Challenge #54

 By entering, every contestant agrees to shamelessly promote and praise the winner on twitter.

For all discussions about this challenge use hash tag #TuesdayTales

Please also remember as a winner to contact Susan on how to have your piece included in Haunted Waters Press.

I am happy to have this week’s Tuesdaytales Judgemasters take over: 

@SusanUtley

Susan Warren Utley is a co-founder and editor at Haunted Waters Press, an independent publisher located in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. She is also a writer and poet. Her writing and works can be found at http://www.creativeprocrastination.com . Visit Haunted Waters Press here http://www.hauntedwaterspress.com

Also previously judge of Tuesdaytales 8, Tuesdaytales 21, &Tuesdaytales 40

WINNER

 

HONORABLE MENTIONS!

See you all next week!

~GlitterLady

You can check out all the rest of the entries of Tuesdaytales 54 HERE

OR check out the archive of all the tuesdaytales to escort you to your tuesdaytales needs HERE

Challenge #54

 By entering, every contestant agrees to shamelessly promote and praise the winner on twitter.

For all discussions about this challenge use hash tag #TuesdayTales

Questions about the tales rules check HERE

This week your flash fiction pieces will be eligible for publication in the Fall issue of Haunted Waters Press! & in recognition of this the word count has been extended to max 300 words

Theme: “Horror: Dark & Dreadful”

What will your 300 words say?

Welcome back This Weeks Tuesday Tales Judge: 

Crypt:

a cellar, vault or underground burial chamber (esp. beneath a church)

Synonyms: tomb, catacomb, ossuary, undercroft

 ”Bring on the strange, the twisted, and the bizarre. We are looking for stories and poetry that will make us want to sleep with the lights on. Psychological thrillers, bedtime stories for very bad children, and unusually likable anti-heroes are sure to please. Pretty vampires need not apply. Give us the grim, the dark, and the seriously creepy….just scare us already!” -Haunted Waters Press

Picture:

~GlitterLady

Check out previous Tuesdaytales entries here!

On with the TALES

My most recent published short story – Monster – can be found in the Summer 2012 issue of From the Depths, the quarterly literary journal of Haunted Waters Press. It’s a very lovely publication. Click on over and take your time perusing the art, prose and poetry on display – it’s worth it!

Over at The Galaxy Express blog, I was recently interviewed by Heather Massey. We chatted about the above short story as well as Blue Nebula, my upcoming release from Carina Press and the sequel to Blue Galaxy.  While your over there have a click around the blog. Heather has been tirelessly promoting science fiction, science fiction romance and e-books for a few years now and there’s lots of delectable content to be found on this blog. Enjoy!

Last, but not least, I was over at Contact: Infinite Futures blogging about my favorite spaceships. Click on over to see what they are. Do you have a favorite? I’d love to know. Again, this blog has been regularly providing lots of top-notch, geeky content and is well worth an explore.  It’s the blog of Carina Press’ SF/SFR authors and I can vouch that they’re an interesting crew.

Well, that should keep you out of trouble for a few hours. Have fun!

Click here to read the Summer 2012 issue of From the Depths.

From the Summer 2012 issue of From the Depths:

Dear Friends,

No letter. Just a summer challenge to try new things, relive some special moments, and enjoy life. Here’s a little checklist to help you get started.

• Read a classic
• Write daily.
• Walk in a river.
• Sleep in a hammock.
• Try oysters…or eat more.
• Go barefoot.
• Take moments for yourself.
• Spend time with your loved ones. (You never know what the next season will bring.)
• Play like you are ten years old again. Think mud pies & catching frogs.
• Laugh often and smile more.
• Explore your world.
• …but no hitchhiking.
• …or picking up hitchhikers.
• …ever.

Be safe & have a good one.

Our best,
Susan & Savannah

So very awesome! XD

ONE STORY, SINGLE SENTENCE, 30 WORDS OR LESS

Haunted Waters Press editor, Penny Dreadful, is selecting works of flash fiction to be showcased in Penny Fiction, a new feature of our literary journal, From the Depths.  Penny Fiction is dedicated to the art of flash fiction and it debuts in the Summer 2012 issue only weeks away. If you are looking for an opportunity to get your foot in the door, this is it!

Today I am offering subscribers, readers, and twitter friends a chance to ignore the rules of submission and post your flash fiction entries here in the comments or via Twitter reply or direct message. For those who are shy, you may still email your entries direct to Penny. Click here to submit directly to Penny Dreadful.

Guidelines are simple:

ONE STORY, SINGLE SENTENCE, 30 WORDS OR LESS

Include one interesting fact about yourself and you are done! For those who need a little nudge, I am offering the following photo prompts to get you started. Take them or leave them, just enter…and enter often!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Full submission details can be found  on the Haunted Waters Press Submissions page.

Challenge #40

 By entering, every contestant agrees to shamelessly promote and praise the winner on twitter.

For all discussions about this challenge use hash tag #TuesdayTales

I am happy to have this week’s Tuesdaytales Judgemasters take over: 

@SusanUtley

Susan Warren Utley is a co-founder and editor at Haunted Waters Press, an independent publisher located in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. She is also a writer and poet. Her writing and works can be found at http://www.creativeprocrastination.com . Visit Haunted Waters Press here http://www.hauntedwaterspress.com

Also previously judge of Tuesdaytales 8, Tuesdaytales 21

WINNER

Diane Dooley

@DianeDooley

Mother, Geek, Author writing Sci Fi, Horror and Romance.

Carina Press, Decadent Publishing. Short Stories: http://tinyurl.com/bnwl62h

“I am honored to be invited back as a guest judge for Tuesday Tales. Stevie, you were full of surprises this week. First, with the rocket ship and rearview mirror photograph and then with the increased word count. I think it was the combination of both that inspired so many wonderful stories. Again, another difficult week to be sitting in the judge’s seat. I actually had a top seven this week and after a considerable amount of internal debate, I narrowed it down to two. I didn’t flip a coin, but it was literally that close. In the end, I chose Diane Dooley’s (aka @DianeDooley) Monster as the winner of the week’s Tuesday Tales. It was fun, inventive, and well written.  In under 300 words she made me feel empathy for an unsightly alien creature. Congratulations Diane. With your permission, Haunted Waters Press would like to feature your story in the Summer 2012 issue of From the Depths.”

TUESDAY TALE:

Monster

by Diane Dooley

In hindsight I should never have gone searching the galaxy for him. I should’ve stayed on the space station, safe in my hazy half-dreams of imminent rescue. I wish I’d never tracked him down; never injected him with that scant twenty measures of truth serum.

He had never loved me. The pain of the truth had ripped a scream from my body. But at least then I had a heart. Now it’s a tumor. Inside my chest it pumps out only bile and bitterness.

Twice I saved him, breaking him out of two jails at the cost of my own freedom. But still it wasn’t enough. He offered his eternal thanks and his friendship. I took it, grateful for even that.

He travels the stars with someone else now. Her he loves, though she has never sacrificed for him the way I have. The scars of the wounds I bore for him remind me of how ugly I am. His wife, of course, is perfect. “The most beautiful woman in the universe.” That’s what he called her, as the serum had its brutal way with him. And with me.

I’m on Earth now and I think I’m dying. The gravity pulls me down, lays me low, defeats me every second. Nobody is kind; no one cares. I’m a scarred monster from outer space, after all. They examine my body with morbid interest, excited for my eventual autopsy, these stumpy little creatures all dressed in white.

Here I lie, watching the wet fall from the dark sky, the clouds obscuring the stars. My heart thuds slowly, releasing beat after beat of sadness and pain. I’ll die here, then, on this blasted floating rock.

I don’t even care. It’s my own fault. I should never have gone searching the galaxy for him.

HONORABLE MENTIONS!

See you all next week!

~GlitterLady

You can check out all the rest of the entries of Tuesdaytales week 40 HERE

OR check out the archive of all the tuesdaytales to escort you to your tuesdaytales needs HERE

Challenge #40

 By entering, every contestant agrees to shamelessly promote and praise the winner on twitter.

For all discussions about this challenge use hash tag #TuesdayTales

Questions about the tales rules check HERE

This week your flash fiction peices will be eligible for publication in the Summer  issue of Haunted Waters Press! & in recognition of this the word count has been extended to 300 words

Spring’s issue included “The Puddle” by @CraigWFSmith

Winter’s issue included Tuesdaytales entries from @MAKozlowski , @Emilia_Quill , @JenD_Author & @CraigWFSmith

What will your 300 words say?

Welcome back This Weeks Tuesday Tales Judge(S): 

Hindsight

Perception of the significance and nature of events after they have occurred

 or the rear sight of a firearm. 

 ”The theme for the summer issue of From the Depths is Rearview Mirror. This issue is all about what we left behind. A lost love, a misspent youth, a body in the road. We seek stories and poems that search for what has been forgotten or explore what might have been.  Stretch the limits with false memories, misconceptions, or hidden truths. Think turning points, words left unsaid, fateful goodbyes, disastrous consequences, or the path not taken. Too deep? Then don’t be afraid to be literal. Who doesn’t love a good “killer in the back seat” story? Surprise us!” -Haunted Waters Press

Picture:

~GlitterLady

Check out previous Tuesdaytales entries here!

On with the TALES

]]> http://creativeprocrastination.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/penny-fiction-a-flash-fiction-writing-competition/ Tue, 08 May 2012 19:58:01 +0000 Susan Warren Utley http://creativeprocrastination.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/penny-fiction-a-flash-fiction-writing-competition/

From the Haunted Waters Press Submissions Page:

Penny Fiction: A Flash Fiction Writing Competition
Theme: None
Media: Online/Electronic/Digital (Print issues forthcoming.)
Publication Date: Summer 2012 issue of From the Depths
Deadline: Monday, May 28, 2012

Haunted Waters Press editor, Penny Dreadful, is selecting works of flash fiction to be showcased in Penny Fiction, a new feature of our literary journal, From the Depths.  Penny Fiction is dedicated to the art of flash fiction.

Summer 2012 Contest Rules:

• Entries accepted by email only  (Subject: Penny Fiction)
• Single sentence story under thirty words.
• No theme or genre restrictions. (Rearview Mirror themes earn a star but no special treatment.)
• Previously unpublished works only.
• Type your entry in the body of the email.
• One entry per email.
• Multiple entries okay. One is fine. Four is cool. Twenty is borderline obnoxious.
• Include one interesting fact about yourself in under twenty words. No cut ‘n paste author bios. Undertakers, cat herders and favorite colors earn extra points. If we do not find you interesting, we reserve the right to make you appear more interesting.
• No attachments, cover letters, links, or long lists of previously published work.
• Like us on Facebook. (Not required, but it can’t hurt.)
• Penny Fiction is a “for the love of the flash” project. Authors receive exposure only, no monetary payment. Not even a penny.
• Haunted Waters Press holds publishing rights for ninety days following publication. Copyright remains with the author.
• Entry is taken to be acceptance of these conditions and rules.

Ready to submit? Click the link:

Submit to Haunted Waters Press: Penny Fiction

Challenge #39

 By entering, every contestant agrees to shamelessly promote and praise the winner on twitter.

For all discussions about this challenge use hash tag #TuesdayTales

Please give a shout out to this week’s Tuesdaytales judge: 

@surlymuse

Our judge is challenging us this week with a awesome sauce word! 

Secret Word:

Equivocate 

transitive verb: to avoid committing oneself in what one says

Picture:

ON WITH THE TALES!

Go ahead and check out the archive of all the tuesdaytales or escort you to your tuesdaytales needs HERE

NEXT WEEK!

FYI: Next week’s tuesdaytales will be another opportunity to be published in Haunted Waters Press with Susan Utley. You can view the previous Haunted Press Tuesdaytales below

Challenge 21: judged by @SusanUtley editor of Haunted Waters Dec 27th Winner:  @redshirt6 !

Challenge 8 – judged by @SusanUtley September 27th Winner:   @JenD_Author

This week’s Flash Friday entry comes a day early. Tomorrow is Friday the 13th and Haunted Waters Press Editor, Susan Warren Utley, (that’s me) is set to judge The Friday Picture Show, a 100 word flash fiction writing contest hosted by author, Jen DeSantis. Jen’s flash fiction piece, Spirit on the Shoal, was featured in the debut issue of From the Depths, Winter 2011. Tomorrow’s winning entry to be showcased online at HWP with special consideration for our summer issue of From the Depths.

If you have any questions, please post a comment below and I will get back to you.

Click the cover image to read the Spring 2012 issue of From the Depths.

To get a better idea of the type of work we are looking for, check out the Winter 2011 issue. Use the link in the sidebar or visit From the Depths at HWP. Enjoy!

]]> http://adreamsnest.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/shore-lines/ Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:20:49 +0000 Patricia http://adreamsnest.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/shore-lines/ I am very happy to find my piece of creative nonfiction called “Shore Lines” published on the beautiful website of Haunted Waters Press. To read it, click on the picture below.
Many wonderful works can be found on the pages of Haunted Waters Press and their literary journal “From the Depths.” Browse or download and enjoy!

Challenge #21

 By entering, every contestant agrees to shamelessly promote and praise the winner on twitter.

For all discussions about this challenge use hash tag #TuesdayTales

I am happy to have this week’s Tuesdaytales Judgemasters take over:  

Savannah and I were so excited to be invited back to judge Tuesday Tales. Once again, the quality of work submitted was exceptional making the job of selecting a winning entry a difficult task. We managed to narrow it down to a select few and from there we went back and forth before choosing the story that captured our attention from the moment we read it.

WINNER

 @redshirt6

aspiring writer, IT worker, musician (Irish fiddle, Irish accordion)

& now TWO time Tuesdaytales Champ

Congratulations to @redshirt6 aka Robby Hilliard for crafting a work of flash fiction that not only paints a vivid picture but also tells a story complete with past, present and future. With your permission Haunted Waters Press would like to feature your story in the upcoming issue of From the Depths.

TUESDAY TALE:

Free at last, free at last…
Words were from some speech she couldn’t recall. They came unbidden to her mind, a declaration of change.
Finally she was free. Free from the abuse, free from the controlling. Free from The Fear.
The cold December wind blew as she stumbled in the sand. She dropped the knife and watched as his blood washed away, mixing with sand and sea.
Then she collapsed, allowing the surf to wash over her. The torn, bleeding flesh of her womanhood welcomed the purifying burn of the salt. The throbbing bruises on her body welcomed the cold.

HONORABLE MENTIONS! 

Everyone spread the word of the   @redshirt6 ! & Thank SUSAN & SAVANNAH for their awesome judgemastery!

I would also like to invite our winner Robby Hilliard to be a judge for next Tuesdaytales on January 3rd, please let me know if your available

~GlitterLady

You can check out all the rest of the entries of Tuesdaytales week 21 HERE

OR check out the archive of all the tuesdaytales to escort you to your tuesdaytales needs HERE

WISHING YOU ALL  A HAPPY NEW YEAR!

@Samantha12Jane @caramichaels @craigwfsmith @redshirt6

@solimond @klingorengi @acenance @LaMishiaAllen

@Lenore_Diane @LeslieBRamey @ClareStubbs2 @css7756

@SiobhanMuir @WakefieldMahon @etcet @ChuckWes

@MAKozlowski @DavidALudwig @ohthatmomagain @zombiemechanics

@I_Am_LadyJai @nicolewolverton @charitygirlblog @LupusAnthropos

See you all again next Tuesday,

January is the start of a new Tuesdaytales badge! Don’t Miss out!

Provided by the awesome @charitygirlblog

The editors at Haunted Waters Press have been invited for a second round of judging for Glitter Word‘s flash fiction writing contest, Tuesday Tales. To enter, write a 100 word flash fiction story inspired by the posted photograph and post your entry as a comment. Contest rules also dictate your story must include the secret word of the day. Final entries must be posted by 6pm PST/9pm EST this evening. The winning entry will be revealed tomorrow. The author will receive an awesome blog badge from Glitter Word and publication in our featured content section at Haunted Waters Press. The winning story will also be eligible for publication in the spring issue of From the Depths.

If you have any questions please post a comment below and I will get back to you.

Today’s secret word is change and here is the photograph to inspire your story:

Challenge #21

 By entering, every contestant agrees to shamelessly promote and praise the winner on twitter.

For all discussions about this challenge use hash tag #TuesdayTales

Questions about the tales rules check HERE

This week your flash fiction peices will be eligible for publication in the Spring issue of Haunted Waters Press!

Winter’s issue included Tuesdaytales entries from @MAKozlowski , @Emilia_Quill , @JenD_Author & @CraigWFSmith

What will your 100 words say?

Welcome back This Weeks Tuesday Tales Judge(S):  

Change 

 ”The theme for the spring issue of From the Depths is change. Think rebirth, transformation, new beginnings, doors that open or close, change for the better or the worse, changing seasons, or even a change of pace. Go beyond the ordinary with a change in identity or a biological metamorphosis. Let your imagination wander and surprise us.” -Haunted Waters Press

Picture:

~GlitterLady

Check out previous Tuesdaytales entries here!

On with the TALES

PS: only 1 more week to sign up for #nightgale Blog challenge, don’t forget to add your link to the stock pile for the blog hopping!

The Winter 2011 issue of From the Depths, a new literary journal from Haunted Waters Press, will be available on December 1st. You can get a sneak peek of the cover by visiting From the Depths online. There you will also find a steady stream of selected works from our contributing authors. Recent works include Of Course by Amy Darsie, Smooth Sailing Now by Charlotte Jones, and Attributions by Colin James. If you are considering submitting to the Winter 2011 issue, there is still time to contribute.  Please see our Submissions page for more details.

In my journey of trying to find a literary agent to publish my first novel, I have been working on smaller publishing goals as well.  A few months ago, I submitted a poem to Haunted Waters Press and was all to pleased to know that it would be featured in their debut online issue!

While the issue is not out in its entirety until December, you can find a sample of some of the works HERE, including my poem!  I hope that you’ll mosey over and read it, as well as the other works that are featured.

And if you ventured from there to here, welcome to the Menagerie!  Feel free to stay, relax, and rest a spell.

Challenge #8

The winner will be bestowed with the AWESOME BLOG BADGE! To be displayed with pride and honor on their blog, twitter pics or what not. Where ever the winner feels their awesome sauce should get the most praise, worship and of course minions. 

 By entering, every contestant agrees to shamelessly promote and praise the winner on twitter.

For all discussions about this challenge use hash tag #TuesdayTales

It has been an all time record this week of 40 entries into week 8 of Tuesdaytales. I’d like to thank everyone for making this prompt exercise all that it can be and hope that it has inspired and helped you beat the block of writers… or writers block… lol

And it wouldn’t be possible with out the awesome judgemaster

This Weeks Tuesday Tales Judge is: 

Bubbles effervesced in the shoal, teeming in the water. I blinked and looked back at the surf line. She had been there, her luminescent figure floating mere inches above the dark, wet sand. But when I rose to run to her, she’d disappeared. It wasn’t like her to be fickle, and I doubted that death would change her so greatly.
What made her retreat?
I looked around and then back at the shoal, waiting for answers.
The sun paled and my skin broke out in gooseflesh as a cool wind kissed my cheek.
“Come,” the wind whispered.
And I followed.

Go check out all the rest of the 40 entries of Tuesdaytales week 8 HERE

OR check out the archive of all the tuesdaytales to escort you to your tuesdaytales needs HERE

Potential longer prompt challenge: And If any of you #tuesdaytalians are interested in a longer prompt sequence hosted by MUWAH (me) then please comment on this post with your interest. Potentially a 500 word to 1k word challenge if any of you are up for it.

~GlitterLady

Challenge #8

Spread the word and join the fun

Tuesday Tales is a 100 word flash fiction challenge that is based on a photo I take and post as well as one secret word to be included which is chosen by the current week’s judge! They say pictures are worth a thousand words, well now it’s time to condense down to the most important 100 of them all.

To Enter, just post a comment with your 100 word Tale and add your word count then your twitter name. (max 2 entries a person)

The winner will be bestowed with the AWESOME BLOG BADGE! To be displayed with pride and honor on their blog, twitter pics or what not. Where ever the winner feels their awesome sauce should get the most praise, worship and of course minions. 

 By entering, every contestant agrees to shamelessly promote and praise the winner on twitter.

For all discussions about this challenge use hash tag #TuesdayTales

This Weeks Tuesday Tales Judge is: 

Today’s Picture :

Now on with the Tales!

Ready…. GO! [guns blaze and flags wave] Contest closes at 9pm EST  or 6PM PST today

~GlitterLady

UPDATE 9/27/2011: The challenge has commenced! Click here to enter: Tuesday Tales!

Today’s Flash Friday is an announcement for Tuesday Tales. On Tuesday, September 27, 2011, I will be judging a flash fiction writing contest over at Glitter Word. The name of the game is Tuesday Tales. To enter, write a 100 word flash fiction story inspired by the posted photograph and post your entry as a comment. Contest rules also dictate your story must include the secret word of the day which will be revealed at the start of the contest. Contest begins early Tuesday morning and closes at 6pm PST/9pm EST. The winning entry will be revealed the next day. The author will receive an awesome blog badge as well as a very special prize provided by yours truly. You won’t want to miss it!

If you have any questions please post a comment below and I will get back to you.

Haunted Waters Press Update:
Response to the call for submissions for the upcoming issue of From the Depths has been overwhelming. We are nearing the end of the selection process but there is still time to submit. This project is open until filled but don’t worry about missing the cut. If we like your work, we will ask you if we can include it in the next issue or an upcoming anthology. Keep them coming!

Hello friends! I have some exciting news to share with you!

Savannah Renée and I have teamed up to form a new indie publishing company called Haunted Waters Press. Today we are officially making the leap into the murky waters of the big publishing pond. I hope that you will stop by for a visit soon. We are open for submissions so be sure to swing by the Submissions & Guidelines pages. We are both very excited to begin reading!

Haunted Waters Press can be also found on Facebook & Twitter! Feel free to throw us “like” and give us a “follow!” We appreciate your support more than you know. Have a wonderful day!

From Haunted Waters Press:

Welcome to Haunted Waters Press.

Haunted Waters Press is an independent publisher located in the shadows of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia along the banks of the Shenandoah River.

Our goal is to bring to our readers engaging fiction in the forms of poetry, prose poetry, short stories, and novellas. While some selections will be available in eBook formats, others will be offered as handbound originals as we strive to celebrate the art of the book. From the Depths, an online literary magazine from Haunted Waters Press, will feature a steady stream of content from our authors.

We are interested in stories that entertain us, stories that captivate us, but most of all, stories that haunt us. Please visit HWP News and our Submissions page for the latest updates on open submissions and writing contests.

Thank you for visiting. Feel free to wallow about for a while.

Best regards,

The Editors

P.S. Credit for all the gorgeous photography on the site goes to Savannah Renée. She is amazing!