A Little Light Reading

Cross posted from Blogetary: http://puttputtproductions.com/blogetary/2010/11/03/a-little-light-reading/

I never thought of myself as someone who read short stories or poetry except for assignments in class, until I became one of those readers who needs something for the commute to and from work as well as ten minute breaks and 30 minute lunches. Then, short stories and poetry became a whole lot more appealing. I didn’t feel like I was losing out at the end of my commute or break because I had just consumed a nice small bite of literature – large enough to keep me buoyed up and small enough to read in a small chunk of time. This is one of the things the “Small Press” is good at – providing small books with bite-sized pieces of literature – almost like those mini-candy bars you see at the drugstore that you pick up cuz you just want a little chocolate at a time, not the whole bar.

However, the thing with publications from the “Small Press” is that they aren’t necessarily easily found on your bookshelf at Barnes & Noble or Borders, nor are they the first to pop up on an Amazon search. You kind of have to know where to find them, and where to search. Sometimes you find them through friends, search engines, or in small independent bookstores. But when you do, you fall in love. It’s not the grand love of your favorite epic novels or series, it’s more like the love of a favorite postcard, photograph or drawing. Something you can read that will pull you away from the world for a little while, so you can return five minutes later refreshed and ready to go, or at least more aware of the world around you.

These days, small lit press is not just a hard copy zine with a stable binding, carefully Xeroxed by one of the editors late at night at work so they don’t have to pay for the paper and ink. These days they come with fantastic art work, perfect bound, POD publications only printed out when you ordered them, or solely online on a website or in PDF or some other ePub format easily downloadable for free or cheap. And you can find them everywhere.

Duotrope Digest and Writers Market are two places to start. Or just type what you’re looking for – say Fairy story magazines – into your favorite search engine and see what comes up. They’re all over the place and they really do range anywhere from free to really cheap. Some of the really cheap ones even offer free work online to give you a taste of what’s in the rest of the hard copy should you order an issue or a subscription.

And don’t think that just because someone is in a small press zine or anthology that they’re lowly beginners or that the literature is just so-so. That could be the case sometimes, but there are a lot of pros out there who are prolific and just want their work read wherever it will get accepted. And while they’re waiting to hear back on the novel they just sent to their agent, they’re typing away at all the short stories that stirred in their soul, struggling to get out while they were working on their grand epic.

So, go out there and take a look. If you a want a good place to start, then might I suggest (beware of plug here) you take a look at some of the publications where I have had short stories and poems published, such as Electric Velocipede, Aoife’s Kiss, Beyond Centauri, Bewildering Stories, MindFlights.com and Drollerie Press, plus many more. You can find links to all of them right here: http://www.puttputtproductions.com/fiction_and_poetry

Win a copy of the September 2010 Aoife's Kiss!

Click the picture above to see the video or go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StYWv6nsV3g


Leave a comment down below by Oct. 15 and you'll be entered to win in a drawing for a copy of the September 2010 Aoife's Kiss. Or better yet, go to Genremall.com and pick up a copy yourself!

Time for an update!

xposted from my blogetary here: http://puttputtproductions.com/blogetary/2010/09/03/time-for-an-update/

I was reading Leigh's blog and realized I haven't been doing regular updates like I used to. I've let Facebook take over my life with it's easy status updates where you just yell into the crowd brief shouts and wonder if anyone out there really cares. Well, I still wonder who out there really cares with blogs, but at least I get to ramble on a little longer. It's one of my greatest joys in life -- rambling. Must be why I enjoy writing so much.

So, yeah - NEWS -

First up, if you are someone in the scifi/fantasy writing community and you haven't subscribed to Locus Magazine, then now is the time to start, with their shiny new GORGEOUS steampunk issue.




Included in this issue are all sorts of interviews and essays, as well as a list of the World Fantasy Awards Finalists. I have a copy sitting on my desk right now and normally I like sharing them with people, but I'm not sharing this one. So I suggest you go out and get yourself a copy of this issue or subscribe. Now. TODAY. They're gonna run out of this one.

Speaking of interviews, if you happen to see the September issue of Aoife's Kiss, the you will also see that there is an interview of me in there (by Karen L. Newman), as well as a poem by me.



And while I normally like to have blog contests or give a way bunches of these things, I'm not very solvent at the moment, so that might not happen this time. So, unless you're immediate family, you're going to have to pick up an issue yourself. Which is very easy. GenreMall is very PayPal friendly and as subscription to Aoife's Kiss is virtually painless at $22/year ($26 with shipping). And they'd love to have you!

Then, next on the docket, I'll be going to see Rachel Vincent, Kelly Armstrong and Melissa Marr at Vroman's Bookstore on September 20. It will be part of their Smart Chick's Kick It tour. It's at 6 p.m, going to be held outside (lots of people attending, I think), so get there early!

Finally, if you live in the LA area and like book fairs, then stop on by the West Hollywood Book Fair on Sun., Sept. 26.



There are MANY reasons this would be a good idea. For one, the Miracle Mile Writers Club will be there and we'd love to have you stop by and say hi (We'll be at E39 between the Guerrilla Readings Booth and the UCLA Extension Writers Program booths). There will be novelists, poets and other writers there for you to talk with and get to know. We have one poet who is scheduled to bring her opera (she wrote the libretto) to play while she's there from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. And we might even have SNACKS! For another, Leigh Purtill's dance company will be performing Alice in Wonderland!!!! Doesn't that just make you SQUEEEEE! It does me. I hope I get a chance to see them. And one more reason you might be interested in going (besides all the fantastic stuff going on) is that I will be moderating an author panel on YA Fantasy at the Scifi, Fantasy & Horror Pavilion from 10:50 to 11:50 a.m. The authors I will be speaking with will be Frank Beddor of the Looking Glass Wars, Francesca Lia Block of the Weetsie Bat series and PJ Haarsma of the Softwire series (psst - this last website has a fun little video with Nathan Fillion).

So, lots to do here that I wanted to share with people "out there" wherever "out there" is. Hope you have a wonderful Labor Day weekend and can pick up some of the awesome magazine issues or come by the MMWC booth, or even come see the Smart Chicks' tour!

The Crow King

xposted from here: http://puttputtproductions.com/blogetary/2010/08/24/the-crow-king/

A little over a year ago, The Crow King was published in Aoife's Kiss (Sept. 2009). Like other stories I haven't looked at for a while I can see all sorts of things wrong with it that I swear I'll fix if I ever republish them elsewhere, but this story is still close to my heart as the main character is based on my dad.

You can hear an excerpt of the story here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYcf6u6NcZY

You can buy a copy of the zine here: www.genremall.com/zinesr.htm where you go to Aoife's Kiss and then scroll down to the Sept. 2009 issue.

War Dancing Pixes and such...

I met Rachael de Vienne through the author group at Drollerie Press. You can read about her here. Besides being a goat-herding pixie, she is also a fantasy writer and author of Pixie Warrior. A while ago, after she so graciously read my story, Love's Clothing (out in the February 2010 issue of Aoife's Kiss), she asked if I'd be interested in writing a guest blog for her. Well, I cogitated some, and then some more, and a few months later (oops!) I came up with something. And she has very kindly posted it on her blog, which you can find here.

Wasn't sure what I was going to write at first, but decided writing about what I have been learning would be best. And maybe it will help someone else out there.

News and stuff...

Been busy and I have lots of news, so if you're interested, then read on. Not sure how soon I'll be able to stop and do this again.

1) My poem, "In Passing," is up on Daily Love. You can find it here. There will be another one in August called, "That Night...". I'll give you a heads up when the link is available for that one.

2) Just signed a contract with Drollerie Press for another novella. Can't say anything else about it right now, but I'll let you know more when I know more.

3) Tyrannosaurus Press just came out with their third quarterly issue of The Illuminata, their free newsletter. In this issue there are a couple of short stories, some reviews and a few articles on things of a speculative fiction nature (including at least one of each written by me). You can download it in either ePub or PDF format.

4) I had a poem accepted by Aoife's Kiss, and rumor has it it will be in the September 2010 issue. I'll let you know when it's out and if I'll be having a blog contest for it.

5) Had my first InfiniChi Medical Qigong appointment on Friday and I highly recommend trying it out if you can find a practitioner near you. They use a combination of Reiki, massage, acupressure and other energy-type work. I was so present afterward that I think my business meeting went much better than it would have otherwise. I was much more helpful to my client and will probably give her a better product because I was more present. I'm moving slower today, but again, I'm also more present, and hopefully more productive.

6) This next week commences the Great Bathroom Make Over - basically gutting it and making it over almost brand new. What this means is that I have been moving everything out of the bathroom and have made up an overnight bag/kit to use in a functional bathroom elsewhere in the building for the next week. Monday morning will be the last time I really use the bathroom before it's gutted. It means I will lose the white tile with black trim wainscoting I love so much around the room. It's fairly old - vintage - which is why I like it so much, but it needs to be replaced (sigh).

It took much convincing on the part of the person doing the work as I kept wondering why he couldn't just patch up the ugly and leave the rest, but when you compare the new tile to the 30 some year old tile, there's just no way it would look good together. And redoing the entire thing exactly as it is now, but using 21st century materials, would be prohibitively expensive. It's sad and I hate change, but he explained to me this also means I will probably gain room because the wainscoting is like an inch thick all around and that will disappear to be dry walled and the tile around the tub to go up higher and around the window. Everything repainted. And they're going to try to stay with the black and white tile I like. It also means the ugly patch work tile around tub faucet will be replaced. And lots of other stuff either cleaned up or replaced. But, I'll also lose things like the tile towel holders and tile toilet paper holders. But, it's basically a brand new bathroom, too. And other than having to use another bathroom occasionally over the next week, free and easy to me.

I love that it's happening, but I'm just sad to see the old vintage stuff go. Some people like living in newness. I'm the person who doesn't see the cracks in the paint as much because I'm charmed by the oldness. But again - it's all good and being done by someone I trust (Pye doesn't hate him -- well not as much as he hates other people, anyway).

7) Because of the work on the bathroom I might not be hanging out on my usual cyber haunts as much. My home office is kinda near construction central so I'll probably be using my netbook elsewhere or working on other things in other places. We'll see how it goes. It will be good. But if you know me, you know how much I can grouse about change and things being "different". I like my routine. But my brain will enjoy the change, I'm sure.

When it's all done, however, I will make sure to post before and after pictures so you can say "oooh" and "ah" along with me.

Two Cool Things

1) It’s time for the Science Fiction Poetry Association voting of the 2010 Rhysling Awards. Every year people in the SFPA can vote on the previous years best poetry from those nominated. You get this neat book to look through and decide on the short and long poems you think are deserving of the year’s awards. I’ve never been involved in nominating anyone, but I do like reading those who have been nominated, seeing all that’s out there, and voting on the ones I like best. My choices never win, but I like knowing I was part of the process and hope that the people who’s poems I voted for will soon be recognized elsewhere if not here. Anyway, it’s a cool thing to be involved in.

2) My short story, “Love’s Clothing”, published in the February 2010 issue of Aoife’s Kiss, got a good brief mention on Charles Gramlich’s blog, Razored Zen (last paragraph here). If you haven’t followed his blog before, I recommend reading along. He can be a good read. And I feel good that a writer so talented enjoyed something I wrote.

Anyway, just sharing the two cool things I’m involved in right now.

Happy Birthday Blog Contest!

I wasn't going to do a blog contest this time. I just sent out emails to people to see if they wanted a copy and went from there. But somehow I STILL ended up with an extra copy (maybe 2 or 3 unless I hear back from people on brick and mortar addresses). So, if you're interested in possibly winning a copy of the February 2010 issue of Aoife's Kiss with my story, "Love's Clothing," in it (a sad werewolfy love story), then leave a comment down below by midnight Pacific Time April 25th. Then on April 26 (my birthday, hence the title) I will draw names out of a hat and contact the winner(s).

How's that sound?

Okay - GO!

It Arrived!!!

If you're interested, the copies of the February 2010 issue arrived today. If you said you wanted a copy that probably means I'll be sending them out next week. Here's the link if you'd like to hear the first page of the story.


My Spanish is atrocious and I keep tripping over words no matter how much I practice, but hopefully you still like it.

An Exerpt from The Lullabye

This story came out in the March 2009 issue of Aoife’s Kiss. You can find me reading an excerpt here. And you can find the back issue here.

Checking in, catching up and all that ...

Typical crossposting of the ways to make sure everyone gets sorta the same news.

1) If you're in the mood for some fantasy erotica, I have a short story up on Lucrezia. I submitted it quite a while ago, and after looking at it, I wish I'd gone through it one more time. And though I thought I had formatted it correctly for them, it still looks odd. But, it's there if you like: “A Summer Pastoral” . Friend of mine reminded me that Imbolc is over, Ostara is here, and Beltane is coming, so this might work for you if you're in the spring kinda mood.

2) I took a trip with my friend, Leigh, to the Women’s Expo in Ventura. Though the expo itself was a little underwhelming, my time with Leigh at the expo was great. We hung out in the Book Corner put up by Bank of Books, an independent bookstore in Ventura, California, where Leigh signed some books. We also had some cool conversation with fellow writers. The coolest thing, though, was the Cups of Courage art installation in the main area, that was there to support breast cancer awareness. You can read more about the day and see pictures of some of the cool decorated bras here on Leigh’s blog.

3) Got a nice “No, Thank you” on a little horror unrequited love story I wrote. It’s been turned down several times and each time I take another look at it and try to revise it. And each time I get the, “love the quality of your writing, but we are passing up your story at this time.” So, I’m obviously the only one enchanted by the story and concept. Considering shelving it for a while. Maybe I should I lengthen it sometime. Maybe it’s just the beginning of a story. I don’t know.

4) There's another short story in the publication process. Not sure when it will be out definitely. But, as it was a Christmas story that was supposed to be out in December, I'm not in a hurry anymore myself. We got eight months before it can be considered timely, again.



5) Still haven't received my issues of the March 2009 issue of Aoife’s Kiss where you can read my short story, The Lullabye. As soon as I receive my copies, I’ll be posting a blog contest for a signed issue.

6) Finally,

Life in the freelance world has dried up like Joshua Tree in August.

(Above is my mom and sister in Joshua Tree in APRIL 2002, but you get the idea.)

Anyway, last week I said that it’s a good thing I work at the Larchmont Chronicle, because that’s about the only thing going right now. What's funny is my normal freelance sources of income have dried up, but other sources are popping up out of nowhere. Literally. Springing up out of the woodwork and I'm not sure where they've gotten my name from. So, I'm very thankful for everything. In fact, I'm finding myself frequently saying, "Thank you, God, everything," and leaving it at that.

March is packed!

Full of reasons to celebrate. For example, today is Barbie's 50th birthday. Who knew? But, besides Barbie's bday, and Women’s History Month, March is also Small Press month. In honor of Small Press month, may I direct to you the March 2009 issue of Aoife’s Kiss where you can read my short story, The Lullabye.

See - there’s my name, right there!

As soon as I receive my copies, I’ll be posting a blog contest for a signed issue. I haven’t yet, but when it happens, you’ll be the first to know!

And if fiction is not your thing or you don’t have the few bob it would take to purchase Aoife’s Kiss or don’t win the blog contest, then may I direct you to the March issue of Chocolate Zoom, where you can read articles on babies, chocolate, being green and the business of chocolate.

I also have a couple more stories that MIGHT be coming out this month that you’ll be able to read online. They aren’t up yet, but as soon as they are, I’ll post them here!