Publications, Promos, Photos

Before I start talking about myself, here's an example of the power of positive energy: Apex Magazine editor Catherynne Valente is reading for a special issue that will "showcase writers of Arab descent and Muslim writers." Read her post for details.

The July/August 2010 issue of Star*Line (journal of the Science Fiction Poetry Association) includes my poem "Evolutionary Variants on a Russian Proverb," a review by Edward Cox of my collection 30 Science Sonnets for April 2010, review of Valent Range (which contains an interview with me), and my write-up of the speculative poetry workshop I gave at Ancient City Con IV this past July.

Writes Cox, "The wide range of subject and information covered by the author form a big bag of ideas that are just waiting for some dreamer to extrapolate into tales of fantasy and wonder -- and, who knows, maybe someone will. But for the time being, while we're dealing with the truth, 30 Science Sonnets for April 2010 is an entertaining and thoughtful read, and one very strong reason why Twitter is a good thing." (Chapbooks are available directly from me, through the e-mail address on my website.)

But the standout piece for me in Star*Line 33(4) was Bryan Hall's article, "Freedom in Speculative Poetry." The art of escaping to other worlds while one's body is imprisoned isn't an allegory for Bryan; it's real. He writes of honing his craft and of connecting with fellow poets through the lens of incarceration's harsh realities. This piece alone is worth the price of the issue.



Back in August I participated in Folded Word's writing month event, called "24/7,". Participants spent the first 24 days of the month writing short works, then spent the final week in revisions. The second part of this entry gives more details.

I wasn't required to give a central theme to the entries, but I chose the theme "Divinations" and used a pair of dice to generate prompts. A linked index of my entries appears here.

I've now compiled those entries into the chapbook pictured above. I've made some revisions to the original works, changed their presentation order, and changed or omitted a few of the accompanying photos. Three works of "24/7" Twitter-fiction have appeared in Folded Word's publication PicFic: "Heisenberg's Metamorphosis," "Bittersweet," and "Fierce Harvest."

Thanks to Tracy S. Morris for her author spotlight of me on her blog "Rambling Roses, Purple Prose and other Asinine Alliteration" (and to She Nailed A Stake Through His Head editor Tim Lieder for this shout-out).

Coming up in October:

Spooky Empire in Orlando, FL, Oct. 8-10. In addition to gigs at the signing tables, I'll be on panels "Believers, Skeptics, and Cynics;" "Poetry: Spice Your Story;" "Villain or Victim: Which Is Easier to Write?"; and "Research and History Can Make or Break Your Story."

I'll be a panelist at the Citrus County Library's kickoff for its three-part NaNoWriMo series on Oct. 20. You can download the .pdf brochure here. Fellow panelists and I will meet soon to read participant wish lists before we finalize our presentations for the program's fourth year.

Necronomicon 29 in St. Petersburg, FL, Oct. 22-24. In addition to holding court in Author Alley, I'll be part of a speculative poetry workshop and will be on the panel "Pitfalls & Traps Writers Can Avoid on the Road to Success."

A closing photo-op...



Last week Mary and I were catching a quick bite at McDonald's when I spotted a young anole just outside one of the picture windows. The fly had come indoors. For the next few minutes, lizard and fly observed each other. From the look of the anole's open mouth in this shot, I can imagine it salivating; at times the fly's behavior seemed almost like taunting. Best viewed large.

Getting a decent photo of the pair proved challenging. Often my camera focused on the window itself, or on a tree behind and across the parking lot from the anole, making blurs of both lizard and fly. They were also backlit from the strong sunlight outside. This shot uses a 12x optical zoom from about six feet away, since I was wary of getting too close to the pair and frightening them off. I cropped the original shot and altered brightness, contrast, and gamma to bring out more detail.
Elissa Malcohn's Deviations and Other Journeys Promote Your Page Too





Vol. 1, Deviations: Covenant (2nd Ed.)
Vol. 2, Deviations: Appetite
Vol. 3, Deviations: Destiny
Vol. 4, Deviations: Bloodlines
Free downloads at the Deviations website and on Smashwords.

Go to Manybooks.net to access Covenant, Appetite, Destiny, and Bloodlines in even more formats!

Participant, Operation E-Book Drop. (Logo credit: K.A. M'Lady & P.M. Dittman.)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 License.