Reflections

I was going to do this back in August when I had my one year anniversary of publishing Emerald Tales, but my brain wasn't working well enough, and the post would have ended up an incoherent mess.

This past year and a half from the idea "Hey, wouldn't it be great to start an ezine" to now, the publisher of a journal, poetry collections, short stories, and The Annals of Hypnosia, has been quite a journey. In particular order here are my thoughts about it:

Sending out rejection letters sucks. It really sucks when there isn't anything wrong with a story, but I'm limited by how much I can spend paying authors and poets. (And it is important to me that this be a paying market.) In many cases, it boiled down to how well the story or poem fit the theme.

The worst rejection letters that I had to write were to those who I had published before. It was like telling a best friend, "No, you don't look good in that dress." On the other hand, it would do them more harm than good for me to accept their story just because I had accepted a previous one.

The first line being the theme of the issue makes it really hard to decide which stories to include and which to pass on. If the first line is there, then there is nothing to base a decision on. Which is why the Bright and Sunny Day issue was so damn long... I'm not doing that again.

People who can write a story that is four thousand words are less are much more likely to write a compelling novel or story of longer length. They've figured out how to hook your attention quickly and hold it. I think those people who say, "they can't write a story that is less than 4000 words," should try working on it. It probably will increase their chance of finding an agent and selling their novel.

The British Commonwealth seems to have something going on in the ability to write short stories. Every issue of Emerald Tales has at least one and sometimes two or three or four authors from England, Canada, Australia, etc. They're represented in a higher proportion than one would expect based on population statistics. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe it's a cultural thing. Maybe it's an education thing. Maybe it's genetic. They do have a large number of authors in the must read classics department.

There were three or four poets that submitted to every issue and that I accepted their poetry every time for either Emerald Tales or Copper Wire. They are Guy Belleranti, John Hayes, Darrell Lindsey, and Lauren McBride. They are different in the form of poetry that they write, but they all have the same quality that I was looking for in a poem: you don't have to be a literature professor to understand their imagery.

I didn't know it at the time, but I also accepted poetry from two brothers, Josh and Matthew Byers. I wonder if there were any more blood relations.

Drum roll, please.

In alphabetic order the contributors to Scribblers and Ink Spillers:

Emerald Tales
Poetry
Guy Belleranti (5)
J. N. Bower
Matthew Byer
josh byer
Effie Collins
Amanda C. Davis
Lindsey Duncan
Grace Galton
Scott E. Green
Damien Walters Grintalis (2)
John Hayes (5)
D. L. Hegel
Wynne Huddleston (2)
Penn Kemp (2)
Patricia La Barbera
N. L. LeBlanc
Darrell Lindsey (4)
Lauren McBride (3)
Tracie McBride (2)
Michelle Mead
Catherine Moore
George Moore
Patricia Puckett
Roxanne Rhoads
Patty Saturn
Troy Seate
Marge Simon
Hal Sirowitz
Teresa Tunaley
Grady Yandell
Mercedes M. Yardley

Stories
Kevin Anderson
Jennifer Azantian
J. J. Beazley
Ben A. Bell
Guy Belleranti
Chip Bland
Faith Boughan (2)
Darla J. Bowen
Ragna Brent
Thomas Canfield
Arthur Carey
Peter Caunt (2)
Lisa Clark
Marie Croke (2)
Laurie Dalzell (3)
Amanda C. Davis
K. S. Dearsley (2)
Aubrie Dionne (2)
Lindsey Duncan
Jason Flum (4)
Catherine J. Gardner
Alice Godwin
Bruce Golden (3)
Denise Golinowski
Eliza Granville
Heather Gregson
Damien Walters Grintalis
James Hartley
Neil James Hudson (2)
E. Hull (2)
B. M. Kezar
Douglas Kolacki
Raymond Koonce
Kristina Lee (2)
Richard S. Levine
Brandi Mauldin
Lauren McBride
Michael McGlade
Mario Milosevic
Bill Moon
Jenny Morientes
Heather Parker
R. J. Payne
Christine Rains
Cherie Reich (2)
Stephen D. Rogers
Lisa Rusczyk (2)
Laura Jeanne Sanger
Jennifer schwabach
K. C. Shaw
Adam Slade
Abra Staffin-Wiebe
Paula R. Stiles
Lori T Strongin
Julie St. Thomas
G. W. Thomas
Erika Tracy
Justin Whitney
Hugh Wilson

Copper Wire
Poetry:
Guy Belleranti
Gary Bloom
Matthew Byer
John Hayes
Darrell Lindsey
Lauren McBride
Misty Posey
Changming Yuan


Short Stories:
Bryant Alexander
Karen Dent
Grace Galton
Bruce Golden
Heather Gregson
Damien Walters Grintalis
Stephanie Hamrick
Neil James Hudson
M. J. Jones
Raymond Koonce (2)
Jack Linus
B. Moon
Lisa Rusczyk
Jude Tulli
L. A. Witt
P. E. Zimmerman

Crystal Codices
Stories:
Sarah Ashwood
Nyki Blatchley
Savyn Carden
Jeremy Essex
Ken Goldman
Kristin Janz
Matthew Leukroth
Marilyn Luttrell

Poetry Collections:
Guy Belleranti
Lisa Rusczyk

And Mette Pesonen the author and illustrator of The Annals of Hypnosia.

Keep an eye out for these authors and poets, they're worth it.

New Stories Posted

That new story for Crystal Codices that I said was going to be out on September 1? I was finally able to get it all formatted and uploaded to the website.

Call of the North by Sarah Ashwood is now online. You can find it here:

And even though I haven't blogged about it, I have been releasing the monthly installments of The Annals of Hypnosia. I just put up the October installment, A Family Recipe of the Worst Kind. Azaril's family recipe book gets stolen and Serafyr must retrieve it before the demons of hell are unleashed.

At Mette's request, I posted a message from the author for those who have been following the Annals of Hypnosia. Personally, I like her self portrait. And she has been wonderful to work with. She didn't snarl at me too much when I changed the background color for the banner. (That's the only image of hers that I have fiddled with, the rest is all her work.)

That would have been the last of the Hypnosia stories, but after a bit of prodding from me for more, Mette admitted to having six others that would work with the series. So, we amended the contract to add them and we'll be continuing our adventures in the land of Hypnosia for six more months.

Huh, they changed the way to put in links.

Lots to Read!

I've posted a lot of stuff on the website in the past week. I forgot to let everyone know about it.

Two new poems on Copper Wire, Alphabet Meandering by Matthew Byer and Summerscaping by Changming Yuan. I thought they were rather interesting. :)

A Matter of Credibility, the June installment in The Annals of Hypnosia is also up.

All of the electronic versions of the Crystal Codices are now online and free to read. (I'll have a new one in July sometime.)

And the June issue of Emerald Tales, Midsummer's Eve, is now online!

On Midsummer's Eve, a young woman and her family visit the aunts who raised her, a trip outside the dome turns deadly, the seventh child of the seventh child must repay a debt, a cartoon character comes to life, a young woman faces disappointment, a village is invaded during their midsummer ritual, and a woman's true love is revealed to her.

A Visit with the Tantes - short story - Laurie Dalzell

Midsummer's Triolet - poem - Lauren McBride

Outside - short story - Peter Caunt

Midsummer's Eve Mess-up - poem - Guy Belleranti

The Seventh Child - short story - E. Hull

Midsummer's Night Dream - poem - Grace Galton

I Found Love on Channel 3 - short story - Bruce Golden

Heat - poem - John Hayes

A Midsummer's Baby - short story - K. S. Dearsley

Midsummer's Magic: A Series of Haikus - poem - Patricia Puckett

Firebird's Embrace - short story - Faith Boughan

Starry-eyed Predictions - poem - Wynne Huddleston

Midsummer Rose - short story - Eliza Granville

Midsummer's Eve Reminiscing - poem - Darrell Lindsey

As my dance teacher, Michael, used to say, "That'll keep you busy!" :)

Just in Time for Holiday Shopping

I have two new titles for Crystal Codices!

Crime Rhymes - A Collection of Mystery Verse by Guy Belleranti. You may recognize the name, he sends me funny poetry for every issue of Emerald Tales that I can't resist including in either the print version or on Copper Wire. Last month, I twisted his arm real hard (You probably heard the screams. I did, and I live across the country from Guy.) and he sent me a collection of witty verse about criminals and criminal investigations. Some of them are limericks, some are plain verse. They're all amusing.

Looking-Glass Milk by Kristin Janz: Science Fiction fans will love this story. Tanais and Xichen, scientists, are on a mission to Alpha Centauri to analyze the biochemistry of the Centaurians. The results of the analysis will determine the fate of a group of Humans held prisoner for the death of a Centaurian.

Go here to check out all the titles in Crystal Codices. http://www.scribblersandinkspillers.com/crystalcodices.html

Three New Titles added to Crystal Codices

Woot!

I've added three new titles to the Crystal Codices line.

The City of Ferrid by Nyki Blatchley - A fantasy set in an industrialized culture. Demolin, a young man, visits the city and meets an unusual woman who needs his help.

Lena the Huntress by Savyn Carden - A humorous dark fantasy. Lena must find the orb which will lead her to Jelene and fulfill her destiny.

The Typewriter Poetry Collection by Lisa Rusczyk - a collection of 18 poems written when Lisa only had a typewriter to work with.

The link in case you missed it above: http://www.scribblersandinkspillers.com/crystalcodices.html

I have two other titles for Crystal Codices which will be released in a few days. One is Science Fiction and the other is a poetry collection.

Note: While I have published a lot of fantasy, it's because that is mostly what I get for submissions. I am interested in publishing the other genres.

And now I must go deal with the Winter Solstice submissions. I'm sure the submitters are biting their nails.

Images of Crystal Codices

As I said previously, images do not do the Crystal Codices Collection justice. And in order not to have huge picture files that take forever to load up, the color is a bit wonky on the edges.

For comparison, here's a link to Bede, Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, in the Old English translation, early 11th century, leaves lost at beginning and end; formerly MS. 279 Part 2, until bound separately in 1992. At the Corpus Christi College at the University of Oxford in England. http://image.ox.ac.uk/show?collection=corpus&manuscript=ms279b

I used a readable handwriting font and printed on parchment paper. Cool, huh? :)

Crystal Codices are Now For Sale

Note to self: Do NOT try to launch two projects on the same day, one will be late. Four days late. Sigh.

At last, the initial offerings of Crystal Codices is for sale. I've been up all night getting everything set up, revising the website, blahblahblah.

The first codices are ... drum roll, please:

High Etara by Marilyn Luttrell	An urban fantasy of the coming of the next High Etara. The Etara are a race of humans gifted with paranormal powers. But, they have been abusing those powers to subjugate the humetara. Find out what happens when The High Etara is finally identified.
POE 103 by Ken Goldman	Dr. Simon Chambers teaches a survey course in the literature of Edgar Allen Poe. Find out what's behind the strange coincidences between Simon Chamber's life and the late Edgar Allen Poe in this modern tale of horror.
The Temple of Stupidity by Jeremy Essex	A fantasy allegory of modern life. Who would be so foolish as to worship at The Temple of Stupidity?
Devil's Mountain by Matthew Leukroth	They say the mountain is haunted. Found out how it came to be that way and what happens when a reckless hiker ignores the warnings to stay off the peak in this paranormal thriller.

Go here to take a look: http://www.scribblersandinkspillers.com/crystalcodices.html

I took pictures of the finished codices, but the pics don't do them justice on how cool they look in your hands. I printed them on parchment paper and handbound them.

I've described this before and several people just haven't seemed to get what it is I am doing. And I realized tonight, as I was mindlessly shuffling pages around, that if you're under the age of about 40, you probably don't know what parchment paper is or have seen it. It's a high quality paper that one normally uses for very formal correspondence. It was one type of paper used during the Middle Ages because it was durable. Here's the wiki article about parchment paper: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parchment_paper ... I'm using the animal friendly made from plants type parchment paper. ;)

So, these are novellas and short stories printed on very expensive paper and they look so cool. :)

I'll try to get better pics and post them here in a day or three.

The Annals of Hypnosia is up!

The first episode of The Annals of Hypnosia, "The Epic and Fantastic Saga of William" by Mette Pesonen is now posted on the website. To follow the adventures of legendary Lord Serafyr Halfdrake, the Grand-Mogul Fighter of the Order of the Unreasonably-Majestic Palace-Elite-Body-Guard Knights and the right-hand half-breed to Princess Simiel Buduar; Azaril Lamentamagicka, the Royal Court Wizard; and a bunch of others, go here: http://www.scribblersandinkspillers.com/hypnosia/hypnosia.html

Mark your calendars! New adventures will be posted on the 15th (or there abouts) of each month.

In other news, I decided on February's theme: "Carnivale". The submission deadline is January 1, 2010.

The first stories for Crystal Codices will be out in a few days. I am still looking for stories for that line. I would be highly interested in stories in a Medievalish setting. I would also be really interested in looking at epic poetry. If there is anyone out there who has written an epic poem and is looking for a home for it.

Now back to working on contracts and edits and submissions ... Oh My!

The Annals of Hypnosia coming soon

WooHoo! Mette Pesonen, a Finnish writer who I met several years ago on Fantasy-writers.org, has agreed to sell me the electronic rights to all of her stories about Serafyr and company set in her world of Hypnosia. These stories are light fantasy in which Mette pokes fun at all the cliches in the Fantasy genre.

Starting in the middle of September, you'll be able to read them for yourself. I'm setting up a special section of the website just for "The Annals of Hypnosia." Every month a new story from Hypnosia will be posted which you will be able to read for free.

I'm also working on some other free web content for the site. As I get those details worked out, I'll post a note right here and let you all know.

As for Crystal Codices, I'm trying to catch up on reading all the submissions that I have had for that. If you submitted a novella and you don't hear from me by next weekend, send me an email and ask about it. I'm still sorting through the email mess that happened when I switched webhosts.

FInally

Finally, I'm up and running. There are still a few tweaks that I need to make, but Emerald Tales can now be ordered both online and through the mail.

The website has been revamped. You can go here to look: www.scribblersandinkspillers.com

I've finally come out of the closet on what I plan to do with the novellas. It will be a new line called Crystal Codices. Two categories under that: Medieval Tales and Modern Tales. They will be printed on recycled parchment-like paper and handbound. They will also be available in electronic version.

And now, I am going to go catch up on everything that had to be set aside while I changed webhosts.