Ride The Moon!

Forgot to mention yesterday, but the Ride the Moon anthology is now available! I am so proud to be included in an anthology with such high calibre authors. Much squeefulness indeed. (See list of contributors here).

Werewolves and Vampires aren’t the only frightening creatures

birthed by the Moon…

For thousands of years, the Moon has inspired stories and legends about heroic animals, violent deities, and criminal humans. In modern times, those tales have been overshadowed by vampires and werewolves. It’s time for the Moon and her denizens to take back the night.

Follow us down a twisting path of fantasy and science fiction and rediscover the magic of the Moon. From Mermaids that collect souls to lunar colonies on the brink of disaster, inside these pages you will find out which lunar gods still walk among us and what new breed of monster you should be fearful of.

Ride the Moon contains 19 speculative fiction tales that showcase the breathed of writing styles from around the globe.

My story, Cherry Blossoms, is one that had been percolating in the back of my mind for quite some time. I got the basics of the idea a couple of years ago when I did Holly Lisle's How To Think Sideways course - images of cherry blossoms atop a bundle of letters on a doorstep, a man who'd gone beyond death, and the woman who tried to follow him. But for years, that's all I had - until I got the chance to submit to this anthology and the moon theme gave me the missing ingredient I needed :D You'll have to buy the anthology if you want to see how the story came together ;) But here's how it all begins...

Ambrose sits alone in utter darkness, no one but fear for company as he prepares for the culmination of his ambitions. It’s been years since he felt fear; it’s been years since he felt anything. That was one of the demands of the quest: let nothing distract him from his single-mindedness, not love, not hatred, not regret, not fear. So in a way, it’s nice to feel again, even if it does set his teeth on edge and send his pulse racing.

There’s no reason for the fear, of course. He knows the potion will work. Years of research and millions of dollars have ensured that. But the moisture that should coat his tongue and throat still slicks his palms and forehead instead. Ambrose scrubs his hands on his bare thighs; his grip must be firm, sure. The timing of this experiment is so crucial to its success; the merest half-millisecond hesitation caused by a slip of the knife would be disastrous – and he doesn’t want to die.

Which is entirely the point. He sits here, naked and alone in the dark of night in a house nobody wanted on a rug nobody loved because he is about to reach the pinnacle of his ambitions, and finally, at last, escape the clutches of death forever. Shame he has to die to do it.


The anthology is available from Tyche Books directly, and you can also find it on Amazon and B&N or request it at local bookstores. Also, The King of Elfland's Second Cousin gave it a very nice review, which is very happyful.

I Has Moon Book!

Yup, as random as the title sounds.

So, I meant to post this back when it actually, y'know, HAPPENED, but it was literally Christmas, and then things have been crazy since then, and, well, here we are. But! I am SO EXCITED! I wish I had the brain power to think of an awesome way to announce this, but alack, tis not to be, so I shall just say:

I AM BEING IN A BOOK! A REAL, LIVE, PRINTED OUT ONE! SQUEE!!!

I told you this was news that warranted capital letters and exclamation marks :o) So, details:

Tyche Publishing, a new Canadian publisher, are releasing an anthology, Ride the Moon. Out of sheer luck and knowing the right people, I got a last minute opportunity to submit to the anthology - and I do mean last minute. I had 6 days to conceive of an idea, write it, edit it, and submit it. It was a terrifying but absolutely AWESOME experience, and I was SO stoked when the publishers accepted my story - and what makes it even better is that there are a whole bunch of writer friends in the anthology with me :) It was also exciting to discover that apparently, if one is Canadian, one would recognise some of the other contributors to the anthology as Well Known Authors. SQUEE. You can view the list of contributors here.


So, Ride the Moon will be out on February 29 and contains my short story Cherry Blossoms, about a man who is rescued from an immortality of loneliness by the girl-in-the-moon. One last time, with feeling:

SQUEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

New Stuff, Free Stuff, Pretty Stuff

So! This is an admin-y sort of post, but be not alarmed! It contains all sorts of fun, good stuff for the most wonderful readers on the planet! (That's you.) So make sure you read to the end, or, you know, skip down to the end and read the last sentence so at least if I quiz you, it'll LOOK like you read the whole thing. O:)

First of all, new stuff. The astute among you will notice that there is a 'Readers' link in the link bar at the top of the blog. The ones among you that have generally decent memories will also recall that I mentioned a little while ago that I was in the process of populating that link. Well! The link! She is populated! For now she is just a small, back county town, population 57, with a single street called Main Street and a butcher and a grocer and not much else, but she LIVES! Hurrahs!

If you click on the link you'll be taken to the readers' section of the site, which contains extras for stories and the like. At the moment, population 57 means that the extras for some of the short stories are up; you can find photos, fairytales, the sound of my voice, not-especially-brillant drawings and even special offers, all related to shorts I've had published. Squee!

But because I am lovely (and now on to the free stuff), I have also made MORE special offers available for you. Certified, Forget, Sculpting and Shoe are all free downloads all the time. However, until October 31, the following coupons also apply:

1. Download Sea Foam and Blood for free using this coupon: LG27M
2. Download Leaving (new story - somewhat of a prequel to Jesscapades) for free using this coupon: DK33L
3. Download What You Wish For, a new collection of three short stories, for free using this coupon: UY83D

But wait! That's not all! Your free set of steak knives... Er, okay, so posting steak knives to you all may be grounds for governmental investigations into my doings, and none of us want that. (You don't. Trust me). So I can't offer you steak knives.

I CAN, however, offer you the opportunity to win a super-shiny, highly awesome, brand new BOOK (and other stuff) every second month. How? As of November 1, I will be sending out a bi-monthly (as in once every two months, not twice a month; stupid confusing English) newsletter*, complete with competitions for subscribers only. Sign up now so you're all prepared for the first competition, which will be for a copy of the highly, HIGHLY awesome Divergent, by Veronica Roth. And yes, that's the pretty stuff. I mean seriously; have you SEEN the cover?? *dies of the shiny* So yes. Sign up to newsletter! O:)

And to finish, cookies. Because you are awesome just for reading this, and deserve a cookie. Or three. <3!
*Newsletter will be delivered by carrier bat to the email inbox of your choice. Carrier bats are of limited intelligence and prone to confusion, hence you can be absolutely sure that they will never spam you. This is why I use carrier bats. >:)

Also, Voting

So, I announced a little while ago that my flash fic Sculpting was now available in Golden Vision Magazine, and wondered if you might consider voting for it. Of course, as any of you who kindly clicked through will know, the voting box is broken. You CAN, however, send an email to let the editors know of you vote.

I realise this is an effort for you, so in order to make it as easy as humanly possible, I've included all the details here, including text for the email you can just copy and paste. If anyone would consider sending an email through to vote for Sculpting, I'd be tremendously grateful.

Thanks, everyone. You guys are awesome.



Email to: editorgvm[at]hotmail[dot]com (address is clickable)

Subject: Vote

Dear Editors,

I wish to vote for the short story 'Sculpting' by Amy Laurens in the current best of issue competition.

Many thanks,

[your name O:)]



Thanks again, everyone!! *cookies* for all :)

Forget Available at Allegory

Squoot! You can now read my flash fic 'Forget' over at Allegory Magazine :) There's a brief description of the story on the Published Works page.

Yay!

Also, Squee!

You can now find Certified at Everyday Weirdness B-) Squoot!

Exciting Announcementy Stuff

Public Health and Safety Announcement: This post may contain incoherence.

Today is the day for grand announcements! Huzzah! First up, though, and most importantly, I survived the weekend! Huzzah! Those of you who don't follow me on Twitter might not have been aware that last week has been somewhat of a frenzy of final-week-of-school fun, and also making a wedding cake.

No, I've never made a wedding cake before. Thus, yes, it was mildly stressful!! But anyway, it all turned out in the end, and here is the fruit of my week of labouring:

It's not too shabby if you stand at least a few feet away ;) :D

Also, the blog has had a redesign. Click through to have a look :)

But anyway, the real announcements of the day. A few months ago a friend of mine was going through a really tough time. Given she lives halfway around the world from me, there was unfortunately little I could do but sit around and feel somewhat helpless. Being human sucks sometimes - you can feel other people's pain, and yet not be able to do a thing about it.

Somewhat around the same time, I read Penelope J. Stoke's The Amber Heart, and one of the scenes that particularly stuck with me was the MC, Amber, sculpting out her fears and frustrations in clay.

Thus was Sculpting, a flash fic, born. Sculpting, I am excited to announce, is available now at Golden Visions Magazine. I hope you'll go check it out, and read some of the other stories available in this month's issue also :o) Don't forget, you can vote for best in issue!

The final announcement for today is that my good friend Glam, better known as Michelle Davidson Argyle, has a novella being released in August!

I've seen some excerpts from this novella, and it's fantastic. I can't wait until it's released and I can buy my very own copy :o) If you're interested, go and check out the really spiffy book trailer that Glam put together for it. Much shininess indeed!

So, does anyone else have any exciting announcementy stuff to add?

Quick Splash

Sooo, it's 9:30pm and still no blog post. Oops O:) On the other hand, I wrote over 3k yesterday, and over 4k today. So you know. You win some, you lose some.

Thus, quick and fun stuff today! Whee! Fun! Splash!

...Yes, my brain is broken due to massive word counts this weekend. Your point? :P

Fun bit #1: My short story With This Ring is out! You can find it at Tower of Light Fantasy Magazine, and you can also vote for it as the best in issue! (Please do; why yes, you're looking lovely today! Oh do, do have a cookie. Have another, here!) With This Ring is an Australian twist on classic selkie mythology, introducing a creature of my own creation: platykies. I think they're cute O:) Bwa ha.

Fun bit #2: We all know about NaNoWriMo, that month of insanity wherein writers around the world band together and try to write 50,000 words in the thirty days of November, but do we all know about NaNoEdMo, National Novel Editing Month? It's a fantastic endeavour, inspired by NaNoWriMo but unaffliated, and I encourage you to give it a shot if you haven't already! Are any of you out there participating in it?

Why do I mention all this? Because (and I feel extremely honoured about this) they asked yours truly to provide one of the pep talk letters for this month B-) If you're interested, you can find my article on Train Proof Suits and Why You Need One here :)

Fun bit #3: The final fun bit for the day is, I think, very exciting. I'm extremely excited to announce that my website is finally up and functional!! I'm still adding content (and will continue to do so for the rest of the foreseeable ever), but on the whole it's there, which is a Very Good Thing. You can find it either by following the link in the tabs at the top of the blog, or by heading straight to www.amylaurens.com :)

And if you do head over there, you'll notice there's a shiny little tab at the top called 'Free Stuff'. Under this are two sections: one where you can find all sorts of writerly resources, like outline sheets, spreadsheets for keeping track of your word count, and the first third of Holly Lisle's fantastic Create-a-Plot Clinic. In the other you're now able to download in pdf form some of my short stories!! Yay! Sea Foam and Blood is up presently, and Shoe will be coming soon.


Finally, if you weren't already aware, I have a LiveJournal which I use to update the specifics of my writing progress. It's sporadic and probably not sane, but hey, I have fun :o)

Wasn't that fun? A whole bunch MORE places where you can find me on the web. Just what you always wanted B-) I know, I know, I'm too kind.

But seriously, I had a tremendously productive (three-day) weekend. How was YOUR weekend?

Random Fun, And The GTTBRPU200 Effort Continues

So, my darling laptop Sapphire has been through a bad break up. Two weeks ago she split with my home wireless internet - which, really, I have to say I understand. He was lazy, slow, and really just couldn't bring what was required.

Today, I took Sapphire to work and introduced her to real wireless internet. He was smooth, he was fast, and he gave her everything she needed.

(Updated anti-virus software, in case you wondered. I mean, I know your minds wouldn't wander off in unsavoury directions, so this clarification is, I know, totally unncessary. But still.)

And now, she's back to being her perky self, and she's feeling so good she's even agree (somewhat cautiously) to just sometimes, only-if-we're-never-alone-and-don't-think-this-means-I-changed-my-mind-okay, try being friends with my home wireless.

Good girl. *applauds*

So, on to today, and more random miscellania in keeping with the spirit of how I feel two days before Christmas with a head cold in the middle of summer. o.O

First up, some very exciting news: the wonderful Merc's most wonderful story Hero's Choice is out! It's a serial, so you'll have to check back in each Monday to read it, but I promise you, it's worth it. I read this story when it was only a baby, and let me tell you, it's every bit as good looking as an adult ;)

In this week's installment:

On a cold and starry night, Dark Lord Mrakota finds the Chosen One prophesied to kill him. Being unconventional, Mrakota adopts the boy and names him Hero. This does not go over so well with the Guild of Old Mentors or the rangers...

Click! Link! Here!

Secondly, stories of my own. Work on anything writerly has stalled out in the last week due to insane Christmas busyness, but we leave for holidays tomorrow and Sapphire is Coming With Me. As are a whole swag of books. Huzzah :D Huzzah also for a week of nothing-to-do-except-occasionally-be-sociable-with-the-in-laws, and therefore a chance to recoup brain power so that things like writing can actually occur.

So, in lieu of actual progress, I updated my WIPs page for you all O:) There's now a blurb there for The Hunter Hunted, aka "That tiger novelette I finished the other week and squeed about". Yay :) (Yes, you have to scroll down. What is this, Lazyville?)

Finally, the GTTBRPU200 loving continues. Today I bring you three books, bringing my total books read in the challenge so far to 11, and the books remaining to 219. ... And I'm getting a couple more for Christmas. Ouch.

... I should quit blogging and go read, shouldn't I? Ahem. Well. About those three books...

GTTBRPU200 #9: No Small Thing by Natalie Ghent

This is one of those awesomely quiet books that, when you read it, you think are 'nice': a good read, a satisfactory story and conclusion, but nothing... sparkling. And yet, somehow the
impact of the book doesn't quite mesh with that initial impression. Another book that did this to me was The Thirteenth Tale; it's quiet and unassuming, with (objectively) nothing to really keep you intrigued - and yet, somehow, it does, and you remember it for the rest of your life.

No Small Thing is like that. It is, essentially, a book about a boy from a struggling single-parent story who sees an ad in the paper: Pony, free to good home. They used to have ponies, back when Dad was around, but Queenie, his younger sister, was too little then to remember. And she wants a pony more than anything. And he wants one too.

This quiet story follows (MC) through a year of his life, showing the effects that one small act - responding to the ad, bringing home the pony - has on both his life and the lives of his family. It reminded me of the way that sometimes, even when everything else in life is rubbish, all that's needed is for one thing to go right, and that's enough. It's a beautiful story about a boy and a horse, set against the backdrop of a broken and real family that somehow connected with me deeply, and left me satisfied after what was superficially a quick, light read.


GTTBRPU200 #10: Heidi by Johanna Spyri


So, there's this whole pile - well, half a shelf full - of childrens classics that somewhere had on sale once for like $5 each in matching hardcovers. For those of you lucky enough to be Bibliophiles living anywhere OTHER than Australia, let me point out here that your standard MG/YA mass market paperback (MMP) is $15-$20, and hardcover anywhere from $20-$50 bucks. Adult book prices are similar for hardcover, and MMPs retail for $19-$25. Whole set of matching hardbacks for $5 each? Yes please!

That was like a year ago, and now, watch me finally sit down to read them. *grin*

Anyway, Heidi. Cute story, very quick read that reads exactly like a classic should: lovely simple yet stately language, 'perfect' storyline where everything turns out exactly as it should, and characters right out of a fable. *pats the story fondly* If you like fables and classics, this one should be on your to read list :)


GTTBRPU200 #11: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

I picked this one up cheap at the uni bookstore one day because someone (I think Angela?) mentioned on their blog that it had been influential to their own writing - so I was naturally curious. Curiosity = rewarded. This is an AWESOME little book (v. quick read, only took me 30 mins) that is fully illustrated by the author and just makes me go *shine*. This is one I'll definitely be reading and rereading.

Told from the POV of a man (or woman? I don't think it's ever explicitly stated. Given the time period, we assume male, but, you know.) stranded in the desert after his plane breaks down, it details his encounters with the little prince, who is a traveller from another planet - a very tiny planet that he alone inhabits. On the face of it it's such a simple tale; and it's pretty enough to be enjoyed as such. But this is a perfect example of 'literature', IMO: not only can it be enjoyed on the brain candy level, it's also packed full of allusion and meaning, and philosophical musings on the nature of the human condition. I'm positive I didn't pick everything up on the first read through; like I said, this is a book to reread.

So there you have it: this week's booklog :) I have a 5 hour car trip coming up tomorrow and the next day, so hopefully by next week I'll have a bunch more books to review for you :)

In the meantime, thanks for reading my meanderings, and I hope you all have a fantastic holiday. See you next Monday!

Shiny News!

Woo hoo! Head over to AlienSkin Magazine, everybody!

Why?

Because my short story, Shoe, is up there :) Woot!

Also, I have an article up at the Every Day Fiction blog today - go comment for me, and make me feel loved :D

Finally, the fantastic Tabitha is having a book give-away; you could win a pack of up to seven books, including ARCs*!

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on the post. Whee! Books! ...Because we all know I need more books to read.

On which note, the final bit of newsiness for the day: I've revamped the sidebars a bit. In the righthand sidebar I now have a gadget to keep interested persons informed of what I'm currently reading, plus links to the Towering TBR Pile of Doom (aka, all the books I own but haven't read) and my Books I've Read list. Much fun and bounciness!

Given that the Towering TBR Pile of Doom was, as of last week when I recounted, somewhere around 230 books, I have much a lot of reading to do. And of course, being slightly insane, I've set myself a goal: I'm aiming to get the TBR Pile under 200 by January 27, when I start fulltime work. Am I crazy? Given I read 33 books in 2007, 33 books in 2008, and as of last week when I started the challenge had read 33 books in 2009 (talk about consistency!), probably. Am I still going to give it a go? Absolutely!

Current GTTBRPU200** count: 6 books down, 24 to go >:)

Now, don't forget: my story Shoe, my article at Every Day Fiction, and Tabitha's contest! :D



* ARC = Advanced Reading Copy; pre-print edition for reviewers, etc; highly coveted ;)
** GTTBRPU200 = Get The To-Be-Read Pile Under 200 :D

First Publication!

Just a quick post today, I'm sorry. We leave for London on Friday, and things in the house are getting - let's just say insane, shall we?

I was going to post this yesterday, but forgot to allow for the time difference, and then decided I've been late with posts so many times before you're all bound to forgive me this time %-)

What am I going on about?

SQUEE! This!

Sea Foam and Blood, my first ever published story, is now up in the current issue of Moon Drenched Fables! Huzzah!!!!

You can read it here, and you can vote for it in the people's choice award (which, naturally, I'd love you to do) here.

Have a happy start to your week, everyone! :)

Assorted Randomicity - With Soup

First up, InkfeverPLUS is functioning again. Remember, it's invite only, so if you don't have an invite - just leave your name, and your number, and I'll get back to you! O:) (er, that would be email address, just to clarify).

Second up - WRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Yes. I'm excited. If you have a look over in the sidebar (<-- that way), you'll notice there's a shiny new section there, right above WIPs. Found it? Yup, it's the Published Works section. *grin* This week, I signed my first official publishing contract, for my short story Sea Foam and Blood. It's scheduled to appear in the June edition of Moon Drenched Fables.

Major thank yous to Merc and Ashtah for their amazing editing assistance on that one :)

Finally, some soup. Just a little spoonful, today, but covering a wide range of topics :) Let's start with what we can expect in the future in technology, head to writing that's coming out in the future, meander through some things you need to know, and finish with a couple of posts on genre.

Mmm, tasty!

This Is Me, Screaming For Joy

*massive grin*

So this is what it feels like. I must say, it feels pretty damn good.

What am I on about?

*more grinning*

I just got my first acceptance :D 'Shoe', a short story retelling of The Red Shoes has been accepted by Les Bonnes Fees. Not sure what issue it will be in yet, so I feel a bit weird making the news public, like I might jinx myself... But eh, it's my first acceptance. A girl's gotta be excited, right?

:D

Welcome to my Sidebar: Miss Snark

Where Miss Snark vented her wrath on the hapless world of writers and crushed them to sand beneath her T.Rexual heels of stiletto snark. The blog is dark--no further updates after 5/20/2007.

Who: Miss Snark is/was a snarky anonymous agent who loved both George Clooney and poodles. Her sense of wit is second to none.

What: As an agent, Miss Snark was uniquely placed to offer 'insider' tidbits to hapless writers - and she did. I have an impression that she was one of the very first agents to begin blogging; she was certainly the first to call for submissions to her 'Crap-o-meter', where she offered critiques of people's query letters :) This site is incredible. Her sense of - er, humour - will have you snorting outloud, while the information her site houses is a must-read, must-know for anyone wishing to enter into the scary world of publishing.

Where: Here, or here: http://misssnark.blogspot.com/

Why: Because this blog is a veritable goldmine of information concerning the publishing industry. If there's something you're not sure about, I can almost guarantee that Miss Snark has answered a similar query at some time or another.

When: As mentioned in the tag line, this blog is now 'dark', meaning there will be no more posts. However, I still highly recommend it since it is an unparalleled source of information :)

Congratulations!

Abby Rustad, more fondly known as Merc (short for mercenary, not mercy, just in case you wondered ;)), has had her short story Red Lights published in Necrology Magazine. This is a fabulous little short that's characteristically twisted in nature - and will never let you look at traffic lights the same way again %-)

For those of you that like to be forewarned, this one falls into the category of mild horror.

Merc is also one of the primary contributors on the Toasted Scimitar blog.

More Congratulations!

Apparently it's the month for them ;)

A huge congratulations to another first time publishee, Ardyth DeBruyn! Ardyth, fondly known as the Dreaded One, is a coauthor of the fabulous Toasted Scimitar blog.

Her flash fiction, Rude Awakening, has been published in this month's issue of Alienskin magazine. I'll certainly be thinking twice before carving things in trees from now on!

Check her story out for yourself here.

Congratulations!

I'd like to offer a big 'Congratulations' to Michelle Hicks, whose flash fiction Dinner Plans has just been published in the e-zine The Shine Journal. This is her first publication, so we're all massively excited for her. :)

Dinner Plans is a great little story about a woman whose husband sets her the impossible task of cooking for his mother... And interesting things ensue. Why not check it out for yourself right here?

Published Works

The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Dogs. Non-fiction work, blurb here, for the 33 Mistakes series marketed in the HollyShop. Click the image to go straight to the page ;)

Sea Foam and Blood. A terminally ill girl finds an unexpected cure through the pegasus myth come to life. Won Best in Issue - thanks to everyone who voted! :) Moon Drenched Fables, June 2009.

Interchange. A teenage girl is freaked out by the men who keep staring at her on the bus, and when the man sitting next to her begins to cry, she's horrified. TeenAge Magazine, September 2009.

Shoe. Would you take home the pairless shoe? AlienSkin Magazine, December 2009.

With This Ring. When Orkney awakes to find himself sharing a bed with a beautiful woman to whom he's supposedly proposed, it seems like life has finally changed for the better - until he remembers he's a platykie, a changeling imprisoned by the ring he wears. Tower of Light Fantasy Magazine, Winter 2010.