JM Strother | Friday Flash

Call for Article Submissions

April 18, 2013 in Dot Org, Submission Guidelines, Thursday Writing by JM Strother

We here at Friday Flash Dot Org are both proud and honored to be a part of the #FridayFlash community.

We have grown quite a bit since I started a little experiment on Twitter to explore how social media might be used to help writers develop their online presence via the little hashtag, #FridayFlash. The response has been tremendous, with hundreds of people participating over the three plus years we’ve been doing this, many on a regular basis. Since its inception on May 29^th of 2009 we have gone on to expand to Facebook, Google Plus, and launched this website. The goal of all these efforts is to help you develop a bit of a following in order to expand your base, while encouraging you to continue to develop your voice and skills as a writer. Toward that end we attempt to provide you with with relevant and worthwhile content on a weekly basis with the Friday Flash Report, the News Flash, and one writing related article each Thursday.

Estrella has been doing a bang up job as our Editor keeping this site fresh and alive week in and week out. However, in order for her to continue to bring you fresh content each week we need contributors to fill the bill. While we have wonderful contributors, both regular and periodic, who share their thoughts with you on a continuing basis we are beginning to feel the pinch for fresh content. Some of our contributing writers have had changes in circumstance, myself included, which prevent them from posting on a regular basis. As a result the number of articles available to fill the editorial calendar is dwindling, and we may not be able to continue to supply fresh content each week without your help.

While this presents us with an editorial challenge, it provides you with a bit of an opportunity.

If you are a current or former member of the Friday Flash community, and you would like to help contribute to the cause, please consider contributing an article or two for our Thursday feature post. We will consider any nonfiction writing related piece that is original, thoughtful, and well written.

Some of the topics we will consider include, but are not limited to:

General writing tips
Challenges presented by your current writing project, and how you overcame them
Reviews on writer’s workshops or conferences you’ve attended
Your personal writing environment – how you make it work
Reviews of books on the craft of writing that you have read — what advice worked, what did you find lacking
Success stories – thoughts on your first sale, NaNoWriMo, how you got published or landed an agent, your journey as an indie author

We cannot pay you except via your name on the byline, your bio in the footer, and our eternal gratitude.

If you are interested in contributing to Friday Flalsh Dot Org with an article on writing related topics please contact Estrella or me via email or a Twitter DM and we will give it every consideration as a potential article in one of the upcoming Thursday slots.

Thanks, and keep on writing.

———————————————

Contact info:

estrella.azul@ffdo.org

@EstrellaAzul on Twitter

jmstro@gmail.com

@jmstro on Twitter

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by JM Strother

An Eclectic Collection – Some non-standard resources for writers

February 28, 2013 in Resources, Services by JM Strother

Visit just about any writing site and you are bound to find links to resources for writers. Nearly all these sites include the standard links one would expect: Duotrope Digest, for potential markets; Writer Beware, and Predators and Editors for markets and scams to avoid; links to dictionaries, thesauri, style and grammar guides; the ever popular Query Shark, and the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL). These are all valuable resources, but you probably already have most of them bookmarked. This article focuses on some less obvious links that I have found useful in my own writer’s journey. Many of them may not interest you at all, but I hope you will find at least one or two useful.

Bear in mind that I write mostly fantasy, science fiction, and mystery, so many of these links will be heavily skewed in those directions.

It is essential to come up with character and place names that truly work well with the genre, mood, and setting of your story. Baby name books tend to fall flat, unless you want all your characters to sound like typical middleschoolers. A good map or gazetteer works well for place names if you are writing in a contemporary setting, but if your story takes place off world they are fairly useless. You can create names that fit your story from whole cloth if your have the flair for it, or you can use some resources that tie in to your overall atmosphere.

For fantasy characters and settings I like to use related root words from the medieval or dark ages. There are several good sites steeped in Old Norse or Angle-Saxon, both of which meld nicely with my ideas for good high fantasy. One example, the University of Texas Linguistics Research Center, has dictionaries/word lists covering many early Indo-European languages, to include: Armenian, Classical Greek, Hittite, Old Irish, Old Norse, and Sanskrit to list just a few. Browsing through these is bound to generate something you can use.

You may be familiar with my “Dragon Gates” stories. These are fantasy stories with a medieval, Far Eastern flavor. When trying to come up with good names to match the mood I invariably turn to Zhongwen, a website dedicated to the etymology of Chinese characters. The English to Chinese translations can be explored for appropriate words to fit the tenor of the piece.

There is nothing like actual science when writing science fiction. Some of my favorite sites, both for names and getting the science right, at least mostly, are NASA and astronomy sites. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has a wonderful online tutorial called “The Basics of Space Flight” which I highly recommend. Likewise, the NASA Astrobiology Program has a terrific website which can be mined for all kinds of information. And, of course, the ever growing lists of exoplanets make for tantalizing destinations.

When writing mysteries I like to get the lay of the land. I feel it adds a layer of authenticity to the tale I have to tell. While there is no substitute for on-site reconnaissance, I’m not particularly rich, thus a quick flight to the locale in question is usually right out. However, Google Maps, Bing Maps, and Google Earth can provide me with the details I just might not get right otherwise. I’ve also found state conservation agencies a godsend when trying to get the local flora and fauna right.

Of course all the characters in your latest noir can’t be named Sam Spade, nor is it likely the 85 year old woman your gumshoe talks to is named Madison or Courtney. It helps to know what names were popular in the past, something the baby name books are not likely to tell you, unless you happen to have an amazing historical collection of them on your bookshelf. Genealogy websites are good for finding period names, but tend to cost money. However, many states offer valuable free services you can mine for age appropriate names. I use the Missouri Digital Heritage website. Just type in a surname then scan down the list to the time period of interest to find given names that fit the bill.

There really is no end to the amazing resources one can find online to match just about any given genre, for fiction or nonfiction. My main recommendation is to try to stick with free sources that have some credentials. Just typing in “resources for writers” in a search box is likely to send you to sites with products to sell. While there is nothing wrong with that, other than thinning one’s wallet, Government and academic sites pull the most weight with me. They are far less likely to be honey pots simply trying to draw you in for a sale.

Do you have any favorite resources you’d like to share? Mention them in the comments below. We’ll put together a more comprehensive and permanent list of resources to add to our top menu in the near future.
~jon

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by JM Strother

Interview with Maria Kelly

January 31, 2013 in Community Highlight, Writers by JM Strother

Today we have an interview with long time community member, Maria Kelly, of “The Were-traveler” fame. If you are unfamiliar with the Were-traveler, it is an online speculative fiction ezine, which Maria has been running since the fall of 2011. She does this, and so much more, all while attending college, which is amazing all unto itself. Please spend a few minutes getting to know this incredibly productive and creative woman.

~~~

Jon: Hi, Maria. I hope all is going well with you. I wanted to talk to you because of all the activity I see from you on the various social networks. It seems like you always have something going on. Can you tell me, what is your current project, what has most of your attention right now?

Maria: Jon, I’m doing well, thank you. Currently, the project occupying a lot of my time is writing the last half of my fantasy novel, “Quellseek: The Army of Empaths.” It’s the first book of a trilogy. I’m also trying to get through Spanish 2 at community college so I can graduate with my Associates degree in May and transfer to the University of South Florida.

Jon: Buena suerte, mi amiga.

I’m most familiar with your ezine, “The Were-Traveler.” What is this other project I’ve read about, “Kill the Crow?”

Maria: “Kill the Crow” is an anthology of my short speculative fiction stories, and one or two poems. Some of the stories have been part of Friday Flash and some of them (the title story, for example) will be new to this anthology.

Jon: Tell me a little about the origins of both those projects? What inspired (possessed?) you to start an ezine while going to college? What sparked the birth of “Kill the Crow?”

Maria: The ezine idea had been in the back of my mind for awhile. I wanted to do it, but worried about having the time to put into it. It’s a lot of work. Sometimes I feel like I’ve bitten off more than I can chew with it, but I’m having fun so I’ll keep on doing it. The idea for it came while trying to write a story about a werewolf in outer space. Ironically, that’s what I asked authors to send me for the last issue.

“Kill the Crow” is something I want to throw out there to get folks interested in my writing so they will (hopefully) want to read more of my stuff. I wanted to put together a compilation of my short stories, published and unpublished, new and old, for the ebook market. I’m scared to death of the Indie game, but I’m diving in anyway.

Jon: When is “Kill the Crow” due out?

Maria: I was supposed to have it out for the end of last year, but that didn’t happen. I’m shooting for this summer or fall. I’ll have community college (and Spanish 2!) behind me and will have a little time to get it to beta readers, get it edited, and hopefully get it on Smashwords and Kindle before I start school at USF. Then, I’ll look into creating a paperback of it on Amazon, if the interest is there.

Jon: Can you tell me more about “Quellseek?”

Maria: I have an off-world medieval-type fantasy, “Quellseek,” the first book of the “Army of Empaths” series. I’m working on finishing the second half of the book right now and planning the second book “Blood War.” The series takes place on a world called Esphaera. Some of the people on the planet have mysteriously evolved into physical empaths (think John Coffey from “The Green Mile” by Stephen King). These people are exploited in a type of blood-feud system by bickering nobles (Bon Lords). Oh, and there are flying marsupial lizards (meanders) that bring the mail.

Jon: That sounds quite intriguing.

With your various projects you wear two hats, that of a writer and that of an editor. Which hat do you prefer and why?

Maria: I like them both. I will always be a writer, so I love that more than anything else. Being an editor is definitely more difficult. Sometimes you have to say ‘No’ and that’s gut-wrenching hard. Having been on the receiving end of many rejection emails, I try to do it as nicely as possible.

Jon: I certainly empathize with you on that point. I think it is the hardest part of being an editor.

You launched the Were-Traveler with the October 2011 issue, Hundred Word Halloween. You marked your one year anniversary in October of 2012 with Issue #6: The Historical Undead: Alternate Zombie History. You kicked off year two with the December Big Bad Wolf issue and looking at your editorial calendar it appears you are on track for six issues again this year. Do two years make a trend, is that what you are shooting for, six issues per year? It seems quite ambitious.

Maria: I think at this point 6 issues a year is all I can handle while still having time to write and go to school. I may even have to pull back some from that, or seek some assistance with it, if the magazine keeps growing. We’ll see.

Jon: The deadline for your next issue is February 15th with the theme of The Wise and Ancient Dead: Mummies. You are accepting everything from drabbles all the way up to 2000 word short stories. What would you say is the most common submission length when you open it up like that?

Maria: I get a lot of short stories and drabbles. Drabbles are great to edit, one-hundred words…easy peasy. Short stories are a little harder. You get to the deadline and you get three or four stories in to read.

Jon: Do you have slush readers to help you get through the submissions?

Maria: I don’t have any slush readers at present, but I may take that under consideration soon. Especially if I start university full time like I’m thinking about doing.

Jon: I see you have a drabbles-only edition on the slate. Are you particularly fond of drabbles?

Maria: Yes, I am. I have had three of my own drabbles published in Luna Station Quarterly’s drabble issue and I’m a big fan of The Drabblecast podcast, though I don’t have much time to listen to it anymore. There’s something wonderful about the challenge of writing a story in a hundred words. I want to someday do a drabble vignette issue, or drabble novel…those are short stories of about 1000 words or greater all told in little 100 word chapters or vignettes. An example is one of my favorite short stories, “The Seven Deadly Drabbles” by Jake Bible.

Jon: What other themes do you have on the agenda?

Maria: “Crossroads: The Realms of Death” will be about ghosts, ghouls and the places where you find them. After that will be a Steampunk issue called Magnificent Monsters…all about metal monsters: dragons, dinosaurs, sea serpents…let your metal imagination soar! I’m flirting with the idea of making this one another contest like the vampire issue, but with judges, if I can find people who are willing to read and judge some steampunk. There is also a general zombie themed issue in the works.

I’m happy to say that I will open 2014 with a tribute issue for Edgar Allan Poe and H.P. Lovecraft and Southern Fried Freak Show, an issue of weird stories taking place in the south. I’d like to have the Poe/Lovecraft one published in time to celebrate Poe’s birthday in February.

Jon: That would be neat.

Any advice to authors who may want to submit? What do you look for?

Maria: 1) A compelling story…I like stories that grab me from the start and don’t let go, with characters as compelling as the situations they find themselves in. 2) Good grammar and spelling. I don’t have time to edit and really shouldn’t have to. Stories have to be as error free as possible. I won’t turn a really great story down if it has typos, though. We’re all human.

Jon: I see you are listed on Duotrope. Just out of curiosity, how does one get listed on Duotrope?

Maria: The process is simpler than one would think. I think all I had to do was fill out a small online form and send them an email. It’s supposed to take a couple weeks for them to investigate it and set it up, but with The Were-Traveler it was only a few days. I don’t know how they do it, but they monitor your site for updates. I haven’t had to send them any new information so far. With doing all of that, I can see why they’ve had to go to subscription service. They really work hard to provide authors a decent database of submissions.

Jon: Has your Duotrope listing been helpful in driving submissions your way?

Maria: When I was first listed, I was getting a ton of visits to the site. Now that they’ve gone to subscription services, it’s slacked off some. I envision having to start pimping the submissions on Twitter again soon. I can understand the author point of view, too, don’t get me wrong. I can’t afford to get a subscription right now myself.

Jon: I can see how lots of submissions could either be a blessing or a curse. How do you keep from being overwhelmed?

Maria: I take lots of deep breaths and try to plan ahead as much as possible. If I know I’m going to accept a story the first time I read it, I put it on a list and let the author know as soon as I can. I also set up the website posts (especially the one with the story listings) well in advance of the release. Then I just have to go back on release day and make sure the links go up in order. It was a nightmare the first time I did it, but I’m getting better at it.

Jon: Can you share some insight into your own creative process? Day or night? Coffee house, or quiet spot? Scheduled? Unscheduled? What sparks your muse? That sort of thing.

Maria: Afternoon or evenings. Mornings if I’ve had some serious coffee. I’m not much of a morning person. I like solitude. Coffee houses are fine for journaling and planning stories, but when it comes down to the actual writing, I like quiet. I may listen to music beforehand. Lately I’ve taken to the practice of finding theme songs for the characters of my Quellseek book that inspires me to write their POV chapters. It’s been really helpful to me writing characters like Wellynd Niles (the sarcastic, roguish, sexy spy) and Rafael Errick (a young Quell abused by his father). When I edit, it’s the same, either quiet or some classical music.

Jon: How do you balance the writing and editing you do with going to school? It seems quite a feat to me.

Maria: I’ve been a part-time student while I’ve been at community college. I work part-time at the college and then attend classes. When I graduate in May, I won’t have my part-time job anymore and some of the scholarships I’m applying for require that you go to school full-time, so that will be interesting when I start classes in the Summer or Fall, because I still anticipate I’ll need a job somewhere, unless the scholarships are really good! Right now I take 6 (sometimes up to 9) credits per term. That’s 2-3 classes. It’s not easy to keep it all straight. I make lots of to-do lists and schedules. My daily planner is my best friend…next to coffee, of course.

Jon: Anything else I failed to bring up you would like to share?

Maria: Just that my honors society, Phi Theta Kappa, meets again for the Florida Regional Convention the first weekend in March. I had a former Friday Flash story, “Shiny New Pants,” take first place in the fiction competition last year. This year, I have 2 entries: a poem (created from a former FF piece) and another short story. Just would like everyone to please root for me and put in a good word for me to God or the Universe, whoever, whatever…when that time comes. If I can be there, I’ll be tweeting and Facebooking it. I’m also submitting these same works to the PTK literary journal, Nota Bene. I just ask everyone to keep me in your thoughts for these competitions and publications, they will help me in my future academic endeavors. Thanks for reading my stories, and The Were-Traveler. And look for “Kill the Crow” soon!

Jon: Congratulations on last year’s win, and good luck this year. Thank you very much for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with me, Maria. I want to close in telling you that I find you truly inspiring. I feel very proud to count you as a member of the #FridayFlash community.

Maria Kelly (0 Posts)

When she was just a wee lass, Maria Kelly had no idea she was prophesied by the local Mage to be the Dragon Princess that would lead her people to freedom…no wait, that’s a story. Ahem. Let’s try this again. When she was a toddler, Maria was caught scribbling in the family Bible with crayons. GASP! The HORROR! Despite being reprimanded, she continued to write and draw into any book she could get her hands on. She always was a bit of rebel. Heh heh. Everyone was relieved when she finally learned to read. Maria took to books like a cat takes to evening fits of lunacy. Then, her grandparents gave her a typewriter for her birthday when she was seven-years old, and she wrote her first story. She’s been filling her world with words ever since.
She’s been recently published in the Literary Mix Tapes anthology “Eighty Nine,” and “The Best of Friday Flash, Volume 2.” She is currently working on an anthology of her own; a collection of short stories called “Kill the Crow,” and writing her first novel. She is the founder and editor of The Were-Traveler online fiction magazine. You can follow her on Twitter at @mkelly317 or visit her website at mariakellyauthor.com.

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by JM Strother

News Flash – Hurricane Sandy

October 31, 2012 in Community News, News Flash by JM Strother

This has been one heck of a week, with a major disaster striking the east coast of the United States. It seems inappropriate to me to run a standard issue of the News Flash when one overwhelming news event should have all our attention and affects so many lives in a very real way. There are still some members of the #FridayFlash Community we have not heard from which is quite worrying. If you have the means please consider giving what you can to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. You can contribute on line.

If you are in the affected area please, please do not take any unnecessary risks. If you had news for this week, and it was time sensitive, please contact me directily (jmstro@gmail.com) and we will help get the word out via Facebook and Twitter. We will have our regular News Flash next week. In the mean time keep those affected by this storm in your hearts, thoughts, and prayers.
~jon

Image via NASA’s AIRS satellite.

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by JM Strother

Three. Two. One. We Have Ingition.

October 30, 2012 in BOFF 2, Book Launch, Celebration, Community News by JM Strother

Today marks the launch of the Best of Friday Flash – Volume Two, or BOFF 2 as it is affectionately known around here. BOFF 2 is a collection of some of the best flash fiction to be found on the web and we are happy to see its release to the wild. To join in on the fun attend the official launch party on Facebook.

On this auspicious occasion we here at Friday Flash Dot Org want to take a moment to thank all the people who made this event possible.

First and foremost we thank the writers who answered our call for submissions. Unfortunately not everyone who submitted was accepted, and some very worthy candidates were, by necessity, not picked up. I know and admire folks we had to turn down. I count some of them as personal friends. For me, as one of the Editors, the single hardest thing to do was sending out those letters of regret. But deserving stories will find a home, of that I am sure. The only thing that made it bearable was the fact that the stories that did make it into this terrific collection were selected by a blind panel of judges. In the end we wound up with a fine collection of stories which does a wonderful job of showcasing the diverse talent which makes the #FridayFlash community so vibrant and alive.

Which brings us to the next group we need to thank, our blind panel of judges.

This year we used Submittable (formerly Submishmash) which allowed us to operate the entire submission and selection process blind, i.e. the judges did not see the author’s names when doing their evaluations. While not perfect (unlike me, some judges probably have very good memories) this ensured the most fair process we could manage for story selection. We want to thank all the judges for their diligent and fair-minded efforts.

The editing burden this year was a shared effort. On a personal note I want to thank my co-editors, Tony Noland and Rachel Blackbirdsong, for their assistance in putting it all together. Since we had three editors this year, we have three stories selected as Editor’s Choice picks. Congratulations to TS Bazelli for “Quick Draw,” Mike Robertson for “Ice Boat,” and Kevin J. Mackey for “Intimate Strangers.” Your stories are exemplars of the breadth and depth this community captures every week in 1000 words or less. Amazing work, every one.

As always, we want to thank our readers. Your encouragement, comments, and critiques week in and week out are invaluable. We also thank you for picking our Reader’s Choice Award, “Running Away,” by Cathy Olliffe-Webster. Congratulations, Cathy.

Finally, we want to thank our publisher, eMergent Publishing, and Jodi Cleghorn in particular. She helped shepherd the book through the entire process, gave timely and sage advice, a shoulder to lean on when most needed, and even designed the cover. It was pure pleasure working with Jodi, and eMergent Publishing. Jodi, we are proud to bear your imprint.

You can see the full Table of Contents of BOFF 2 at the eMergent website, where you can also purchase a copy (or two) for your very own.

And don’t forget the party on Facebook. Drop by and say hello, have an hors d’oeuvre, or glass of punch (careful, I’ve heard it’s spiked), and then go out and help spread the word. And thank you all again for participating in #FridayFlash.
~jon

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by JM Strother

Hail and Farewell

October 11, 2012 in Community News, Notices by JM Strother

The title line here comes from the last line of Roman poet Gaius Valerius Catullus’ famous tribute on the occasion of his brother’s passing. In his eulogy the last line reads, “atque in perpetuum frater ave atque vale,” or, “And forever, brother, hail and farewell.”* While the original poem was a lamentation, the last bit of it, “Hail and Farewell,” has come to be used in celebrations for changes of staff common to many organizations — both to thank exiting personnel for their service, and to welcome those who replace them.

So, while it is impossible to have a formal change of staff ceremony here at FFDO, what with the global distribution of our membership, I do want to take time to formally announce some major staff changes.

E. D. Johnson has decided to step down as Editor here at Friday Flash Dot Org. He has been at it for more than a year and feels it is time for a change. I want to take a moment to personally thank him for stepping in to take up the position at a time when I sorely needed the help. In relieving me of the front page duties of the website, he provided me some breathing space to get through a difficult time. He also helped set a new course for FFDO, implementing what he dubbed the a-team (short for Articles Team). You know the a-team as our regular contributing Correspondents, who bring fresh perspectives on the writing experience to our pages once a week. Please join me in thanking him for all he has done here to keep FFDO on track while I was otherwise engaged.

I also want to thank Estrella Azul, who also stepped up at about the same time, to take another huge load off my shoulders by volunteering to be the community news Editor. In fact, she even came up with the name of our weekly news column, The NewsFlash. She has been steadfast in her weekly efforts to scour Facebook and Twitter for news, and in consolidating the emails and messages members have sent to her. Through her efforts we were all able to share in the wonderful achievements you all accomplished week in and week out. Both these people have been wonderful to work with and in the case of E. D. Johnson, will be missed.

Fortunately Estrella will not be missed here at FFDO because she is still going to be around. I am very pleased to announce that Estrella Azul has graciously agreed to take up the mantle as our new Editor here at Friday Flash Dot Org. Please take a moment to pass on your own congratulations, and welcome her to her new post. Estrella will be managing the content of the front page, and she has some terrific ideas on how best to keep the site active, fresh, and interesting. If you have any ideas or proposals that you think would improve the public presence of FFDO please don’t hesitate to send them to either Estrella or me. You can contact Estrella at estrella.azul@fridayflash.org, and me at jmstro@fridayflash.org with your questions, comments, or suggestions.

Of course with taking up the reigns of Editor, she needs to release those of the NewsFlash. As I found out long ago, doing both is way too much work and will quickly lead to burn out. To help preserve Estrella’s sanity our own Angie Capozello will be filling in as the NewsFlash Editor, at least for a while. So beginning with news for next week please send any hot scoops to her care of angiec@fridayflash.org.

This column would not be complete without taking a moment to thank the others who help make #FridayFlash, and Friday Flash Dot Org a continuing success. Our technical team of Tim VanSant, Angie Capazello, and Susan Chambless keep things humming along, constantly bringing incremental changes to the fore in an effort to improve your browsing experience. Then there is the aforementioned a-team: Cathy Olliffe-Webster, Alex Carrick, Catherine Russell, Jodi Cleghorn, and our newest contributor Dana Sitar, of the popular blog DIY Writing. Welcome Dana, it is good to have you aboard and we look forward to your posts. These fine writers bring us a rich mix of voices, and varied points of view in order to keep our pages useful and interesting.

Then of course there are all of you, the writers and readers who keep the whole world of #FridayFlash spinning, week after week. Our sincere thanks to you all.
~jon

* Quote taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catullus_101
Image taken from Catullus At Lesbia’s by Sir Laurence Alma Tadema, which is in the Public Domain (via the Wikimedia Commons).

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by JM Strother

What’s on Your E-shelf?

October 4, 2012 in eBooks, Reading by JM Strother

I got curious the other day and decided to go online and gather my bookshelf info from the two vendors I buy e-books from, Amazon, and Barnes and Nobel. I am fortunate enough to have two ebook devices, a Nook Color, and a Kindle 3 (now known as the Kindle Keyboard). The Nook Color was my first choice, since I knew I would prefer the tablet-like operation, but then I also won the K3 in an online contest. I was stunned, since I never win anything, but pleased. One never knows when a Kindle might come in handy.

These two devices came to me in fairly short order. In fact, while the Nook was purchased before the K3, the K3 arrived in my hands before the Nook. You see, beg as I might, my wife refused to let me open my Christmas present early. Yes, she is that mean. In the interim I held off buying much for the Kindle because I just knew I’d like the Nook better.

Turns out I know myself pretty well. In reviewing my two virtual bookshelves I found I have seven titles on my Kindle and an even 100 on my Nook. I have not read all the Nook books, and may never read some of them — a good number came from an introductory download spree from Kaplan, mostly nonfiction, on subjects somewhat esoteric (but you never know when you just might want to read about autopsy procedures, do you?).

I also discovered Free Fridays, tipped off by my good friend, Susan, and have since used this weekly giveaway to pick up a fair bit of fiction I probably would not have bought. I have read most of them, however, and was generally pleased. As a marketing strategy it works, as there are a few authors I have discovered this way who I will gladly buy from in the future.

Both bookshelves have several titles from authors I know personally, either from meeting at events, or from the #FridayFlash community. These include all the books by M. R. Sellars, who once came to one of our bookclub meetings, and whom I often run across at Archon, the annual St. Louis area’s Science Fiction convention. Murv’s a charming fellow, fun to listen to, and writes books that are fun to read.

At the risk of offending via omission the Nook contains titles from these (both past and current) #FridayFlash authors: Jeff Posey, Kevin Mackey, Shannon Esposito, G. P. Ching, and Clive Martyn, while on the Kindle I have titles from Helen Howell, Jeff Posey, and eMergent Publishing. The tiles from eMergent Publishing (my own publisher) are anthologies which contain stories from many in the #FridayFlash community.

There are a lot of #FridayFlash authors who have published for these two platforms, so why just these few? First off, there a lot of them and I simply can’t afford to buy every title as it’s released. Also, I have several others in traditional paper on my wooden bookshelves who do not show up here. Really, it mostly boils down to serendipity. If I’ve enjoyed their flash fiction, if I happen to come across their names when I’m in the mood to buy a book, if I remember to actually buy the book (quickly dying brain cells here), then I tool on over to the estore and make the purchase.

The point is not how many #FridayFlash authors I buy from. The point is that the #FridayFlash community is a vibrant and quite productive community, from all over the world, who produce amazing work in every genre you can imagine. They are out there pounding away, constantly striving to improve their craft. Many of them are very good, and deserve to be read.

So if you read #FridayFlash, and an author’s work really grabs you, and you happen to be in the mood to buy a book, why not give them a chance? Go ahead. Tool on over to the ebook, or traditional, bookstore, and search for their name. If they have a title or two available go ahead and buy their book. You may just discover you have a new favorite sitting on your shelf.

Are you a published author, either self or traditional? You can let us all know by adding your publication credits into your FFDO member biography. Or you can leave a modest plug in the comments.

If you are looking for some of your favorite #FridayFlash authors you can look through past issues of The News Flash. Estrella does a wonderful job of announcing new releases from the community when she finds them.

Have any titles from the community you’d like to recommend? Tell us what they are in the comments below.
~jon

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by JM Strother

The New #Amwriting Member Directory

October 1, 2012 in #AmWriting, Community News, Guest post by JM Strother

We are very happy to have a special guest here today. Johanna Harness, founder of the #amwriting meme on Twitter, has stopped by to share some of the changes you will find on the new amwriting site, which officially reopens today. Specifically, she dropped in to discuss the new member directory. After reading this post be sure to follow her link over to the site itself to read about other exciting changes, and to wish her the best on the new and improved #amwriting. ~jon

The New #Amwriting Member Directory

by Johanna Harness

The #amwriting hashtag started just over three years ago on Twitter. As our membership grew, I set up our first web page: a membership directory. It was a simple enough idea. I collected short bios for our members and published each as a post on our website. Anyone who used the hashtag was welcome to send me a bio. As the community grew, I quickly found myself overwhelmed. Even with a volunteer helping me, we couldn’t catch up.

So we changed. We set up a multi-author blog where members could post their own information. As a result, our author bios jumped from one hundred to nearly six hundred in a matter of months. Success, right?

Well, yes and no.

We were growing and that was fantastic. Unfortunately, giving everyone access to the dashboard created a really unstable blog. By August of this year, it was clear we’d have to shut down for a month and rebuild from the ground up.

One of our key priorities was creating a solid membership directory. Starting in September, I began pulling a small group of #amwriting peeps all over the internet, trying out the features of one site after another.

For our membership directory, our criteria didn’t seem that demanding:

Each person should have a page with a photo and room for links and a complete bio. It should feature the author and really make the person look good. (I was amazed how many author bios appeared as tiny little entries below huge advertising banners. Yick.)
We should be able to customize the information requested from each person. (More than one service charged significantly to even alter the wording, while some services wouldn’t allow any changes at any cost.)
We wanted a good search function. In other words, we didn’t just want to search on the title of the biography, but also the contents. If I’m looking for other fantasy writers, I should be able to do a search for “fantasy” and see a list of those authors. If I want to see if anyone else mentions Idaho, I should be able to do a search.
Export. Oh wow. I had no idea how difficult it would be to find someone willing to provide an easy export of data. If we ever decide to move to another site, we should be able to take our data with us. That seemed obvious to me.
Cost. While we are happy to accept donations, we are committed to making this service free for all. I’m a teacher and a writer. I can absorb some expense, but many of the sites seem to have been developed with corporations in mind. I didn’t even bother dragging my team to most of the directory services discovered.
Terms of Service. By the time we found a site that could meet the first five conditions, I just prayed the TOS wouldn’t be horrible. At the very least, let it be in line with other membership directory services.

I’m very happy to say that we finally found a new home for our membership directory: http://groupspaces.com/amwriting.

In all, the directory is only one change of many taking place this month. For a full review of all the changes, please see today’s post on The Amwriting Blog (http://amwritingblog.com/wordpress/archives/15142). Or, if less talk is more your style, jump right into the action at the new #amwriting site: http://www.amwriting.org.

Johanna Harness writes middle grade and young adult novels in both Northwest and fantastic settings–often forgetting which is which. She homeshools her kids, explores out of the way places in Idaho, and hangs out with other writers in the #amwriting community she started on twitter.

5 Comments »

by JM Strother

BOFF 2 Is On the Way

September 13, 2012 in BOFF 2, Community News, Cover Art by JM Strother

We want to take a moment to thank all of you who took the time to vote on the BOFF 2 cover. Your votes were counted, your voices listened to, and your time and effort very much appreciated. If you did not catch it in Estrella’s News Flash, you can see in the picture to the right, the color selected by the community is blue. I am holding two of the ARCs in my hot little hands which, coincidentally, arrived on my birthday. One of the best birthday presents I have ever had. I have to tell you it looks fabulous up close and personal in actual print.

Jodi Cleghorn, of Emergent Publishing, will have a more detailed post for you next week to include the expected release date, pricing, and some sample promotional material you all can use to help spread the word. As of now the ARCs are being reviewed by multiple sets of eyes to find any last minute errors before the final version is sent of to the printers. But rest assured, it will not be much longer before the Best of Friday Flash – Volume 2 becomes an in-your-hands reality.

Thank you all once again for participating in #FridayFlash.
~jon

2 Comments »

by JM Strother

BOFF 2 Cover Color Poll

August 28, 2012 in BOFF 2, Cover Art, Poll by JM Strother

Friday Flash has always been about a community of writers (and the awesome flash fiction they write). As such we are throwing the final say on the cover of Best of Friday Flash: Volume Two to you.

We’ve chosen a design that we hope will brand the collection, and over time, become instantly associated with #FridayFlash, the amazing writing done by this community and the anthologies created to show case that talent.

How can you be involved?

It’s easy, just vote for one of the five colours shown here. Voting will be open for a week and the system will allow you to lodge one vote. The cover of The Best of Friday Flash: Volume Two will be decided by the colour with the highest number of votes.