A helpful acceptance…
Just got word that my story “The Final Quarter” has been accepted for the anthology Help, an anthology being put together and sold to help Predators and Editors in the lawsuit filed by PublishAmerica (PA apparently didn’t like the fact that P&E warns writers against the fee-charging publisher and includes several examples of problems writers have had with them). The story is the basis for my novel of the same name (and largely the first chapter).
A small hold…
Got a notice that a zombie flash I wrote for Bits of the Dead has been passed on for the second round of reading. I should hear sometime in May whether they’ve accepted “After, Life.”
My first illustrated story…
Will be in Strange Worlds of Lunacy, The Galaxy’s Silliest Anthology for a flash piece called “A Royal Pain.” It’s a cute little story based on some dealings with my son Ian when he was going through an “I want to dress up like my sister” phase.
This picture is done by Richard Svensson, who also designed the anthology’s cover. I’ve got to say I’m in love with this drawing. I think it captures the story’s light hearted and cute nature perfectly.
Pretty good news…
I submitted a story over to The Age of Blood & Snow last night. I got a hold request this morning. These guys are fast. “Tricksters” is a Vikings vs. Indians tale set in Oklahoma that was inspired by the Heavener Runestone. I saw the thing once when I was a kid, and it’s always stuck with me.
Now a hold request isn’t an acceptance, I know, and I’ve had my share of rejected holds, but the news seems to be pretty good:
Well done.
I am seriously considering “Tricksters” for the anthology. I will let you know in June.
To my knowledge, only one story has been accepted so far…a “conte cruel” that apparently is of exceptional quality.
I have to say, editor Skadi meic Beorh has been very nice to work with so far. He’s open to queries and before I started writing, I sent him my basic idea and got a couple of pointers on what they did/didn’t want to see.
I also want to thank Barry and Natalie for looking over the story and offering a few pointers.
Accepted and rejected…
Had two responses this weekend. The first was from Weird Tales rejecting “Old Nag.” It was a nice enough rejection, one of those “not quite what I’m looking for but feel free to send us more” notes – probably form, but still something you like to hear. 🙂
The other was an acceptance of sorts. This was for the AnthologyBuilder site with “First Night in Jennings Grove.” In case you haven’t heard of it, this is an interesting project that allows visitors to create their own story collections from a database. So the acceptance doesn’t necessarily guarentee publication, but it’s still someone saying “Yeah, I’ll take it!”
I’ve got a new site…
http://hamstersbane.googlepages.com
You’ll find that a lot of it’s the same as on here…but it’s a step toward getting my own real .com home on the Web.
Don’t forget to be silly…
Strange Worlds of Lunacy: The Galaxy’s Silliest Anthology goes on sale soon. I’ve got two pieces in this one, a flash fantasy called “A Royal Pain” and a micro fantasy called “Getting Lucky.” They’ll start taking orders soon, and it’s expected to ship next month.
Here’s the cover:
Bad dreams can be good…
Got an acceptance this morning from In Bad Dreams Volume Two: Where Death Stalks for “…Hitman.” I wasn’t expecting a decision for a few more weeks, so they must have liked it. Yay! 🙂
Here’s what the editor had to say:
Of course we want Hitman, how could we not? It gives us a great villain, a great supernatural tome and ups the action a tad after we’ve got all dark and bleak.
It’s taken some time for this one to see the light of day. I originally wrote it for Machine of Death. After that rejection, I rewrote it for Bound for Evil. I liked the evil book idea so much I kept it when I shopped it around elsewhere. Had Dreams rejected, I was thinking about going back to the original and subbing it to Apex Digest.
An anthology I wish I could have gotten in…
Return of the Sword is put out by the fine folks at Flashing Swords, and I’m a little miffed it was an invite-only anthology (not that anything I could have written would have made it in, of course, but it would have been nice to try 🙂 ). It’s also got one of the coolest covers I’ve ever seen, small or large press. It starts shipping March 15, so be sure to order yours today!
Return of the Sword
An Anthology of Heroic Adventure
$16.50 plus shipping
Return of the Sword is a brand new anthology of blood-pounding, spine-tingling stories by some of fantasy’s most critically acclaimed Sword and Sorcery authors.
Stacey Berg, Bill Ward, Phil Emery, Jeff Draper, Nicholas Ian Hawkins, David Pitchford, Ty Johnston, Jeff Stewart, Angeline Hawkes, Robert Rhodes, E.E. Knight, James Enge, Michael Ehart, Thomas M. MacKay, Christopher Heath, Nathan Meyer, S.C. Bryce, Allen B. Lloyd, William Clunie, Steve Goble, Bruce Durham, and Harold Lamb present you with enough fast paced adventure to keep you reading for hours.
A hand painted, wrap around cover by fantasy artist Johnney Perkins ensures that Return of the Sword will not only be enjoyable to read, but also look good on your coffee table or bookshelf.
Too long have the halls of fantasy been dominated by packs of weak-kneed elves hunting goblins and doughty dwarves mining for gold. Return now to the days of true adventure. Unsheath your sword and enter if you dare!
Holding pattern…
Just got word from In Bad Dreams Volume Two: Where Death Stalks that my submission has made it through the first round of submissions and is being considered for inclusion.
Not an acceptance, but hey, at least it’s not a rejection. 😀
Caveat Lector 
