Mystic Signals Issue 16 Released

Posted on November 25, 2012 by J. C. Conway

The 16th Issue of Mystic Signals, edited by Carol Hightshoe, is now available in print at Amazon.com for $12.00. The pdf version will be available soon.

Mystic Signals includes all stories published in The Lorelei Signal and Sorcerous Signals as well as 2 print exclusive stories. In this issue, you will find my short story, “Bingham’s Deep Woods Fairies” (with the help of a very special guidebook, Carolyn ventures into the woods to hunt fairies; but what she finds is more startling than she expects, and Carolyn learns more about fairies, and herself, than she could have imagined), previously published in The Lorelei Signal. Mine is the third of 21 pieces in the volume.

In addition, there are stories by Evan Dicken (Timor Vincet Nihil), Robert Collins (Duke Edwin), Danielle Gronwold (Flesh and Bone), C.J. Paget (Imaginary Enemies), Josie Gowler (Believing in Luck), Karen Maric (Madame Melodia and the Love Machines), Anna Sykora (Children of the Unicorn Clan), Gary Girod (Before Midnight When Ten Billion Sleep), Darrell Albert (Star Rats), R. Scott Russell (Stow Away), Charles Kyffhausen (Cycle of Justice), Bernise Marie D. Carolino (Dead Girl’s Sphinx), Margaret L Carter (Dusting Pixie), Mary E Lowd (The Genetic Menagerie), M. K. A. Marble (Inner Mind’s Pyramid), and Jerome Brooke (Spare Me); and poetry by W. Luke Hamel (To the Empty Castle of My Queen I Came), Kelda Crich (They Called Me Red Hood), Richard H Fay (When Wizards Clashed) and John Hayes (The Uncle Returns).

The issue is packed full of fun and imaginative tales and lives up to its promise: “Mystic Signals will lead the reader in new realms of magic and imagination.”

This is the second anthology to feature one of my short stories in a print format available on Amazon. The first was Battlespace, still doing well. Both anthologies are shown on my Amazon Author Page.

Posted in Battlespace, Fantasy | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

“Seed of Doubt” at Untied Shoelaces of the Mind

Posted on November 12, 2012 by J. C. Conway

Issue Seven of Untied Shoelaces of the Mind is now available with nine online stories, including my flash literary piece, “Seed of Doubt.” It is the story of a quick conflict between a young boy and girl, next-door neighbors, who rely on entirely different sets of skills to assert themselves. I will let you determine which has the upper hand.

Untied Shoelaces, edited by Geoffrey C Porter, offers a wide variety of quality fiction, including romance, science fiction, horror, humor and literary stories (Issue Seven features four humor pieces, two romance, two literary and one horror). The online magazine offers print and audio formats of its stories. The online and printable versions of the stories in Issue Seven are available now. The audio files are in production and will be available soon. All past issues, stories and audio files are available on the site.

Posted in Flash Fiction, Publication | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

“November Elf” at Hogglepot

Posted on November 11, 2012 by J. C. Conway

My short story, “November Elf,” is now available to read at the online magazine, Hogglepot, edited by Brooke Johnson. “November Elf” is a 924-word modern fantasy tale of a middle-age man struggling with forgetfulness when he encounters a modern elf downtown under unlikely circumstances.

Hogglepot is an online fantasy and science fiction magazine featuring all sub-genres including (but not limited to) alternate history, dystopian, fairy tale, historical, gothic, light fantasy, magical realism, paranormal, science fantasy, space opera, steampunk, superhero, supernatural, sword and sorcery, time travel, urban fantasy, and weird western. The editor, Brooke Johnson, is the author of, among other things, The Clockwork Giant, a book in the Chroniker City Series available at many retailers.

“November Elf” is presently on the “This Week” front page of Hogglepot. All of the stories published by Hogglepot are listed in its archive.

Posted in Fantasy, Flash Fiction | Tagged , | 1 Comment

“Fog Light” Published at Romance Flash

Posted on November 1, 2012 by J. C. Conway

My 870-word romance story,”Fog Light,” is now available online for reading at Romance Flash. It’s a sweet story about Shelly, a co-ed, struggling to sideline her social life in favor or her her studies so she can qualify for the master’s program–an opportunity she almost lost because of her active social life for the past two years. Kevin, a grad student, is cute, nice and helpful. Will Shelly keep her priorities straight?

Romance Flash is an online, interactive romance magazine offering pint-sized doses of romance stories in 1,000 words or less. Readers can rate stories and post comments. Past stories are available in its archives.

Posted in Flash Fiction, Romance | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The J. C. Conway Interview at The Thiessen Review

Posted on October 24, 2012 by J. C. Conway

My interview appeared today in The Thiessen Review, edited by Katie Griffiths. The site is dedicated to books, including reviews, interviews, reading challenges and other features. Its name is an allusion to ‘The Night Circus’ by Erin Morgenstern–Herr Thiessen is one of the Circus’ voyeurs, a man whose love of the circus leads him to research and write about the experience of a night at the magical circus. In the interview, we discuss my current projects as well as my thoughts about writing, genres, themes and craft.

About author interviews: “The blogsphere is literally exploding with talented writers and poets, very few of whom get the attention they deserve. INTERVIEWS will introduce you to a new generation of writers and thinkers.”

It was an honor to participate in an interview for The Thiessen Review. Katie Griffiths has a real passion for writing and does a wonderful and professional job. I hope you enjoy my interview there as well as the other insightful interviews and interesting features of the site.

Posted in News, Romance, Science Fiction, Writing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“Silence of the Imbeciles” Available Now at ResAliens

Posted on October 14, 2012 by J. C. Conway

Some wands are better left unused

My short story, “Silence of the Imbeciles,” described by at least one editor as “well written, understated and poignant,” is now published in the October/November issue of Residential Aliens. It is the first story in the 5-story issue. The story concerns a young teen boy struggling to use properly his fantastical talent of making and using wands. Things have not gone well, and he finds his own way to deal with the not-so-uncommon realization that he is surrounded in his life by complete and utter imbeciles. But in this case, it is his fault. When, if ever, will he no longer suffer the isolation of being the only person with more than half a wit?

Residential Aliens, edited by Lyn Perry, is an online magazine of spiritually infused speculative fiction presenting engaging stories that are truthful to the human experience while offering something of the eternal. The October/November issue includes two speculative stories (including Silence of the Imbeciles), followed by two science fiction pieces, and wraps up with a post-zombie-apocalypse novelette.

Posted in Fantasy, Publication | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Call for Anthology Submissions

Posted on October 13, 2012 by J. C. Conway

My flash fiction story, “Letters to the Luminiferous Aether,” first published April 2012 by Bewildering Stories (and picked for the Bewildering Stories Second Quarterly Review), has now been selected for the print anthology, Broken, edited by Dorothy Davies at Static Movement. Once completed and published, the anthology will be available on Amazon.

Submissions are still open for the anthology.  The theme is one to stretch the imagination. “What is broken, what does it do to a life when that thing is broken? Is the life broken? What impact does it have on those who owned it/knew it/cared about it? Allow your ideas to run and see where we can go with this one!” The anthology has selected 16 stories so far and is now over 20,000 words. This is a “for the love” market. If you have a story you would like to contribute that fits the theme, please submit it. Click here for submission details.

Dorothy Davies is also accepting stories for the following anthologies:

Posted in Work in Progress, Writing | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

“Bingham’s Deep Woods Fairies” published by The Lorelei Signal

Posted on October 7, 2012 by J. C. Conway

My short fantasy story, Bingham’s Deep Woods Fairies, is now published at The Lorelei Signal. A young girl determined to find real fairies goes hunting on a very special day. But is she prepared for what she will learn when she finds them?

The Lorelei Signal, edited by Carol Hightshoe, is a quarterly web-based magazine dedicated to featuring strong female characters in fantasy short stories. “Females in the story should have the same strength of character as their male counterparts and not be there as window dressing.” The title of the magazine was taken from the Animated Star Trek episode in which Lt. Uhura had to take command of the Enterprise after the men fell under a siren song.

The Lorelei Signal is free to read, but it pays its authors up front and asks for donations to cover the cost of the publication and pays 75% of all donations above the initial author payments to its artists and writers per issue. The remaining 25% covers operating expenses. If you enjoy a story or the entire issue, please consider donating. The Lorelei Signal asks (but does not require) that donations be at least $1.00. PayPal charges the magazine $0.30 for each transaction.

Posted in Fantasy | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Write Your Novel in November

Posted on October 2, 2012 by J. C. Conway

If you are not a person that wants to write a book, read no further. National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is November. If you’re unfamiliar with the project, the goal is for as many people as possible to complete a 50,000-word-or-more novel in 30 days—first draft, of course. It is not critiqued or judged. The page-progress reporting is under the honor system. It’s fun.

You can write a novel. The NaNoWriMo pace (over 1,600 average words per day) is enough to help put your internal editor away and set your mind free, which, for many, is a good way to knock off a first draft. The site allows you to join groups, select writing buddies, participate in forums and get involved in a very big and exciting event.

Do expect to revise after the first draft, and do expect to spend more than a month on that. The word-counting begins November 1. It’s okay if you don’t reach 50,000. It’s worth the effort. Many of us have busy jobs and busy lives, but give it a shot anyway. You can find out more at the National Novel Writing Month site: http://www.nanowrimo.org.

   

 

 

Posted in News, Writing | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments

We Are Behind Schedule

Posted on September 26, 2012 by J. C. Conway

This is, reportedly, the Rockwell International Space Plan. All I have to say is: we are behind schedule and we should try to catch up.

Posted in News | 3 Comments