And sometimes you have to tell the truth...

This is a blog post that I’ve put off writing as long as possible. Why, you ask? For many reasons. The first being that it’s one bad spot in a year of otherwise positive happenings and I’d much rather focus on them. The second being I want to keep the blog post professional, but the feelings are very personal. It’s not just about shoddy business practices, it involved a betrayal of trust and the demise of a friendship (or what I thought was a friendship). So I’m not going to mention people by name, most will know who I’m referring too, but that’s to help me separate emotion from fact. So here is the story (bear with me, it's a long one)…

Once upon a time, star date 2014, a publisher realized she could no longer keep her business afloat. There was very little money coming in, she’d spent a shit ton of savings keeping it going, put in long hours, struggled, and things just weren’t getting any better. And if she was honest with herself, she should NEVER have been in the business to begin with. Don’t get me wrong, her heart was in the right place, she was good at certain aspects (but not so good at others), and she’d made some invaluable friendships along the way. But you can’t pay your own bills or anyone else’s with good intentions or friendship. She had good ideas, she was very good at working with people (authors, cover artists, other editors, other publishers), she was a good editor (and hopefully helped a few authors become better), she had a fantastic cover artist, help from her sister, and she actually had great math skills. But she did not have good business sense, unlimited amounts of money, or great marketing skills. Those three things are must haves for publishers, or, if you have the second, you can hire people who have the other two. She sometimes pushed book releases back, was sometimes a few weeks late with contributor’s copies, and was sometimes late with royalty payments, though she always paid them. 

So our publisher realized she would have to close up shop. She felt awful about books she’d recently released and one she was currently working on. So she looked around to try to find another publisher who might take these projects on. And she thought of friend who had just that year opened a new publishing company with a friend of his. Talks commenced and they agreed to buy (a word only, no money changed hands) her little company and make it an imprint. And then they asked her to come along and be the managing editor for the imprint. What a stroke of luck!! They were going to re release her latest projects (two novels and two anthologies), publish the upcoming ones (two anthologies and a YA novel (who's author later pulled her book)), and she had a job. Granted, the job wasn’t going to pay much, but a lot of their other employees were working for free, so yay! And her friend was going to be her boss. Problem solved. *sigh* Enter problems stage left.

Skipping back several months, the same publisher had put on her editor/author hat and come up with the anthology idea for Grimm Mistresses. She had a novella length work that had never been published, a modern take on the tale of the Pied Piper. She had an author friend who’d once subbed a modern Cinderella tale to her that could be lengthened. What if she asked three other female authors she admired to contribute modern retelling of Grimm fairy tales? What an awesome book that might be. HOWEVER, since she had a story she wanted to include, she didn’t want to be the editor, nor the publisher. That screamed “vanity press.” So she approached that same friend and his new publishing company and asked if he would be interested in the project. After all, they’d done several anthology projects together. And he was. He told her to go ahead and invite the other authors, and they had more talks and set up due dates and time lines. She invited CW LaSart (the author of the Cinderella story she already had), Allison M. Dickson, Mercedes M. Murdock, and one other author who later pulled out of the project. She discussed who they should invite to replace her and was told the publisher had someone in mind. The authors turned in their stories and assumed (yes, Dad, I do remember what you told me about assuming) that editing was underway. Meanwhile, our stories converge…

January 2015 the former publisher put on her editor hat and went to work for the company. Right away she was unhappy. She was named as managing editor of the imprint, but books were being published she hadn’t even seen. Now, maybe this is how it’s done in big publishing, and maybe she’s the one in the wrong, but she was upset that her name was on something she had no claim to and hadn't approved. And she wasn’t happy with the editing of said book. She sent the managing editor of the company a copy of errors she’d noticed in the published books. She was told they were subjective (since when is grammar and punctuation subjective?). She still wasn’t happy, but let it go. Then she was shown the publishing schedule and sent books to edit. And as she read through them she had to wonder who’d agreed to them. Because she didn’t believe in them. She asked the managing editor of the company and it turned out he hadn’t read them, nor had the other owner. They relied on slush readers and sometimes went with marketability over substance. If they thought the book would sell because of author's name, author’s friends in high places, etc., they signed it, unread. Now, this didn’t sit well with our girl, but she thought well, maybe this is how it’s done and set to work editing the material and working with the author to try to make it better.

Meanwhile, the book she was an author in was getting close to its publishing date. She finally got to read (because she hounded her friend) the other story from the author they’d chosen. And she was super pleased because while the story wasn’t really horror, it was so beautifully written that it was an asset. It would set off CW’s extreme horror, Mercedes’ gut wrenching emotionality, Allison’s sci-fi vibe, and her own story. But then all of the authors began to wonder where their edits were? Time was drawing near and no one had been sent edits to approve. Turned out that’s because no one really did edits. The pieces saw a copy editor, who everyone agreed actually put in a few errors. The authors pointed this out, cleaned up their stories and sent them back. But they were worried. Then the book was published. And our editor was dismayed to find her name in it as managing editor. Wasn’t that the very thing she’d tried to avoid? Her friend’s name was nowhere on it. But the book sold and started getting good reviews, and they did some interviews and such, and no one pointed it out, so she decided to just be happy about the book.

However, on the publishing front, things were getting worse. Her “friend” was getting tired of her pointing out things she thought weren’t right. The co-owner of the publishing company stopped answering her messages at all (which suited her fine) and she was growing frustrated. So she turned in her project (a little late, she will admit, but she was beginning to wonder if anyone else was going to even go over it anyway), and told her friend she thought she’d better leave the company. They agreed she would still turn in the two anthologies she was working on and they’d still publish those.

Fast forward a few months. Things have not gotten better. The authors of Grimm Mistresses have not received their promised contributor’s copies. The signed hardcovers of GM have not been sent to the people who ordered them. And one of the authors confesses  the publisher is late with her royalties from other books she’s published with them. Grumbling ensues. Now our editor is worried about her upcoming anthologies. Will the authors even get paid? Won’t she be partially responsible should that happen? And she begins to drag her feet on turning in the anthology that’s due. She debates on pulling it and looking for a new publisher. And then the publisher pulls a move so heinous, her decision is made.

She had been messaging her friend about the cover art. He had told her he would let her see it as soon as it’s done. A month before the book is due out, an author emails her and asks why she changed the title. What? She didn’t change the title. He says it’s on the cover advertisement on the publisher’s website. She goes to the publisher’s website and sure enough, not only is the cover art (which she still hadn’t seen) been made public, but so has a new title that was never even mentioned to her. The editor is beside herself. Why wouldn’t they have even mentioned that they considered changing the title to her? The anthology is all her’s: her idea, her editing, and they’d signed it with no discussion of a name change. So the editor thinks maybe she’s overreacting and emails the Editor of all editors, Ellen Datlow. She asks if this is standard practice, without mentioning any names, and Ellen assures her that no, this is not done, and it’s rude in the extreme. So our editor messages her friend, who gets downright snotty with her and tells her he doesn’t have time for her attitude. That he was out of town and didn’t know the other guy was going to release the cover art. But he did know about the name change and when our editor states that it would have been common courtesy to have the name changing conversation with her, he suggests they just drop the anthology and not publish it if it’s such a big deal. She agrees. (I mean, she’s having doubts anyway) and states that she thinks it’s best to pull her other anthology also. Her “friend” says “fine,” and BLOCKS her. Yep, you read that right. He blocked her, because that’s professional behavior. No, let’s reconsider what’s going on here after we both calm down. No, we are adults and should be able to work through things. And then he fires off emails to all of the anthology authors saying the anthologies have been cancelled due to “creative differences.” And our editor emails those authors as well and continues the use of “creative differences.” Because, well, what would have been the use in telling the whole story? It’s he said/she said anyway. And she didn't want to be blacklisted as an editor, or labeled “hard to work with,” because she has high quality standards and expects courteous treatment. And so our editor has no further contact with the company.

Why am I telling this story now? Because the other authors have had enough. Because they want to tell their story and mine coincides with theirs. And because I feel responsible for pulling them into this mess in the first place. And to all the other authors who worked with me and thus thought these might be good guys based on my recommendation.I'm sorry, people. Apparently I am not a good judge of character.You can read Allison M. Dickson's blog post on the subject here. And CW LaSart's here.

To bring our story up to date, none of the authors of GM have received any sort of royalties, even though the book came out in February 2015. And I do know from other authors in the publisher's stables that books released after have had royalty payments made. But, we were the noisemakers from the start. Sometimes, the squeaky wheel gets ignored. I’m told the book was pulled (at least the kindle version) as of a few hours ago.

As an editor, I never received any payment either. It wasn’t much that was owed to me, but that’s not the point, is it?

The thing I find ironic in this whole mess is that my former friend sued a publisher for just such shoddy treatment.

And the thing I find the saddest, that I can still barely believe, is not that a company (though while small, had a reputation for putting out quality work) was engulfed, chewed up, and spit out, and I had a hand in it. A company I’d worked so damn hard to build. No, what I find the saddest, is that someone I genuinely liked, had poured out my heart too, and trusted implicitly, could turn on me and then shut me out completely. That shit sucks.

I'm not posting this for sympathy. I made poor decisions and I own the responsibility for making them. I don't need 15 minutes of internet fame over it. I'm not even posting this as a warning, though I hope others will heed it as such. Or as an apology, or an excuse. I'm posting it in support of my fellow authors who are pissed and decided to go public with their stories. I want you to know that their stories are true and relevant. They aren't just crying wolf. Watch out sheep and shepherds alike, the wolves are out there, and this is just one example. 

♥Spot

Writing process blog tour

I was tagged for this blog tour by the wonderful Aaron Gudmunson, who put up his post last Monday. You can read it here. And if you haven't read his debut novel, Snow Globe, I suggest you check it out. Not only is the cover scary enough to induce nightmares, the story itself is one of the best I've read this year. And I read a whole heck of a lot!

For the tour  I'm required to answer four questions and then pass on the torch. So here goes~

1.) What am I working on?

Currently I'm working on my novella, "The Night Air", which will be released in February 2015 by Ragnarok Publications in a four novella anthology--Grimm Mistresses. I'm sharing book space with some extremely talented female authors: CW LaSart, Mercedes M. Yardley, and Allison M. Dickson. The stories are all modern takes on Grimm fairy tales. My story idea came from a half dream/half lucid incident a few years back when my son had pneumonia and spins a new take on "The Pied Piper."

I'm also working on several anthologies I'm editing that should be releasing in the next few months: Fairly Wicked Tales, in which familiar fairy tales are told from the villain's point of view. The scifi/horror blend No Place Like Home: Tales From a Fractured Future whose tales envision what happens when the government controls too much. And the anticipated Demon Rum and Other Evil Spirits anthology, co-edited with Clint Collins. All the stories have alcohol as the central theme.

And a few short stories I'm writing. :)

2.) How does my work differ from others in the genre?

I'm not sure it does differ much. I will say (and probably should not admit it) I don't write deep stories, layered with hidden meaning. I don't write stories that leave you confused and bewildered or wondering if you missed something everyone else got. I think, when in the hands of the right authors, those stories have their place. But others just leave me shaking my head when I finish reading and that bites. So I write stories I would want to read, stories that entertain, and hopefully, scare the reader. I've always said my sole goal is to make someone leave the bedside light on. That's when I'll know I've succeeded. I want the reader to walk away from my story satisfied with what they've read and saying, "Wow. I didn't see that coming." I want them to still be thinking about it the next day. To me, those are the stories we should be writing.

3.) Why do I write what I do?

Mainly, because that's where my mind goes. I've tried to write other genres, but something horrible always seems to happen to my main characters. I wrote a blog post about the making of a horror writer, which you can read here, but long story short I was raised on a steady diet of horror shows, books, and spooky pranks. It's in my DNA. And I think horror serves a purpose in our lives. I mean, let's face it, things happen all the time in the world we live in that are far more horrific than anything I might write. So writing and reading horror give us a chance to escape the real world horror and allow some of that fear to come out, sort of like letting off a little steam before the pot boils over.

4.) How does my writing process work?

Usually a story will pop into my head through either a scene or a significant line from the story I've yet to write. Then I build the idea from there, mostly through a process I call "what if?" Where I walk around thinking and occasionally asking people "What if you were a pioneer and your family member died in the winter and the ground was too frozen to bury them? Where would you keep the body? How creepy would that be?" Or something of that nature, until the idea is a little more formed. Then I figure out where I'd like to see the story go. How does it end? And eventually I start writing. But I don't have a specific word count or anything, although I do like to at least finish the scene, or chapter, I'm working on. But I write while the words are flowing well. If I have to stop to think too much, I stop. Then I'll do some mindless task like dishes, mowing, laundry, taking a shower and the idea will keep tumbling around in my head until I get the next bit. Then I go back the next day, read what I've written and get the next bit out. I'm slow. Seriously slow. It can take me two weeks to write a short story. Then I have to go back and edit, send it to a friend, make changes based on their suggestions, read it aloud to my family, and finally it might be ready to submit.

Or, if I'm lucky the whole damn thing bursts out of me in five or so hours. :)

And there you have it. At least I hope you're still with me. I'm passing the tour to the lovely, talented Mercedes M. Yardley. Her post will be up next Monday, June 30th, but be sure to check out her blog before then. If you haven't read any of her work, you should. You will not be disappointed! I'm interested to see her answers to these questions. How writers write has always been fascinating to me.

Thanks for stopping by, don't be a stranger (though I hear strangers have the best candy...)!
♥ Stacey

Stressed

So, remember last week's post about how I was going to start writing more, submitting more, and so forth? Why is it that every time I make a plan the Universe decides to throw me a curve ball? Not fair, Universe. Not fair.

I received my share of "whammies" these last two weeks and I feel like everything is all off course. I'm not ready to share some of the bombs that got dropped right now, and might never be, but suffice it to say the last two weeks have been an emotional roller coaster. The last week of last month I was so shell shocked I spent several hours on the couch in my office watching bad reality TV (Teen Mom 3, anyone?), worse movies (Anna Karenina. Why, Kiera Knightley, why?), and eating chips and salsa (we were out of ice cream). I did get the normal shit done: cook supper, feed cats, laundry. But only because I do those things by rote. The brain was on automatic pilot. That is, until I decided wtf, me? You need to figure this stuff out and make some plans. Sitting on the couch watching other people's lives go down the drain is called wallowing. So I got off the couch and started to deal.

I thought I had things under control, but then Sean got sick and ended up in the hospital, further throwing a wrench in my plans. I got calls about CJ from his house. My mom had another neurology appointment. And another small bomb got tossed in. The result? I'm stressed to the breaking point. Seriously. There is not one aspect of my life that isn't at code red stress level right now. It's a good thing I'm one of those "glass half full" people or I'd be huddled in a small pool of my own tears.

So what it comes down to is this: I must ask anyone who is currently doing a project with AKP to be patient right now. They will get finished, they will get published, they will be awesome. It just might not all happen according to schedule. I have less than two weeks before I head to California for the birth of my second grandchild. In those two weeks I have things that, although I LOVE my job, have to come first. Those are time spent with Sean, who leaves for BASIC while I'm in California, and who has been in the hospital. A visit with my oldest son CJ because our last visit got cancelled and I miss him terribly. And also because I will miss his birthday. Another brief visit with my parents, because life is short. Packing and sending all the rest of Molly's baby stuff to her because she will need it. Stocking the house with groceries before I leave. Packing. Paying bills. Preparing to be gone for three weeks. And then flying to California to help my daughter the last week before her due date.

So yes, I am putting my family first. But if I didn't, I wouldn't be who I am. And if I wasn't who I am, you might not want to work with my anyway. But I will finish edits on the No Place Like Home anthology, and the YA novel, and the two fantastic novellas, and Fairly Wicked Tales anthology. You know why? Because next to my family, they are my passion. So a little patience is all I'm asking for. I'd do the same for you if the situation was reversed.

I figure things will get back to normal (or maybe a "new" normal) sometime around October. So stay tuned, friends. Good things are coming.

♥Stacey

I bet you thought I died or something...

Well, I'm still here. And yes, I am the worst blogger in the history of blogging. So without further ado, here's what's going on ...

On the author front, I got a new Facebook fan the other day. How on earth they found me is anybody's guess, but thanks new guy (Jason)! You made my morning. Currently I'm working on some new short stories to add to that "will be published at some point in time" collection of mine. Meanwhile, I've subbed one story lately, with two more waiting to go out. One is waiting for an image to go with it, which Rebecca Treadway is being kind enough to make for me. And the other is in beta reader extraordinaire Caren Widner Hanten's (aka C.W. LaSart) hands.

Fading Light: An Anthology of the Monstrous was released in September, and my story, "Born of Darkness," got a little bit of good attention. Thank you to all who read it and commented. People keep asking me to tell more of the story, or "What happens next?" Originally, I didn't plan on writing anything with those characters. But as the months have gone by, I've found myself contemplating the world they live in, and the lives of the other Lightbringers. It all may just have to be written down. You can click on the cover of the anthology on the right side of the page to bring it up on Amazon. To those of you who already bought it-- "Thank you!"

I'm still plugging away at Olivia's Tale, though rather slowly. Finding time to write, or even submit my own work is difficult. I know, I know, if I was dedicated I would. But, sometimes there's so much life going on that I get distracted. Also, running a publishing company and being a full time editor is kind of time consuming. About that~

Angelic Knight Press has released a slew of new books since the last time I blogged. And we've got something for everyone. We have paranormal romances in the form of the Wysteria Hedge Haven Clan series by Cindy Keen Reynders. If you like your romances a bit on the spicy, humorous, and magical side, you can't go wrong with these books. For those who like creepy southern gothic ghost stories we offer the Southern Hauntings Saga by Bryan Hall. His protagonist, Crate Northgate, a man haunted (literally) by his past, is easy to fall for. Any of you ladies who like bad boys--once you start reading about Crate, you'll be hooked. Not that they're romantic by any means. They are full on scary.

We have the gritty historical drama, Amery House, by Samantha J. Moore. Miss Nadine is yet another character unable to escape a less than perfect past. If you like Jazz, New Orleans, or historical dramas, look no further. We've also got a chilling tale about an elemental demon, possession, and gruesome murders in Tool Shed by Armand Rosamilia. Armand is well known for his zombie fiction, but this book proves he can write just as well about non-zombie horrors.

And we've released the third and final installment of the Satan's Toybox series: Terrifying Teddies. Personally, I think we saved the best for last. All of the anthologies are good, but the stories in this one are creepier. Maybe it's because Teddy Bears look so innocent? These stories will make you think twice about your choice of a fuzzy bedtime companion. My story, "Dead Nicky," is included. It's one of my favorites that I've written. So if you read the book, please leave me a comment and let me know what you thought.

Upcoming anthologies include 50 Shades of Decay, a 50 story anthology about zombie erotica. A little weird? Maybe. A little over the top? Nah. It promises to be an eye-opener. Hoping to have it available on February 14th. What's more romantic than zombies? We'll also be releasing the long awaited No Place Like Home anthology this month. You won't want to miss these tales of government gone horrible wrong. It's packed tight with great authors, both established and new. And we've just started taking subs for Fairly Wicked Tales. Think you know your fairy tales? What if they were all wrong, horribly wrong? This anthology's about to bust that world right open.

You can find links to any of these titles on the website www.angelicknightpress.com. Along with submission calls, guidelines and upcoming releases.

And just reading those last few paragraphs should tell you how busy I am as an editor. Plus, I'm still doing a few freelance jobs. But I love it. I wouldn't trade my job for any in the world. And I want to thank everyone out there, especially my team at AKP: Rebecca Treadway, Danielle Day, and Blaze McRob, for every ounce of support, encouragement, friendship, and love you throw my way. Also, my family for everything.

♥Stacey

Happy Halloween!

So it's the last post for Coffin Hop and I couldn't think of anything to blog about today. But then I had an idea. Remember those old choose your own adventure books? Well, this is a choose your own blog post. I have another blog that I started several years ago. It's my silly side and where I blog about my family. And one year, I did several fun Halloween posts. So I'm going to post links to those posts and you can read what you want.

Would you like a real life ghost story from my own personal experiences? Then you should read "That story I promised you on Sunday" or maybe "So about that haunted house...."

If you want a spooky video from the web, try "The Pantry Ghost."

Another little bit of real life and two movie reviews? Read "Ghosties Again."

If you'd like a spooky poem, try "Come in for a spell."

Want a funny post? Try "The one where I loose a tooth in a pumpkin carving accident..."

And for completely ridiculous, try "The one with zombie giraffes."

Leave me a comment and let me know which one you chose and what you thought about it. All comments are an entry to win a signed (by several authors) print copy of  Fading Light. Or your choice of an eBook version of any of AKP's titles.

Don't forget to visit the other Coffin Hop blogs here .

Happy Halloween & Happy Hopping,
♥Stacey

Movie Time!

So I'm still doing the Coffin Hop thing and thought I'd take a break from interviews. I played a Horror Movie game on Belinda Frisch's blog yesterday and came close to winning. It was so much fun that I thought I'd try it out here. Obviously, I picked different movies than Belinda did, just to mix things up. So scroll through the movie stills and write down the titles. I've picked movies from the last decade, mostly from the last couple of years. All are ones that I've enjoyed.

Since we're Coffin Hopping, you get a chance to win prizes. For a signed (by Gene O'Neill, Gord Rollo, Tim Marquitz, and little ole me) copy of Fading Light: An Anthology of the Monstrous, leave a comment on every blog post. You can always go back and catch up! To win a free eBook of your choice, from any of the Angelic Knight Press titles, one comment = one entry. Don't forget to hop by the AKP blog and meet some of our authors. Leave a comment for a chance to win some cool prizes. And visit the other Coffin Hoppin' Cool Kids here.

Thanks for playing and good luck!

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

Up until now you've been getting one point for each correct guess. The next two pictures are from older films that I consider classics in the genre. Two points apiece for them.

#9

#10

And last but not least, this film is not only a classic, but it's the film I credit with my early love of horror. And a life long phobia. Three points for this guy.
 

#11
Alright! And today's winner gets a signed copy of Fading Light. Plus an entry into the hat for a free eBook. Have fun!

Happy Hopping,
♥Stacey

It's time to Coffin Hop!

Yep, it's that time of year again. Time to put on your Coffin Hopping duds and dance your way through some graveyard posts. Or, you know, visit a bunch of blogs and win free prizes, if you want to be normal about it. There are lots of great folks signed up for the Coffin Hop and they are all offering some fabulous prizes. You should visit them here.
 

And what am I offering? Well, free books of course! Leave a comment on every post and you'll be entered to win a free print copy of Fading Light: An Anthology of the Monstrous, signed by Gene O'Neill, Gord Rollo, Tim Marquitz, and me! If you can't stop by every day, you can still win a prize. For every comment you leave, I'll give you one entry in the hat to win a free eBook of your choice from any of the Angelic Knight Press' library of titles. I'll announce the winners on the Friday after Halloween!

Come back tomorrow for an interview with Patrick C. Greene, the author of Progeny, just released by Hobbes End Publishing!

I'll also have other author interviews and some book reviews for your blog reading pleasure all during the Coffin Hop. And don't forget to visit the Angelic Knight Press blog. We're offering some really great one-of-a-kind prizes there too!

♥Stacey

And another anthology is born...

Born as in released. Not birthed. Although, sometimes it feels like I put as much work into these anthologies as I did into birthing my actual children. So either way... The third installment, and probably final book, in the Satan's Toybox series is now available for purchase on Amazon and Smashwords. The print books should be available soon.

I have to say that this might be my favorite of the anthologies in this series. The stories are very good. And there's just something about taking a small stuffed toy, meant for comfort, and turning it into something horrifying instead. Not to mention, there's a few very creepy children involved. And as I commented on a friend's blog yesterday--if you don't think children are creepy, you've never woken in the middle of the night to have one standing over you, silently staring. That's creepy, even when they are your own offspring. Why do they never stand over their father's side??

Also, my contribution to this anthology, "Dead Nicky," is probably my favorite story I've ever written. I know a lot of people really like "Born of Darkness," in the Fading Light anthology, but I love "Dead Nicky." And I'll let you in on a little secret--when I was writing it, even I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out. I hope you're as surprised as I was.

So if you've got a little time to spare and a hankering for some horror fiction, give this anthology a try. Just don't turn your back on those Teddy Bears...


♥Stacey

News, updates & a photo

I know, right? I'm a horrible blogger. Which is funny because I used to be a fantastic blogger. My other blog, What Passes for Sane on a Crazy Day, was like my baby for a long time. I blogged faithfully (and funnily, so I'm told) nearly every day. For years. Now, I'm lucky if I post once a month. What happened? Did I lose my zest for blogging? Did my life become unfunny? The answer is a resounding "no" to both questions. I still love blogging, I just can't seem to find the time. And my life become unfunny? Seriously? With my family? Not likely.

So what did happen? I got busy. I know, it's a pretty lame excuse for a writer. "I was too busy to write." Um, but I am. I'm running a company. It takes a lot of time. Seriously, some days I barely have time to go to the bathroom. I know you think I'm kidding, but I swear I'm not. My bladder pinky swears. But I'm not here today to give you excuses or facilitate a conversation between my readers and my bladder. I'm here to give you news! Yay! News! No, no, not that boring election coverage news (how many different ways can they insult each other after all?), not sad news about murders, hate crimes, tragic accidents, or drought conditions (but seriously, if it doesn't rain soon and settle some of this dust soon I'm probably going to sneeze myself to death). No, news about me.

I'm hoping that some of you have been seeing the posts on my FB author page or AKP's FB page about the upcoming anthology Fading Light, which I'm ecstatic to be in. I'm sharing a table of contents with some amazing heavy hitters in the horror genre. I'm very proud of my story, though it's a huge departure from my usual writing. And to top it all off--the cover art rocks. The anthology should be available on September 1st. So start saving those pennies now if you want to purchase it. In the next few days I will be posting some excerpts and a closer look at the antho.

And--in even bigger news--I have a short story collection coming out next month. I'm equal parts excited and petrified. Excited, because, well, it's all about me. And I love the stories in it (surely hoping you do too). They are all tales of horror or dark fantasy, some previously published, some new to the public. There are also a few poems. And yes, AKP is the publisher. I know that some look down on releasing work by the staff of a publishing company. If it's all we ever did, promote the work of our staff, I could understand the criticism. But we don't. The fact is we publish a variety of works by new and established authors in multiple genres. I could have shopped my collection around, but why? AKP has a very generous royalty split with it's authors (and yes, I'm taking the same deal that we give our other authors, so that part of the royalties go back to the company). AKP has a fantastic cover artist and is getting a good reputation for quality work. So it seems like a no-brainer to me. But, in part to help silence the critics, and in part because I just think he's a damn fine editor, I have hired Rob M. Miller (you can check out his website here) to edit the collection. It would be impossible for me to edit my own collection, I don't believe anyone is that good of an editor. And I wanted someone outside of our staff to take a look at it.

I'm working with Rebecca Treadway, AKP's amazing cover artist (her new website is under construction), to incorporate a photo of my daughter, Molly Flanagan (she doesn't have a website), on the cover. Molly is gorgeous (okay, I could be slightly biased, but I doubt it), has modeling experience, and will work for books. It's a win-win. And I'm having a blast playing photographer and scouting locations. I posted some of the photos we took, but unfortunately weren't quite awesome enough for print covers (something about DPI's & ISO settings & light) on my FB page. You can see them there, but my favorite is this one:

She looks so sad.

 

 

Although, all of them were cool, in my opinion. So hopefully, we will manage to take one that does work for the cover. We're doing a photo shoot next week in a historical cemetery. Fingers crossed.

 

 

And last but not least, I'm currently reading the submissions for the upcoming anthology No Place Like Home: Tales from a Fractured Future. I will be editing the antho, but will not have a story in it. This one is strictly an editing cred. The theme is sci-fi/horror dystopian. It's an odd amalgamation, but the authors who've submitted really ran with the theme of the future gone horribly wrong. I'll have a table of contents on this one by the end of the month and hopefully, a sneak peak at the cover art (which is amazing) to share.

 

And that's what's going on in my world. How about yours?

 



♥Stacey

Story up at Title Goes Here

Wow, it's been a few days weeks since I blogged, huh? The Press is just so busy right now, I meet myself coming and going. The last couple of weeks have been a vicious cycle of not being able to get things done. I had the perfect work day planned a couple of Sundays ago--my daughter and grandson were visiting her in-laws, Mike & Sean were at camp--so the house was empty. Time to edit! But then a storm knocked out our power, leaving me, quite literally, in the dark and unable to work. So I got a little stressed. Sure, I set my own deadlines and I can always move them, but I don't like to. So the day after I was still stressed and ended up getting an ocular migraine. If you've never had one, let me explain--they start with blurry vision that makes me queasy if I try to focus my eyes, then I lose the vision in one eye. Then the pounding headache starts. Obviously, it rendered me unable to work, or read, or even watch TV. So I took some meds and huddled in a dark bedroom, stressing over not working, until it let up.

Funny thing--guess what causes ocular migraines? Stress. Lol. Well, according to WebMD, it's stress, fatigue, and caffeine. But I wouldn't need the caffeine if I wasn't so fatigued. And I wouldn't be so fatigued if I slept better. And I'd be more rested if I didn't have trouble sleeping because I'm stressed. Sounds like one huge circle of non-awesomeness, doesn't it? I need to find more Zen.


Then, of course, there was home improvement hell and 4th of July.


Don't get me wrong--I love, absolutely love my work. Love almost everything about it. But I've set some pretty high standards for us and that adds pressure. And, of course, I'm my own biggest critic. But I also believe that nothing worthwhile comes easy. It takes hard work and perseverance, and perseverance is my middle name. (Sorry, Mom. I know you picked 'Michelle,' but I've never liked that name and "Perseverance" really has a ring to it.)

So we have some really great things coming from Angelic Knight Press this year, possibly including a Gothic novella I authored. Two fantastic Anthologies in the line-up and more of both Bryan Hall's Southern Hauntings Saga and Cindy Keen Reynder's Wysteria Hedge Haven Clan Series. Plus much more. I'll be going to KillerCon in Vegas in September.

And, I've banded together with a few other rogues in a quest to reach "Pro" status with the HWA. We're all writing and submitting to pro markets, sharing our rejections and acceptances. It's nice to have a support group, and one filled with people I'd really like to see succeed. I'll let you know the status of the quest throughout the year.

And, it's not a "pro" market, meaning it didn't pay me 5 cents a word or more, actually they didn't pay me anything, but I had a story accepted earlier this year to Title Goes Here, an online magazine. You can click here to read my story, "The Wind". Warning: it is a tad gruesome. Let me know what you think.

♥Stacey

Show me some love...grab your free copy!

Well, I convinced the other owner's at Angelic Knight Press to jump on the KDP Select bandwagon. It will take probably a month to really see if this is helping sales or not. I'm excited that it will. The authors involved may stone me if it's not. Well, okay, not stone me, but you know what I mean...

We jumped in with Satan's Toybox: Toy Soldiers, our second anthology in the Satan's Toybox series. You can grab it for FREE at Amazon.com for the rest of the weekend, until Monday at midnight. If you like horror stories and variety in your tales, it's a great bargain.

I love anthologies, it gives you a chance to sample the work of many new authors, authors that you can then seek out and see what else they have available. So, in theory, offering the book for free should promote individual sales for all of authors and the press. Fingers crossed.

Meanwhile, when I'm not obsessively checking the stats at Amazon (at the time of this writing we have gone from #267,003 in Kindle books last night to #3461 this morning and are now #15 on the fiction/genre fiction/anthologies bestseller list), I'm busy going through submissions for our third anthology, Satan's Toybox: Terrifying Teddies.

I'll let you all know how it goes. And if you do grab your free copy, don't forget we would love a review on Amazon, Goodreads, Library Thing or your blog. Or a shout-out via social media of your choice.

♥Stacey