The last month has been really hard on my writing; the sum-up is that my husband and I are separating. It's a relatively amicable split, but there was some drama that led up to the decision, and a lot of planning and coordination and logistics (and maybe a little more drama) afterward, none of which has left me in the mood to think about romance and sex. (And just to complicate matters, the Day Job has been completely insane, my car broke down, and then my son turned up sick.)
I'm hoping, once he starts to get settled into his new apartment (i.e., acquires a minimum of furniture) and we all start to figure out our new routines, that I'll be able to plan writing time for myself again. Soon, hopefully; I have four different Calls for Submissions in my folder waiting pathetically for me to do something with them before their deadlines pass.
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Speaking of Calls for Submission -- I've proposed (and will be editing) a new anthology for Torquere! Check it out:
Zombie stories are hot right now... and here at Torquere Press we think they could be even hotter! Get your delicious brains churning, and give us your unique, zombie-themed love stories! Is your hero a zombie-slayer -- or is he in love with one? Maybe your hero is desperately searching for a cure to save an infected loved one. Maybe he's the one making the zombies in the first place. Maybe he's even a zombie himself!
These are the stories we want to showcase in He Loves Me for My Brainsss, a new anthology of sexy, romantic m/m stories about men finding love in the face of a zombie crisis. All settings and heat ratings are welcome, but we're looking for strong characters in fully realized, happy-ending stories with a little more zing to them than the "survivors meet and fall in love" stock standard. Note: While it is true that the undead can be sexy, and it is also true that part of the fun of zombies is their gross-out factor, we ask that you avoid combining these two elements directly, in order to appeal to the widest possible audience.
Any word count from 5000 words and up is welcome, no stories shorter than the minimum please. Stories should be sent to submission@torquerepress.com with Brainsss Anthology in the subject line. Deadline for submission is October 1, 2012 for a projected January 2013 publication. Stories will be contracted for first time print and electronic rights, and payment will be $50.00 US plus contributor copies. Please see our general submission guidelines for how to format your submission.
That call, along with Torquere's other open calls, is posted on their Special Calls page, and the general submission guidelines are here. I'm feeling pretty squee about it -- I hope it gets some good submissions! Surely you want to submit a story!
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And speaking of anthologies, Masks Off! will be released next week! Shall we have a contest to celebrate? Post a comment here or on my Facebook page between now and next Wednesday, and I'll... think of something nice for you. Not sure exactly what, yet. Let's see how many folks enter. ;-)
I'm totally excited -- this will be my first "real" print publication! (Though the two Cleis collections coming out this fall were written and accepted before this one, but Cleis has a slower publication timeline.) I shall have to create a vanity shelf!
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And speaking of the Cleis books, I went up to my local Books-a-Million on Saturday and finally met Kristina Wright face-to-face! She's the editor for Duty and Desire, in which I have a story and which will be coming out... either September or November, depending on whose information is correct. She's also been the editor for several of the books that Lynn has contributed to, so I was already predisposed to like her before I got there. But it turns out I'd have loved her anyway -- she was fantastic.
As were, I should add, the BaM employees who hung around chatting with us. The store manager was pushing for us to host a release party for Duty and Desire at his store, including Kristina and me and Lynn and maybe another couple of semi-local authors. It could happen; I'll let you know if it does!
