Finally Friday update

It's been a busy week. The Origins blogfest was so much fun. We need to start our own League of Justice Writers. I'm following a bunch of a new blogs. Welcome to my new followers too!

In case you missed the post yesterday, I'm celebrating reaching 200 followers with the Learn Your Craft Giveaway! Free books. I don't care where you live in the world. Free books because I adore you all.

I revised two and a half chapters of my current WIP this week. I'm at the point that I need to rewrite a foretelling/prophecy. I'm horrible at doing those things. Why can't mystics or oracles just bluntly say what they mean? I feel my protagonist's frustration in trying to figure out what the vague references and strange symbolism mean.

I critiqued three stories for my writers' group. We meet tomorrow. I submitted my Steampunk Cthulhu story to be critiqued. I wonder if any of them are familiar with the Cthulhu Mythos. Once I have their critiques, I will edit and revise again, send to my CPs, and then revise again before submitting it to the anthology.

I also revised a short noir story I wrote a while ago and submitted it to a site that features stories of that flavor. One extra submission for me this month!

I cut my son's bangs today. Toddlers don't sit still. You can imagine what it looks like. I think I ought to consider not cutting his bangs myself any more. At least he's happy not to have his bangs in his pretty long eyelashes any more.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Tundra 37 released, blogfests and such

Aubrie Dionne's newest science-fiction romance novel, Tundra 37 is now available. It's the second book in the New Dawn series. The first one was spectacular. I can't wait to read this on my Nook! You can buy it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. I'll be having an interview with Aubrie on the 25th. Please come join us.

There's a bunch of great blogfests going on right now:
I'll tumble 4 ya blogfest is this Friday. Tell us who you have a crush on in the '80's!
The Origins blogfest is this coming Monday. How did you become a writer?
The Critique Partner blogfest starts this Friday and goes through to Monday. If you're looking for a critique partner or beta readers, this is the place for you.
The Hook, Line & Sinker blogfest is this Monday too. Post a 500 - 1000 word hook to be critiqued and critique other participants' entries.

Don't forget the Fourth Writers' Platform Building Campaign has begun. Click now to sign up! It's an amazing experience. I did it last fall and I'll do it again this fall.

I finished the first draft of my Steampunk Cthulhu short story. I'm letting it sit a few days before I edit it. It's with my CP's already and then it will go to my writers' group to be critiqued. My short stories are really getting a workout this year.

Good start to February

February is starting off well. I'm nearly done my Steampunk Cthulhu story. It's a little longer than I anticipated, but I'm not surprised. I usually end up writing more than I plan. That's okay. I have a character named Zedock who pilots an airship and he has a wicked handlebar mustache. Just the image of him in my head is worth the extra words.

I have all my Tuesday and Wednesday blog posts done for the month.

I wrote up my posts for the two great blogfests I'm participating in: I'll tumble 4 ya and Origins.

I'll have an interview with sci-fi romance author Aubrie Dionne on the 25th and the Catch Fire event for Alex J. Cavanaugh's new book, CassaFire on the 28th.

I've done my first four posts for the A to Z Challenge and I'm having so much fun with it. It's distracting me from my other writing.

I made an appointment for my son's first dentist visit on the 21st. He has another new tooth. Finally a molar!

I haven't done any more revisions on my WIP, but I'm okay with that. It's only the beginning of the month. With everything else done, I'll be able to concentrate on it alone after my short story is finished.

Time for an ice cream reward. Mm-mmm!

How's your February going so far?

New anthologies looking for submissions

To help inspire me for this month's short story, I went to Ralan.com and collected some links to anthologies that are looking for submissions. I hope a couple might interest you too. The first one really popped out at me!

STEAMPUNK CTHULHU - 1-time print (Chaosium); any genre (fic). Pay: 3¢/word +3 copies & discounts. Words: 2k-8k. RT: after DL. Reprints: no. E-subs: ONLY. Brian M Sammons, Editor or, Glynn Owen Barrass, Editor. Deadline: July 31, 2012.

HORROR LIBRARY, VOL. 5 - annual print (Cutting Block Press); h (fic). Pay: from 1½¢/word to pro rates for established authors (negotiated). Words: <6k (prefers 3-4k). RT: 4-6 months. Reprints: no. E-subs: ONLY. R.J. Cavender, Editor. Deadline: when filled.

FADING LIGHT: An Anthology of the Monstrous - 1-time POD/eAntho (Damnation Books); h/df (fic). Pay: shared 25%/40% royalty. Words: 3k-5k. RT: 3-5 weeks. Reprints: no. E-subs: ONLY. Tim Marquitz, Editor. Deadline: May 15, 2012.

THE GRUFF VARIATIONS - 1-time eAntho (Writing for Charity), all proceeds go to charity; most genres (no erotica) (fic). Pay: exposure. Words: <7½k. RT: by 17Mar12. Reprints: yes. E-subs: ONLY. Eric James Stone, Editor. Deadline: February 19, 2012.

10 REASONS TO CROSS THE MOAT - 1-time print (Sam's Dot Publishing); sf/f (fic/poem). Pay: fic=$20; poem=$5. Words: fic=2k-9k; poem=<100 lines. RT: reject/holdover=1-2 months; final=after DL. Reprints: no. E-subs: ONLY. Katie Hartlove & Sylvan Bree Baker, Editors. Deadline: May 1, 2012.