I’m sure there’s at least a few of you who may have wondered what happened to my gung-ho, Mon-Wed-Fri posting schedule that I was so excited about over a week ago, considering things have been pretty quiet over here on my blog. Let me assure you, I have not dropped the ball entirely so quickly, as the game instead had a bit of a time-out. Just yesterday, I returned back to Illinois after a four-day visit to Michigan, a little belated Christmastime with my family back home, to see everyone, distribute gifts, and introduce them all to my significant other who they had yet to meet. I thought perhaps I might get a little break here and there to post or write, but I should know better by now. When it comes to my family, you’re lucky to get even ten minutes to enjoy a cup of coffee by yourself before there’s a swarm of people chatting and catching up.
Needless to say, getting in a few blog posts was out of the question. And to make things worse, I got a touch of food poisoning (and I don’t even know what from!) yesterday, which put me out of commission, too. I’m feeling much better this morning, though, and, having awaken from my own bed to start in on my trusted routine, I feel the productivity flowing back to me once more. It’s nice to see my family, but it’s also good to be back home, ready to work.
One of the things I had hoped to get done on the trip that totally had no chance of getting done was finishing a few short stories to submit to a few contests that are ending tomorrow, January 31st. Since I will probably not get a chance to take advantage of these closing deadlines (unless a burst of creativity strikes with a vengeance tomorrow morning), I thought they’d make the perfect thing to promote on this Promotion Friday. Maybe you have something hanging around that might fit one of these, or perhaps you’re like me, and, even though you don’t think you’ll get the chance to submit, you feel it’s a good prompt to get something else started. Here’s what I’ve got:
Pssychopomp Magazine 2015 Contest with a prize of $500. They accept regular submissions, too, and are looking for something they’ve never seen before that push the boundaries of genre and form (which I always find ironic, because that’s a pretty typical guideline for a lot of magazines).
Jackson Daughtry Literary Honor Award, for novels. I really wanted to submit Madeline to this one, but, yeah, it’s not going to happen. The coolest thing about this contest other than the fact that it looks to be for the type of books I really like (Nathaniel Hawthorne, Shirley Jackson, Neil Gaiman), but it’s also judged by Ari Berk, who was actually one of my professors back at Central Michigan University. I took a mythology class with him my senior year, as an elective, and it was easily my best class that semester. It was on my bucket list, because Berk has worked with Brian Froud, of Labyrinth and Dark Crystal fame, so it was a really big deal for me. However, I just don’t think I could reasonable have Madeline finished in time. WOE.
The Dead Walk from Breaking Fate Publications is your good old zombie anthology, of which I started a story for, but never got around to finishing. Luckily, they have two other zombie related publications that close at a later date, so maybe I’ll have better luck with them
Speaking of zombies, there’s also No Place for Us from Good Mourning Media, which is looking for zombie apocalypse love stories. “Spring Thaw” would be perfect if only they accepted reprints….sigh. I love the idea of this anthology, but just didn’t have the time to cobble something together.
The 2015 Nelson Algren Award contest was the one I really wanted to submit to, and still might, with “Moon Night,” even if I don’t think it’s a “good fit.” They’re offering up to 10 prizes, all of them pretty decent, so it really is worth a shot if you’ve got something to send. Plus, it’s done by the Chicago Tribune. Chicago, represent!
The Tomato Anthology by Ink Monkey Mag & More technically closes on February 1st, but since it’s an anthology for stories about tomatoes, it’s really too fabulous to not share.
And, ending today, January 30th, if you’ve got the time: Monsters from Grey Matter Press, featuring stories about the most terrifying monsters out there: ourselves.
Happy writing!
L.S. Engler 
I wanted to write a flash fiction from Chuck Wendig’s prompt, but it was due today at the latest. I just don’t think it’s meant for me to do short works to submit anywhere, paid or not. I’m happy just puttering along self-publishing. LOL (Well, except for my secret project.)
So…you don’t like Stephen King very much, and I don’t like Neil Gaiman. LOL I tried to read American Gods, but I was so bored I couldn’t finish it. (My son loved it!) Isn’t it weird how varied people’s tastes are? Which is good for authors. 😉
My first Gaiman book (excluding Good Omens, which he wrote with Terry Pratchett) was Anansi Boys, which is considered a “sort of sequel” to American Gods. I’d still recommend it, because it’s much lighter and more humorous and is worth it merely for the character of Daisy Day, one of my favorites in all of fiction. If you read that, and still don’t like Gaiman, than I’ll accept that he’s not for you.
As far as shorts go, I definitely feel you there. I’m a novelist at heart, but I like the challenge, and, every so often, I do feel like I hit gold. With all the rejections I’ve gotten, maybe they’re not as golden as I think they are, but, whatever. I like ’em.
Aw, I would think to check back here only after the midnight separating the 31st of January from the 1st of February. Also without any ideas of anything to write at all, ever. Phoo.
Yeah, that’s how most deadlines find me, too. What’s the quote from Douglas Adams? “I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.”
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