Coming Together: Thanksgiving -- Giving Back

I am giving away $10 in OmniBucks to AllRomance for one lucky commentor. Normally, I would give Amazon gift cards, but with Christmas / Holidays coming up, I want my winner to buy something for THEMSELVES, not use the gift card to buy something for a present... I am guilty of this behavior myself, so...

To be quite honest, giving back wasn't what I had in mind the very first time I worked with Coming Together.

The first time I ever even heard of Coming Together, my favorite smut writer, (now) friend, and all around awesome human being, Sommer Marsden was running an open call for submissions for Hungry For Love, a zombie anthology that benefited American Diabetes Association.

I really admire Sommer -- I have since I didn't know who she was or much of anything about her, except that her work was awesome and made me laugh -- and that hasn't changed since getting to know her and seeing glimpses of her personal life. She's had a rough time -- her husband died from cancer not long ago -- and we've talked a lot on line. Exchanged a couple of Christmas cards and postcards. It's a casual acquaintanceship, but it means a lot to me.

We've had a few chats about how weird and uncomfortable it is when someone praises you -- you've done so much, I don't know how you do it, oh, you're so strong -- and outside you're nodding with that slightly apologetic look on your face like you're sorry you're making the other person feel weak because you're barely managing to hold on to your life with both hands and inside you're screaming "What the fuck ELSE do you think I'm going to do? I manage my life because WHAT THE FUCK?? Really?"

Anyway... got off track a bit there. The point is, I wasn't really thinking about charity so much as I was thinking "I want this woman to notice my work."

So, that was the first time. This was back in the day when I still threw up regularly after hitting the send button on a submission. (Thank FSM that doesn't happen anymore. In fact, most of the time, I'm pretty chill about it. I feel comfortable with my work, most of the time.)

By the way, Dead in the Water, the story that I submitted for Hungry for Love, is available as an audio reading from Rose Caraway, who is also awesome...

After some time -- and because another friend of mine was going through a rough time and her illness is one of those weird, rare things that most people never heard about, and I desperately wanted to do something for her -- I thought I'd try my own hand at doing an anthology.

Talk about leaping before I looked! I had no fucking clue what I was doing, and I hope it doesn't show too much. I got a lot of advice from other CT editors (including the brilliant and amazing Nobilis Reed) and editors of other collections.

I put together a proposal for Coming Together: Among the Stars, to benefit International Still's Disease Foundation and to my surprise and pleasure, Alessia was onboard with me right away. We put together the call and I collected well over 60 stories...

Editing an anthology was a whole different kettle of fish -- but it was a learning experience, I got to meet a whole ton of really talented writers, and I enjoyed it so much that I ended up doing a second one this year.

(I've also had my share of weird problems as being an editor -- attempted plagiarism, people who really cannot read the submission guidelines, a whole lot of authors who turn in stories without their contact information -- seriously, people, don't do that! -- authors who are hard to work with, weird hostility, and male writers who seem to think that, as a female editor, I am obligated to look at pictures of their dicks as well as their stories. No, dudes. Just no.)

But Among the Stars was a good enough experience that this year, I did it again, and just recently, Strange Shifters made its way into the world...

And wow, am I happy to see it. This book was a lot more work because... well, 2015 has just been the year of Fuck You. I have had annoying real life problems of every kind imaginable. Nothing horrible -- mostly -- but just... one would be annoying, two would be difficult, and one pretty much every month of this year has been fucking exhausting. I'm amazing and impressed with myself that Strange Shifters got finished on time, and I gotta hand it to my writers, you guys were amazing! Good stories, easy to work with, understanding when I was behind...

Thanks!

Proceeds for Strange Shifters goes to Bat World Sanctuary, one of my own personal favorite charities. I love bats and the people at Bat World do a lot of cool stuff to preserve these little flying foxes. You should check them out, their facebook page is pretty awesome.

I'm working on ideas for an anthology next year... I have a million pet causes and I want to do a little something for all of them...

Comment on this blog for the little prize... there will be a bigger prize from Coming Together [insert that when available] and there are lots of other Coming Together authors and editors who are on the Hop... so stop by and see them [also, link]

New Publisher

On Wednesday, I had a long, involved conversation with my new publisher.

Yes, you heard that right -- I have found a home for my litter of orphaned kittens; which is to say, the Forging of Souls Duology and the Demoniac Codex novels have all been signed to Go Writing Publishing.

Great news

The Forging of Souls Duology will be re-released with new covers and will be available again on March 8th for A Marked Man and May 3rd for A Wanted Woman.

In addition to being available on Amazon, GWP offers other sales platforms, which means a wider release for those of you who do not have kindles... Paperback copes will also be available again.

All four novels of the Demoniac Codex will be released.

Blood Sight and Howling Bitch will have all new covers, and some slight edits will be done to both -- there were some errors that slipped by in the first printing, and the epilogue for Blood Sight will be adjusted slightly. If you've already bought the books and you just want to know the epilogue changes without buying a new copy, I'll post something on the web page to update you.

Blood Sight will be re-released on January 12th
Howling Bitch will be re-released on April 6th

Sins of Angels will come out July 1st. I know that's a long wait for those of you who were reading on the other schedule, but... you won't have to wait as long for Ghost Magic, which was originally contracted for March of 2017 and will now be released on November 9th, 2016....

All books will be released simultaneously as paperback and e-book, so those of you who spent months waiting for the paperbacks will not have to do that anymore, either.

Celibate Cold

So, last night I was sitting around the table with my two best girlfriends, mostly chatting and eating soup and cupcakes (It was Liz's birthday dinner and I made my famous Cream of Reuben Soup) when I got an email...

Celibate Cold, which is the first of the stories for the Torquere line this upcoming year, has been accepted for publication. Celibate Cold will be in the Snowed In anthology, available in January, 2016...

Chase sighed. He tried to concentrate on the falling snow, the faint whistle of wind, but his good mood was shattered again. He needed to leave town. If he could just afford to do so. Or find a reason to stay. But he was stuck, stuck in place, both indecisive and unwilling to take risks. Yeah, that sucked. Big time.

“Fuck it,” he said. His voice was swallowed by the snow and the darkness. “I’m going inside.”

He straightened, tugged his shirt down to clear the wrinkles from crossing his arms over his chest, and took one last glance out at the snowy night. And then he saw something moving out in his yard. Something large and white and staggering right toward him. Like a fucking yeti.

“What the hell?”

Chase squinted. Of course it wasn’t a yeti, he thought. But the creature who was stumbling in his direction was covered in snow from the thighs down and his coat was thick with ice-crystals. He had a hat crammed low down over his ears, but no gloves, and his sleeves were crusted with more snow. He’d probably fallen a few times, to judge by the smears of white down his front.

By the time Chase had identified the intruder as being nothing more than a man, his visitor was nearly to the porch. The man’s teeth were chattering so hard that he couldn’t seem to force intelligible words out. Chase caught a few mumbled syllables.

“Well, you look like three miles of bad road,” Chase said. He helped the man up the stairs and then impartially started brushing snow off his back, not really paying attention to where his hands were until the man startled when Chase’s hands came down on his ass, smacking snow away.

The stranger whirled, his brown eyes wide.

Chase held his hands out to his sides, harmless. “No point in trackin’ that all in m’house, man, and you look a bit chilled to do it yourself.”

The man nodded, stomped off his feet as best he could, which wasn’t very well. Chase sighed. The guy was wearing fucking Oxfords, for Christ’s sweet sake. He’d be lucky if he had any toes left at all. Fool.

“Sex,” the man said.

“What?” Chase had to have misheard that. He stuck a finger--snow covered, and cold--into his ear as if to clear it out. Or wind up his brain. “What did you say?”

“Six. Six miles of bad road.”

“Jesus, fella,” Chase said. “Come in and get warm. There’s a fire at the hearth. Leave your shoes out here.”

Update and Stuff

So... most of you know that there's been a "thing" over at Vamptasy / CHBB / Hot Ink and all my rights have been returned to me. (The Marked Man series, and the Demoniac Codex series are returned, as well as Pistols & Guns) I don't even have enough bandwidth to be upset about this... I'm not even sure I would be upset, if I had the bandwidth. I've enjoyed working with V/CHBB/HI/Alphabet soup for a while (altho I never did find a convenient way to refer to the publishing company)

For the time being, you can still get the paperback copies of both books on Amazon until the imprint is done, then there won't be anymore available, but the kindle copies are already down... if you really really need a copy -- and of course you do! -- just send me an email at lynntownsend.writer at gmail dot com and we can work out some sort of donation for the time being to get the e-reader copy...

I've sent the novels out to look into reprints with one publisher, and hopefully I will hear something back... if not, I have some other places to try... worst comes to worst, for those of you who are reading the Demoniac Codex and are sad not to finish it, I will make those available as an e-book format, self-pubbed or donation-payments or something, so that you can at least finish the series... Check back with me in March for an update, if you don't hear anything beforehand.

(On the plus side, both books for Forging of Souls are available in the public library system in New York... )

~~~~~~~

I've also been recently diagnosed with a chronic illness, because you know, stuff just has to suck. It's called Chronic Idiopathic Urticaria, which essentially means "your body is being stupid and you have hives and we don't know why, and we're not sure how to fix it." Despite sounding like doctors are dumb, they're really not and this condition affects a LOT of people.

Now, imagine all those red spots are on fire.
This is how I feel.

*** this is your only warning that I do not need or want suggestions, woo-medical advice, suggested diet changes, no, it's not my fucking laundry detergent, I have been sick for almost 7 weeks now, it if was easy or find-able, I would have found it by now, or anything like that. I am working with my doctors on relieving the symptoms and we're going to try a recently approved medical injection series that might help me a lot. Any medical advice unless given to me by a doctor will promptly be deleted. I thank you for your concern, but computer tech and medical advice seem to be two subjects where non-experts abound. I know you probably mean well, but it's annoying me, so please stop. (If you weren't going to say anything, this isn't directed at you. If you were going to make suggestions, please don't. I'm saying please, but I'm already annoyed from my real life. Please don't add to my burden by stressing me out over here, too.) ******

Because I have been ill since the 6th of October, I'm not going to be competing in NaNo this year. I was going to, and I really did try, but I had another relapse around the 4th of November and I'm on more medication than a hyperactive kangaroo, so I'm exhausted. In addition, I'm hungry, tired, thirsty, have dry skin, have been having random hives outbreaks, have blurred vision, have hot flashes, headaches, and random swelling of my hands, feet, and face. I am, in a word, miserable.

It makes writing kinda hard. I'm trying to finish off my Riverdance story, since I'm like 5k into that and I'd like to hand it in, but Hector's story, while I'm about 5.5k into it, is just going to have to take its sweet time getting written because I'm not going to try to force it while I'm dealing with this illness.