Raven's Rumors - Karen A. Romanko's Journal

A note about previous publication on the net

Tue, 13 May 2008 08:34:31 GMT

I'm not sure what the practice is at other e-zines, but at Raven Electrick, since the editor is a compulsive sort, she pulls a random line from stories and poems she's about to accept and runs a Google search on them to make sure the candidate isn't currently appearing on the net. Raven Electrick is buying FIRST electronic rights, after all, and if it's already on the net, then Raven won't be first. In the current instance, someone has just lost out on an acceptance, but, in the silver lining department, someone in the holds pile is going to receive a promotion.

Creativity break

Fri, 09 May 2008 08:05:14 GMT

For the past few weeks I've been reading and answering submissions for Raven Electrick, sending out press releases for Sporty Spec, and performing other worthwhile tasks, so I haven't had much time for creativity. This is my official creativity break. Since it needs to be quick, I decided to play with some photos I took in our backyard a few weeks ago. Below are a couple of my favorites.

I still haven't found out what these flowers are. We have three bushes of them, white, deep red, and pink. The actual flowers are only about three quarters of an inch wide. I took this one with the "digital macro" setting of the camera. I really love the new camera, but with so many digital settings, I find I sometimes can't remember where a feature I want is located. This can be a problem if a fast-moving photo op presents itself.

This one is the Southwest view from our yard at sunset:

Well, it was a short break, but I must say I do feel better now. :-)

Photos copyright 2008, Karen A. Romanko.

Raven Electrick: Purchases four and five

Fri, 09 May 2008 02:45:35 GMT

My sojourn in the Raven Electrick holds pile continues, with two new purchases to report. Looking ahead to Halloween (my favorite season) we'll have Karen L. Newman's poem "Internet Witch," scheduled for late September, and Mark Rich's story "O'Lantern" slated for the big day itself.

More purchases forthcoming...

Raven Electrick: Second reading complete + third purchase

Wed, 07 May 2008 02:05:43 GMT

I've just completed a second reading of all the manuscripts in Raven Electrick's holds pile, weeding out about a third of them, mostly by rejection. There's one new purchase to report, "Its Hour Come Round At Last" by J. C. Runolfson, a dark fantasy poem with a "Daikaiju" twist.

Now I've got some hard decisions to make, as I like everything that's left, but, alas, some of it must go. This is always the toughest part for me. (I know, boo hoo--poor editor lady!) Anyway, I hope to have it all sorted out within the next few weeks.

Raven Electrick: First reading complete

Thu, 01 May 2008 08:25:25 GMT

Just a quick note that I've now completed a first reading of all submissions sent during Raven Electrick's March submission period. Everyone who submitted should have received a response from me, whether rejection, acceptance, or hold notice. If you sent a submission during March, and have not received one of the aforementioned responses, send a query ASAP to the query address listed at the bottom of the writer's guidelines page.

If you're in the holds pile, you've got about a one in four chance at this point. Much better odds than the lottery, at least. :-)

Raven: new story + second purchase; Writing: poem at Mindflights

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 02:22:02 GMT

I've got a pack o' newslets today:

First, I've just added a new story at Raven Electrick, "Demonic Persuasion" by Bruce Golden. Find out what happens when an incubus questions his "demonic orientation."

I'm also happy to announce that I've made a second purchase from Raven Electrick's March submission period, "Salt Water Rafting," a science fiction poem by Mary Jo Rabe.

The last Raven note is that I've responded to submissions sent through March 28, with either a rejection, a hold notice, or an acceptance. My plan at this point is to finish off a first reading of all submissions, and then jump into the holds pile.

In writing news, my poem "The Banshee of Brooklyn" has just gone live at Mindflights. The teaser is, "A Gaelic legend receives a modern makeover..."

Music Video break: I'm Shipping Up To Boston - Dropkick Murphys

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 02:43:10 GMT

A song with special relevance for Red Sox fans. (Who knew the lyrics were written by Woody Guthrie, not that there are many of them.)

Slush pile: The horror!

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 08:30:16 GMT

I've mentioned during previous reading periods that there always seems to be a glut of something in Raven Electrick's slush pile. Usually it's a subgenre or theme--one time it was poems about fairies, another it was astronomical poems. But this time it's an entire genre. For the first time ever, the vast majority of flash submissions are in the horror genre. I've never had one genre so predominate during a reading period. I'll assume it's just one of those coincidences and nothing to do with the current zeitgeist.

In any case, I've now responded to submissions sent through March 12.

My first poetry reading...

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 02:52:55 GMT

...as in, doing the actual reading, and not just sitting in the audience...was last night. I wasn't one of the featured poets, just an "open mic" type. I've done some teaching of both undergraduate and law school students, and, therefore, some public speaking, but reading poetry aloud has always scared me, because some of the readers do more acting than reading, and I don't have a thespian bone in my body. But I gave it a try, and am happy to report I survived. I read Marcie Lynn Tentchoff's "Star Boarding" from Sporty Spec and my own Boulevard Ghosts, which first appeared in Full Unit Hookup, and has been reprinted in several different venues.

The event was organized by Debbie Kolodji as part of Monday Night Poetry in Pasadena. It was the third annual science fiction and fantasy poetry night, and the featured readers were Kendall Evans and Denise Dumars. Below is a photo montage of (clockwise from left) Debbie, yours truly, Denise, and Kendall.

Photos by Robert A. Desharnais and Karen A. Romanko

Not a big surprise...

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 03:18:18 GMT

Meme via angelinehawkes
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View My Profile(proudfeminist)

Raven Electrick: first purchase + March 6

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:45:00 GMT

I'm delighted to report that Raven Electrick's first purchase for 2008 is "Neighbors," a 400-word story by Robert Borski, and one of the most original flashes I've read. Robert's fiction has appeared in Analog and F&SF, his poetry in Strange Horizons and Star*Line, and he's written two books about the fiction of Gene Wolfe. "Neighbors" is scheduled to appear in Raven Electrick on August 29.

I've now replied to subs sent through March 6, and the list of holds is growing. The odds of acceptance for anyone on the holds list are about one in two at the moment, but that will change as I continue my trek through the slush pile.

Poetry sale to Aberrant Dreams + Raven slush update

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 07:51:00 GMT

On Thursday, I received welcome news from mtentchoff that she's accepted my poem "Dr. Holt's House of Hormones" for publication in Aberrant Dreams. This was the first poem I'd written since my big layoff to edit and publish Sporty Spec, so I'm thrilled it found a home first time out the door.

On the Raven Electrick front, I've answered subs sent through March 3 with either a rejection or a hold notice. I'm now working on March 4, the heaviest submission day, and should have that finished in the next couple of days. After that, things should start to move pretty quickly. March 4 also yielded the first acceptance, and I'll post that info if the author accepts my acceptance. (I never take these things for granted.)

Sporty Spec for $9.95 (30% discount) at Amazon marketplace

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 22:10:09 GMT

Just a very quick note that one of the Amazon marketplace sellers, "BKSELLER," rated five stars, is selling NEW copies of Sporty Spec: Games of the Fantastic for $9.95, almost a 30% discount off the $13.95 retail price. To be honest, I wonder if it's a mistake, because the distributor takes a big cut, but no matter. I thought I should mention it in case anyone has been waiting to buy a copy. Now might be the time. :-)

The link on Sporty Spec above takes you directly to Sporty Spec's marketplace page at Amazon. Here's the link to the main Sporty Spec page at Amazon, which includes the book description and two five-star customer reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0615173616/ravenelectrick

Quick slush pile update

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 02:43:18 GMT

I've now responded to Raven Electrick submissions sent on March 1 with either a rejection or a hold notice. I'm trying out hold notices this time out rather than posting the coded hold lists on my blog. I'm sure this practice will be more convenient for the authors. I'm hoping it will also work out better for me, but only time will tell.

Working on March 2 now. The heaviest submission day was March 4, so things will slow down a bit when I get there.

Well, it only took five subs...

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 01:50:06 GMT

... to get me annoyed. Every year I say, "no severed body parts," and every year one or more authors seem to feel that I will somehow find the severed body part(s) in THEIR stories charming. Well, I don't. I'm a wimp, and I'm proud of it. No severed body parts! No dead babies! Yes, it's possible to write horror stories without those elements.

A busy Raven...

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 08:34:27 GMT

Much newness on the Raven Electrick front:

First, I've just added “Camera Obscura," a wonderfully clever poem by dkolodji, to the poetry contents at Raven Electrick:

http://www.ravenelectrick.com/ravenpoetrick/cameraobscura.html

Second, I've been doing a bit of sprucing up of the little lady, who just turned eight years old in March. (Not sure what that translates to in Internet years.) I've created a poetry archive for the poems published in 2000-2001. (Next month I'll make an archive for the early fiction contents.) To make things easier to find, I've added a search box to the homepage, so you can now search Raven Electrick's contents. (The latter made the lapsed librarian in me squee with delight.) I'm also phasing out the Vampire Haven (lack of sales) and the Raven's Writers section, since I've been including the author bios underneath the stories and poems since 2002.

Finally, in a scant hour or so, Raven Electrick will be closed to submissions for this year. (Although March 31 has come and gone here in LA, I like to give those folks in Honolulu the benefit of the doubt.) So tomorrow I will begin plowing through the pile o' subs. (Can't wait to see what y'all have sent.)

Hook me up to the car battery...

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 07:50:07 GMT

There's an episode of the series Coach where Luther (Jerry Van Dyke) tells Hayden (Craig T. Nelson) that should the need arise to keep him alive via artificial means, Luther wants to be hooked up to the car battery if necessary. He wants to live!

That silly sitcom-philosophizing looks like wisdom today after the news that a man who was declared brain-dead and about to have his organs harvested was able to walk out of a rehab center on his own steam 48 days later:

Pronounced dead, man takes ‘miraculous’ turn

I don't mean to oversimplify something that's complicated, but when they say, "Doctors can’t explain why 21-year-old Zack Dunlap recovered from accident," I think I'll take Luther's car battery option, at least until they figure it out.

Mini-vac(ation)

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 04:35:32 GMT

On Saturday, Bob and I took off to Oxnard for a 3-day mini-vacation at the Embassy Suites Mandalay Beach Resort, just a 75-minute drive away. It's a pretty hotel, right on the beach. We had a nice time, although the trip coincided with the return of cooler weather, and we had to bug out a day early because I wasn't feeling well. So a mixed review for the mini-vac overall, but I'm still glad we went.

Here are a few of my favorite photos.

Dolphin saves two stranded whales

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 22:38:04 GMT

Did everyone see this? I love it when positive, life-affirming news actually makes it to the national news outlets. I saw this story reported on the CNN Situation Room, of all places:

Dolphin Saves Stuck Whales, Guides Them Back to Sea

There's slush in my spam

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 08:59:45 GMT

Not to worry anyone who's submitted to Raven Electrick during the current reading period (ending March 31), but a couple of submissions have ended up in my account's "spamcatcher," which has never happened before. Said submitters DID FOLLOW the guidelines, and ye old spamcatcher has had very few false positives, so I'm not sure what gives. Anyway, I rescued the submissions and will continue to monitor the spam. But please do follow the instructions on the guidelines page, including the appropriate subject heading, so submissions will easily pop out to my eye if they get caught with the spam.

One thing I haven't included on the guidelines page because I'd assumed everyone knows it's part of standard submission procedure is to include your legal name (and pen name, if you use one) on poetry submissions. I've asked for poetry submissions to be included in the body of the e-mail, and a few come in every submission period without any identifiers other than the e-mail address. I'd like to know to whom to address my response, and, particularly if it's an acceptance, not to have to ask, "who exactly are you?"

Otherwise, keep 'em coming.

Rhysling nomination!

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 08:43:27 GMT

I'm delighted to report that my poem "They Threw Their Daughters into the Sea," which first appeared in the spring 2007 issue of Goblin Fruit, has been nominated for a Rhysling Award from the Science Fiction Poetry Association in the short poem category. Yay!

It's been a couple of years between nominations for me. My only prior nomination was in 2005, for "Witch, You Say."

Audio versions of both of these poems have appeared on SFPA's Halloween Poetry Reading page, but it's not like I'm going to start getting superstitious or anything. (Starts considering which poem to record for this October.) :-)

Raven Electrick update: New story added + opening to subs

Sat, 01 Mar 2008 02:51:39 GMT

A couple of quick notes about Raven Electrick:

I've just added "Singing Each to Each" by Amanda M. Hayes to the fiction contents at Raven Electrick. This beautiful and moving story is a perfect illustration of what a talented author can do in the short space of 500 words. Please check it out.

Raven Electrick will be opening to submissions in a scant few hours, on March 1, although an eager beaver has already jumped the gun. (If you want to go ahead and send at this point, feel free.) I'm looking for flash fiction to 500 words and short poems to 20 lines. Pay rates for fiction are three cents per word with a $5 minimum, and poetry comes in at a flat rate of $5. Please read the full guidelines for complete details:

http://www.ravenelectrick.com/writersguidelns/index.htm

Sporty Spec is "Book PR Release of the Week" at LA Observed

Tue, 26 Feb 2008 04:49:13 GMT

Sporty Spec: Games of the Fantastic is the "Book PR Release of the Week" at LA Observed, "Los Angeles Media, politics and sense of place," an influential news blog edited by Kevin Roderick:

"The words 'speculative sports fiction' caught my eye and made me go: huh? But that's the genre that covers the anthology edited by Tujunga author Karen A. Romanko."

He goes on to include a couple of blurbs about the anthology and provides a link to the table of contents.

Mr. Roderick is a contributing writer for Los Angeles Magazine and a former editor and staff writer at the Los Angeles Times. Since peculiar subgenres seem to pique Roderick's curiosity, L.A. spec authors might want to add LA Observed to their press releases list, if it's not there already.

Poetry sales to Mindflights

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 04:29:49 GMT

Over on my new MySpace page, Mindflights editor Selena Thomason commented:

"FYI, MindFlights is not getting enough good poetry submissions right now. I'd love to see something from you in our submissions queue. I'm a big fan of your work."

As I mentioned in a previous post, once I got involved in editing and publishing Sporty Spec in late April, I'd dropped all my writing, and even my submitting. But I'm slowly trying to get back into the authorial swing of things, so Selena's gracious comment came at an opportune moment. My submissions log hasn't been updated since April, but I did manage to locate a couple of poems that seemed appropriate for Mindflights, and I'm happy to report that Selena has accepted both with a mere four-day turnaround. One is a free-verse poem entitled "The Banshee of Brooklyn" and the other is a speculative haiku inspired by my visit to Griffith Observatory with the Southland Poets of the Fantastic Group.

If you're looking for a market for science fiction and fantasy poetry, check out Mindflights. But please also save a good poem for Raven Electrick, which opens to submissions on March 1. :-)

Scifaikuest + Amazon prices + business practices/ethics

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 09:15:32 GMT

This weekend I received my contributor's copy of Scifaikuest, the little speculative haiku magazine that could. I'd expected a stapled chapbook, but was pleasantly surprised by the production values, including glossy cover and perfect binding. Just did a quick skim, but the zine included many scifaiku (science fiction haiku) by familiar names, as well as tanka, haibun, and a "fib." It's definitely worth a peek.

I've never paid much attention to Amazon.com's prices, but since I've been monitoring the progress of Sporty Spec rather...um...obsessively, I was surprised at some recent developments. Within the past four days the price of the anthology has changed four times, from the list price of $13.95 to a 12% discount of $12.30, back to $13.95, then back to $12.30, and finally back to the list price again. I'm not sure if this is some sort of glitch or business as usual. While I understand the concept of discounts and responding to the market, I never expected the pricing to be so erratic. Seems like you could drive yourself crazy if you're one of those people (I will not name the guilty family members) who MUST get the lowest price on everything.

In other business practices/ethics news, I encountered a distressing situation over the weekend. Bob and I were looking into renting a vacation house in Malibu (the usual one we rent was booked for our desired timeframe), and we got in touch with a different owner, asking if we could see the property, since we are within driving distance. She said yes, and we made an appointment for Saturday. She added that if another party came forward in the meantime, "I will give you first right of refusal for the dates specified."

So we tooled down there on Saturday, about an hour drive each way, looked the place over, and exclaimed, "Yes, we'll take it!" She got a funny look on her face and said, "Well, I've got someone else who wants a longer booking. I'll have to get back to you." We were stunned. What happened to the right of first refusal? I completely understand that she might want the longer booking, but all she'd needed to tell us from the get-go was that she couldn't hold the reservation if another party came along. Then it would have been up to us to decide whether we wanted to book it sight unseen or take the chance of losing it. But she sounded all ethical-like, and then dragged us down there for nothing, so we weren't amused. When she turned us down today by e-mail, I suggested that she might want to modify her business practices. Sigh.