Monday, April 14, 2008

Hype!

Yes, I'm putzing out on words again and giving y'all some announcements.
New Barbara Davies book from Bedazzled Ink!

Good morrow! Grab your tricorne and scurry to ye olde favourite book shoppe for Bedazzled Ink's latest Barbara Davies book, Rebeccah and the Highwayman.

Rebeccah and the Highwayman
Barbara Davies

It's 1706, the time of good Queen Anne. Mistress Rebeccah Dutton never dreamed that several encounters with the notorious highwayman Blue-Eyed Nick on the deserted heaths around London would turn her respectable world upside down. When she discovers the highwayman is actually a woman named Kate, her curiosity about the dashing thief turns to fascination. Kate has to deal with a thieftaker snapping at her heels and secrets from her past before Rebeccah can become better acquainted with this intriguing highwaywoman. Will Kate avoid the shadow of Tyburn long enough for Rebeccah to explore this twist of fate?

Claudia

New Q. Kelly book from Regal Crest Enterprises!

Hello, everyone! This is Q. Kelly (Sarkel). I'm thrilled to announce that my first book, The Odd Couple, was released last week by Regal Crest Enterprises. You can buy it through just about any bookstore. If the ones near you do not carry it/have it in stock, they will most likely order it for you. You pay no shipping!

The ISBN for the book is 978-1932300994. For more info about me and the book, check out www.myspace.com/q_kelly and www.qkelly.net.

Buy "The Odd Couple" online: StarCrossed Productions


Read an excerpt from Chapter Two here: qkelly.blogspot.com/2008/04/odd-couple-excerpt.html

Here's a summary of the story:

Morrisey Hawthorne and her four-year-old son, Gareth, have a pretty good life.Then one day they meet Charlene Sudsbury, who is trying to move on from the suicide of her son, JP, three years before. Gareth is nearly the mirror image of JP, and Charlene connects instantly with him. Not quite so with Morrisey,who can't escape fast enough after Charlene shows her a picture of JP. Charlene is convinced Morrisey is hiding something and sets out in search of the truth. Despite the circumstances, the two women form an unusual bond and end up with a lot more than they bargained for. But when an old friend of JP's resurfaces, he challenges the fragile trust Morrisey and Charlene have been building. Can these two women overcome the obstacles that separate them from the happiness they seek?

Cheers,
Kelly


Enjoy those updates!

Tamara

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Sunday, April 13, 2008

Announcement from Phil

Take it away Phil!
Hi, Y'all...Oz here. Yeah, it's me again. So you know what that means. It's Challenge time. The Spring Bard Challenge is about to get underway. What? No, not diving. Spring B-A-R-D, not Spring B-O-A-R-D. Geez.

Anywho...if you love romance, desire drama, adore angst or crave comedy...The Academy wants you to come play. The Challenge is called "Personally Yours."

Yup, it involves writing a story around one of our 12 personal ads. And I think we covered a pretty wide selection of situations in that dozen too. Write a little, write a lot (well not more than 30 pages) and have fun with it. Deadline is May 24th.

You can find the info here: www.academyofbards.org/contest/challenge19/index.html

Good Luck.
Phil - OZ


So there you have it. The Academy is having another fun challenge. Check it out and join in the fun.

Now back to your updates, enjoy!

Elisa

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Saturday, April 12, 2008

Hype!

Final reminder!
Who would have thought that an ordinary clip show from the second season of Xena: Warrior Princess would spawn one of the most amazing renaissances of writing and publishing in history? The rise of the literary genre that has come to be known as Uber is the single most important phenomenon to come out of the Xenaverse.

Beyond the Xenaverse: The Uber Phenomenon... is a collection of well-researched yet entertaining essays that explores some aspect of Uber-dom and the bards who write Uber fiction.

Topics we'd like to see include, but are not limited to the following. Keep in mind that this list is just a jumping off point for ideas. We're open to any topics relating to Uber fiction writing in the Xenaverse.

1. The rise of Uber fiction - an historical overview
2. Discussion and analysis of the sub categories of Xena fan fiction o general Uber o alternative Uber o Uber fiction based on characters other than Xena and Gabrielle
3. In depth discussion of individual authors and their stories o Comprehensive overviews o In depth exploration of stories or series of stories
4. The sites that host and list stories and story updates.
5. Analysis of individual bards influences on other bards - the different "schools" of Uber fiction.
6. The impact of Ubers on readers.
7. The impact that writing Ubers has had on the writers.
8. The history of Uber publishing and publishing companies.
9. The spread of Uber to other fandoms.
10. Any other topic related to Uber fiction you want to talk about

If you're interested in participating, put together a brief proposal of the topic you want to write about. Remember, except for broad overviews, the narrower the scope of the topic, the better. We're looking for well-researched in depth explorations of whatever you choose to write about.

The deadline for proposals is June 1, 2008.

Thank you and we look forward to your proposal ideas.
The Minions of Bedazzled Ink Publishing


Hope y'all are going to make the Minions happy and send in your proposals!

Tamara

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Friday, April 11, 2008

TGIF

I think the title says it all. Enjoy your updates.

Elisa

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Thursday, April 10, 2008

...where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain...

Spring in Oklahoma is also known as Wind. It makes for interesting walks. One way you'll fight for every step, another way you get a nice push. I do love it though. Especially when the wind brings a spectacular thunderstorm.

Enjoy the updates and let these writers know you appreciate their efforts!

Tamara

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Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Announcement from Stacia Seaman

Tonight something different. Take it away, Stacia!
Editing, Self-editing, and Beta-reading:
Taking your skills to the next level

Join us for a month-long educational experience where you'll learn:
o Tools to help writers craft better stories
o Ways for writers to get the best from their beta readers
o Storycrafting tips and research techniques
o What red flags editors look out for, serious enough to defeat a manuscript
o Insights into the publishing process

This unique learning experience will not only give you important feedback and new insights, but it will also take you steps beyond what other beta readers and beginner editors can do.

You'll also learn:
o How real editors use style sheets to keep stories consistent (and you'll learn more about these powerful tools that well-known authors find essential in their work)
o How to avoid editorial pet peeves that can work against your manuscript
o How to do research that'll take your art and work to the next level
o How to avoid the genre trap: make the formula work for you
o And more!

Don't think you know the beginning of what real editors do? This interactive workshop will use real-life examples and exercises to get you ahead of the game. It'll take the guesswork out of many steps of beta reading and will give you an insider's grasp of important editing techniques.

It'll take the mystery out of professional editing, answer your questions, and give you an insider's perspective on how to make stories and novels more coherent, easily read, and ultimately, more sellable!

This is a can't miss opportunity!

Brought to You By:

Stacia Seaman is an editor who has worked with New York Times and USA Today best-selling authors. She has edited numerous award-winning titles, and with co-editor Radclyffe has won a Lammy for Erotic Interludes 2: Stolen Moments and an Independent Publishers Awards silver medal and a Golden Crown Literary Award for Erotic Interludes 4: Extreme Passions. Stacia edits everything from textbooks to popular nonfiction to mysteries and romance novels. Visit her on the Web at www.staciaseaman.com.

An Alice B. Reader's Choice Award winner, Therese Szymanski has been short-listed for a Spectrum and a few Lammies and Goldies, and made the Publishing Triangle's list of notable lesbian books in 2004. She's written eight Brett Higgins Motor City Thrillers (When the Dancing Stops, When the Dead Speak, When Some Body Disappears, When Evil Changes Face, When the Corpse Lies, When First We Practice and When It's All Relative); It's All Smoke & Mirrors (the First Chronicles of Shawn Donnelly), edited Back to Basics, Call of the Dark, Wild Nights, Fantasy and A Perfect Valentine; has novellas in Once Upon a Dyke, Stake through the Heart, Tall in the Saddle and Bell, Book and Dyke and has a few dozen published short stories. Every single book she's edited has been shortlisted for-or won-an award. You can check her out on the Web at www.BigBadButch.com.

This workshop facilitated by Evecho.
Evecho is the publisher and editor-in-chief of ReadTheseLips.com, an e-publisher of lesbian short writings and a bibliographic resource of lesbian and lesbian-friendly anthologies. For more information, see www.ReadTheseLips.com and the Read These Lips blog.

Details of this fantastic workshop:

When: 5 weeks, from 5 May to 10 June 2008.
Where: Online at YahooGroups
Fee: USD $25 per participant
How to register: Payments via PayPal to editingworkshop@gmail.com. After payment is confirmed, send an e-mail to editingworkshop@gmail.com with your name and YahooID to be invited to the Workshop on YahooGroups.

Spaces limited! All invites on first-come, first-served basis.


Okay...there you have it. Editing is a hugely important part of any well-written story. Hence all you authors or wannabe authors consider this workshop as something that may be worth your time.

Elisa

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Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Hype!

Another poke....
Her legions of fans call her the Goddess of Bards. Her fans call themselves Merpups. She's Melissa Good, an employee of EDS by day and a pop culture icon by night and she doesn't even have to squeeze into a phone booth and don funny-looking tights to make the transition. She just has to be herself while weaving amazing stories and creating memorable characters.

Melissa "Missy" Good's place in late 20th/early 21st Century popular culture needs to be documented for future generations. To this end, the scope of Herding Cats With Melissa Good: A Celebration of a Reluctant Merwolf... will cover all aspects of Missy's rise as a popular culture icon, her written work, her involvement in the Xenaverse, her life and times, her impact on the lives of her fans, her involvement in the creation of Uber publishing, the Merpups, the Bardcons, the list goes on and on.

We are looking for well-researched yet entertaining essays that explore some aspect of Melissa Good's life, work, and influences. For example, you can write an overview of, say, all her stories or write an essay on just The Journey of Soulmates or on a single story like Dark Comes the Morning. More ideas can be found at the Xenaverse webpage under Herding Cats...

Thank you and we look forward to your proposal ideas.

The Minions of Bedazzled Ink Publishing

Another Xenaverse Scroll book topic: www.bedazzledink.com/roguebooks/xenaversescrolls


Reminding done, now get to the updates!

Tamara

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Monday, April 07, 2008

Monday

Enjoy your updates!

Elisa

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Sunday, April 06, 2008

Lesson Learned

It was just me and kids this weekend and I promised them we'd sleep in the tent since all of us forgot about it last weekend. Not ideal considering Mike and I usually trade off so one of us gets a decent night's sleep in a bed.

Cal's friend Tanner spent the night on Friday and I figured if we all slept in the tent Friday night I might be able to beg off on Saturday night. Or at least sneak out to my bed once Duncan and Cal were asleep.

Being spring, our weather is all over the place. One day it's in the 40s, the next in the 70s. Friday was one of the cooler days. Our temp when we crawled into the tent was 50 (10 C) with expected lows at night in the 40s. E thinks I'm a wimp but that's cold to us. I had the tent stuffed with plenty of blankets for us to sleep on and to cover with. Unfortunately it wasn't enough.

The two little boys were warm and toasty in the middle (with Max at their feet). They were even extremely sweaty around 12:30 when I had to crawl out of the tent to pee. Sweaty? How the hell could they be sweaty? I was freezing!

I crawled back into bed and dozed until 2:00 when I had to pee again. Damn cold. Cal snuggled up to me at some point. He was cold now, of course. I reached down to make sure he was covered and touched wet. He had his own little urge to pee from the cold but hadn't woken up to do it. I certainly didn't want to wake everyone up, get the pee blankets out, clean up Cal and then put us back to bed. I was cold enough as it was and after that ordeal I'd be even colder. Not to mention dealing with a bunch of now cold kids. So I went back to sleep.

Now I use the term "sleep" loosely. I do believe I achieved nothing beyond a doze all night. My feet, encased in wool socks, never did warm up and if my feet aren't warm my body isn't warm. I ended up leaving the tent around 6:30 (pee again) and decided to spend the rest of my time in my own bed. It was wonderful. Thankfully that night convinced both boys that we need to wait for warmer weather to sleep in the tent.

Tamara

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Saturday, April 05, 2008

Rain Rain Rain

Good thing I like it a lot. Many folks around here are going to start getting the atsy summer grumps. Our spring, trying to escape the winter grip, is on it's way. Rain has shown up unexpectedly amongst the semi clearing we were promised. Still a little cool, but all in all spring seems to be here. I once again need to mow but have to dodge the rains to do it. The cherry trees are going and my yard's bulbs are on the edge of explosion. My favorite season is here. Let the rain fall.

Enjoy your updates all!

Elisa

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Friday, April 04, 2008

Hype!

Reminder 2....
Celebrity in the Xenaverse isn't reserved for only the people involved in the creation of Xena: Warrior Princess. Ordinary citizens of the Xenaverse have been elevated to celebrity status. Fifteen Candlemarks of Fame: Celebrities from the Xenaverse is a celebration of these special individuals whose unique talents and personalities has captured the highest respect of their fellow Xenites.

We are looking for well-researched yet entertaining essays about these extraordinary people from the Xenaverse.

If you're interested in participating, put together a brief proposal of the topic you want to write about. Remember, except for broad overviews, the narrower the scope of the topic, the better. We're looking for well-researched in depth explorations of whatever you choose to write about.

The deadline for proposals is May 1, 2008.

Send proposals to xenaversesubs@bedazzledink.com. Put Proposal: Fifteen Candlemarks of Fame in the subject line.

Thank you and we look forward to your proposal ideas.

The Minions of Bedazzled Ink Publishing

Another Xenaverse Scroll book topic: www.bedazzledink.com/roguebooks/xenaversescrolls


Enjoy the updates!

Tamara

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Thursday, April 03, 2008

Announcement from Evecho

Take it away, Evecho....
In the lead up to our next e-anthology, Second Helpings: Read These Lips, Volume 2, Lesbian Short Writings, we've launched a blog to keep folks updated.

We hope you'll drop by and check it out at readtheselips.wordpress.com. And if you haven't read our first anthology, Openings, you can pick up a free copy at www.readtheselips.com/RTLcurrent.html.

Evecho
Editor-in-Chief
email: info@readtheselips.com
www.ReadTheseLips.com


Dandy something else fun to read. And now back to the regularly scheduled programming. Enjoy!

Elisa

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Wednesday, April 02, 2008

Hype!

Reminder 2 for Bedazzled Ink's keen project....
The Xenaverse can be a confusing and rather intimidating place for visitors and guests. Even long time Xenites get lost on occasion. The Five Dinars' Tour of the Xenaverse is a guidebook to the important destinations, way stations, and landmarks in the cyberworld created by the fans of Xena: Warrior Princess.

This is the chance for Xenites with an eye for local color and an ear for colorful characters and their anecdotes to write about their travels through the Web sites, forums, message boards, online groups and other Xenite cyber habitats past and present.

If you're interested in participating, put together a brief proposal of the topic you want to write about. Remember, except for broad overviews, the narrower the scope of the topic, the better. We're looking for well-researched in depth explorations of whatever you choose to write about.

The deadline for proposals is May 1, 2008.

Send proposals to xenaversesubs@bedazzledink.com. Put Proposal: The Five Dinars' Tour in the subject line.

Thank you and we look forward to your proposal ideas.

The Minions of Bedazzled Ink Publishing

Another Xenaverse Scroll book topic: www.bedazzledink.com/roguebooks/xenaversescrolls


I hope y'all are busy with those proposals.... Enjoy the updates!

Tamara

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Tuesday, April 01, 2008

SCP

If you ever check out our UberEtc.com web site carefully you may notice something extra. Being one who hates spam and advertisement we actually bought our domain to keep less of that. We all get more than we need daily already. However, you will notice a nifty new icon on the right side of our web site. Yes, it's an advertisement, but one we think worthy of your time and, perhaps, of value and interest to a few of you. It links to StarCrossed Productions (SCP),a place I support often. The writers and authors on UE may some day find their books listed and sold through SCP.

SCP is online book store just like the big guys. However, the difference for me is, like my little local bookstore, they support something more than just a profit. They provide an incredible array of authors and publishers whether they are a big press or small for a wide selection of Lesbian, Gay and mixed titles. They tell me up front how much stock they have, hence none of that waiting period that the big stores seems to use. They've been around a while now and do a really good job. I've found some great small press offerings that I just didn't see anywhere else.

They also have the usual array of nifty offerings like, wish lists, free shipping offers (with minimum purchase amount) and even a handy newsletter that I personally get and use monthly giving me an overview of many of the new releases from all the publishers I am interested in. I also know from friends outside the USA, that they have had excellent experiences with SCP as well. The books get there quickly, safely and at reasonable cost.

So, next time you're searching for a book, give them a try, you may be glad you did. And remember by supporting the causes, whether it be authors, publishers or sites that sell books ,you're giving back to our community and supporting something of value. Plus you get the opportunity of having something grand to read. Enjoy.

Now back to your updates.

Elisa

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