Eric J. Guignard's Blog, page 30

Next showcase review for my collection, THAT WHICH GROWS WILD!

Next showcase review for my collection, That Which Grows Wild!

Next to review my debut collection of short stories is AMAZING STORIES MAGAZINE, the classic science and speculative fiction magazine!

Thank you so much to Ricky Brown, and the others involved at Amazing Stories Mag for this comprehensive and incredibly kind-hearted review:

“...The element that stands out most across the spectrum of work included here is Guignard’s innate ability to open each story with gripping prose that immediately grabs your attention while setting the darker tone for the rest of the story…”

And: “A good story evolves, develops, grows into an adventurous journey that the reader can become absorbed in and think about long after the last page is turned. And that’s just what the book THAT WHICH GROWS WILD: 16 TALES OF DARK FICTION by Bram Stoker Award-winner Eric J. Guignard does for the reader.”

Read the full review here!
https://amazingstoriesmag.com/2018/03/review-grows-wild-16-tales-dark-fiction-eric-j-guignard/
Title: THAT WHICH GROWS WILD: 16 TALES OF DARK FICTIONBy: Eric J. GuignardPublisher: ebook by Cemetery Dance Publications; print book by Harper Day BooksNumber of pages: 29613-digit ISBN (paperback):978-1-949491-00-5ASIN (e-book): B07F6P27JV 
FOR SALE ON AMAZON HERE:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1949491005/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

First showcase review for my collection, THAT WHICH GROWS WILD!

First showcase review for my collection, THAT WHICH GROWS WILD!

First to review my debut collection of short stories is FANBASE PRESS, a reviewer and producer of daily reviews, interviews, and podcasts, that span the pop culture spectrum.

Thank you so much to Barbra Dillon, Bryant Dillon, Michele Brittany, and the others involved at Fanbase Press for this immensely generous and in-depth review. I haven’t blushed this much since I was a teen, but I felt my cheeks flush at these amazing and kind opinions:

“... Guignard weaves magic through his writing style. Through his word choices and use of metaphors and similes, he creates a beautiful narrative tapestry of vivid images and fragile emotional experiences. He has an incredible talent for dropping in what seems like an incidental detail or story flavor that turns out to be a crucial third act element. And, he is able to change his voice in each story; each character has their own unique voice….”

And: “Eric Guignard crafts storytelling into a timeless masterpiece. THAT WHICH GROWS WILD: 16 TALES OF DARK FICTION is a brilliant collection of haunting stories that will captivate readers that relish dark fiction…”

Read the full review here!

http://www.fanbasepress.com/index.php/press/reviews/item/8631-that-which-grows-wild-16-tales-of-dark-fiction-advance-book-review

Title: THAT WHICH GROWS WILD: 16 TALES OF DARK FICTION
By: Eric J. Guignard
Publisher: ebook by Cemetery Dance Publications; print book by Harper Day Books
Number of pages: 296
13-digit ISBN (paperback): 978-1-949491-00-5
13-digit ISBN (e-book): 978-1-58767-692-5

FOR SALE ON AMAZON HERE: https://www.amazon.com/That-Which-Grows-Wild-Fiction/dp/1949491005/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr
 

I just received a STARRED REVIEW from Publishers Weekly

This just happened: I received a STARRED REVIEW from Publishers Weekly!!!!!

https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780998938318

This for the latest anthology I created, A WORLD OF HORROR

Release of my debut Collection, THAT WHICH GROWS WILD

This is it! Here, now! One of my dreams realized: My debut fiction collection has just been released!!!! Published through Cemetery Dance Publications(paperback through Harper Day), July, 2018. THAT WHICH GROWS WILD: 16 TALES OF DARK FICTION
I’ve been publishing fiction since February, 2011 (abt. 7-1/2 years) as individual stories in magazines and anthologies. Since then I’ve written 86 short stories, most of them having published (some forthcoming, some languishing in the trunk), and many published more than once. During that time I always wondered what it would be like to collect some of the best and package them into a book, if it would be worth it, if anyone would want it… Now I know. I feel like it’s something of a legacy to be able to point to this and say, “This is me, this is what I’ve done.” Though, of course, I hope to build off this and only improve over many more books to come!!
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What this book is:
THAT WHICH GROWS WILD collects sixteen dark and masterful short fiction stories by award-winning author Eric J. Guignard. Equal parts of whimsy and weird, horror and heartbreak, this debut collection traverses the darker side of the fantastic through vibrant and harrowing tales that encounter monsters and regrets, hope and atonement, and the oddly changing reflection that turns back at you in the mirror.
Discover why, after only several years, Eric J. Guignard has developed an ardent following and earned praise by masters of the craft such as Ramsey Campbell (“Guignard gives voice to paranoid vision that’s all too believable.”) and Rick Hautala (“No other young horror author is better, I think, than Eric J. Guignard.”) by stories such as these:
• In “A Case Study in Natural Selection and How It Applies to Love,” a teen learns about himself while contemplating the theory of Natural Selection as the world around slowly dies from rising temperature and increasing cases of spontaneous combustion.
• In “Dreams of a Little Suicide,” a down-on-his-luck dwarven man unexpectedly finds his dreams and love in Hollywood as a munchkin for filming of The Wizard of Oz, but soon those dreams begin to darken.
• In “The Inveterate Establishment of Daddano & Co.,” an aged undertaker tells the true story behind Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, and of the grime that accumulates beneath our floors.
• In “A Journey of Great Waves,” a Japanese girl encounters, years later, the ocean-borne debris of her tsunami-ravaged homeland, and the ghosts that come with it.
• In “The House of the Rising Sun, Forever,” a tragic voice gives dire warning against the cycle of opium addiction from which, even after death, there is no escape.
• In “Last Days of the Gunslinger, John Amos,” a gunfighter keeps a decimated town’s surviving children safe on a mountaintop from the incursion of ferocious creatures… until a flash flood strikes, and their one chance may be to sail away on it.
... and ten other unforgettable tales. Explore within, and discover a wild range upon which grows the dark, the strange, and the profound.
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ADVANCE PRAISE:
“I feel privileged to have read That Which Grows Wild by Eric J. Guignard. The defining new voice of horror has arrived, and I stand in awe.” — Nancy Holder, NYT bestselling author, Wicked
“Eric J. Guignard crafts storytelling into a timeless masterpiece: That Which Grows Wild: 16 Tales of Dark Fiction is a brilliant collection of haunting stories that will captivate readers that relish dark fiction.” — Fanbase Press
“A good story evolves, develops, grows into an adventurous journey that the reader can become absorbed in and think about long after the last page is turned. And that’s just what the book That Which Grows Wild: 16 Tales of Dark Fiction by Bram Stoker Award-winner Eric J. Guignard does for the reader.” — Amazing Stories
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LASTLY, thank you SO VERY MUCH to editor Norman Prentiss for believing in this, and bringing it to Cemetery Dance for publication. Thank you to Lynne Hansen for the cover artwork. Thank you to Brian James Freeman and Richard Chizmar and Cemetery Dance for publishing this, and Thank you to all the first editors to accept these stories for their initial publications. And, of course, thank you dearly to each and every supporter.
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Here are Links!:
The paperback and ebook are different publishers and haven’t linked together yet on Amazon… I’m told that happens automatically in the future (?). But here are its links:

Amazon/ PAPERBACK: https://www.amazon.com/That-Which-Grows-Wild-Fiction/dp/1949491005/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532190483&sr=1-2&keywords=That+Which+Grows+Wild
Amazon/ KINDLE: https://www.amazon.com/That-Which-Grows-Wild-Guignard-ebook/dp/B07F6P27JV/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1530912021&sr=1-1&keywords=that+which+grows+wild
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40725558
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/that-which-grows-wild-eric-j-guignard/1128996677?ean=2940162056676
Personal Web Promo Page: http://ericjguignard.com/that_which_grows_wild.html

A BRIEF READING LIST OF MODERN FICTION SHORT STORIES WITH RELATION TO THE SENSES (1940–2015)

As part of my latest anthology project, The Five Senses of Horror, I scoured through Everestian mountains of short story volumes (anthologies, magazines, collections, etc.), searching for the right mix of fiction voices and techniques that interacted strongly with at least one of the five human senses.
So herein, I wanted to share a "Short List," if you will, that I compiled of some suggested short stories during the last 75 years.
A BRIEF READING LIST OF MODERN FICTION SHORT STORIES WITH RELATION TO THE SENSES (1940–2015)
H EREIN I’VE LISTED A BRIEF selection of recent works within the last seventy-five years (1940–2015) that have a distinct association with one or more of the human senses.
By no means were these stories selected on a basis of them being “better” than any other story, but rather that by their whole, the below reading list helps to push the boundaries of scope and diversity in exploring this subject.

The primary criteria I used in making selections included:·         Work must be a story of short fiction, approximately 8,000 words or less (i.e. no novelettes, novellas, or longer).·         Work must include some speculative, supernatural, or horror element.·         Work must first have been published within the last 75 years, between 1940 through 2015 (*all stories sought during 2016).·         Work must be available in the English language (whether by original language printing or through translation).·         Authors cannot be listed more than once.
Whether sights of sparkling refraction, sounds of chirruping frogs, or smells of flowering pear trees, the human senses have consequential impact on storytelling, and the following are some examples of merit:

The Sense of Touch
1948: “The October Game” by Ray Bradbury (Weird Tales, May: Weird Tales); A frenzied husband enacts a plot of revenge against his wife—whom he levels all woes and wishes to hurt in ways worse than murder—by playing a simple children’s game.

1978: “Heading Home” by Ramsey Campbell (Whispers #11-12, October: Stuart David Schiff); A dastardly scientist is determined to wreck vengeance against his adulterous wife and the butcher who’s brutally dismembered him . . . if only he can put himself back together. *

1981: “On the Uses of Torture” by Piers Anthony (The Berkley Showcase: Vol. 3, an anthology: Berkley Books); A sadistic prison warden is appointed ambassador to an alien civilization that measures worth by pain endurance; the warden is prepared to prove his resolution.

1986: “The Skins You Love to Touch” by Janet Fox (Shadows 9, an anthology: Doubleday); Two wealthy antique shoppers discover an off-road country store where the proprietor crafts his own unique furniture.

1990: “Soft” by Darrell Schweitzer (Weird Tales, Spring: David Terminus); After a monumental argument, Richard lies in bed next to his wife while contemplating divorce. He tries to remember just one “perfect” moment with her, and if only he could mold her . . . *

1997: “Autopsy Room Four” by Stephen King (Robert Bloch’s Psychos, an anthology: Cemetery Dance Publications); An otherwise healthy man awakens temporarily paralyzed on an autopsy table. He must somehow signal the mortician he’s still alive before the dissection begins.

2000: “Dead Like Me” by Adam-Troy Castro (A Desperate, Decaying Darkness, a collection: Wildside Press); Instructions for the hapless survivor of a zombie plague on how to mimic the undead and otherwise “fit in” with them so as not to be discovered as living foodstuff.

2013: “Feel the Noise” by Lisa Morton (Shivers VII, an anthology: Cemetery Dance Publications); A disabled veteran suffering from “systemic synesthesia” must translate rewired senses—tastes that have become smells, sounds turned to touches—while trying to find a murdering ex-superior. *

The Sense of Hearing
1945: “The Music-Box from Hell” by Emil Petaja (Weird Tales, May: Weird Tales); A scheming nephew arranges for the death of his wealthy aunt by way of a cursed music-box.

1959: “Eminent Domain” by Cecil Dawkins (Charm, October: Street & Smith Publications); An elderly woman who cannot hear is swindled by a man she takes for the devil.

1984: “Sound Is Second Sight” by Lynne Sharon Schwartz (Triumph of the Night: Tales of Terror and the Supernatural, a collection: Silver Salamander Press); A lonely farmer first finds companionship in a barking dog, then in a wife with a beautiful voice. The wife and dog die, but their voices can return.

1991: “Sounds” by Kathryn Ptacek (Masques IV, an anthology: Maclay & Associates); A woman with hyper-sensitivity to sound bemoans every noise in life. *

1999: “Burden” by Michael Marano (www.gothic.net, March: Gothic.net); A gay man is haunted by the ghosts of friends and lovers who died from AIDS, as he tries fleeing his past and the terrible burden of remembering them.

2003: “Sounds Like” by Mike O’ Driscoll (Gathering the Bones: Thirty-Four Original Stories from the World’s Masters of Horror, an anthology: Voyager/ HarperCollins (Australia); Larry Pearce has exceptional hearing, which helps him excel at a job listening in on customer service phone calls. His hearing, however, seems to keep sharpening, or is it the stress which makes every noise unbearable?

2010: “Malleus, Incus, Stapes” by Sarah Totton (Fantasy Magazine, December: Prime Books); A boy discovers a trunk containing relics from his dead father, including an object that allows him to listen to the past as heard through his father’s ear. *

2015: “In the Cave of the Delicate Singers” by Lucy Taylor (www.tor.com, July: Tor); A woman gifted with synesthesia—the ability to feel sound waves—uses her endowment to embark on a rescue mission of cavers who have gone missing in an underground system that is rumored to drive people mad. *

The Sense of Taste
1945: “Taste” by Roald Dahl (Ladies Home Journal, March: Meredith Corp.); A willful stockbroker bets his connoisseur-dinner companion that he cannot name the locale of a certain wine’s vintage by taste alone. The companion accepts that bet, and by blustering, each begins to increase the stakes.

1981: “Dante’s Bistro” by Carolyn L. Bird (The 22nd Pan Book of Horror Stories, an anthology: Pan Books); The celebrated chef and restaurateur, Gothric O’Hooligan-Dante, must continually push the boundaries of exotic dishes he serves or suffer among elitists the ignominy of irrelevance.

1984: “A Matter of Taste” by Parke Godwin (Shadows 7, an anthology: Doubleday); A rarefied gourmand laments the failings of his dating life, for he can find no match to his self-professed highest standards of taste, until he meets Pristine Solent . . .

1990: “His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood” by Poppy Z. Brite (Borderlands 1, an anthology: Maclay & Associates); Two young men who know no taboos grow bored with all life has to offer, even when grave robbing from forbidden tombs. *

1998: “Cassilago’s Wife” by Sarah Singleton (Interzone, #137, November: David Pringle); A lonely traveler finds hospitality at the home of an herbalist and his much younger wife. *

2009: “A Delicate Architecture” by Catherynne M. Valente (Troll’s Eye View: A Book of Villainous Tales, an anthology: Viking); The daughter of the best confectioner in the land grows up well-loved in a world of sweets, only to discover the reason she is so loved, in this reimagining of a famous folktale.

2012: “Sweet Subtleties” by Lisa L. Hannett (Clarkesworld, #75, December: Wyrm Publishing); Una Belle is French confectioner Javier’s greatest creation, a culinary fantasy to be dined upon by whatever the audience wishes her to be, although she finds the hardest tastes to satisfy are those of disappointed family. *

2015: “Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers” by Alyssa Wong (Nightmare Magazine, October: Nightmare Magazine); A vampire who feeds on the manifestations of bad thoughts struggles with dating, an overbearing mother, and a cruel love-interest who is too much like herself.

The Sense of Sight
1949: “The Girl with the Hungry Eyes” by Fritz Leiber (The Girl with the Hungry Eyes, and Other Stories, an anthology: Avon Publishing Co.); A mysterious girl finds sensational fame as a billboard model; she is secretive, never smiles, and her images show a strange hunger in her eyes . . .

1953: “The Living Eyes” by Justin Dowling (Weird Tales, May: Weird Tales); A teenage boy is horrified to learn his widowed father plans to marry a wealthy older woman who is partly-paralyzed, cruel, and has bulging, veined eyes that seemingly are alive in their own way.

1969: “The Movie People” by Robert Bloch (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, October: Mercury Press, Inc.); A filmgoer befriends a romantic bit-extra actor who’s found a sort of immortality by hiding in the background crowds of movie scenes.

1983: “The Beholder” by Richard Christian Matheson (Whispers IV, an anthology: Doubleday); A woman inspired to create a painting has found her favorite gallery mysteriously taken over by a new owner who provides her with uncommon paints for her art. *

2009: “In the Porches of My Ears” by Norman Prentiss (Postscripts #18 (This is the Summer of Love), May: PS Publishing); In a story within a story, a man relates his experiences listening to a woman describe the sights of a movie to her blind husband. *

2012: “Some Pictures in an Album” by Gary McMahon (Chiral Mad, an anthology: Written Backwards); A visual exploration of seventeen Polaroid photos taken by a man’s father and arranged in a photograph album leads the man to understand a horrific secret about himself.

2013: “The Marginals” by Steve Duffy (The Moment of Panic, a collection: PS Publishing); Howard begins a new job, sitting in a hidden trailer and carefully logging each person he should see passing by. Except whenever he glances away, more people have appeared . . . or disappeared.

2015: “The Impression of Craig Shee” by David McGroarty (Sensorama, an anthology: Eibonvale Press); A psychologist visits the Scottish isle where her mother once lived in order to study a peculiar painting she made, famous for the disquieting effect it has on peoples’ perceptions. *

The Sense of Smell
1946: “Whiffs of the Sea” by Sir Andrew Caldecott (Not Exactly Ghosts, a collection: Edward Arnold); A wealthy gentleman tells of an ominous painting he once purchased that smelled of the sea and the accompanying nightmares it brought.

1966: “I Mnemagoghi” (English: “The Mnemogogues”) by Primo Levi (Storie Naturali, a collection: Einaudi); A scholarly doctor collects in small vials the scents of his memories.

1971: “The Smell of Death” by Dennis Etchison (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, October: Mercury Press, Inc.); The owner of a roadside diner with a dark past shares a car ride with a reporter searching for an ex-soldier who escaped a NASA experiment after murdering the rest of his team.

1988: “The Odor of Violets” by John Farris (Scare Tactics, a collection: Tor Horror); A struggling author comes across the unpublished novel he was meant to write, accompanied by a strange fragrance of violets. *

1996: “I Am Not My Smell” by Elizabeth Massie (Shadow Dreams, a collection: Silver Salamander Press); A disabled homeless woman who has given up hope against her own repugnance finds a final purpose in life by sacrificing for another.

2007: “Shem-el-Nessim: An Inspiration in Perfume” by Chris Bell (Zahir, #13, Summer: Zahir Publishing); A wealthy 1920s Londoner becomes obsessed with an Oriental-scented fragrance, and pursues to Cairo the mysterious pale woman who wears it. *

2012: “The Scent” by John F.D. Taff (Little Deaths, a collection: Books of the Dead Press); A man walks to work through his aged, declining neighborhood and confronts a luring, unknown scent. *

2013: “Jasmine and Opium” by Rebecca L. Brown (Eulogies II: Tales From the Cellar, an anthology: Horror World Press); A sociopath driven by exceptional aromatic perception follows a woman he desires.

____________________________* Story included in the anthology, The Five Senses of Horror
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** Buy Here and Now for more! The Five Senses of Horror
https://www.amazon.com/Five-Senses-Ho...

New Anthology Release!!! THE FIVE SENSES OF HORROR

THE FIVE SENSES OF HORROR

An anthology of horror and dark fantasy stories, along with psychological and literary commentary, that explores the relationship and inspiration between fiction and the five senses.

Edited by Eric J. Guignard, with Psychological Commentaryby Jessica Bayliss, PhD, and Illustrated by Nils Bross

Insanely exciting news for the week!! The latest anthology I’ve created is finally available! This one encountered some delays, a couple false starts, but I believe the wait was worth it, as it’s here now and is PACKED with absolutely amazing content!!

THE FIVE SENSES OF HORROR: An anthology of horror and dark fantasy stories, along with psychological and literary commentary, that explores the relationship and inspiration between fiction and the five senses.
I’ve got academic and psychological insight, along with gorgeous gothic illustrations relating to the interaction of our senses and to dark fiction, how it inspires us, how our brain reacts to it, and how this can (and is) used to craft immersive fiction stories that relate to us in meaningful and exciting ways.

Edited by: Eric J. Guignard
With Psychological Commentary by: Jessica Bayliss, PhD
Illustrated by: Nils Bross
Published by: DarK Moon Books (July, 2018)

Available for sale here:https://www.amazon.com/Five-Senses-Horror-Eric-Guignard/dp/0998827509
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FULL CONTENTS LIST:

Edited by: Eric J. Guignard
With Psychological Commentary by: Jessica Bayliss, PhD
Illustrated by: Nils Bross

Table of Contents:
“Preface: The Five Senses of Horror” by Eric J. Guignard
“Introduction: Why Do Horror Stories Work? The Psychobiology of Horror” by Jessica Bayliss, PhD
“Thoughts About the Sense of Touch” by Jessica Bayliss, PhD
“Heading Home” by Ramsey Campbell
“Soft” by Darrell Schweitzer
“Feel the Noise” by Lisa Morton
“Thoughts About the Sense of Hearing” by Jessica Bayliss, PhD
“In the Cave of the Delicate Singers” by LucyTaylor
“Sounds” by Kathryn Ptacek
“Malleus, Incus, Stapes” by Sarah Totton
“Thoughts About the Sense of Taste” by Jessica Bayliss, PhD
“His Mouth Will Taste of Wormwood” by PoppyZ. Brite
“Cassilago’s Wife” by Sarah Singleton
“Sweet Subtleties” by Lisa L. Hannett
“Thoughts About the Sense of Sight” by Jessica Bayliss, PhD
“The Beholder” by Richard ChristianMatheson
“In the Porches of My Ears” by NormanPrentiss
“The Impression of Craig Shee” by DavidMcGroarty
“Thoughts About the Sense of Smell” by Jessica Bayliss, PhD
“Shem-el-Nessim: An Inspiration in Perfume” by Chris Bell
“The Scent” by John F.D. Taff
“The Odor of Violets” by John Farris
“Understanding and Incorporating the Five Human Senses into Modern Horror Short Fiction Writing” by Eric J. Guignard
“Afterword: Sensation and Perception” by K.H. Vaughan, PhD 
“Suggested Academic Reading for Further Study   ”
“A Brief Reading List of Modern Fiction Short Stories with Relation to the Senses (1940–2015)”

July, 2018 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets

July, 2018 New or Reopening Market Listings/ Notes
At Pro-Paying (5 cents+ per word)

Diabolical Plots ezine http://www.diabolicalplots.com/guidelines
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: 3,500 or less
Deadline: Open only during the month of July, 2018
Reprints?: No
Response: One month
Description: Science fiction, fantasy, and horror (everything must have speculative element, even horror), including mixed-genres. (This is the same founders of the market submission tracker, ‘The Grinder’.)


Unlocking the Magic (anthology, edited by Vivian Caethe) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1962286285/unlocking-the-magic-a-fantasy-anthology/posts/2203758
NOTE: This is a Kickstarter-funded campaign that already met its funding goal.
Payment: $300/story + royalties
Story Length: 3,000 – 6,000 words
Deadline: November 1, 2018
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: In fantasy, we read about how people with mental illness are more susceptible to magic, closer to breaks in reality, more likely to be able to see the unseen. These stereotypes are harmful and contribute to keeping people from seeing the good in getting help, taking their meds, and talking to someone. This anthology is about changing the narrative and telling stories of strength and perseverance, of getting help despite the darkness. Not the myth that getting help will kill creativity and magic. Not the story our society tells about mentally ill people: that art and magic must come from suffering. I want stories that show what can be accomplished when we take care of ourselves and seek help. I want stories that show the reality of being mentally ill within a fantasy setting. I want to see how mental illness and its treatment affects the magic that lies within all of us. I want to read realistic portrayals of mental illness in magical worlds.


Release the Virgins!  (anthology, edited by Michael Ventrella) https://michaelaventrella.com/2018/06/25/release-the-virgins-open-for-submissions
NOTE: This is a Kickstarter-funded campaign that already met its funding goal.
Note #2: An email proposal is required to make sure you are not duplicating an idea already reserved by one of the accepted authors. Send to michael.ventrella@gmail.com.
Payment: 5 cents a word
Story Length: up to 5,000 words
Deadline: September 1, 2018
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Each story must contain the line “release the virgins” somewhere within. No constraining genre limit, no constricting theme, just great stories inspired by (and containing) the phrase "Release the Virgins." Should contain a speculative or fantasy element (e.g. Tentacle Porn!).


Deep Magic http://deepmagic.co/submissions/#
Payment: 6 cents a word for the first 9,999 words, with payment capped at $599 for stories longer than 10,000 words
Story Length: up to 40,000 words
Deadline: Ongoing
Reprints?: Yes (pay at 2 cents/ word)
Response: 12 weeks
Description: Clean fantasy and sci-fi stories; a gripping story that doesn’t rely on sex, swearing, and graphic violence.


The Arcanist https://thearcanist.io/a-call-for-submissions-244f646d25a4
Payment: $50 flat payment (thus, 5 cents a word or more)
Story Length: flash fiction up to 1,000 words
Deadline: ongoing
Reprints?: Yes
Response: unknown. “As soon as they can”
Description: Engaging science fiction and fantasy stories (and associated sub-genres, including horror) that are flash fiction. Focus on originality and strong/ interesting characters.


Tor.com Novellas (Second Round of Two, 2018)! https://tor.moksha.io/publication/tornovellas/guidelines
Payment: Not listed explicitly, but TOR is known to generally pay at or above Professional Rates
Story Length: 20,000 – 40,000 words
Deadline: July 30, 2018 through August 13, 2018
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Any speculative fiction with a science fiction or fantasy bent that “fits into what TOR normally publishes.”



***Non-PRO-Paying Market, but Eric J. Guignard’s “Pick of the Month”
Eye to the Telescope Poetry Journal, #30: Witches (Edited by Ashley Dioses) http://eyetothetelescope.com/submit.html
Payment: 3 cents a word (max $25)
Story Length: No limitations
Deadline: September 15, 2018
Reprints?: No
Response: No later than October 1, though estimated much sooner.
Description: Speculative Poetry (Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association Online Journal). A witch is defined as someone who is said to possess usually malignant supernatural powers. Since speculative fiction covers fantasy and science fiction as well as horror, we’re going to focus on ‘usually’ in that definition. I want any take on witches with any gender. Horrific witches, saintly witches, pretty witches, ugly witches, witches from different planets, witches from different dimensions, historical witches with a speculative spin, etc.


Gimme the Loot: Stories Inspired by The Notorious B.I.G. (Edited by Gabino Iglesias; published by Clash Books)
https://yesclash.com/2018/06/05/submission-call-gimme-the-loot-stories-inspired-by-the-notorious-b-i-g/
Payment: $50 flat
Story Length: 2,500 – 6,000 words
Deadline: October 1, 2018
Reprints?: No
Response: T
Description: We want the themes in Biggie Small’s music filtered through your own words and experiences. We want the swagger and the success and the hustle of his life to inspire you to create your own thing. We want to feel your love for the man and his legacy in your story. This is a tribute to him, so celebrate him in a way only you can. I wants stories from barrio streets and the mountains and the small towns and from everywhere else—I.E. ANYTHING GOES, even space science fiction, even Bizarro.

June, 2018 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets

June, 2018 New or Reopening Market Listings/ Notes
At Pro-Paying (5 cents+ per word)

Nowhereville: Weird is Other People (via Themed Magazine, EYEDOLON, from Broken Eye Books) https://www.brokeneyebooks.com/submissions.htmlPayment: 8 cents a wordStory Length: 3,000–7,500 wordsDeadline: July 1, 2018Reprints?: NoResponse: Unknown (“as quick as they can”)Description: Urban weird fiction: These are modern weird tales (give or take a few decades) that could only be told of the weirdness of the urban experience and our interactions with one another. Think Modern sensibilities from many different voices that show the immense and diverging possibilities for weird fiction, fearlessly exploring the new and the strange…

Cemetery Dance Magazine https://cemeterydance.submittable.com/submit/17813/cemetery-dance-magazine-fiction-submissionsPayment: 5 cents a wordStory Length: up to 5,000 wordsDeadline: July 5, 2018Reprints?: NoResponse: Up to four months (though known for going beyond this time, up to 12 months)Description: Tales that are powerful and emotional—creepy, chilling, disturbing, and moody. Suspense/mystery/crime tales with a horror element are always welcome. Both supernatural and psychological stories are fine.

Terra! Tara! Terror! anthology (Third Flatiron) http://www.thirdflatiron.com/liveSite/pages/submissionsPayment: 6 cents a wordStory Length: 1,500–3,000 wordsDeadline: Accepting between June 15, 2018–July 15, 2018Reprints?: NoResponse: up to eight weeksDescription: (SF/Fantasy/Horror/Humor) Whether the setting is a cabin in the woods (Terra), Fae (Tara), or spaceship Nostromo (Terror), take us there and spin your adventure. For a bit of mood whiplash, we'd like a mixture of dark and bright stories. Examples: Obsession with odd artifacts (like Roadside Picnic's golden sphere?), alternate histories, paranormal romance (no erotica, please, we're PG-13).

The Forge Literary Magazine https://www.forgelitmag.com/flm/submitPayment: 5 cents a wordStory Length: Generally 3,000 words or less, but may be open to a bit longer. Flash is also highly appreciated (1,000 words or less).Deadline: Continually openReprints?: NoResponse: 3 months or lessDescription: Prose Fiction--Open to all genres and voices, and stories with any background. Literary excellence is our only criteria. Pieces read anonymously, so please do not put your name anywhere in the file.

ESCAPE ARTISTS PodCasts (4 separate markets; Different Editors, similar guidelines)
All: Payment: 6 cents a word/ original; $100 flat rate for reprintsStory Length: up to 6,000 words (preferred 4,500 words or less)Deadline: Intermittent (each market opens as needs)Reprints?: YesResponse: Up to three months
1. PodCastle (Fantasy Fiction Podcast)http://podcastle.org/guidelines/Description: Publishes in both text and audio. Looking for fantasy stories. We’re open to all the sub-genres of fantasy, from magical realism to urban fantasy to slipstream to high fantasy, and everything in between.
2. Cast of Wonders (Y.A. Fantasy Fiction Podcast)http://www.castofwonders.org/submissions/scheduleDescription: Stories that evoke a sense of wonder and have something unreal about them. We aim for a 12-17 age range: that means sophisticated, non-condescending stories with wide appeal, and without explicit sex, violence or pervasive obscene language. Think Harry Potter or The Hunger Games.
3. Escape Pod (Science Fiction Podcast)http://escapepod.org/guidelines/short-fictionDescription: Our mandate is fun. We are fairly flexible on what counts as “science” (as we’ll delve into superheroes or steampunk on occasion) and are interested in exploring the range of the genre, but we are not looking for fantasy, magical realism, or more than a tinge of horror. If your story isn’t centered on science, technology, future projections, alternate history, and how any or all of these things intersect with people, we’re probably not the right market for it.
4. Pseudopod (Horror Fiction Podcast)http://pseudopod.org/submissionsDescription: Horror: dark, weird fiction. We run the spectrum from grim realism or crime drama, to magic-realism, to blatantly supernatural dark fantasy. We publish highly literary stories reminiscent of Poe or Lovecraft as well as vulgar shock-value pulp fiction; strong pacing, well-defined characters, engaging dialogue, and clear action.


***Non-PRO-Paying Market, but Eric J. Guignard’s “Pick of the Month”
Burnt Fur Anthology (Blood Bound Books) http://bloodboundbooks.net/bloodboundbooks/burnt-fur-submission-callPayment: 3 cents a wordStory Length: 1,500–7,000 wordsDeadline: September 1, 2018Reprints?: NoResponse: None listed; estimate 2-3 monthsDescription: Stories from the dark underbelly of “Furry” life (Animal characters with human characteristics, or a person who dresses up in costume as such a character). All sub-genres of horror accepted—extreme, bizzaro, erotic, new weird, splatterpunk, etc.

Non-Themed Horror Anthology (unnamed as of yet) (Corpus Press) https://www.corpuspress.com/call-for-submissionsPayment: 3 cents a wordStory Length: 2,500–4,500 wordsDeadline: September 1, 2018Reprints?: NoResponse: By October 30, 2018Description: Stories that can be characterized as being within the broad category of “horror” fiction: frightening, thought-provoking, atmospheric, humorous and/or satirical (or any combination thereof), but MUST contain a complete tale (i.e. no vignettes).

EXPLORING DARK SHORT FICTION #2: A PRIMER TO Kaaron Warren is now available!!

The second in a series of scholarly primers, introducing and exploring modern masters of literary dark short fiction: “EXPLORING DARK SHORT FICTION #2: A PRIMER TO KAARON WARREN,” published through my press, Dark Moon Books .

Immense thanks and gratitude to Michael Arnzen for his insightful commentary throughout the book, and Michelle Prebich for her gorgeous interior artwork, and especially to Karron Warren for consenting to this project!

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Available for sale here:

(Paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Exploring-Dark-Short-Fiction-Primer/dp/0998938300/
(ebook): https://www.amazon.com/Exploring-Dark-Short-Fiction-Primer-ebook/dp/B07DFQYYKF/###

Back Copy Description:

Australian author Kaaron Warren is widely recognized as one of the leading writers today of speculative and dark short fiction. She’s published four novels, multiple novellas, and well over one hundred heart-rending tales of horror, science fiction, and beautiful fantasy, and is the first author ever to simultaneously win all three of Australia’s top speculative fiction writing awards (Ditmar, Shadows, and Aurealis awards for The Grief Hole).

Dark Moon Books and editor Eric J. Guignard bring you this introduction to her work, the second in a series of primers exploring modern masters of literary dark short fiction. Herein is a chance to discover—or learn more of—the distinct voice of Kaaron Warren, as beautifully illustrated by artist Michelle Prebich.
Included within these pages are:
• Six short stories, one written exclusively for this book
• Author interview
• Complete bibliography
• Academic commentary by Michael Arnzen, PhD (former humanities chair and professor of the year, Seton Hill University)• … and more!
Enter this doorway to the vast and fantastic: Get to know Kaaron Warren.

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Table of Contents includes:

• Introduction by Eric J. Guignard
• Kaaron Warren: A Biography• Guarding the Mound (fiction)• Guarding the Mound: A Commentary• Born and Bread (fiction)• Born and Bread: A Commentary• Death's Door Café (fiction)• Death's Door Café: A Commentary• The Wrong Seat (fiction)• The Wrong Seat: A Commentary• Sins of the Ancestors (fiction)• Sins of the Ancestors: A Commentary• Crisis Apparition (fiction)• Crisis Apparition: A Commentary• Why Kaaron Warren Matters by Michael Arnzen, PhD• In Conversation with Kaaron Warren• Tips for Finalizing Your Short Story: An Essay by Kaaron Warren• A Bibliography of English Language Fiction for Kaaron Warren

Release Day today from DARK MOON BOOKS!!

Available for sale today from DARK MOON BOOKS:
SHADOW OF THE DARK ANGEL by Gene O'Neillwith panel illustrations by Greg Chapman
Continue the investigations of THE CRIME FILES OF KATY GREEN with Book #2, SHADOW OF THE DARK ANGEL!
Samuel Kubiak has severe issues. A distraught survivor of the California Foster Care System, he suffers from a condition of alopecia, incessant bullying, and a bizarre sexual frustration… But just as life seems its worst, he’s visited by a dark guardian angel: One who whispers into his ear that by walking in His shadow, Samuel can avenge himself on all who have wronged him.
And so do a string of grisly murders begin to emerge across Sacramento, victims whose killer seems to have emerged from nowhere and left without leaving any clue.
Assigned to the gruesome case are homicide detectives Katy Green and Johnny Cato, dubbed by the press as Sacramento’s “Green Hornet and Cato.” There hasn’t been a case yet they haven’t solved, but now how can they track down a psychopathic suspect who lives in the SHADOW OF THE DARK ANGEL?
Discover why readers have been applauding this stark, fast-paced noir series by multiple-award-winning author, Gene O’Neill! Read “Shadow of the Dark Angel” and then continue the shocking case files of Sacramento’s “Green Hornet and Cato” with books #1, “Double Jack” (a novella) and #3 “Deathflash”!
Taking orders for all major book chains and for you! Buy, buy, buy! Online at: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0998827584/