I guest blog on Ticket to Nowhere

Oh my goodness! It has been almost an entire month since I have blogged. But in my defense I have been very busy, working on a new reader and doing part-time work at WFMU, freeform radio station extraordinaire.

But, I have just guest blogged for Gail Yates for her wonderful book review blog, Ticket to Anywhere. I review Bride of Pendorric, a gothic romance by Victoria Holt.

Oh, good old Victoria Holt. She's not the best author in the world, but her books can be very satisfying in a chicken soup kind of way. And what's better than chicken soup, especially when it's pouring outside, like it is now?

Bad news for this blog: Blogger is no longer publishing by FTP, so somehow I must figure out how to migrate everything to Wordpress. Thanks for making my life so much easier, Google.

Dark Valentine Magazine is here

I'm the art director on a new magazine, Dark Valentine, that is dedicated to dark fiction. The publisher, Katherine Tomlinson, veteran of the movie, magazine and publishing industries, is our publisher, and author Christine Pope is our valiant editor. The amazing graphic designer/illustrator Sarah Vaughn designed our website, which is now up and running.

You can see the new Dark Valentine website here. I'm very happy with the site, and I can't wait until the first issue.

We are accepting submissions for story submissions and illustrations. Here are the details:

The first issue will be in May, deadline is April 1.

We’re soliciting entries for our THROUGH A LENS DARKLY (they’re not paid) and we will pay $10 for stories and $10 for illustrations that run in each of our quarterly issues of DARK VALENTINE. We know that’s not much but it’s coming out of our own pockets.) Web design is by the multi-talented Sarah Vaughn, whose stories and art you may remember from Astonishing Adventures Magazines #7 and #8.

We will be specializing in dark fiction—mystery, horror, romance, slipstream, urban fantasy, fantasy, sci fi, cyberpunk, you name it. Our influences range from E.A. Poe to Tanith Lee. We know you’ve got a story to tell us.

Here’s where you send it: submissions@darkvalentine.net.