Mornings With Marie - April 2022
Good morning and happy April, everyone! 🌺 I hope you had a fabulous March. As cliché as it sounds, time really does fly and now we’re a quarter through the year. Hope you’ve been taking care of yourselves and enjoying life! 💕
Like the turn of the seasons, it’s a month of changes and adventure for me. First off, I’m moving, which is a whole ordeal in itself. Instead of a traditional sendoff, however, I decided to put together a concert with my friends, which we also streamed via Zoom. We had a blast last night and I hope those of you who attended did too! 🥳
On the writing front, I have two short pieces that will be published this April! Death Penalty, a urban fantasy story based on Philippine mythology, will be part of 8Letters Bookstore and Publishing‘s Liwanag anthology. Meanwhile Falling Star will be appearing in Issue 8 of Paper Lanterns, a teen and YA literary journal. Hope you can grab a copy!
Story of the Month
Back in 2016-2017 I used to run a blog called Fifteen Minute Reads, where I published microfiction and flash fiction pieces on various topics, usually in response to prompt challenges. I’ve officially retired the blog, so I decided to compile all that I’ve written for it, plus a few of my recent works on the micro/flash end. I hope you enjoy the collection! And, yes, there will be a volume 2. 🥰
Featured Author of the Month
Our guest this April is Stacey Upton Bracey, a produced writer of dark fantasy/ historical books, screenplays, and plays. 💖 She loves to write, read books, and she makes great pie. Fun fact for theatre kids like me: she’s directing her own play Like Kissing Moonlight, which will be making its regional premiere at the Mesquite Arts Theatre in Texas this June! 😉
She’s written the Darkwood series, set in medieval Germany, where men can change to wolves, and there is still magic in the air. If dark fantasy, historical fantasy, adventure and romance with a hint of twisted fairytale is your jam, then you might just enjoy these! The Traveller’s Tale is the first book, followed by The Twins of Darkwood, a Hansel and Gretel retelling, and the third book On the Putrin Path is now available for pre-order and is slated for release this May.
For a taste of her work, just subscribe to her newsletter and get a copy of her novella Witch of Darkwood for free! It tells the story of a young girl named Henna, who is forced the flee the only family she has ever known after she’s accused of witchcraft by her own brother. 😱
Hotel Fen Giveaway Winners
Thank you so much to everyone who participated in our giveaway! Here are the winners of a paperback copy of Hotel Fen with a limited edition bookplate sticker signed by both Meri and I.
Angelynne Dalaguit
Dann Andrino
Just please reply to this mail with your address so I can ship your prize 💖
Writing Opportunities
Kingdoms of Wrath and Ice (Deadline: 30 April 2022)
Tourmaline & Quartz seeks your tales of stone cold villains. Show us the frosty ice queens, the conniving fae lords we love to hate and hate to love. Give us your dragons with hearts as cold as their gold, or the witch who summons a snowstorm to save herself from the hunters. Tell us about your morally gray outcasts that crave vengeance while the heroes are seeking warmth. The winter months are dark, the snows are deep, and the ice is treacherous. But what if the bitter cold wasn’t the only villain? Pays $25 and a contributor’s copy.Chicken Soup for the Soul: Crazy, eccentric, wacky, lovable, fun families (Deadline: 30 May 2022)
Share your true stories and poems about those family members. With love and appreciation, please. No mean-spirited stories wanted. Pays $200 and ten free copies.Rites of Passage: An Anthology of Queer Pagan Fiction (Deadline: 30 June 2022)
The anthology will explore the theme of coming of age as a queer pagan. They are also interested in exploring this difference between the generations with one generation identifying their difference through labels while the other refuses to label what makes them different. The genre or setting of the story is less important than the exploration of the theme. Pays $25-$75.
Writing Resources
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Author voice is a concept that is far too often mistaken for other things, so let’s learn from E. Prybylski what voice isn’t.
QuaranCon 2022 is taking place this 7-11 April! All events are free to all and will be broadcasted on YouTube unless otherwise noted.
I hope you enjoyed this month’s newsletter! I would love to hear from you, so please feel free to write me back. 💕 Thanks for reading and talk to you again soon! 😘
xoxo, Marie