Val Prozorova's Blog, page 5

Throwback!

It was my pride, my privilege, nay, my pleasure (quote, anyone?) to work with the incredible head Magpie of Magpie Graphic Design on a collaborative little throwback project.

Featured below are a couple of quotes from five of my previously published stories that we both felt needed a bit more love. Have a gander, see if you want to read more, and if you do... head on over to my Publications page and find the one you're after and you're on your way! And after you're done, be sure to hit Magpie Graphic Design p on Facebook and throw a like and a few fantastic reviews their way.

You'll see more collaborative projects from the two of us in the future, you just watch!

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Image copyright to Magpie Graphic Design and used with permission.

You can find Bespoke on Amazon.

Image copyright to Magpie Graphic Design and used with permission.

You can find Bespoke on Amazon.

Image copyright to Magpie Graphic Design and used with permission.

You can find Erotic Descriptives on Amazon.

Image copyright to Magpie Graphic Design and used with permission.

You can find Erotic Descriptives on Amazon.

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Image copyright to Magpie Graphic Design and used with permission.

You can find Duet on Amazon.

Image copyright to Magpie Graphic Design and used with permission.

You can find Duet on Amazon.

Image copyright to Magpie Graphic Design and used with permission.

Image copyright to Magpie Graphic Design and used with permission.

Image copyright to Magpie Graphic Design and used with permission.

You can find Urgent Train Message: Immediate Delivery on Amazon.

Image copyright to Magpie Graphic Design and used with permission.

You can find Urgent Train Message: Immediate Delivery on Amazon.

Like what you see? Definitely head over to my Publications page and have a look at all the anthologies and journals that are up there, and see if anything catches your eye. And don't forget to show our head Magpie some love!!

Seattle Erotic Arts Festival Anthology

Looks what's gone on sale today!

Notice any familiar names at the back? Very excited to be part of this, and cannot wait to hold it in my hand. Unfortunately I won't be able to be at the festival itself this year but... never say never! I will most certainly be sending work in next year, and if I'm lucky to be selected again I will definitely be making the trip in 2018!

Check out the Amazon page for where to buy this gorgeous anthology and support a very worthy cause!

Calls for Stories Ending Mid April

A few calls ending around the middle of April for you to look at, I will update this if more come in that aren't on here at the moment, but this is enough to keep a few of you busy, I'm sure!

Confrontation Magazine
Type of call: Short fiction, flash fiction, non-fiction, poetry
Length: Varies
Paid? Yes, up to $250 per story
Publisher: Confrontation Magazine
Erotica? No
Ending: April 15th

Blackbird Literary Journal
Type of call: Short fiction, poetry
Length: Up to 8,000 words
Paid? Yes,
Publisher: Blackbird
Erotica? No
Ending: April 15th

Cat's Breakfast
Type of call: Short fiction
Length: Up to 3,000 words
Paid? Yes, 6c per word
Publisher: Third Flatron Publication
Erotica? No
Ending: April 15th

Pirates!
Type of call: Short fiction
Length: Up to 5,000 words
Paid? Yes, $50USD
Publisher: Delilah Devlin
Erotica? Yes!!
Ending: April 15th

Wanderlust Anthology Release

The stories in this anthology explore the ramifications of wanderlust—with an emphasis on lust. Twelve tales of those who cannot stay still—whether by choice, curse, or circumstance. Men and women gripped by the impulse to wander, travel, explore the world—and explorations of the sexual encounters they have along the way.

I'm incredibly proud to be one of the twelve writers in this amazing anthology put together by Megan Lewis. It was such a great experience working with this wonderful editor, and I cannot wait to submit more work her way and try my luck.

This awesome thing is available on Amazon, iBooks, and Kobo TODAY! And not only that, but we already have an early review up to get your minds tingling and your desire tugging to get the book for your very own. Check out the review here, by thebookowlery.

 

#Trans Blog Hop

I've mentioned this anthology in an entry before, and as I am incredibly proud to be part of this, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to participate in the blog hop to go with it.

I think technology is far from the brain-melting thing some people attempt to make it out to be. Certainly, some people use it more than others would like; they keep their eyes glued to the screen when they are sitting at the dining room table, they check their emails more often than their call log... but what a lot of people don't realize, is the reason behind this use of technology as a shield.

I remember, during a particularly difficult time in my life, being forced by people who thought they were doing what was best for me, to give up this shield, to set it aside and talk to them instead. To be present. To be social. What they took away from me was my ability to be myself. Because with these people I could not identify as I wanted to identify, I didn't feel safe coming out to them yet, I didn't feel safe knowing that they could tell someone even if I told them in confidence.

Interestingly, of those four people, I only have kept one in my life after that incident. Amusingly, he, too, had a shield, but it was a different one to the one I was using.

Technology for several generations is restrictive. It feels too difficult to master, too difficult to keep straight. They don't understand the necessity of putting up information about your every passing thought and whim, they find it irritating when we post photos of ourselves, and document things on camera instead of "just living in the moment". But technology for some of us was a way to escape, and a way to become who we truly were. Technology was about looking at photos we took and seeing our true self through beyond what others would see. Technology was about recording our lives because we weren't present in the moment, mentally, to enjoy it then. Technology was being able to use our chosen pronouns, being able to make friends with those who understood how difficult it was to wake up in a body that didn't feel like your own, being able to connect, on some level, with someone, even if they were miles and miles away.

This is the magic that this anthology captures. That connection. That desperate reach and the hand on the other side of the screen that held us through the toughest times.

#Trans is a collection of works by people who have come out, and those who want to, those who understand that a shield is the most powerful weapon, and who want to teach that to others.

#Trans can be found on Smashwords and Amazon, and is edited by one of the most incredible people I know, Eve Deshane, and you really should take a look at it.

You should also give a read to all the amazing blog hop entries before mine, and the one that will come after, following the schedule below, and give all the writers your love.

March 10th: Eve Deshane blogging evedeshane.wordpress.com.
March 13th: Erika D. Price blogging on their tumblr.
March 15th mud howard on their website. 
March 17th Ariel Estrella on their website. 
March 20th: J.K. Pendragon on their website. 
March 22nd: Gabriel D. Vidrine on their tumblr.
March 29th: Allen Hope on #Trans site. 

I cannot WAIT to share this with you!

V

Calls for Stories Ending End of March (And Start of April)

I've been considering doing this for some time, and have had fairly positive feedback on Twitter in regards to starting something like this up, so I'll give it a go and see!

I have a huge Trello board dedicated to cataloguing my writing. I have a rejection and acceptance list, I have a list of stories submitted and still waiting for an answer, I have submission calls organized by month and date when they are due...

In short, I like to keep my Trello organized.

And it occurred to me, after giving my talk at Eroticon, that people looking to get into the writing for publication might not know where to look for calls, or what to look for in calls in order to start.

SO.

I'm going to start posting these little lists twice a month, in the middle of the month and at the start of every new month, to keep an updated list of all the calls that I have coming over my Trello, in case someone sees inspiration in a call and wants to jump on it too. The reason for two postings, is that a lot of calls for the end of the month come through midway, and so new information will be up in the second blog post that could be of interest!

THERE IS A CALL HERE FOR FREE DOMAIN FANDOM WORK!! I told you they exist!

For reference, the sites I use to find my calls can be found on the Blogs and Brilliant Content page at the very bottom. Those three keep me pretty full up and happily busy. If you know of any others that I should take a look at and add, hit me up!

CALLS ENDING MARCH

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone
Type of call: Short non-fiction, poetry
Length: Under 1,200 words
Paid? Yes, $200 per story or poem, 10 copies of the book
Publisher: Chicken Soup for the Soul
Erotica? No
Ending: March 31st

Fool for You Anthology
Type of call: Novella
Length: 10,000-20,000 words
Paid? Yes, $200 per accepted novella
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Erotica? Yes
Ending: March 31st

ND [re]view
Type of call: Short prose, poetry
Length: Less than 5,000 words
Paid? Yes
Publisher: Notre Dame Review
Erotica? No
Ending: March 31st

Queer Loving
Type of call: Prose
Length: Between 5,000 and 6,000 words
Paid? Yes, $40USD
Publisher: Queer Pack
Erotica? Possibly
Ending: March 31st

Trans Charity Collection
Type of call: Prose based on free domain fandoms
Length: Between 1,000 and 10,000 words
Paid? No, but all royalties go to charity
Publisher: Carnation Books
Erotica? Possibly
Ending: March 31st

Writing for Animals
Type of call: Non-fiction prose
Length: Under 10,000 words
Paid? Yes, $100USD per essay
Publisher: Ashland Creek Press
Erotica? No
Ending: March 31st

CALLS ENDING START OF APRIL

New England Horror Anthology
Type of call: Prose
Length: 2,000 to 10,000 words
Paid? Yes, $75USD per essay
Publisher: Orford Parish Books
Erotica? No
Ending: April 1st

The Rush Magazine
Type of call: Prose, poetry, non-fiction
Length: Under 2,500 words
Paid? Yes,
Publisher: The Rush Mag
Erotica? No
Ending: April 1st

Symphony Amore
Type of call: Prose
Length: 3,000 to 5,000 words
Paid? Yes,
Publisher: Sexy Little Pages
Erotica? Yes yes yes
Ending: April 3rd

Good luck to the muses!

V

Ten Things I Took Home From #Eroticon

It's been three days, and the con drop has hit me.

I've had so much on my mind and so much to do that I haven't had time to write til just now, so I'll try to make it worth the wait.

Firstly, I got to spend my birthday with two of my favourite people in the world, and another special day with them the day after, in Bath Spa together. Now that it's Wednesday and I am on my own, warming my cold hands as I head back to London from Dover Priory, it's finally hit me:

I was at Eroticon.

I spoke at Eroticon.

I had the time of my life at Eroticon.

My mind is still somewhat blurry and my thoughts a tad incoherent, so I will jump happily on the bandwagon and talk about the ten things that I took home from one of the most incredible weekends of my life.

A feeling of inclusion. Not once did I feel that the attendees of the convention were crawling into cliques. I have never been here before, and I knew only a few people by name, and yet every time I sat down I had someone to talk to, and made so many friends that way. This is honestly the first convention I've attended where this has been the case.More business cards than I arrived with. I truly feel incredibly blessed to have met the people I got to meet at Eroticon. I met bloggers and writers, creators and photographers; people who I would never have dreamed of having the confidence to approach online, because they are really that spectacular.A stunning one-of-a-kind ceramic dildo by @CeramicPleasure. Seriously, if you haven't seen his work, you absolutely must.Hand-made goodness from the KinkCraft workshops. And now the upcoming thought of how to get them through customs as I fly home on Saturday.A restoration in my faith in humanity. Every single person who was there has inspired me. People have the most incredible ideas for their business, for niches they are writing within, for spreading the word about sex positivity... It was magical.Swag, swag, swag. Photos to come, once I land back home, but I have so many goodies from Hot Octopus and Fuck.com and others that I would love to share and scream about for days. Not only did I get to COME but I got PRESENTS FOR IT??New knowledge. Every single talk was brilliant. I only wish I could have been in two places at once so I could have seen them all and not had to choose between them!Friends. I guess this was partially covered by previous points, but in truth I left feeling like I had made a connection that was more than a passing "hi how are ya", and that's incredibly rare.Inspiration. The readings, the conversations, the talks, the workshops... everything came with a spark of an idea that I am fairly certain I will use in upcoming stories.Confidence. I genuinely felt like I had made a difference, even a tiny one. I was encouraged to stand up and give my talk, to stand up and read my story. The feedback was lovely, the suggestions for more have definitely been taken into account. I feel... I feel good. I feel like I didn't disappoint myself for my first ever writing convention, and I hope I didn't disappoint anyone either :)

I did attempt to record my session, but unfortunately my camera hadn't more space than for the first 20 minutes of the talk (should have checked the settings on quality, oops). I will post those up here, and on my Facebook page once I have the chance. And I will post a transcript of my speech on here as well, for anyone who would like to download it and give a read through.

Thank you to everyone who was there, to everyone new I've met, to my friends who didn't make it but were my cheerleaders the entire way... thank you :)

#Eroticon 2017: Day 1

Hellooooo London!

I was lucky enough to be granted access to both days of this amazing convention, so I found myself losing myself in London early this morning in an attempt to find Arlington House in Camden... when I was standing outside of Arlington House at St James.

Luckily I am one of those absolute welrdos who loves the tube and navigating it, so soon enough I was at the right place, with the right people, donning my black lanyard (take photos, I beg of you!) and grabbing this amazing goodie bag:

Mugs! THEY GAVE ME MUGS! (among other brilliant things)

The flower tie, today.

From the off, the talks were amazing. I already feel panicky at the thought of speaking in 14 hours, because I have some seriously brilliant presenters to match! I have this total fear that no one will show up to my talk and I will awkwardly be twiddling my thumbs at the front of the room for an hour.

Who knows. I might be?

That said, even if something so frightening could happen, I will still do my best to film the talk to post on here and my writing Facebook page later. Might be tricky with certain people and privacy, but I will do my very best. If nothing else, I will record audio on my phone.

To close off my day (since I made plans to see a show - La Ronde - before I knew I would get the chance to enjoy the Saturday events as well) I made a fantastic and cute little collar at one of the kinky toy workshops.

Inside, outside, cobra knot...

I cannot wait to attend tomorrow! Brilliant people to see, more toys to make, my own speech to give... and possibly a reading? If my throat feels up for it?

As above, will keep you posted.

For those in London, I hope to see you tomorrow! For those not, I will keep you as updated as I possibly can on both my twitter accounts and my Instagram with what's going on. You can find links to both on my SOCIAL page.

Good night from the UK, and see y'all tomorrow!

Identity: An Eroticon Anthology

This is so, so exciting! You can preorder the anthology on Amazon for a special price before the convention goes live, and after that it will be available as paperback as well.

Look at how beautiful the cover is!!

Very excited to be heading to London for this convention in 6 days. I still can't believe this is happening!

More updates to come -- February is a busy month!

Thank you so all of your support, always!

Preorder "#Trans" for March 3rd Release!

I am so excited to announce that #Trans is up for pre-order on Smashwords and Amazon.com from today!

#Trans is an essay collection featuring the works of twenty transgender and nonbinary writers as they share their experiences with online communities, video games, and dating apps--among other technologies. Each author's experience of their identity breaks away from the typical transgender narrative that is predominantly hung up on surgery and medical intervention. While that aspect is still a part of the story for some of these writers, surgery has never been the sole inspiration which pushes these writers forward. 

Whether it was the love of a particular movie, the desire to share a feeling on social media, or a song they couldn't get out of their heads, these twenty writers' experiences of their identity have been shaped by media, technology, and the internet. And now, #Trans is ready to share with all of you.

I could not be more proud to be in such an incredible anthology, talking about what #trans means to me, through words that use the same root. This is put together by one of the most hardworking people I know, Eve Deshane, and deserves all of the attention!