K R Smith

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

September 2012: New Projects

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.

#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

#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.

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.

Monday, September 10, 2012

More News From Around The World

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.

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

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.

Wikimedia Commons image of the coronation of Henry IV

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

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

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

Monday, August 20, 2012

Terri Deno Breaks Internet: Film At Eleven

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!)

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Book Review: Edge Of Dark Water

Cover image - Edge of Dark Water by Joe R. Lansdale

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

Welcome, Sara!

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...

Monday, August 13, 2012

Book Review: Oracle by J.C. Martin

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.

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

Saturday, August 11, 2012

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

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.

Monday, July 30, 2012

Summer Quote

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

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

Friday, July 20, 2012

Camp NaNoWriMo

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...

Monday, June 4, 2012

Bethanne Strasser's New Book

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!

It's Official

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...

Sunday, May 20, 2012

The Beginning

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.

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