Thursday, October 31, 2013

FSF Challenge - Erased



Lillie McFerrin Writes
This week's writing challenge from
Five Sentence Fiction
Lillie McFerrin Writes ) is based upon the prompt:

 Erased




A dark story, perhaps appropriate for the times...





Manual Deletion


Image from http://lilliemcferrin.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/face5-2.jpg



     To most, he was just another face in the crowd until he disappeared one night. After that, his name was spoken everywhere, but only in the hushed tones of frightened people who were now his followers, followers of a man most had never seen and never would. There was no explanation coming from the government, and none brave enough to ask, but those in power were unwilling to risk that someone might. They ordered the electronic commands issued that would traverse every network, invade every system, remove any connection to those who knew him, and delete every record of his existence. Slowly, the man who was just another face in the crowd became the man without a face at all.



This comment came in via Twitter - not sure why the comments weren't working at the time, so I'll post it here:




© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Monday, October 28, 2013

Gothic Blue Book III Available



Gothic Blue Book III from Burial Day Books is now available from Amazon (Kindle edition)! 


Image from Amazon.com
Gothic Blue Book III,
Edited by Cynthia Pelayo

I'm rather excited about this since it contains my poem, The Ballad of Drunken Jack!



Authors and their works in this issue:

Meg Belviso              MUST LOVE CHILDREN AND CATS 
Die Booth                THE GHOST BRIDE 
Melissa J. Davies        EZABELL FROWNED

Lance Davis              THE VIEWING 
Nicole DeGennaro         THE KEEPER 
Mathias Jansson          DEAR MADAME INSANE

K. Trap Jones            THE BASEMENT 
Michael Kellar           THAT WHICH REMAINS 
Edward J. McFadden III   SINS OF OUR MOTHER

Jessica McHugh           AUNTIE GRAVE 
Georgina Morales         A DIARY OF MADNESS 
Cortney Philip           DIARY OF A DOOR MOUSE

Jennifer A. Smith        AND ALL THE TRIMMINGS 
K. R. Smith              THE BALLAD OF DRUNKEN JACK 
Peter Adam Salomon       THE QUESTIONER’S APPRENTICE

Jay Wilburn              REST 



I guess I'm going to have to set up an Amazon author's page now! The Kindle edition is only $0.99. The printed book will be about $7.00, and should be out soon.


© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Friday, October 25, 2013

FSF Challenge - Determination



Lillie McFerrin Writes
This week's writing challenge from
Five Sentence Fiction
( Lillie McFerrin Writes ) is based upon the prompt:

 Determination




This is Part II of a Five Sentence Fiction story I wrote some time ago called Wardrobe Malfunction. It was based on a dieselpunk/steampunk story from another FSF writer, Rogue Tinker. And by continuing the story, I get to use the word dieselpunk again which, for some reason, always excites me.

When we last left our heroine, she was trapped on the side of an enormous analog computational engine that controlled the city's entire infrastructure, with part of her goggles jamming the works...

Yes, I know that's happened to all of us at one time or another, so I'll try to come up with something more original in the future.




Escape

(or Wardrobe Malfunction, Part II)


Image from Lillie McFerrin's FSF website - http://lilliemcferrin.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/DGBHop.jpg


     Her muscles were beginning to quiver, exhausted from clinging to the side of the enormous mechanical beast that governed the city's workings, but she was determined not to have her life end splattered on the ground below—or worse—pureed among the pinions. Unable to move the top of her body because of the goggle strap jamming the mechanism, Ysabelle slowly raised her foot closer to where her right hand had a tenuous grip on the oily metal. With her foot finally resting on the metal bar beside her fingers, she pulled a small knife from her boot before wedging her leg into the framework for support, and then delicately sliced the leather to free herself. Once again able to maneuver, she used the blade to extricate the strap end out of the cogs, and the myriad of gears resumed their rotation, as did, unfortunately, the entire section of clockwork on which she was perched. Although Ysabelle was hiding the fact that she was a young woman from those who thought her occupation to be the soul domain of men, few in the crowd that had gathered to observe the spectacle would have suspected even if they had been within earshot, for the next words she uttered were most assuredly unladylike.



Image courtesy of Lillie McFerrin's FSF website / Lillie McFerrin Writes


© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

This Week's Free Photo - Bumble Bee On Sedum



I took this a couple of years ago on flowers I'd planted around the house using a Canon SD850 on macro setting.


Image "Bumble_Bee_On_Sedum.jpg" ©2013 K. R. Smith - www.theworldofkrsmith.com - may be used with attribution
Bumble bee on sedum


Feel free to use the picture as long as attribution is given. You can use the text below for that:



Image "Bumble_Bee_On_Sedum.jpg" ©2013 K. R. Smith - www.theworldofkrsmith.com


© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Thursday, October 17, 2013

FSF Challenge - Malice



Lillie McFerrin Writes
This week's writing challenge from
Five Sentence Fiction
Lillie McFerrin Writes ) is based upon the prompt:

 Malice



I had to have a little fun with this one....




Communications Breakdown


Image "Girl Crying In Mothers Arm" courtesy of David Castillo Dominici at www.freedigitalphotos.net


     "To help everyone understand all of the new words we've learned, we're going to play a little game," the teacher said, "where everyone gets to tell me something about those words. We'll start by describing something you might experience from malice."
     The teacher called on each young student as she went around the room, all of them describing in great detail some dark scenario, until she noticed a girl in the back nearly in tears. When questioned, she asked, "Why does everyone hate me?"
     The confused teacher put her arm around the child and said, "We don't hate you, Alice!"




Image "Girl Crying In Mothers Arm" courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net


© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Sunday, October 13, 2013

This Week's Free Photo - White Heath Aster



I snapped this cute flower along the banks of the Little Gunpowder River.


Image "White_Heath_Aster.jpg" courtesy of K. R. Smith - www.theworldofkrsmith.com - may be used with attribution


Feel free to use the picture as long as attribution is given. You can use the text below for that:



Image "White_Heath_Aster.jpg" courtesy of K. R. Smith - www.theworldofkrsmith.com


© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Flash Fiction - A Tinker's Damn




Image "Spider" courtesy of bejim at www.freedigitalphotos.net



My flash fiction story, A Tinker's Damn, is now available on the latest issue of The Were-Traveler webzine. It's just a story about a fellow and his hobby.

It's a sort of dieselpunk* / steampunk horror.

The other two stories I have on the site are:
Going Home  ( It's tough finding out you're a werewolf )

A Matter of Personal Taste  ( My mummy always told me not to play with my food ) 
Please stop by and give them (and the other stories) a read!



* You just know if I have a chance to use the word dieselpunk anywhere, I'm going to do it...

Image "Spider" courtesy of bejim / FreeDigitalPhotos.net



© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Thursday, October 3, 2013

This Week's Free Photo - Clouds



It's been a while since I posted a weekly photo, so I figured I'd better put one out here. This week's photo is of the sun behind the clouds. I took this while stuck in a traffic jam during the ride home from work a few weeks back.


Image "Clouds_7_2013_M.jpg" courtesy of K. R. Smith - www.theworldofkrsmith.com - may be used with attribution


Feel free to use the picture as long as attribution is given. You can use the text below for that:

Image "Clouds_7_2013_M.jpg" courtesy of K. R. Smith - www.theworldofkrsmith.com


© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

FSF Challenge - Celebration



Lillie McFerrin Writes
This week's writing challenge from
Five Sentence Fiction
Lillie McFerrin Writes ) is based upon the prompt:

 Celebration



A story to which many writers can relate.




Electronic Ecstasy


Image "Email Icon On Screen" courtesy of Stuart Miles at www.freedigitalphotos.net


     It was an e-mail reply from a publisher, but he wasn't sure he wanted to read it. He'd sent out so many submissions and they had all come back with the word "rejected" somewhere in the first sentence. After much consternation, Wilbur clicked on the icon. He didn't even check which of his writings it was in response to before his eyes locked onto the words, "Your story has been accepted." 
     There would be a celebration that night.



You can read other entries for this week's Five Sentence Fiction challenge by clicking HERE.



Image "Email Icon On Screen" courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net


© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Sunday, September 29, 2013

New Story Coming - A Tinker's Damn




This image is property of The Were-Traveler

I just learned that my story, A Tinker's Damn, has been accepted by the The Were-Traveler for publication on their webzine. This will be my third story (and one drabble) they've accepted. It's a sort of dieselpunk* / steampunk horror. It should be available in early October. When it's up, I'll post a link on here on the blog. The other two stories I have on the site are:
Going Home  ( Werewolf  )

Please stop by and give them (and the other stories) a read!



* You just know if I have a chance to use the word dieselpunk anywhere, I'm going to do it...


© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Thursday, September 26, 2013

FSF Challenge - Magnetic



Lillie McFerrin Writes
This week's writing challenge from
Five Sentence Fiction
( Lillie McFerrin Writes ) is based upon the prompt:

Magnetic




Science and romance, all in one!




Northern Fights


Image "Aurora Borealis" by Victor Habbick at www.freedigitalphotos.net


     "The world is such a beautiful mystery," Meaghan said while gazing at the undulating bands of green light shimmering in the clear night sky.
     "It's not a mystery at all," Jack replied. "Just high-energy particles following a path along the Earth's magnetic field and interacting with the upper reaches of the atmosphere releasing photons of a particular frequency, depending, of course, upon the type of atom or molecule they encounter."
     Meaghan turned toward Jack in the chilly darkness, her eyes narrowing as she released her arm from around his.
     "You're such a jerk!" she proclaimed before stomping off down the snow-covered road toward town.




Image "Aurora Borealis" by Victor Habbick / FreeDigitalPhotos.net


© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

FSF Challenge - Wild



Lillie McFerrin Writes
This week's writing challenge from
Five Sentence Fiction
Lillie McFerrin Writes ) is based upon the prompt:

Wild



Another poem. Had a little trouble with this one - took a while to make it work. I might revisit this at some point and try to get the flow a bit better... Six verses, five sentences.




The Wind In The Grass



Image "Dune Grass at Assateague" - Copyright K. R. Smith 2013 - may be used with attribution




With a muted moan
The wind carries the fragrance of a silver-green sea
To the shore.

And on the beach,
Ivory flowers of foam take flight, blown by gentle gusts,
Scattering moist petals along their path.

Then over the sand the air swirls,
Drifting a myriad of tiny grains into an undulating mound
Flowing around unkempt tufts of grass sprouting beyond the reach of the tide.

Twirling in the breeze,
Their slender blades sway
In time with its siren song.

Finally, the cool mist caresses you
While dancing across the dunes,
Hair flowing around your soft curves,

As natural and wild
As the wind in the grass
That forever whispers your name.


                         K. R. Smith





© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Thursday, September 12, 2013

FSF Challenge - Flowers



Lillie McFerrin Writes
This week's writing challenge from
Five Sentence Fiction
( Lillie McFerrin Writes ) is based upon the prompt:

Flowers



Before we proceed to my entries for flowers, I'd like to mention (shameless plug time) that I have had another short story accepted. A blog post about it and other submissions is here. I hope someday to actually see the stories that have been accepted in print. Acceptance is good; printing is better.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled stories...



I haven't done a poem for a while, so I thought I'd give one a try.




The Last Roses


Image "Flowers On The Cross" by topstep07 at www.freedigitalphotos.net


I lay them down before you;
An offering you neither accept
Nor refuse.


Your eyes cannot see
The colors they show,
Your mind indifferent to their splendor.


They offer their fragrance to the air
That, although sweetly graced by their presence,
Drifts away unnoticed.


Your hands,
No longer troubled by the painful thorns,
Cannot enjoy the silken petals.


And yet I lay them down,
These useless tokens,
Because they are all I have.



                         K. R. Smith




And as a bonus feature...




The First Date



Image "Blond Girl On The Camomile Field" by -Marcus- at www.freedigitalphotos.net


     "You're staring at me again! Stop it!"
     "Sorry," he replied, looking away uncomfortably.
     It was their first date, and the day had gone so terribly wrong that whatever he said came out as awkward or backward or worse to the point where he said little at all. How could he possibly explain the way she made the flowers in her hair look so beautiful instead of the other way around?



Image "Flowers On The Cross" by topstep07 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image "Blond Girl On The Camomile Field" by -Marcus- / FreeDigitalPhotos.net



© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Another Update On My Submissions



This is just another brief update on my writing, as much for me as anyone. I'll update my on-line spreadsheets when I get the time.


Image "Feathered Quill And Ink Pot" courtesy of Simon Howden at www.freedigitalphotos.net


The Fisherman and His Wife: (Short story - humor/fairy tale) Still supposed to be out some time later this year in Grimm & Grimmer IV. I'm waiting for something back from Fringeworks about a more concrete schedule.

Skarett's Treasure: (Short story - humor/horror/pirates) I got an e-mail from the new editor (Mellissa Black) a few days ago:
Good Morning!

I would like to offer your short story Skarrett's Treasure a spot in the Dead Men's Tales anthology. If your story is still available and you would like it included, please let me know immediately.


Thanks.
My first thought for a response was:
Yes, it is still available. Although thousands of requests from major publishing houses have poured in for the tale offering huge wads of cash (as humorous pirate stories are all the rage right now), I wanted you to have it.
Then, I thought, no, that sounds slightly embellished.

So anyway... after noting the nanosecond hand on the clock had nearly reached the next mark, I did reply that the story was, indeed, still available (who the heck else would want it?) and I'd be happy (somewhat of an understatement there) to have it included. This is to be through Knightwatch Press, an imprint taken over by Fringeworks. Hope to hear from you soon, Ms. Black!

Neersville: (Short story - horror/ghost) As reported previously, this was rejected. I may try to do some rewriting of this in the future, partly to eliminate some of the awkward areas required to get it within the size limit requested (it was way over before I cut it back). After that, I'll see if I can find a suitable market for it.

The Ballad of Drunken Jack: (Poetry - horror) This was accepted for inclusion in Gothic Blue Book III, and I am now waiting for additional instructions.

Miscellaneous items: The flash fiction steampunk/dieselpunk story, Tinker's Damn, was submitted to The Weretraveler's The Little Magazine of Magnificent Monsters issue. I'm waiting for a reply. I ran out of time for finishing the submission to James Ward Kirk Fiction for their anthology, The Cellar Door and for the short story, Final Judgment for the Horrified Press anthology, Tales of the Undead – Suffer Eternal Volume III. I'll finish them eventually and submit them where appropriate.

Now, after all of this, I must say that having my stories accepted is great, but I'd really like to see some of them in print, either paper or electronic. It seems that every step in getting something published takes a long time, or there is some delay. At this rate, most of my stories will be published posthumously (or else I'm going to have to live for a very long time...).



Image "Feathered Quill And Ink Pot" by Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net


© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Thursday, September 5, 2013

FSF Challenge - Beauty



Lillie McFerrin Writes
This week's writing challenge from
Five Sentence Fiction
( Lillie McFerrin Writes ) is based upon the prompt:

Beauty



Semi-colons gone wild!




Beauty and the Thieves


Image "Hopi woman weaving a basket, ca. 1900" courtesy of http://research.archives.gov/description/520083


    The girl sat down next to her mother who was warming herself by the fire, despondent because she was not so attractive that the young men would take notice.
    "I don't want to end up like her," she said, pointing out an old woman sitting by herself making baskets.
    "Do not be so quick to judge her lot as she has been weaving her colored reeds many times longer than you have been alive not only to pay her way through life, but because she finds great pleasure in making the world a more pleasing place for others, even for those who will come long after."
    "What makes that so important?"
    "To have beauty is fortunate, but it can never be guarded so carefully that time cannot steal it away; to admire beauty is natural, but obsession and envy are thieves of your mind's pure thoughts; to create beauty, however, is to have everlasting joy that no one can take away."




Image "Hopi woman weaving a basket, ca. 1900" / National Arcives - Online Public Access


© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Monday, September 2, 2013

Monday Mixer - The Eyes Have It



This week's writing challenge from
Monday Mixer #28
( The Latinum Vault )
Note: Original link no longer works



A slightly risqué Monday Mixer...

Here are the choices for the location, thing & adjective (my choices in red):
Things:       1) slew              
              2) exemplar         
              3) decolletage

Verbs:        1) typify           
              2) debilitate 
              3) ensorcell

Adjectives:   1) prodigal
              2) fractious 
              3) vainglorious




The Eyes Have It



Image "Sexy Breast" courtesy of adamr at www.freedigitalphotos.net


     Miranda had a slew of learned skills at which she could pass herself off as an exemplar, but preferred instead to apply her natural assets via a scandalous decolletage to ensorcell her male rivals. Heads turned as she walked into the meeting room, her dress much more revealing than one that would typify traditional business attire, but there were no complaints. Certain of the outcome, she tried to hide the grin on her face as she took her seat at the table and pulled the revised contracts from her briefcase. As she sat across from Mr. Oldham, the chief financial officer, she couldn't resist one final vainglorious attempt to put him in his place and establish a superior position before the bargaining began.
     "My face is up here, Mr. Oldham."
     "Thanks," he replied. "Being blind, I'm never quite sure where I'm looking."
     It would be a long and difficult negotiation.



Image "Sexy Breast" by adamr / FreeDigitalPhotos.net


© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Thursday, August 29, 2013

FSF Challenge - Thunder



Lillie McFerrin Writes
This week's writing challenge from
Five Sentence Fiction
( Lillie McFerrin Writes ) is based upon the prompt:

Thunder



Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit... (well, just read the story and you'll understand). But be vewy, vewy qwiet - I'm hunting weaders...




It's Not Over


Modified image "Hairdresser Trimming Hair" courtesy of Stuart Miles at www.freedigitalphotos.net



     She was a big girl for her age, and received more than the usual amount of teasing from the other kids, partly due to her sturdy physique, but also for her outdated clothes and the red hair she wore in pigtails, looking more like a miniature Brünnhilde from a Wagner opera than Brenda, an eight-year old child from Albuquerque. The boys in her class, always plotting ways of tormenting her, decided one Tuesday during recess that it would be exquisitely entertaining to snip a lengthy lock from one of those pigtails, and William, acting the part of the impetuous urchin, volunteered enthusiastically for the job. Being extraordinarily quiet as he crept up behind her, Brenda heard only the sound of the scissors and didn't immediately realize its connection, or disconnection, as it were, with her hair. Once she saw the boy dangling the bisected braid in front of her, however, the incensed girl released a storm of unprecedented fury in his direction. As lightning shot from her eyes accompanied by the thunder in her voice, she explained, in the rather direct and simplistic terms of an adolescent, how a slightly asymmetrical Valkyrie was about to provide William with a one-way trip to Valhalla.



OK, I know there's no wabbit, uh, I mean, rabbit in the story, but if you still don't understand, check out THIS LINK and maybe THIS ONE, TOO. And I know it's a bit of a stretch to tie a cartoon, opera, and an eight-year child together in a single FSF post, but surely you've heard of artistic license? Yeah, I know, it's not a painting, either... never mind.



Modified image "Hairdresser Trimming Hair" by Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net


© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Monday Mixer - Recipe For Disaster



This week's writing challenge from
Monday Mixer
( The Latinum Vault )
Note: Original link no longer works
 Update: I got an honorable mention for this one! 



All spaced out on this week's Monday Mixer...

Here are the choices for the location, thing & adjective (my choices in red):
Things:       1) flux       2) luminary   3) compendium

Verbs:        1) predicate  2) actuate    3) chirrup

Adjectives:   1) slapdash   2) gustatory  3) ethereal




Recipe For Disaster


Image "Fried Squids" courtesy of rakratchada torsap at www.freedigitalphotos.net


     With the political and military boundaries of the outer worlds being in a state of flux, and communication among them intermittent at best, the Ogamites predicated the slapdash ceremony for the exalted luminary from Aurealius upon a compendium of formalities and rituals known of its sister planet in a neighboring star system. There was a chirrup from the crowd as the guest made her way down the stairs into the main greeting hall, looking ethereal as she glided over the steps with all four feet, and smiles were on at least one of the Ogamite's mouths as they welcomed her. There were great hopes for an end to hostilities. Everything was going well as she joined the dignitaries in an offering of gustatory delicacies, but when presented with a platter of boiled traglung tentacles, indignantly informed them this was very insult that had started the war nearly five generations ago.




Image "Fried Squids" by rakratchada torsap / FreeDigitalPhotos.net


© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Thursday, August 22, 2013

FSF Challenge - Travel



Lillie McFerrin Writes
This week's writing challenge from
Five Sentence Fiction
( Lillie McFerrin Writes ) is based upon the prompt:

Travel



We're having a 2-for-1 sale this week...




Transcendental Medication


Image "travel-switzerland-jungfrau-railway" courtesy of loomagoo.com


     Logan loved the mountains. The crisp air, the vistas, the feeling of peace and solitude that came over him as he followed the paths through the steep valleys. But it was getting late, and the orderlies were turning out the lights in the rehabilitation center for the night. He closed the book, laying it on the stand next to his wheelchair, his finger sliding across the glossy cover. He would go back again tomorrow, if only for a little while.




Escape


Image "Senior Woman's Hand" courtesy of Photokanok at www.freedigitalphotos.net


     "Come with me," the girl pleaded, a warm smile on her face.
     "I-I don't know if I can," the old woman said, her voice expressing a fear she could not speak. "It's so far."
     "I promise you'll be alright."
     The old woman peered out of the door, one eye spying the sign of a store nearly a block away, then reached for the young girl's hand and took her first step to freedom.



For Transcendental Medication: Image "travel-switzerland-jungfrau-railway" courtesy of loomagoo.com / loomagoo.com

For Escape: Image "Senior Woman's Hand" by Photokanok / FreeDigitalPhotos.net


© 2012-2013 K. R. Smith All rights reserved

Monday, August 19, 2013

Poetry In Motion®



Yes, I had to include the little "®" in the blog title. If you read all the way to the bottom, you'll understand... and you'll understand why I chose that title!

This is an update to my previous update because I have some news to report!

Note: Before I could get this post finished I received two bits of news about items listed below, so this is an update to my update (of my previous update). Those items affected are now, uh, updated.
.


Image "Feathered Quill And Ink Pot" courtesy of Simon Howden at www.freedigitalphotos.net


The Fisherman and His Wife: (Short story - humor/fairy tale) This short story was submitted (and accepted for edits!) to Fringeworks for their multi-volume Grimm & Grimmer anthology a long time ago. They've got the first two volumes out, and they are waiting for their cover artist to return for the rest. My story is supposed to published in Grim & Grimmer IV which was originally to come out in August. Then it was pushed back to October, and now, according to their latest newsletter, doesn't have a fixed publication date. It's listed as "editing in progress." The folks at Fringeworks seem to be trying to do a lot, and I hope they're not taking too much on. They have done their best to keep me informed, and do put out some nice work, so I'm still involved and hoping for a good outcome here.

Skarett's Treasure: (Short story - humor/horror/pirates) This was also submitted to Fringeworks for publication through their Knightwatch Press imprint to be included in their Dead Men's Tales anthology. It has not yet been accepted (or rejected! I have to be the optimist here...), but they've let me know they will soon be reading them to sort out which stories they want to include. They say they want to have this out in the September/October time frame, so I hope to hear one way or another soon. So nothing's changed from last time.

Note! As mentioned near the top of this page, I received an update on this from Adrian Middleton about the events leading to the delay:
  • The first event was the temporary loss of our cover artist between June and the end of August, which facilitated putting the publication back (but not the submissions deadline). This led the imprint publishing the story to change from Fringeworks to KnightWatch Press, and also saw our publication date get put back to September/October;
  • The second event was the discovery the anthology had been promoted in June's issue of Writing Magazine. We knew nothing about this, but it led to an unprecedented number of submissions which required a preliminary sift. That sift was completed recently, whittling down the number of submissions into double figures!
  • The third event was the need to change editor. I am currently simultaneously editing several novellas, three other anthologies, and four novels, as well as writing for some of those projects. There was no way, beyond the initial sift, that I would have been able to get Dead Men's Tales ready for publication by this September/October.
So there is now a new editor, Mellisa Black, and it looks like my story made it through the "first sift."

Neersville: (Short story - horror/ghost) This was submitted to Burial Day Books via Submittable.

Image of a frown
Unfortunately, they have decided not to publish the story. I had a few concerns about this when I sent it in - the point of view I chose, the subject matter, a few other issues, including the length - any of which may have contributed to their decision. Submittable shows it to be "Declined," so I'll withdrawn it from there at some point.

However.... (see next item)


The Ballad of Drunken Jack: (Poetry - horror) This was also submitted to Burial Day Books via Submittable, again for their Gothic Blue Book III anthology.

Image of a smiley face
Submittable still shows it to be "In Process" but I have a contract in hand for this as they've accepted my poem! And the fools, uh, I mean the kind, generous, highly intelligent, and physically attractive folks at Burial Day Books are even going to pay me for it! Now, selling poetry of any kind is difficult enough, but old-style narrative poetry like this has become nearly impossible to even give away, so I'm rather tickled. I'm thinking of heading up to Alaska next winter to see if I can sell some snow during a blizzard...


Among The Stones: (Poetry - horror) This was submitted to Scarlett River Press quite a while back. Their web site is still just a shell, so this is the last mention about this. If you folks are listening out there, consider my poem withdrawn.

A Tinker's Damn (horror - flash fiction/steampunk, sort of...), has been submitted to The Were-traveler's The Little Magazine of Magnificent Monsters issue. They have had some technical difficulties with their blog/website, but have assured me they are making progress. They've told me they are going to push back their publication schedule due to this. They've been good to work with, so I hope they get things worked out!


Maria Kelley has posted an update on The Were-traveler site.

I'm also working on a poem (horror), as yet untitled (but may be called "The Other Side of the Door"), for submission to James Ward Kirk Fiction for their anthology, The Cellar Door.

I had to give up on my short story, Final Judgement (horror - short story), for the Horrified Press anthology, Tales of the Undead – Suffer Eternal Volume III. I just don't have the time to work on it right now.

I have perhaps a dozen other short stories and a number of poems in various stages of completion, so I have plenty to keep me busy!



Image "Feathered Quill And Ink Pot" by Simon Howden / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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