F.I.R.I.!!!

Yes, this is a rant! A big, fat rant!

 Some editors are too polite to rant about this particular topic, but I’m not known to be a polite fellow, so I’ll go ahead and say what we all feel.

 There’s this problem, see: a big damn mistake that keeps getting made, and not just by aspiring noobs, but also by published writers who should know better. To be honest, this particular mistake makes me sometimes wonder how the hell they even got published in the first damn place!

 The problem? Improper formatting!

 No. Not just improper. PISS POOR formatting!

 Not only do they SUCK at following guidelines (y’know, 12 point font, New Courier or Times New Roman, as a .doc or .rtf only), the dummies can’t even do basic formatting right! It’s like none of them have ever read Vonda N. McIntyre’s Manuscript Preparation; before.  The only time that article shouldn’t be followed with religious zeal is when the editor specifically says something different in his guidelines, like “single spaced, no indents, space between paragraphs.” If he asks for that, then that’s what you give him. If he doesn’t specify, than standard format is what you do. Seriously, how damn hard is that to understand?

 But I decided I’d be a nice editor and not get all tricky with you. I kept it simple. Standard formatting, 12 point font, Courier or Roman. And I was perfectly fine with people getting “creative” with the formatting so long as they kept it readable. But some, it appears, can’t even do that!

 Okay, not all seem to fail at it, but a lot do. So much so, that I give up wasting time to ask folk to “Please follow correct formatting. After all, you wouldn’t go to a job interview without looking your best, so why would you do the equivalent to your manuscript?”

 Instead, from henceforth, I shall reply with the following term: F.I.R.I.! Which stands for: Format It Right, Idiot!

 So repeat after me: “Vonda N. McIntyre is God, and her ‘Manuscript Preparation’ article is Law.” Now repeat that over and over until you finally get that in your head.  

 Now repeat: “The Editor is God, and his/her guidelines are Law.”

 And for the love of all that is holy! If you submit a story to a faery-themed anthology, the least you can do is have a damn faery or two in the damn story! Sheesh!

 

Rant over.

The End Was Not the End available now on Kindle and Nook!

Copypasta. Yum.

We wanted everyone to know that The End Was Not the End: Post Apocalyptic Fantasy Tales, the new anthology from editor Joshua H. Leet, is now available on the Kindle and Nook for just $3.99!  Features 11 fanastical tales in a post-apocalyptic setting!

Spread the word and pick up your copy today!

Amazon Kindle:

http://www.amazon.com/The-End-Was-Post-Apocalyptic-ebook/dp/B00C3ZWA58

Amazon Kindle UK:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-End-Was-Post-Apocalyptic-ebook/dp/B00C3ZWA58

Barnes and Noble Nook:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-end-was-not-the-end-joshua-h-leet/1046366357?ean=2940016716923

 

And why should you get it, you ask?

Because I’m in it. Why else?

Sigh. Fine. Here’s what the antho’s about:

 

For Immediate ReleaseMarch 28, 2013

SSP Proudly Announces Cover Reveal of The End Was Not the End Anthology

Seventh Star Press is proud to unveil the brand new cover art by the award-winning Bonnie Wasson for The End Was Not the End: Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy Tales, a fantasy-themed anthology from editor Joshua H. Leet.

In regards to the theme of The End Was Not the End: Post Apocalyptic Fantasy Tales:

Heroes prevail… usually.

You sit close to a campfire, depending on its faint, flickering light to ward off the darkness. Yet the fire cannot hold back dark memories, thoughts of your fallen kingdom, of monsters across the land, of magic gone awry. Around fires like yours are seated other travelers, refugees from catastrophes none dare mention. Kings and queens huddle shoulder to shoulder with peasants, wizards share scraps with slaves, and each wishes only to be saved. Some will be lucky, for heroes yet remain in their lands. For others, hope was not among the provisions stuffed into a pack when fleeing home.

Eventually the silence of the night grows too heavy, and someone speaks. They tell a tale of loss, of foolish pride and tragic mistake. With bravery stoked by company, others speak up, each sharing their own sorrows.  Before long, there are enough tales to fill a volume. The conversations continue through the night, and by the time dawn has filtered through the gnarled tree limbs, journeys must continue, and one by one, the strangers trudge away. Their worlds may have ended, but they have survived another night. They will continue on, seeking to rebuild upon the ruins of great dreams. Their stories linger upon the air, drifting into time like the smoke from their extinguished fires, fed only by faint embers.

This book contains eleven stories set in worlds where an apocalypse has already come, but the characters you’ll read about aren’t quite ready for the end.

The authors and stories featured in The End Was Not the End: Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy Tales include:

Deedee Davies – “The Halls of War”

Desmond Reddick – “Blood and Fire”

Scott Sandridge – “Make Way for Utopia”

Jay Wilburn – “Twenty Year Plan”

Mandi M. Lynch – “Nightmares and Dragonscapes”

Magda Knight –  ”The Stone-Sword”

William Ransom – “In the Hills Beyond Twilight”

Steven S. Long – “Blade of Fire”

Bill Blume – “Waist Deep”

Darra L. Hofman – “Ben”

Nathen Gallagher – “Story’s End”

The End Was Not the End: Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy Tales will be released in the first week of April in Trade Paperback and eBook formats. For further information and updates on The End Was Not the End: Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy Tales, please visit the Seventh Star Press site at http://www.seventhstarpress.com

Contact: C.C. James Public Relations, Seventh Star Press ccjames (at) seventhstarpress.com

Seventh Star Press is a small press publisher of speculative fiction located in Lexington Kentucky

So go get it!

Especially if you like a post-apocalyptic twist to the Arthurian legends… (*Cough!* my story *Cough!*)

Announcing Call for Submissions on New Faerie-themed Anthology from Editor Scott Sandridge

For Immediate Release March 15, 2013

Announcing Call for Submissions on New Faerie-themed Anthology from Editor Scott Sandridge

Seventh Star Press announces a call for entries on A Chimerical World: Tales of the Seelie Court/Tales of the Unseelie Court. Edited by Scott Sandridge, the anthology is planned for a special flipbook format which will feature tales fitting the Seelie Court on one half, and tales fitting the Unseelie Court on the other.

Bring out the Fey!  Stories about the Sidhe? Sprites? Pixies? Boggans and Goblins? How about Gnomes?

Looking for fictional stories involving the Fey Folk, both Seelie and Unseelie. From the campy to the deep and esoterical, from traditional faeries to the not-so-traditional (changeling kangaroos, anyone?), Western to Eastern, and perhaps even Martian!

Stories should be between 2,000 and 10,000 words, and the final flipbook will feature approximately 11 stories per side.

Residing in Ohio, editor and author Scott M. Sandridge’s first short story, “Treecutter,” was published in The Sword Review in July 2005. Since then, he’s gone on to publish over 26 more short stories, and over 60 reviews. He has also been a columnist for the Double-Edged Publishing webzines, a Submissions Editor for Ray Gun Revival, and the Managing Editor of Fear and Trembling. Scott is also an active blogger whose site can be found at: http://smsand.wordpress.com

A Chimerical World: Tales of the Seelie Court/Tales of the Unseelie Court will be released in trade paperback and eBook formats in late 2013. The deadline for submissions is July 15, 2013, and full information on the anthology and submission guidelines can be found at http://www.seventhstarpress.com/submissions/

 

 

Contact: C.C. James Public Relations, Seventh Star Press ccjames (at) seventhstarpress.com

Seventh Star Press is a small press publisher of speculative fiction located in Lexington Kentucky

Announcing Call for Entries on Hero’s Best Friend Anthology

For Immediate Release February 19,  2013

Announcing Call for Entries on Hero’s Best Friend Anthology

Seventh Star Press announces a call for entries on Hero’s Best Friend: An Anthology of Animal Companions.   Edited by Scott Sandridge, the speculative fiction anthology brings the spotlight to the noble animal companions of heroic characters.
Hero’s Best Friend welcomes stories of between 2,000 and 10,000 words from all genres of speculative fiction.  All kinds of cultural settings, types of animals, and genres are encouraged for these tales.  The stories should center on the perspective of the animal, in the way that a story would focus on Shadowfax rather than Gandalf, to use one well-known example of a heroic character and animal companion.
Residing in Ohio, editor and author Scott M. Sandridge’s first short story, “Treecutter,” was published in The Sword Review in July 2005. Since then, he’s gone on to publish over 26 more short stories, and over 60 reviews. He has also been a columnist for the Double-Edged Publishing webzines, a Submissions Editor for Ray Gun Revival, and the Managing Editor of Fear and Trembling.  Scott is also an active blogger whose site can be found at: http://smsand.wordpress.com
Hero’s Best Friend will be released in trade paperback and eBook formats in late 2013.  The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2013, and full information on the anthology can be found at http://www.seventhstarpress.com/submissions/

Contact: C.C. James Public Relations, Seventh Star Press ccjames (at) seventhstarpress.com
Seventh Star Press is a small press publisher of speculative fiction located in Lexington Kentucky

My Adventure at Fandom Fest

In the usual weird-things-always-happen-on-my-way-to-a-convention fashion I spent the bus ride from Columbus to Cincinnati on a bus that smelled like an outhouse due to maintenance not cleaning the crapper tank, possibly because a massive wind came out of nowhere followed by a torrential downpour as soon as my bus arrived to the station. My Bus Ride from Hell continued through a tornado zone that left the bus delayed due to a traffic jam. But at least I got to see a semi truck laying several feet from the road with its front cabin crumpled like a wadded up piece of paper—an interesting image and one likely to end up in a story some day.

The Cinci to Louis bus ended up three hours late, this on top of a two hour lay-over. Not too bad since I got to spend the time with a couple Iraq vets. We avoided boredom by performing a Three Stooges routine followed up by a game of bloody knuckles. They also described to me an interesting new game they learned in Iraq: I believe it involved an auto grenade launcher and a crate of bean bags….

And all these years I thought Bottle Rocket War could get painful. Silly me.

By the time I arrived at the Galt House (I’ll let other folk blog about the problems with that hotel) it was around 3 am Saturday morning. Since I didn’t have the money for a room, I did what I normally do in that situation; I did the catnaps-in-bathroom-stall-while-avoiding-the-security-guards shuffle.

Got my badge, etc., around 9 or so. At which point I was locked, cocked, and ready to rock.

There were quite a few crickets on the literary panels I was on, and it seems that was pretty much standard for the whole entire literary program track. The plus side was that 10,000 people came to see Bruce Campbell. The downside was that apparently 9,990 of them came only to see Bruce Campbell.

Ah well. Shit happens.

I still managed to sell and sign a couple anthos there, so I’m not complaining. Especially since I can say that H. David Blalock got my autograph.

The major plus was all the cool writers I got to meet and hang out with, like Selah Janel and D.A. Adams, the Zimmster, Shrews, Charlie Kenmore, Gary Wedlund, Maurice Broaddus, Michael West, Alexx Miller, Marian Allen, TammyJo Eckhart, and many many more (If I forgot your name, drop me a comment and I’ll add it—yes, I’m still that hung over). I also got to party with Paul West and Taylor Kent, and Taylor let me crash in his room and even fed me, and bought my drinks.

You rock, Snarky!

There wasn’t a con suite with free food like at the other conventions I attend, so I didn’t exactly come prepared. If it weren’t for Snarky and Zimmster I probably would’ve starved to death.

You rock, Zimmster!

And a whole lot of interesting discussions went on, ranging from spec-fic stuff to political stuff and other intellectual stuff and…stuff….

Yeah, it’s been two days since I got home and I still feel hung over.

Overall, I had a blast, despite the hotel preventing simple basic things that could’ve made the convention more successful marketing-wise. Oh, and the hotel upping the parking price on everyone at the last minute. :/

Good thing I didn’t come by car.

Dark Heroes

Dark Heroes

Edited by Jessy Marie Roberts
978-1-61706-087-8
Cover Price $15.99

“Dark Heroes… supernatural creatures battling evil to benefit mankind. Included  in this collection are fifteen short stories featuring creatures turned good. In  times of trouble, know there is something watching over you. Featuring the  following: The Twelfth Monster of Chaos by J. Leigh Bailey, Just Waiting for the  Sun to Set by Phil Wolters, Cat Got Your Tongue? by Gary Buettner, Nothing  Personal by Scott M. Sandridge, It’s Medicine; Not Magic by Jennifer L. Barnes,  Monster Hunter by Mel Obedoza, The Ease of Evil by Aaron Renfrow, La Bête by  Anita Siraki, Azieran: The Crypt of Shaddis’zzam by Christopher Heath, Their  Last Escape by Alexis Hunter, The Widow and the  Scythes by Chloe Stowe, Solstice  by Darin Kennedy, Eaters of Meat and Hunters by J.M. Martin, Ordinary Folk by  Kat Heckenbach & The Dream Eaters by Tony Wilson”

“Nothing Personal”  is set in Pankea and the main character is a certain psychic werecat introduced in The Silverblade Prophecy who becomes a key figure in the upcoming Emperor of Vangaard.

Marcon 46: How to Survive a Convention while Having Sinusitis.

Yeah. That’s the problem with severe allergies. From time to time, it can turn into something worse. In this case, it was Sinusitis (according to the doc who checked on me in the ER room last night).

Fortunately, people at Marcon 46 were understanding, and even offered me an occasional anti-histamine pill.

While there, I met with a lot of cool people that I’ve come to consider friends. People like Stephen Zimmer and Tammy Jo Ekhart. And of course I got to do some cool panels with Tim Waggoner, S. Andrew Swann, and ERIC FLINT!

Eric frakin’ Flint, man! I got to be on a panel that Eric Flint was on! A panel titled “Alien Sex”…. don’t ask.

And I love love, lllllllllove! Michael Z. Williamson‘s swords.

I ran out of smokes by Saturday night, but that’s okay because the interesting thing about Sinusitis (which I hadn’t realized yet that I had. I just thought it was all the pollen in the air) is that you stop craving nicotene…at least I do.

What’s that damn thing about hindsight again? Oh well, at least the Vampire: The Masquerade game that Tammy ran Saturday night totally rocked. Totally.

Suffice it to say, on all my panels I truly did sound like a country hick with a permanent headcold.

And then came the trip home on Sunday, after leaving my final panel, “Damsels in Chainmail” (and, yes, I shamelessly plugged my character, Yavar).  I went out the wrong door and took a wrong turn at Alberquerque. The result was that by the time I got to the bus stop for the 81 bus on Alum Creek, the last 81 bus had already passed the stop up.  So I walked the rest of the way home, for over two hours, through farmland, cut grass, and pollen so thick you could see it floating by.

And to top it all off, my bookbag busted open along the way.

However, despite Murphy’s Law choosing to kick my ass and laugh in my face, I still had loads of fun. That, and Dayquil makes me high. heheheheheheheeeeeee.

Cutlass & Musket

Cutlass & Musket, Tales of Piratical Skullduggary

Edited by Jessica A. Weiss

Arrgh, you scallywags. Rip open these pages to find yerself lost in the world of  pirates and their misdeeds. Join them as they travel to misty islands of  fortune, sail the seven seas for mysterious items, kill those that betrayed them, and lay siege to monasteries. This collection of new work brings you 18 short stories and a new novella by M.S. Gardner. But beware…if ye escape Davy Jones’ Locker, ye may still face the plank.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also included in the antho is “The Legacy of Captain Jareena” written by some unknown hack named Scott M. Sandridge….

 

Psst! For Pankea fans: yes, it’s a Pankea story.

P&E Readers Poll Finally Up

After several days of being down, the Critters website is back up, and the P&E Readers Poll has been extended until the 26th. So get your votes in!

Oh, um, *cough cough*:

“The God King” is up for Best Short Story – Science Fiction & Fantasy

And for Best Anthology, a few Pill Hill Press anthologies are up for a vote including Dark Things II and Dark Things V, each of which features a story of, well, mine.

*pssst!* Vote for Kat Heckenbach’s “Firewall” for Best Horror Short Story.*pssst!*

Another Interview of Yours Truly

And, I might add, one of the best ones yet:

Meet Scott Sandridge-Author and One of Small Press’s Biggest Characters

Enjoy!