Rod Raglin's Blog, page 2
July 31, 2025
StreetLit at risk of “falling off the face of the planet.” Who cares?
Last year I submitted a story to StreetLit Magazine (which they rejected) and somewhere in the process they must have captured my email address. That would explain the recent email I received from them pleading for support.
It began by saying how “ephemeral” independent literary magazines are and how so many promising ones “take a year or two and they go bust.” This is exactly the situation StreetLit finds itself in, as “submissions decline, and with it, the income that sustains the myriad fees associated with running an independent litmag.”
They never address why submissions have declined, that might come close to taking some creative responsibility, only that they do – like leaves fall from the trees in autumn, I suppose.
However, reading between the lines of their narrative it’s not difficult to detect an attitude that is pervasive among many new lit mag publishers that almost guarantees their failure.
The attitude is one of elitism. The idea that they are doing the literary world, including all us writers who contribute our work for nothing, and in the case of StreetLit, get charged $5 to have it read, a great favour. They are making a huge sacrifice for which we should not only donate or work, but also donate our cash.
In their begging letter, they blame their ineptitude on us writers, stating we “complain about reading fees but then they also complain about the lack of cool independent litmags”.
I just read Duotrope’s “Weekly wire” which list 61 cool lit mags, while an “Advanced Search for Publishers of Poetry” on the same site shows no less than 686 listings. Where is the “lack of cool independent litmags” they say we’re so concerned about?
They whine about the cost of Submittable, the online platform that streamlines workflows, even while other (more successful) publications choose to use Google forms, or regular email at no cost.
Apparently, they don’t realize that writers also have expenses – Duotrope, writing software, computer hardware and programs, courses, books, etc, and none of us are asking them to chip in to defer our expenses. It’s not just publishers for whom it’s a labour of love.
They’re so broke, they can’t even buy the team of volunteers (sob) “a coffee once in a while.“
“We are not The Paris Review,” they lament. “We do not gain venture capital investment, sponsorships, advertisement fees, nothing.”
Why not? I mean, if it’s good enough for The Paris Review why not StreetLit?
There are several ways a literary magazine can generate revenue including soliciting advertising. Businesses that might be interested include writing software like ProWritingAid, editors, book marketers, hybrid publishers, writing programs and retreats. There might also be an opportunity for government and cultural grants, maybe even corporate sponsorships.
Of course, someone would have to prepare a proposal and pitch them and it’s far easier just to charge writers: basic $5; expedited response $10; 24-hour response $24; and feedback $30. All the while rejecting probably 90% of them.
“No-one is holding a gun to your head,” they write. “Reply ‘unsubscribe’ and we’ll fall off the face of the planet. You don’t even have to read this. It’s all optional.”
Well, I read this, and I understand “it’s all optional”, and I’ve decided to hit unsubscribe.
July 28, 2025
Article on Thrutopian fiction published in ClimateCultures
My article, Thrutopian Fictions: Ways to a Better Future?, accompanied by one of my photographs have been published in the ClimateCultures blog.
Thrutopian is an emerging subgenre of environmental fiction that is neither dystopian nor utopian but attempts to tell stories that are rooted in plausible solutions to the climate crisis. My article asks if these plausible solutions address one of the real challenges – our reluctance to make the sacrifices necessary for a better future?
Read the full article at https://climatecultures.net/challenges-of-creative-engagement/thrutopian-fictions-ways-to-a-better-future/
ClimateCultures is an online space for creative minds to share responses to our ecological and climate predicaments. Launched in 2017, it’s comprised of a growing network of artists, researchers and curators across the UK and around the world working across many practices, disciplines and spaces.
#thrutopianfiction #environmentalfiction #climatecrisis @climatecultures #globalwarmingMy article, Thrutopian Fictions: Ways to a Better Future?, accompanied by one of my photographs have been published in the ClimateCultures blog.
Thrutopian is an emerging subgenre of environmental fiction that is neither dystopian nor utopian but attempts to tell stories that are rooted in plausible solutions to the climate crisis. My article asks if these plausible solutions address one of the real challenges – our reluctance to make the sacrifices necessary for a better future?
Read the full article at https://climatecultures.net/challenges-of-creative-engagement/thrutopian-fictions-ways-to-a-better-future/
ClimateCultures is an online space for creative minds to share responses to our ecological and climate predicaments. Launched in 2017, it’s comprised of a growing network of artists, researchers and curators across the UK and around the world working across many practices, disciplines and spaces.
#thrutopianfiction #environmentalfiction #climatecrisis @climatecultures #globalwarming
July 24, 2025
Free Ebook! Summer Reading Sale Continues. Until July 27, FOREST-Love, Loss, Legend
#Free Ebook! Summer Reading Sale Continues. Until July 27, FOREST-Love, Loss, Legend, the prequel to The Thin White Line is FREE with 5 other full-length novels deeply discounted. Download your copies now at https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003DS6LEU
Matthew and Raminder are young, idealistic and in love.
As soon as they can they plan to leave behind the small town and small minds of Pitt Landing. They will embrace life and experience the world, maybe even change it.
Man plans, God laughs. Raminder’s father has a stroke and her commitment to her family means she must postpone her plans and stay in Pitt Lake. It’s just the opposite for Matt. A family tragedy leaves irreconcilable differences between him and his father and forces him to leave.
They promise to reunite, but life happens.
Twelve years later, Matt is an acclaimed war correspondent. He’s seen it all and it’s left him with post-traumatic stress, a gastric ulcer, and an enlarged liver. He’s never been back to Pitt Landing though the memory of Raminder and their love has more than once kept him sane.
He’s at his desk in the newsroom, recuperating from his last assignment and current hangover and reading a letter from his father, the first contact they’ve had in over a decade. It talks about a legendary lost gold mine, a map leading to it, and proof in a safety deposit box back in Pitt Lake. He’s sent it to Matt in case something happens to him and cautions his son to keep it a secret.
Matt is about to dismiss the letter when the telephone rings. It’s Raminder telling him his father has disappeared somewhere in the wilderness that surrounds Pitt Lake.
Lost gold, lost love and lost hope compels Matt to return home to Pitt Landing, a dying town on the edge of the rainforest on the west coast of Canada. The forest is waiting.
HONEST REVIEWS AND RATINGS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED
July 21, 2025
My photograph, Stranger at the Bus Stop, has been published in New Feathers Summer 2025 Anthology.
My photograph, Stranger at the Bus Stop, has been published in the online literature and art magazine, New Feathers Summer 2025 Anthology.
At New Feathers, they believe “art is a means of exploration and understanding, a way to play, to discover, and to communicate ideas and perceptions relevant to matters of the day (and beyond the day).”
View my photo at
https://www.newfeathersanthology.com/10november.html#/
or read the entire Summer 2025 anthology at
https://www.newfeathersanthology.com/newfeathersummer25.html#/
Visit my portfolio To view more of my photographs visit
https://rodraglin.smugmug.com/
@newfeathersanthology #literarymagazine #photography
July 19, 2025
Free Ebooks! Summer Reading Sale continues
The Mattie Saunders Series, The Rocker and the Bird Girl, and Cold-Blooded, Books 1 & 2 are FREE until July 20, 2025, with Books 3 thru 5 in the series deeply discounted. Download your copies now at https://amzn.to/44BPRBg
Cold-Blooded
The parking lot of The Reptile Refuge Centre where Liz volunteered was crowded with police vehicles. She didn’t pull in to see what had happened though she had good idea and getting involved it was a bad idea. She needed to ditch The Reptile Refuge’s van and disappear, but there was a problem.
What to do with six Ball Pythons, three Carpet Boas, a Corn Snake, four Geckos, a Bearded Dragon, a four foot long, unruly Black Throated Monitor, two Red-Eared Slider Turtles, Spots, the forty pound Leopard Tortoise and Iggy, her Iguana? They’d all accompanied her to the presentation at an elementary school and now were in the back of the vehicle.
An anonymous call to the SPCA was not an option. They couldn’t even find homes for all the cats and dogs they took in, and they were cute and cuddly. Her herps would likely die in the shelter or be euthanized.
These animals depended on her, some she’d looked after for nearly two years, a few she’d nursed back from the brink of death. You spend that long with a something, even a snake or a lizard and, well, you get to know them. You get attached.
She couldn’t abandon them.
She knew her old high school friend, Mattie Saunders, had a sanctuary for exotic birds. Birds? Reptiles? Not that much difference. At least it would be better than taking all them home to the tiny basement suite she lived in.
Cold-Blooded, Book 2 in The Mattie Saunders Series has Mattie struggling with her relationship with rockstar Bodine, the challenges of education and career all the while addressing the issues of the exploitation of reptiles as exotic pet.
Romance and action combine with environmental issues for an exciting exploration of contemporary culture.
HONEST REVIEWS AND RATINGS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED
#romance #action #rockstarromance #exoticbirds #birdrescue #endanderedspecies #reptiles #herps #environment #conservation #amreading #readingcommunity #birdlovers
July 16, 2025
Free Ebook for your Summer Reading!
The Rocker and the Bird Girl, Book 1 in the Mattie Saunders Series, is FREE until July 20, 2025, with Books 2 thru 5 in the series deeply discounted. Download your copy now at
Meet Mattie Saunders,,,
…an independent, determined, outspoken young woman with a social conscience and a bad attitude. Mattie loves birds and has devoted her short life to the rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing of exotic one’s people buy as pets and then abandon.
The Saunders Exotic Bird Sanctuary is out of money and in an effort to raise some so her birds won’t be homeless yet again, Mattie reaches out to Bodine, the lead guitarist of the bad-boy rock band Seditious. She’s learned he has a macaw as a pet and since it’s obvious he’s wealthy she hopes he’ll be sympathetic and use some of the money he now spends on his hedonistic lifestyle to help these precious, beautiful creatures. They’re hardly birds of a feather, but Mattie’s not about to kill the goose if it promises a golden egg.
Sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll have taken their toll on Bodine, lead guitarist and songwriter for Seditious, the chart-topping, outrageous rock band. He’s just playing the part until something better comes along. The problem is what’s better than being a rich and famous rock idol? Certainly not helping some overzealous young woman save exotic birds, even if his best friend is a Blue and Gold Macaw.
Romance and action combine with environmental issues for an exciting exploration of contemporary culture.
HONEST REVIEWS AND RATINGS ARE GREATLY APPRECIATED
#romance #action #rockstarromance #exoticbirds #birdrescue #endanderedspecies #environment #conservation #amreading #readingcommunity #birdlovers
July 14, 2025
Plot of my latest novel, The Thin White Line, playing out in the headlines
Because my 14 novels mirror societal issues and current events, it’s not surprising that some of them, or at least parts of some of them, are, well, prophetic.
For example, my latest novel, The Thin White Line – Culture War with Deadly Consequences, self-published January 1 of this year, begins with two Canadian Armed Force reservists offloading an illegal shipment of small arms and munitions from a boxcar in the middle of the night.
Further into the story, the reader learns that these arms are to be used in a domestic terrorist attack that is designed to destabilize the federal government allowing an ultra nationalistic movement led by a charismatic retired Canadian Armed Forces colonel to take power.
Though this is a fictional scenario, my research into extremist elements within the CAF indicated it was not improbable.
So, when on July 8, 2025, I saw the story by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp (CBC) with the headline, “RCMP charges military members allegedly plotting to form militia and seize land”, I was surprised, but not gobsmacked.
The federal police force, The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), has charged four men, including two active members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), with being part of an extremist plot that allegedly involved creating an anti-government militia with a massive trove of weapons.
“The three accused were planning to create anti-government militia. To achieve this, they took part in military-style training, as well as shooting, ambush, survival and navigation exercises,” the RCMP said.
Searches in the Quebec City area, led to the seizure of 16 explosive devices, 83 firearms and accessories, approximately 11,000 rounds of ammunition of various calibres, nearly 130 magazines and four pairs of night-vision goggles (see the picture within the article). The RCMP said some of the seized items were military equipment, but wouldn’t confirm if that included weapons.
The number of Canadian military members belonging to extremist groups is growing and it’s getting harder to detect them, says a new report looking at racism and discrimination in Canada’s armed forces.
The CAF have been under pressure to better handle soldiers drawn to hateful views and extremism. A 2022 report* from the military’s advisory panel on systemic racism and discrimination found widespread problems in the military, including the presence of white supremacists and those inspired by ideologically motivated violent extremism.
Another example of life imitating art? I hope not.
*Read the report here
The Thin White Line – Culture War with Deadly Consequences, a racially charge novel of political suspense, domestic terrorism and murder is available at https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B003DS6LEU
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July 9, 2025
#FreeEbook! The Rocker and the Bird Girl, Book 1 in the Mattie Saunders Series
#FreeEbook! The Rocker and the Bird Girl, Book 1 in the Mattie Saunders Series, is FREE until July 14, 2025, with Books 2 thru 5 in the series deeply discounted. Download your copy now at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088NH8S6K?binding=kindle_edition&ref_=saga_dp_bnx_dsk_sdp&qid=1752130424&sr=8-1
Meet Mattie Saunders,,,
…an independent, determined, outspoken young woman with a social conscience and a bad attitude. Mattie loves birds and has devoted her short life to the rescue, rehabilitation and re-homing of exotic one’s people buy as pets and then abandon.
The Saunders Exotic Bird Sanctuary is out of money and in an effort to raise some so her birds won’t be homeless yet again, Mattie reaches out to Bodine, the lead guitarist of the bad-boy rock band Seditious. She’s learned he has a macaw as a pet and since it’s obvious he’s wealthy she hopes he’ll be sympathetic and use some of the money he now spends on his hedonistic lifestyle to help these precious, beautiful creatures. They’re hardly birds of a feather, but Mattie’s not about to kill the goose if it promises a golden egg.
Sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll have taken their toll on Bodine, lead guitarist and songwriter for Seditious, the chart-topping, outrageous rock band. He’s just playing the part until something better comes along. The problem is what’s better than being a rich and famous rock idol? Certainly not helping some overzealous young woman save exotic birds, even if his best friend is a Blue and Gold Macaw.
Romance and action combine with environmental issues for an exciting exploration of contemporary culture.
#romance #action #rockstarromance #exoticbirds #birdrescue #endanderedspecies #environment #conservation #amreading #readingcommunity #birdlovers
July 8, 2025
Great breeding season for endangered Great Green Macaws! Mattie would be overjoyed!
The 2025 Great Green Macaw Breeding Season at Ara Manzanillo has been an incredible success with ten chicks hatched to new as well as experienced parents. With the wild population of Great Green Macaws estimated at fewer than 1,000 individuals, this breeding season alone has increased their numbers by one percent!
Ara Manzanillo is a Costa Rican licensed, non-profit organization that runs a successful program to reintroduce the Great Green Macaws to their native habitat in Costa Rica’s Caribbean corridor.
When I was writing The Flock, Book 5 in the Mattie Saunders Series, Maggie, the protagonist in the series, had decided to rewild the Macaw she’d rescued and that had been her companion for two decades. To get an understanding of how this might be achieved, my research led me to Ara Manzanillo and their amazing program to reintroduce this endangered species.
To read about the 2025 Breed Season visit https://www.fachttps://mailchi.mp/c3d3d766e55c/ara-manzanillo-tales-from-breeding-season?e=fc7bdf8aa0
For more information about their work visit their website at https://aramanzanillo.org/
The Mattie Saunders Series combines romance and action, tragedy and triumph, heartache and happiness – and birds in a five-book series while exploring contemporary culture and environmental issues.
It’s available at https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B088NH8S6K?binding=kindle_edition&ref_=saga_dp_bnx_dsk_sdp
#macaws @aramanzanillo #parrots #romance #action #birds
#birdlovers #amreading #readingcommunity
July 5, 2025
My poem, Wildflowers, with an accompanying photograph, has been published in The Zest of the Lemon.
My poem, Wildflowers, with an accompanying photograph, has been published in The Zest of the Lemon.
Described as an “artful publication” celebrating “…life’s most exquisite moments, lovingly curated to remind us of the beauty and meaning that exists all around us.”
The publication “pairs compelling visuals with evocative prose, designed to create a seamless flow that immerses readers in a daylong journey. With large, dramatic images to smaller, subtler ones, each page is crafted to enhance the storytelling experience. This thoughtful progression mirrors the flow of life itself — from the powerful, immediate experiences of the physical world to the softer, deeper exploration of the spirit.”
Your invited to “step into a journey of discovery, beauty, and reflection. Let The Zest of the Lemon awaken your senses and nourish your soul” by ordering a copy at https://www.amazon.com/s?k=The+zest+of+the+lemon&i=stripbooks-intl-ship&crid=9JICGVJ9NKEB&sprefix=the+zest+of+the+lemon%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C162&ref=nb_sb_noss_1
You can view more wildflower photos at https://rodraglin.smugmug.com/
#wildflowers #poetry #photography @thezestofthelemon #literarymagazine
