HIRAETH PUBLISHING’S
JULY 2024 NEWSLETTER
Rage Against the Dying of the Light
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Adapted from Einstein… “Insanity is voting for the same people over and over and expecting different results.”
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Some days I think there are some fundamental questions that we have neglected to address, especially of late. Like who are we and who is with us and who isn't, and how do we tell the difference. Who is trudging along the beach beside us and what is just tucked under our belt or in our backpack? We seem to be undertaking quests within quests. Because life—all life—eventually ends, there is quite naturally an end game. What is the end game of the individual human? Where do we hope to be, and what do we hope to have accomplished during the time allotted to us?
Two poetry citations (both of which I used in a post-apocalyptic novel) come to mind. But first, some background, in the form of an observation by Lisa, one of the three principal characters:
“She saw small drifts of ash and blackened wood, and piles of smaller cut stones that might have served as brick, and scattered fragments of terracotta that could have been roofing tiles or perhaps containers. But containers for what? Water, possibly. The detritus showed faint signs of arrangement, as if dwellings had lined passageways.
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“They reached the nearest of the blocks and saw that wind had beveled the edges and corners, winds that had blown for centuries, or millennia. They now saw that almost all of the blocks had suffered damage from the impacts of something harder, possibly iron. Some stones had little sand-filled punctures in them. Some had surfaces mottled with black smears. On others, entire corners were missing.
In the sunlight, the object several feet away was rust red-brown, a crumpled metal pot in which long ago eggs had boiled, soup had simmered, and vegetables had warmed. Long ago, a family had partaken of the food prepared in this vessel. Long ago, the vessel had been smashed into the sand, and probably the family along with it. So long ago that even those who came to do this deed had been lost to time and to the sand.”
And as they stand wondering at this destruction of the world they had once known, two of them offer poetic observations:
From Percy Bysshe Shelley’s Ozymandias:
“On the pedestal, these words appear:
‘My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!’
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
And from John Keats’ Ode on a Grecian Urn:
“And, little town, thy streets for everymore
Will silent be; and not a soul to tell
Why thou art desolate, can e’er return”
So all things end. In the meantime—actuarially about three-score and ten—we have time to live. Doing what? That’s up to you. But make it count for something. Complaints don’t count. Act! Whatever you do will end, but the “getting there” will see you through to it.
As for me, I tell stories. Some folks like them…
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Moving right along…
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
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CURRENT DRABBLE CONTEST:
It's now closed to submissions. The theme is “Interstellar Archives". Winners are:
First Place: Keith Burdon for "Banned Books"
Second Place: Anthony Perconti for "Omega"
Honorable Mention 1: Sara Kate Egan for "Foreign Discoveries"
Honorable Mention 2: Tom Gadd for "Among the Rain Readers"
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COLOR INTERIOR ART
Printing in color can be prohibitively expensive. However, the current issues of Drabble Harvest #11 and the Spring Illumen both feature color interiors. You’re invited to check them out.
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ANNOUNCING A NEW ANTHOLOGY OPEN TO SUBMISSIONS…
The title of the anthology is MEDITATIONS: a Minimalist Poetry Anthology for Christians. We are looking for haiku and tanka written in the spirit of Christian love and peace. It is imperative that contributors read the guidelines.
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Guidelines are posted and may be read here: https://www.hiraethsffh.com/meditations
​SCIFAIKUEST MAY 2024 HISTORY
The May 2024 issue of Scifaikuest completes the Digest’s 21st year. The 22nd year starts with the August 2024 issue. That’s 84 issues, and still counting. That’s a long life for a small indie press publication. Kudos to sakyu (Teri Santitoro) for her hard work over the years as editor of Scifaikuest.
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To order a copy of the print issue of the May 24 Scifaikuest, see the links below in the New Releases.
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SCIFAIKUEST MAY 2024 ONLINE EDITION
Edited by t.santitoro
This edition is now available on our site. It is not the same as the print edition. Come read and enjoy! Here’s the link: https://www.hiraethsffh.com/scifaikuest-online
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DIGITAL STORE:
We continue to expand our digital store. We have added several new titles this past month, so keep checking us out! Most of what we list is or soon will be available as an ePub or as a PDF. Keep in mind that digital is less expensive than print—a savings that is welcome in these hard times (which is why we continue to expand the digital store). Prices range from $3.99 on down…well worth it to get away from it all and immerse yourself in another world…
So come get some. Oh, btw, the discount mentioned below also applies to the digital store.
This is the link to our digital store: https://www.hiraethsffh.com/digital-store
STORE SALES:
Next up, and at the risk of being somewhat repetitive, because we want our storytellers and poets to be read, and our artists to be seen:
THERE’S A SALE GOING ON!!!
BUY ALL THE BOOKS YOU WANT AND USE THIS 20% DISCOUNT CODE:
BOOKS2024
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THIS DISCOUNT CAN BE USED AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WISH,
SO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT!
GO TO OUR SHOP AT WWW.HIRAETHSFFH.COM
NO MASKS, NO WAITING, AND WE NEVER CLOSE!
THIS JUST IN!
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NEW RELEASES!
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PLEASE NOTE THAT DURING JULY WE WILL BE POSTING OTHER PUBLICATIONS, SO WATCH FOR THEM IN OUR SHOP. THESE WILL BE FORMALLY ANNOUNCED IN AUGUST.
AND NOW—FOR JULY WE HAVE:
SHELTER OF DAYLIGHT JULY 2024
Cover art by Richard E. Schell
Reflections on the Other Side by Sandra Siegienski
The Wrong Princess by Kylie Wang
Carnival in Venice by Matias Travieso-Diaz
…and much more!
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Type: anthology – SF/F – uplifting and positive
Ordering links:
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ILLUMEN SUMMER 2024
Illumen is a quarterly digest of science fiction and fantasy poetry, everything from ghazals to sonnets, and including minimalist forms such as haiku, haibun, empat perkataan, cinquains, and other forms, as well as more traditional formats for poetry. Featuring Lee Clark Zumpe, Allister Nelson, Deborah Sheldon, Francis W. Alexander, Holly Day, Amanda Niamh Dawson, and many more!
Ordering links:
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POTTERS FIELD 8
Edited by Christina Sng
The stories in Potter’s Field 8 relate in some way to unmarked graves. Read this one with all the lights on…
Novelettes
Beguiled by a Melancholy Knell by Lee Clark Zumpe
Good Magic by Katherine Kerestman
Short Stories
A Gift for the Dead by Christopher Langan
Necropolis by Paul Lonardo
The Call Stop by Kendra Preston Leonard
Self-Preservation by Lucretia Stanhope
The Haunting of Loon Lake by Tom Folske
Ordering Links:
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FLASH DIGEST JULY 2024
Edited by Terrie Leigh Relf
Featuring:
Guerrillas Just Want to Have Fun by Scott Talbot Evans
Details by Pamela Love
Endlings by Ngo Binh Anh Khoa
The War World by Daniel Crow
They Will Come Soon by Maximiliano Guzmán
In Dreams by Jay Sturner
Ordering links
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THE DRABBUN ANTHOLOGY 2.0
Edited by Francis W. Alexander and t.santitoro
A drabbun is a very flash story punctuated by a summarizing thought. Some are humorous, others poignant or evocative of an emotion. All are entertaining and thought-provoking. The drabbun was developed by the staff of Hiraeth Publishing as an innovative method of presenting ideas and concepts.
This anthology is perfect for late night bedtime reading.
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Ordering Links:
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ICYMI
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HERE THERE BE DRAGONS
Edited by H. David Blalock
Creatures of mystery, fascination, and imagination -- dragons! Within this volume are tales to astonish, captivate, even frighten. Dragon furnaces, stage dragons, captured dragons, dragon combat... Just about anything can be told about dragons, but all of it appeals to our sense of adventure. Here there be dragons. Mind the flames.
Print ($14.95)
ePub ($4.99): available soon
PDF ($4.99): available soon
PARABNORMAL MAGAZINE JUNE 2024
Edited by H. David Blalock
Stories
Consignment by Ann O’Mara Heyward
Grandmother by Cory Swanson
The Man on the Stairs by Paul O’Neill
This Cat Must Die by Jason Lairamore
Underworld by Paul Lonardo
Inheritance by Dale Kesterson
Dead Ringer by Herika Raymer
Poems
Lamia by Christian Dickenson
The Hungry House by Randall Andrews
Why the Angel Dudley Didn’t Want to Return to Earth by Denise Noe
Articles
Moralist to Seducer: How Fiction Inverted Dracula by Denise Noe
Exploring Occult Detective Fiction with Michael Fitz-James O’Brien
Illustrations
Photo by Lakmon Sevim
Nature’s Spreadsheet by Sonali Roy
Ordering links: Print; ePub; PDF
GALLIUM GIRL
By Tyree Campbell
A vampire, a werewolf, and a woman: what could go wrong?
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The werewolf eats tofu, and is a vegetarian. The woman drives a car that strikes the vampire as a bat and catches it in the windshield wiper blades. Another werewolf threatens to go on TV and transform, thus exposing the species. Witnessed by humans, the vampire flies into a burning building. What are supernaturals to do? One thing at a time. But it doesn’t get any easier, especially after the woman falls in love…
Ordering links: Print; ePub; PDF
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PITTSBURGH AND OTHER POEMS
By Alan Ira Gordon
Sometimes a sense of place is easy to identify and understand. In those instances, it can be a physical city, town, neighborhood or just a piece of property. Other times it can be a point in time, either past, present or future. And in yet other instances it can be a more exotic or alien sense of place, perhaps intergalactic, or multi-universe, even an alternate reality version of a well-known place and time, existing at a quantum point or merely within the minds of writers and readers.
All of the poems in this book explore in poetic form various ideas of sense of place, whether physical locations, points in time or ideas of place that could only exist (for now, at least) within the creative realms of science fiction, fantasy and/or horror.
Ordering links: Print; ePub; PDF
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MINDSCAPES
By G. O. Clark
G. O. Clark takes on the future in this riveting collection of poetic observations about life, the Universe, and everything else. He takes you up mountains and down valleys, and always makes you wonder about what’s happening and what will happen (if we aren’t careful).
Ordering links: Print; ePub; PDF
SPACEPORTS & SPIDERSILK
Edited by Marcie Lynn Tentchoff
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Spaceports & Spidersilk features science fiction and fantasy for ages 9 to 99. It presents adventures on other planets and in imaginary worlds. Inside these pages you’ll find visitors from other worlds, dragons, magic, and strange friends.
Ordering Links: Print; ePub; PDF
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Without further ado, then: browse, read, buy, enjoy. If you have any questions or comments, send them to us at hiraethsubs at yahoo dot com. See you in August!
Tyree Campbell
Storyteller and Managing Editor
July 2024
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