Make an Author Happy on Her Birthday

Hey, folks. So, today I am celebrating 38 years on this planet. If you want to celebrate with me, you can make me very happy by buying one of my books.

"Eleven stories about love, survival, and the depths of the human heart. Eleven worlds – some remarkably similar to our own, some dramatically different. From the clammy dungeons and mysterious rooftops in "The Spider Thief and the Sorcerer" to the muddy, voodoo protected shores of Lake Ponchartrain in "Legacy" to the highrise slums of Venus in "The Weather's Always Fine in Paradise", this collection of short stories will take you out of the everyday world and into the realm of 'what if'? What if magic and knowledge were things that could be leased and reclaimed? What if voodoo could open a woman's heart to the possibility of love? What if the things that mattered most were not things at all? Explore the possibilities in this collection of eleven stories from A.G. Carpenter."

Paperback available through Gumroad  or Amazon

Kindle version through Gumroad

Nook/eReader version available through Gumroad, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo

 "Delaney Green is one of them that don't burn. Possessed of the Touch - with the ability to not only see the future but manipulate it - she's been kept in an institution for most of her life. When the Salesman, a murderous entity with a connection to Delaney's past, starts burning girls to death, FBI Agent Percival Cox gives her the chance to leave the asylum behind. But he presents an even greater threat and she must risk flesh and bone in order to keep him from becoming a Power more destructive than the Salesman. "

Available on Amazon for Kindle

Nook/eReader version available through Kobo, and Barnes & Noble

"Delaney Green might be dead, but she don’t mean to stay that way. As she searches for a way back to the realm of the living, and the man she lay down flesh and bone for, Percival Cox and his team investigate a series of deaths and stolen souls. But Percy is not the man he used to be. If Del can’t find a way to stop him from waking his past, he could destroy everything, including himself."

Available from Amazon for Kindle

Nook/eReader version available from Barnes & Noble, and Kobo

Award Eligibility: 2016

Hey, folks.

My publication activity this past year is pretty simple.

I self-published a collection of short stories in February - The Weather's Always Fine in Paradise. Of the stories in that collection, two were previously unpublished. (The others were all reprints from my semi-pro/pro sales in previous years.)

These two are all shorts and eligible for awards where the criteria is "published between Jan 2016 - December 2016". 
Made
The Weather's Always Fine in Paradise

If you are interested in reading any of these for consideration, I am offering a free eBook copy on request. You can reach me via email annagrace(dot)carpenter(at)gmail(dot)com

Also published in 2016 was my Southern Gothic/Horror/Dark Fantasy novella - Of Lips and Tongue. If you are interested in a copy for consideration please contact my publisher, John Hartness, at Falstaff Books - john(at)falstaffbooks(dot)com or contact me at the email address above.

There are also several short stories that were published in the Grantville Gazette which I co-wrote with Eric S. Brown.
 - An Army of Scarecrows
- The Monster Society: Snowbound
- The Lost Monster

The Monster Society stories can be read for free via the above links. 

Galaktika Magazine: Getting Paid

Just a quick note today.


Polenth Blake is reporting they have been paid by Galaktika Magazine for the publication of their (translated) story, Never the Same.


They say they were offered copies in lieu of payment, then told $20 was the new standard monetary payment, but they requested $50 and were paid accordingly.


Doug Smith had originally listed Galaktika's payment terms as $50-$100 per short story plus contributor copies.


This is good news, as it means the staff at Galaktika are making some effort to make good on the payment their guidelines initially promised. I encourage authors to whose work was stolen to pursue that payment and not opt for copies only. (Remember that Katalin Mund said just last week those magazines are no longer available for purchase, but it has been pointed out that they will continue to sell the physical copies from their office - via the website or in person - for an indefinite period of time. This means they will continue to seek profit from the work that was originally stolen.)

I strongly encourage authors published in the bigger SF/F magazines in the US or England since the early 2000s to check the Galaktika Bibliography and make certain their work is not among those that were stolen. Primary targets were big name magazines that offered some or all of their content for free online at some point following the initial publication (Strange Horizons, Clarkesworld, Asmiov's, Analog, etc). Other typical targets are folks who were published in slightly older anthologies, that then posted their short stories on their blog at a later date. 

If you have been effected, the contact person is Katalin Mund and she can be reached at mund dot katalin at gmail dot com

[Unsure what all the fuss is about? You can start here - Galaktika Magazine: Theft on a Massive Scale and then read more about it here: Mandiner Article in English, Galaktika Magazine: More Bad Behavior, Galaktika Magazine: By Way of Explanation, Galaktika Magazine: Legacy]

Galaktika Magazine; Mandiner Article available in English

Bence Pintér and Mandiner Magazine have made available an English translation of his article from last week. 


Hungarian SF Magazine Galaktika Published Short Stories Without the Authors' Consent

Galaktika Piracy : Original Article

The article is in Hungarian, written by Pinter Bence and can be found at sci-fi.mandiner.hu


The summary in English states: "We started our investigation about Galaktika magazine upon coming across a warning about them on Doug Smith's website. Having reviewed each volume of last year's Galaktika, we found that the majority of the foreign stories were pirated from online portals such as Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons, Lightspeed, Tor.com, or Popular Science; and from certain anthologies (Years Best SF 14, eds. David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, Eos, 2014. and There Won't Be War, eds. Harry Harrison and Bruce McAllister, Tor, 1991.). We contacted the authors, the editors, and the websites, and have learned that Galaktika did not purchase the rights for most of these stories. The only exception we know of is Jason Sanford's short story. Also, there are reports from 2006 and 2012 about Galaktika publishing short stories without permission."

The article was linked to by Sean Wallace on FaceBook and then reposted by Ellen Datlow (among others, I assume) before being picked up and posted over at the Absolute Write Water Cooler. I'm trying to track down a more detailed summary in English. (Google Translate produces somewhat... muddy results.)

Legacy - New Release!

Available Now! Only $0.99!

Epub available from Kobo

Mobi available from Gumroad 

When a skin-changer looking for passage to Lake Ponchartrain collapses at her feet, Willa Arch finds herself drawn into a conflict between the iron-willed Queen Elsbett of Brittania and Queen of the Dead, Marie Laveau. But survival means coming face to face with Willa's own deadly legacy of fur and teeth.

(Epub also available through Scribd, iTunes, Inktera.)

Teaser: Legacy

With only 13 days left until Legacy is released as an eBook, I thought I would post a teaser to whet your appetite.


Enjoy!


-----------------------------------------

Summer heat grips Savannah in an iron fist. Even with the wooden doors at the back of the zeppelin hanger opened wide, it's sweltering under the metal roof. Willa wipes a dribble of sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. The fans turning overhead barely move the humid air and her shirt's already soaked.

She glares at the guts of the tension-triggered, chain transmission lying on the crate that doubles as a workbench. “More like tension fucked.” The derailing arm is sticking at all the wrong points, dropping the chain every time she attempts to change gears. She gives it another prod, prompting it to fold at the appropriate joints, but it moves as a whole and the chain snarls.

“Fire and damn.” Resisting the urge to whack it with the spanner, she reaches for the screwdriver instead.

The money had been good. If it hadn't, she'd never have taken the job running rifles down to the Gulf in the face of a storm. Trouble with good money is it never makes up for the trouble that comes with it. Now all four props on her air-ship are wracked and need new parts before they'll run smooth again.

The bell at the front door jangles. Then heavy footsteps.

Willa doesn't even bother to look up. “No trips today.” Likely no trips this week.

“I'm looking for Captain Arch.” The voice is deep, with a rough edge.

“You've found her.” She waits for the muttered apology, the hasty retreat. A quarter turn on the middle tension joint and another prod at the derailer. Better.

“You're Captain Arch.” The stranger's tone is a mix of disbelief and amusement.

She stands up, wipes the grease from her hands. “That's right.” He's dressed like an Amerigish trader, but his hands are not those of a merchant and his accent is a blurry Imperial. She fixes him with a hard stare. “You're not from these parts.”

He shakes his head. “No. I'm far from home.” Something about that makes him grin, dry as dust, and it catches Willa off guard. There's a rawness to him she recognizes. The sense of never belonging.

She clears her throat. “Can I help you with something?”

His grin softens. “Maybe. I understand the sly-like smiles now. The lack of a first name.”

“It would have spoiled the joke.” She hooks her thumbs into her belt. “As it is, it don't matter much if what you're looking for is transport. Squirrel is down for repairs.”

He rubs his fingers through his hair. “A shame. I've plenty of coin to spend on the right pilot. Every man in town says that's you.”

Willa frowns. He's clever, holding out the promise of good money, but she's just about had her fill of that. Besides, if every captain in Savannah is pointing him to her it can only mean one thing. “You're headed for Lake Ponchartrain.”

Coming 7.14.15

Short Fiction in 2014

I've not had a lot published this year, but as the SF/F awards season starts to gear up, I thought I would share what I've had published this year.


Vessels for Destruction - Nature Magazine: Futures (Feb 6, 2014)


The Collections Agent - Stupefying Stories (Feb 14, 2014) [Now as an ebook reprint]


The Spider Thief and the Sorcerer - Crowded Magazine (May 15, 2014)


Legacy - Beast Within 4: Gears & Growls (October 31, 2014)