Weekly Posts from The Horror Tree for 4/8/22
Apr 08, 2022 8:16 pm
Hi there,
Word of the week: gustatory– of or relating to the sense of taste
Hello, readers. If you are active on social media, you’ve no doubt seen the drama unfolding this past week that culminated in a publisher closing its doors. I’m not going to go into detail here, since this isn’t a gossip column, but what I will say is that one of the tragedies in all of this (besides the obvious) is the authors who lost a home for their work. Fortunately, because the indie community kicks major ass, several publishers have stepped forward to offer assistance to authors who may have been impacted by this. While I’m disheartened events came to the conclusion that they did, I am so pleased to see the indie community rally around authors in need. To all the publishers stepping up, thank you. We see you. We appreciate you.
As always, you can find me (Holley Cornetto) lurking on Twitter @HLCornetto. Now, onto the latest articles on writing from around the web.
Horror Tree / Trembling With Fear Update (This section is generally updated by your fearless editor and chief, Stuart C.!):
A lot of this week was spent working on little behind-the-scenes things.
- Wrapping my head around some of the ideas Holley has suggested for the site that we're working on getting into place.
- Pausing the new layout as I've hit a snag on it and needed to step away from it for a moment.
- Working with Steph on the new Trembling With Fear anthologies.
- Working with something new coming on the video front for our YouTube channel.
- Wondering if we should start releasing shirts of our words of the week when we a soft re-launch of the Horror Tree store after the new layout goes live.
Articles:
This week we have a business article on Facebook Groups. Some avoid Facebook, but it can be leveraged to reach an audience and foster community. Allow The Writersaurus to provide guidance on whether an author Facebook group is the right choice for you as a platform. In the craft category, we’ve included an article on writing characters who are both flawed and realistic. We also have general articles on procrastination and finding inspiration. I hope these articles help you find inspiration.
Business:
The Writersaurus: So You Want to Revamp Your Author Facebook Group
Craft:
Almost an Author: How to Write Realistically Flawed Characters
General:
Writers in the Storm: 7 Foolproof Tricks to Outsmart Writing Procrastination
Writer Unboxed: Your Guide to Water When the Inspiration Well Runs Dry
Free Fiction Roundup:
Kaleidotrope’s new issue dropped, and as per usual, it’s packed full of high-quality fiction. My pick for this week is Rebecca Fraimow’s “Fearfully and Wonderfully Made.” This is my first time reading this author, but the story grabbed me from the first line. Translunar Travelers Lounge dropped issue six in February, and somehow this publication was not on my radar. Thankfully, that has now been corrected, and this week, we’re featuring “The God They Prayed To” by Celine Low. The last story for this week is “Letters From Roger,” which won the flash competition at Apparition Lit. This is an absolutely devastating and gruesome story in the epistolary format.
“Fearfully and Wonderfully Made” by Rebecca Fraimow at Kaleidotrope.
“The God They Prayed To” by Celine Low at Translunar Travelers Lounge.
“Letters From Roger” by Emily Sanders at Apparition Lit.
If you post any writing content during the week and think it would be a good fit for us to feature, do reach out and let us know at contact@horrortree.com
Thank you Patreons! As always, the site's lifeblood is in your hands and we truly appreciate your support.
Looking To Help Horror Tree?
Here are the main things we're looking for:
- Advertising and either Site or Contest sponsorships!
- Someone to help create videos for social media (we have tools, but not time!)
- Article writers (articles, interviews, reviews, crowdsource compilations, etc.)
- Sharing guest posts with us or reaching out for us to be a blog tour host.
- The obvious one here is also to become one of our Patreons or help out on Ko-Fi!
If you're interested in contributing and think you have something that would help out PLEASE don't shy away from contacting us! (contact@horrortree.com)
🗒️ Taking Submissions: Omenana Speculative Fiction Magazine – Democracy Special Edition
Deadline: April 30th, 2022 Payment: $100 Theme: Positive Visions of Democracy Note: Authors must be speculative fiction writers from across Africa and the African Diaspora and the stories should be centered around an African experience As we put pen to paper, it was literally raining coups in Africa.
From Sudan to Mali, from Burkina Faso to Equatorial Guinea to Niger, one hears either of violent truncation of government or an attempt at seizing the reins of power by gun wielding soldiers who purport to act for the greater good of the country.
Democracy, the system of governance that best serves the interest of the individual by allowing them a say in who governs them and how they are governed, is in peril.
With this backdrop, Omenana Speculative Fiction Magazine in partnership with the National Democratic Institute (NDI) – a US-based non-governmental organisation that works to strengthen democracy – is calling for submissions for a special themed edition that explores positive visions of democracy.
Note that some of the stories in this special edition will form part of a global anthology edited by Dr....
🗒️ Apex Publications Kicks Off A 2021 Anthology Kickstarter
Apex Book Company (Apex Publications) returned this year and they’re looking to expand.
They are currently seeking funds “to publish a print compilation anthology of all the original genre short fiction published in our digital publication, Apex Magazine, during the 2021 calendar year.
” To bring their vision to life, Apex Magazine is seeking to fill a goal of $6200.There is a TON of quality in this collection and has had a highly successful return with: Seven of the zine’s stories made the Locus Magazine Suggested Reading List.
The zine placed a story on the Nebula finalist list and won a Stabby Award.
In October 2021, we published an issue dedicated to Indigenous authors....
🗒️ Taking Submissions: The Other Stories #83: Ageing
Deadline: May 1st, 2022 Payment: 15GBP Theme: Ageing If you think you’ve got what it takes to terrify, scar and haunt our audience of 10,000 daily listeners, then we want your stories!
If accepted, we’ll get our fantastic narration team to lend their voices, our editor will sprinkle some magic pixie dust on the track, and you could have your story heard by thousands of listeners each week.
(Vol 83.) Ageing; deadline 1st May 2022 !
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NEW SUBMISSION PROCESS!
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SUBMIT YOUR STORIES USING THIS FORM If, this form isn’t working, then please email your submission to keztheeditor@gmail.com as a last resort.
But please let us know why as we’re hoping to use the form going forward.
Title your email with the following syntax: SUBMISSION |...
🗒️ Contest: 50-Word Stories May 2022 (Early Listing)
Submission Window: May 1st-15th, 2022 Payment: 1 winner each month will win $10 Canadian Theme: A story at exactly 50-words If you’d like to have a 50-word story that you wrote featured on FiftyWordStories.com, first make sure that you understand exactly what a 50-word story is, and then read the submission requirements below closely.
Submissions System Each month, submissions will be open between days 1 and 15 of that month.
Any stories received on days 16 to 31 of a month will be deleted, but can be resubmitted the following month.
You may only submit one story per month.
From the stories received in those 15 days, the best stories will be selected to be published that same month.
Only enough stories will be selected to publish two stories per weekday.
There is no payment associated with stories....
🗒️ The Hammerlock of the Gods – Pro Wrestling and Horror – Introduction
This is post 1 of 9 in the series “The Hammerlock of the Gods” The Hammerlock of the Gods – Pro Wrestling and Horror – Introduction The Hammerlock of the Gods – Pro Wrestling and Horror – Carnivals and the counter culture Scheduled for April 13, 2022 The Hammerlock of the Gods – Pro Wrestling and Horror – Good versus evil Scheduled for April 20, 2022 The Hammerlock of the Gods – Pro Wrestling and Horror – Hardcore wrestling and the slasher film Scheduled for April 27, 2022 The Hammerlock of the Gods – Pro Wrestling and Horror – Monstrous bodies and body horror Scheduled for May 4, 2022 The Hammerlock of the Gods – Pro Wrestling and Horror – The unkillable monster Scheduled for May 11, 2022 The Hammerlock of the Gods – Pro Wrestling and Horror – A Word On The Devil Scheduled for May 18, 2022 The Hammerlock of the Gods – Pro Wrestling and Horror – The Covid era and cinematic wrestling Scheduled for May 25, 2022 The Hammerlock of the Gods – Pro Wrestling and Horror – Conclusion Scheduled for June 1, 2022 Introduction It’s the night of a big show, the lights shine down on a packed arena, centred on the place affectionately known in wrestling parlance as the squared circle – the ring.
In the middle of the ring, stands a hero, sweat dripping down his overblown muscled body.
Hand raised in victory.
The fans packed to the rafters are cheering themselves hoarse.
Then it happens....
🗒️ Taking Submissions: Untitled Anthology About Running Away
Deadline: May 9th, 2022 Payment: $30 & 2 print copies of the anthology.
Theme: Your interpretation of “Running Away” Ever wish, with every cell in your body, that you could run away?
From home, from a person, from your job, from yourself?
Physically or emotionally, on foot or purely in your own mind?
We want you to write about this for an anthology we’ll be publishing in the summer of 2023....
🗒️ Taking Submissions: The Dancing Plague
Deadline: May 24th, 2022 Payment: $10 and a contributor’s copy Theme: Tell us what really happened during the dancing plague of 1518 (full details below) The Dancing Plague: Our 4th Collection of Utter Speculation Tentative Deadline: May 24, 2022 October 2022 Release Pay: $10 payment and a contributors copy 10k words or less (less words will have a better chance of being included) In the summer of 1518, in the free city of Strasbourg, Frau Troffea stepped into the street and started to dance.
Unable to stop, she danced until she collapsed from exhaustion.
Then she got up and danced some more.
Soon other citizens of Strasbourg joined her.
At the peak of this bizarre mania, up to four hundred people danced, against their will, for months on end, until, just as mysteriously as it began, the dancing plague began to taper down....
🗒️ Taking Submissions: Strange Horizons (Southeast Asian Special Call)
Deadline: April 30th, 2022 Payment: 10 cents per word Theme: Stories that are joyous, horrific, hopeful, despondent, powerful and subtle.
Note: For this issue, only Southeast Asian writers living in Southeast Asia as well as the diaspora.
Southeast Asia is an immense region with many cultures, traditions and mythologies.
It has a rich history of trade and wars, migration and occupation.
There are records of merchants from as far as Ancient Greece who have come to the region to ply their wares, and emperors from China have demanded tribute from subordinate kingdoms....
🗒️ 6 Ways To Name Your Characters Without Going Crazy
There are few things more frustrating than trying to come up with a clever, original name for a character in a story or movie.
And even fewer things are more aggravating than when the character’s actual name is something as mundane as Jane Smith or John Doe.
Naming your characters can be a daunting task if you’re not sure where to start.
But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
Here are six handy tips to help you name your characters without going crazy....
🗒️ Taking Submissions: Science Write Now #7 (AU Only)
Deadline: April 29th, 2022 Payment: $0.30/word up to $390 for new writing, $70 for a single poem or $180 for three poems, $40 for reprint stories or essays, and $20 for reprint poems.
Theme: Science, Humour and the Absurd Note: Australian writers or by writers living in Australia Only *At This Time* Note: Reprints Welcome We welcome submissions anytime!
Please submit your new or previously published poems, short stories, book reviews, or literary or personal essays related to science, technology, engineering, or maths.
Current call for submissions: Our seventh issue is based on the theme ‘Science, Humour and the Absurd’.
This edition of Science Write Now will explore how humour and the absurd shape cultural ideas of science and, in turn, how the world of science influences comic performance in popular culture, art and literature....
Enjoy,
Horror Tree
