Zest. Gusto. How rarely one hears these words used. How rarely do we see people living, or for that matter, creating by them. Yet if I were asked to name the most important items in a writer’s make-up, the things that shape his material and rush him along the road to where he wants to go, I could only warn him to look to his zest, see to his gusto.
Ray Bradbury

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I want to thank Beth Groundwater for turning me on to a great blog. In Six Questions For… Jim Harrington interviews editors from a number of small presses to find out what they’re looking for. For instance, on Jim’s blog I’ve learned that Colorado’s Flying Pen Press is looking for Steampunk novels. Check it out. 

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Writers of speculative fiction who live in the British Commonwealth should check out the Terry Pratchett Prize competition. If you write fantasy, alternate history, futuristic or similarly inventive stories, you could win a publishing contract with TransWorld Publishers and an advance against royalties. The deadline to enter is December 31, 2010. You must submit a complete manuscript of between 80,000 and 150,000 words, along with a synopsis of the book. Sorry, this one is only open to residents of the United Kingdom and other British territories.

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Dystopia Press is a new small press looking for dystopian and post-Apocalyptic fiction. You can find an interview with editor Mark Long here.  He’s interested in complete manuscripts from 80,000 to 100,000 words, both adult and young adult. Check out the writer’s guidelines for more info.

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My new novel, Things I Want to Say will be in stores next week. Read an excerpt from the book here.

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As always, feel free to share the information from this blog. All I ask is that you give me credit and provide a link to the blog. Thank you.