Happy Holidays 2017!

Nightly Bites

When you think of Christmas, you naturally turn to ...vampires, right? :) Okay, I admit that is a little nontraditional. But I'm very excited to be part of the fun vampire collaboration Nightly Bites, available now!

Next week back to our regular programming. :)

no laundry lists

We're still enjoying the notable November 2017 issue of Electric Spec but have started working on the fabulous February 2018 issue. So, yes, we've started in on slush.
Additionally, I've been reading a lot of 'Best Of' short story collections and, consequently, have been thinking a lot about what makes an outstanding short story...

Description can be tricky for authors. It almost never works to have a laundry list of adjectives or other descriptors. If your fiction has any of these, get rid of them. Nix the tall, dark, and handsome.
I've noticed 'Best' fiction rarely has objective descriptions. Physical characteristics of people aren't even described. Speculative fiction, however, is a unique genre because stories often have non-human characters and non-Earth settings. In that case, you do need descriptions. But...

They should be subjective descriptions. They should be told only through the lens of your protagonist(s).
They should also serve the story. For example, the reader doesn't need to know King Zdofudasdlkf has five tentacles until the reader needs to know it. :)

Please send us your laundry-list-free stories!

we're lovin' it

The notable November 2017 issue of Electric Spec is out and we're lovin' it! Which story is your favorite? There are so many to chose from...

• "Sparks" by Heather Morris: When nine of the Dictator's ten cadres are hunting you, you've got to keep moving. So what kind of spark does it take to get you to stop?
• "The Ballad of the Blind Hunt" by Matthew Hornsby: Two hunters are out for revenge in post-apocalyptic Texas. But you can't hunt the traditional way when your target is a pure-strain alpha freak.
• "Clara" by Adriana K. Weinert: Some kids would be thrilled to have their toys come to life. Unless they're like Clara's toys.
• "The Fish Kite" by Mary E. Lowd: Most people wonder what would happen if you could start over. In this tale, you'll find out what happens when that option is no longer available.
• "The Chain Outside of Time" by Aaron Proctor: What if deja vu wasn't a fleeting moment but a full-time occurrence? Find out what life would be like in this thought-provoking story.

Thanks again, to everyone who helped make this happen!

And, thank you, Readers!