“The Curious Accounts of The Imaginary Friend”…

Posted on October 30, 2007

First, I would like to wish all of my blog readers and viewers a Happy Halloween. It’s true what they say, that for many of us horror writers there is no holiday we hold dearest than All Hallow’s Eve. So for this Halloween blog entry, I would like to give someone else a plug for once. He is my greatest friend in the written world and a peer, who clearly exercises a style better than most of his contemporaries. He’s the 21st century answer to Edgar Allan Poe… His name is P.S. Gifford… And he has a NEW PRINT BOOK out.

THE CURIOUS ACCOUNTS OF THE IMAGINARY FRIEND

P.S. GIFFORD

“A collection you must own, a collection to die for…”

ORDER HERE: http://www.amazon.com/Curious-Accounts-Imaginary-Friend/dp/1897442025

AUTHOR HOMEPAGE: www.psgifford.com

Short Biography of Horror Author P.S. Gifford:

P.S. Gifford was born and raised in Birmingham, England. From a remarkably early age, he discovered that he was completely fascinated with the written word. By the age of nine he was devouring several books a week, and had more importantly begun to write. In the early 1980’s he relocated to the California coast, where he continued to write and dream. His work is remarkably varied, ranging from mind-numbing horror to light humor to inspiring romance. And he has been published in an equally wide range of print and online publications.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 😉

Other New Entries: “Author Links (P.S. Gifford)”

Beyond Centauri, July 2008… (2 print acceptances!)

Posted on October 27, 2007

Today brings in TWO print acceptances. No. 279 and 280 on the road to 300. Both tales were accepted by Sam’s Dot Publishing. The first one, a reprint entitled The Romance of Vegada, which will go into the February 2008 Print Issue of “Sounds of the Night”.

Next, we have a young adult speculative fiction story called I Want My Alien Back, which will go in the July 2008 issue of Beyond Centauri. The kids should enjoy the humorous end of that one. Below you will find a “Sample Cover” of what Beyond Centauri looks like:

Beyond Centauri: http://www.samsdotpublishing.com/beyondguide.htm

Sam’s Dot Publishing Main Page: www.samsdotpublishing.com

Purchase back issues from Clarkesworld Books: http://www.clarkesworldbooks.com/BCMAG.html

Other New Entries: “Bibliography, Magazine Credits”

Purpleverse #3… (the final issue; coming soon)

Posted on October 27, 2007

Word arrived this evening that the final issue of Purpleverse, Issue #3, will be coming out sometime in December. Authors will include Darren Randle, P.S. Gifford, Faye Sizemore, Bas de Jong, Caleb L. Mabry, Mark R. Masters, and Lawrence Dagstine. Chris Kinney’s Lunacy Machine will decorate the interior pages, from what I’ve read. Joseph Pocs and Zach Pennington get together for the cover art and interior illustrations.

Darren Randle has already shut down the forums and main homepage, but you can still befriend them and learn more at MySpace: www.myspace.com/purpleverse

I’ll post them again, along with back issues, when the last issue officially hits…

Other New Entries: “Magazine Credits”

Otherworlds Anthology (SpecFicWorld; acceptance)

Posted on October 24, 2007

My latest acceptance this week comes to a PDF anthology due out around June 2008, and you can find them at Specficworld (www.specficworld.com). Otherworlds Anthology is looking for dark, tightly written science fiction, fantasy and horror. I don’t have a banner for them, but I do have one for Specficworld (where they happen to be located). Why not check them out? They’re still accepting submissions.

OTHERWORLDS ANTHOLOGY

Submission Guidelines: http://www.specficworld.com/publications/anthos/otherworlds.aspx

Other New Entries: “Bibliography, Unplanned Parenthood 1 & 2”

Listening to: “Duende (www.myspace.com/weareduende)“

Silverthought Press, October 2007… (appearances)

Posted on October 23, 2007

I have a sci-fi story appearing in the October 2007 update of Silverthought. ST is not just a fiction site and writer’s discussion forum, but also a book publisher. The story appearing in this month’s online edition is a reprint, entitled: “Plight on Amaros.”

Main Site: www.silverthought.com

Read the story here: http://www.silverthought.com/dagstine58.html

Featuring serialized fiction, short stories, and news by: Scott Lyerly, Georgepat, Andrew Capone, Rob Crandall, Lawrence R. Dagstine, Ken Dean, Dudgeon, Eric Ellert, P.S. Gifford, David S. Grant, Roger Haller, David LaBounty, Paul Mannering, Kimberly Raiser, Michael Simon, Becci Noblit Goodall and Mike Philbin.

Plight on Amaros was one of those tales that I really wanted to turn into something more epic. Something more meaningful and novella-length. In other news, I’ve had a few more acceptances. When I have time, I’ll give them their own plugs/blog entries. Things have been kind of hectic over here with planning a New Years move and getting ready for October 31st. Halloween, my second favorite holiday (next to Christmas). My family might go to the 2007 Pumpkin Festival in Central Park this Saturday. Lots of pumpkin-flavored goodies, and kids and babies dressed up in costumes. Should be fun. We’ve got the baby’s FIRST halloween costume set up, too. He’s going as Wonder Bread! lol. Anyway, I’ll be taking lots of pics — as well as seeing a few horror movies — so I’ll be sure to post them in the “Unplanned Parenthood” section.

Lawrence R. Dagstine

Down in the Cellar (Spring 2008; acceptance)

Posted on October 21, 2007

Paying Acceptance No. 275. They just keep coming. I’m still on the lifetime road to 300. I’ve netted $302.53 in writing checks, too, in two months. Not bad for the small press. I see they get a little higher and higher as time goes on. But then that’s the road…

My 275th acceptance this weekend comes to Down in the Cellar for Spring 2008. This will be my ‘second acceptance/appearance’ with this publication. My first credit was with a semi-pro earning reprint of mine, called, “Thursday’s Children”. Thursday’s Children is one of my more uneasier tales, which almost made the cut in Flesh & Blood.

Link: www.downinthecellar.com

Believe in yourself and you can do anything. There is no excuse for weakness. Confidence is what will help you persevere and destroy any competition that stands in your way. 😉

Other New Entries: “Readings & Reviews (review of Amy Grech at Whispers)”

Whispering Spirits #17, October 2007 (appearances)

Posted on October 19, 2007

You can now find me up in the special Halloween edition of Whispering Spirits. This is my third publication credit with them. The first two times were stories called “The Ghouls of Charon” and a serialized novelette, “Vampire 1970”. This would be Issue #17, and they’re published semi-annually.

Whispering Spirits Digital Magazine, October 2007, No. 2 of 2007

Click Here: http://whisperingspirits.dragynspice.com/issue.html

Featuring fiction by: Dan Berkey, Barton Paul Levenson, Byron D. Howell, Lawrence R. Dagstine, Angeline Hawkes, and Alexis Child. Edited by Diana Cacy Hawkins.

7th Dimension Magazine… (acceptance)

Posted on October 18, 2007

I just had another acceptance, this time to a fairly new small press print zine. It will be for their second promotional issue. They pay $7.00 for science fiction and horror stories between 1,000 and 4,000 words in length, and usually up to 4 authors per issue. 7th Dimension is a quarterly.

7th Dimension Magazine:

http://www.newtonshair.com/7thdimension/

I think the cover above is just a promotional/demo version.

Submission Guidelines: http://www.newtonshair.com/7thdimension/submitstories.html

The Martian Wave… (another acceptance!)

Posted on October 17, 2007

Just recently had yet another acceptance to J. Alan Erwine’s online publication of Hard SF and poetry, THE MARTIAN WAVE. They pay $10.00 per accepted story, and this would either be my third or fourth acceptance to them ever. They accept traditional and soft SF forms, too, but you can probably make the sell if you have a well-written short involving the exploration of space and planets; after all, this is the theme of the publication.

Main Site: http://www.samsdotpublishing.com/tmw/cover.htm

Submission Guidelines: http://www.samsdotpublishing.com/tmw/guidelines.htm

September to October have been two great months so far in the fiction debut and fiction acceptance department for me (basically, Autumn 2007). Also, I have a lot more stories due out in print and online magazines between now and the early half of next year. When I have some free time, I’ll compose a more comprehensive bibliography and publication history with dates, issues, magazine names and more, all leading up from Spring 1996 to the present!

So stay tuned. The story to Martian Wave won’t appear until sometime in 2008. Oh, and if you haven’t visited me on MySpace yet, perhaps now would be the right time… 😉

www.myspace.com/lawrencedagstine

It’s amazing how, in just a matter of two-three days, I’ve made a ton of writer friends and, much to my surprise, four of whom I have shared the same Table of Contents with.

Other New Entries: “Mad Ramblings (and a rather hostile one at that)”

Midnight Horror Anthology (acceptance; Oct. 2008)

Posted on October 15, 2007

I just had a story accepted to Midnight Horror’s new (well, actually, it’s coming out Halloween 2008) Corpulent Insanity Press Anthology, Bloody October. For more details about Midnight Horror’s online fiction component, click the fortunecity link below:

http://midnighthorror.fortunecity.com

They’re currently accepting horror submissions for the anthology component. They pay $10.00 per accepted story. There’s only ten slots over the next year, so this is no easy market. Well-written only. Here’s the Bloody October info link (below banner):

http://midnighthorror.fortunecity.com/bloodyoctober.html

(possible cover for the October 2008 antho)

Other New Entries: “Mad Ramblings, Magazine Credits, Unplanned Parenthood 1”

Lost Worlds: Vol. 10, No. 1 – July 1999…

Posted on October 12, 2007

And now, direct from the DAGSTINE LAND archives… A Blast from the Past…!

Today’s Blast from the Past (archived magazine title) features an almost decade old 8.5 x 11-sized publication, which I’m sure many writers from the 1990’s old school, or snail mail submitting generation of genre, will remember. Yep, I’m talking about the Writer’s Digest of scifi; ‘The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writer’s Digest’ of markets…

Lost Worlds was around from 1989 all the way up to the new millennium. A tri-annual to semi-annual, if I’m not mistaken; semi-annual in its final days. I first appeared in one of their last issues with a post-apocalyptic soft SF yarn, called: “My Future is Your Waste.”

-Lost Worlds, Vol. 10, No. #1… July 1999-

The Writer’s and Artist’s Science Fiction & Fantasy Forum Magazine

Authors to this issue included: Jennifer James, Walter L. Dinteman, Ray Johnson, Lisa J. Roberts, Shawn Madison, Ray Burrell, Thomas Haesche, and Lawrence Dagstine. Cover Art is entitled “Autumn Patrol”, and it was created by R. Wayt Smith.

Also, remember when high-quality printed genre magazines cost about $3.95? Nowadays they run between $7.00 and $12.00, with $8.00 to 10.00 being the average cover price.

Anyway, until my next blast from the past… 😉

Lawrence R. Dagstine

The Willows Magazine… (acceptance)

Posted on October 9, 2007

Today brings in acceptance no. 270, batting in a decent lifetime average, to The Willows – Atmospheric Horror and Dark Fantasy Magazine. Think Weird Tales. Think Lovecraft, Poe, Blackwood, Machen, but pre-war. Think Anglo-American, Art Deco, Atmosphere to top it off. And you’ve got yourself a vibe going for The Willows Magazine…

Link: www.thewillowsmagazine.com

Editorial staff includes Ben Thomas and Skadi meic Beorh. I urge everyone to take a peek and try them out. They are a paying publication, published quarterly. The kind of stories you’d find someone reading in a turn of the century gentlemen’s lounge. Below is a sample issue, to give you an idea what they look like; I’ll be appearing in a future issue.

www.thewillowsmagazine.com

Other New Entries: “Bibliography, Magazine Credits”

OG’s Speculative Fiction (opinion guy; acceptance)

Posted on October 7, 2007

I just had an acceptance this evening to OG’s Speculative Fiction., a.k.a. The Opinion Guy! They’re a paying print-online publication, and award-winning writer Seth Crossman is the editor. Over the years they’ve featured such authors as: Lou Antonelli, Kristine Ong Muslim, Jason Earl, Karen Romanko, Brian Dolton, and Angeline Hawkes…

OG’s Speculative Fiction:

www.theopinionguy.com

For sample back issues, these are what they look like. I have no idea yet what issue I got into. It could be late this year or sometime next. But each print issue is between 24 and 30 pages long. And anywhere between 4 and 5 authors or poets per issue. Two authors most of the time. Must be hard to break into this market.

That link again: www.theopinionguy.com

Other New Entries: “Bibliography, Magazine Credits”

The Ultimate Unknown #23, Summer 2001…

Posted on October 6, 2007

And now, direct from the DAGSTINE LAND archives… A Blast from the Past…!

Well, sort of. I have to start cataloging some of these older magazine appearances. Many of them have long since gone defunct (out of biz, basically), but it’s hard to believe that my name first started appearing in print years ago in small press magazines like this one. You may or may not recognize some of these zines of old but, who knows, you might recognize the names at least. The authors who graced the interiors or covers way back.

The Ultimate Unknown, Issue #23.. Summer 2001

SF Stories by: C. David Hay, Douglas M. Stokes PhD, Barbara A. Custer, Rhonda Jackson, Edward M. Turner, John Picinich, Rose Devi, Daniel S. Irwin, Erik Wilkins, Joanne Tolson, Travis Shephard, Josh Bingham, Terry Pieszchala, K.A. Williams, Kristy Mitchell, Joseph Veronmeau, Joseph Benjamin, Denny J. Corbin, David Combs (also the editor), DF Lewis, Lawrence Dagstine, J. Alan Erwine, and Susan L. Taylor. Cover art by Chris Friend, who I believe also did the cover for the most recent issue of ‘Werewolf Magazine (no. 7)’…

Trust me, I wish URL’s were still available for these classic zines. They don’t make them like they used to. My first small press print magazines, other than Pablo Lennis, were between 1999 and 2001. Every so often I’ll update the old with the new. I have a lot more to catalog and archive, so this will become a new feature to my blog.

Until my next blast from the past… 😉

Lawrence R. Dagstine

Pablo Lennis, October 2007… (appearances)

Posted on October 5, 2007

I’ve got a new story this month in the October 2007 issue of Pablo Lennis. Editor-in-chief John Thiel runs one of the oldest stapled-up science fiction & fantasy fanzines out there. He’s been putting it out since the 1980’s. Pablo Lennis was also the first place to ever publish me, with a SF tale back in spring 1996, called: “The Empty Planet.”

Lineup of scifi & fantasy writers, SF poets, and serialists include the usual suspects: Joanne Tolson, Albert Manachino, Chester Cuthbert, Joe Napolitano, Gary Every, Mel Waldeman, Steve Sneyd, Lawrence Dagstine, and more! Published monthly, John Thiel, alongside Elmwood Kraemer, also write the zine’s science fiction television, movie, and book reviews.

They accept SF, Fantasy and Poetry via SNAIL MAIL. Payment is one contributor copy and some decent small press exposure (circulation 100 to 150). Sample copies are only two dollars. Submission address below:

Pablo Lennis

30 N. 19th Street

Lafayette, Indiana 47904

You can also find me in their March 2007 issue. 😉

Other New Entries: “Magazine Credits, Movies & Videos, Readings & Reviews”

Other New Entries: “Unplanned Parenthood 1, Unplanned Parenthood 2”

(entry edited for mistaken author name/particular issue…)

Werewolf Magazine #7… (Now Available!)

Posted on October 4, 2007

I have a story in the latest issue of “Werewolf Magazine”. Issue #7, 2007. This is one of five lycan tales that I’ve penned this year. You can find another in the September 2007 Issue of Aoife’s Kiss (See my last post and Magazine Credits 1).

Featuring werewolf-related fiction & non-fiction by: AL J. Vermette, D.W. Jones, William H. Pratt, Catherine Bancroft, Eric S. Brown, Steven E. Wedel, Lawrence Dagstine, Sidney Williams, R.K. Gemienhardt, Kraven the She-Wolf, and MORE!!

Go here: http://www.bloodmoonrisingmagazine.com/

Also available from The Genre Mall: http://www.genremall.com/bloodmoon.htm

Other New Entries: “Magazine Credits 1, Unplanned Parenthood 1”

Sam’s Dot Publishing… (Aoife’s Kiss; 6th acceptance)

Posted on October 4, 2007

Hey, so I’ve just had my 6th Brand New short story acceptance to Aoife’s Kiss & Sam’s Dot Publishing for what will be one hell of a collection! We’re talking well over 40,000+ words of speculative fiction & horror. Some of my best works from 2007, too! These stories will be separate from all current and upcoming tales set to be featured in the “Aoife’s Kiss” magazine component. Any tales floating out there which don’t make the collection, by the way, will still be considered for publication in the magazine for 2009 and beyond.

Appearances for Aoife’s Kiss Magazine: September 2007, March 2008, June 2008, December 2008, and… The Short Story Collection.

Sam’s Dot Publishing: www.samsdotpublishing.com

Aoife’s Kiss: http://samsdotpublishing.com/aoife/cover.htm

There may be illustrations, too, because I’ll be assigned an artist. Creative control, layout, and all that other fun stuff will be discussed. 40,000+ words worth of stories. So it’s sure to be fun. I’ll keep you updated again come November or December. 🙂

Lawrence R. Dagstine