Tag: Publishing

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: the one with the polar vortex

W1S1 2014 - Monthly ChallengeOh, but it was cold this week! The kids got two extra days tacked onto their holiday break, which made them happy. But it was so cold that there was no sense in doing anything with those extra days, except shiver and bundle up.

Even so, I managed to get some writing in–not a complete story, but I hope to finish it this week. Also! I had a rewrite/resubmit request, and I’m thrilled to announced I sold Straying from the Path to Flash Fiction Online.

Writing Work:

  • Lawn Mower Serenade ~ in progress

Submissions:

  • Five to Freedom 

Rejections:

  • Five to Freedom

Acceptances:

Publications:

  • None

Publication: A Most Marvelous Pair of Boots

A Most Marvelous Pair of Boots is live over at Timeless Tales Magazine! This is my retelling of the Puss in Boots fairy tale.

When I sat down to familiarize myself with the story, I couldn’t help but notice that all the humans were morons and the cat was pretty much your classic a-hole. Why, oh why? I wondered. Why would the king foist his daughter onto a complete stranger with a made-up name? Why is the princess a simpleton who cares only about a handsome face? Why is the cat even involved?

I simply had to write the story to answer these questions for myself. If you’re curious, click on through and read my (tongue in cheek) take on the old French fairy tale.

Publications 2013

So, Write 1/Sub 1 made 2013 an interesting year. I embarked on a new writing adventure. Buoyed by the publication of The Secret Life of Sleeping Beauty in Unidentified Funny Objects last year, I decided to focus more on short fiction and not worry about the rest.

The results? Well, they surprised me. I ended up with fourteen sales/acceptances and nine of those were published this year, and five more are forthcoming in early 2014. Not a bad way to end a year or to start one.

Online flash:

The Burden of So Many Roses  (Kazka Press)

Payment (Literary Juice)

The Girl with the Piccolo (Kazka Press)

Keeping Time (Kazka Press)

A Measure of Sorrow (Luna Station Quarterly)

Standalone shorts:

Elvis Has Left the Building (Untreed Reads)

Anthologies:

Ghost in the Coffee Machine in Coffee: 14 Caffeinated Tales of the Fantastic

Available from UFO Publishing, but also in e-book form for Kindle, Nook, and Kobo.

Land of the Free (Haircuts) in Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors, Volume 2

Leap of Faith in 100 Worlds: Lightning-Quick SF and Fantasy Tales

Self-published:

Blogging Airborne finalBonus publication!

At long last, I compiled my Blogging Airborne series into electronic format to make it available for e-readers. You can get it on Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and iTunes.

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 50 the one with 100 submissions

Week 50! It might be the cold weather or the holidays, but things moved slowly this week, even as the year speeds to an end. But I got my writing in, and I also hit my “stretch” goal for the year of 100 submissions.

Also, my contributor copy of Coffee: 14 Caffeinated Tales of the Fantastic arrived, and it is a thing of beauty. If you like science fiction and fantasy stories, and especially like coffee, be sure to pick up a copy, either in print or e-format.

Writing:

  • Simon the Cold ~ 1,300 words

Submissions:

  • What Little Remains
  • The Madness in King’s End
  • The Life Expectancy of Fireflies
  • The Price of Comfort and Joy (submission 100)

Rejections:

  • Doreen’s Muse

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

  • Ghost in the Coffee Machine in Coffee: 14 Caffeinated Tales of the Fantastic, available from UFO Publishing, but also in e-book form for Kindle, Nook, and Kobo.

Publication: Ghost in the Coffee Machine

My story Ghost in the Coffee Machine is now available in Coffee: 14 Caffeinated Tales of the Fantastic.

As the back cover says:

Coffee plays a major role in each of the stories collected in this book.

Brewed from such fine ingredients as magic, wonder, humor, and romance, Coffee serves up a unique blend of the fantastic you won’t be able to put down.

So, brew yourself a cup of coffee (or tea) and keep warm this holiday season. Available from UFO Publishing, but also in e-book form for Kindle, Nook, and Kobo.

 

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 48 the one with the Thanksgiving rejection

Week 48! Short on writing this week. I saw a call for dark Christmas flash fiction (250 words max word count) and didn’t think much of it–until I sat down to write.

Then, it just happened. And yeah, I thought it was dark when I wrote it, but now I’m not really sure what it is. I’ll let it compost for a bit and decide later.

I also worked on shaping up some of my longer short stories for submission, which is where I spent most of my writing time this week.

Also, this week: the epic Thanksgiving rejection, which really only made me laugh, especially since I sold a poem. Yes! A poem. Breakfast in the Desert will appear at Every Day Poets in a month or two. Plus, A Measure of Sorrow is up at Luna Station Quarterly today.

Not a bad way to start December.

Writing:

  • The Price of Comfort and Joy ~ 250 words

Submissions:

  • Doreen’s Muse

Rejections:

  • The Perfect Canvas
  • What Little Remains

Acceptances:

  • Breakfast in the Desert ~ poetry!

Publications:

Get your coffee … and science fiction and fantasy

Just in time for the holidays! Coffee: 14 Caffeinated Tales of the Fantastic is due out on December 9th.

UFO Publishing announces the table of contents, cover, and release date for the COFFEE: 14 CAFFEINATED TALES OF THE FANTASTIC anthology.

Also announcing a limited-time holiday bundle special. Get all 3 of our books (including Coffee!) for only $29.99 through December 9!

Already have the other books? No problem. You can pre-order Coffee for $9.99 (free shipping!) or the e-book for only $2.99.

Get all the info at the UFO Publishing site.

Got a science fiction/fantasy lover on your list? Grab the UFO Publishing bundle for them. You get:

  • Unidentified Funny Objects (includes my story The Secret Life of Sleeping Beauty)
  • Unidentified Funny Objects 2
  • Coffee (Includes my story Ghost in the Coffee Machine)

Write 1/Sub 1 check in: week 47 the one with abandonment issues

Week 47! Almost the end of November and nearly the end of 2013.

This week, I signed up for The Southeast Review’s Writing Regimen (again). It’s what started this whole Write 1/Sub 1 adventure last year. (I practiced using those prompts before kicking off the official Write 1/Sub 1 in January.)

And while I didn’t use all the prompts when I signed up in June, in reviewing my notebook, I realized that the regimen paid for itself, so to speak. So, I figure it’s a good way to end the year.

This week, I became totally obsessed with this picture that I saw on Twitter:

Embedded image permalink

I was all: must. write. story. True, I know nothing about power plants, and in particular, those in Budapest, Hungary. But why let that stop me? I wrote myself into a corner each day, and each day, wrote myself out of it. It was fun.

Oh, and if you’re as fascinated as I am by the photo, you can see more here.

Writing:

  • Abandonment Issues ~ 2,250 words

Submissions:

  • Incriminating Evidence

Rejections:

  • The Secret Life of Sleeping Beauty (reprint market)
  • Filling the Space
  • Incriminating Evidence

Acceptances:

  • None

Publications:

  • Elvis Has Left the Building ~ It’s live at the Untreed Reads store. (Elvis lives!) You can buy it there for fifty cents for both Nook and Kindle formats. To send the story directly to your e-reader, go through the entire checkout process at Untreed Reads. At the end of that, there’s an option to download the story or send it to your e-reader.

Publication: Elvis Has Left the Building

Elvis Has Left the Building
Elvis Has Left the Building

Here it is!

Elvis hits the virtual stands today at Untreed Reads. Curious about what you might get for fifty cents (that’s right, 5-0 cents)? Well, here you go:

Second generation Elvis impersonator, Elliot, is content with his small-town circuit and regular gigs at the Holiday Inn, until he attracts a fan who has never heard of the King.

But stepping free of the shadow cast by both his father and Elvis may prove to be impossible.

To get Elvis Has Left the Building for fifty cents, click on through to the Untreed Reads site. You can buy it in all major e-formats (Nook, Kindle, iPad) and for Kindle and Nook users, there’s a new functionality that lets you send the story directly to your reader.

Once you reach the checkout, you’ll have the option to download the file to your computer or send it to your e-reader (Nook or Kindle) directly.

I tried it. It’s really cool. Plus, you get a far better deal.  You can’t even get a cup of coffee for fifty cents these days. But for that price, you can take Elvis with you anywhere.