Markets and murder

Free to enter competitions

Thanks to Alyson Hilbourne for sending me the link to this eco Santa competition. They want environmental stories for young children and offer a £100 prize.

Alyson also passed on the details of the Turn the Page competition. The prize for the best novel opening is a place on a 'How to write a page turner' course from W&AYB.

Thanks to Jane Bettany who sent me a link to this publication. She says – "I spotted this possible story market online earlier. They pay £35 per page for contributions (capped at £150 per submission), and accept photography, artwork and fiction. There don't appear to be any specific guidelines for stories, but I suspect the fiction will be more at the literary end of the spectrum."

Although it's too late to get work accepted for the next issue, it does state that 'Submission taking will be ongoing'.

And thank you to Chris who shared these poetry markets.

Stinging Fly is the high-profile literary journal. They publish poetry, fiction, essays, interviews and short stories. The magazine also accepts poetry and prose in translation. All work must be previously unpublished. They pay $30 per magazine page for fiction and non-fiction, $50 per poem and $250 for featured poet.

Split Lip magazine is a literary journal. They accept poems, fiction, memories, interviews and reviews. Fiction must be from 1,000 to 3,000 words in length, memories under 2,000 and short fiction under 1,000. They pay from $25 to $50; payment for print is $5 per page.

Rattle is a poetry magazine. They publish poetry and translations of poetry. Each issue features a theme related to a particular community of poets, such as teachers, or slam poets. They pay $200 per poem in print, and $100 for online contributors. All submissions are automatically considered for the annual $2,000 prize.

My news

It's been a few years since I released a novel, but at long last Acting Like A Killer is available for 'pre order'.  As with Criminal Intent, there's an early bird discount for the ebook. The normal price will be £2.99 ($3.99) but fat the moment it's £1.99 ($2.99) I don't think that's bad for over 400 pages of murder, romance, castles, caramels, friendship, scenery and a very exciting boat trip!

Here's the blurb –

ACTING LIKE A KILLER

Amelia Watson needs a dead body by tea time. Less urgent, but more important are – time for a life, the chance to solve crime, an uncomplicated romantic relationship, promotion at work, to be less hurt by her parents' distance. And then there's Nicole, and the attractive stranger...

Of course Amelia doesn't get all she desires, or appreciate everything that life brings. Along the way her priorities change and she ends up with far more than she'd bargained for. Will the unexpected bonus break her heart?

It won't actually be out until 28th November, when the paperback will also be available, but you can order the ebook here.  As always, anything you can do to help spread the word about my books will be very much appreciated.