Saturday, June 29, 2019

Release Day for DEATHFLASH!


It's release day from DARK MOON BOOKS!

DEATHFLASH by Gene O’Neill
with panel illustrations by Greg Chapman

Continue the investigations of THE CRIME FILES OF KATY GREEN with Book #3, DEATHFLASH!

Young Billy Williams has been elevated to status of Shepherd of the Flock—leader of a zealous religious cult—and granted gift of the Deathflash, the ability to see the soul as it departs its mortal form at demise.

Billy is also given an ancient knife-like talon and “commanded to do the Lord’s work,” which he does fanatically, slaying drug addicts in San Francisco who are poisoning their bodies with heroin...

Retired police detectives Katy Green and Johnny Cato find themselves drawn into the grim case of the murdered underclass, whom no one seems to care about until the brother of one victim comes forward with his incredible suspicions…

So begins a journey of addiction, tracking a killer through the dope dens and seedy rehab houses of the Tenderloin district. But as more time passes, junkies begin to die faster and faster, for Billy Williams has given himself entirely to his own addiction: the rush of viewing the DEATHFLASH.

Discover why readers have been applauding this stark, fast-paced noir series by multiple-award-winning author, Gene O’Neill! Read Deathflash and then continue the shocking case files of Sacramento’s “Green Hornet and Cato” with books #1, “Double Jack” (a novella) and #2 Shadow of the Dark Angel!


Get your copy today!!

Friday, June 21, 2019

DOORWAYS TO THE DEADEYE - Fulfillment of a Lifetime Goal

In late 1999/ early 2000, when I was about 24 years old, and trying to “find myself in the world” I made a list of lifetime goals, and I printed that list, laminated it, and stuck it in my wallet, where I still carry it today.

However, it’s one of those things that’s gotten buried behind some other old cards (advanced SCUBA certification, credentials of ministry from the Universal Life Church, etc.), basically things I haven’t looked at or even thought about for the past 6 or 7 years, at least.

But this week, I received a box of contributor copies of my first novel, and I realized that I just achieved the fulfillment of one of my lifetime goals.

Being as these goals were written about two decades ago, there are some that I've since lost interest in accomplishing. Some of them I already have accomplished. Some I know I’ll never do, while a few are still ones I’m working on and hopeful for.

This week, I just crossed off “Write and publish a book.”

I’ve written and published other books, anthologies and non-fiction, and my primer series, my collection, books on genealogy, etc. But I knew what the intent of this goal was, and nothing less would have fulfilled it. The intent was to see in print a fiction novel that I alone had authored. That book is: DOORWAYS TO THE DEADEYE, coming out next month (July 26) through JournalStone.

Here’s my original list of goals. They’re not in any order. If memory serves me correctly I had a couple different goals in the first draft list I made, but otherwise, not much changed over the years. This incarnation is dated from 2005.

15 GOALS TO FULFILL MY LIFE

• Earn a doctoral degree
• Hold a public position in political office
• Fluently speak a foreign language
• Invent/ Patent Something
• Run the Los Angeles Marathon
• Visit every continent
• Ride my bicycle across America
• Write and publish a book
• Efficiently play a musical instrument
• Hold my child
• Restore a classic car
• Celebrate my 50th wedding anniversary
• Build my own house
• Operate my own business
• Master a martial art

####

Anyway, it’s a great feeling of gratification today, of accomplishment, wonder even, that I did it.

Below is a picture of DOORWAYS TO THE DEADEYE, as opened in its shipping box, and of course I’m so proud of it, and hope the world should find some bit of enjoyment in my writing as well…. This novel was truly a passion project, something I wrote from the heart without a care for genre constraints. Of course, now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, I’ll be all about writing for the market and the big bucks now (yes, I know, I laugh too!).

It's available for preorder on Amazon, and more on it can be found here: http://ericjguignard.com/doorways_to_the_deadeye.html



Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Met the legendary James Ellroy last night!

Found out the legendary James Ellroy was signing books last night at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena. I dropped what I was doing and rushed out there to meet him, get his new novel THIS STORM, and have him sign a half dozen other books I have on my bookshelf. THE BLACK DAHLIA was one of the most influential and eye-opening books of my early twenties—I’d never read crime noir before (never read crime before at all, except for a couple bland Mario Puzo books), and I still remember picking Ellroy’s book off a shelf for fifty cents from a thrift store in Covina, because I didn’t have any money, wanted to read, and the other books for sale there were all romance or Western. After that I was hooked, and so came THE COLD SIX THOUSAND, L.A. CONFIDENTIAL, THE BIG NOWHERE, etc. 

I told Ellroy this, and showed him my author website on my phone that lists him as an inspiration. His response was a shoulder shrug and “eh.” Haha, I’m quite certain he hears devotionals like that all the time! 

Anyway, great to have met him, and I placed a couple of my own titles on consignment at Vroman's while I was there, so it was a double win. Local and looking to pick up paperback copies of A WORLD OF HORROR or my collection, THAT WHICH GROWS WILD? Vroman's is your place!


Monday, June 10, 2019

June, 2019 Dark Fiction Short Story Markets

June, 2019: HWA L.A.
New or Reopening Market Listings/ Notes
At Pro-Paying (5 cents+ per word)



Bronzeville Bee
Payment: 5 cents a word
Story Length: up to 3,000 words
Deadline: Intermittently (usually) open
Reprints?: No
Response: unknown
Description: Any genre fiction: crime, sci fi, fantasy, horror and YA for online publication; (publisher has a focus on diversity in author pool). Publisher also accepts NON-FICTION at pay for articles 1500–1800 words in length of $150. 10 cents per word for articles 1499 words or less.


Longevity anthology (Third Flatiron)
Payment: 6 cents a word
Story Length: 1,5003,000 words
Deadline: July 10, 2019August 3, 2019
Reprints?: No
Response: by October 1, 2019
Description: (SF/Fantasy/Horror) Legends tell of people who lived a long time, like Methuselah. Some are just lucky (Lazarus Long), some have it thrust upon them (Lestat), some just naturally come by it (cats, bristlecone pines, megaliths), and some rightfully earn their immortality (Shakespeare, Sophocles). Is life extension possible via diets or genetic manipulation, and will there be side effects? Is ageism a real thing? Give us your speculative take on longevity and how it is achieved.


Asimov’s Science Fiction (magazine)
Payment: 8 cents a word
Story Length: 1,000–20,000 words
Deadline: Intermittently open
Reprints?: No
Response: Five weeks
Description: Character-oriented Science Fiction stories that is serious, thoughtful, yet accessible (occasional humor), including borderline fantasy, slipstream, and surreal fiction (and some poetry).


Flame Tree Publishing (Flash Fiction Monthly Contest)
Payment: 6 cents a word
Story Length: 700–1,000 words
Deadline: June 16, 2019
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 and Gore. The Sci-Fi stories theme is Aliens on Earth.


ESCAPE ARTISTS PodCasts (4 separate markets; Different Editors, similar guidelines)

All:
Payment: 6 cents a word/ original; $100 flat rate for reprints
Story Length: up to 6,000 words (preferred 4,500 words or less)
Deadline: Intermittent (each market opens as needs)
Reprints?: Yes
Response: Up to three months

1. PodCastle (Fantasy Fiction Podcast)
Description: Publishes in both text and audio. Looking for fantasy stories. We’re open to all the sub-genres of fantasy, from magical realism to urban fantasy to slipstream to high fantasy, and everything in between.

2. Cast of Wonders (Y.A. Fantasy Fiction Podcast)
Description: Stories that evoke a sense of wonder and have something unreal about them. We aim for a 12-17 age range: that means sophisticated, non-condescending stories with wide appeal, and without explicit sex, violence or pervasive obscene language. Think Harry Potter or The Hunger Games.

3. Escape Pod (Science Fiction Podcast)
Description: Our mandate is fun. We are fairly flexible on what counts as “science” (as we’ll delve into superheroes or steampunk on occasion) and are interested in exploring the range of the genre, but we are not looking for fantasy, magical realism, or more than a tinge of horror. If your story isn’t centered on science, technology, future projections, alternate history, and how any or all of these things intersect with people, we’re probably not the right market for it.

4. Pseudopod (Horror Fiction Podcast)
Description: Horror: dark, weird fiction. We run the spectrum from grim realism or crime drama, to magic-realism, to blatantly supernatural dark fantasy. We publish highly literary stories reminiscent of Poe or Lovecraft as well as vulgar shock-value pulp fiction; strong pacing, well-defined characters, engaging dialogue, and clear action.



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

Gallery of Curiosities (fiction anthology print and podcast)—SPECIAL SESSION: WW2 THEMED
Payment: 4 cents a word
Story Length: up to 7,500 words
Deadline: June 1–30, 2019
Reprints?: Yes (paid at 1 cent a word)
Response: One week for initial short list acceptance, then varying timeframe thereafter
Description: Dark “retropunk” fiction: Speculative fiction stories set around the era of World War II.


Monsters in Spaaaace!: (Dragon’s Roost Press)
Payment: 3 cents a word
Story Length: up to 6,000 words
Deadline: July 31, 2017
Reprints?: Query first
Response: unknown
Description: Finely crafted works of Dark Speculative fiction which feature one (or more) classic monsters. Vampires, mummies, creatures built from dead body parts, lycanthropes, mad scientists, and zombies—but we want to see them in space!


The Forge Literary Magazine
Payment: flat $50
Story Length: Generally 3,000 words or less, but may be open to a bit longer. Flash is also highly appreciated (1,000 words or less).
Deadline: Continually open
Reprints?: No
Response: 3 months or less
Description: Prose Fiction—Open to all genres and voices, and stories with any background. Literary excellence is our only criteria. Pieces read anonymously, so please do not put your name anywhere in the file.