The Spring 2009 and final issue of Southern Fried Weirdness is now available for your viewing pleasure.
http://www.southernfriedweirdness.com
Table of Contents:
Stories:
Planting by Mari Ness
Magic Needles by Janet Severs
Chestnut and Mountain Magnolia by Rosanne Griffeth
Poetry:
Seasonal Wage by Rheagan Alexander
The Old Man’s Sweet by Jason L. Huskey
Meditation on Deer at Night by Berrien C. Henderson
Low Country Boil by Jim Carson
Enjoy!
Southern Fried Weirdness Updates
I am currently cobbling together the final issue of Southern Fried Weirdness, and finding it bittersweetto say the least. Here is the table of contents:
Stories:
Planting by Mari Ness
Magic Needles by Janet Severs
Chestnut and Mountain Magnolia by Rosanne Griffeth
Poetry:
Seasonal Wage by Rheagan Alexander
The Old Man’s Sweet by Jason L. Huskey
Meditation on Deer at Night by Berrien C. Henderson
Low Country Boil by Jim Carson
Good stuff! I can’t wait to get the issue live. Just a few more pages to format, and a couple pieces are waiting on author approval on edits.
Writing/Personal Updates
I’ve been battling a cold that just won’t let go (hence my absence from the Internets this week). Then, today, I spent the morning with my wife in urgent care (the poor thing broke her pinky toe — OUCH!). The rest of he weekend will involve caring for her and trying to occupy the kids while she rests.
Even with all that, and some day job craziness (playing catch-up from taking Monday off), I managed to get in over 5000 words on my Fountain series. This WIP is at around 25k words at the moment, and loose ends are starting to thread together nicely. This project has been really fun to write so far.
I hope everyone in LJ land is doing fine…
Southern Fried Weirdness Updates
I am currently cobbling together the final issue of Southern Fried Weirdness, and finding it bittersweetto say the least. Here is the table of contents:
Stories:
Planting by Mari Ness
Magic Needles by Janet Severs
Chestnut and Mountain Magnolia by Rosanne Griffeth
Poetry:
Seasonal Wage by Rheagan Alexander
The Old Man’s Sweet by Jason L. Huskey
Meditation on Deer at Night by Berrien C. Henderson
Low Country Boil by Jim Carson
Good stuff! I can’t wait to get the issue live. Just a few more pages to format, and a couple pieces are waiting on author approval on edits.
Writing/Personal Updates
I’ve been battling a cold that just won’t let go (hence my absence from the Internets this week). Then, today, I spent the morning with my wife in urgent care (the poor thing broke her pinky toe — OUCH!). The rest of he weekend will involve caring for her and trying to occupy the kids while she rests.
Even with all that, and some day job craziness (playing catch-up from taking Monday off), I managed to get in over 5000 words on my Fountain series. This WIP is at around 25k words at the moment, and loose ends are starting to thread together nicely. This project has been really fun to write so far.
I hope everyone in LJ land is doing fine…
Southern Fried Weirdness Update:
I have now responded to all submissions. The Winter/Spring 2009 (and final) issue will be comprised of 3 stories and 4 poems. I will format pages throughout the week and hope to have the issue ready for publication next weekend.
A big thank you to all of the writers who have so kindly sent me your stories and poems over the last couple of years. I really have enjoyed reading all of the diverse voices, textures, and tones that have been finding their way into my inbox. I never ceased to be amazed by the quality of the writing which found its way to my slush pile. It is a shame that (by rough approximation) I was only able to publish around 5% of the stories sent my way. Many more of your stories and poems deserve to be published. I hope you did not give up on your stories, and that those stories found a good home elsewhere.
The only way you know for sure that your stories will not reach the light of day is if you hide them away.
Writing Update:
My flash fiction collection/themed novel is moving ahead nicely. I got in just under 7000 words this week. The collection/novel is around 19,400 words total so far. I even found time (somehow) to get together a themed chapbook of 13 poems.
Southern Fried Weirdness Update:
I have now responded to all submissions. The Winter/Spring 2009 (and final) issue will be comprised of 3 stories and 4 poems. I will format pages throughout the week and hope to have the issue ready for publication next weekend.
A big thank you to all of the writers who have so kindly sent me your stories and poems over the last couple of years. I really have enjoyed reading all of the diverse voices, textures, and tones that have been finding their way into my inbox. I never ceased to be amazed by the quality of the writing which found its way to my slush pile. It is a shame that (by rough approximation) I was only able to publish around 5% of the stories sent my way. Many more of your stories and poems deserve to be published. I hope you did not give up on your stories, and that those stories found a good home elsewhere.
The only way you know for sure that your stories will not reach the light of day is if you hide them away.
Writing Update:
My flash fiction collection/themed novel is moving ahead nicely. I got in just under 7000 words this week. The collection/novel is around 19,400 words total so far. I even found time (somehow) to get together a themed chapbook of 13 poems.
Accepted so far: 4 poems, 2 stories — I plan on including one or two more stories. Final decisions are being made.
Submissions left: 9 and the majority of these are in my "Maybe" pile. All the stories left are extremely well-written, which makes my job very difficult. Final decisions will be made, I hope, by the end of next week.
Status of the zine: I was planning on putting out the last issue by the end of February, but am pushing this back. I am looking at a March release at this point. I am formatting pages/artwork, and hope to make this final issue look perfect for all the authors involved.
Accepted so far: 4 poems, 2 stories — I plan on including one or two more stories. Final decisions are being made.
Submissions left: 9 and the majority of these are in my "Maybe" pile. All the stories left are extremely well-written, which makes my job very difficult. Final decisions will be made, I hope, by the end of next week.
Status of the zine: I was planning on putting out the last issue by the end of February, but am pushing this back. I am looking at a March release at this point. I am formatting pages/artwork, and hope to make this final issue look perfect for all the authors involved.
Busy days.
Editing:
I am slowly working my way through submissions.
Writing:
I’ve been working on a themed flash collection/serialized novel set in the same world as "The Last Wet Place." The second story in the series, "The Dreamer Awakes," is scheduled to be published 2/12/09 by Everyday Weirdness. So far, I have completed about 8 stories in this series (roughly 7100 words). My goal is for the finished collection to be in the 50,000-70,000 word range which feels about right for this type of work. It has been a lot of fun so far.
I also received word this week that my short story, "Embrace," will be published in an upcoming issue of M-Brane magazine. Good stuff!
I started tossing out my first tentative pitches to agents regarding my YA trilogy over the last few weeks. I found this to be scary stuff…sending out my baby into the void. Anyone know any good agents that might be interested in handling a contemporary dark fantasy set in the rural southeastern US? Any leads would be extremely appreciated.
Family:
Update on my oldest son — so far we are just waiting. We’ve completed several different surveys over the last few weeks regarding his behavior and social skills. I have to say I was surprised by the surveys. They seemed really superficial in many ways. All too often, there seemed to be no way to answer these questions adequately as written. Many of his behaviors are situational, and I do not feel the authors of the surveys took that situational aspect into account. Maybe a short answer format would work better than multiple choice? I think that could create a more cohesive picture of the child being diagnosed. In addition to the surveys, the school is performing a hearing/vision screening just to make sure there are no issues there we might be unaware of.
Yesterday, my oldest had his last basketball game of the season. We took him to Olive Garden to celebrate and then took the boys to the zoo to enjoy the spring-like weather we’re currently experiencing here in the South. It was a great day!
Today, I plan on getting some work done and then taking the boys outside after my youngest finishes his nap.
It’s been fun, but now it’s done…
After much consideration, I have decided to halt publication of Southern Fried Weirdness. The Winter 2009 edition to be published near the end of February will be the final edition. I am accepting submissions through the end of January, and have many slots open. I encourage any past contributors to send their work my way. I would love to go out in a fashion that celebrates past contributors simply because these writers deserve to be celebrated.
This has been a very hard decision to make and has been on my mind for several months now. I will miss this project. Over the last few years, what started off as an experiment grew to become a part of my identity and integral to how I perceive myself. I have met many talented writers, editors, and publishers through this endeavor and thank all of them for their support, friendship, and encouragement.
At this point, you’re probably asking, If it’s been so great why are you closing shop? Frankly, I have been reassessing many things in my life, and this project is taking time and resources from my family and my writing. I recently read an interview with Patrick Swenson of Talebones. This quote pretty much sums up my reason for closing down the magazine: “I had many editors tell me I could say goodby to my writing if I was going to edit and publish. They’ve been right.” There is so much truth here. I encourage any wannabe editor (who holds any writing aspirations whatsoever) to read this sentence closely.
When I first started this project, I could devote around one-tenth of my writing time to editing and get things done in a timely fashion. This is no longer the case. I spend approximately nine-tenths of the time I would normally devote to writing to editorial tasks (reading submissions, responding to submissions, editing text, formatting web pages, verifying market listings are correct, handling queries, etc.). I am proud of the growth I have seen with this project, but at the same time, at the rate it was growing, I would have zero writing time left to me by the end of the year.
I really miss reading for pleasure. Here lately, it takes me a couple months to get through an average length novel where it used to take me less than a couple weeks. My reading time is used reading submissions. When I do read for fun, I find myself reading with a critical editorial eye that often takes me out of the story.
I am tired of writing rejections. I would like more time to work with critique groups and help build up other writers instead of tearing them down. That would be nice for a change. I started out writing personal comments on every rejection, trying to encourage and help authors grow or at least understand why their story did not work for my market. Due to the number of submissions and time constraints this has grown impossible and I am writing quick rejection notes that have a cold feel no matter how nicely I format my words.
I have always seen myself as a writer, but never saw myself as an editor. I enjoy the process, have learned so much from having tried it, and would love the opportunity to work on an occasional themed anthology here and there for the right publisher in the future, but an ongoing magazine has become too much for me to handle alone without sacrificing aspects of my life I have no interest in sacrificing. I need more time to read, to dream, and to live – I know a lot of you out there can understand this sentiment.
I am grateful for all of the writers who have contributed to this project, and thank all of the readers who have been so kind to send me words of encouragement along the way. It’s good to know there are so many Southern Fried Weirdos out there…
NOTE: Please read my next post for a more personal explanation behind this decision…
We had a great Christmas. Lots of family. Lots of food. Lots of drink. Lots of fun. The boys racked up on good stuff; Santa was good to them.
I hope everyone in Blogland had a good Christmas or holiday of their choosing as well.
Now it’s time to get back to the grind I guess…
Today’s agenda: respond to a minimum of 3 submissions to SFW and get started on a short story that has been percolating.
T.J. McIntyre: A Southern Fried Weirdo 