Has It Really Been a Month Already?! -- Endings and Beginnings

Time flies when you are having fun...

It looks like October will be a month of endings and beginnings here at Mocha Memoirs. First of all, if you haven't gotten your story in to Alexandra Christian for the latest Sherlock Holmes anthology call, submissions END on October 14th. Time is running out--so if you have been procrastinating...get a move on!

It will also be the BEGINNING of availability for Ghosts, Gears, and Grimoires, the Steampunk Horror anthology that debuts on October 27th. I can't wait to see the book in print. There are some wickedly awesome stories in it.

Of course, Halloween is also coming--that is the END of October (and my personal favorite holiday) and marks the BEGINNING of National Novel Writing Month. If you have never participated in NaNoWriMo, give it a shot! What have you got to lose? Even if you don't finish, you will have more words than you started with. :)

The goal is 50,000 words in a month, which is a bit daunting, I know--but that works out to only 1667 words a day to make the goal. That isn't so bad. After all, this post has over 200 words, and look how short it is... It is a lot of fun, and I've gotten at least five or six completed manuscripts from the rough first drafts of November. Who knows? You might be the next discovery for us!

SUBMISSION CALL!!! Curious Incidents: More Improbable Adventures

Mocha Memoirs Press is pleased to announce that they will be publishing another Sherlock Holmes anthology with editor A.C. Thompson! So sharpen those pencils and get ready to write.

“The game is afoot!”

Welcome back to Baker Street! Holmes and Watson are there to greet you once more with amazing tales of murder, mayhem, and mystery with a supernatural twist. This time the great detective and his stalwart companion will venture into alternate universes, histories, and futures to solve puzzling cases of the paranormal beyond the bounds of imagination.

In Curious Incidents: More Improbable Adventures, I am looking for stories that diverge from the original canon setting of Victorian England. The adventures should be paranormal in nature, but the universe is completely open. In fact, stories set in the traditional Victorian will not be considered. Some examples of alternate settings might be: steampunk, weird west, distant future, space, ancient world (ok, so I’d just really like to see if someone could do it…), dystopian, American noir, or even modern times (BE CAREFUL WITH THIS. I CAN’T PUBLISH SHERLOCK BBC FANFICTION!).

Word of warning:  Sherlock is a beloved character with a very distinct voice and manner.  We want to be sure that we keep and/ or expand on those attributes that have made him a literary icon. However, I am very interested in seeing diverse characters in starring roles (gender, ethnicity, etc.). The entire original canon is available on Kindle for FREE.  Take advantage.

This time, I’m a little more flexible with genre. I am looking for stories that will fall into the speculative fiction genre and all its subspecies (horror, sci-fi, fantasy, steampunk, magical realism, gothic horror, etc.). I’m even being adventurous this time and allowing for a romantic element as long as you stay true to the character, but NO EROTICA (it’s not that kind of book). The important thing is--- it has to have a paranormal thread. These are CURIOUS INCIDENTS, not everyday occurrences.

Let your imaginations run wild and give me something I haven’t seen before!

Publication of CURIOUS INCIDENTS: MORE IMPROBABLE ADVENTURES will again be handled through Mocha Memoirs Press and therefore, all submissions are subject to their general guidelines which include, but are not limited to:  no bestiality, glorified rape, necrophilia, hate language, etc.  We are not seeking erotic stories for this anthology.

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: October 14, 2016

Minimum word count:  4,000 not to exceed 8,000

Payment:  split royalties + 1 contributor copy.

General Mocha Memoirs Press Submission Guidelines:

·         Submit your work to animprobabletruth.mmp@gmail.com with “CURIOUS INCIDENTS” Sub: [Your Story Title]; [Your Name] in the subject line. Attach your story as a DOC or DOCX file. Submissions sent in the body of the email will not be read.  Stories should be in 12pt, Times New Roman font.  Please double space. Don’t forget to include a title page that includes all contact information.  

·         Include a brief cover letter in the body of your email stating your name, pen name (if using one), story title with word count, a brief (1 paragraph) synopsis, and bio.  

·         No simultaneous submissions, please. We ask that you do not submit a story to us and to another market at the same time.

·         Multiple submissions—sending more than one story for consideration—are okay. If sending more than one story, please send them in separate emails.

Spooky Victorian Sensibilities

When you think of Steampunk, it harkens back to the era of Victoria. The streets were dark, lit by sputtering gas lights. There was a dreariness to the London air enhanced by the coal dust and damp which created the infamous "pea-soup" fogs.

So...is it any wonder that the era also abounded with mediums and spiritualists? Ghosts were very real to the denizens of Victorian England. Remember, this was the heyday of the post-mortem memorial photo. The science of photography was not something everyone carried around in a smartphone. Photographs were fairly expensive, and time-consuming. Sometimes the photo of a dead child was the only representation of them that a family would have.

The desire not to lose all connection to their loved ones kept many a spiritualist well-fed and dressed.

Steampunk seems an ideal genre to marry with this era of mysticism. Imagine a steam-powered magic lantern device that could project the image of a deceased loved one -- and how that loved one might be angered if the medium tried to cheat those left behind.

Or perhaps a safety-coffin goes horribly awry. The "deceased" could be relying on rescue -- literally being "saved by the bell," and instead finds themselves buried alive with no hope of escape.

A couple of free story ideas for you. Now someone go and write me more submissions for Ghosts, Gears, and Grimoires! The pickings have been thin so far. If you've forgotten the guidelines, check them out here.

Attention all Steampunkers! -- Announcing a New Submission Call!

Attention all Steampunkers!

Ghosts, Gears, and Grimoires

Mocha Memoirs Press is pleased to announce a new anthology,

Ghosts, Gears, and Grimoires is currently open for submissions.

Submission Guidelines:

What We Want: Ghosts, Gears, and Grimoires will be a horror-themed Steampunk anthology of short stories, released as an ebook and as a paperback. We are looking for Steampunk featuring the supernatural—as well as a beautifully crafted, original story.

Read our general submission guidelines at http://mochamemoirspress.com/about/ for more information.

What We Don’t Want: Any stories that contain rape, bestiality, and/or the abuse of minors. Violence and sex are acceptable but make them integral to the plot.

Submissions: Submit your work to mmpsteampunk@gmail.com with Ghosts, Gears, and Grimoires Sub: Your Story Title_Your Last Name in the subject line. (for example: Ghosts, Gears, and Grimoires Sub: Something Amiss Midship_Poe)

Attach your story as a DOC or DOCX file. Submissions sent in the body of the email will not be read.

We prefer to see submissions using something approaching Standard Manuscript Format, which can be found here: http://www.shunn.net/format/story.html

The only exception is that italics MUST appear as they will be used; no underlining.

Include a brief cover letter in the body of your email stating your name, pen name (if using one), story title with word count, address, website or blog, and any professional publication credits you think might interest us.

The anthology will be edited by Rie Sheridan Rose.

We will accept works of 1,500-6,000 words. Please query first if you wish to submit outside of these guidelines.

No simultaneous submissions, please. Don’t submit a story to us and to another market at the same time.

Multiple submissions are acceptable. If sending more than one story, please send them in separate emails.

We’re not accepting reprints for this anthology. We will pay a flat $10 per story via Paypal only.

Payment will be made within 45 days of publication. We are seeking Worldwide English Language rights for 12 months in print and digital formats.

Authors from outside of the United States are welcome, but submissions must be in English. Please be aware that at this time, we have a largely American readership. Feel free to help us expand that base.

Submission Deadline and Publication Schedule:

We will remain open for submissions from January 4-April 1, with an expectation that the anthology will be published by November 1, 2016.