Mystery and Horror, LLC: Open for Submissions

I start with a tale of woe.

2011 was a great year for me. I had a bunch of short stories published, and my first novel, All This and Family, Too (vampire satire) came out. My wife, Gwen Mayo, had her own novel, a historical mystery. We had a house, jobs, health insurance, savings, and friends. We legally organized as Mystery and Horror, LLC to make our joint expenses as authors easier to handle.

Then came 2012. My father collapsed and it was clear that my mother needed help. My wife and I quit our jobs, sold our house to my stepdaughter (for the cost of the mortgage), and relocated to Florida to care for my dad in the last months of his life. Our writing came to a standstill.

Now, it's 2013. We're still in Florida, since my mother needs help maintaining the life we wanted to preserve. We learned, in January, that Pill Hill Press had closed. That was the publisher of our novels. We're still waiting to hear about their fate. 

So... we started our own press with some seed money. Since we're already legally organized, it comes under the banner of our LLC: Mystery and Horror. Guess what we publish?

Let me tell you about our first anthologies. Please note that contributors will each get a free print copy of the antho, plus a $5 advance on royalties.

Strangely Funny

An anthology of humorous paranormal stories. All stories must contain paranormal elements (ghosts, psychic abilities, vampires, etc.) and be funny. Think Addams Family, Zombieland, or Love at First Bite. They should not contain gratuitous violence, gratuitous sex, or excessive foul language. We're seeking stories that are 2000 - 5000 words in length (firm). We will also accept cartoons if submitted in electronic format. No reprints. We will accept multiple submissions, but not simultaneous submissions. Open submission period: March 1 - June 10th, 2013.

Halloween Project: All Hallows' Evil

An anthology of mystery stories set during Halloween/Samhain/CandyFest. We're seeking stories that are 4000 - 8000 words in length (firm). Paranormal elements are acceptable as long as the central story is a mystery. Open submission period: April 20 - July 15th, 2013. 

The Undead of Winter

This one has cover art already!

Mummies, Zombies, Vampires, Ghosts... if it's dead and still getting around, we're interested in it. Stories should be set in the winter months. Holiday stories are welcome... Hanukkah, Christmas, Solstice, Kwanzaa, etc... but they should be winter holidays. We're seeking stories that are 3000 - 8000 words in length (firm). Open submission period: August 1 - October 1, 2013.

You can find our general guidelines, plus an explanation of our royalty structure, on our Guidelines and Payments page.

We will be opening for novels soon. Stay tuned...

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Halloween Releases

Gotta love the Cthulhu on the cover!

I have two new short stories out in time for Halloween, both in Pill Hill Press anthologies. The Big Book of New Short Horror has 58 (!) horror stories, many of them by excellent authors like Mark Souza and Deb Eskie.

My own story in the collection, "Patch Test", involves a horrific application of nanomedicine. It is one of the unfunniest stories I've ever written and is possibly (due to subject matter) the most controversial one as well. 

Nothing cutesy about these stories!

Halloween Frights, Volume I, is Pill Hill's offering for the holiday. It contains thirteen scary stories, including another one by Mark Souza and one by my spouse, Gwen Mayo.

My own story, "Fire Insurance, Inc." takes place in a Hell House. For the uninitiated, this is a house of horrors set up by fundamentalist Christians to show teenagers where they could wind up if they make the 'wrong' choices. My question: what happens if Hell horns in on the action?

Both collections are very reasonably priced for Kindle, and, naturally, I encourage you to check them out. Print versions should be available soon.

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Celebrity Roast

I think this is the best term for this past weekend. Memorabilia dealers, film professionals, gaming stores, and authors (mostly better known than me) set up shop during FandomFest Weekend in Louisville. Many celebrities, including John Carpenter, were featured guests of the convention. The program was great, but the hotel hosting the event shot itself in the foot. Their AC wasn't working during a time when the temperature outside was hitting 100 degrees.

Gwen and I were there representing Pill Hill Press, and dutifully baked away. Fortunately, we'd packed a cooler with water and Code Red, which was drained of all fluids by the end of the con. I suppose we could have sold drinks to the attendees and made a small fortune, but we selfishly valued our health above our bottom line. The first day was really the worst: we'd come directly from work and still had our work clothes on. The next two days, we wore shorts and tees. We'd packed nice clothes, but nice clothes were too hot. And hey, my Sandman tee was a big hit!

We weren't staying onsite, which was a splendid decision. We kept our room at the Holiday Inn set to 69 degrees and flopped on the bed every evening, feeling the heat leave us in waves.

The good part: the other writers. Gwen and I both attended - and sat in on - some wonderful panels. Gwen led a workshop on writing historical fiction, and she was also featured on panels for shopping your first novel and the mistakes beginning novelists make. I sat on the panels for paranormal novels and fan fiction, where I discovered that my first fanfic efforts probably began with The Black Stallion. I'd only traced my roots back to Betty and Veronica because I was thinking of human fanfic. Gwen and I both sat on the mystery panel, which was also great fun.

The other good part: the books. We were surrounded by book dealers. Oh, how I love books... I spent more money than we made, I assure you. The best selling items we had were our chapbooks of Gwen's Civil War short story and my horror story set in the Greek Isles. Overwhelmingly, however, the item passersby were most interested in was the postcard for zombie anthology Gone With The Dirt. I seriously think PHP might want to consider selling the cover design as posters or on T-shirts.

Many thanks must go to Stephen Zimmer for creating such an enjoyable literary track. He also spent most of his time trying to make life easier on us, rather than peddling his own books. I recommend that you go to Seventh Star Press and buy some of them to make up for his sacrifice.

Launch Party: TGIO

It was a dark and stormy night...

Things I appreciated from my launch party:

• The Morris Book Shop, a great independent bookstore that has all sorts of books from local authors. When I got there, the staff had set up a table with black webbing, a skull cup, a Sharpie marker, and, of course, books. It was nice to have professionals arrange the details since I'd been in Florida for the previous two weeks. Gwen's launch party was great, but we couldn't have set it up long distance.

The Morris Book Shop had to put out extra chairs.

• The assistance I got in preparing for the party, which was almost as detailed as the prep for my photo shoot. My entourage was smaller this time, but multitalented. Christy applied the makeup, but began giving me lessons on how to put it on myself. I am proud that I did not whimper this time.

What is this 'mascara' you speak of?

• Wardrobe assistance: My sister-in-law, Deanna, bought me a bat necklace and loaned me a dress that put the 'ho' in horror. It looked great, but I had to wear a push-up bra and a girdle to get the best effect. I now know why feminism was invented: the ladies of Seneca Falls wanted to breathe!

• The friend who ordered my book in advance and brought it in for my signature, already dog-eared. Very flattering.

• The stranger who showed up and was mistaken for the husband of a long-term friend. To be fair, though, it's been 15 years since I last saw the husband, whom I remember as 'the guy who wore the Spock ears and the shirt with the dragons f---ing'. He took my mistake in good humor, which is not surprising, given his blog.

• The family and friends who shared the day with me, especially the ones who drove in from Ohio, Louisville, and Eastern Kentucky. 

Time for extra chairs again.

• The post-launch party at Logan's.

• And, finally, the sense of relief and satisfaction when it was all over and I was back in my recliner, clad in shorts and a T-shirt, and playing on the computer. Long sigh.

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All This and Family, Too - NOW AVAILABLE!

NOW AVAILABLE!

The waiting is over! It's a good thing, too: patience isn't my strong suit. I thought I would explode...

All This and Family, Too is now available from Amazon and Pill Hill Press.

I even have my first review. Drop in on Amazon and read it!

Update: It's also available on Kindle and Nook!

Print version from Barnes & Noble is here.

Sorta-Kinda Convention Schedule

Yes, it's been a while since I posted. I've thought about posting, but my little gray cells have been busy elsewhere, mostly working with my wife to determine our schedule for the rest of the year. I'm sending out ARCs, and have received the final-final copy from Pill Hill of my novel, All This and Family, Too. I have a couple of short stories I should be hearing about, now that their submission deadlines have passed.

So... the schedule so far:

April:
Gwen is presenting at Authorfest in Schaumburg, IL next Saturday. I'll be tagging along, but not speaking. If you like historical fiction, you'll like her presentation AND her writing.

June:
Gwen and I will be attending the Golden Crown Literary Society conference in Orlando, FL. We're con "Virgins", so I'm expecting to be sacrificed.

July:
We'll be at FandomFest in Louisville, KY. Come on down to see the zombies!

September:
15 - 18: Bouchercon in St Louis, MO. Gwen and I both hope to be on panels, but there's a lot of competition. We're already scoping barbecue places.
23 - 25: Scarefest in Lexington, KY. Not sure who the headliner will be, but it was George Romero last year!

October:
22: A Day of Mystic Blood Lust in Lexington, KY. See the trailer below for more info:



We really wish we could afford to go to Magna cum Murder this year (28-30), but we just don't have the money. I'm especially sorry since Parnell Hall is the featured guest.

November:
12th: I hope to have a berth at the Kentucky Book Fair in Frankfort.

We hope to see you at one or more of these gatherings!
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My Novel Has a Cover!

Every day, my dream is becoming more and more solid. Soon, it will be a reality I can hold in my hands.

The Bio. NOW what do I say?

Everyone who read last week's post will be glad to learn that I finished the edits in good time. Once I got into them, I remembered how much I liked the characters and it really wasn't that scary.

I'm almost ready to ship the edits back to Pill Hill Press, but I'm lacking something important: an author bio. I'm at a loss for words.

Now, let me make it clear that I've done bios for short stories. They're brief and often have pop culture references. I'd like to stick with brief, but I don't think I should make my usual confession that I wanted to grow up to be Kolchak, except smarter (the idiot hunted vampires alone at night). Wouldn't the Kolchak people try to sue me for that?

My bios are usually tailored to fit the story. For example, in my bio for Fish Tales, the SinC Guppies' first anthology, I mentioned that I had been born in Asheville, NC and had deep family roots there because my story was set in Asheville. I worked an NCIC terminal at my local police department for seven years, so I mention that in stories with central characters that work for the police.

My novel is about a lesbian vampire that moves into a gated community. What the hell do I do with that? I'm a lesbian who played Vampire: the Masquerade about ten years ago. Not quite the same thing. If I'd planned ahead for my writing career, I would have been born about ten years later with a higher metabolism. Then, I would have been young and thin enough to join one of the vampire cults. Instead, I was an old, boring nerd when that became the rage.

Sadly, I am more qualified to write about the New Ager the vampire dates for a while. I know quite a bit about astrology, crystals, and Tarot. When you meet my vampire, Cynthia, you will know why this is not a compliment. I am more qualified to write the science geeks she interacts with, after living in the engineering dorm at OSU and dating the people I gamed with. I'm also better equipped to write about the pettiness of bureaucrats, after years of working for the city, the University, and volunteering for my political party.

None of this boils down to the thumbnail sketch I'm hoping to create. I probably should mention the degree in journalism. It makes me sound like I've been trained in writing, at least. The rest is going to require more thought.

Any suggestions for useful things to include in a bio for someone who's written a vampire novel? And please, no 'blood bank employee' suggestions. I've studied dead languages... does that count?

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The Thrill of Victory... The Agony of Delete

A short time ago, I discovered that I could look up the stats for this blog. Among the information listed, I discovered that someone found my site by asking, "Is Pill Hill Press a vanity press?" I can attest that, having recently received their edits for my novel, that they are nothing of the sort. What little vanity I have took a serious blow.

Comments in red, blue, and purple ink fill the margins throughout the book. I overuse certain words, and they're longer than four letters. Entire paragraphs have been flagged as 'wordy' or 'unclear', so it's probably time to STFU about James Joyce. I've also been asked to delete a few blocks of writing as unnecessary to the story. Ouch!

These are common errors, though. Em dashes and new word choices just need to be 'fixed'. It gets worse. My editor found contradictions of logic and inconsistencies in my vampire physics. I've had a couple of real "Oh, s--t!" moments. This stuff will require serious thought and rewriting.

I feel like an utter idiot. How could I have managed to leave so much stuff screwed up after four drafts? I have to remind myself that my editor, who is also my publisher, saw these same pages, errors included, when she decided to offer me a contract. Despite the amount of ink decorating the margins, she must have thought that these problems were surmountable.

I must also remind myself that I can get my characters and plot to do the things needed because, in the words of Donald Maass, they are "a work of fiction". This is made up stuff, and I am a writer. I can do this.

So, I picked up my yelping, whimpering manuscript, and began revisions. I'm proceeding one step at a time, untangling its words, making it stand up straight, and putting its shoes on the correct feet. Solutions have already begun coming to me. I will get this done... and the book will be better for it.

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Guest Post on Austin Camacho's Blog Today!

Austin Camacho is the author of the Hannibal Jones series. If you haven't had the pleasure of meeting him at Bouchercon or Magna cum Murder, he is a great person. I'm the featured guest today at Another Writer's Life, his blog.

http://ascamacho.blogspot.com/2011_01_01_archive.html#6259530527804702729

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Please go VOTE for my wife!

Preditors & Editors is doing their Best of 2010 poll. If you're familiar with their usual work, I want to assure you that this is a positive poll.

Gwen Mayo's book, Circle of Dishonor, is in the running for Best Mystery Novel. Gwen is my wife, in case you didn't know... so I am imploring everyone to go over to the poll and vote for her. While you're there, you might find some other books and authors you want to support. Pill Hill Press is making a very good showing in several categories.

The slate for Mystery Novels is at:

http://www.critters.org/predpoll/novelmys.shtml

Please consider supporting Gwen's first novel... if not, support someone. Writers need all the encouragement they can get.

Your friend in nepotism,

Sarah Glenn
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Planning the New Year

“Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans”

- John Lennon

Some people make resolutions for the New Year: I make lists. Each January, I used to make long lists of what I wanted to accomplish that year. I set up goals for my health (read for this: lose weight), finances, employment, spirituality, and, of course, for my writing. When I married, I expanded the chart of goals to include my wife's goals as well (not sure how she felt about that, but I'm a little OCD). We bought a house, so I added a new category for work around the house (painting, fixing stuff, etc.).

Every December, I reviewed the list to see how I'd done. Gentle Reader, I'm sure you're intelligent enough to guess that I was lucky to get half of my goals anywhere near accomplishment in twelve months. My goals were set up for blue skies, not the changeable climate of real life. Why not aim for the best?

Oh, well.

A couple of years ago, I decided to do something simpler: a short list of things I thought were really important. Since then, December hasn't been nearly as brutal.

My goals for 2010:
Lose weight. Finish rewrite. Get an agent. Please note that I dropped 'Get out of debt' from the list after taking out a loan to replace our central air. A house is a money pit. We're just lucky we don't have children to raise.

Goals accomplished? Well, I didn't lose weight, but I maintained the weight I've lost (although the jury is still out until after I escape my mother's clutches). I did finish the rewrite. I didn't get that agent, but I got a publisher, which was better!

Goals for 2011... Hrm. Lose weight (perennial goal). Promote book. I was working on a separate book with a new character when I got the good news. Do I try to finish it, or restart work on the sequel for All This and Family, Too?

Lots to plan for... I may only accomplish the first two goals. Or... maybe only the second goal. I'll be satisfied if it comes off well.

I hope everyone has a great New Year. Try not to get too hung up on resolutions or lists.
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MY BOOK HAS A PUBLISHER!

I received the good news last night. Pill Hill Press has accepted my first (completed) novel and will publish it in 2011. I am dancing on air! Okay, would you believe the carpet?

Gwen, Karen, and I toasted the good news last night with Code Red Mountain Dew. Hey, it's blood-colored... if you're the Kool-Aid Man.

The title is All This and Family, Too. Lesbian vampire moves her family into a gated community in Southern California. There, she learns the meaning of true horror.

Any suggestions for 2011 conventions and potential reviewers would be appreciated. I need to plan ahead.

Huzzah!

Good news! My short story, "Co-Pay", will be appearing in Daily Flash 2011, an upcoming anthology from Pill Hill Press. Gwen Mayo also has a story appearing in the collection.

I hope you will all take a look, because they will be publishing Gwen's first novel later this summer!

The anthology is still open for submissions, so why don't you join us?