15. 2500-10,000 words. Pays 1/4 cent per word, plus a print and digital copy. They are also open for submissions of novels and novelettes. In addition, they have an annual publication called Cranial Leakage-Tales From the Grinning Skull that takes 1000-7000 word horror stories. Return to Deathlehem is a horror charity anthology with a Christmas theme that closes August 31. And if you've got kids who enjoy writing, they have Little Monsters - Horror for Kids, by Kids. Open to kids ages 5-12. Will pay a $25 gift card to either Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Samhain Publishing has put out a special call for their Childhood Fears anthology. This is for novellas of 25,000 to 30,000 word only. Will be released as individual e-books first, then bound together in an anthology. Deadline September 15. I'm unsure of payment.

Bryan Thomas Schmidt has put a call out for his Kickstarter anthology World Encounters. This is alien themed. Deadline September 15. 3000-7000 words. Pays $.06/word.

Freeze Frame Fiction is looking for flash fiction of any genre, 1000 words maximum. Deadline September 15. Pays $10 per piece.

Sorcerous Signals, a fantasy e-mag, is open for submissions through September 15. Up to 10,000 words. Pays $5 for short stories, $2 for poems and flash.

Inkstained Succubus Press is open for submissions through September 15 for Candle in the Dark, a M/M erotic anthology. I'm unsure of payment.

The Were-Traveler is taking submissions of drabbles, flash, and short stories for Elves & Spacerockets, their general sci-fi and fantasy themed issue. Deadline September 15. Not a paying publication.

Crushing Hearts & Black Butterfly Publishing has put out a call for stories for their After Tomorrow. Post-apocalyptic stories. 2000-15,000 words. September 15 deadline. Pay unknown. Note that they are also still open for Funny Halloween stories through August 31.

Any of these interest you? Anything to share? Publication news? Did you know elk fawns were spotted? What do they call elk fawns, anyway?

May you find your Muse.

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday - Estes Park Elk & Links

It's [Mostly] Wordless Wednesday and, as promised, elk!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by for Jeremy's book tour and Mina's cover reveal! I'll be visiting you all back, but I have my final clinical then both written and skills final directly after, so I'm in crazy study mode. Wish me luck! If I pass my finals, all I have left is state boards in the next month or two.

Now for some links.

Note: I am not vetting these publications, personally. I find the information and pass it on, but I have not researched it. Please do your own research before submitting anything in order to insure the publication is valid and has no complaints against them.

Accepting Submissions:

Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine is open for submissions, seeking both new and previously published authors. They take all kinds of mysteries, and pay .05 and .08 cents per word. Lengths can be anywhere from minute mysteries (250 words) to novellas. Short stories seem to be the general format, though.

Fantastic Frontiers is open for submissions year-round. They're looking for science fiction and fantasy short stories, serials, comics, videos, voice recordings, and other media. Pay varies per format. Fiction pays .03 cents per word.

Horrified Press has a call for submissions for their anthology Tales of the Undead - Hell Whore, Volume III. Write about ladies of the night. Deadline is September 10. 1000-6000 words. Pays in royalties. Seeking dark fairy tales, bizarre, horror, surrealism, dark science fiction, etc.

Writing Tomorrow is taking submissions of fiction, poetry, creative nonfiction, novel excerpts, and artwork. Pays $50-100 for fiction/nonfiction, and $25 for flash and poetry. Open submissions; no deadline.

Contests:

The Fountain is holding an essay contest. They want to know about your motto for life. Open worldwide. 1500 to 2500 words. First place gets $1500, with cash prizes for 2nd, 3rd and 2 honorable mentions, as well.

Planetory Stories is launching a contest. Winners will be published and receive five cents per word. (I'm unclear on how this differs from simply taking submissions...). Flash fiction.

Blog Hops:

Madeleine, of Scribble and Edit, is running a blogfest to celebrate her third blogaversary. The Novel Films II Blogfest will be on September 2, 3 and 4, though you can choose just one day of those three. Each day has a different theme having to do with films/TV adaptations of books.

Anything here interest you? Got anything to share? Any publishing news?

May you find your Muse.

[Mostly] Wordless Wednesday: Field Full O' Elk

Seeing as how it's been cold and randomly snowy around here, how about a photo theme that's the epitome of winter? I never posted any photos of the elk we ran into on our way into Estes Park in November, and the feel of the photos seemed apt for today. So, without further ado, elk!

The first photo is to give you an idea of how large this herd was (I suspect it was many herds, but I'm not elk expert). This is maybe 1/4 of the elk out there, if that much.

Just a note: Any barbwire fencing you see is because they had wandered onto someone's fenced property. They were wild, not trapped within a fence.

I've lived in Colorado since I was twelve, but my trip to Estes Park two years ago was the first I ever saw elk. The second time was this past November. They're neat animals to observe.

Ever seen elk? Moose? Do you live somewhere with a lot of deer (random question, I know, but I thought everyone had herds of deer in their neighborhood all the time until recently)?

May you find your Muse.