Launch Party: Wrapping Up

Shipping out the authors' copies.

Thanks for joining us during our virtual launch party. We've posted interviews, profiles, excerpts, even one entire story on YouTube. We mailed out the authors' copies of Strangely Funny today. They're traveling from California to Israel.

No rest for the batty, however... we're starting the whole process again with All Hallows' Evil. I've sent out six acceptances so far and will be sending more in the near future.

Changes I'm making:

• There's a bigger gap in time from ordering the print copies to receiving the books than suggested by our printer. We'll allow for that in our schedule.
• I've begun making changes to the guidelines. There are three things our guidelines are supposed to accomplish: identify the type of story we want to publish, make the stories easier for me to read, and facilitate formatting for print and e-books. The last is the most difficult.
• Some booksellers only allow you to submit 20 names max as contributing authors. I was annoyed that we couldn't list all of Strangely Funny's authors, and they weren't pleased about it either. We will probably limit the number of authors we accept per anthology until that changes. Otherwise, I have to ask someone to be selfless or choose whom to leave out. Neither is a particularly satisfactory option.

Gwen and I are already discussing what anthologies we'll be publishing next year. We haven't made many decisions yet, but one of them will be Strangely Funny 2. Reading the stories and interviewing the authors was too much fun to only experience once.

Strangely Funny Authors: Meet Leslie Carmichael!

I'd like to introduce you to one of the authors featured in Strangely Funny: Leslie Carmichael. She wrote the story "Something Plucked This Way Comes", which stars a very... odd creature. Let's learn more about it - and her.

Q. How did you come up with the creature in your story? It was an unusual selection, even for an unusual book.
A. It actually started out as a joke: somebody mentioned the word "poultrygheist" to me (I forget what we were chatting about at the time), and I thought, "Hey, I could use that!" But I also thought, "Nah, that's too easy. But what if..." The critter, um, evolved, over time from a chicken that had somehow devolved into a dinosaur, but I changed my mind, and it is proudly what it is today.

Q. You're leading an adventuresome life. What got you interested in writing, an activity usually done sitting on one's butt?
A. I have always wanted to write and be a writer, since about grade three, I think. But it's hard to do that when you don't have a lot of life experience. I love to travel and use what I learn from other places and times. The reason I went to Egypt was for research for one of my children's books. Iceland was for a "roots" trip, to see where some of my ancestors had come from.

Q. What is your current project? Tell us a little about it.
A. I'm currently working on one of my comic interactive murder mystery plays, called "Mummy Dearest." It's for Halloween and (you guessed it) has an Egyptian theme. In my "time off" from playwriting, I work on a young adult novel about a 17-year-old boy who gets involved with stopping shark finners (fishermen who kill sharks only to slice off their fins for sale, and often throw the sharks back in the water, alive, to die of blood loss, shock, or being eaten by other predators). Yes, there is real horror in the world, and we cause it.

Q. What makes you so sexy?
A. Belly dancing. And cats.

Q. We know you're an author. What do you enjoy reading?
A. Science Fiction, fantasy, mysteries, humor, plays, non-fiction for research, books for children and young adults (especially Harry Potter).

Learn more about Leslie at her web site: http://www.lesliecarmichael.ca/

And don't forget: Strangely Funny is now on sale in print, Kindle, and other email formats.

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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