Solarpunk Short Story Sale!

I posted about this on Facebook last week, but I sold a short story to the forthcoming Solarpunk Creatures anthology by Worldweaver Press. My short story is called "The Colorful Crow of Web-of-Life Park," and it's about an escaped parrot, the parrot's former owner, and the crow that freed the parrot. The anthology will be published sometime between November and next February. I'll share additional details as they become available.

Story Selected for Third Flatiron's Best of 2019 Anthology!

Since I sent in the reprint contract last week, I can officially announce that my short story "Specimen 1842," originally printed in Third Flatiron's Hidden Histories anthology, has been chosen to appear in their Best of 2019 anthology. The anthology will be digital format only, and the anticipated publication date is February 1st, 2020. I'm thrilled to have my story chosen and will be posting buy links to the anthology when they become available.

Distaff Anthology Releases Tomorrow

DISTAFF: NOUN

A staff used in spinning.
Of women and women’s work.
An anthology of women’s stories woven through time and space.

In 2018 a crack team of women sci-fi writers, all members of the sffchronicles community forum, came together to write an anthology. Distaff is the result. Join us as we share stories of people, of science and exploration, and enjoy the words we weave.

Further Info:

Distaff is a Science Fiction Anthology featuring nine short stories by female identifying authors. The anthology began in 2018 on SffChronicles.com, a webforum devoted to the Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror genres. Like the site that gave birth to the idea, Distaff encapsulates the broad range of the Science Fiction genre. The anthology shrugs off the negative connotations of the word Distaff and embodies the positive aspects of what women can achieve when they pool their talents. Distaff is entirely ‘of women’s work.’ 

Distaff contains nine stories from new and best-selling authors. 

·       Authors: Susan Boulton, Damaris Browne, Kerry Buchanan, Shellie Horst, Rosie Oliver, Jane O'Reilly, Juliana Spink Mills, E. J. Tett, Jo Zebedee.

·       Publication Date: August 15, 2019

·       Website https://distaffanthology.wordpress.com

·       Available at Amazon: http://hyperurl.co/8vsjzx

·       ISBN 9781074955007 

·       Cover Design: Shellie Horst 

Editing: Rosie Oliver & Samanda R. Primeau

A Solarpunk Story Sale!

I announced this last week on Facebook, but now it's time (at long last!) to share my news with the whole Internet. I've sold another short story to an anthology. The story is called "A Shawl for Janice," and it will appear in the solarpunk Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Winters anthology. (If you're not familiar with the solarpunk genre, it's an optimistic take on the future, with the premise that we will avert (or simply survive) climate change through community, renewable energy, and technology. My particular short story is set during a Christmas bird count. The anthology will be published on January 7th, 2020. I'll share more updates as they become available. The next one will probably be in October. In the meantime, here's the publisher's announcement and the Table of Contents.

MCSI Now Available!

For those of you celebrating Labor Day today, I hope you're enjoying the day off. A holiday may not be the best day to make this announcement, but I didn't learn about the release of MCSI: Magical Crime Scene Investigation in time for Wednesday's post Anyway, if you missed the chance to participate in the Kickstarter for this paranormal investigation anthology, you can still get a copy. It's available on Amazon in ebook and paper formats. If you're looking for other ebook formats, it's also available through Smashwords. My short story, "Henry's Harness," is part of the collection, but I'm looking forward to reading the other stories as well. Here's the blurb and full list of stories and authors:


Cold cases, cold coffee, rushing into situations other people run from - being a cop is tough. But it gets even tougher when the particulars of the case don’t match up with the way the world is supposed to be. But some investigators take these paranormal speed bumps in stride. Your murder suspect is a dragon? Bring it on. Your evidence comes from a conference with the spirit world? No problem. Your kidnapping suspect is an undead creature sprung from Old World folklore? Okay, that might take the fortification of an extra cup of coffee and some back up.

We have 18 urban fantasy stories about solving the case with a little magical help ready for your curious mind. Come along for the ride and enjoy the thrills of investigation. Remember, Quod Sequitor - Follow the Evidence.

Our Stories and Authors:
The Mercury Division by Lynda Collins
How Many Hearts Will it Take? by Karen Thrower
Meat Market by Aaron C. Smith
Henry's Harness by Sandra Ulbrich Almazan
Nachtkrapp by Michelle D. Sonnier
You've Goat to be Kidding Me by Andrea Stanet
Half Someplace Gone by Blake Jessop
Le Dragon de Bronze by K.A. Mielke
The Twins in the Fog by Rie Sheridan Rose
Chief Hunkypants vs. the Magic Door by Josie Dorans
Harvest Moon by Jasmine Brown and Simon Young
Elemental Forensics by Elizabeth Hosang
Arm-in-Arm with Alchemy by Rosie Wylor-Owen
Corpus Delicti by Jade Black
The Clean-Up Crew by Edmund Lester
A Dead Mermaid on Eel Pie Island by Liz Tuckwell
The Advantages of Unofficial Consultation by Brian M. Milton
Poppies by Ashlea Adams

Short Story Sale!

The contract is signed and mailed, so I suppose it's safe to make this announcement: I sold my urban fantasy short story "Henry's Harness" to Otter Libris' MCSI: Magical Crime Scene Investigation anthology. This is only my second sale to an anthology; the last one was so long ago my author byline for that story ("A Reptile at the Reunion" in Firestorm of Dragons) is my maiden name. I don't want to say too much about my current story, but it's set in my beloved city of Madison, Wisconsin, and the main character is a former pet detective. Further details about the anthology will be coming out soon, as the publisher is planning to start a Kickstarter to fund the project. I'll share more details once the Kickstarter is live. I'm excited to be part of this project and am looking forward to reading the other stories in the anthology. Hope you are too!

IndieReCon Contests

Have you ever wished there was a convention specifically for indie writers? Apparently, there is one. It's called IndieReCon LIVE!, and it's taking place October 10--October 11 in Sandy, Utah. Even if you can't make it there in person, you can still participate in their contests. Click here for the rules and how to enter for the chance to earn a Howey. (After Hugh Howey, of course. They chose a great person to name their awards after, didn't they?) Most of the contests are free to enter, but some do require a small fee ($15 max) to enter.

I'm personally not sure yet if this is something I want to enter. The rules do allow books published in 2013 to be nominated, so I could enter Twinned Universes. Perhaps if the categories were broken down by genre instead of reader age group, I'd feel that this was a better fit for me. (To me, this con seemed skewed toward YA.) Still, some publicity might come out of it, and you can nominate other authors' works for some of the categories. The deadline for the Total Package contest is June 30th; for all the rest, it's July 31st. I still have time to mull this over.

Does this sound like something that would interest you? Why or why not? Please feel free to comment; it should be much easier to do so now.

Submission Call--First Annual Indie-pendence Day Anthology

This is a repost from Indie Writers Monthly.

Announcing the first ever 

COMING ON THE FOURTH OF JULY, it's the first-ever anthology of stories by indie writers to bear the INDIE WRITERS MONTHLY stamp of approval*, and we want YOU to be a part of it.

The anthology is going to be a collection of stories about Time Travel, and here is HOW YOU CAN GET IN ON THIS:

A. Have a story about time travel, or write one.

2.  Submit that story to us, by June 15, 2014.  (send submissions to litaplaceforstories[at]gmail.com** and label them "IWM TIME TRAVEL ANNUAL" or something like that.)

THIS IS IMPORTANT: paste the story directly into the of the email.  

I'M NOT OPENING ATTACHMENTS.  

III. Make sure you have the rights to the stories and it'd be nice if it hadn't been published somewhere else.  

Word limits? Who do you think you're talking to, here? Because there'll only be a few weeks to read them, shoot for somewhere between 1 and 1,000 words, but if you go longer, by all means, go longer.

Still reading?  Good.  Here is WHY you want to get in on this!

8(a)2.: The stories we like the best will get put into the anthology and you'll be a published writer! 

and

C: There are prizes! Specifically, the story picked as best by the IWM gang will win a $15 Amazon Gift Card and the Runner Up will get a $10 Amazon Gift Card. 

So there you have it!  I look forward to getting those stories.

PSST? Want to read some of my own time-travel stories? Check out 

"the natural order of things is largely determined by what direction we are headed and how fast," or 

HEADLINE: “Time Travel Is Only Possible In One Direction, Scientists Say.” Subhead: “Balderdash,” Tim says.

And here's a link to five 250-word time travel stories (and an essay on another one) 

Life at Seventeen Syllables a Day Now Available!

I recently finished a year-long, self-imposed challenge to write a haiku every day for a year. I planned all along to publish the collection when it was done, and it's finally ready. It's called Life at Seventeen Syllables a Day: A Journal in Haiku. You can find the paper version at Createspace or Amazon; an eBook version is available here for $0.99. Please check it out, and if you enjoy it, I'd appreciate a review. Thanks!

Smashwords Sale and Twinned Universes Audiobook Release!

I'm posting a little late today, but I hope my news makes up for that.

I'm participating in the semi-annual Smashwords sale. Both Lyon's Legacy and Twinned Universes are 50% off with the code SSW50 from now through the end of the month. Here are the links:

Lyon's Legacy
(normally $2.99, $1.50 with coupon)

Twinned Universes
(normally $4.99, $2.50 with coupon)

Also, the audiobook version of Twinned Universes is now available at Amazon for $17.46. Here's the direct link. I don't have the links for audible.com or iTunes yet, but I'll post them when they're available.

Thanks for supporting my work, and I hope you enjoy it! Please feel free to spread the word about the Smashword coupons, and don't forget to check out the other books enrolled in the sale.

Guest Post on Cloning at Alex J. Cavanaugh

While I hate to double-post on a Blog Ring of Power day, I have a special announcement to make. Today I have the honor of having a guest post on Alex J. Cavanaugh's blog. Come join me as I discuss if a clone really is identical to the person he or she was cloned from. Thanks, Alex!

The Indie Life: Business Tools

It's time again for another edition of Indie Life. If you're not familiar with this monthly blog meme, hop on over to The Indelibles for more information. The linky list will be at the bottom of this post if you want to read more blog posts on this theme or join the list yourself.

I've had a tough time trying to figure out what topic I want to discuss this month. I was considering time issues, especially for those of us with full-time jobs and families, but I finally decided to talk about business tools.

What do you consider the most important business tools for self-publishing? Obviously, a computer is vital. I personally prefer a laptop over a desktop so I can write at work or elsewhere. Next in importance are your files. I recently starting using Mozy to automatically backup my files twice a day.  Now I no longer have to worry about losing my files.

Programs are also important. I use Word to write, though I know other writers use other programs. Another important tool is a spreadsheet program like Excel. I use it for things like tracking my expenses and monthly sales for each story and planning blog tours. I currently have a spreadsheet set up to list people I want to contact or have contacted, along with when I contacted them, their e-mail address, the subject matter of the guest post or interview, the date I sent the material, and what sort of thank-you I'm giving the person. (Which reminds me I need to follow up with someone....)

I'm sure there's more tools out there that I can't think of right now. What tools do you use for your writing business, and what do you use them for? Are there any tools you think you need but don't know how to use?

I do have one quick announcement: the paper version of Twinned Universes is now available on Amazon.  The eBook will also be available on Kobo shortly.

Twinned Universes is Available!

Now that my prescheduled posts are done, I can announce something that happened on Sunday: Twinned Universes, Book Two of the Catalyst Chronicles series, is now available as an eBook! (The print version should be available late next week.) Here's the blurb:

Paul Harrison always wanted to play Hamlet, but he never expected he’d live the role first.

In the aftermath of a family tragedy on 21st century Earth, Paul discovers he’s the clone of Sean Lyon, his great-great-grandfather and a famous TwenCen musician. Suspecting his mother’s death was no accident, Paul comes up with a plan to trick the answers out of the great-uncle who had him cloned. But in order to make his plan work, Paul needs help from Sean himself—and Sean’s time is running out in the TwenCen universe next door. Although Paul’s family lives on the spaceship that travels between the universes, he’s never been allowed on TwenCen Earth. Now, with the help of his friends, his disguise-creating holoprojectors, and a quantum quirk, Paul must make his way to Sean while evading other time travelers who fear he’ll change the history of the TwenCen universe. If Paul is to achieve justice, he must not only risk his own life, but the wormhole connecting the universes. “To be or not to be” was a simple question in comparison....

Available for $4.99 on Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords.

Twinned Universes Cover Reveal!

I wasn't planning to share the cover for Twinned Universes until next week, but how can I wait that long?

The cover was photographed and designed by Meghan Derico of Derico Photography. She also prepared the cover for Lyon's Legacy, and she did a great job of branding the books to show they're in the same series.

Once I've reviewed and approved the proof for the paperback, I'll format the e-books. There's a very good chance the books will be ready for publication before the "official" release date of 3/17/13. In the meantime, you can find Twinned Universes on Goodreads.

Letters to Psyche Now Available for Kindle!

Cupid and Psyche and Romeo and Juliet. Sounds like quite a complicated love story, doesn't it? I don't remember what first inspired me to weave Cupid into the Montagues' and Capulets' family histories, since I wrote the first draft of this story about a decade ago. I submitted the story, then called "Antidote for a Family Feud," to a couple of publications. While I got some praise from the editors, they ultimately rejected it, and I set it aside and worked on other projects. Finally, last year, I figured out a fresh approach to the story: Cupid writing letters to his wife while he stays on Earth. Why doesn't he return home? Well, here's the blurb:

When the Greek god Cupid visits Verona, he foresees no problems uniting the Montague and Capulet families. But when Elisabeth Capulet and Giovanni Montague's love ends in tragedy, Elisabeth places a powerful curse not on just the families, but Cupid himself. Unable to visit his wife Psyche, he sends her letters detailing his efforts to undo the curse. Can the two of them save another generation of lovers, or will Cupid and Psyche be forever parted?

Currently "Letters to Psyche" is only available on Amazon, though I do plan to remove it from the Select program after three months. In the meantime, hmmm, isn't there a love-themed holiday coming up in the near future?

"The Mommy Clone," A Catalyst Chronicles Short Story, Now Available

Actually, I published this story Sunday evening, but since I already had pre-scheduled posts for the last couple of days (and I needed to tweak something), I'm making the official announcement today.

For some time, I've wanted to write something in my Catalyst Chronicles universe set between Lyon's Legacy and Twinned Universes. I finally got an idea and a setting for a story late last year. Since I was sick and in bed Sunday, I had enough time to revise and format the story. Anyway, here's the cover and the blurb:

All Joanna wants to do is entertain her children for a couple of hours while her husband is busy. The multi-story bouncy house promises to be fun, but someone else stalks them, someone wearing Joanna's face. Will Joanna escape with both children, or will her son fall prey to the Mommy Clone?

(The cover was done by Meghan Derico of Derico Photography. She also designed the covers for Lyon's Legacy and "The Book of Beasts.") 

The story is currently free on Smashwords and $0.99 at Amazon and B&N. Please report the lower price to Amazon so they price-match. I want to use this story as a loss leader (at least for now) to encourage readers to try my other books. I'm also going to run an experiment with this short story and the next one I publish (which will initially be in the Kindle Select program for three months): is it better to use Select or price-matching for promotion? I'll report results when I have them. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the story!

Making the Scene in 2013

I'm posting much more than I usually do this week, but that's because I have a lot to blog about. One of the most exciting topics is this: I've been invited to join a group blog called Scene 13. We're a group of about 25 authors with books coming out this year. Here's the list:

Michelle McLean
Lisa Amowitz
Ellen Booraem
 Lindsay Eland
Toni Kerr
 Kristal Shaff
Jeannie Ruesch
 Kelly Hashway
Jennifer Allis Provost
Kimberly Ann Miller
Lisa Gail Green
PJ Hoover
Rhys A. Jones
Sandra Ulbrich Almazan
Christine Johnson
Rachel Harris
Christine Fonseca
Sherry Ficklin
 Hilari Bell
Ednah Walters
Ali Cross
 Tyler Jolley
Heidi Ayarbe
Lena Goldfinch
Cole Gibsen
Leigh Hershkovich


I'll be posting there once a month, on the 15th. For this month's topic, you'll get to read about characters' New Year's resolutions, including Paul Harrison, the protagonist of Twinned Universes.

In addition to following the group blog, you can also find us on Facebook and Twitter. Please check us out and meet some other great authors!

Listen to Lyon's Legacy--or Win It on Goodreads!

I've mentioned before that I arranged to have my SF novella Lyon's Legacy put into audiobook format this summer. Well, it's finally available in all three online stores ACX distributes to. Here are the links:

Amazon
Audible
 iTunes (I'm not sure how to get the link for the store, but I did view it there.)

The regular price is $14.95, though you can get a discount if you're a member of Audible. 

Of course, the best discount is always free. Since I had some extra paper copies remaining after ChiCon, I decided to give some away. From today until Friday, two copies are up for grabs on Goodreads. The link is here. If you miss out, don't worry; there may be another giveaway soon.

Guest Post--Creating Audiobooks

As I mentioned on Monday, I do have an announcement: I've been working on an audiobook version of Lyon's Legacy, and it's almost ready. It just has to go through a final check before it goes on sale. It should be ready in a couple of weeks; I'll have more details and links once it's approved.

In order to have the audiobook made, I went through Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX), a website where authors and producers can get together and work on projects. If you'd like to learn more about how to use ACX, as well as gain a few tips from my experience, please check out my guest post on Tossing It Out. Feel free to ask me questions either on this blog or over there.

New Fantasy Short Story Out--"Silver Rain"

Back in the spring, when we were getting the rain that we desperately need now, I saw rain and fog giving familiar places a strange new look. It inspired me with a story idea about a town transformed by rain. It took me a few months to finish it, get it reviewed, and revise it, since I've been mostly revising Twinned Universes, but I finally accomplished it. "Silver Rain" is now available as an e-book for $0.99 on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords. Here's the description:


Every spring, Marthe's town is covered with illusions by silver rain, but she's the only one who can't see them. When a handsome poet shares his verses with her, she learns to appreciate beauty. However, everyone else stares at her poet as if they know something she doesn't. What is truth and what is illusion, and will Marthe learn the difference between them before she loses her lover?

As an experiment, I also made the cover myself using a royalty-free photo from Dreamstime and GIMP. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Hopefully with more practice (and perhaps a class) I'll learn how to do more advanced stuff.


If you check out the story, I hope you'll enjoy it!