We have a very exciting treat for you today: the full table of contents for Rhonda Parrish's newest Magical Menageries anthology, EQUUS. This collection of nineteen equine-inspired speculative tales will be the final installment in Rhonda Parrish's Magical Menageries, a celebrated anthology series that began with FAE in 2014. Over the last four volumes, we've had the pleasure of publishing many talented writers, including Beth Cato, CSE Cooney, Jane Yolen, Mike Allen, Rhonda Eikamp, Angela Slatter, Amanda C. Davis, L.S. Johnson, and many more.
Rhonda read all the submissions for EQUUS with the author's name removed, and so it was surprising how similar this table of contents is to SIRENS, which we released last year. Clearly, these repeats are writers who know just the type of story we love. Every author in this anthology has crafted a brilliant tale, and whether we've published them before, read them elsewhere, or just discovered their work, we're thrilled they're coming along for the ride with EQUUS. Okay, okay, who are they already? There’s always something magical about horses, isn’t there? Whether winged or at home in the water, mechanical or mythological, the equines that gallop through these pages span the fantasy spectrum. In one story a woman knits her way up to the stars and in another Loki's descendant grapples with bizarre transformations while fighting for their life. A woman races on a unique horse to save herself from servitude, while a man rides a chariot through the stars to reclaim his self-worth. From steampunk-inspired stories and tales that brush up against horror to straight-up fantasy, one theme connects them all: freedom. eQUUS tABLE OF cONTENTS
"Stars, Wings, and Knitting Things" by J.G. Formato
"Eel and Bloom" by Diana Hurlburt "A Complete Mare" by Tamsin Showbrook "Neither Snow, nor Rain, nor Heat-Ray" by M.L.D Curelas "Rue the Day" by Laura VanArendonk Baugh "Riders in the Sky" by VF LeSann "Above the Silver Sky" by Dan Koboldt "A Mother Unicorn's Advice to Her Daughter" by J.J. Roth "Ladies Day" by Susan MacGregor "The Boys from Witless Bay" by Pat Flewwelling "The Horse Witch" by Angela Rega "Eli the Hideous Horse Boy" by Michael Leonberger "Different" by Sandra Wickham "To Ride a Steel Horse" by Stephanie A. Cain "The Last Ride of Hettie Richter" by Cat McDonald "We Us You" by Andrew Bourelle "Scatter the Foals to the Wind" by Chadwick Ginther "Lightless" by K.T. Ivanrest "A Glory of Unicorns" by Jane Yolen
EQUUS will be available in ebook and paperback on July 18, 2017. We'll be revealing the cover and opening to pre-orders in a couple of weeks. Want to see the cover before anyone else? Sign up for our Cover Reveal Team—all you need is an active blog or social media.
While you wait for EQUUS to arrive, there's plenty of time to catch up on the other Magical Menageries.
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We know you've been waiting on it, and the cover has finally arrived! Bite Somebody Else, the sequel to Sara Dobie Bauer's popular paranormal romantic comedy Bite Somebody, will be available in paperback and ebook on June 20, 2017. Pre-order your copy in ebook from Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com, iTunes, or Kobo. Want it in paperback? Pre-order directly from World Weaver Press. Many thanks to Amanda C. Davis for this wonderful cover! (Show her some love by checking out her co-authored fairy tale collection, Wolves and Witches.) Imogene helped her newbie vampire friend Celia hook up with an adorable human, but now Celia has dropped an atomic bomb of surprise: she has a possibly blood-sucking baby on the way. Imogene is not pleased, especially when a mysterious, ancient, and annoyingly gorgeous vampire historian shows up to monitor Celia's unprecedented pregnancy. Lord Nicholas Christopher Cuthbert III is everything Imogene hates: posh, mannerly, and totally uninterested in her. Plus, she thinks he's hiding something. So what if he smells like a fresh garden and looks like a rich boarding school kid just begging to be debauched? Imogene has self-control. Or something. As Celia's pregnancy progresses at a freakishly fast pace, Imogene and Nicholas play an ever-escalating game of will they or won't they, until his sexy maker shows up on Admiral Key, forcing Nicholas to reveal his true intentions toward Celia's soon-to-arrive infant. Read an excerpt from Bite Somebody Else here, and a brand new one here! Praise for Bite Somebody "Bite Somebody is the Pretty in Pink of vampire stories; fun, self-consciously retro, and not afraid to be goofy. I'll never get the phrase 'Woodsy BO' out of my head. Sara Dobie Bauer knows how to keep a reader smiling." "BITE SOMEBODY is nothing short of vamptacular! Often side-splittingly hilarious, at times poignant and overwhelmingly relatable, Sara Dobie Bauer takes us on a journey of self-discovery, friendship, and first love—with a dash of A-positive, surfer dude charm, fangs that go 'boing,' and a purple-haired sidekick who's unapologetically stuck in the 80s. BITE SOMEBODY is a fresh, witty, rum-soaked take on the modern vampire story that you'll want to shamelessly sink your teeth into. Go ahead. Take a bite." "It is gripping, it is funny, and OH MY GOD, it is sexy. Celia Merkin is a fabulous heroine, vulnerable and steely in equal measure, and Ian is a proper dreamboat. I just loved BITE SOMEBODY." About the Author Sara Dobie Bauer is a writer, model, and mental health advocate with a creative writing degree from Ohio University. Her short story, "Don't Ball the Boss," was nominated for the Pushcart Prize, inspired by her shameless crush on Benedict Cumberbatch. She lives with her hottie husband and two precious pups in Northeast Ohio, although she'd really like to live in a Tim Burton film. She is a member of RWA and author of the paranormal rom-com Bite Somebody, among other ridiculously entertaining things. Read more at http://SaraDobieBauer.com or find her on Twitter @SaraDobie. by Rhonda Parrish I expected Equus submissions to break personal records in regard to numbers — that’s one of the reasons I decided to break with tradition and use Submittable to read them all blind. It didn’t. It didn’t break records in regard to total overall number of submissions, anyway. In that regard, Equus comes out right smack in the middle. Total number of submissions to Magical Menageries: Fae — 191 Corvidae — 135 Scarecrow — 100 Sirens — 199 Equus — 136 I sent fewer revise and resubmit requests to Equus submitters than for any other anthology in the series though—only five altogether. Of those five, only two people actually did revise and resubmit and I ended up accepting both stories. There’s a lesson there, I think… But I digress! The thing about Equus that stands out the most is the quality of the stories that were sent to me. I shortlisted 34 of them. That’s like a quarter of them. That. Is. Crazy. I never shortlist 25% of my slush. Like, ever. But the quality of submissions to Equus was so great that I just had to. And don’t think the stories I didn’t shortlist weren’t great too — they were. I had to let go of a lot of amazing stories before the shortlist and then from the shortlist to make my Table of Contents. It was hard. I know, I know, I complained about this with Sirens too, and just like with Sirens while my complaints are sincere they are also a sort of humble-brag, because this anthology? It’s amazing. I can’t wait to share the Table of Contents with you! About Rhonda Parrish Rhonda Parrish is driven by the desire to do All The Things. She was the founder and editor-in-chief of Niteblade Magazine, is an Assistant Editor at World Weaver Press, and is the editor of several anthologies including, most recently, Sirens and D is for Dinosaur. In addition, Rhonda is a writer whose work has been included or is forthcoming in dozens of publications including Tesseracts 17: Speculating Canada from Coast to Coast, Imaginarium: The Best Canadian Speculative Writing (2012 & 2015), and Mythic Delerium. Her website, updated weekly, is at rhondaparrish.com. More of Rhonda Parrish's Magical Menageries
Guest Post by Tabitha Lord If you are a comic book writer, you’re obviously in the right place, but what about science fiction and fantasy authors? Can you have success as a vendor at Comic Cons? My experience says yes. But purchasing a table and showing up won’t be enough for a successful weekend. Here are a few tips for getting the most out of your Comic Con experience:
As a sci-fi/fantasy writer, I feel right at home at Comic Cons, and I’m as excited to be there as any of the attendees. Enjoy the experience and energy, and most importantly have fun! On March 11th & 12th, I’ll be heading to the Big Apple Con in NYC, where in addition to selling books, I’ll be moderating a panel discussion on world building. If you are in the area, stop in and say hello. Tabitha Lord’s debut novel, Horizon, won the Writer’s Digest Grand Prize for Self-Published Fiction in 2016, and was named finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards and National Indie Excellence Awards. Her short story “Homecoming” appears in the anthology Sirens, edited by Rhonda Parrish and published by World Weaver Press, and was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She is also a senior editor for www.BookClubBabble.com. Her upcoming novel, Infinity, releases in June.
Guest Post by Michelle Lowery Combs The feeling a runner has the moment she crosses a finish line isn’t one I thought I’d ever know. I don’t run much—unless my mouth and amuck count, so the euphoria of having exerted myself to near death for the reward of simply finishing eluded me. Until, that is, I began to think of writing and finishing Solomon’s Bell, the second of my Genie Chronicles stories, in terms of a long-distance marathon. There were days during the year and a half it took to write SB that I didn’t think I’d make the race, especially sandwiched between everything else I have going on in my life. I bought a house that requires all kinds of energy and attention, took on a new position at my day job, helped my sister and a friend open a restaurant, and then there were the real-life counterparts to all those Lawson Family kids in the books demanding permission slips and poster boards and orthodonture and prom dresses and senior portraits and dinner every night. EVERY. NIGHT. But I plugged away. Pushing myself for just one more hill, just one more corner, just one more mile, hobbling like a nearly lame pack mule—heavily burdened with saddlebags of tap shoes, basketballs, and other foolishment—instead of gracefully striding like a gazelle on the Serengeti the way I dreamed of. A book can seem like an insurmountable distance to cover this way. At times, I thought I wouldn’t make it to the finish line. Even when it was in sight after the manuscript had been revised and submitted and I waited for word about the first round of edits. I watched other author friends, pushing out quick strides, release their second and sometimes third novels as I jogged in place and caught my breath for almost another year. I began to think publication wouldn’t happen for me this time around. I thought about quitting. Each time I was beset by doubt, I remembered the eager faces of my cheering readership, young people I’ve met at book festivals and Comic Cons since 2013 who’ve sought me out to tell me they read Heir to the Lamp and were excited to learn how Ginn’s story continues. I imagined these young readers, peppered with family members who’ve supported my every literary endeavor, packing the roadside leading to the finish line, and I ran on. And then it was time for edits! And edits. And edits. And even though during these times it seemed the finish line still loomed far in the distance, I ran on—this time with a powerhouse of an editor in Sarena Ulibarri, matching me stride for stride, throwing virtual orange slices and water bottles my way, energizing me for the work ahead. I ran this stretch without the finish line being so much of the focus, concentrating instead on the running—the slap, slap, slapping of my feet, until I finally looked up again and it was closer than ever before. This week I’ll cross the finish line holding a book I’ve exerted myself for in all the best ways, a book that taught me how to finish even though it was a lesson I thought I’d already learned, a book with a glorious cover I adore designed by Sarena and full of words she helped make better with every mile. I hear it’s customary after having run a marathon to eat everything in sight before collapsing into a heavy slumber to rival Sleeping Beauty’s. Pass me some cake and scoot over, Aurora. Momma needs a nap! Michelle Lowery Combs is an award-winning writer and blogger who studied business and English at Jacksonville State University. She lives in Alabama with her husband and their army of children. When not in the presence of throngs of toddlers, tweens, and teens, Michelle can be found among the rows of her family's farm, neglecting her roots and dreaming up the next bestseller. She is a member of the Alabama Writers' Conclave and the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI). Happy Book Birthday to SOLOMON'S BELL by Michelle Lowery Combs, the second in the Genie Chronicles series. SOLOMON'S BELL follows adopted teen genie Ginn Lawson as she magically transports herself back in time to 16th century Prague to find the only tool that can save her family. SOLOMON'S BELL is on sale now in ebook and paperback. To save her family, Ginn uses her newfound genie powers to transport herself and her friends to 16th century Prague. Only one thing there remains the same as at home: she can't let anyone know what she really is.
About the Author Michelle Lowery Combs is an award-winning writer and blogger who studied business and English at Jacksonville State University. She lives in Alabama with her husband and their army of children. When not in the presence of throngs of toddlers, tweens, and teens, Michelle can be found among the rows of her family's farm, neglecting her roots and dreaming up the next bestseller. She is a member of the Alabama Writers' Conclave and the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI).
[NOT OPEN YET]: MRS CLAUS
Anthologist: Rhonda Parrish Open for Submissions: April 1, 2017 - May 31, 2017 Expected Publication: Winter 2017 Story Length: up to 10,000 words Payment: $10 + contributor copy For a long, long time Santa Claus has hogged the spotlight relegating his wife to the shadows, but no longer. Now it’s Mrs. Claus’ turn to shine! We’re looking for stories that let Mrs. Claus (or is it Ms. Claus?) take centre stage. Whether she more closely resembles Michelle Obama, Betty White, Shohreh Aghdashlooor or Maggie Smith, Mrs. Claus must be a developed, independent character and not simply an extension of her husband. She can help and support him—of course she can—but there needs to be more to her than only that. What’s her role on Christmas Eve? What about the other days of the year? Is she into sleek red snowmobiles or is she more of an old-fashioned magic sleigh kinda gal? Does she prefer baking cookies or kickboxing? Betting on the Reindeer Games or Avon parties with the elves? And what is her first name, anyway? Stories are encouraged to re-imagine the North Pole in new and interesting ways (steampunk? alien? magically relocated to the equator?) and to explore a variety of other settings as well. They can also take place in time frames both real and imagined—Christmas in 1940 Poland, Mars in 2050 or a rediscovered Atlantis in 2017 would all be welcome in this anthology. Note: This anthology is intended for an adult audience, please don’t submit children’s stories. Rights and compensation: Payment: $10 and a paperback copy of the anthology from World Weaver Press. We are looking for previously unpublished works in English. Seeking first world rights in English and nonexclusive right to continue to publish for the life of the anthology. Open submission period: April 1, 2017 - May 30, 2017 Length: Under 10,000 words Submission method: Upload story as .doc or .rtf to niteblade.submittable.com/submit Simultaneous submissions = okay. Multiple submissions = no. Expected Publication Date: Winter 2017 About the Anthologist: Rhonda Parrish is the editor of several anthologies including, most recently, Equus and D is for Dinosaur. Her website, updated weekly, is at http://www.rhondaparrish.com |
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