Meta Madness in March

March is going be a great month for me. I'm really excited about a few of the projects making their debut over the next few weeks. The first of which is the release of the anthology CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY? It's due out on March 1st, and I'm buzzing with anticipation. Let me tell you a bit about the book before I get ahead of myself.



CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY? is edited by Lincoln Crisler and published by Damnation Books. Here's the official site description:

"Lord Acton originally wrote, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Modern pop-culture is brimming over with stories of bright, polished men and women with iron wills and indestructible moral codes, who throw themselves into a life of public service after being graced (or cursed) with cosmic powers, a magic ring, puberty-activated mutant genes or robot suits.

How about the people who look out for ‘Number One?’ With flaws? With serious psychological issues? Who’ve ve been looking for a ticket out of their circumstances and finally lucked into it? Who’ve devoted themselves to their success and have reached it, at long last? The nerdy kid who doesn’t have to be pushed around and isn’t willing to hide anymore? The jealous girl that’s tired of being the ‘other woman?’ The disenfranchised homeless man? The bored housewife who wishes she’d made some different choices?

What would really happen if today’s people had superpowers? Available March 2012 in paperback and digital formats from Damnation Books. Cover art by Jessica Lucero."

If that didn't get your attention, this should. It's the official Table of Contents.

Tim Marquitz
Retribution
Weston Ochse
Hollywood Villainy
William Todd Rose
Mental Man
Jeremy Hepler
The Real Church
A.S. Fox
Ozymandias Revisited
Jason M. Tucker
Enlightened by Sin
Jeff Strand
The Origin of Slashy
Edward M. Erdelac
Conviction
Kris Ashton
Threshold
A.D. Spencer
Oily
Joe McKinney
Hero
Wayne Ligon
Pride
Malon Edwards
G-Child
Jason Gehlert
Static
Karina Fabian
Illusion
Anthony Laffan
Sabre
Lee Mather
Crooked
Trisha J. Woodridge
Fixed
Cat Rambo
Acquainted With the Night
Wayne Helge
Gone Rogue
Andrew Bourelle
Max and Rose

Definitely some recognizable names on that list, right?

I'm always excited about new anthology releases, especially featuring my shorts, but I'm even more thrilled about this particular book because I finally wrote a story for my metahuman Cat's Eye.

While my contribution, "Oily," is a very short story, I have several novella length tales starring Cat's Eye, just waiting to be written. The character came to me in a sudden rush...an angry one-eyed girl, a tragic family history, a father who creates marvelous marbles, and an informant with a hook for a hand. I was inspired by a student I once met who had a glass eye, by a documentary on the machines and craftsmen who make marbles, by a childhood littered with characters displaying telekinetic abilities. Cat's Eye's origin tale is as clear as the pages of a graphic novel page behind my eyelids. I know where her journey began and where it'll end, with that final marble, the Devil's Eye.

"Oily" is just a tiny trip into her world, but I hope to revisit it often. Having her first story published in what I know to be an awesome dark collection is hopefully just the beginning.

"Sirius Issues" Selected for Evolved 1 Anthology

While putting the finishing touches on my short novella "Seeking Sagittarius" for Wicked Bag of Suspense Tales (Wicked East Press), I received an acceptance email from Evolved Publishing. Evolved is putting together a mixed genre anthology for their short story contest finalists, and I'm thrilled to say, my quirky science fiction tale "Sirius Issues" will be one of its ten selections. Evolved 1: A Short Story Collection will feature a great range of tales. Its tentative release date is December 23, 2011, and it will be, initially, released in e-book format.

I will, of course, put up more information on the collection, and my story, closer to the release date. In the meantime, though, check out this great publisher at their Facebook page, or their main site.

Of Scaled Beasts...

Since the final Table of Contents are now up, I thought I'd share a couple of my recent acceptances with the blogosphere.

****
Fish

Dagan Books is publishing an anthology called Fish, which promises to be filled with tales of underwater wonder and rediscovered fish mythology. As soon as I saw the charming cover by Galen Dara, I went to work on a short story to fit the call for submissions. I'm happy to say that my story "Fish Tears" is listed in the Table of Contents. "Fish Tears" is a post-Apocalyptic glimpse at a world without rivers. And, if you know me well, the heavy dose of Egyptian mythology comes as no surprise. It was a joy to write.

The anthology is due out in February 2012. I'll be sure to post more information closer to the release date.

****
Here There Be Dragons

Wicked East Press (their submissions forum can be found here) held their first writing contest recently, and though I didn't win a prize, my story was accepted for publication in Here There Be Dragons. My tale, "A Trade of Ice," concerns an unwilling messenger sent to make a terrible trade with a great monster (hint, she has wings, scales, and fits the cover art--which was put together by the lovely Rebecca Besser). From the Table of Contents alone, I can tell this is going to be a great "gift" anthology for fans of dragons--in fact, I'm pretty certain I'll be giving my brother a copy.

I'll give you an update on the release date as soon as I have more information.

****
Random Chicken

And now for a segment I like to call "Random Chicken". Because chickens, when they appear, usually are, well, random.

This week, Patricia Louise Puckett celebrated the birth of her first niece, Madeline Rose. Congratulations to the lucky parents, Laura and Lee! She's one of the most beautiful baby girls I've ever seen, and I might just have to use her for inspiration in one of my upcoming middle reader stories, which is only fitting since she's certain to be spoiled like a princess ;)

Take a Coffee Break

Wicked East Press is currently taking submissions for Short Sips: Coffee House Flash Fiction Collection 2, but they already have 4/5 of the book filled. But if you happen to have a short tale between 500-1,500, swing by the site and see if Jessica Weiss is interested. Why submit to a 4theLove collection? Well, other than gaining exposure, you'll be sharing the TOC with several great authors. Did I mention that Patricia Puckett and I have made contributions? ;) You can check our stories, "Bad News" by Patricia and "Sammy Four-Eyes" by yours truly, when the book is released (likely by the end of the year). Come join the fun!