S.L. Viehl's Blog, page 101

College Romance Writer Contest

Avon Impulse has opened a novel contest for undergraduate and graduate college student romance writers:

Avon Books and Avon Impulse, imprints of HarperCollins Publishers, recognizes the raw talent and passion for the craft that many students bring to their work, and it is for this reason that they have chosen to work with HarperCollins’ Academic Marketing division to launch an initiative seeking emerging young stars of Romance.

Prizes: "Three (3) winners will each receive individual telephone consultations with Amanda Bergeron, editor, Avon Books and Tessa Woodward, editor, Avon Books, of approximately 30 minutes to be scheduled at a mutually convenient time by no later than September 30, 2014. In addition, all entries will be reviewed and considered for publication through Avon Impulse, Avon Books’ digital-first publishing group."

What to submit: "The lesser of three chapters or 50 pages of your romance novel; a detailed synopsis of your novel not to exceed 5 pages; and a brief paragraph not to exceed 150 words describing your follow-up book." See more details in the official rules (click here to get the .pdf) Deadline: Apil 1, 2014

No Cost Ten

Ten Things You Can Have for Free

Freeware caution: always scan free downloads of anything for bugs and other threats before dumping the programs into your hard drive.

Alternate Pic View is a "simple picture viewer and manipulator. Features: Slideshow, Thumbnails, Drawing operations, Serveral picture formats, Tile picutes, Combine pictures, Size pictues/extend, Batchconversation/Sizing and more" (OS: Win 98/ME/NT/2K/XP/2K3/Vista/7)

Celtx is a "comprehensive software package designed for people who work in the Film, TV, Theatre, and New Media industries. It combines full-feature scriptwriting with media rich pre-production support and enables online collaboration. Features include: Write, import, edit and publish scripts using standard industry formatting; Manage pre-production tasks like location and talent scouting; Perform production breakdowns by adding media (sound files, video clips and digital pictures); Collaborate with team members over the Internet" (OS: Mac OS X 10.4 or later)

Clipboard Master is a "handy utility designed to keep all previous texts, pictures and files copied to the clipboard in a list, for later use. Organize your text modules and snippets and paste them in any Windows program whenever you like. Features: List with the most recent items, Can by activated in any application at any time (Win + V or left + right mouse click), Many settings and rules possible" (OS: Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista/2008/7 [32-Bit/64-Bit])

The Journalist ia a "lightweight, easy-to-use and well-designed note taking application that enables you to quickly and effortlessly handle and write notes" (OS: Mac OS X 10.8 or later)

Joy to Mouse allows you to "use a joystick or joypad as if it were a normal mouse by transferring the operating system movements and clicks. In the "Options" window, accessible through the icon in the system tray, you can customize the buttons on the joystick and the velocity of movement of the pointer, enable the automatic acceleration and eventual execution of the program startup" (OS: Windows 9x/Me/2000/XP)

The free trial of Katana is a "straightforward note taking application that offers everything you need to take notes and edit, share or export them to PDF files. From Katana’s minimalist interface you can easily create new notes, search through existing ones and share them with your friends, family and co-workers via Email, Messages, Facebook or twitter" (OS:Mac OS X 10.9 or later)

Listen N Write "can be used to play and transcribe ordinary audio an video recordings. Listen N Write has special features simplifying the transcription work as you can control via keys (while using its integrated word processor) and insert time markers (bookmarks). Moreover, the audio stream is automatically rewinded a few seconds when pressing the Pause key. Listen N Write can be considered the standard program for any transcription because of its simplicity of use and small size" (OS: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/2008/7)

Radi allows you to "Create drawings, web animations and videos that work everywhere. Write web pages using the easy Markdown format. Make your videos more effective with stylized looks, annotations, etc" (OS: Mac OS X)

V-Radiois a "small and easy to use application that allows you to play your favorite internet radio stations" (OS: Windows XP/Vista/7; requires Windows Media Player 9 or later, Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0)

The free trial of Ulysses III "provides quick access to reliable, handy and stylish text editing tools and also includes support for processing Markdown documents" (OS: Mac OS X 10.7.3 or later)

Scrabble Board Collage

We're going to get crafty today; this is to show you how to recycle a Scrabble board game by turning it into a nifty Valentine's Day gift for the one you love.

What you'll need:

An old/unwanted Scrabble board game (if you want to keep yours check the local thrift stores)
Copies of your favorite family photos
Glue


First, lay out the tiles on the game board to form names and loving phrases (try to intersect two or more words to get the Scrabble effect.) Select photos that you want for the collage (if you like use a theme like your wedding, high school days, memories of the kids, or a special vacation as a theme.) Trim your photos to fit them into spaces between the words you've made with the tiles.

Lay out everything on the board so you'll have a preview of how it will look when it's finished. Once you're satisfied with the arrangement, glue the tiles to the board with a hot glue gun or tacky glue. Use adhesive splits or mounting corners to fix your photos in place (the game grid is an excellent placement guide for your photos, too.)

If you have any extra spaces on the board left that you want to fill, use adhesive-backed felt hearts or glue small mementos in those spots. Once all the glue has completely dried drill two small holes in the top corners of the board and tie on a piece of yarn or ribbon to serve as a hanger.

Here's what it should look like when it's done:

Cool Shelves

I spotted this old beauty here during a recent flea market junket and had to snap a shot. I love shaped book cases, and while I don't have space for it at mi casa, I thought it would likely fit perfectly in the corner of almost any room. Books are (to me, anyway) a safe harbor, so why not store them in lighthouse bookcase?













In anticipation of Spring cleaning I'm working on the home office, and now have one back wall free to do with as I please. I'd like to hang shelves (for books, of course) but I'd rather do something other than the usual thing. Which is probably why this clever shelf caught my eye:



What better way to keep track of the TBR as well as what you're reading or have just read than this?

Unfortunately that shelf would probably be a bit small for my purposes; at the moment I'm reading about twenty different books and I have another thirty piled up in the TBR queue. Maybe something like this would be more accomodating:



I don't have that much wall space, however, so I guess it's back to the drawing board -- and if I do put together anything especially cool I promise to post some pics.

Do you have an unusual or creative way to showcase your books? Let us know in comments (and share links to pics if you have them, too.)

Related PBW links: Book Places

Image credit for TBR and READ bookcases: Amazing Punch

London Then & Now

A cinematographer named Claude Friese-Greene travelled across the UK back in the 1920's with his new colour film camera. His trip ended in London, with some of his most stunning images, which were recently restored.

Filmmaker Simon Smith recreated every one of these shots by walking in Friese-Greene's footsteps around London, and cobbled them together in this split-screen video to show how much (or rather, how little) London has changed during the past 86 years. What caught my eye more than anything was the dramatic differences in clothing (video includes background music, for those of you at work):

London in 1927 & 2013 from Simon Smith on Vimeo.

(Video link nicked from Gerard at The Presurfer.)

Patronize Me

Salon.com's Laura Miller has an interesting article here on the future of authorial income, in which she spotlights Kickstarter as an excellent way for an author to raise funds for a novel project. Over the last couple of years the crowd-funding website has become a popular platform for indie authors and other publishing entities to employ when seeking the always-elusive financial support they need for books they can't/won't sell to publishers and other special projects.

What Ms. Miller doesn't mention in her piece is that Publishing has the second-lowest successfully funded rate of all the categories on Kickstarter; according to Writer's Digest only 32% of the book projects placed on the site are fully funded. I'll also take an educated guess that the majority of Kickstarter book-funding successes are enjoyed by established names who can attract a large number of donors and/or widespread interest from funder crowd. Still, Kickstarter has successfully funded 4,000+ publishing projects since it began in 2009, so if you already have a following and don't mind seeking financial aid in this manner it could help with the cost of producing an indie title.

Fine with Will

I took the How Long Would You Survive After the Apocalypse test and discovered I'll probably make it for a while after:



This also gives me an excuse to tell a true story: my daughter actually met Will Smith some years back during a school field trip to Disney World. The actor was there on vacation with his kids, and still took the time to stop and talk to my daughter and her class and answer some questions. We didn't know about any of this until she mentioned it during dinner that night, and I didn't believe her until I asked her teacher, who confirmed the whole thing. So if I'm going to be like any celebrity, I'm absolutely fine with Will Smith.

How long will you survive after the Apocalypse? Take the test and post your results in comments.

Added: Broken link for the test has been fixed -- apologies for that.

Elsewhere with Kit

Today I'm over at the Toriana blog celebrating 2014 and the print launch of my new series, which will be hitting the shelves in late January and February this Spring.

Stop in if you have a chance, enter the giveaway and you could win this lovely handmade crazy quilted tote (this is the one with the neat holographic thread stitching on the burnout silk centerpieces that I posted on the photoblog last year, and some sinfully soft silk velvet patchwork.) The giveaway winner will also receive a signed print copy of Disenchanted & Co. and a print ARC of The Clockwork Wolf.

Sub Ops Ten

Ten Things About Submission Opportunities

Belfire Press will be open to novel submissions from 2/01/14 to 5/30/14, and is looking for "mystery, adventure, fantasy, romance, historical, horror, thriller, science fiction, paranormal, urban and YA. We are particularly interested in cross-genre works. We publish almost every genre, with few exceptions. Over the years we’ve published mainly horror, and are looking to move into other areas. Horror submitted to us at this point will need to be something that really grabs us to receive a full request. All that being said, we are most interested in cross-genre fiction; urban-paranormal-fantasy-romance-YA-thriller-scifi-apocalyptic (sans zombie) sounds about right. If you’ve got a mix of any (or all) we’d take a look." Length: up to 90K; Payment according to Ralan.com: "no advance; print=25%; e-book=50% (½ if Dual Novella)" Query on reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.

Circlet Press is looking for erotic microfiction submissions: ". . . 250-1000 word short-shorts of erotic sf/f and related genres (no horror, though) that make an enticing fictive snack. Microfictions should be sex-positive. literary quality, and although they may be explicit should be tastefully written. Stories without that sf/f/speculative element will not be considered." Payment: "Microfictions pay $5 via Paypal (you must have a Paypal account), or a free ebook from our extensive digital library." See guidelines for more details.

The Dark Magazine is open to fiction submissions for its bimonthly e-zine, and is looking for: "Mainstream fiction with elements of the fantastic mixed in; Dark fantasy / science fiction; Magic realism (“a literary genre or style that incorporates fantastic or mythical elements into otherwise realistic fiction—called also magical realism”) —Merriam-Webster, www.m-w.com; Surrealism: (“the principles, ideals, or practice of producing fantastic or incongruous imagery or effects in art, literature, film, or theater by means of unnatural or irrational juxtapositions and combinations”) —Merriam-Webster,www.m-w.com. Don’t be afraid to experiment or to deviate from the ordinary; be stylistic—try us with fiction that falls out of “regular” categories. However, it is also important to understand that despite the name, The Dark is not a market for graphic, violent horror. The “horror” should be subtle and fall in with one or more of the themes above. It is also not a market for ordinary science fiction or fantasy." Length: "1,000 – 5,000 words (query for longer)" Payment: "We pay 3 cents/word for original fiction up to 5,000 words on publication for FNASR. Query for longer." No reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.

Fantasy Scroll Magazine has opened its virtual doors: "Fantasy Scroll Mag is a quarterly publication featuring science fiction, fantasy, horror, and paranormal short-fiction. We are a brand new publication and our mission is to publish high-quality, entertaining, and thought-provoking speculative fiction." Length: up to 5K; Payment: 1¢/word; reprints okay, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.

Inscription Magazine publishes science fiction and fantasy for teens, and is looking for ". . . stories with strong writing and memorable characters. There must be a clear genre element, science fiction or fantasy, so no non-genre fiction, please. But while genre is key, we consider characters and story to be even more important. Humor is welcome, but the point of your story shouldn’t just be a punch line at the end. While we hope readers of all ages will enjoy this magazine, we do primarily publish fiction for teens. It is always difficult to draw a definite line around what makes a story young adult, but here are some rough guidelines if you’re deciding whether your story is a good fit for our magazine – you can also read some of the fiction already posted on our site." Length: "We accept stories between 500 and 9,000 words in length." Payment: 5 cents/word. Reprints okay, electronic submission only, see guidelines for more details.

Resurrection House has an open call for their upcoming XIII antho, and is looking for: ". . . science fiction, fantasy, horror, and creative non-fiction for a loosely themed anthology to be released in the winter of 2015. “Thirteen” is the first month of a new yearly cycle, wherein the old skins have been shed and the newborns are still learning to walk. “One” and “Three” make “Four,” which is the number of completion, of coming home, and of realizing the form that has been in process for some time. Nothing is true; everything is possible. And the more things change, the more they stay the same. The thirteenth Tarot card is Death, and he is the symbol of transformation and rebirth. This is the genesis and root of XIII." Length: "Stories should be between 1,000 and 7,000 words" Payment: 5 cents/word. Reprints okay, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Deadline: March 13th, 2014.

The Act Itself erotica e-zine is calling for submissions, and is looking for: ". . . fun, sexy stories and quality erotica artwork. We'll not consider anything which includes underage characters or stupidly dangerous acts. We will consider some fetish-oriented themes, but keep them light. This publication is to bring everyone together, and for everyone to have a good time. What do we like to read in our spare time? Some like Penthouse Letters, others like Literotica.com, others enjoy the Marketplace books, or anything from Blue Moon. That should give you some idea as to what we're looking for." [PBW notes they also want authors to be 21 or older.] Length: up to 8k; Payment: 3 cents per word; no reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details.

Villainous Press has an open call for their upcoming Steampunk: The Worlds Beyond antho, and requires the following story elements: "Protagonist is either a (strong, empowered) female OR an under-represented race (Black, Hispanic, Middle-Eastern, Asian, Native, etc.); The setting must be anywhere EXCEPT on Earth. Please worldbuild so we can “see” your setting; You may mix in dark, horror, mystery, romantic, fantasy, or science fiction elements, as long as it doesn’t overpower the theme of steampunk; This is a Steampunk anthology, so there must be Steampunk elements. A bit of electricity or dieselpunk is acceptable, but the majority must be steam-oriented; A solid plot involving a conflict of some sort. Make your “villain” believable and a good match for your hero." Length: "Stories must be between 2,500 words and 8,000 words, strict." Payment: "From 2,500 to 6,000 words: $15US plus a copy of the print edition. For countries other than the United States, $15US plus a copy of the digital edition; From 6,000 to 8,000 words, $25US plus a copy of the print edition. For countries other than the United States, $25US plus a copy of the digital edition." No reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Deadline: February 28th, 2014

There's an open call here for a dark ritual antho: "Rituals have always been a powerful part of human life, from the ancient Aztec nation’s human sacrifice to the supposed transubstantiation of the Communion elements during Catholic Mass. They impart a sense of history, comfort, community, common ground—but also power, mystery and horror. Since this isn’t Clam Chowder for the Coddled Child, I’m interested in the latter attributes. I want to see dark ritual in all the various forms you can imagine—from the ancient and ceremonial to the simple and home-grown. The rituals in your stories can be grounded in painstaking research or your own twisted creations. They can have real power or simply exist in the minds of your characters. They can produce the desired effect or something else entirely. Stories predicated upon the standard voodoo doll or zombie need to be particularly mind-blowing, as such topics are expected given the theme—the same goes for Cthulhu Mythos. If you’ve read CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY? you’ll know that I’m especially interested in the kind of stories that play with people’s preconceived notions and turn tropes on their ears. I’m anticipating a modern setting for most pieces, though I’m open to historical stories told with today’s sensibilities. Cross-genre stories will likely be a hard sell. No Science Fiction. Urban Fantasy might work. Gore and sex need to support an actual story, rather than be the end in and of themselves." Length: "Word count is 3-5,000." Payment" "will be split royalties, paid quarterly*." Query on reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Deadline: June 1st, 2014.

WritersWhoRock.com has an open call here for an upcoming Nana-themed antho: "We are looking for true life stories about specific memories, incidents and lessons learned from your grandmother. What impact did she have on the woman you have become? You can convey her essence through conversations you had and remembrances you cherish-or cringe about. Unusual, provocative, irreverent, poignant, shocking, sad, or funny are the kinds of stories we are looking for. Are you and your grandma radically different or two peas in a pod? Was she traditional nana or a forward thinking feminist? Was she kindly? Or best described as a witch?" Length and Payment: "We pay $30 for 500-2000 words upon acceptance and two contributor copies after publication." No reprints, electronic submissions only, see guidelines for more details. Deadline: March 14, 2014.

Much of the above was found among the marvelous market listings at Ralan.com.

Didn't Got Build

We have a loose tradition of having take-out from our favorite Chinese restaurant on or around New Year's, and while we're a bit late for 2014 we finally indulged last night. The place we go to faithfully is also the source of my favorite fortune cookies, as they always seem to offer some very quirky (and occasionally eerie) wisdom. So far 2014 has been relatively uneventful, too, so I was itching to read the first fortunes the Universe sent our way.

Our daughter's part-time job at a very busy store has turned out to be more like full-time, so I imagine she was happy to read hers:



My guy is not getting any younger, but he never uses his age as an excuse, and usually does twice the work of men half his age. He also doesn't give up even when things get really tough, so his fortune was probably not much of a surprise:



Then there was mine:



Love that comma placement. Of course it can be interpreted to be about writing -- isn't everything about writing? -- but at that moment it spoke to me about something else, too.

We always get an extra fortune cookie so that whoever doesn't like their fortune can have a do-ever. Since we were all happy with our fortunes we decided the fourth cookie would be a fortune for the year ahead for all of us. It delivered the expected wisdom along with an unexpected chuckle: