Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this wonderful Wednesday? I don’t have anything to blog about. I’m putting together a grocery order, playing mindless games, and Dad’s spring cleaning the spare room. The doggos are being doggos. That’s life. But! I wanted to take a second to remind you that the Kickstarter for Phantoms from the Sky ends on Friday (the 10th)! The support thus far has been fabulous. Thank you if you’ve donated or helped promote the project with shares and mentions. If you’ve been putting it off, now’s the time to spread the word! Thank you!
Howdy, howdy! This is just a quick post to let you know that the Kickstarter for Phantoms from the Sky goes live today! Just click the link above to check it out. Every mention, share, and (of course) donation helps. Here’s a pretty picture and blurb to make your time looking at this post worth it.
The truth is closer than you think. Brace yourself for a collection of short fiction that will challenge your perceptions and leave you questioning the boundaries of our reality. In these fourteen tales from acclaimed and emerging authors, the veil between Earth and the cosmos is lifted through awe-inspiring visitations by enigmatic beings from beyond.
From the heart-pounding excitement of close encounters with unidentified flying objects to contemplative reflections on humanity’s place in the universe, these stories will transport you to uncharted realms where the ordinary communes with the extraordinary. Phantoms from the Sky showcases a diverse array of voices, each contributing a unique and riveting account of extraterrestrial contact. Journey along as characters grapple with the unknown, witness the wonder of cosmic exploration, and confront profound questions about humanity’s past and future.
Whether you’re a seasoned science fiction enthusiast or a newcomer to the genre, this collection promises an unforgettable literary odyssey. With each turn of the page, you’ll feel the inexorable pull of the stars, experience the thrill of discovery, and face the terror of the unexplained.
Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this first Wednesday of March? Things here are good. If you stalk me on social media and saw the cover release a few days ago, you were probably expecting this. Shameless self-promotion time! Remember that anthology from Rogue Owl Press that I mentioned back in February? It has a title and a cover and a pre-launch page for the Kickstarter! It’s called Phantoms from the Sky and the Kickstarter officially starts on March 27th, but if you go to the link above and sign up to be notified on launch, I’d really appreciate it. Following the project helps a lot.
I think that’s everything for this week. Please follow the pre-launch page if you can and expect more shameless self-promotion regarding this anthology in the near future!
Howdy, howdy! It’s that time again. Time for some shameless self-promotion. If you stalk me on Facebook or Twitter or Instagram, you already know, but just in case. My short story, The Water Horse, is out today in Dark Cheer: Cryptids Emerging Volume Silver. You can purchase it from Improbable Press, Amazon, or Barnes & Noble to name a few places. Please do check it out and leave reviews if possible! Until next week.
Hello, hello! How’s everyone doing today? Everything here is about the same as usual. It’s going to be another pretty short post this week, I’m afraid. If you stalk me on social media, you probably know all of this, but I’ll post it here anyway. I have two announcements about publications I have stories in.
First, my flash fiction piece “The Water Horse” will be appearing in the silver volume of Dark Cheer: Cryptids Emerging! It’s coming out in February, but you can pre-order now at the links above. It will be an amazing collection. I also know at least one of the authors in the blue volume, so I think that one will be wonderful as well. Please feel free to spread the word!
Second, the ebook of Love Letters to Poe: A Toast to Edgar Allan Poe is currently on sale until Friday! My flash fiction piece “Poisoned Honey and Pickled Pigs’ Feet” is in that one. There are some other neat things going on with this sale. I’ll share the details below. Reviews are encouraged if you have a few seconds. And again, feel free to spread the word!
For a limited time only, Love Letters to Poe: A Toast to Edgar Allan Poe is on sale for 99 cents. The price will go up to $4.99 after this Friday, so make sure to snag your copy now! Here.
The editor teamed up with Literarily Illuminating for a special treat – purchase their Poe candles this week & get a complimentary copy of the anthology. Check out their Etsy store now before they sell out! Here.
Win Virtual Tickets to Poe Fest! Buy Love Letters to Poe: A Toast to Edgar Allan Poe by this Friday and enter to win! Additional purchases (buy a copy for a friend!) will count as additional entries. IMPORTANT: Email your proof of purchase to loveletterstopoe@gmail.com to enter.
That’s the end of my announcements! I’ll be back next week with our regularly scheduled book review.
Howdy, howdy! How’s everyone doing this week? Things are good here. Dad got a new toy (the big Kamado Joe, an egg-shaped smoker), so I got brisket and pulled pork. Yum! Other than that, everything is about the same as it has been. I’m lazy. All I’ve really done is review edits for a story coming out early next year (I’ll post about it after the official announcement, which is supposed to happen later this week), annoy people with shameless self-promotion (keep an eye on my social media for more of that next week for Love Letters to Poe), read, and slush (I’m an associate editor for PseudoPod, which is a fancy title for first reader). Otherwise, I’ve just been wasting time. I had no idea what to blog about, so I searched for ideas for September. One of the lists of ideas that I usually find helpful posed a question to answer in a post, so I decided to use that for today.
Agree or Disagree: “The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”
I both agree and disagree with this statement. Most of the time, I don’t really feel like I’ve wasted my time if I enjoy something, unless it eats away more time than it really should. Reading doesn’t count, because it’s actually work. At least that’s what I keep telling myself as I binge read webtoons/manga/manhwa. Okay, that’s not technically work, but it gives me stuff to think about when I can’t sleep, instead of having my brain home in on every stupid mistake I’ve ever made. Crocheting or drawing never really feels like wastes, because there’s actual proof that my time has been productive. Even just staring into space and thinking doesn’t feel like a waste of time, because that’s what writers do. It’s weird. But as long as it feels productive (even if it isn’t), I don’t feel like I’ve wasted time.
That said, watching more TV/movies than usual feels like wasted time. Playing mindless games for five minutes and realizing it’s an hour later feels like wasted time. It doesn’t mean I’m going to stop doing these things, but there will always be the feeling that I should’ve been doing something else. I enjoy wasting time. I understand that taking time to do stupid things is important, especially when you’re feeling burnt out or whatever. That doesn’t mean it’s not a waste of time, it just means you needed or wanted a break. And that’s okay.
Oops.
So, do I agree that wasted time you enjoy isn’t wasted? Eh. Not entirely. But I do recognize that it’s an important part of self-care. I know that people are going to scoff and call me a capitalist and argue that not everything has to be productive. I’m not saying it does. I’m just saying that unproductive wasted time feels like an actual waste of time to me. That’s not a bad thing. Embrace the waste! (Please don’t hug your garbage). I accept it for what it is: a much needed rest.
I guess hugging human trash is okay, but why would you want to?
I just wasted time writing this. Apparently, it’s my 350th post. I’ve wasted your time with 350 posts. Anyway, what’re your thoughts on wasting time? As always, feel free to share your thoughts or comments here or on my social media pages!
Hello, hello! It’s September 1st. Where has the time gone? How is everyone doing? Other than having to remember all of our doctor appointments, things here are good. This week’s post is just a short one. You remember when my story “Poisoned Honey and Pickled Pigs’ Feet” came out in volume 1, issue 8 of Love Letters to Poe? Volume 1 is coming out in its entirety (all 12 issues in one book) on September 20th. There will be both a print version and an ebook, so there’s something for everyone! Also, there will be a sale for the 20th through the 25th. Look forward to it on Amazon, Apple, Kobo, and other stores. For now, I’ll leave you with the recently revealed cover!
Wouldn’t that look lovely on your coffee table, desk, shelves, etc.?
Hello, hello! How is everyone this beautiful day? Things are pretty much the same as they’ve been around here. Lots of slacking on all fronts. You know how it goes. Anyway, if you follow my personal Facebook, you already know this, but today’s post is just to let you know that my flash fiction piece “The Water Horse” will be appearing in Improbable Press’s forthcoming anthology. Right now, the only release details I have is that it’ll be coming in early 2022. I will post my usual shameless self-promotions when I know more. But I wanted to let everyone know that writerly things are still happening even though I’m slacking. I’ll be back next week with my usual end-of-month book review!
Hello, hello! I know I already shared this news on my social media pages, but I do have some people who seem to only follow my blog, so I decided to put it here too. On May 28th, my flash fiction piece “Integrate” was released in a story swap between The Centropic Oracle (the lovely people who purchased and narrated the story) and the YouTube channel Let’s Read! You can listen to it here! You can also check out Published Work on my website to find anything you might’ve missed. I’ll be back next week with a proper post.
Hello, hello! Can you believe it’s already May? But the good thing about May is that my flash fiction piece “Poisoned Honey and Pickled Pigs’ Feet” was just released in volume 1, issue 8 of Love Letters to Poe! You can buy a copy here with my story and three other lovely pieces, or you can subscribe to the newsletter to get a free copy of the first issue as well as weekly installments with stories from that month’s release and author interviews (mine goes out on the 6th, so sign up today!). I’ll also share a link to my story/interview on my social media pages Thursday or Friday for anyone who doesn’t sign up in time. And if you miss that, after the 6th just search for Love Letters to Poe wherever you get your podcasts and you’ll be able to listen to me read the story. No matter how you access it, please feel free to leave a review or rating on the GoodReads page!
Sorry for the short post. I’ll be back to our regularly scheduled randomness next week!
Shawna's Blog of Doom 