Now that the story is complete and being sent out, I feel comfortable revealing the mystery counter part. It is published author, Ian Bush. Ian's novella, Wishes For The World Around You was published from a 2012 writing contest ran by 2 Moon Press. In 2013, Ian was a contributor to a handful of anthologies including issue #1 and #2 of Shadows and Light as well as Blessings From the Darkness, an anthology published by Black Bed Sheet Books. You can find Ian's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Ian.Bush.Author.
I'll save the wit and deep thoughts for another entry. Today it's all business. My friend and I officially stuck a fork in our collaboration piece. The final draft is complete and ready for submission. It was interesting to see what each mind brought to the story; the different strengths and weaknesses complimenting one another. We're both very happy with our contribution, and there is talk of perhaps more as a team in the future so we shall see. For now, we plan on submitting the story for a specific anthology coming out this year. Per usual, I will keep you updated on if and when this comes to fruition.
Now that the story is complete and being sent out, I feel comfortable revealing the mystery counter part. It is published author, Ian Bush. Ian's novella, Wishes For The World Around You was published from a 2012 writing contest ran by 2 Moon Press. In 2013, Ian was a contributor to a handful of anthologies including issue #1 and #2 of Shadows and Light as well as Blessings From the Darkness, an anthology published by Black Bed Sheet Books. You can find Ian's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Ian.Bush.Author.
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I wrote some flash fiction pieces recently. It happened by accident really. I had just finished a story (the one that comes out at the end of the month) and was waiting to hear from the other half of my team for the co-authoring project I'm working on. I was daydreaming (where most of my ideas come from) and of course doing "The Stare" (see entry from May 30th). Something quickly came together that was complete in a matter of 10 to 15 minutes, and within that week I had written a total of three pieces of flash fiction that I was very fond of. I began hunting around for a place to submit and found an abundance of "online" magazines and E-books but hardly anything publishing print copies. Hold that thought and allow me to digress a moment. I promise to get back to why I prefer hard copies.
The publishing world is indeed vast, and can be very intimidating when you first start trying to get your feet wet in those deep waters (I just recently got my first toe wet and am perfectly content sitting on the dock where it's safe for now). I'm sure those who have created a painting, a story, a song or a multitude of other creative endeavors can relate to having a deep personal connection to each piece and deeming each one "your child." A completed story is no less different for me than when I finish a painting. I want to find the perfect home for "my child" as I give up my rights and reluctantly hand it over; not just to any home but one where I know it will fit in and be appreciated and....okay monetary persuasion can also be within the jury of the decision making process. As promised, now back to why I prefer print over online publishing. I'm old school. I like to hold it all in my hands. I'm not down with MP3s. I can't hold them in my hand. I want the album cover to stare at (yes, I'm that old school). I don't want the digital download of the game. I want the real deal with the graphic-intense container and printed instructions. I don't want the E-book where I virtually flip the pages with each page fed by computer-enhanced light. I want the paper in my hands with real pages to flip as each one permeates my nostrils with it's distinct scent; that when I'm done reading I can set on my shelf as a conquered trophy to be lent out to anyone asking if I have a good book they could borrow. I want people to be able to hold any and all of my work the same way. I want to hold all my children, not just look at pictures of them. One of thing things that has been on my mind the most lately is the 4 completed short stories I so carelessly packed away years ago. I shelved them with apparently no intention of ever wanting to get them published, and now that I'm pursuing it, they're in hiding. The last time I read them they still held up very nicely. I'm proud of each one. I've got a plethora of song lyrics, paintings, and drawings dating all the way back to high school and I know exactly where they are, but the stories written well into adulthood evade me. Each one of those stories could supply a portion of my own anthology rather than starting completely from scratch. I used to play World of Warcraft, and in that game there is a quest where you have to find several pages of a book scattered through the jungle. Yeah, I'm on that quest. The person I'm co-authoring this new story with sent me some work they had started on. The spark that finally lit the fire we built last week. Now to keep it burning to completion by bouncing ideas back and forth by both writing, comparing, pulling the highlights and fusing them together. We already have plans for one particular place we'd like to submit it. They have a specific anthology they're working on with a deadline of August 1st so we're going to hopefully be moving fast. He's actually already worked with this particular publisher before so perhaps it's a foot in another door.
Strange, I was just writing part of the story just minutes before I started a new blog entry and I'm kind of "stuck in character" if you will. Instead of my usual style of writing, I noticed it's the way the character I'm writing dialogue for would talk. As a result, I keep backspacing and rewriting my sentences. It's also why this entry is all over the place. I blame the character and what he's going through right now. Completely unrelated yet part of the same journey, I found out the book I'm being published in will be out as early as the end of this month. I'm unsure of the cost for now but it will for sure be available on Amazon and locally through me. |
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