Robin Arrives

Stay the Night, my seventh Darkyn novel and the story of Robin of Locksley, has made it to the shelves and now concludes this series. An excerpt of my upcoming November '09 release, Shadowlight, is included in the back pages.

I was going to post the actual pink version of the cover art, but evidently I'm not that mature yet.

I always like to finish what I start, and it's a good feeling to know this set of stories is complete. The journey from If Angels Burn to Stay the Night was not an easy one, but as I wrote my way down the road, I learned a lot about myself and what I can do. I know my approach to this series was decidedly different from that of my peers, but I hope I was able to contribute some new ideas about story to the genre.

That's about it. If you have a couple of bucks left on a bookstore gift card from the holidays, and you'd like to see how the Darkyn series wraps up, I hope you'll invest in Stay the Night.

Sub Ops

As a lot of writers are looking for work now, I'm going to try to list some new or updated sub ops more frequently in 2009. Because everyone is strapped, most will likely be small markets that offer minimal pay.

The way to think about a small market is primarily for the writing credit. If you write and sell a lot of short pieces to a variety of markets, however, over time those small payments can really add up and provide a good boost to your writing income.

Allegory e-zine is accepting submissions for its May '09 issue, reading period is Jan 1st through Feburary 28th. Seeks ". . . good, solid fiction. We specialize in the Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror genres. We will consider other genres, such as humor or general interest, provided that the work possesses an original, "quirky" slant in the Northern Exposure, Ally McBeal vein" to 5K (Ralan says that's not firm, so longer may be okay.) Pays $15 flat fee for stories and nonfic (2K max), will accept reviews but doesn't pay for them, reprints okay, electronic subs only, see guidelines for very specific formatting instructions.

Astropoetica webzine, which maps the stars through poetry, seeks "Poems of any length, style, or genre that explore astronomy, cosmology, astrophysics, planetary science, and/or archaeoastronomy. Scientific, mythic, historical, multicultural, and personal approaches are all welcome", no line limits, pays one-time $5 fee for one-time rights, sim subs okay, reprints okay, electronic subs only, see guidelines for more details.

Here's a nice one for those of us with permanent impairments: Breath and Shadow webzine accepts submissions ONLY from people who are disabled (a term used broadly, read their guidelines for qualifying disorders) and seeks ". . . writing on any topic for poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and drama; these pieces do not have to be "about" disability. However nonfiction, academic, and similar articles (profiles, interviews, opinion pieces) do have to relate to disability in some way." (They especially like disabled writers located in Maine and New England but will accept from those of us poor slobs who don't live in that beautiful region). Three poems/200 lines max per sub, fiction to 3K, creative nonfic to 3K (longer will be considered), drama to 3K. Very interested in nonfic interviews, reviews and the like, up to 3K. Pays on pub, $5 - $15 for poetry, $15 - $25 for fiction, and $15 - $25 for nonfiction, reprints okay, electronic subs only, see guidelines here for more details.

Crime and Suspense e-/audio-zine likes ". . . Golden Age crime stories, classic P.I. stories, modern detective stories, historical mysteries, spooky suspense, and cozy mysteries." Ralan says as of December 28th they've hiked up their pay rates and have no regular theme issue, so they're obviously doing well. Pays $7.50 for flash, $15 for fiction, $20 for audio, word limits to 4k, reprints okay, electronic subs only, see guidelines here.

Crossed Genres, the magazine of Science Fiction & Fantasy with a twist, has gone from a 4theLuv to a paying market, published SF/F with one random genre genre piece per month fic/nonfic/art), Pays $10 +discount on print copies, word lengths 1-8K for fiction, 1/2- 3K for nonfiction, no reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines here for more details.

Demon Minds is accepting submissions for its Halloween 2009 issue from Jan 1st through June 1st, and is ". . . looking for horror artwork for our cover, interesting or offbeat horror poems, and tales of horror. For this edition we are giving special consideration to tales that shed new light on a traditional monster, Vampires (e.g. Dracula), Man Made Monsters (e.g. Frankenstein), traditional cursed creatures (e.g. Wolfman or Mummy). We are reserving three publishing slots for interesting, well crafted tales about traditional monsters or variants of traditional monsters (out of an estimated 20 slots for horror tales). Anyone who submits horror on a regular basis knows that most publishers won't touch a vampire, or werewolf story with a ten foot pole--we decided to be contrarians for the upcoming issue." I love these guys already. Pays: $50 for 1 featured fiction & cover art, everyone else gets exposure only, word limits 7.5K for web, 5K for print,no reprints, electronic subs only, see guidelines for more info.

Ethereal Gazette, a speculative showcase magazine,is seeking for its eighth issue ". . . horror stories and dark contemporary fiction with a supernatural horror charm behind them but at the same time I want touches of local urban culture thrown in for good measure. Please try to avoid the vampire fiction cliches that are out there these days, or try to avoid some kind of zombie theme. I will welcome a ghost story with open arms. Authors I published in the past were part of Weird Tales and one of them made it to Analog Magazine so I want bizarro fiction with elements of real life thrown in there. I am trying to keep it a little safer with a new President in office. Make the story as convincing as possible or if you come from a faith based background I am welcoming Weird Inspirational Fiction, if you want to know a little bit about that movement of fiction talk to your nearest pastor about speculative fiction." Check out the rest of the guidelines; the editor is very candid and helpful about what he wants to see. Pays $15 via Paypal only for word lengths of 2 - 8K, reprints not sure about that, electronic subs only, see guidelines for more details.

Laser and Sword magazine, out to episodic short fiction, seeks "Fantasy, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Adventure/Action Hero serial fiction" stories with Christian world view (serial fic/art). Bible standards: "King James/New King James preferred, but open to most other translations (does not include the Message or other paraphrases.) Note: quoting the bible not required." Has quarterly submission deadlines; the latest is Feburary 15th. Pays $10 per story. Word lengths 2.5 - 7.5K, reprints okay, no electronic subs -- must e-query first, see guidelines here for more info.

The Magazine of Bizarro Fiction bills itself as ". . . the first magazine to thoroughly explore the Bizarro genre. Each issue will be roughly half fiction and half nonfiction. It will be perfect bound with full-color covers. It will be published on a quarterly basis starting summer 2009. Each issue will feature: A featured novelette and short fiction of only the very best the genre has to offer; A featured interview with a major figure of the genre; Analysis of one author's body of work. Exploring influences, styles, and reoccurring themes; A large book review section; News, release schedule, articles, art, comics, and much more!" They're currently seeking "Short Fiction: 100 - 6,000 words, Novelettes: 6,000 - 20,000 words. 10,000 to 15,000 words are preferred. If the story is shorter or longer than the preferred length, it better be damn good. Please query first for novelettes. Novelettes submitted without a query will not be considered for publication" and are ". . . only looking for the highest quality in Bizarro fiction. If you are planning on submitting fiction you better have read both Bizarro Starter Kits (at the very least)." Pays on pub, 1 cent per word to a max of $100.00, query on reprints, electronic subs only, see guidelines here for lots more details.

UK-based Neon is a " . . . literary magazine, published online every quarter, and featuring the kind of imaginative, stylised poetry and prose not generally found in British magazines. We focus particularly on the new, the experimental and the strange. Some themes we are interested in include: isolation, post-modernism, technology, dislocation, apathy, the apocalypse, memory, Kirk Cameron and urban decay. We have a strong, unique aesthetic that we work hard to maintain. We serve our readers by publishing the best fiction and poetry we can find. We serve our writers by making the submission process as easy and friendly as possible. Neon was previously published as FourVolts Magazine." Pays £3-5 (based on length), no word limit, query on reprints: query, electronic submissions only.

All of the above listings were found at Ralan.com, which is the online Grand Central Station of sub ops and small market information.

Thinking Pink

Since I found out about the unattractive changes made to my cover art for Stay the Night, I've been wrestling with how best to deal with it. You all have been great sports and kept me smiling at times when I probably would have yanked out all my hair. So I thank you for the many comments, e-mails, and immensely helpful support. I would look terrible bald.

Charlene, you single-handedly kept me from doing something really stupid by suggesting I write this, and I owe you.

I did consider using the unwelcome pink color scheme to help promote the book when it's released on Tuesday. Surely no one will be able to miss spotting the novel, not even from the International Space Station, but we're supposed to promote our books and it was tempting to use the screwup as a gimmick.

Some of you suggested I tie in with the release a charity drive for breast cancer research, since that noble cause also uses pink as as symbol. I have to be honest -- as nice as it would feel to turn this around and use it to raise money for charity, I'm not comfortable with that. I think we should all donate to worthy causes, but not because I didn't do my job.

I dropped the ball on this book because I was busy, and didn't follow up on the cover art as I should have. I trusted others to do the right thing instead of making sure they did. It's a very tough lesson, and an embarrassing one, but as long as I've been doing this, by now I should have already learned it.

Some people have said I've overreacted, and that's probably true. This is just one book, after all. I've published plenty of others. I'll publish more. Who cares? I should be grateful that I am working and published when so many other writers aren't, and that's also true. As an author I am expected to be a cheerleader of Publishing, and forever shake my pom poms, and act as if every disaster was all part of the plan.

(I had quite a bit here to tell you just how I feel about the pink pom poms I've been handed, but it was really depressing and I don't think whining to gain reader sympathy is a way to sell books, either.)

Bottom line, it's my name on the book, my novel printed on the pages, and my responsibility to see to it that it's handled appropriately at all stages of production. As undignified and unfair a situation as this is, I really have no one to blame but myself. This is my book, warts and all; the buck has to stop here. I promise you that I will take this unhappy experience and use it to be more vigilant in the future.

As for the promotional aspect, I'm not going to treat this novel any differently than the other six in the series. If you like my writing and want to read the story and see how the series ends, I would appreciate the sale. But don't invest in Stay the Night simply because it's got an ugly pink cover, or may glow in the dark, or can double as a tanning bed. Don't plunk down your hard-earned money only because you feel bad for me. Buy it because you want to read what's inside. That is the only reason you should ever buy any book.

A Year on Scribd

Today marks my first anniversary of posting my free e-books on Scribd, a public document hosting site which provides free reads to everyone on the planet.

From the beginning I was impressed with how easy the site is to use, and how quickly I could publish an e-book by using their upload service. I started with about a dozen of the e-books and stories I'd already written, and in a few days created an instant virtual library.

Scribd also provided me with hard numbers in the form of statistics, such as running totals of views, downloads, global geographic locations of my Scribd readers and approval citations. When one of my documents proved very popular in a short period of time, Scribd gave me a nice reward by listing it on their Hot List, or featuring it on their home page, which brought in even more readers.

The comments and e-mail I received through the site were immensely helpful. I had over four hundred exchanges with readers interested in my print work and other writers who had questions about electronic publishing, copyright, promotional e-books and related subjects. That helped me expand my horizons, pick up some new readers, and also pass along what I'd learned.

PBW benefitted from Scribd as well. I was able to use the site to host my diagrams, workshop e-books and other materials I used to teach, which came in very handy during my virtual workshops last summer. The most popular document I have on Scribd to date is, in fact, my Novel Notebook, with over ten thousand views in nine months. NaNoWriMo'ers also stopped in by the hundreds in November to check out and download my Ten Point Plotting Template, and I hope that proved helpful to all the first time novelists out there.

The only downside to using Scribd were a few obvious troll and SPAM messages (can't escape them no matter where we go.) Some writers have contacted me and expressed their displeasure with the project, as they still believe that garbage RT published about me. What I'm doing is no different than an author who hands out free books at writer conferences -- my way is just more efficient, doesn't cost anything, and reaches a much wider, more interested audience. I also don't have to travel, pay con fees, stay in strange hotels, eat mystery chicken or have my immune system compromised while I'm at it. Furthermore, I'm not posting or handing out copies of my print work; my e-books on Scribd are all self-published, not-for-profit original content, and they're not available anywhere else. That = exclusive content readers can't buy in stores.

At the moment advertising may or may not become an issue. A couple of days ago I did ask Scribd to take down the Random House picture ad for Tess Gerritsen's novel The Surgeon that was placed on my doc page for Incarnatio, as more than a few people thought I'd put it there myself. As it happens, I've never read the book, nor was I consulted about the ad placement. I receive no compensation for the ads Scribd lists on my doc pages, nor do I want any. While I admire Ms. Gerritsen's success and wish her only more of the same, I feel it's inappropriate for her publisher to use my free e-book pages in this manner. Readers can and already have mistaken the ad as my personal endorsement of the book. I explained this all to the guys at Scribd, and as far as I know the ad has since disappeared, so hopefully this won't happen again.

Overall the problems were few, and Scribd in essence allowed me to distribute in a one-year period over seventy-five thousand copies of my free stories, novellas, novels and nonfic materials. I never had to solicit the readers or SPAM them. If the reader wanted an electronic or printed copy, they took care of it from their end. I didn't have to ship anything or purchase expensive advertising. My Scribd virtual library is self-sustaining and, once an e-book is uploaded and made available, requires no maintenance on my part whatsoever. There was no fuss with international rights or making my stories available in countries that will not import or publish my print work. People looking for the sort of stuff I write found it through site searches. They are readers all over the globe looking for something to read, which surely is the most valuable market out there, and Scribd is a direct conduit to them.

I can't say how many folks who read my work on Scribd later went out to buy my print work -- there's just no way to know that. However, last year the print books I published showed a significant boost in sales numbers. Since I continue to receive little or no promotional support from my publisher for my books (which is fine, because I've been around a long time and I have an established readership, and they need their advertising budgets to help out new writers) and I haven't done anything differently except put my e-books on Scribd, I'm going to give Scribd credit for helping to expand my readership in 2008.

Best of all Scribd remains 100% free, so readers who may not be able to afford print books right now can still find plenty to read on the site. Given the current state of the economy, we need that kind of resource. As for writers, as long as you agree to Scribd's terms of use, anyone can create an account and upload their documents. I don't think you can find a better deal than that anywhere, on or offline.

Startling Ten

Ten Unexpected Things That Happened During the Holidays

A lady I met at the New Age place where I buy my herbs recognized my aura or chakrahs or something, and insisted we knew each other in a past life. According to her, I'm the reincarnation of a musician named Paul.

Interesting that I came back completely tone deaf. Maybe Paul sucked.

I agreed to join a group blog.

First I hemmed, hawed, obsessed and argued with myself for a week. Details to follow as soon as they're all ironed out.

I did not eat ALL the patisseries.

I have no idea, however, what happened to the package of Ice Cubes sent from Germany or the hand-dipped truffles from Belgium. Perhaps international chocolate thieves broke in for five or six nights in a row and took one at a time, so we wouldn't notice.

Friends I haven't seen since high school came into town, met up with me and bought me a lovely lunch, during which they presented me with a copy of our senior yearbook, which I had been too poor to buy in high school.

Now someone just has to explain to me how the dreamy guy I had that huge crush on during senior year somehow got his picture switched with one of Slash from Velvet Revolver. Wait a minute . . . I think maybe he is Slash.

My guy and I successfully rescued three runaway horses.

We first found them peacefully grazing in our backyard on New Year's Day, but when they saw us they took off. While my guy got some feed from a neighbor's barn and used it to catch them, I drove like a bat out of hell down the road to get horse people and bridles. This will only be funny to those of you who know how terrified I am of horses.

My stepdaughter called to tell me that she and her new fiance are moving to the states (he has dual citizenship) and they plan to get married and settle over here.

Since I only see my Eurokid once or twice a year, this was the cause of instant celebration. At least until I remember that this will make me -- gulp -- mother of the bride.

One of the grand dames of RWA invited me to join the organization.

I said no, I was still in therapy from the first time. All the Sisters of the Immaculate Love Scene may now breathe a sigh of relief.

Purely by accident I picked up a box of Fire Roasted Tomato & Olive Oil Triscuits instead of the regular kind.

Didn't realize it until I took a bite, and fell instantly in love (I know, they're just crackers, but I have to eat whole wheat every day. Which after two years is like eating cardboard every day. These things are way better.)

Santa brought me a lovely heating pad/back massager chair pad that got rid of the crick in my neck that I've had since October.

Now if it could rebuild my knee and do something about my left hip, I'd stop walking like Long John on a bender.

Someone (you know who you are) sent me a gorgeous little hand carved puzzle box from Japan.

And I will thank you, just as soon as MIT gets back to me on how to open it. Unless I shouldn't. Hmmmmm.

What sort of surprises did you get over your holidays? Let us know in comments.

Wishing You

Adieu 2008

While it seems everyone in the blogosphere is posting best of, worst of, and the ever-popular New Year's resolution lists, I find I'm ambling around the internet, looking for something else to help me say goodbye to the old year and welcome in the new.

I'm not sorry to see 2008 go. From the starting gate, it was the year of fear. Too much hatred, too much ugliness. Far too much heartbreak. In the midst of it, a few masks were ripped off and showed us what was really underneath, which no one wants to see even when they suspect it's there. Sometimes I thought "At least it can't get any worse" and then, of course, it did.

But I saw a lot of love and hope in 2008, too; far more than I expected. Tough times are hard, but they also bring out the best in people. Whenever we most had to pull together, someone held out their hands to help. Whenever we needed courage, someone inspired us with their own. It didn't make the bad stuff go away, but it made it easier to bear whenever it hung around and tried to get at us.

I guess for me it was the year of not hiding under the bed. I wanted to -- nothing much bothers the dustbunnies -- but some excellent things kept dragging me back out: the online writing community, my friends and readers, and the work. You all encouraged me to catch all the lemons instead of dodging them, and make them into lemonade. That I was a smartass and then sold the lemonade back to the people who threw them, well, that's what Zen revenge is all about, right?

I'd like 2009 to be better for my family, friends and colleagues, but it's going to be a year of change and challenges for all of us. Not a time I think we can make like the dustbunnies. May we all find reasons to come out, work together, and help each other get through whatever else the next twelve months will bring.

Related links:

PublishingTrends.com has some very good news for e-book authors: 2008 Year in Review

For everything else that happened while we were writing, check out Newsday.com's backlook linkfest: Year in Review 2008

If you must resolve, check out the best ways to make it stick: How to keep up with those New Year's resolutions, researchers find commitment is the secret of success

Added: one last limited-time freebie of the year (reported as being advertised on the sidebar of my Scribd page for Incarnatio, oddly enough) is The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen. The Adobe .pdf version being offered doesn't download for me, so you might have to read it online, but hey, free book.