2014 In Review


Looking back on 2014:

Another busy year! This year was a bit of a roller coaster ride for me personally, but as always, I powered through. Though it was my slowest year for book releases in the past five years, I really blossomed when it came to short fiction and poetry. Totals for 2014: six books and ninety-two shorter pieces published in magazines, anthologies, etc. Not bad!

1. Though I technically penned the final three books in the Pink Carbide series last year, they weren’t edited or released until this year. Bringing a series like this to a close is both exciting and sad. Seven books is a lot of material, and in that time, a writer really comes to know the characters of a series quite well. They become like friends or family. Fans have asked: will there be any more books in this series? The answer: no. Will I ever revisit the Pink Carbide universe? Only time will tell. It is a fun place to play.

2. This year, I finished a project that has been sitting on the back burner for a while. Black Magic: Shotgun Spacebabe is a thrilling tale of revenge in a high-noon sci-fi setting. It’s an action-packed, tongue-in-cheek trip through the stars with a woman too tough to bleed and too pissed off to die. This book has definitely become one of my favorite creations.

3. Another project that was on hiatus for a while, The Deyacadem Cycle finally rose from the ashes of an older fantasy project originally titled Arkenstride. Like a fine blade, this story has been hammered and reshaped a thousand times since the first seeds of its ideas sprouted in my mind. Featuring a bad ass woman of color as the main character, Rise of the Forgotten God and Sisters in Slaughter tell a tale that is both terrifying and thrilling. Are you ready to follow in the footsteps of a rogue knight from the desert nation of Liada? Pick up a copy of both books today and prepare to enter a world unlike anything you’ve ever seen (or read) before.

4. This year, I also did some editing work for Horrified Press and their imprint, Rogue Planet Press. Undead in Pictures, Plague and Dark Fairy Tales Revisited were cleaned and tightened up to sparkling for Horrified, while I edited and assembled Sex Droids and their Cyborg Toys for Rogue Planet. I also snagged some work editing manuscripts for Transmutation Press. Their production of Tau Palamas’s Gnostic Spaces was especially intriguing!

5. I also had the pleasure this year of working with poetess Lyla Sommersby on her book “Sketches of Someone.” This is a a hauntingly beautiful chapbook of powerful poetry paired with images of écorché figures from 18th century French art and anatomy manuals. Definitely worth checking out.

6. As mentioned previously, I’ve had 92 separate pieces published in various magazines, anthologies and journals this year. I’m especially proud of my story “Wolf” which was published in Immanion Press’s Para Kindred anthology. It’s always awesome when you get to share pages with your favorite author. It looks like I may also have another story upcoming in next year’s Para Animalia anthology, as well as a full-length novel set in the same universe! More details as they come.

7. Another project that I sunk about a month into this year was the exquisitely detailed sequel to Letters From A Dead Earth. Unlike “Letters”, The Wastes of Tulloch County was not released with an associated novel, but rather contains pieces of a short story that brings new light to the universe of LFADE. If you love Minecraft, take some time to try this map out, especially if you’re a fan of post-apocalyptic fiction like the Fallout series, Mad Max and The Walking Dead.

8. This year also marked the release of the first (and so far only) two books in the Stormcloud Poets poetry anthology series. Currently, the series is on hiatus, but these two beautiful books are well worth checking out! Both contain the work of some really brilliant and talented poets! With a rejection rate of 96%, you can be assured that these books contain only the cream of the artistic crop.

9. Last, but certainly not least, I created the literary game titled “Zero Dusk.” This free-to-read, fully-online sci-fi novel/puzzle provides over sixty planetary systems (more are being added all the time!) for readers to discover and explore. Head to specific destinations to follow plot lines hidden among the stars, or just cruise from one destination to another like a tourist of the cosmos. It’s up to you! Check it out at: http://zerodusk.blogspot.com/

* All books mentioned (except those anthologies I contributed to) can be found at Thunderune Publishing: http://www.thunderune.com

It's here!



The Sex Droids have arrived!

Join the authors of Rogue Planet Press and discover a range of science-fiction classics that delve into a world of sexual horrors and silicon delusions.
What happens when man meets machine in an orgy of desire through dreams?

Get your copy [here!]

Meanwhile, we've extended the deadline on Deep Space Dogfights and Sweat, Steel and Cruise Control. Click on the titles for complete guidelines and start sending those stories in!




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New Interview


I was recently interviewed over at Paid by the Weird!

Check it out:



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A Lovely Appetite


I love it when writers I've worked with send me print copies of their books.
This particular one was exceptional!

Alex Aro's "A Lovely Appetite" is a collection of short stories written in a powerful prose style that hits you with all of the elegance and beauty of poetry. Each story punches holes in the mundane with sharp shivs of surreality that leave little of the old world intact by the end of a given piece. What remains hangs in beautiful tatters, like curtains almost stripped away, beyond which the eye can see grand vistas of color, of possibility and the maybe worlds of magic realism.

There's a richness here, not just in the words, but also in the beautiful presentation. The stark contrast between white and black, between sensuality and sadism, between simple kitchen implements and the code they obscure-- it all comes together to create something so much more substantial than any mainstream media book I've ever seen. I didn't expect to be moved to gush as I am, but if any book deserves a glowing recommendation, this one does.




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Coming Soon!



Are you ready for the Sex Droids?

I've just been given word that Horrified Press is planning to release Sex Droids and their Cyborg Toys in November!

Meanwhile, we've extended the deadline on Deep Space Dogfights and Sweat, Steel and Cruise Control. Click on the titles for complete guidelines and start sending those stories in!




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Black Cat


Dare you walk in the steps of the black cat?

Pick up your copy of the anthology today!




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Writing, Editing


My name is E.S. Wynn. I've worked in the fiction industry for more than ten years. I've been working as an editor for various magazines and presses since 2005. I'm the author of over fifty books in print and the chief editor of seven online fiction journals. I have work published or upcoming in over one hundred magazines, 'zines and anthologies. I love the industry. I eat, sleep and breathe fiction, and as such, I've seen a lot more than most who dare to dabble in writing. Compiled below are a list of things that I've learned either through my own mistakes or by watching the mistakes of others.

Follow the link to read about the do's and don'ts of writing and editing:



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Blackout City


It's the 1970's-- an alternate 1970's that calls to mind some of the era's most terrifying dystopian sci-fi nightmares.

The 1970's, and our hero is a hard-boiled detective with no face, a man who uses drugs to change his appearance, to stay alive in a city where having no face and no memory of who you are is as deadly as pulling a gun on a P.I.G.-- one of the city's robotic police officers.

The 1970's, and the city is Blackout City, home of Joe Smoke, Private Detective.

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This anthology is the work of Mark Slade, Frank Larnerd and many other talented folks (myself among them.)

Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy today.

Click the cover
-or-




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Among The Stars


I've got a story in the upcoming "Among The Stars" installment of the "Coming Together" erotic anthology series!



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New Interview!


New interview up on Every Day Fiction. Check it out! :)

Stormcloud Poets #2



Join me in giving a big hand to the poets of Stormcloud Poets #2!

Stormcloud Poets #2 is a collection of poems selected by Author E.S. Wynn from submissions sent to Thunderune Publishing. Each issue of Stormcloud Poets brings to the forefront both new and established voices in independent and contemporary poetry. My standards as an editor are so high that roughly 96% of poems received were rejected. The competition was intense, but what remains is an anthology of incredible poetry unlike anything you've seen before.

Find out more and get your copy in print or digital here: http://www.thunderune.com/2014/03/stormcloud-poets-2.html

If you would like to be notified by email if/when Thunderune Publishing is seeking poetry submissions for future issues of the Stormcloud Poets anthology series, sign up for our mailing list at: http://www.thunderune.com/2011/06/join-mailing-list.html

Tulloch County


Free to play, not a Thunderune Publishing product meant for sale or resale.

The map requires the game Minecraft to play!

Get the map here: [link]


The Wastes of Tulloch County: A Minecraft map set in the same universe as Letters From A Dead Earth

By E.S. Wynn


Synopsis:

The world ended. Billions died. In Jefferson County, a handful of survivors tried to carve a living out of the dying land. Some were successful. Most were eaten alive.

In nearby Tulloch County, however, there were no survivors. There is only a crater, a massive scar in the face of the Earth where a huge piece of the county once was. Where that piece went, no one in the neighboring counties can say, and only one soul has any hope of discovering where Tulloch County went, why it isn't on Earth anymore.

You are that one soul.

* * *
Originally designed to look best with Santiago3's texture pack:
"The End Is Extremely Nigh"
Get it here:

* * *

This map is a free-roam survival map with quests and a ton of secrets. There are no rules! If you can break it, it's yours! Place blocks, mine, farm, break things, grief-- this map is designed so you can do whatever you want in it. Feel free to run it with mods or snapshots too!

Play is open-ended and non-linear. Mine, explore, build, conquer, mod or grief by yourself or with friends in this huge post-apocalyptic map. Keep an eye out for books, unique items and other secrets! Whatever your playing style is, there's something in The Wastes of Tulloch County for everyone.

If you walk far enough in a given direction (after crossing over the mountains,) the map will start generating brand new terrain for you to explore (useful if you're playing on a later version than the current or running a mod that generates structures (like Ruins,) ores (like IndustrialCraft) or plant life (like ExtraBiomes.)


Find out more about the author here: http://www.eswynn.com/


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Sex Droids



We have a cover for Sex Droids and Their Cyborg Toys! This is one of the anthologies I'm editing for Rogue Planet Press (an imprint of Horrified Press.) The art is by the awesome Stephen Cooney. Submissions are still open, so tell your friends and get those stories in!

Sex Droids and Their Cyborg Toys

Deadline: September 15th, 2014 – or until full

Payment: Exposure and royalties

Flash fiction and short stories (6,000 words max)

Poetry and reprints will also be considered

Sex. It’s primal, instinctual, animal– but how will it be different in the future? Going beyond leather and lace, this is a collection of sci-fi shorts about the high-tech side of love, about lovers as much silicon as silicone, chrome and plastic. The perfect lover or the perfect kink? You decide, so take a walk on the wild side with Sex Droids and their Cyborg Toys.

Please submit your manuscript as a *.rtf, *.doc or *.docx file.

Please check grammar.

Upon acceptance into the anthology, you agree that Horrified Press holds exclusive publishing rights for six months from the date of publication; after that date has passed, all intellectual property rights revert to the author with the proviso that Horrified Press retains distribution rights in the format of the contracted anthology.

This title will be available as an e-book and trade quality paperback.

E. S. Wynn will be presiding over this anthology.

Email your submission as an attachment to: smashedcatmagazine@gmail.com

The email subject line must read “SUBMISSION – Sex Droids and Their Cyborg Toys – ‘your story title'".

Successful applicants will be notified before the deadline has expired.


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Cursed Curiosities



My story "What Wonders The Wise May Find" is one of the pieces featured in this anthology. :)



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Pink Carbide: Silicon Sonata


The last book in the Pink Carbide series is now available! Read the thrilling conclusion to the saga of Cylea in Pink Carbide: Silicon Sonata today!




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Deep Space Dogfights


We have a cover for Deep Space Dogfights! This is one of the anthologies I'm editing for Rogue Planet Press (an imprint of Horrified Press.) The art is by the awesome Stephen Cooney. Submissions are still open, so tell your friends and get those stories in!

Deep Space Dogfights

Deadline: May 28th, 2015 – or until full

Payment: Exposure and royalties

Flash fiction and short stories (6,000 words max)

Poetry and reprints will also be considered

Skirmishes between starfighters! Strap yourself in the pilot’s seat and prepare to engage the enemy in the deep darkness of space. Bring on the action-packed sci-fi stories of battles between starships, between high-tech interceptors and the pilots who fly them.

Please submit your manuscript as a *.rtf, *.doc or *.docx file.

Please check grammar.

Upon acceptance into the anthology, you agree that Horrified Press holds exclusive publishing rights for six months from the date of publication; after that date has passed, all intellectual property rights revert to the author with the proviso that Horrified Press retains distribution rights in the format of the contracted anthology.

This title will be available as an e-book and trade quality paperback.

E. S. Wynn will be presiding over this anthology.

Email your submission as an attachment to: smashedcatmagazine@gmail.com

The email subject line must read “SUBMISSION – Deep Space Dogfights – ‘your story title'".

Successful applicants will be notified before the deadline has expired.


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Sword & Planet!


You can read my story "The Hunters of the Burab Khai" and a ton of other fantastic pieces by great writers in this killer anthology put out by Rogue Planet Press!




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Reach For The Highest Skies



What is the Highest Skies RPG?

Highest Skies began as a simple, text-only space exploration game and has grown to include an entire RPG (Roleplaying Game) with rules that can be picked up quickly and easily. It is sandbox/open world in format, living in nature, with a "Changelog" to track the addition of new content. The website, which contains dozens of interstellar destinations you can visit with casual, online play, is ad free. Your mission, if you choose to accept it: explore the cosmos, interact with what you find and/or just have fun reading the entries.

Who runs the Highest Skies RPG?

My name is E.S. Wynn. I am the author of over 70 books. I am the chief editor of two long-running online journals, one poetry in nature, the other featuring science fiction stories you can read for free. You can find out more about me by navigating the links on the left, or by visiting my publishing company [here].

How often is the Highest Skies RPG updated?

Check the Highest Skies Changelog for more information.

What inspired the Highest Skies RPG?

Love. Love of space, of exploration and science fiction. There are echoes of all of my favorite authors here, tributes, homages, dreams and a million other things. Samuel R. DelanyCarl Sagan, James Cameron, Jean Giraud, Chris Foss, John Berkey, Kingdom of Loathing-- there are too many muses to list.

How can I support the Highest Skies RPG?

The best way is by picking up a book for yourself or for someone else from my publishing company, Thunderune Publishing. A core book detailing play is available here: [link]Another way is by becoming a supporter on my Patreon page, or by donating through the link below.




Feedback:

Some of the pages have interactive components that are powered by google forms. If these components do not show up on your computer, try disabling any ad-blocking software and/or enabling javascript, as these may interfere with google forms.

For all other suggestions, comments, bugs, advice, business offers, film deals, etc. please use the contact form [here]





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This Project Was Formerly Called Zero Dusk (c)2014
Zero Dusk and Highest Skies are (c) E.S. Wynn, 2014.
"Cadillac Nebula" Painting Copyright Alex Rayne Rubsam (2016).

Highest Skies Changelog


* October 19, 2023: New destination added.

* August 18, 2022: Three new destinations added.

* August 15, 2022: Highest Skies RPG book now on Itch.io

* February 22, 2020: Highest Skies RPG book published.

* February 21, 2020: Link maintenance and preparation for launch of official book.

* January 23, 2020: Preview copy of the free rules for the Highest Skies RPG engine shared with supporters only on my Patreon: www.patreon.com/eswynn

* February 2, 2019: New destination added. New classification added (Praxis.)

* January 30, 2019: Name of project changed to Highest Skies with development of the Highest Skies RPG. Official website registered.

* August 5, 2016: New destination added.

* June 14, 2015: New destination added.

* June 11, 2015: New destination added.

* June 10, 2015: New destination added.

* June 3, 2015: New destination added.

* May 31, 2015: New destination added.

* May 28, 2015: New destination added.

* May 27, 2015: New destination added.

* May 26, 2015: New destination added.

* April 17, 2015: New destination added.

* April 16, 2015: New destination added.

* April 15, 2015: New destination added.

* March 2, 2015: New destination added.

* December 17, 2014: New destination added.

* November 27, 2014: New destination added.

* November 22, 2014: New destination added.

* November 17, 2014: New destination added.

* August 6, 2014: New destination added.

* August 4, 2014: New destination added.

* August 3, 2014: New destination added.

* August 2, 2014: New destination added.

* August 1, 2014: New destination added.

* July 30, 2014: New destination added.

* July 29, 2014: Seven new destinations added.

* July 26, 2014: Six new destinations added.

* July 25, 2014: Four new destinations added.

* July 24, 2014: Five new destinations added.

* July 22, 2014: New destination added.

* July 21, 2014: Three new destinations added.

* July 20, 2014: Six new destinations added.

* July 19, 2014: Eight new destinations added.

* July 18, 2014: Four new destinations added.

* July 17, 2014: Three new destinations added.

* July 16, 2014: Highest Skies goes live under the name of Zero Dusk. Three destinations added to manifest.

Madeleine Swann



Madeleine Swann is the author of the novella entitled "The Filing Cabinet of Doom". Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing her! Check it out and pick up a copy of her novel today!

E.S.: Hey Madeleine! First of all, tell us a little about yourself.

M.S.: I live in deepest, darkest Essex in England. Parts of it are quite rural and I imagine Americans would make a whole bunch of horror films here. In fact the next county over is home to a family of polygamists which is nice.

I'm drawn to weirder fiction, films and television, stuff that makes my imagination crackle. Aside from my books my film collection is a point of pride.

E.S.: Tell us about your novella, "The Filing Cabinet of Doom".

M.S.: The Filing Cabinet of Doom novella is a surreal comedy set in a black and white, soundless world. A psychic from a travelling carnival informs a village the world will end. Panic ensues and three people make their way to the Head Office at the Council, a far off and dangerous place. The book also contains short stories of mine - some serious, some funny and all a little odd. It's out with Burning Bulb Publishing who, oddly enough, published my first ever story The Gathering.

E.S.: Tell us a little about the work you've done for Strange Saturdays, Polluto Magazine and others you're particularly proud of being associated with.

M.S.: I've done a few flash fiction pieces lately for Weirdyear, Strange Saturdays, the new Strange Edge magazine as well as their website and Bizarro Central. They spurt from my brain in between other projects and I enjoy them. I'm really pleased with my longer stories in anthologies though, such as Lucy's Lips in American Nightmare, a fifties set horror anthology. I watched everything fifties I had including Rebel Without A Cause and a good few infomercials to get the speech right. I love those infomercials, there's something comforting about a time period that never existed. Nobody was ever that perfect.

Author/graphic artist Matthew Revert designed the cover for a story of mine that appeared on his site LegumeMan Books, Sweet Sweets Emporium. His work is great so I was very excited. Lastly A Piece Worth Millions (Polluto magazine issue 10) is testament to the power of dreams - I woke up with it almost fully formed in my head.

E.S.: Where do you think the future of the written word is going?

M.S.: I still love reading paper books although I can definitely see the benefits of kindle, but I think people have always enjoyed stories in a number of ways. For example the Welcome to Night Vale podcast is often beautiful writing which is streamed through computers (or whatever devices you people use). The fact that it's performed aloud is reminiscent not only of the oral tradition of storytelling but also old radio broadcasts which make the listener feel like part of the past and future at the same time. Audiobooks too, if I'm ill there's nothing I enjoy more than listening to ghost stories. I think the future will bring more and unexpected ways to do this. Paper books will always be there, though, because to collectors like me it's a satisfying feeling to own them.

E.S.: What advice do you have for other writers, especially those who are just getting started?

M.S.: I'm not too far into the writing profession myself, I have a long way to go and a lot to learn. However Roald Dahl once said he always imagined the reader losing interest with each word so made sure every sentence was important. That's probably a good thing to aim for.

E.S.: Where can our readers find more of your work?

M.S.: My website is shiny and very organised, if you wish to search out my work it will be there and labelled neatly. How I love those labels...

Madeleine's Website: http://madeleineswann.com/

Madelein's profile on Weekly Artist: [click here]

Amazon link for "The Filing Cabinet of Doom" [click here]

[click the cover for more information]








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Bösehoven


I have a new story up at OMNI!




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Terror Train



TERROR TRAIN, which features my story "Through the Land of Shadow" is now available!

Check out Jim Goforth's article [here] for a great run-down and links to the book.



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The City



A little story I penned about my home county.
How much of it is real?
Probably more than you'd be willing to believe.
Are you ready to walk the streets of "The City?"




Read about it here: [x]



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New story!



Sunday, June 15, 2014

Forwun By E.S. Wynn

E.S. Wynn’s horrifying vision of a machine-mind trained to do battle on distant planets.

From the moment the sentient mesh is mated with the neural tissue of my first body, I know that I have a purpose. I know the concepts, the symbols and the grammar of a sterilized strain of stan-terran. I am acutely aware of my body, know how to measure and calculate weight, distance and inertia with only a glance.

And I know how to use a gun.

The name coded into my mesh is CZ-1041, but the woman behind the glass calls me Four-One, runs the words together so it sounds like Forwun. I take her simple instructions verbally, but a silicon-quick stream beamed directly to my mesh provides the real details. The mission is simple.

Run.

Read more »


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Ghost Wolf

(For the Para Kindred Blog Hop)
By E.S. Wynn


“Laedyr–“
My chesnari puts his fingers to his lips in a silent gesture, points. My eyes follow, linger in the white and dark of snow and ice clinging to fallen branches. At first I don't see it, and then–
Then it moves.
White on white, fur and snow. My hand draws the bowstring in a single, reflexive movement, hesitates only as Laedyr reaches out, catches me, keeps my fingers from releasing the arrow. My eyes dart for his, find them, see something that comes as close to fear as anything I've ever seen in his stare.
Ghost wolf, he signs, and I feel a shiver in my shoulders, in the fine hairs at the back of my neck. I know the stories, the legends. Ghost wolf. White wolves, or rather the spirits of white wolves, subtly different in appearance from the wolves we hunt sometimes in the snow. Slowly, I release the tension on the string, lower the bow, hold the arrow loosely. In every story I've ever heard about ghost wolves, they come as omens. To shoot one is to waste an arrow– they are spirits, it is said, something akin to dehara, and everyone who has ever shot at one has seen his arrow pass effortlessly through, as if the wolf itself were made of nothing but air.
In the pause, we watch the wolf, and after a moment, it turns, watches us. Laedyr reaches for my hand, touches skin, but I don't reach back. My lips drift, just slightly. The ghost wolf's eyes shine with an intelligence and empathy that seems almost harish, almost as if it can read my thoughts, and for a moment, I find myself uttering a quiet prayer. When the last word leaves my mouth, the ghost wolf raises its head slightly, sniffs the air, then turns again and is gone. It is an omen, Laedyr signs, shivering with the cold, with the vision, with reverence. I nod, reach out, touch his face in a soft, tender gesture.
“An omen,” I whisper. “We have been blessed.”
For it is said that once, long ago, such spirit wolves walked among the wraeththu. I remember the words from one of the stories, my eyes rising again, lingering in the snow where the ghost wolf had stood only moments before. Even now, they watch over us, watch over the hara of the north, waiting, perhaps.
Waiting for the day to return, the day when they will walk among our kind again.



Want to read more?
Pick up Para Kindred from Immanion Press and read my story "Wolf" today!




^^^ Click here ^^^


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OPEN CALL



OPEN SUBMISSION CALL: Deep Space Dogfights

Deadline: September 15th, 2014 – or until full

Payment: Exposure and Royalties

Flash fiction & Short Stories (1,000 – 6,000 words)

Poetry and re-prints will also be considered

Skirmishes between starfighters! Strap yourself in the pilot’s seat and prepare to engage the enemy in the deep darkness of space. Bring on the action-packed sci-fi stories of battles between starships, between high-tech interceptors and the pilots who fly them.

Submission guidelines:

Deadline for submissions – September 15th, 2014 – or until full.

Word Count: 1,000 – 6,000 words.

Please submit your manuscript as a *.rtf, *.doc or *.docx file (all other formats will automatically be rejected. Contact me prior to submitting if this presents an issue for you.)

Font and formatting: Please submit in Times New Roman, 12 point font; single line spacing. Please format the document to 1st line indentation of 1″. The page margin should be set to .1″ on all sides.

No headers, footers or page numbers.

Please check grammar.

Upon acceptance into the anthology, you agree that Horrified Press holds exclusive publishing rights for six months from the date of publication; after that date has passed, all intellectual property rights revert to the author with the proviso that Horrified Press retains distribution rights in the format of the contracted anthology.

This title will be available as an e-book and trade quality paperback.

E. S. Wynn will be presiding over this anthology.

Email your submission as an attachment to: smashedcatmagazine@gmail.com

The email subject line must read “SUBMISSION – Deep Space Dogfights – ‘your story title’” or your submission will not be considered for this anthology.

Successful applicants will be notified before the deadline has expired.



- - -

OPEN CALL



OPEN SUBMISSION CALL: Sweat, Steel, and Cruise Control

Deadline: June 30, 2015 – or until full

Payment: Exposure and Royalties

Flash fiction & Short Stories (1,000 – 6,000 words)

Poetry and re-prints will also be considered

In the future, if you want to survive, you’ve got to have a lot of guns and a lot of horsepower. For this anthology, I’m looking for high-octane stories about souped-up killer cars, vicious motorcycles and blood-hungry kill-dozers. Step on the gas, squeeze the trigger, hit the nitrous and write a story that will take your readers on a rampage through the deadly streets of a gore-soaked future.

Submission guidelines:

Please submit your manuscript as a *.rtf, *.doc or *.docx file (all other formats will automatically be rejected. Contact me prior to submitting if this presents an issue for you.)

Font and formatting: Please submit in Times New Roman, 12 point font; single line spacing. Please format the document to 1st line indentation of 1″. The page margin should be set to .1″ on all sides.

No headers, footers or page numbers.

Please check grammar.

Upon acceptance into the anthology, you agree that Horrified Press holds exclusive publishing rights for six months from the date of publication; after that date has passed, all intellectual property rights revert to the author with the proviso that Horrified Press retains distribution rights in the format of the contracted anthology.

This title will be available as an e-book and trade quality paperback.

E. S. Wynn will be presiding over this anthology.

Email your submission as an attachment to: smashedcatmagazine@gmail.com

The email subject line must read “SUBMISSION – Sweat, Steel, and Cruise Control – ‘your story title’” or your submission will not be considered for this anthology.

Successful applicants will be notified before the deadline has expired.



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Digital Repatriation

By E.S. Wynn


You probably think that this is a dream.

In a way, you're right. I'm not really here, and everything that you are about to see and hear will happen entirely inside your mind.

You have been selected for digital repatriation via the ReLight program. All members of the human race (including quasi-humans of all variations) will be repatriated, so you can rest assured that you are not alone. Other species subject to automatic digital repatriation include favored family pets and all lifeforms granted citizenship under the laws of the Trilateral Commonwealth as established in 6,391. If a loved individual of another species has not yet been selected for digital repatriation, please alert the ReLight program immediately upon reincarnation. Your happiness is my number one priority.

Preliminary examinations of your neural network indicate that you suspect (57%) that you are dead. This assumption is correct. I am required at this point to state that I am no deity or demon, nor am I any form of supernatural being. I am an artificially intelligent intermediary designed specifically to manage the ReLight program. You may call me BRAHM.

I can tell that you are intrigued (35%) by the mention of the year 6,391. That is understandable. The century from which you are currently being streamed is the twenty-first century, but your destination is closer to the eighty-ninth. Many things have happened between the time that you are leaving and the time that you are being brought forward to. Complete courses on future history will be available to read, upload or stream at your convenience once the export process is complete. A basic chronology and glossary will also be attached to your consciousness upon reincarnation, if you choose to accept its inclusion.

One very important advance which has been made during the intervening centuries has come in the form of the ability to export the consciousness of an individual from any point in history. This process is happening to you now. The technology involved is really quite incredible, and will be explained to you in detail as soon as you have the ability to understand it.

Earth as you know it does still exist. The planet upon which you were born has evolved considerably in the last several thousand years, but many alternate Earths have been constructed to mimic the various eras of the human experience upon the original homeworld. Heaven-analogs of all recorded faiths are also available as reincarnation destinations. When the process of exporting your consciousness is complete, you will have your choice of reincarnation destination, but rest assured that all destinations are connected via a network of quantum gates, allowing you to journey to and from any place, world or sub-reality whenever you choose, with only a few seconds' inconvenience.

Another series of important technological advances can be seen in the nature of the body you will be given. All bodies produced for use by the ReLight program are tailored according to user preferences. You will have the opportunity to set, modify or otherwise adjust any aspect of your future body prior to reincarnation. Should you change your mind about certain aspects of your physical form, simply check in at your nearest Phys-Adj station. Such stations exist in almost every home and recreational area in the Trilateral Commonwealth, and new stations can be printed at your convenience. Please rest assured that however frequently or drastically you may choose to modify your physical form, you will be recognizable to those who you wish to be recognized by. As a default setting, this will include all immediate family, friends, ancestors, children, pets, etc. but you may, of course, exempt any individual from your recognition list.

You may also be relieved (36%) to know that there is no longer any danger of permanent death in this century. Backups of your consciousness are made automatically every thirty-seven pico-seconds, (we still have some work to do on shortening the time) and should your body be broken or perish, you will have the option of being immediately exported to a new body at the destination of your choosing. Approximate time for completion of the transfer and reincarnation process is roughly four seconds, but we're working on that as well.

Advances in travel technologies have given all life access to all corners of our galaxy and beyond it to all other galaxies in the observable universe. There are many new and wonderful things to see and do in the eighty-ninth century, and those things that cannot be experienced first hand (for any given reason) can still be explored in full-sensory and augmented-sensory immersion reality “dives.”

Though life in your century was largely dominated by the movements of elements within an economic system, "work" as you know it, has been eliminated in the eighty-ninth century. Individuals are all given access to a virtually limitless pool of necessities (and luxuries) provided by an intricate network of machines, leaving everyone free to pursue their passions, regardless of any physical "value" such activities may or may not produce. In short, you have all of eternity to indulge your sense of wonder, play and otherwise explore the diverse and fascinating universe of which you are an integral and necessary part.

This concludes your orientation prior to reincarnation. Again, I am called BRAHM. If you have any questions or need any help at all with this transition (or with any aspect of the ReLight digital repatriation process,) please do not hesitate to ask. Even after reincarnation, I will be only a thought-call away, regardless of distance, time or any other factor.

Now, are you ready to explore the future?


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E.S. Wynn is the author of over fifty books and the chief editor of seven fiction journals. You can find this story and others like it in the collection entitled Astride Twin Seas. Click on the cover below to read more:



Deathmongers


Another anthology I'm proud to have a story in! Check it out on Amazon, B&N, etc.


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