Fantasies was published by Erotic Shades on the 1st April. A lot of writers via their blogs will list where their work has been published, but never say much about the publication or website that is promoting their work.
I’ve always felt that was wrong. Any Publisher / Editor who is publishing a writer is promoting that writer’s work. The very least the writer can do is return the favour. We probably need to get one thing straight right away. Erotic Shades publishes literary erotica, and not porn. There’s a difference. I was made aware of Erotic Shades by a fellow writer, Gary Clifton. I checked their website. I liked what I read. Fantasies had been written about a year ago. I liked the story but I didn’t know of a suitable market. The conversation with Gary seemed fortuitous so I decided to send Fantasies to Erotic Shades. It proved to be a good decision. I found the editorial team at Erotic Shades easy to get on with and very friendly. I also like what they’re trying to do. Here’s what they have to say themselves: Erotic Shades was a tiny idea that came up after a (very) long afternoon sat in meetings, listening to other people worry and stress about the publishing industry. Oh there was much to worry about we were told – the publishing industry was being ‘thrown open to every Tom Dick and Bob – why, anyone would be able to circulate their work with ease!’ Now, this was being pitched as the end of the world, but to a certain (silent) few sat round the table, this sounded like the start of a revolution – a chance for the vast amounts of quality work out there to rise to the surface. Writing can be a solitary business, filled with rejection and uncertainty – but as an onlooker, watching the way the publishing industry is having to recreate itself, there are huge opportunities for writers to get their work out there and get positive feedback – from the readers - you know; the people you actually want to buy your book. And this is where we come in – erotic fiction is on the rise, but we feel that so much of what is coming on the market, is merely a repeat performance; publishing companies trying to recreate the popularity (not to mention the profit) of Mr Christian…Well, you know his name. We want to offer folks a little sizzle in their day, and we want your help. We will be calling for submissions of erotic short fiction, sometimes based around a theme, sometimes not. We are aiming to publish straight to the site for all to enjoy. But – it will only be available to enjoy for one week, before coming-down to go in our quarterly anthology. We think this is the best way to get your work out there, and show the reading audience the great quality – and variety – this genre of fiction has to offer. We three; Jo-Anne, Liza and Anna, rack up twenty years in the publishing industry between us, and we’ve been hands on to witness the almost complete alteration of the publishing field in the last five years or so. And we think these are exciting times… I’ve been impressed with the work that I’ve read on Erotic Shades so far, and I’d recommend any reader or writer to check them out. http://eroticshades.com/ Take care, Mike.
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Great News!!! The Editor at Erotic Shades has just informed me that Fantasies will be published on the 30th March. I can't wait. I'll do an expanded blog entry on Erotic Shades either on the 30th or the 31st. I like what they're trying to do, and they're a friendly bunch.
Apologies, it's been quiet around here. I've been bogged down with 'Project 13' and another short story called 'Night Owls' which I'm desperate to finish. I've also got the worlds highest reading pile at the moment. I read the 'Last Bus To Wodstock' the other day. It's the first Inspector Morse novel. I'm a fan of detective fiction as in traditional detectve fiction, not the scientific forensic type. I've been reading stories about such fictional greats as Holmes, Poirot, Maigret, Inspector Wolf, The Baron, Cribb, and my current personal favourites Bryant & May for many years. I've aways avoided Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse novels. I thought they were going to be a little bit pretentious, elitist, and hard to get into. I couldn't have been more wrong. The 'Last Bus To Woodstock' was a well written, easy to read, well plotted, witty, and engaging tale that really drew me in. I loved Morse. There's elements of his character that I really related to. We share the same love of pubs and real ale for one. I'm now reading Patrick Rothfuss' highly rated 'The Name of The Wind.' I'm about 200 pages into this mighty epic. I'm enjoying it but dare I say that nothing much has actually happened in those 200 pages. One key event in the main characters past, and some mystery about current events with the spiders, but not a lot else so far. That's it for now. My next post will be the feature on Erotic Shades. Take care, Mike.  The whole idea behind setting up this blog was to share my experiences of trying to get my work published. The site was adorned with the immortal words UNDER CONSTRUCTION for far too long.
By the time I finally managed designing 'The Musings' I'd already had an offer of publication for a little horror tale by the name of "Hello!" I decided to carry on with the same aims. I kept the blog under the title of 'A Wannabe Writer's Blog.' At the end of the day one story is just that...one story. I received an email today from Erotic Shades accepting Fantasies. It's early days. I've got a lot of work to do, but a second acceptance proves that the first acceptance certainly wasn't luck. It's a big decision but I've changed the name of the blog to 'A Writer's Blog.' I'll keep sharing my experiences. I'll do a post on Erotic Shades they're worth checking out. Good luck, Mike. |
