Sunday, February 23, 2014

Poetry Acceptance

The Fib Review - Muse-Pie Press

 
I woke up to some lovely news today.
One of my poems - Coastal Surf - has been selected for inclusion within the next edition of the Fib Review, part of Muse-Pie Press.
 
I am particularly pleased to have been selected, as the Fib Review contains some rather unusual poems.
 
The Fibonacci sequence is a mathematical series of numbers, in which every figure is the sum of those preceding it. 1+1=2 / 1+2=3 / 2+3=5 / 3+5=8 and so on.
 
The significance of a Fibonacci poem lies in its adherence to that sequence, while retaining poetic value, e.g., can you tell your story, whilst limited to a short, restricted framework?
 
It was great fun to take part in, and is something I will definitely continue to explore in the future.
 
If you want to see previous examples, go to the link in the side bar and take a look.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Writers - Overcome Your Mountain


Do you sometimes feel like you're scaling a mountain?
You have a great idea or concept. You work hard for months to get it down in writing, only to find you come up against hurdle after hurdle to get it accepted...by agents or publishers?
 
Well, don't give up. The road to success is varied.
I came across this interesting article during the week I thought it might be nice to share.
 
How 10 Published Authors Got Their First Big break
 
 
Now, what appealed to me is the fact that there's no hard and fast way to success. Obviously, talent, focus and determination play their part. As does the ability to write well. But apart from that, you'll see how often even a well established author got rejected before they got their break. Some had to wait years for that first deal.
 
Then, in some cases, it came down to a question of simply being persistent, and being in the right place at the right time.
 
Any way - see what you think, and take from it what you can. :)
 
 

Sunday, February 16, 2014

A Taster

Over the past several months or so, you’ve all seen the odd item here and there, where I’ve let you know about certain poems that have been accepted for inclusion in various magazines.
Now that they have started to be published, I thought I’d share some of those works, so you can get a little taster of what my mind is all about.
Many of them are theme based, and that is reflected by their tone.
And be warned. The last item has strong language. So watch out for the weird and wonderful.
Faith – (Screech Owl)
Forgotten paths once trodden,
Neglected by this modern world...
And scoffed at.
But the lodestone of my heart pulls me,
Urging me to discard the new and reclaim the old.
So I take a leap of faith
Reborn...
And am lost in the right direction.
©
Crush – (Screech Owl)


The oppressive weight
Of knowing nothing will ever change,
Surrounds me.
Trapped within
Invisible bands of restrictive constriction,
I am squeezed...
Until there’s nowhere left to breathe.
©
Breath – (Screech Owl)
 
Bathed in starlight
I stand.
My consciousness, released.
Free of the burden of restraint,
I run.
The inner theater of my mind drops the curtain-call
Of self-indulgent, self-righteous pity,
And I soar.
I’ve cast off the shroud that blinded me to truth,
Released the tourniquet
Strangling the flow of mystic possibilities,
Now I think.
My altered state dares the current of the Styx,
The river of the shadow of all my doubts...
And I am released.
I taste the bitter frigidity of the firestorm,
Drink the sands of the cruelest tempest,
Bathe in the fragrance of the bitter cyclone,
And I surrender to the power deep within.
I’ve let go of the stagnant void stifling me,
And for the first time in my life...
I can actually breathe.
©
Silence is Golden – (Muse-Pie Press/Shot Glass Journal)
If silence is golden,
Then how can we ever calculate the value,
Of a word spoken at the right time?
Or that act of compassion,
That changes someone’s life for the better?
©
The Future is Crayon – (Penny Ante Feud – Shoe Music Press)
Adult Content
 
That’s me.
The one sat in the corner, writing on your wall and eating crayons.
Yeah,
Now you know why my language is so colourful,
Asshole!
You smother my creativity in the straightjacket of brain-vomit,
Spewed from the gaping holes of the masses,
And have the gall to imagine
That I’d put on your rose-tinted spectacles,
And give you a High-Five?
I’ll give you five alright.
In fact, they come in pairs called Left and Right.
Here, enjoy them both,
Bam! Bam!
You look so much better without your teeth,
Fucker!
Did you honestly think
You could stamp my passport to the land of the bland,
And sneak my bleached-out mind through customs?
“Have you anything to declare, Sir,”
Hell yes!
I’m stuck on six o’clock,
And I’m already late for my own tea party.
But what do you care?
 
Medicated, I’m about as spontaneous as a cliff and as subtle as a nail-gun.
So, do me a favor,
Get down off my camel,
Stuff your hand down your throat,
Grab your nuts, and pull hard!
Please, turn yourself inside out.
I could do with a laugh.
Better still,
Give me a blunt knife and I’ll cut them off for you.
©
There you go. I hope you enjoyed this little taster. If you want to find out more, take a look in the links to the right of this blog for more a wider selection of poetry or fiction from Pagan Writers Press & Ishtar Press.
 
See you next time

Saturday, February 8, 2014


Hugo Awards

As some of you may be aware, the Hugo Awards are upon us once more.

What are the Hugo’s?

The Hugo Awards are a set of awards given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The awards are named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and were officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards until 1992. Organized and overseen by the World Science Fiction Society, the awards are given each year at the annual World Science Fiction Convention as the central focus of the event. They were first given in 1953, at the 11th World Science Fiction Convention, and have been awarded every year since 1955. Over the years that the award has been given, the categories presented have changed; currently Hugo Awards are given in more than a dozen categories, and include both written and dramatic works of various types.

Now, one of the three main categories of the Hugo Awards is specifically for serial publications, for example, Best Fanzine, where the Award is given for the entire run of that publication in the year of eligibility, not for a single issue.

This is good news!
As many of you will be aware, Amazing Stories, the brainchild of Hugo Gernsback himself has returned.

First launched in April 1926, it was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Amazing Stories was published – with some interruptions – for almost eighty years, changing hands on a number of occasions until March 2005, when the publication was sadly suspended.

That was a truly sad time for lovers of science fiction. I’d grown up with the magazine, and was very sorry to see it go. However, application for the trademarks was made in 2008 and granted to Steve Davidson in September 2011.

Publication of Amazing Stories then resumed in July, 2012 with the first of two 'relaunch prelaunch' issues (Volume 0) (July & August), featuring reprinted and excerpted fiction, new and reprinted non-fiction articles, art galleries and interviews, including works by Robert Silverberg, Barry Malzberg, Patrick L. Price and David A. Hardy.

Amazing Stories resumed regular publication as a professional magazine in 2013



Yes! The world’s oldest SF Magazine has returned, and is now eligible for nomination.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everyone showed their support for this icon of the industry by ensuring Hugo Gernsback’s baby – and Steve Davidson’s hard Work – received the recognition they deserved?


So, as the voting season progresses, spread the word. Highlight, review, recommend. Tell the world Amazing Stories is back, and hopefully by this time next year, the best SF fanzine you can find will once again be graced with an award that would make Hugo proud.

For further information, follow these links:
http://amazingstoriesmag.com/
http://www.thehugoawards.org/