Writing Wednesday – Husky Hearts and Holidays

It’s Wednesday again (already!) so here I am checking in.

The outside temperature has been falling for a while, and while we were in Toronto this weekend, there was snow. His Fluffy Lordship is so very happy with this turn of events, and we’ve had a couple of walks now where the dog has made it clear that, if I wanted to, he’d totally do the whole thing over again right away.

The plus side to that is I’ve started my re-listens on audiobook, in an attempt to fill the upcoming season with something other than loathing. I’ll probably blog about that in December, but I started already.

Anyway! On to the writing front!

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Exit Plans for Teenage Freaks

Slow and steady wins the race, and given that I’m sewing bits of the novel together now, that’s where I’m at. I have two weeks left before my deadline, and not much stress about it. Cole has morphed into the kind of YA character I used to love to read: not entirely self-assure, but willing to try, and possessed of a not-so-under-control gift of some sort. Teleportation is a real problem.

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Handmade Holidays

It’s officially past November 11th, so I’m going to start being louder about “Handmade Holidays” now. I’ve gotten some great reviews, and I’m really excited about how the novella is being received. Ellie Reads said “Oh, this was so lovely, a bit nostalgic a lot of hopeful, just the perfect holiday read for me.” Jamieson Wolf said “I loved this story. No, that’s not right. I heart Homemade Holidays. ‘Nathan Burgoine has penned a Christmas classic. My meagre plot summary isn’t doing Homemade Holidays enough justice. I haven’t captured the heart and the love that emanates from the pages. I haven’t managed to tell you how beautiful the book is, what with it’s themes of chosen family, of togetherness and of love.”

I couldn’t ask for more.

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Open Calls for Submission

On Writing Wednesdays I also track open calls for submission I’m keeping an eye on, as well as keeping honest how I’ve done thus far for the year in submitting things for publication myself.

Previously this year: January was: 6 submissions (4 reprints, 2 new), 1 acceptance; in February was bare minimum: 1 submission (1 new); March brought 1 rejection, and 1 submission (new); April saw 1 submission (new) and 1 acceptance; May: 1 submission (new), 1 acceptance. June: BUZZ! (Let’s not talk about that). July: 1 submission (1 new). August: 1 submission (1 new). September and October: While I was more or less offline here, I did manage 2 submissions (2 new), and I had 1 acceptance, but all that pretty much happened in October. November has been 1 submission (1 new). For those keeping track, I did have to write a flash fiction piece this weekend for the NYCMidnight Flash Fiction Contest while I was at Naked Heart.

And now, the open calls:

• Chicken Soup for the Soul—Various titles, various themes, various deadlines, 1,200 word count limit.
• Mischief Corner Books—Open to submissions for various themes, including Legendary Love, Everyday Heroes, Cowboys and Space; these are open rolling calls, so no deadline.
• NineStar Press—Open to submissions for various length prose, paranormal, science fiction, fantasy and horror; Click “Currently Seeking” header for details; word count limit variable.
• Spectrum Lit—This is an ongoing patreon flash fic provider, 1,500 hard word count limit; LGBTQ+ #ownvoice only; ongoing call.
• Apex Magazine—Super-short flash fiction, theme of “Valentine’s Day Invasion.” 250 hard word count limit; deadline November 30th, 2017.
• Quantum Shift—Annual celebration of quantum-inspired call for flash fiction; 1000 word count limit; deadline December 1st, 2017.
• Best Gay Erotica for the Year, Volume 4—Cleis Press; 2,500-5,000 word count limit. Original stories strongly preferred; deadline January 5th, 2018 (but the earlier the better).
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to F*** Them—Circlet Press; Erotic short stories with magical beasts and shapeshifter tropes; 3,000 to 7,000 word count limit; deadline February 1st, 2018.
• Lost—NineStar Press. LGBTQIA+ romantic pairing. Both HEA and HFN are acceptable, Click “Lost” header for the theme. 30k-120k word count limit; deadline April 30th, 2018.
• Happiness in Numbers—Less than Three Press; Polyamorous LGBTQIA+ anthology, non-erotic polyamorous stories that explore the idea of “Family”; 10k to 20k word count limit; deadline April 30th, 2018.