Christopher C. Payne's Blog, page 7

THREE HALLMARKS OF HORROR: Part I (Location)

An online dictionary provides three definitions of hallmark: ( Brit ) an official series of marks, instituted by statute in 1300, and subsequently modified, stamped by the Guild of Goldsmiths at one of its assay offices on gold, silver, or platinum (since 1975) articles to guarantee purity, date of manufacture, etc.; a mark or sign [...]

Vale of Stars

SEVEN GRAMMAR RULES YOU CAN IGNORE—WHEN YOU NEED TO

Whenever I taught English Composition and Creative Writing in the same semester, I was forcibly reminded of one important rule in writing: “There are rules, and there are rules.” Writers of expository essays and other non-fiction have, at ground, a single task—to communicate an idea effectively. This generally means following a series of conventions developed [...]

JournalStone Publishing Announces Signing Of Distribution Deal With Library Ideas, LLC

For immediate release: JournalStone Publishing Announces Signing Of Distribution Deal With Library Ideas, LLC SAN FRANCISCO, September 8, 2012 –JournalStone Publishing President, Christopher C. Payne is pleased to announce that JournalStone Publishing has just executed a wide-ranging distribution deal for all its titles with Library Ideas, LLC. Library Ideas, LLC is a global media company [...]

Barnes & Noble to Stock Jeffrey Wilson’s The Donors in bookstores!

For immediate release: JournalStone Publishing Announces Signing Of Distribution Deal With Barnes & Noble, Inc. SAN FRANCISCO, September 8, 2012 –JournalStone Publishing President, Christopher C. Payne is pleased to announce that JournalStone Publishing has just executed a distribution deal with Barnes & Noble, Inc. whereby the bookstore chain will be stocking copies of JS’s just [...]

Good Words/Bad Words

There are no ‘good’ words. There are only words used precisely and accurately in appropriate contexts. And there are no “bad” words. There are only words used imprecisely and inaccurately in inappropriate contexts. Words are essentially neutral. They are arbitrary constructs of letters or sounds that by themselves carry no meaning. The easiest way to [...]

JournalStone Publishing Announces Imminent Release of Inaugural Issue of Nameless Digest

SAN FRANCISCO, August 29, 2012 – JournalStone Publishing President, Christopher C. Payne is pleased to announce the imminent release of the debut issue (Volume 1, Number 1) of the new biannual (Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter) digest, Nameless. This perfect-bound journal (more of a book, really), is printed in full color, and filled with over 150 pages [...]

Interview with Annastaysia Savage, an author at JournalStone Publishing

Many writers have crowded personalities. They are plagued—or entertained— by multiple Muses. Authors who write for Young Adults and for grownups must have some very interesting internal conversations. Characters of any age can be arguing for space within their heads. Sorting out all that commotion and making a coherent story from the noise is a [...]

When Words Stumble

Writers are courageous human beings. Sir Philip Sidney argued this. Percy Bysshe Shelley did also. When I was teaching intermediate poetry at Pepperdine, required of all creative writing majors before they could take upper-division specialty courses, I began by reassuring students that by virtue of having written a single poem—of having exposed their deepest selves [...]

JournalStone Publishing Continues Expansion – Acquires Acclaimed Dark Discoveries Magazine & Website

SAN FRANCISCO, August 20, 2012 –JournalStone Publishing President, Christopher C. Payne is pleased to announce that JS has just purchased the acclaimed internationally distributed, quarterly slick full-color magazine, Dark Discoveries, and its related website from founder and publisher, James Beach, who will also be joining the JS team and remain as Senior Managing Editor of [...]