Crossed Genres magazine is holding a Flash Fiction contest! Submissions are open through Sunday, June 14!

* 100-500 words
* Science Fiction and/or Fantasy
* Up to 3 entries per person

The best 10 submissions will be voted on by readers. The top 4 will all get free 1-year subscriptions to Crossed Genres, and the winner will also get $8 and have the story published on the site!

Please visit the contest page for more info.

One of the writing groups I belong to (the GSHW), is running a short story competition.  If you'd like to know more, please read here . . .

Kate Harding and the lovely Marianne Kirby (aka onceupon) have co-authored Lessons From the Fatosphere. What a leap forward for those of us that struggle with body acceptance!



Pulled straight from Amazon:

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
From the leading bloggers in the fat-acceptance movement comes an empowering guide to body image— no matter what the scales say.( ... )

Casting the Bones: The Truth About Telling Lies - The Fiction Writer's Resource from Robert Gregory Browne, an AMPAS Nicholl Award-winning screenwriter and novelist

So I'm trying to get a new community going, and I'd figured I'd let you guys know what I'm trying to do.

realconcrit is a community where you can post chapters/snippets of your work and get anonymous, honest feedback from experienced readers/writers. I'm looking for anyone who would be interested in becoming a 'feedback mod,' as I call it - someone who would like to read and leave feedback for posters.

Feel free to drop by and check out the community - it's open right now. I have a couple already who are ready and willing to give good feedback. Let me know if you have any questions. :)

onlineclasses is a community where writers can learn about upcoming online classes and events of interest to writers.

NewFoundSpecFic (New Found Speculative Fiction) is a bi-annual speculative fiction anthology. Founded in 2008 by Devin Drover and Jennifer Graham, NewFoundSpecFic aims to showcase the creative speculative fiction stories of horror, fantasy and science fiction written by many of the undiscovered talents of Canada for others to enjoy.

We've officially started accepting submissions for the second issue. For more infomation on what/how to submit, visit our submission guidelines.


Looking forward to hearing from you!

- Devin Drover
Co-Founder/Editor
NewFoundSpecFic  


 

Crossed Genres is now accepting writing submissions for the upcoming Urban SciFi and Urban Fantasy issue. Just a reminder: Crossed Genres is now a paying market.

Ever wonder…

-Who would take a job as housekeeper in a mansion where giant spiders and flying monkeys reside?
-What happens when out-of-work Fairy Godmothers get bored and drunk?
-Can Ketchup and Mustard save the day?
-What if the shape shifter of your dreams wasn’t a werewolf at all?
-In the battle between good and evil, would you have the courage to choose job security over principle?

Find the answers to those questions and more in Issue Five of Crossed Genres Magazine, along with gorgeous cover art by Alexandra Prillaman and an article by the iconic Fantasy Humor writer Piers Anthony.

On May 1st, Crossed Genres will release its SciFi/Fantasy WESTERN issue, which includes a cover by the outstanding Nicc Balce and an article about the origins of the SciFi Western in Hollywood.

Visit the Crossed Genres Store to subscribe or to buy individual issues at very reasonable prices.

... and we know there are some talented writers out there who dream of seeing their work on bookshelves.

Hello, fellow writers!

Starting today, WEbook.com, the home of community-sourced novels, is accepting submissions of completed, full-length books (stories, poems, etc.) for publication consideration.

Then, on April 6, the WEbook spring vote starts, and readers, writers, and members can vote for their favorite projects, giving a thumbs-up if they think the book is worthy of publication or a thumbs-down if more work is needed.

On April 20, voting ends, and WEbook will choose which books to publish from the submissions that made the top 10% in the vote. During the last voting cycle, two books were chosen, and during the first cycle, three were selected; who knows how many we'll pick this time!

Please let me know if you have any questions.

And if you'd like a first-hand account of how the WEbook process works and how it feels to be published through WEbook, please send me a message and I'll pass on the names of some LJ users who are published WEbook authors. I'm not going to post their usernames here. I haven't submitted my projects yet so I wouldn't be the best person to talk to, but there are LJ users who could be more helpful. Just let me know!

Thanks and good luck!

Found via askerian:

Patrica C. Wrede's Worldbuilder Questions

Geared more towards fantasy, but even if that's not your genre it may be worth a poke.

Found via kc_anathema

Story Background Checklist

Provides a list of questions under categories such as geography, dress, everyday life and so on.

Shroud Magazine to be sold by Barnes & Noble Across North America.

Today at 11:54am
It's official. I received the order list from Ingram this morning. Beginning with Issue #6, Shroud will be sold through Barnes & Noble's retail stores across the country.



http://www.shroudmagazine.com/quarter-page-advertising-special.html

There is no better time to take advantage of our 30 buck quarter-page ad program (not to mention our other deep discounts for ads.)

Order now, and I'll slip your ad into TWO issues at no additional charge! (Issues 5&6)

http://www.shroudmagazine.com/quarter-page-advertising-special.html

Please share and repost as you think appropriate... :)

Here's a partial list of our orders:

Barnes & Noble #1847 Marina Del Rey CA
Barnes & Noble #1898 Norwalk CT
Barnes & Noble #1912 Manhasset NY
Barnes & Noble #1913 Broomall PA
Barnes & Noble #1915 Bellevue WA
Barnes & Noble #1963 Farmington CT
Barnes & Noble #1968 Columbus OH

... many many more...

View the full list on our blog:
www.shroudmagazine.com

Thank you all for your support!

-Tim
http://www.shroudmagazine.com/quarter-page-advertising-special.html

Happy Valentines Day!  My roses are words and my box of chocolates is a new speculative fiction Website created by the Wily Writers Group (mainly angelmcc  who is a one-person wonder).

There are three free stories up and two for purchase as audio or print downloads.  Don't miss The Death of Captain Bloodcake and the Fall of the Horrid Whore by joelasutherland  and  Creating Belle by angelmcc  . My story, The Derby, which is up for a Sir Julius Vogel Award, is free  to read with a wonderful easy on-line nom form so you can add your vote to the nominations.  If you're one of the many who have already read The Derby and voted, I still encourage you to visit http://www.wilywriters.com/blog/ and check out all the other wonderful offerings.  If you haven't yet read The Derby or voted, I hope you will. 

And please feel free to let me know what you thought of your Valentines gift, by leaving a comment here or at my LJ. 

Love,
Ripley

DISCLAIMER: This is from MY experience, and a few of my close friends. Other people's experiences may be different.
Written for ookami_kasumi .  She seems to think I'm one of the best writers of emotions around and asked me to share just how to write emotions- so here you have this article!

Betaed and made a thousand times better than the rough draft by the incomparable micah_n10 .  Special thanks to Micah for all the support and editing for this one.

Enter the Dark Side...

Comments and feedback greatly appreciated.

http://ilona-andrews.livejournal.com/tag/paragraph+troubleshooting

She offered to let folks comment on a post with a paragraph that she would then critique. The period of time to get in on this is over. I actually made it in yet mine isn't up yet. No I will not be telling you which one it is either. What I will say is that this is far from what I expected. She is taking her time and really going over these paragraphs. There is so much you can learn by reading the posts. The link I have is to her tag for this series. I figure that way, you will get to read them all when you make with the clickie. If you happen over, tell her we sent you. I asked permission prior to posting. She is a great person to know. Show her a little love while you are over that way!

OK actually, I have a moment to pimp a couple of excellent stories. I have been behind in my short fiction reads of late. I am catching up though.

Please check out the lovely M.E. Cooper(mecooper)'s story, "Run, Run Rudolph," now up at Lorelei Signal . In her own words, "It's pretty much G rated ... a bit of violence, a bit of alcohol, alot of angst, and a bit of sappiness." It really isn't all that heavy with the sappy! It is a great story. I enjoyed the read. She even managed to make me squirm a bit for the character. Go read it, let her know what you think. You can also vote for her story. She is a good friend of mine. It would mean so much if you shared the love.

Next up to bat is one written by the talented New Zealander, Regina Patton (rippatton) She also has a story up at Lorelei, "The House that Dirk Built" . However, the story on our plate today is "The Derby." I like the hidden meanings in the story. I like the flow of the story. I am not as at home in science fiction as I am elsewhere. She took me nicely along just the same. I went willingly! "The Derby" can be found in the print and PDF issue #33 of Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, released in March 2008. It is up for The Sir Julius Vogel Awards 2009. She is offering to email it to interested readers. If you like it, you can help her out by nominating the story. You can go to her entry here for more details. Tell her I sent you on over. She spent quite a bit of time helping me out this summer. She is a wonderful person and a talented author. I would love for you to throw a bit of support her way.

Thanks guys. xposted to my journal and lobo_luna

You stole my idea by Tess Gerritsen

Ask the Editor - Sex Scenes in a Romance Novel by Shelley Thrasher