January:New Interview and Plan

Starting the new year by -defining the new dates for the blog–each monthly blog will appear between the first and tenth of each new month. This blog is an editor interview as most are–next month will have a “lessons learned /” from the blogs and then I will continue with editor interviews. The number of magazines using short fiction  for pay or with no pay has lessened over the years but there are still good markets out there for our stories–and editors who are working hard to bring our words to light. (Note: Will also try to figure out why wordpress is not allowing me to post pix saved to my computer. The cover shot of Blood and Bourbon, above, is a screen shot taken of the jpg they sent me.)

This month’s interview is with the editor of Blood and Bourbon, Phil Halton–I’ve not sent them anything yet, but the interview intrigued me–and I am putting them on my list of pubs to approach in 2019–after reading this, I think you will too.

Joan:Please tell us a bit about the history of your magazine and about the magazine’s goals present day? Particularly, can you define how your magazine differs from other crime magazines out there?

Phil: Blood & Bourbon was started in 2016 by Matt Lennox and myself. He had already published two novel’s traditionally (The Carpenter, Knucklehead) and I was pitching a novel to agents and publishers while also pitching short stories. We both realized how a relatively small number of “tastemakers” controlled what was and was not published, and felt that there was a lot of great work out there that was not getting picked up. We decided that Blood & Bourbon would be a place where we could provide a forum for the kind of work that we liked to read, but that was not getting picked up by mainstream publishers. In a way, we were banking karma as writers by helping other writers. Since then, we’ve met other writers and publishers and our team has grown.

We have a manifesto that outlines our goals as publishers, and as story tellers ourselves. We don’t like overly sanitized work about ideal lives – we like to take a raw, unvarnished look at real life instead. Blood & Bourbon has published a fair deal of crime fiction, but we don’t do so exclusively. We’re open to any genre (or no genre), as long as the writing piques our interest.

Joan: Do you pay your short story contributors?

Phil: We’ve gone back and forth on this, and so far, have not paid anything other than contributor’s copies. We value the work that writers do, and wish that we could pay them more. But as this whole project is essentially self-financed, we have to keep costs to a minimum. Getting to a position where we pay contributors is a goal of ours.

Joan: What are you seeking in general and what especially delights you in a manuscript submission?

Phil: We can tell pretty quickly whether or not something is going to be a good fit for us. We look for authentic and interesting voices, unique takes on clichéd situations, and stories that fit our idea of shining a light on “unvarnished” portraits of life.

Joan:What is an instant turn-off in a submission?

Phil: We’ve been pretty overwhelmed by fiction that depicts violence against women, typically the murder of a wife, ex-wife or girlfriend. While we recognize that these events are a grim part of our North American reality, we don’t enjoy reading about it. Brutal descriptions of domestic violence aren’t raw, gritty and unvarnished – they’re depressing. We choose not to publish depictions of domestic violence unless there is artistic merit that overcomes out initial feelings.

Joan: What are some of your favorite journals/magazines?

Phil: Toronto is blessed with a number of great literary journals, and other magazines who don’t focus on literature but who include it – the Walrus, Rusty Toque, and The Danforth Review among others.

Joan: How can writers contact you with questions and find out about submission calls?

We keep our website up to date, and that is the best way to contact us. (www.blood-and-bourbon.com). We also make sure that our profile on Duotrope is accurate, as we are only open for submissions during two three-month periods each year.

Joan:Is there anything else you would like to say to writers who are considering submitting to you?

Phil:We can’t wait to hear from you and get our socks knocked off by your work! Just go for it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a Flash!

For a long time now, I have followed the Bath Fiction contests –I even made the short list once. Recently, I asked the Bath people if their upcoming flash fiction was open to mystery and if I could interview the man who was going to judge it. They agreed, and the judge, Michael Loveday, provided answers in a timely manner. However, dear readers, I allowed things in my life to delay the posting of the blog entry and for that I apologize. Fortunately, Michael’s thoughtful answers provide insights into the judging process, into the mind of a person asked to judge a writing contest that I think are useful not only for the Bath contests, but also to other contests we writers might enter. Lesson number one–it is good to get to know a bit about the judge.

So, here, for those writing for the new-ish category on Bath, the Novella in Flash Award, here is the interview with Michael and a bit of information about the contest. He also provided us with a link to an example of the form.

Bath Novella -in-Flash

Independent Judge: Michael Loveday
Closes: Midnight GMT January 14^th 2019
Winners: Announced April 2019
Prizes: £300 first, two £100 runners-up
Winner and two runners-up published in a three novella collection

This is a contest with an entry fee and in a genre that is new to me, so I looked up novella -in-flash to discover what it is supposed to be.

Here are Michael’s Gracious answers. For those of you who like to see a judge, face to face, he did provide a photo but I am having some trouble posting photos at the moment. I do not want to delay any longer–you now have five weeks left to enter the contest.

In boca al lupo to everyone.

Joan: Please tell us a bit about the history of your writing career  and  how you came to be a judge? 

Michael Loveday: I started writing in 2001, mainly writing poetry. After a number of courses (mainly writing drivel!), eventually in 2009 I moved on to an MA in Creative Writing, focusing on the poetry pathway, and wanting to “become a poet”, whatever that meant. But one particular module called “Structure and Style” involved being forced to write in other forms. I wrote a short play, and some miniature stories. I absolutely loved and felt at home doing the stories. Although I still write and publish poetry, the short-short stories get written more easily, so they happen more often. As to how I became a judge, after I moved to Bath in 2016 I got to know Jude Higgins, who is based in Somerset and runs the Bath Flash Fiction Award and Flash Fiction Festival. I offered to help at the Festival, and also met Jude at her evening flash fiction events which take place every few months at St. James’s Wine Vaults, a pub just round the corner from me (I’m off there tonight in fact for someone’s poetry launch! – great to have a writing venue so nearby). Jude knew I had published a novella-in-flash, and I was passionate about the form. I was lucky and grateful that she asked me to become judge of the 2019 novella-in-flash competition.

Joan:What  are the top three criteria you think make a short mystery successful? Any short story?

Michael: Mystery stories aren’t a specialism of mine, so I’m not sure I’m any more qualified than a general reader to answer that first question. I do tend to prefer endings that seem to emerge organically from character and situation rather than gratuitous plot twists, but I’m not alone in that. As for short stories, I suppose (1) I look for well-crafted sentences written with complete conviction. My favourite writers often read as though there’s an electric current running through their sentences, the vocabulary is so vivid and specific, full of what Jennifer Peironi calls “smart surprise”. Secondly I do enjoy writing with a dash of rage or tenderness in it. And thirdly characters that defy convention – quirkiness, rebellion, madness… people who speak from the margins or who are misfits, round pegs for society’s square holes.

Joan: What are you seeking in general and what especially delights you in a manuscript submission?

Michael: When a really good manuscript arrives, it’s completely compelling from the start. It’s distinctive, contains the unexpected,  and uses fresh language to make you see its world and your own world in a fresh way.

Joan:What is an instant turn-off in a submission?

Michael: Not adhering to guidelines! And spelling errors, typos etc make it much harder for the manuscript to be successful. Don’t clip your own wings.

Joan:What are some of your favorite journals/magazines?

Michael:To be honest, there are too many to mention. Editors and journal administrators do a fantastic job, generally unpaid, and often underappreciated. I wouldn’t want to single any out. Here’s a great link that can lead you to many really good journals:  https://shortstops.info/literary-magazines-that-publish-short-stories/

I also recommend getting to a local library or shop that stocks (print) magazines publishing fiction. Just browse, nurdle (sic) around and find ones that chime with your interests and style. And maybe buy one or two – support the industry you want to be part of!

Joan: Is there anything else you would like to say to writers who are considering submitting to this opportunity? 

Michael: The novella-in-flash is a very special form, a story arc built out of small, compressed narrative moments. Read a few examples (try some of the ones at this link http://www.smokelong.com/twelve-great-flash-fiction-novels-novellas/) and go for it!

Here’s the link to submission to the competition:

https://bathflashfictionaward.com/novella-entry/

Thank you, Michael!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yellow Mama Shows Her Colors

Cindy Rosmus, Editor of Yellow Mama is this month’s guest! She reveals the true colors–that is, what’s wanted on the pages of Yellow Mama in this beyond-the-guidelines interview. She was fun to work with! Happy Halloween to everyone and good luck submitting.

Here is the link to the Halloween Issue:

http://blackpetalsks.tripod.com/yellowmama/index.html

Joan:Please tell us a bit about the history of your magazine and about the magazine’s goals present day? Particularly, can you define how your magazine differs from other crime magazines out there?

Cindy: Back in late 2006 publisher Kenneth James Crist (also Grand Wazoo of our parent ‘zineBlack Petals) had a brainstorm about doing a different type of e-zine. BP publishes traditional horror/sci fi, but we wanted to focus on noir, crime fiction, bizarro. But not just those genres; we also hoped each issue might have something for everybody: mainstream, literary, horror, inspirational. Like, the same issue that featured a lesbian PI vigilante tale might have a story about a boy with psychic healing powers. Or a story featuring an anti-Christ figure would appear right after a dysfunctional coming-of-age piece. You’re never sure what each issue will contain. Our first issue came out in February 2007, and we’ve been going strong ever since. One thing that makes us stand out from other crime ‘zines is our awesome artwork, customized for individual stories. Some artists, like Sean O’Keefe, Mike Kerins, Kevin Duncan, LA Barlow, and Steve Cartwright, have been with us for many years. We also have fantastic, newer artists doing illos for us. Assistant Art Director Ann Marie Rhiel did our current August cover.

Joan:What are you seeking in general and what especially delights you in a manuscript submission?

Cindy: We really love getting down-and-dirty, pull-no-punches noir and crime stories, with realistic dialogue. Call it like you see it; don’t hold back. There’s no room in noir for the PC crap that’s been creeping into the market, these days. Sure, you have to draw the line somewhere. But a good writer will know when.

And yes, we’re open to other genres, but the majority will be noir/crime/psychological horror. We don’t like fantasy, romance, and especially not erotica. I hate erotica. Graphic sex is fine, as long as it’s part of the story. And hopefully, somebody gets killed.

At YM we publish stories up to 3500 words (sometimes longer, if you query, first), but I’m a Flash Fiction freak! Every issue of YM features at least 3 FF stories under 700 words.

Joan: What is an instant turn-off in a submission?

Cindy: There are two big YM no-no’s: animal abuse, and blasphemy/sacrilege. And some potential contributors send both. I’m a stickler for reading guidelines. But even after reading ours, writers will still send offensive stuff, saying, “I don’t think my story violates your guidelines, but . . .” Sometimes I’m reading a submission, and the minute the narrator’s dog barks, or cat jumps up on the counter, I know what’s coming. By the end of the story, that poor animal will be disemboweled, or beheaded. Don’t send stories like that!

What also turns me off are stories bogged down by too much narrative and self-indulgent imagery. Both stop the action and draw attention to how clever the writer feels he’s being. Don’t make the editor cringe. A clean, concise story with razor-sharp dialogue will impress me, not a whole slew of metaphors.

Joan: What are some of your favorite journals/magazines?

Cindy: My absolute favorite is Shotgun Honey. SH publishes the best crime fiction ever, and all stories are under 700 words! That’s the perfect length. I also love Megazine, a totally cool ‘zine based in Jersey City, NJ, and Gemini, which sponsors annual Short Story/Flash Fiction/Poetry Contests.

Joan: How can writers contact you with questions and find out about submission calls?

Cindy: Writers can email me at crosmus@hotmail.com. They can also contact me on Facebook under Yellow Mama Webzine. I’m always reading fiction/poetry submissions, and often post close-out dates for certain issues on our FB page. Most issues are generic, but our special-themed issues (Halloween, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day) are spectacular! Halloween is especially creepy; Christmas runs the gamut from inspirational to psycho Santas; Valentine’s Day showcases the thin line between love and hate (and how sometimes they’re the same!).

Joan: Is there anything else you would like to say to writers who are considering submitting to you?

Cindy:Read the guidelines! And edit your work. Don’t submit a story with typos in the very first paragraph.

Also, don’t forget your cover letter. A simple “Hi, I’m ____  ____, please consider my story/poem, see short bio below, etc.,” is cool. Don’t include a synopsis of the story in your email. And make sure your bio is short. Listing a zillion publications won’t sway me. Your work should speak for itself.

 

Thank you, Cindy!

 

 

New Wave Crime: Submissions Open

NEW WAVE CRIME

This month I have the pleasure of presenting a new-ish opportunity—New Wave Crime. It’s not really a magazine, but an opportunity to place stories in anthologies. Interviewing the editor, Chantelle Aimée Osman, was a pleasure.  Here is what Chantelle has to say to further illuminate her publication’s guidelines. I, for one, am going to follow her advice to check out the anthology she edited to get a better idea of exactly what she likes in a submission

Interview

Joan: Please tell us a bit about the history of your publication and about its goals present day? Particularly, can you define how your publications differs from other short story opportunities out there?

Chantelle: New Wave Crime is an imprint launched in May from Down & Out Books, known for their award-winning anthologies and crime fiction. We’re looking for novels and novellas in crime fiction (mystery, thriller, suspense) featuring  new and unique voices particularly voices and themes representing all aspects and cultures of the modern world, women and diverse voices particularly welcome, and we’re open to submissions now (www.downandoutbooks.com/submissions).  Great voices are often overlooked because they don’t fit on every shelf, and marketing needs to be out of the box.

Joan: What are you seeking in general and what especially delights you in a manuscript submission?

Chantelle: As an editor for over ten years, the one thing that I can’t fix is passion, and that’s the number one thing I look for in a manuscript. If you’re writing to a trend, or because you think you can do it better than someone else before you, I can spot it. I want the book that the author had to write, because usually that’s the one I can’t put down. 

Joan: What is an instant turn-off in a submission?

 Chantelle: Not following the rules. And that’s being said by someone who believes rules are made to be broken. In this case, you don’t want to give anyone a reason to say ‘no’ before they’ve even read a page of your work. That means, follow their submission guidelines, address the editor by name, and a query letter that follows the standard format (1st paragraph: title, word count, genre, one-sentence hook, complete? series?; 2nd/3rd paragraphs: synopsis of plot; 3rd paragraph: relevant information about you and what makes you an expert in this subject, if anything) because this is all information I need to know before I take the time to read the work. Second only to that is sending me something that basically follows all the tropes and clichés, I want something new and different.

Joan: What are some of your favorite journals/magazines?

Chantelle: Mystery Tribune, Strand Magazine, Suspense Magazine, Scientific American. 

Joan: How can writers contact you with questions and find out about submission calls?

Chantelle: See the website above. newwavecrime@downandoutbooks.com

Joan: Is there anything else you would like to say to writers who are considering submitting to you?

Chantelle: You can check out the latest anthology I edited, Mystery! (also at downandoutbooks.com), and my podcast, Crime Friction, which I co-host with fellow crime writer Jay Stringer. https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/crime-friction/id1325700566?mt=2

Thank you, Chantelle Aimée Osman!

 

 

Meet John Raab, Editor of Suspense Magazine

When I do these interviews, I feel as though I am at a writer conference, sitting down with an editor over a cup of coffee, as they spill out their likes and dislikes–information beyond the printed submission guidelines to give you a bit of a heads up on submitting. Another great thing about this interview is that Suspense is also a book publisher and John Raab, gives us some insights into the process for both. Oh, and they also have a radio show! Good People to get to know! 

John says, “I typically say exactly what I feel and don’t pull punches. I tell the truth to a fault, but feel that is the best way an author will grow. So sometimes I’m a little brash, but it’s only because I really want every author to sell a million books.” 

Here is the interview:

Joan: Please tell us a bit about the history of your magazine and about the magazine’s goals present day? Particularly, can you define how your magazine differs from other crime magazines out there?

John: We started the magazine back in 2007. We saw a need for authors to be able to showcase their work, not just the big authors, but all authors. In the world of self-publishing many places don’t take these authors serious, however we take all authors serious in the genre. This is one of the ways we separate ourselves from other magazine. We also wanted to add an art aspect, which is why we don’t put authors faces on the front cover, we choose to incorporate what we deem suspenseful art, like a book cover. Most all magazines you see in the genre will have authors on the cover, and to us that’s pretty boring. We feel that we stand out. Goals are something that I don’t really think about. We just focus everyday on trying to make sure that every author has a voice and an opportunity to reach more fans.   

Joan: What are you seeking in general and what especially delights you in a manuscript submission?

John: With our book publishing arm, Suspense Publishing, we look for great writing. The one number problem that we see with manuscripts are they are not edited. I’m not sure that inspiring authors take editing serious. We see about half the query letters we get have some misspellings or grammar errors. This does not excite us about reading the manuscript and many times we stop at the query letter and say no thank you. Great writing leads to great character development and great plots. When an author focuses more on the story and not the writing, several mistakes are made. If the writing is top notch, the rest seems to follow. 

Joan: What is an instant turn-off in a submission?

John: I sort of answered this question in number 2, but it’s worth repeating. EDITING! That’s the number one thing an author needs. When I say editing I don’t mean your mother, father or other family member. They can read your work, but an author probably won’t get the truth. It’s like I say all the time on our radio show, we are living in the American Idol generation, where the contestants say “My mom thinks I’m a great singer.” The truth? You aren’t and need to work on it. Find an editor that doesn’t care about your feelings and will give you the straight story with your manuscript, that is the only way you will ever become a great writer. Learn to be flexible and take criticism graciously. It’s like what Mark Cuban and Warren Buffet say, the best investment you can make is on yourself. By investing some money on a good editor, you will be rewarded ten times over when you sell your book. 

Joan: What are some of your favorite journals/magazines?

John:Good question. I’ll mention magazines that I like to read outside of the genre and have great writing. I like Forbes and Guitar Player magazine the best. They have some fantastic writers that give the reader some really great articles. I love music and read a lot of music websites. My favorite is Blabbermouth.com.  They cover the bands that I listen to and give me some great news relating to them.

Joan: How can writers contact you with questions and find out about submission calls?

 

John: Anybody can always email me anytime. I typically start my day around 7:00 am and stop checking my email around 10:00 pm. I will always write back to everyone that asks for help or just a simple question. I feel it’s important to answer everyone back, since they took the time to find our magazine and email us. I don’t care if it takes me 20 hours to answer every email, I personally answer every email sent to me. editor@suspensemagazine.com is my email address.  To contact someone on the radio show, you can email radio@suspensemagazine.com.  Because of the volume of books we get each, over 10,000 a year, we can’t review every book we get, but we try. I do however try to place every excerpt we get from authors in the magazine and I really try to schedule authors on the radio show so they can tell fans in their own words about their book.

Joan:  Is there anything else you would like to say to writers who are considering submitting to you? 

John: Keep the letter or email short. Just let me know what you wrote and when it comes out. Sometimes I don’t schedule an author interview because I don’t want to interview four authors that basically wrote the same book. We like to give variety, so we don’t have six authors in the magazine or on the radio show that only write military thrillers. I feel that is pretty boring. We love it when fans who normally read in one genre email us and say thanks for turning them on to another author outside of their comfort zone.

Joan: Thank you for sharing all of this with us!

John Raab
CEO / Publisher
Suspense Magazine
www.suspensemagazine.com
26500 Agoura Rd.
#102-474
Calabasas, CA 91302
Check out Suspense Radio: www.blogtalkradio.com/suspensemagazine

Thriller is the August Post

Somehow or other the July post was reposted on top of the August Post

Here is the meat of that post–scroll down for smoother version and the jpg of the magazine cover and photo of editor, Ammar.

Please tell us a bit about the history of your magazine and about the magazine’s goals present day? Particularly, can you define how your magazine differs from other crime magazines out there?

 Hi Joan! Thank you for the interview opportunity. The goal of Thriller Magazine is to showcase some established and rising voices of the thriller genre. Our hope is to be a publication that gives new authors a place to show their work alongside more well-known names. We publish short stories, flash fiction, poetry, and the occasional review/interview. I believe one thing missing in the publishing world are enough opportunities for newer authors. As a bestselling/award-winning author myself, I had a lot of difficulty publishing my earlier works when I started my writing career a few years ago. Therefore, I wanted to create a publication that gave newer authors a fair shot, and I think that is the biggest difference maker with Thriller Magazine.

 What made you make the decision to pay your short story contributors?

 We are actually not able to pay our contributors at this time. However, we have set it up to where we are going to start making some money through advertisements, and we plan to use those profits to pay our contributors by our 3^rd issue (which will release next year). The main reason we want to start paying authors as soon as funds allow it is because I truly believe that authors and artists should be compensated and recognized for their works.

 What are you seeking in general and what especially delights you in a manuscript submission?

We publish a variety of sub-genres under the thriller genre. For our first issue (which was published earlier this month), we had a western thriller, a detective story, a superhero thriller, a horror thriller, and a murder thriller. So there is no one type of story that we favor. We enjoy works that have a strong voice and have some sort of emotional impact, even if that emotion is hollow. We want to feel ourselves in the shoes of the protagonist!

 What is an instant turn-off in a submission?

I think there are several. The biggest one is a rude submission. Another turn off is when an author has obviously not read the submission guidelines. One thing I’ve learned from being both an author and editor is that when there are two stories of equal quality and merit, the publication offer will always go to the author that is the easiest to work with. So those are some things to keep in mind when submitting work to different places!

What are some of your favorite journals/magazines?

 That’s a great question and is tough to answer! Outside of the major magazines/journals, some of the more niche ones I enjoy reading are Suspense Magazine & Grotesque Quarterly.

 How can writers contact you with questions and find out about submission calls?

We are currently accepting submission for our 2^nd issue until October 15^th! We’re looking for short stories under 5,000 words, flash fiction, and poetry up to 40 lines. You can read our guidelines at www.thrillermagazine.org. For any questions, please write to magazinethriller@gmail.com

Is there anything else you would like to say to writers who are considering submitting to you?

Like I mentioned earlier, we are accepting submission for our 2^nd issue until October 15^th! The issue will be out in December of this year. You can read more about our magazine and our submission guidelines on our website (www.thrillermagazine.org). We look forward to reading a lot of amazing stories.

Thank you for the interview, Joan! It was a real pleasure 😉

Thank you, Ammar!

 

Writing for the King

Well, for King’s River Life, that is. Lori Ham’s magazine is a gem for mystery lovers. She not only publishes mystery short fiction, in her pages the wonderful Kevin Tipple and others review books, and offer an abundance of other information on the mystery genre.

The pages of this magazine also include reviews of some local California events, but her give-aways are open to all readers–so many mysteries, so little time. I’ve been fortunate enough to have some of my short stories appear on her virtual pages. She often requests stories geared to holidays–I found that to be a great way to break in.  Ham is great to work with and respects writers of all stripes–experienced, emerging, beginners.

Here are her responses to my questions:

Please tell us a bit about the history of your magazine and about the magazine’s goals present day? Particularly, can you define how your magazine differs from other crime magazines out there?

Our first issue came out May 29, 2010. I had been let go from my job with the local newspaper due to an issue with my editor-long story. I decided to start a magazine where I published all the things she had told me no one would read-it’s changed a lot from then. We celebrate 8 years this month. One way ours differs is because while half of each issue is mystery-reviews, interviews, author guest posts, TV reviews, mystery short stories-the other half is animal rescue, local entertainment, and other local color. As to goals-we just want to keep sharing great mystery content with our readers!

What are you seeking in general and what especially delights you in a manuscript submission?

We will consider all mystery short stories of any sub genres-nothing too graphic though. Prefer lengths between 1000-3000 words, but will take flash fiction and up to around 5000 words. We also look for a lot of holiday related mystery short stories each year-soon we will be taking submissions forJuly 4th mystery short stories.

I just love a story that is clever with great characters.

We don’t pay, but the writer gets a byline and a mini bio where they can promote anything they like-their blog, their latest book, whatever. And we do take reprints.

What is an instant turn-off in a submission?

Graphic sex, bad writing, unoriginal.

What are some of your favorite journals/magazines?

I spend most of my reading time reading books to review though I do have a subscription to the NY Times. I used to read a lot of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock, and I used to devour the Writer’s Digest.

How can writers contact you with questions and find out about submission calls?

Our submission email is krlmagazine@gmail[dot]com. I always make a mention in our mystery Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/krlmysterygroup/. And I mention our calls on a lot of yahoo lists.

Is there anything else you would like to say to writers who are considering submitting to you?

Check us out-see what we are publishing and go for it kingsriverlife.com. We are ALWAYS looking for mystery short stories-holiday and just general. Right now we have something new and exciting starting up the end of this month-a mystery podcast called Mysteryrat’s Maze Mystery Podcast. We are going to be having actors from our area (we live near Fresno) reading mystery short stories and some mystery novel first chapters. We are mostly looking for around 2000 words-but we are in the process of feeling this all out so we are open to other lengths. Same submission contact info as the regular short stories. If you would like to sign up for our newsletter to keep up with the podcast you can do so at https://tinyletter.com/kingsriverlife.

New Magazine–Thriller! This is August post

New on the “street” is Thriller Magazine, edited by Ammar Habib. They have an open call for submission until October 15, so read carefully, polish those pens and get writing!

Joan: Please tell us a bit about the history of your magazine and about the magazine’s goals present day? Particularly, can you define how your magazine differs from other crime magazines out there?

 Ammar : Hi Joan! Thank you for the interview opportunity. The goal of Thriller Magazine is to showcase some established and rising voices of the thriller genre. Our hope is to be a publication that gives new authors a place to show their work alongside more well-known names. We publish short stories, flash fiction, poetry, and the occasional review/interview. I believe one thing missing in the publishing world are enough opportunities for newer authors. As a bestselling/award-winning author myself, I had a lot of difficulty publishing my earlier works when I started my writing career a few years ago. Therefore, I wanted to create a publication that gave newer authors a fair shot, and I think that is the biggest difference maker with Thriller Magazine.

Joan: What made you make the decision to pay your short story contributors?

Ammar: We are actually not able to pay our contributors at this time. However, we have set it up to where we are going to start making some money through advertisements, and we plan to use those profits to pay our contributors by our 3^rd issue (which will release next year). The main reason we want to start paying authors as soon as funds allow it is because I truly believe that authors and artists should be compensated and recognized for their works.

Joan: What are you seeking in general and what especially delights you in a manuscript submission?

Ammar: We publish a variety of sub-genres under the thriller genre. For our first issue (which was published earlier this month), we had a western thriller, a detective story, a superhero thriller, a horror thriller, and a murder thriller. So there is no one type of story that we favor. We enjoy works that have a strong voice and have some sort of emotional impact, even if that emotion is hollow. We want to feel ourselves in the shoes of the protagonist!

 Joan: What is an instant turn-off in a submission?

 Ammar: I think there are several. The biggest one is a rude submission. Another turn off is when an author has obviously not read the submission guidelines. One thing I’ve learned from being both an author and editor is that when there are two stories of equal quality and merit, the publication offer will always go to the author that is the easiest to work with. So those are some things to keep in mind when submitting work to different places!

 Joan: What are some of your favorite journals/magazines?

 Ammar:That’s a great question and is tough to answer! Outside of the major magazines/journals, some of the more niche ones I enjoy reading are Suspense Magazine & Grotesque Quarterly.

 Joan: How can writers contact you with questions and find out about submission calls?

 Ammar:We are currently accepting submission for our 2^nd issue until October 15^th! We’re looking for short stories under 5,000 words, flash fiction, and poetry up to 40 lines. You can read our guidelines at www.thrillermagazine.org. For any questions, please write to magazinethriller@gmail.com

Joan: Is there anything else you would like to say to writers who are considering submitting to you?

Ammar: Like I mentioned earlier, we are accepting submission for our 2^nd issue until October 15^th! The issue will be out in December of this year. You can read more about our magazine and our submission guidelines on our website (www.thrillermagazine.org). We look forward to reading a lot of amazing stories.

Thank you for the interview, Joan! It was a real pleasure 😉  Thank YOU, Ammar. Thriller looks like a great opportunity for mystery writers and a fun read for mystery lovers.

 

Update on KRL info below

It seems that the link is not working correctly in the blog below for you to hear my story read on the podcast–try this one–cut and paste it into your browser instead of clicking on it.

https://mysteryratsmaze.podbean.com/

Finding a Way at Kings River Life

Kings River Life Magazine now has two options–online “print” and Podcast!

Before the interview with editor Lorie Ham, I am including the link to my entry on their podcast! If the link does not show as live in this blog, please cut and paste into your browser to get to it. Lorie always is kind and gracious to writers and when she said she was starting a podcast, I sent her this story (previously published). It was amazing to hear the story read by a professional actor—who chose to read it in an Agatha Christie style radio mystery–made it feel as tho I had written a classic!!

If you have a good mystery you would like to see lovingly handled, please do read this interview with Lorie–She is a terrific editor to work with.

Kings River Life Magazine new podcasts!–July features my mystery, The Dead Lady’s Coat!!!!!

I am soooooooooo excited!!! Please

spread the word!

https://mysteryratsmaze.podbean.com/ 

Interview with Lorie Ham:

Please tell us a bit about the history of your magazine and about the magazine’s goals present day? Particularly, can you define how your magazine differs from other crime magazines out there?

Lorie: Our first issue came out May 29, 2010. I had been let go from my job with the local newspaper due to an issue with my editor-long story. I decided to start a magazine where I published all the things she had told me no one would read-it’s changed a lot from then. We celebrate 8 years this month. One way ours differs is because while half of each issue is mystery-reviews, interviews, author guest posts, TV reviews, mystery short stories-the other half is animal rescue, local entertainment, and other local color. As to goals-we just want to keep sharing great mystery content with our readers!

What are you seeking in general and what especially delights you in a manuscript submission?

Lorie:We will consider all mystery short stories of any sub genres-nothing too graphic though. Prefer lengths between 1000-3000 words, but will take flash fiction and up to around 5000 words. We also look for a lot of holiday related mystery short stories each year-soon we will be taking submissions for July 4th mystery short stories.

I just love a story that is clever with great characters.

We don’t pay, but the writer gets a byline and a mini bio where they can promote anything they like-their blog, their latest book, whatever. And we do take reprints.

What is an instant turn-off in a submission?

Lorie: Graphic sex, bad writing, unoriginal.

What are some of your favorite journals/magazines?

Lorie: I spend most of my reading time reading books to review though I do have a subscription to the NY Times. I used to read a lot of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock, and I used to devour the Writer’s Digest.

How can writers contact you with questions and find out about submission calls?Lorie: Our submission email is krlmagazine@gmail[dot]com. I always make a mention in our mystery Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/krlmysterygroup/. And I mention it on a lot of yahoo lists.

Is there anything else you would like to say to writers who are considering submitting to you?

Check us out-see what we are publishing and go for it kingsriverlife.com. We are ALWAYS looking for mystery short stories-holiday and just general. Right now we have something new and exciting starting up the end of this month-a mystery podcast called Mysteryrat’s Maze Mystery Podcast. We are going to be having actors from our area (we live near Fresno) reading mystery short stories and some mystery novel first chapters. We are mostly looking for around 2000 words-but we are in the process of feeling this all out so we are open to other lengths. Same submission contact info as the regular short stories. If you would like to sign up for our newsletter to keep up with the podcast you can do so at https://tinyletter.com/kingsriverlife.