TWO of my 2019 releases are finalists for this year's Bram Stoker Awards!!

Just found out that TWO of my 2019 releases are finalists for Horror Writers Association’s Bram Stoker Awards!!!

These include my debut novel, DOORWAYS TO THE DEADEYE (pub. Journalstone), and my sixth anthology as editor (pub. Dark Moon Books), POP THE CLUTCH: THRILLING TALES OFROCKABILLY, MONSTERS, AND HOT ROD HORROR

Congratulations to all other finalists as well—it makes me so happy to see many friends and well-deserving works listed this year!!

Full ballot listed here: http://www.thebramstokerawards.com/front-page/the-2019-bram-stoker-award-finalists/

February, 2020 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets

HWA L.A.: February, 2020

New or Reopening Market Listings/ Notes
At Minimum Pro-Paying (5 cents+ per word)

Hybrid Fiction (*New Market)
https://www.hybridfiction.net/submissions
Payment: 6 cents a word
Story Length: 500–5,000 words
Deadline: Continuous
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Blend themes and elements from two or more different genres. Some examples of hybrid fiction are dark fantasy, steampunk westerns, historical fantasy, weird westerns, and crime fantasy.


Little Blue Marble
https://littlebluemarble.ca/submission-guidelines
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: up to 2,000 (reprints allowed up to 5,000 at <1 cent/ word)
Deadline: Intermittent
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Speculative fiction that examines humanity’s possible futures living with anthropogenic climate change. We prefer fiction with a hopeful outlook, but the occasional dystopia might fit too.


Local Lore Anthology (title TBD) (Cemetery Gates Media)
https://cemeterygatesmedia.com/2020/01/10/2020-anthology-submission-guidelines
Payment: 5 cents a word
Story Length: 3,000–6,000 words
Deadline: August 1, 2020
Reprints?: No
Response: Before September 30, 2020
Description: Personal local lore/oddities. Write something dark into a setting you’ve experienced — it could be a place you’ve lived, or even just somewhere you’ve visited on a vacation. Is there a landmark in your town that you can write a nightmare into? Have you ever legend tripped somewhere and thought, well, that cave, mausoleum, torture tree was neat, but I wish there was more to the story?


Analog Science Fiction and Fact
https://www.analogsf.com/contact-us/writers-guidelines
Payment: 8–10 cents a word (9 cents a word for non-fiction)
Story Length: up to 20,000 words
Deadline: ongoing
Reprints?: No
Response: 2–3 months
Description: Science fiction stories in which some aspect of future science or technology is so integral to the plot that, if that aspect were removed, the story would collapse.


SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noire
https://mochamemoirspress.com/submission-guidelines
Payment: 5 cents a word
Story Length: up to 5,000 words
Deadline: March 31, 2020
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Stories of the black vampire. Stories of vampire hunters, of anti-vampiric heroes/heroines, and more, taken out of westernized culture. They can be in space, superheroes, but they must be from the African Diaspora.


Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores
https://cosmicrootsandeldritchshores.com/submissions/
Payment: 6 cents/ word original; 2 cents/ word reprint
Story Length: 1,000–40,000 words (focus on shorter form)
Deadline: Open 1 week only: upcoming March 21 to March 28, 2020
Reprints?: Yes
Response: abt. 2 months
Description: Well written original stories in science fiction, fantasy, myth, fairy tales, and eldritch; in written, podcast, video, and/or graphic story form, and from around the world. We care about character, plot, ideas, and storytelling ability. We accept both serious and humorous work (no horror).



***Non-PRO-Paying Market, but Eric J. Guignard’s “Pick of the Month”

Unnerving Magazine
https://www.unnervingmagazine.com/submissions
Payment: 3 cents a word
Story Length: 800–5,000 words (up to 9,000 words for reprints)
Deadline: Intermittent
Reprints?: Yes (1 cent/ word)
Response: Up to 6 months
Description: Unthemed horror and suspense (incl. dark science fiction (light), dark fantasy, crime, thriller, and dark literary.)


Midnight Street Anthology (#4): Strange Days (edited by Trevor Denyer)
https://midnightstreetpress.com/submission-guidelines
Payment: £50 flat (about $65 US)
Story Length: 2,000–8,000 words
Deadline: February 28, 2020
Reprints?: Yes (with lower priority than original; pay at £20)
Response: Two weeks
Description: Sci-fi, horror, slipstream, weird, etc. stories that reflect the strange times we are living in and that sum up the precariousness of modern existence. Will the generation that comes after us save the planet? Or will mass extinction occur and include us?

ANNOUNCING! The acquisition of A STICK OF DOUBLEMINT by Gene O’Neill

ANNOUNCING! The acquisition and soon-to-be published latest book by Dark Moon Books and editor Eric J. Guignard:

A STICK OF DOUBLEMINT (Book 4 in the series, THE CRIME FILES OF KATY GREEN) by renowned, award-winning author Gene O’Neill !!

Read the thrilling case file in this final book in the series: An innocent young woman is gunned down during a gang-related drive-by shooting. Then those involved start turning up dead, with a stick of Doublemint gum in hand. What does it mean, and who’s responsible? Private investigators Katy Green and Johnny Cato are brought in to help stop the vigilante killings!

Coming, May, 2020. With interior illustrations by Greg Chapman, series afterword by Gord Rollo, and exclusive interview by B.E. Scully!

More as it’s revealed here: http://www.darkmoonbooks.com/doublemint.html

January, 2020 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets

HWA L.A.: January, 2020

New or Reopening Market Listings/ Notes
At Minimum Pro-Paying (5 cents+ per word)

Silk & Steel: An Adventure Anthology of Queer Ladies (Cantina Publishing)
https://www.cantinapublishing.com/submissions
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: up to 10,000 words
Deadline: February 22, 2020
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Queer female protagonists (f/f): stories of high adventure that feature one weapon-wielding woman and one woman whose strengths lie in softer skills, but who is just as powerful in her own right. You’re free to choose any setting – from historical to modern to wildly futuristic.


Future Science Fiction Digest
http://future-sf.com/submissions
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: up to 5,000 words
Deadline: intermittent
Reprints?: No
Response: 30 days
Description: Non-themed science fiction stories.


CRAFT Fiction (online literary journal)
https://craft.submittable.com/submit
Payment: $100 for flash fiction and $0.10/word up to $200 for longer pieces
Story Length: up to 7,000 words
Deadline: ongoing
Reprints?: possibly
Response: unknown
Description: Fiction that shines because of its exploration of craft. All genres and styles are welcome ; our only requirement is that you show excellence in your craft. We want to be wowed. Bend genres, experiment with structure, and write your heart out. Each selected piece will include an editor’s introduction as well as a craft note from the author.


Drabblecast (online speculative fiction magazine and podcast)
https://www.drabblecast.org/submissions
Payment: 6 cents a word (3 cents a word for reprints)
Story Length: 500–4,000 words
Deadline: ongoing
Reprints?: Yes
Response: Up to 3 months
Description: “Strange Stories for Strange Listeners,” often also classified as “Weird Fiction” … or any and all genres, but largely centers around those of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror.


Flame Tree Publishing (Flash Fiction Monthly Contest)
https://www.flametreepress.com/submissions
Payment: 6 cents a word
Story Length: 700–1,000 words
Deadline: January 24, 2020
Reprints?: No
Response: Presumably by the end of the following month.
Description: Original Flash Fiction written to the month’s theme; must be subscriber to the newsletter to receive the monthly prompt. This month: The Horror theme is Blood Suckers (Vampires). The Sci-Fi stories theme is Hollow Earth.


Flash Fiction Online
http://flashfictiononline.com/main/submission-guidelines/
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: 500 to 1,000 words
Deadline: Intermittently open
Reprints?: Yes (payment at 2 cents/ word)
Response: Within one month
Description: A very short but complete story of flash fiction. Strong, interesting characters, in genres of dark sci-fi, fantasy, paranormal, crime, horror, and even literary.



***Non-PRO-Paying Market, but Eric J. Guignard’s “Pick of the Month”

Gallery of Curiosities (fiction anthology print and podcast)—RETROPUNK AUDIOFICTION
https://gallerycurious.com/fiction/
Payment: 4 cents a word
Story Length: up to 7,500 words
Deadline: January 1–31, 2020
Reprints?: Yes (paid at 1 cent a word)
Response: One week for initial short list acceptance, then varying timeframe thereafter
Description: Short stories that entertain. We want to be taken on an adventure in a time that never was, be it weird tales, steampunk, retro-futurism, vintage horror, mad science, amazing cities, monsters, impossible machines, clockworks, alt-history adventures, unexpected surprises, weird westerns, and things that shouldn’t work.


Multispecies Cities (World Weaver Press, in partnership with the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature in Kyoto, Japan)
https://www.worldweaverpress.com/submit-anthologies.html
Payment: 3 cents a word
Story Length: 500–5,000 words
Deadline: February 1, 2020
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Science Fiction tales: Futuristic cities where people and wildlife can thrive together, or urban landscapes re-designed to heal past ecological destruction. Stories should end on a positive or hopeful note.

My 2019 Publication End-of-Year Wrap-Up

As most indie writers can relate, I suffer the malaise of feeling like I never get enough writing accomplished. However, looking back over the year of 2019, I feel like I should be satisfied, or at least can assure myself that the year has been productive “enough”... especially as I have day jobs, a family, and am involved in volunteer organizations for my children! Additionally I can look forward to a number of great projects already lined up for next year of 2020. So for purposes of self-accounting (i.e. bragging), here are my publication highlights for the year:

1. I published my first novel:

DOORWAYS TO THE DEADEYE (JournalStone, July, 2019)
https://www.amazon.com/Doorways-Deadeye-Eric-J-Guignard/dp/1947654977/


2. I published my favorite (and most ambitious) anthology to date:

Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror (Dark Moon Books, January, 2019)
https://www.amazon.com/Pop-Clutch-Thrilling-Rockabilly-Monsters/dp/1949491056/


3. I published a smaller anthology of reprint stories as part of a project series:

Strange Tales of the Macabre: Post-Apocalyptic (5X5 Publishing, July, 2019)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VNHYR79


4. I published the fourth Primer book in my series EXPLORING DARK SHORT FICTION.

Exploring Dark Short Fiction #4: A Primer to Jeffrey Ford (Dark Moon Books, September, 2019)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X5MW4PS


5. I gained 14 more short story publication credits (8 of these are reprints)

Top 3 originals are:

•  “Carmine Lips and a Fade into Oblivion” for Cemetery Dance Online
https://www.cemeterydance.com/extras/cd-ebook-spotlight-that-which-grows-wild-eric-guignard/

•  “A Notable Incursion of Dinosaur Ants” in Red Sun Magazine, issue #5
https://www.amazon.com/Red-Sun-Magazine-Eric-Guignard-ebook/dp/B07R651M3Z

•  “Deep Down, the Lake of a Thousand Graves” in the anthology Tales of the Lost Volume 1
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1704811627/


6. PLUS I continue to run, publish, and promote my own indie press: DARK MOON BOOKS
www.darkmoonbooks.com


7. And, I’m still incredibly elated to have won this year’s Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection for my debut collection: That Which Grows Wild: 16 Tales of Dark Fiction (Cemetery Dance, July, 2018)
https://www.amazon.com/That-Which-Grows-Wild-Fiction/dp/1949491072

All-in-all a respectable year, if I do say so! And hoping for 2020 to be even better!!

My Birthday Wish

It has been brought to my attention that it’s my birthday tomorrow… again! As much as I try to avoid it, it seems to be an annual occurrence. I do appreciate all the birthday comments and well wishes (emails, P.M.s, calls, texts, tweets, and their ilk) but I ask only ONE birthday favor, ONE request from ye celebrators… While you’re in the mood to write me, PLEASE also write an Amazon review for something I’ve written, ANY project I’ve ever been involved in!!!!

As many of you know, it’s a dreadful commentary that the worth of indie authors is measured by 5-star reviews, but such is the state of current commerce. Thus my greatest and dearest wish (combination Christmas-Birthday, in fact) is simply for you to click the below hyperlink, and write a few words of appreciation for any writing or anthology editing I’ve done, a task that takes only 30 seconds! :)

I’ll even send you a complimentary e-book of anything you’d like, in exchange for such review—just ask.

THANK YOU, and happy holidays all!

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Here’s my full Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/Eric-J.-Guignard/e/B004QJ1YTC

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Here are some direct links for specific titles:

Doorways to the Deadeye:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VF7S58B


That Which Grows Wild: 16 Tales of Dark Fiction: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1949491005


Pop the Clutch: Thrilling Tales of Rockabilly, Monsters, and Hot Rod Horror
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1949491056


The Five Senses of Horror
https://www.amazon.com/Five-Senses-Horror-Eric-Guignard/dp/1949491048


A World of Horror
https://www.amazon.com/World-Horror-Kaaron-Warren/dp/194949103X

Review me!