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An ideal writing combo, honestly.✍🏻😻🎶 https://www.instagram.com/p/CiS4eH1pGGb/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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BRB gotta catch up with my favourite people in the entire world. It’s been a while…🖤💀🙏🏻 https://www.instagram.com/p/CiGmb-1OC-d/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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A Golden Fury Blog Tour!

Hop on my stop for A Golden Fury Blog Tour! Check out all there is to know about this YA novel featuring alchemy, French Revolution, and MADNESS!

Title: A Golden Fury

Author: Samantha Cohoe (Twitter and Instagram)

Publisher: Wednesday Books (Twitter and Instagram)

Published: October 13, 2020

Available at: https://read.macmillan.com/lp/a-golden-fury/

Welcome to A Golden Fury Blog Tour! I’m excited to be a part of this, as I’ve never participated in a blog tour before. (For those of you who may not know what a blog tour is,…

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Sometimes, self-care is motivating yourself with two of your favourite books to get writing done.📚✍🏻✨ . . . . . . #bookstagram #writerproblems #samanthashannon #libbabray #thediviners #theboneseason https://www.instagram.com/p/CA3QG5Mg5z7/?igshid=1tdckcx238o06

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Where Dreams Descend

Author: Janella Angeles

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Published: August 2020

Rating: 3.5/5

For Those Who Enjoyed: Moulin Rouge, Phantom of the Opera, The Night Circus, Laura Lam’s Pantomime, Big Fish, The Greatest Showman

Surprise! It has been a while since I posted any reviews, I know. But in light of the pandemic limiting both library access and authors’ marketing, I thought it only…

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🎃Starting my first Spooktober read of the month! (Given how hefty it is, it might be my *only* Spooktober read of the month...) Really enjoying it thus far, and especially excited to find a washed up rockstar character within these pages!!!🎃 . . . . . . #sophiereads #bookstagram #horror #spooky #stephenking #thestand https://www.instagram.com/p/B3NOzlsDmlP/?igshid=ri6ej4chpphy

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Some goodies from the #PWPoePrompts over on the Twitters. . LIFE CHANGING BOOKS! . 1.) Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban and A Wrinkle in Time were the first books I ever read as a kid where I realized women could write SFF. I read those books and thought "omigod, they're writing time travel. I wanna write that! ...I'm GONNA write that!!!" so naturally, I did. . 2.) I read Wuthering Heights for the first time when I was 13. It was the first time I'd ever read completely irredeemable, flawed characters. I didn't know characters didn't HAVE to be nice to be interesting. I've been emulating my soul sister, Emily Bronte ever since.🖤 . 3.) Both Dracula and Wuthering Heights got the ball rolling on my lifelong obsession with Victorian gothic literature. It drove my entire undergraduate education in 19th century literature & crime. Everything that goes into my Victorian crime novel, Haunt Your Murderers is a loving little homage to them. . 4.) Nights at the Circus and The Passion are a testament to all the amazing English teachers I've had. My high school English teachers put these books in my hands and said, "you'll love it!" These books were my first real brush with feminism & messing around with gender expectations. . 5.) The Raven Cycle got me through excruciating writers block I suffered through my entire undergrad. I spent a year in Edinburgh after reading it in a practical fugue state, writing a magic forest novel that, for the first time in my life, WASN'T my longstanding time travel novel, Regardless (which I’d been writing for 10 years at that point...) #bookstagram #books #literature #whatsonyourshelf #reading #bookworm #Victorian #gothic #timetravel #harrypotter https://www.instagram.com/p/B0rW4OdDj5o/?igshid=s57t0m4dbyic

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EatingWell’s Four-Bean and Pumpkin Chili

Four-Bean and Pumpkin Chili is excerpted from EATINGWELL SOUPS  © 2018 by Meredith Corporation. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Active: 45 minutes | Total: 1 hour, 15 minutes

The bean selection at many markets is bursting with different varieties, and this chili creates the opportunity to buy a few that you’ve been wanting to try. Pumpkin is a natural addition, because it brings a touch of sweetness along with its otherwise mild flavor.

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 3 cups chopped onions 11/2 cups chopped carrot 3 large cloves garlic, minced 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth 3 cups diced peeled pumpkin or butternut squash 1 28-ounce can no-salt-added crushed tomatoes 4 15-ounce cans low-sodium beans, such as black, great northern, pinto and/or red, rinsed 3 tablespoons chili powder 2 teaspoons ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ¾ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste Cotija cheese (see Tip), sliced jalapeños, diced onion and/or pepitas for garnish

TIP: Cotija is a crumbly, slightly tangy and pleasantly salty Mexican cheese. If you can’t find it, feta makes a perfectly acceptable substitute.

1) Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring often, until starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium, add carrot and continue cooking, stirring often, until the vegetables are soft, 4 to 5 minutes more. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

2) Stir in broth, scraping up any browned bits, and bring to a boil over high heat. Add pumpkin (or squash), tomatoes, beans, chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, salt and cayenne to taste. Cover and return to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook, uncovered, until the pumpkin (or squash) is tender, about 30 minutes.

3) Serve garnished with cheese, jalapenos, onion and/or pepitas, if desired.

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MAKE AHEAD: Refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 6 months.

SERVES 8: ABOUT 11/2 CUPS EACH

Calories 276 | Fat 3g (sat 0g) | Cholesterol 0mg | Carbs 49g | Total sugars 10g (added 0g) | Protein 14g | Fiber 17g | Sodium 509mg | Potassium 1,073mg.

Nutrition bonus: Vitamin A (227% daily value) | Vitamin C (39% dv) | Iron (32% dv) | Folate (20% dv).

Buy the Book: IndieBound | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | Powell’s

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Goodreads || Bookstagram || Twitter  || Reviews

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Thank you so much! This is the loveliest! 

I haven’t had time to dedicate to reviews this year, what with work and focusing on writing my own novels, but maybe I’ll pick it back up again soon!

Small book blogs we love!

A little while ago, we asked all the darling bookworms of tumblr who are running a book blog to share their site or reviews with us. As the owners of a small book blog ourselves, we know how hard it can be to build a following and we’re trying to help out by compiling a list of small book blogs we believe deserve more attention. All this to revive booklr as a community: help each other out!

So eventually we’ve selected five book blogs/reviewers that we simply adore (in no particular order): Check them out!

Number one is Beth’s blog @betwixt-these-pages, which can be found here. I think most people love penguins, so you can’t really go wrong with these reviews. Beth even reviews her books through little penguin pictures, of which the ‘hot and steamy’ one is my favourite (found here)! But it’s all there: a summary, her opinion, a diverse set of reviewed books and lots of colourful aspects to attract some attention to her reviews, which she really does deserve. Also, her style of writing is not only very honest, but very nice and accessible to read.

Why we’d recommend this blog: the reviews look great and amazingly fun and, hello, penguins.

Number two is a blog run by two authors under the name @of-books-and-pen, which can be found here.

This appears to be quite a small blog, but the site looks adorable! The books reviewed here are very diverse, from old literature to graphic novels and manga. When reviewing anything, the authors really go into detail and depth about this book, which makes for a great review. Also, the authors just appear to be very friendly.

Why we’d recommend this blog: they make a fair point that most book blogs focus on new releases, and old books deserve just as much attention!

Number three is yet another author who writes her reviews on tumblr, by the name of @alwaysbringabookwithyou, which can be found here.

Grace writes relatively short reviews, usually starting off with a short summary or introduction to the book reviewed, to grab your attention, followed by her personal opinion and rating. She mostly appears to be reviewing young adult books, but there are some classics in there as well. She has built up quite a following already, but she definitely deserves to be mentioned here anyways.

Why we’d recommend this blog: Short and well thought through reviews, which give you an idea of the book instantly. If you’re dealing with a ‘to read or not to read’-dilemma, these reviews are brilliant. Also, check out her book recommendations: you will not be disappointed.

Number four seems to be a bit of an undiscovered gem, from the tumblr @thebookishone, where reviews can be found here.

These reviews are short and sweet, with a clear and unapologetic opinion on each novel. A great variety of books are present, but hardly any notes on them, much to our surprise. No decorations, no distractions: just books and opinions. We love it.

Why we’d recommend this blog: I just loved how this author simply states their honest opinion on every book they read, which we enjoyed immensely.

Number five is Sophie’s blog, called @parchment-and-petrichor, which can be found here. When you start off your blog with these words: ‘Prick my fingertips and I’ll bleed ink for you’, we’re immediately fans. Sophie appears to review mostly young adult books, but the way she goes about it is very nicely organised and it looks great. She has great skill with language and her reviews read like novels in themselves. Her analyses are very good and her opinions are clear.

Why we’d recommend this blog: I love how she starts off her reviews by recommending this book to ‘those who enjoyed’, followed by a number of titles. Very original and useful!

And as a cheeky little bonus honourable mention, here’s a small blog we’re just really curious about to see what will happen with this one next

This is a cute little blog, from the tumblr named @confessions-of-a-readaholic, and her blog can be found here.

Cute blog, but I’m guessing she’s still starting out, because there are very little reviews to be found on her site as of this moment. But we really like the way she writes, so we’re curious to see where this goes.

Why we’d recommend this blog: to show some support to her and see where it goes!

We’ve also posted this list on our book blog, and you can find that post here. Now go and show each other some love!

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booksforthoughts BPC | June 2018 | 21. A classic for a reason

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Publishing for Fun and Profit

So there was a list going around tumblr for a while that made it to my dash of literary journals that accept open submissions (and will pay!), but upon inspection about half of them were closed indefinitely, and I found quite a few other places that looked interesting through further research, so I wanted to post my own list. 

I tried to focus on things that paid professional grade (at least 6 cents per word), were friendly to speculative fiction, and specifically encouraged diversity and writing about marginalized groups.

(Please note that as of right now I have never submitted or been published with any of these, so if anyone has experience with them, good or bad, please feel free to message or reblog this with your experiences.)

Speculative Fiction

Strange Horizons — Speculative fiction (broadly defined) with an emphasis on diversity, unusual styles, and stories that address politics in nuanced ways. 8c per word. Up to 10,000 words, under 5,000 preferred. Responds within 40 days. LGBT+ positive.

Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine — Sci-fi, fantasy, horror, etc. 7-12c per word. Up to 25,000 words. No response times listed.

Asimov’s Science Fiction — Primarily sci-fi but accepts fantasy and surreal fiction, but no high fantasy/sword and sorcery. Prefers writing that is character driven. 8-10c per word. 1,000-20,000 words. Responds in about five weeks.

Evil Girlfriend Media — Horror and urban fantasy centered on female empowerment and defying gender stereotypes. $100 flat payment. 4,000-7,000 words. No response times given. LGBT+ friendly.

Beneath Ceaseless Skies — Fantasy with a focus on secondary worlds and characters. 6c per word. Up to 10,000 words. Average response time 2-4 weeks.

Fantastic Stories — Speculative fiction with an emphasis on diversity and literary style. 15c per word. Up to 3,000 words. Responds within two weeks. LGBT+ positive.

Fiction Vortex — Serialized fantasy and speculative fiction. $300 for featured stories, $50 otherwise. 3,500 words or less. No response times given.

Shimmer — Speculative fiction with an emphasis on diversity, strong plots, vivid characters, and beautiful writing. 5c per word. 7,500 words or less (will consider longer words with query letter). Usually responds within two weeks. LGBT+ positive.

Clarkesworld Magazine — Sci-fi, fantasy, and other speculative fiction. 10c per word up to 5,000 words, 8c per word after. 1,000-16,000 words. Responds within days usually, gives a tracking number.

Apex Magazine — Speculative fiction of all kinds. 6c per word, +1c per word for podcast stories. Up to 7,500 words, all submissions over will be auto-rejected. Responds within 30 days.

Heliotrope Magazine — Speculative fiction of all kinds. 10c per word. Up to 5,000 words. Responds within 30 days.

Lightspeed Magazine — Speculative fiction of all kinds, with creativity and originality in terms of style and format encouraged. 8c per word. 1,500-10,000 words, under 5,000 preferred. LGBT+ positive. Submissions temporarily closed for their main magazine but is accepting for their People of Color Destroy Science Fiction special.

General Fiction

The Sun Magazine — General fiction, likes personal writing or writing of a cultural/political significance. $300-$1500 flat payment  and a one year subscription to the magazine for fiction (also accepts essays and poetry). No minimum or maximum lengths but over 7,000 words discouraged. Responds in 3-6 months. Physical submissions only.

One Story — Any and all varieties of fiction, “unique and interesting” stories encouraged. $500 payment plus 25 contributor copies. 3,000-8,000 words. Usually responds in 2-3 months.

Camera Obscura — General fiction. $1000 for featured story, $50 for “Bridge the Gap” award, no payment for other contributors. 250-8,000 words. Response time vary, running just over two months as of now.

Flash Fiction 

Daily Science Fiction — Speculative flash fiction (including sci-fi, fantasy, slipstream, etc.). 8c per word. Up to 1,500 words, but shorter stories given priority. Response times not listed.

Vestral Review — General flash fiction. 3-10c per word depending on length to a max of $25. Up to 500 words. Response within four months.

Flash Fiction Online — General flash fiction. $60 flat payment. 500-1,000 words. Response times not listed.

Novels/Novella

Riptide Publishing — Any LGBTQ manuscripts between 15,000 and 150,000 words. Currently especially interested in lesbian romances, trans stories, asexual/aromantic stories, romances with a happy ending, and genre fiction such as urban fantasy. Also has a YA branch.  LGBT+ positive.

Crimson Romance — Romance stories of all kinds, currently seeking LGBT+ stories with a focus on emotional connections and relationships, especially m/m romance. Novel (55,000-90,000 words) or novella (20,000-50,000 words) length.  LGBT+ positive.

Kindle Direct Publishing 

Kindle Direct Publishing — Allows you to set your own prices, create your own cover art, and make royalties off of each sell. Any and all genres are welcome and if you’re prolific and smart about how you’re publishing you can make pretty good money.

General Guide to Kindle Publishing — Gives a good rundown of the publishing process on Kindle.

101 Guide to Kindle Erotica — Great guide with lots of resources about how to make money publishing erotica on Kindle.   

Publishing Comics/Graphic Novels

Here is a list of potential comic companies and what kind of open submissions they accept.  

Here is a list of literary agents who accept graphic novels. 

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so I’m looking at short story publishers (fantasy)

Tor, cream of the crop. 25 cents a word. Stories can be read for free (YES). Slowish response time at ~3 months. Prefer under 12k, absolute maximum is 17.5k. Don’t bother if it’s not highly professional quality. SFWA qualifying.

Crossed Genres. 6 cents a word. Different theme each month (this month’s is “failure”). Submissions must combine either sci-fi or fantasy with the theme. Response time 1 month. 1k-6k, no exceptions. SFWA qualifying.

Long Hidden, anthology from CG. 6 cents a word. 2k-8k, no exceptions. Must take place before 1935. Protagonist(s) must be under 18 and marginalized in their time and place. Must be sci-fi/fantasy/horror. Deadline 30 April. Response by 1 October.

Queers Destroy Science Fiction. Sci-fi only right now, author must identify as queer (gay, lesbian, bi, ace, pan, trans, genderfluid, etc, just not cishet). 7.5k max. Deadline 15 February. Responses by 1 March. You can submit one flash fiction and one short story at the same time. (My network blocks the Lightspeed site for some reason, so I can’t get all the submission details. >_>) Probably SFWA qualifying?

Women in Practical Armor. 6 cents a word. 2k-5k. Must be about 1) a female warrior who 2) is already empowered and 3) wears sensible armour. Deadline 1 April. Response within three months.

Fiction Vortex. $10 per story, with $20 and $30 for editor’s and readers’ choice stories (hoping to improve). Speculative fiction only. Imaginative but non-florid stories. 7.5k maximum, preference for 5k and under. (I kind of want to support them on general principle.)

Urban Fantasy Magazine. 6 cents a word. 8k max, under 4k preferred. Must be urban fantasy (aka, the modern world, doesn’t need to be a literal city). 

Nightmare. 6 cents a word. 1.5-7.5k, preference for under 5k. Horror and dark fantasy. Response time up to two weeks. SFWA and HWA qualifying.

Apex Magazine. 6 cents a word. 7.5k max, no exceptions. Dark sci-fi/fantasy/horror. SFWA qualifying.

Asimov’s Science Fiction. 8-10 cents a word. 20k max, 1k minimum. Sci-fi; borderline fantasy is ok, but not S&S. Prefer character focused. Response time 5 weeks; query at 3 months. SFWA qualifying, ofc.

Buzzy Mag. 10 cents a word. 10k max. Should be acceptable for anyone 15+. Response time 6-8 weeks. SFWA qualifying.

Strange Horizons. 8 cents a word. Speculative fiction. 10k max, prefers under 5k. Response time 40 days. Particularly interested in diverse perspectives, nuanced approahces to political issues, and hypertexts. SFWA qualifying. 

Fantasy and Science Fiction. 7-12 cents a word. Speculative fiction, preference for character focus, would like more science-fiction or humour. 25k maximum. Prefers Courier. Response time 15 days.

Scigentasy. 3 cents a word. .5-5k. Science-fiction and fantasy, progressive/feminist emphasis. Fantastic Stories of the Imagination. 15 cents a word. 3k maximum. Any sci-fi/fantasy, they like a literary bent. (psst, steinbecks!) They also like to see both traditional and experimental approaches. Response time two weeks. 

Beneath Ceaseless Skies. 6 cents a word. 10k maximum. Fantasy in secondary worlds only (it can be Earth, but drastically different—alternate history or whatever). Character focus, prefer styles that are lush yet clear, limited first or third person narration. Response time usually 2-4 weeks, can be 5-7 weeks. SFWA qualifying.

Clarkesworld. 10 cents a word up to 4000, 7 afterwards. 1-8k, preferred is 4k. Science-fiction and fantasy. Needs to be well-written and convenient to read on-screen. Appreciates rigour. No talking cats. Response time 2 days. SFWA qualifying.

Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show. 6 cents a word. Any length. Science-fiction and fantasy (along with fantastic horror). Good world-building and characterization. Clear straightforward prose. Response time three months. Yes, OSC is editor-in-chief. SFWA qualifying.

Interzone. Sub-pro rates if anything (but highly respected). 10k max. Short cover letter. Science-fiction and fantasy.

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       2018   ＲＥＬＥＡＳＥＳ     Ｗ/  ＰＯＣ      ＭＣＳ

Love, Hate & Other Filters by Samira Ahmed

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

A Girl Like That by Tanaz Bhathena

American Panda by Gloria Chao

The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

Lets Talk About Love by Claire Kann

The Poet X by Elizabeth Agevedo

My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma

Like Vanessa by Tami Charles

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What I’ve been reading lately.

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Classics 🌸

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