The Christmas Miracle

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I'm often told this is the season for miracles, and I'm beginning to believe it.

My short story, "Going Home," has been accepted for publication in the Were Traveler "Big Bad Wolf in a Big Bad Universe" issue. The Were Traveler is an online webzine dedicated to short fiction.

You can read "Going Home" by clicking on the title here or by finding it in my publication page (short though it may be). I think the link may change once the site puts the issue into "archive" status, and I'll post an updated link if that is the case.

P.S. To Ellora Bennett - you are now famous. Or you will be at some point in the future. You'll find a little "Easter egg" about half-way through the story!

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Image "Wolf and Moon" courtesy of nixxphotography FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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© 2012 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

One Down...

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Well, I've gone and done it this time.

I've submitted a short story.

It's a something-less-than-epic tale about a...

No, that's not the title. It's called Going Home. I'll try not to let my ego take over should it be selected for publication (on-line, and for recognition only). Maybe it's not quite A Tale of Two Cities, but you have to start somewhere. You can't start more humbly than this.

I remember the first time I saw the call for submissions via Duotrope. I thought, "You've got to be kidding." After thinking it over for a while, I thought, "You've really got to be kidding..."

What can I say? It's what they wanted.

I checked out the website, an it's one of those that ask people to send in writing for use in an on-line issue or e-zine, essentially another blog. You can check them out by clicking here.

Well, it's out there, all that's left is the waiting. I made it with just two days left before the deadline. If it isn't chosen, maybe I'll put it on here. Or print it and burn it, denying all knowledge of its existence.

To be honest, I'd be tickled if I just heard back from them.

      Dear sir and / or madam:

          We've read your submission, and, well, you've got to be kidding...

I'll keep you posted.

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© 2012 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Elly's Posts On W.U Hstry

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Even though Elly hasn't had much time to work on her fantasy writing due to her schoolwork, she has been blogging at the W.U Hstry History Student's Blog. Here are links to two new posts:

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A Very Brief Glance at Hair Combs in History

Pre-dynastic period comb
from W. U Hstry Blog

The Fall of the Aztec Empire

Cortez
from W. U Hstry Blog

Just to let you know she really has been busy:

Today, I spent nearly 11 hours in uni. Sleepy time. Also, still sad that I'm not NaNo-ing this month.
— Ellora Bennett (@ElloraBennett) November 8, 2012

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

Book Reviews: Soul Stalker and Night of the Purple Moon

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I've recently posted a couple of short book reviews out on Goodreads. Links to them are below.

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Soul Stalker
    by Laura Kreitzer

Recommended for: Fantasy romance readers
Read from August 29 to September 13, 2012 — I own a copy, read count: 1


Soul Stalker by Laura Kreitzer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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Night of the Purple Moon 
    by Scott Cramer

Recommended for: YA
Read in November, 2012 — I own a copy, read count: 1


Night of the Purple Moon by Scott Cramer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

This Is Only A Test…

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I’m trying to see how Microsoft Live Writer (part Windows Essentials) does for posting to Blogger. I’m using the Windows XP version for this test – I may see if a newer version for Windows 7 is available later.
 

I’ve been having some “issues” with their editing tools lately and I want to see if this is an option.

So far, it seems this version only allows for posting blog entries, but not pages…

I also have to do some things manually (like my horizontal rows) whereas Blogger does them automatically once they are set up.

There are some picture editing tools in Live Writer, but I have GIMP and Corel PhotoPaint already, so that’s not a big plus for me (might be useful for others!). There doesn’t seem to be a way to get a picture I’ve already posted to a Picasa library. Not so good.

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

Elly's Latest W.U Hstry Post

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Ellora Bennett has a new post on the Winchester University History Students Blog:

Check out my latest post for @wuhstry ! wuhstry.wordpress.com/2012/10/28/the… Next week I'll be posting about an everyday item and revealing its history!
— Ellora Bennett (@ElloraBennett) October 29, 2012

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

How Incredibly Exciting!

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I've finally gotten around to updating the favicon for this blog. It's nothing more than the letter "K" in red on a white field using the Matura MT Script Capitals font. How original.

My new favicon for this blog

I know this is incredibly exciting, but try to control yourself. Please contact emergency services if you start to have heart palpitations.

Yes, that's the big news for today...

At least it's more personal than the standard Blogger icon.

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

Elly's Feeling Guilty

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And for good reason...

I haven't blogged in a very long time. This makes me sad. I need to take my blogging duties more seriously.
— Ellora Bennett (@ElloraBennett) October 17, 2012

We know that you'll get back into it once things settle down (she's starting a new semester at "Uni").

BTW, this is the link to her Blogger blog.

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

October 2012: Project Update - Poetry Submission

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This is an update to the post October 2012: Project - Poetry Submission.

I had emailed Scarlett River Press about the rights they were purchasing for their poetry collection ( In Darkness Dwells ~ A Macabre Collection of Poetry ) and they did respond!

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From: Jo-Anne Russell ScarlettRiverPress@reborn.com

Rights
 
This use of the Work by the Publisher entails the assignment of First Worldwide Anthology Rights, (Electronic and / or Print,) for publication in the English language anywhere in the world for a period of six months, when exclusivity ends, and nonexclusive rights commence.

 Thank you for writing.
 Jo-Anne Russell

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This doesn't get me any closer to being accepted, and I do want to rework the poem (that I had originally considered finished), but at least I now know what I'm getting into. And so does anyone else considering a submission...

Thank you, Jo-Anne, for your reply!

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

Projects Update

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I have three short-term projects going right now - well, maybe two and a half...

I'm about 90% done my "Werewolves In Space" short story, so it won't be too much longer before it is submitted. In truth, the story only has one werewolf, so I guess I should change this to "Werewolf In Space." In any event, the real title will be "Going Home". I still can't believe I'm writing this. I was just reading an article, however, that says writing outside you're comfort zone keeps you fresh. After this, I couldn't get much fresher.

My second project, to be submitted for Tales of the Undead - Suffer Eternal at Horrified Press, still has a way to go. It may be 50% complete. But the deadline is in February 2013, so not to worry. My submission will be called "Final Judgment". I did notice that they are posting an advance acceptance list that has five entries already - they didn't say how many they want, or even if they have a limit.

I'm not sure about my last project. I've emailed Scarlett River Press asking them what rights they are "purchasing," but I haven't received a reply. I'm not sure I want to proceed if they don't. Not that what I submit would be so earth-shattering, but I like to do business with people that state exactly what the details of the transaction are to be.

I also need to do some reviews on Goodreads. I haven't updated those as quickly as I'd like.

Another task I have in mind is to set up a Google Docs spreadsheet to track submissions and have it be accessible from this blog. We'll see.

Yes, I have some work to do...

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

October 2012: Project - Poetry Submission

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I've found another one - and I already have an unpublished poem ready...



This project is from Scarlett River Press:

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In Darkness Dwells ~ A Macabre Collection of Poetry

Deadline ~ January 31st, 2013

It matters not what hides behind the eyes, as long as it remains separate from the soul. Deep within us all, in our darkest place, dwells secrets we would rather keep hidden. Bring forth your monsters of the mind, and bask in the strange, the beautiful, the dark, and the macabre, as those secrets scorch minds and ooze down the pages of "In Darkness Dwells."

Format:

No more than 40 lines, any poetry style, size 12 font.
Must be dark! Cross some lines if you must, and give us your best.
Up to five poems per author.
No reprints! New works only.

Payment:

By line, one electronic copy, and one paperback copy, or $5.00 without paperback copy. (Per author, not poem.)

Send your submissions to: ScarlettRiverPress@reborn.com.

In the subject line please put: Poetry_your first poem title_last name.

Please attach your submissions. Do not put them in the body of the email.

Dig deep, and share your dark side.

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Note: Image shown in this post was downloaded from www.freedigitalphotos.net

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

Another Tweet: Quote Of The Day

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I also happened to see this while checking out what was going on with Twitter:

It's #NationalBoyfriendDay -- is there going to be a giveaway?
— Terri Deno (@Terri84) October 3, 2012

This could be the subject of a very interesting story... either fiction or non-fiction!

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

Even Big-Time Authors Have Problems!

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I happened on this article by chance, and being that it is about my Mother's favorite author, had to pass it along.

This is what's going on with me. Not pretty. huff.to/QVPTpo
— Patricia Cornwell (@1pcornwell) October 2, 2012

Interesting story!

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

September 2012: New Projects

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It's been a while since I've put anything out here, so I thought I should make some sort of update to the blog. And although I've been quite busy, most of it hasn't been with writing.

But I've found a couple of projects that interest me by checking out the Horror Tree web site.

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#1 The Were-Traveler       "Don't be afraid, dearie, it's just a story."

When I first saw this, I thought, "Werewolves in space? They've got to be joking." Then I re-read the request, thought about it some more, and said, "They've really got to be joking."

At that point, of course, it became a challenge. So I have a story started, even though I don't really care for werewolf stories, and will submit it for publication. We'll see what happens...

Please don't laugh.

From the Were-Traveler web site:

The Were-Traveler: Big Bad Wolf in a Big Bad Universe

Drabble, Micro, Flash and Short (up to 2000 words). Deadline December 20ish. Where the crazy idea for this e-zine originally came from: a story in my head that is yet to be written. We’ll see what you can do with it. Accepting submissions for drabbles, micro, flash and short stories 2K or less on the following themes:

Lone Werewolf traveling. On the road. The man-beast (or woman-beast) with an itinerary. Werewolf or werewolves in space. I would LOVE a science fiction/horror werewolf story.

Their Duotrope page

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#2 Tales of the Undead

Suffer Eternal, is open for submissions

From the Horrified Press website (WordPress Blog):

Eternal life, what does it mean to live forever? What is the cost of such a prize, and is it worth the price?

The scope of such a topic brings forth boundless notions for the budding author. Tales of the undead, and those who cheat the reaper give hope to a readership, or can just as easily take it away.

I want stories of Eternal life. Give me deals with the devil, illegal experiments, and mysterious miracles. Zombies, Vampires, and Spirits are welcome. Make them dark, make them decadent, make them scary – these should be the kind of stories that wouldn’t usually see daylight.

No taboos, just let your imagination run wild.

Dark fairy tales, bizarre, horror, surrealism, dark science-fiction are all cool here.

Submission guidelines:

Deadline for submissions  February 20, 2013.

Word Count: 1,000  3,000 words.

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Just to let you know, there isn't any money involved here, just glory. And, no, I won't be writing any zombie stories. I'll keep you posted.

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

More News From Around The World

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I've been a bit busy these last few weeks, but I thought I'd put a quick post out to keep everyone up on the news from the writers I follow.

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First of all, Terri Deno has a new short story, Second Shadow, published in Luna Station Quarterly, a magazine focused on speculative fiction written by up and coming women authors. To check it out, you can click on one of the links here or go to their web site and find it in Issue 11.

If you like stories that are a little bit on the dark side, please give it a read.

You can find Terri's blog here: Truths of a Shy Writer

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Not last (because I had to update this post!), and not least, Ellora Bennett has a new post on the Winchester University History Student's Blog. Her latest post is on Henry IV. This is what she does when she's not writing one of her fantasy novels.

U.S. public domain image of
the coronation of Henry IV

You can find Elly's blog here: Ellora Bennett. Fantasy Writer.

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Now, finally! Sara Lundberg has a story included in a new horror anthology available on Amazon for $5.99 USD! It's called Shadows of the Mind. Here's a partial cover shot:

Since I'm a fan of horror, and it just so happened that I needed a new book to read, I've bought a copy which now resides on my Kindle. I'll read it and let you know what I think.

You can find Sara's blog here: Prospective Writer

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

Terri Deno Breaks Internet: Film At Eleven

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Goodreads is over capacity, Todoist has an internal server error... am I going to be the one to single-handedly break the Internet??
— Terri Deno (@Terri84) August 17, 2012

No, Terri, I got the Goodreads "over capacity" message, too. But just to make sure, maybe you should stay out of there for a while...

(So I can get in, of course!)

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

Book Review: Edge Of Dark Water

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Edge of Dark Water by Joe R. Lansdale

My rating: 4 of 5 stars







This book surprised me a bit. After reading some of the reviews and the blurb (I won’t copy it here – it’s available elsewhere), I wasn't really sure what to expect or if I'd like it. But I needed something to read and I was curious how this story could work. It only took a few pages before I got the feel of the story and knew it would be interesting.

When I read a book, one of the criteria I use to determine if I like it is whether I can picture the scenes and the characters as vividly in my mind as I could see them in a movie. With Edge of Dark Water, I had no problem. Perhaps because I’ve lived with people not too different from some of the characters and spent time in places at least somewhat similar to those described in the book, I can identify with the story more than some. In any case, it’s easy to like a heroine like Sue Ellen. She’s strong, but approachable, dealing with the situations she’s in as best as she can.

There are times when the speech can be as overdone as a catfish that’s been on the fire for a week, but most of time it works, and adds to the humor in the story. It’s hard to image how a story with a number of rather gruesome scenes can be funny, but it often is, and even at the same time. If a book written in dialect doesn’t work for you, this won’t be enjoyable. As for me, after reading the book, I just started talking a bit more slowly, had an urge for cornbread, and got real uneasy whenever I saw a small-town law enforcement officer nosing about.

Some of the scenes and situations may not be appropriate for young children, but other than that, it works for a large audience.

The story is more of an adventure than a mystery, but it does have elements of both. If you’re looking for a deep investigative mystery however (police procedural), this isn’t your best choice.

I’ve read in some of the other reviews that some feel this isn’t the author’s best work. That tempts me to read another of Lansdale’s books to see if that’s true. If it is, then his other books are very good. I would have given this book 4.5 stars if I could.


View all my reviews

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

Welcome, Sara!

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My first "official" follower.

I wish Blogger used some other word than follower. It doesn't really sound that flattering. Perhaps something like associate, member, or supporter. I'll have to put in a suggestion.

I hope to have posts interesting enough to make your efforts worthwhile. There are a few in the works, but my day job keeps interfering.

Speaking of which, I'd better get back to it...

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

Book Review: Oracle by J.C. Martin

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I just completed reading Oracle and put a brief comment out on Goodreads... It's a detective story based in London during the Olympics. I tend to like mysteries (if a good horror story isn't available), especially if they take place in England, so I thought I'd give it a read. Not bad! It has a good bit of action, so if you like that sort of thing, you may like this, too.

I was torn between 3.5 and 4 stars, so I rounded up. Well, they wouldn't let me do 3.5 stars anyway.

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Oracle by J.C. Martin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars






Overall, it was a good book. Some of the descriptions concerning sex seemed a little overdone and didn't add to the story (having them in there wasn't the problem, they just went further than needed). And there were some parts that were predictable, but enough of it wasn't that it was fun to read.

The pace really seems to pick up about 1/3 of the way through, so if you're having concerns before that, try to get that far and you'll probably want to finish.

If J.C. Martin writes another book, I would consider reading it.


View all my reviews

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

Terri Deno Has Published A Poem On "Full OF Crow"

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Terri Deno has new a poem, Tuesday Morning Hangover, published on the Full Of Crow poetry web site, July 2012 issue.

You can read it by clicking HERE!

You can also visit Terri's blog, Truths of a Shy Writer.

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

Summer Quote

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Oscar Wilde

I was working on the proof of one of my poems all the morning, and took out a comma. In the afternoon I put it back again.

      Oscar Wilde

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I have a couple of poems that are giving me the same problem...

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

Camp NaNoWriMo

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For those of you into insomnia, Camp NaNoWriMo is re-opening soon!

In truth, it opened up once for the month of June, but if you missed that, you can jump in for the second session starting August 1st to make your feeble attempt at writing a 50,000 word novel in 30 days.

I'm not entirely convinced about the usefulness of these sorts of events, but many people like them and it does give one a sense of accomplishment it they succeed. And there's no real down-side if you don't. Sometimes things happen, and even dedicated writers can have other priorities sneak into their schedule. I can also see how it could allow one to get a basic novel down so it can be polished up a bit later. If you have any thoughts on this, or just want to tell everyone about your progress (or lack thereof), please post a comment letting everyone know!

I'm going to follow a few folks who have entered (like you, Elly...) and see how they do.

For everyone else, don't worry if you miss out on this one, too. There's always National Novel Writing Month in November!

Good luck! And you might want to stock up on coffee...

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

Bethanne Strasser's New Book

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Congratulations are in order for romance writer and fellow blogger Bethanne Strasser! After much hard work, she has a book coming out on June 8, 2012, which is entitled For Love or Duty.

My understanding of the story is that it concerns the interaction between an Army officer, Kevin Morgan, and a woman named Valerie Standish. Neither is quite intent upon having a serious relationship, but it may not work out as they had planned. I can't say more than that because I haven't yet read the book. And even if I had, I wouldn't want to spoil the ending. I'm feel certain, however, Morgan is an outstanding young man, as we happen to share the same first name. Seems an obvious choice for a hero, if I do say so myself.

Once the book is available, I'll post a link to where it can be purchased, so please check back. Or you can always find out more by visiting Bethanne's blog or her author profile on Goodreads.

Bethanne Strasser

At least somebody is getting published!

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

It's Official

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Today, I became a professional writer.

Did I get that big payout for the next great American novel?

Not quite.

I received two nicely worded rejections on a couple of short poems I had submitted.

Now I understand how that feels. And I don't like it.

I also now understand what it's like to receive rejections without any explanation as to why. I mean, the poems didn't even rhyme, for God's sake. From what I've been reading, that in itself is enough to be accepted by some people. Sorry, that's a bit of a pet peeve for me, if you'll pardon the expression. They did express their appreciation and asked me to submit again.

I will continue to write, of course, and may submit to them in the future, should I write something I believe is appropriate. And I'm holding onto those poems. I might rework one of them and submit it elsewhere.

Oh, well. I must keep my perspective and keep trying...

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© 2012 K. R. Smith

The Beginning

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This is the beginning. Of this blog, and of sharing my work with others.

I can see the path ahead, but I have no idea where it leads. I have no directions, no signs, and may, from time to time, follow the road less traveled by.

As my first step on that journey, I offer this short free-verse poem about writing.

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Leaky Pen

All my thoughts,

All my emotions,

Spill out through this pen.

Flowing across each line,

Flowing down each page,

Cerebral viscera oozing across the paper,

Reforming in pieces,

Reforming in toto,

Until I see with clarity,

For better, or

For worse,

This is what I am.

                K. R. Smith

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© 2012 K. R. Smith