Open Call for Submissions
Posted: August 31, 2022 Filed under: Anthology, Call for submissions, Fantasy, Fiction, Writing, Writing Challenge, Writing Opportunity | Tags: Call for submissions, Merciless Mermaids, Paid Writing Opportunity, Western Colorado University, WordFire Press, Writing to be Read 2 Comments
The call for submissions for the 2023 Western Colorado University & WordFire Press anthology is open… the theme revealed. So, put on your author caps and break out the keyboards, and submit your story today. Professional rates paid. Read full guidelines here: https://wordfirewestern.moksha.io/publication/merciless-mermaids-tails-from-the-deep/guidelines
MERCILESS MERMAIDS: Tails from the Deep
Think deep—the deep of the sea, the deep of space, the deep of our souls, our fears, ourselves. Here, it’s not the monsters under your bed; it’s the mermaids under your boat.
Can you see the shapes in the waters that watch you? Can you hear the mermaid’s call?
Old sailors tried to warn us. You can find their stories in water-stained journals and letters throughout histories and cultures. People of the land laughed at them, calling their stories mere legends and fairy tales. Now it’s your turn to tell the real stories behind these tails found in the deep, the dangers in dark waters.
Will the merfolk prey on humans once the land-bound civilizations fall? Do they snatch men for research? What of the siren who is wildly tone deaf? Does your merman surface on some faraway planet, stare through mists at the newcomers and think Never. Again.
We’re sounding the ship’s bell for stories about malevolent and merciless merfolk of all kinds. Give us your mermaids who fought for the wrong reasons, made tough by their circumstances or by their own choices. Show us their schemes and villainous wiles, the fairytales that end in blood. Or laughter. Tempt us with their twisted workings across time and space, colors and creeds.
Deep down you know that the darkness has a tail.
Edited by Kevin J. Anderson and Allyson Longueira with an editorial team provided by Western Colorado University Graduate Program in Creative Writing, Publishing MA students. Anthology made possible by a generous contribution from Draft2Digital.
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Review: Ask the Authors 2022 Compiled and Edited by Kaye Lynne Booth
Posted: August 30, 2022 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentI had to share this delightful review of “Ask the Author 2022”. Alex Norton found this writing reference anthology helpful. You might, too. 🙂
Synopsis:
Where can you turn to find industry experts willing to share their secrets?
This book is the ultimate writer’s refence, with tips and advice on craft, publishing and marketing from Mark Leslie Lafabvre, Kevin Killany, L. Jagi Lamplighter, Bobby Nash, Paul Kane, Nancy Oswald, Chris Barili, Jeff Bowles, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, Mario Acevedo and Kaye Lynne Booth. Learn from eleven traditional, independent and hybrid authors as they share what works for them.
You’ll like this book if you want to improve your craft or learn more about publishing and book marketing. Take a peek inside and find out what works for you.
My Opinion:
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.
If you follow this blog regularly, you know that this isn’t my typical type of book to review on here. Very rarely do I review guides or non-fiction type…
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WordCrafter News
Posted: August 29, 2022 Filed under: Advertising, Anthology, Ask the Authors, Book Promotion, Book Release, Book Review, Books, essays, Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Fiction, Giveaways, Mythology and Legend, Nonfiction, Science Fiction, Short Fiction, Stories, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter News, WordCrafter Press, Write it Right Editing, Writing, Writing Reference | Tags: Anthologies, Ask the Authors 2022, Book Promotion, Editing, Giveaway, Once Upon an Ever After, Refracted Reflections, WordCrafter Press, Write it Right Quality Editing Services, Writing Reference 7 Comments
And the Winners Are….
I have an announcement to make.
We finished up the WordCrafter Once Upon an Ever After Book Blog Tour on Saturday, and I do hope you all joined in. It was a great tour and we held a giveaway for three digital copies of Once upon an Ever After, and every comment earned an entry.
Now, I am pleased to announce that the three winners of the anthology giveaway are Liz Gauffreau, Annette Rochel Aben, and Sara W. McBride!
(I need to make contact with each of you to find out which digital format you prefer. If you don’t hear from me, please contact me at Kayebooth@yahoo.com.)
You can get your copy of this wonderful anthology from your favorite book distributor here.
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Nice Reviews
Ask the Authors 2022 has received a lovely review from Alex Norton on the Likely Story blog.
” I found it to be both interesting and useful, answering questions I didn’t even know I had and giving me different perspectives to ponder as I move forward on my own writing journey.”
You can find Alex’s full review here. I hope you will check it out.
Get your copy of this unique writing reference anthology from your favorite book distributor here.
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.The first review is out on Goodreads, from Madelon’s Reviews. Madelon does a nice job of making a brief statement about each story, as well as a review of the overall anthology, which states in part:
“Overall, REFRACTED REFLECTIONS provides a glimpse into the writing styles of authors you may want to read again.”
Refracted Reflections: Twisted Tales of Duality & Deceptions
Refractions and Reflections…
A reflection can be revealing or deceptive. What stares back at you when you glance into the mirror?
A prison, designed to trap you and take away all that is dear to you?
A portal to another dimension? Another time?
An evil twin, luring you to the other side?
Your loved ones with a fond farewell?
A distorted version of yourself? A person you no longer even recognize?
A protective savior?
Do you dare to gaze into the looking glass?
Will what you see save you…, or haunt you forever?
If you liked Gilded Glass and Once Upon an Ever After, you’ll like Refracted Reflections: Tales of Duality & Deception.
Scheduled for release September 20, 2022. Now available for pre-order from your favorite book distributor here.
Don’t miss the WordCrafter Refracted Reflections Book Blog Tour September 19 – 23 for a deeper look into this unique anthology.
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Write it Right Quality Editing Services is currently open to new clients
See Write it Right‘s affordable rates and get a quote for your editing needs here.
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Wrapping up to the WordCrafter “Once Upon an Ever After” Book Blog Tour
Posted: August 27, 2022 Filed under: Anthology, Blog Tour, Book Promotion, Book Release, Books, Collaboration, Dark Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Fiction, Short Fiction, Stories, Women's Fiction, WordCrafter Press | Tags: A.E. Lanier, Anthology, Fairy Tales, Fantasy, Once Upon an Ever After, The Fourth Spire, WordCrafter Book Blog Tours, WordCrafter Press 6 Comments
Thank you all for following the WordCrafter Once Upon an Ever After Book Blog Tour. We’ve had a great tour, with two reviews, my interview with Robbie Cheadle, and guest posts from five of the contributing authors. We had a great group of authors contributing to this anthology and I want to thank authors Sarah Lyn Eaton, Roberta Eaton Cheadle, Olivia Merchiston, Linsay Elizabeth Gilbert, and A. E. Lanier for sharing their story inspirations. If you missed a stop, you may still visit it through the links below.
Tour Schedule
Monday – August 22 – Opening Day Post – Writing to be Read – Intro. & Guest Post – Sarah Lyn Eaton
Tuesday – August 23 – Patty’s World – Review & Guest Post – Robbie Cheadle
Wednesday – August 24 – The Showers of Blessings – Guest Post – Olivia Merchiston
Thursday – August 25 –Roberta Writes – Interview w/ Kaye Lynne Booth
Friday – August 26 – Zigler’s News – Review & Guest Post – Lyndsay Elizabeth Gilbert
Saturday – August 27 – Closing Post – Writing to be Read – Guest Post – A.E. Lanier
Digital Giveaway
For a chance to win a free digital copy of Once Upon an Ever After,
just leave a comment to show you were here.
Follow the tour and comment at each stop for more chances to win.
Three copies will be given away in a random drawing
Today, we’re wrapping up the WordCrafter Once Upon an Ever After Book Blog Tour with a guest post from contributing author A.E. Lanier, who wrote “The Fourth Spire”, a haunting tale of knowledge lost. It’s a thought provoking tale of a burning library within a castle spire with a genuine fairy tale feel.
The Fourth Spire
Like most bookish people, I love a good library. Whether real or fictional, I like the idea of many books gathered in one place, the physical monument to the pursuit of knowledge, the fantasy of actually getting work done.
There have been many wonderful libraries–both real and fictional–in my life. I adored my local library as a child and ,like many people, was fundamentally changed by the library in the 1991 Beauty and the Beast. But my favorite library growing up was the one from Avatar the Last Airbender. A single tower reaching up out of the desert, hiding floor upon floor of mystically curated information, briefly discovered before vanishing below the sand once more–buried forever.
There is a romance to the destruction of a library. It feeds into the idea that there were things we once knew and never will again. The hope that perhaps we can relearn, tinged with understanding that the struggle between loss and rediscovery will cost us. It is nostalgia and a love of books and lost places all tied up in one.
“The Fourth Spire” came from my fascination with the aesthetic of the burning library. I wanted to explore what was valuable in mourning the destruction of a library and to consider whether there was something dangerous in romanticizing it. It was, in many ways, a question I was asking of myself.
I am the kind of person that watches an action film and winces harder when a scroll is burned than when an unnamed character is killed. At the end of the day, neither the character nor the scroll is real. But the scroll feels real in a way the character does not. And I sometimes find that impulse within myself disturbing. Books and artifacts are valuable and important, but I will mourn an unknown book in a way that I will not mourn an unknown person; its possibility is somehow more tangible to me.
“The Fourth Spire” is about that tendency to appreciate books more than people. And about the ways in which the knowledge we have lost is often more captivating than the knowledge we still have. I am not certain the story provided answers for me, but then I’m not entirely convinced I was looking for them. Certainly, it provided a feeling. A set of questions. And what more can we ask, really, of a burning library?
A.E. Lanier
A. E. Lanier is a writer, educator, and chronic overthinker living in Central Texas.She enjoys caves, silent reading, and other people’s cats. Her work has appeared in The Arcanist and Daily Science Fiction.
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About Once Upon an Ever After
This unique and imaginative collection of eleven thought provoking fantasy stories will delight readers who enjoy stories of wishes gone awry.
What happens when…
A woman desires to carry on her family’s legacy, uncovering a long-buried curse?
A not so perfect witch casts a spell to defy age and preserve her relationship with her handsome shapeshifting familiar?
A time traveler longs to be the savior of knowledge lost?
An incompetent delivery boy becomes an unlikely savior of forgotten artifacts?
A magic mirror yearns for a different question?
A tiny story witch desires to share her stories with the world?
Spells are cast, unlikely alliances made, and wishes granted, sometimes with surprising outcomes. You’ll love this anthology of modern myths, lore, and fairy tales. Once you read these twisted tales, you’ll be sure to be careful what you wish for….
If you liked Gilded Glass, you’ll enjoy Once Upon an Ever After: Modern Myths & Fairy Tales, short stories with thought provoking themes, captivating characters and diverse cultures, from humorous to horrifying, from the legendary past to possible futures and back to the here and now.
You can get your copy of Once Upon an Ever After at your favorite book distributor through the Books2Read UBL here: https://books2read.com/u/mKdWGV
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Book your WordCrafter Book Blog Tour today!
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Day 5 of the WordCrafter “Once Upon an Ever After” Book Blog Tour
Posted: August 26, 2022 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment
Day 5 of the WordCrafter Once Upon an Ever After Book Blog Tour finds us over at Zigler’s News, with a guest post from contributing author Lindsay Gilbert and a review by Victoria Zigler. Please join us to learn more about this wonderful anthology and another chance to win a digital copy.
http://ziglernews.blogspot.com/2022/08/wordcrafters-book-blogtour-for-once.html
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Book Reviews: Yours Cruelly, Elvira
Posted: August 26, 2022 Filed under: Book Review, Books, Memoir, Nonfiction | Tags: Casandra Peterson, Memior, Writing to be Read, Yours Cruelly Elvira Leave a comment
I must admit that when I first picked up Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark, I was expecting a book which has been ghost written, because let’s face it, Cassandra Peterson is an actress who began her career as a Vegas showgirl. Who would think that she could write, too? However, the more I read, the more convinced I became that Cassandra really did write this memoir herself, (either that, or she found a really talented ghostwriter), because I can hear the voice of Elvira speaking as I read the words on the page.
The shocking reveals made in this book may have created some Hollywood hotheads, because Cassandra tells it like it is, and when she ran across big names who treated her like a jerk, she says so. Granted many of the names dropped aren’t around anymore, because like the rest of us, Cassandra is getting up there in years, but some of those who are may not look so pretty when Cassandra is through telling Elvira’s story.
But more than telling Hollywood secrets, Cassandra Peterson’s story is one of a self-made woman, who made things happen to create one of the most recognizable personas out there. And while it wasn’t always easy, it seems that most of the time it was fun. From teen Rock ‘n Roll groupie, to Vegas showgirl, to Hollywood icon, Cassandra Peterson details her journey to fame and all those who accompanied her along the way.
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Yours-Cruelly-Elvira-Memoirs-Mistress-ebook/dp/B08LD5R945
Sometimes funny, sometimes shocking, an all around fun read. I give Yours Cruelly, Elvira five quills.
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Join Kaye Lynne Booth & WordCrafter Press Readers’ Group for WordCrafter Press book & event news, including the awesome releases of author Kaye Lynne Booth. Get a free digital copy of her short story collection, Last Call and Other Short Fiction, as a sampling of her works just for joining.
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WordCrafter “Once Upon an Ever After” Book Blog Tour, Day 4
Posted: August 25, 2022 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a commentFor Day 4 of the WordCrafter “Once Upon an Ever After” Book Blog Tour, we’re over at “Roberta Writes” where Robbie Cheadle interviews me! 🙂 Please join us to learn more about me, WordCrafter Press and this wonderful new anthology.
Welcome to Day 4 of the WordCrafter “Once Upon an Ever After” Book Blog Tour featuring an interview with compiler and editor, Kaye Lynne Booth.
Tour Schedule
Monday – August 22 – Opening Day Post –Writing to be Read– Intro. & Guest Post – Sarah Lyn Eaton
Tuesday – August 23 –Patty’s World– Review & Guest Post – Robbie Cheadle
Wednesday – August 24 –The Showers of Blessings– Guest Post – Olivia Merchiston
Thursday – August 25 –Roberta Writes– Interview w/ Kaye Lynne Booth
Friday – August 26 –Zigler’s News– Review & Guest Post – Lyndsay Elizabeth Gilbert
Saturday – August 27 – Closing Post –Writing to be Read– Guest Post – A.E. Lanier
Digital Giveaway
For a chance to win a free digital copy ofOnce Upon an Ever After, just leave a comment to show…
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New Release – Once Upon an Ever After, an Anthology
Posted: August 24, 2022 Filed under: Uncategorized 1 CommentDon’t miss Day 3 of the WordCrafter “Once Upon an Ever After” Book Blog Tour over at “The Showers of Blessings”, with a guest post from contributing author, Olivia Merchiston. Join us there. 🙂
I’m delighted to introduce this new release – Once Upon an Ever After. This unique and imaginative collection of eleven thought provoking fantasy stories will delight readers who enjoy stories of wishes gone awry.
Digital Giveaway
For a chance to win a free digital copy of Once Upon an Ever After, just leave a comment to show you were here. Follow the tour and comment at each stop for more chances to win. There are three copies given away in a random drawing.
Olivia Merchiston is a contributing author in this collection. She is here to share with us about her inspiration.
The inspiration for ‘Flipped’ came from several places. Firstly, the hygge feeling you get from sitting in your favourite chair, cup of tea in hand, rain battering the window, reading a cozy mystery novel. That feeling was one I wanted to recreate in my story, and one that…
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Dark Origins, AFrican Myths and Legends: The Spectral Hitchhiker #Ghoststories #Uniondaleghost #southernafricanlegends
Posted: August 24, 2022 Filed under: Uncategorized 25 Comments
Uniondale is a klein dorpie (small town) in the Little Karoo, Western Cape Province of South Africa. The town was formed in 1856 by the joining of two towns, Hopedale and Lyons. There is nothing remarkable about this agricultural town except its famous ghost story.
On the national road, not far from Uniondale, there is a turn-off that leads to Barendas. It is here that a young women hitchhiker is seen around Easter time. She is dressed in dark slacks and a shirt and has accepted many a lift from unsuspecting motorists. She travels with them for about 17 kilometres until the next turn-off to Barendas, and then she disappears.
The ghost is said to be Maria Charlotte Roux, an administrative clerk, who was travelling with her fiance, Giel Pretorius (some of the articles refer to him as Giel Oberholzer), an army corporal, from Pretoria to Riversdale. The couple were planning to visit Maria’s parents and discuss the wedding.
Maria is said to have fallen asleep at the first turn-off to Barendas. At the second turn-off to Barendas, her fiance lost control of the Volkswagen Beetle he was driving and the car overturned. Maria was flung out of the car and was killed instantly.
When my family passed through Uniondale during our road trip in January this year, we were given the story to read at the local cafe where we enjoyed lunch.
If you would like to listen to the story, this YouTube video is quite good.
The ghost of Uniondale made her way into my book, Through the Nethergate.
This is the relevant extract:
“The road between Burnley and Nelson was completely deserted at that time of night and he was alone in his small car.
As he drove along a stretch of the road lined on both sides by tall trees, he happened to glance into his rear-view mirror. In the moonlight he saw a teenage girl sitting in the back of his car.
He assumed she was the daughter of one of the Catholic families who had attended the service and his initial reaction was one of irritation. Why had she stowed away in his car? Was she running away from home?
He swung around to look at the teenager over his shoulder, but there was no one there.
A few seconds later, he looked in the rear-view mirror again and the girl was back. Her skin shone whitely although he couldn’t see her face clearly in the dim light. He swung around for a second time and his annoyance intensified when he saw she was gone again. Why was she ducking down behind the seat when he turned to look at her? It was such a childish thing to do.
He slammed on the brakes and climbed out of the driver’s seat of the car. Marching around to the back door he flung it open, intending to give the girl a good telling off, but there was no one there. The car was completely empty. She couldn’t possibly have jumped out of the car and run away;
he would have seen her.
He shut the back door and walked back to the driver’s door.
Taking his seat, he again peered into the rear-view mirror. The girl was back. She was sitting serenely in the back seat, hands folded neatly on her lap.
He drove off, heart hammering in his chest. When he checked the rear-view mirror again, about a mile further down the road, the girl was gone.
A few days later he learned that there had been an accident on that stretch of the road a few days earlier. A teenage girl, who had been asleep in the back seat of the car, had been killed on impact, together with the driver of the car.
The idea of mythical creatures and ghosts was not new to Father Merton. His mother was from Norway and he had grown up on a diet of Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore. It was not difficult for him to accept the idea that he had seen a ghost. This acceptance, and his own keen interest in the topic, paved the way for his new career as an exorcist within the structure of the Catholic Church.”
About Roberta Eaton Cheadle
Roberta Eaton Cheadle is a South African writer and poet specialising in historical, paranormal, and horror novels and short stories. She is an avid reader in these genres and her writing has been influenced by famous authors including Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Amor Towles, Stephen Crane, Enrich Maria Remarque, George Orwell, Stephen King, and Colleen McCullough.
Roberta has short stories and poems in several anthologies and has two published novels:
* Through the Nethergate, a historical supernatural fantasy; and
* A Ghost and His Gold, a historical paranormal novel set in South Africa.
Roberta has ten children’s books published under the name Robbie Cheadle.
Roberta was educated at the University of South Africa where she achieved a Bachelor of Accounting Science in 1996 and a Honours Bachelor of Accounting Science in 1997. She was admitted as a member of The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants in 2000.
Roberta has worked in corporate finance from 2001 until the present date and has written seven publications relating to investing in Africa. She has won several awards over her 20-year career in the category of Transactional Support Services.
Find Roberta Eaton Cheadle
Blog: https://wordpress.com/view/robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobertaEaton17
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robertawrites
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Roberta-Eaton-Cheadle/e/B08RSNJQZ5
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Day 2 of the WordCrafter “Once Upon an Ever After” Book Blog Tour
Posted: August 23, 2022 Filed under: Uncategorized 3 CommentsJoin us on Patty’s World for the second stop on the WordCrafter Once Upon an Ever After Book Blog Tour, with a guest post from contributing author, Roberta Eaton Cheadle. She’s sharing her inspiration for her story, “War Babies”, and Patty Fletcher offers a wonderful review. Drop in and check it out.
