Carnivale

And without further ado, Emerald Tales; Volume Two, Number One, Carnivale, is now for sale!

Saint Jake of the Funhouse - Douglas Kolacki - short story

New Profession - Guy Belleranti - poem

Offbeat - Lauren McBride - short story

me and the fair - josh byer - poem

The Hurdy Gurdy Man - E. Hull - short story

Lagniappe - Catherine Moore - poem

Farewell to Flesh - Lindsey Duncan - short story

Venice - Patricia La Barbera - poem

The Tatooed Woman - Christine Rains - short story

New Orleans; Circa Fat Tuesday - Darrell Lindsey - poem

Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down - Damien Walters Grintalis - short story

Winter Carnival - Patty Saturn - poem

The Wild Hunt - Kristina Lee - short story

Milano, Coming Home - George Moore - poem

Mascaren - Ben A. Bell - shor story

Equestrienne - John Hayes - poem

All the Fun of the Fair - Peter Caunt - short story

A school friend goes to visit Saint Jake; an alien encounters a young woman at Carnivale in Brazil; a child listens to the music of The Hurdy Gurdy Man; A dancer's night of farewell to flesh; there something different about those tattoos; a young couple's encounter with a voodoo man at Mardi Gras; teenagers attend a carnival passing through town; a young woman's encounter with a mask seller; and two young boys go for a carnival ride. With poetry by: Guy Belleranti, josh byer, Catherine Moore, Patricia La Barbera, Darrell Lindsey, Patty Saturn, George Moore, and John Hayes.

http://www.scribblersandinkspillers.com/emeraldtales.html

If some of those names look familiar, well, yes, they have contributed to previous issues of Emerald Tales. The more issues that I put out, the more repeat submissions I get, and the harder it is to decide which ones to use and which ones to pass on. I've said this before and I'll say it again: If you all would start submitting crap, it would make the decision process so much easier. It's torture to pass on a previous contributor's well-written but just doesn't fit the theme story. On the other hand, it's always a delight to find new-to-me authors and poets to publish.

I'm caught up on acknowledging the Emerald Tales submissions. If you submitted to "It was a bright and sunny day" issue and you didn't get an acknowledgement from me, send it to me again. Today.

I am not caught up on Crystal Codices. I will be wading through those next.

Leprechaun

The next installment in the Faegotten series, Leprechaun, by Jude Tulli is now posted on Copper Wire. This month the wish-fulfilling fairy has been demoted to a Leprechaun and takes us on a journey over the rainbow. (Actually, it's to a rainbow, but that doesn't evoke Judy Garland singing in The Wizard of Oz.) You can read it here: http://www.scribblersandinkspillers.com/copperwire/leprechaun.html

The Carnivale issue of Emerald Tales is a bit more delayed than I had anticipated. I'm having email problems with one of my contributors. Stupid email program had no trouble delivering the files with the contracts, but doesn't want to deliver the files with suggested changes. What is up with that?

The deadline for "It was a bright and sunny day" issue is Monday. You've got two days to scribble down a story for that one. Go! Write now! :)

Carnivale - February's theme

So, I finally decided on Carnivale for February's theme. No, not the TV show. That's the Italian spelling of the word carnival. The Carnivale di Venezia or Carnival of Venice is a big two week festival similar to Mardi Gras in New Orleans and held for the same purpose. There are similar Carnivals held in South America and the Caribbean Islands.

So, what I am looking for are stories set at a carnival. This could also be the roadside carnival, the kind that used to come through town, set up rides and games for a weekend, then move on to the next town. Whatever.

A carnival, isn't that the perfect setting for a romance, a thriller, a horror story, a fantasy story, science fiction, a western, a mystery ...? :)

I can't wait to see what you all come up with.

And if that doesn't grab you, then I am still open to stories about "The purification of a love-struck groundhog suffering from cabin fever at Mardi Gras". :)

Now, I am going to go work on the Special Edition of Masks or Appearances Can Be Deceiving.

EDITED TO ADD: CLARIFICATION - Any kind of carnival; Roadside carnival, the Carnivale of Venice, Mardi Gras, The Carnival in Brazil, A Carnival in the Caribbean , A fantasy carnival, etc.