HIRAETH PUBLISHING’S
APRIL 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.”
With apologies, there was no March newsletter. I was busy with MidSouthCon in Memphis (Tennessee, not Egypt), where we sold a bunch of books and I was able to reconnect with the people I hadn’t seen since 2019, due mostly to the Chinese virus. Several repeat customers came by our tables, which was gratifying, as it means they like what we publish.
We were due to release an anthology titled Courage Under Fire at the beginning of this month, but fell behind a bit. We expect to have it out in two weeks, so watch for it in our shop. Courage under fire refers not only to military actions, but simple matters like trying to earn a living, or doing the right thing in the face of opposition. We’ve chosen some stories that will tear at you and make you do a fist pump and cheer.
Also due out this month is the Spring Illumen and The Fifth Di… (a holdover from last month). We’ll have those in two weeks as well.
Finally for April, we’re releasing a new periodic publication called Flash Digest, which features flash fiction. It’s edited by Terrie Leigh Relf. Watch for it in our shop.
Coming up in May are Hungur #5, Scifaikuest #84! and the second Starwinders adventure novel, Nohana’s Triangles. The first Starwinders is Nohana’s Heart, available at these links: Print; PDF; ePub
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
FLASH FICTION PUBLICATION (NEW!!)
Hiraeth Publishing now has a quarterly flash fiction publication called Flash Digest. The lead editor is Terrie Leigh Relf. We consider flash fiction to be <1500 words. Publication dates are January, April, July, and October annually. We are now reading for the July 2024 issue. We will accept between 6 and 8 flash fiction stories per issue. We also consider cover and interior art. Genres for the stories are science fiction, fantasy, spooky (i.e., ghost), paranormal, and interstitial. For submission and other details, please read the guidelines. Guidelines are now up at https://www.hiraethsffh.com/flash-digest-guidelines​
DRABBLE CONTEST:
The current drabble contest has closed. Winners of the contest are:
First Place:
Time Whip & Chain by Amber Morgan
Second Place:
Can We Take Some of These Back with Us? Our Planet's Pretty Depressing by Tracy Roe
Honorable Mentions:
Oh, Peanut Butter by Moira Richardson
What is Really Behind Anal Probing? by Joe Wocoski
We’ll publish Drabble Harvest: Alien Fetishes on 1 May.
NEW DRABBLE CONTEST:
Guidelines for the new Drabble Contest have already been posted. The theme is Interstellar Archives. Read the guidelines at https://www.hiraethsffh.com/drabble-contest
POTTERS FIELD 8 ANTHOLOGY:
The Potters Field 8 anthology is open to submissions until 30 April 2024 or until filled. We’re looking for stories, poems, and b&w illustrations. We’re also looking for cover art. The editor for Potters Field 8 is award-winning writer Christina Sng. Please read the guidelines before submitting—that’s where you’ll find the submissions address. Here’s the guidelines link: https://www.hiraethsffh.com/potters-field
SCIFAIKUEST FEBRUARY 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!
NEW RELEASES!
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COSMIC CRIME STORIES MARCH 2024
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Short Stories
Outpost 9000 by Keyla Damaer
The Lizard’s Kiss by David Castlewitz
Hidden Talents by Lisa Timpf
Customer Satisfaction by Rosie Oliver
A Way Out by Sarina Bosc
Sisters by Toni Artuso
Angling by Jacob Hazzard
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Articles
The Astronaut Always Rings Twice – reviewed by Lisa Timpf
Ordering links: Print; PDF; ePub
PARABNORMAL MAGAZINE MARCH 2024
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Stories
The Consolation for Piano by J. L. Royce
Flesh on the Mountains by Matthew McKiernan
Who Controls the Sea by LH Michael
Proof of Concept by Chris A. Bolton
The Committee by Emie Baines
Ongweias and the Stone Coats by Ken Leland
Last Confession of a Luftwaffe Ace by Douglas Kolacki
Poems
Kitsune by Chris Dickinson
Did You Say Something by Tom Guldin
Debris by Sarah Cannavo
Haunting by Mark A. Fisher
Articles
The Lazzaretto and the Ghost Child by Viviana de Cecco
Trilogy of Terror: The Horror of Female Archetypes Explained and Reversed by Denise Noe
Ordering links: Print; ePub; PDF
THE MARTIAN WAVE MARCH 2024
The Martian Wave features stories of the exploration and settlement of other worlds. In here you will encounter a denizen of the deep ocean on a strange planet; a remote world where nothing much happens—until it does; hallucinations and other labor problems; a remodeling of future Earth; the arrival of not-so-benevolent aliens; and much more!
Features
Becoming Jade reviewed by Lisa Timpf
Short Stories
The Empty Planet by Elana Gomel
Zarmina by Lisa Short
Mission Unknown by J Alan Erwine
Finders Keepers by Susan Oke
Flash Fiction
What We Leave Behind by MM Schreier
Poems
Here Be Monsters by K. S. Hardy
Programmed by John Grey
Ode to Our Ancestors by Beth A. Greenwood
Settlers On Yorkin by John Grey
Illustrations
Desolation Stroller by Denny Marshall
Ordering links: Print; ePub; PDF
BOMBAY SAPPHIRE: BALANCE OF POWER
Bombay Sapphire has been tasked by Agni, the Hindu god of storms, along with her friends from The Times of India to investigate strange smells coming from an insecticide factory in Bhopal. One of these smells kills Bombay Sapphire as well as her two friends, and she winds up on Mount Meru, the home of the gods. While Agni and Shiva debate the fate of Bombay Sapphire, she encounters an apsara, who feeds her.
Returned to life, Bombay Sapphire and her friends find themselves in the future, and still in Bhopal. But can they save the city from a leak in the factory that will kill tens of thousands?
Ordering links: Print; PDF; ePub
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WEARING WINTER GRAY BY LEE CLARK ZUMPE
Atmospheric poetry at its finest is found in Wearing Winter Gray. Lee Clark Zumpe sets his moods and draws forth evocative images and memories, and not a little emotion. Now and then a ray of light shines through his words, so that having created a somber mood, he punctuates it with a bit of joy. Thus it is that Wearing Winter Gray reminds us that Shiny Summer Colors are just around the corner.
Ordering links: Print; ePub; PDF
ICYMI
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HORNED JACK: POUND OF FLESH BY M. R. WILLIAMSON
Munford is a town with a shapeshifting deputy sheriff named Jack. He’s a Nephilim—a Watcher—who uses his powers to protect the townsfolk. On the surface, he’s quite a nice-looking young man with a family. He has a pit bull named Banjo. But he also has Woo, a little bat-girl who can “see” things he can’t, and an adviser who’s a shaman. And when Jack’s eyes turn red, criminals beware.
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Complicating Jack’s life and work this time, however, is an montage of supernatural creatures who show up at opportune times, saving Jack’s life. Although he has Nephilim powers, he needs help to capture the evildoers. There’s Woo, and Zee, and Chee…and there’s even a dragon. And then there’s Bree, who can show up anywhere, as anyone. Who is Bree? More like a what.
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Type: Novel – interstitial—SF & paranormal
Ordering Links: Print: $15.95 PDF & ePub: $4.99
VOYEUSE: THE SUPAY PERIL BY TYREE CAMPBELL
Her day name is Lisa Verdi. She comes from Ecuador, she’s a bit kinky, and she is descended from the Incas, by whom she is empowered. She can sense crimes before they are committed, and the sensation arouses her—so she watches, to intervene at the very last moment, because she’s the one she pleases.
Now she has a chance to end the battle between herself and Pizarro, the destroyer of the Inca Empire. But to do so, she needs the sword that originally killed the conquistador, and it’s in a museum in Peru. So what’s a superheroine to do? One thing at a time…
Print: $11.95; ePub & PDF: $2.99
SCIFAIKUEST FEBRUARY 2024
Featured Poet: Francis W. Alexander
The Wendy Van Camp Page
The Jenelle Clausen Page
The James O’Melia Page
…and much more!!
Article by Robert E. Porter
Ordering links: Print: $10.95; ePub & PDF: $2.99
SPACEPORTS & SPIDERSILK FEBRUARY 2024
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.
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A Little Lavender Magic by Megan Mahoney
Slip-Stitch by Megan Archibeque
Luke and Odett by James Fitzsimmons
…and much more!
Ordering Link: Print: $13.50; ePub & PDF: $2.99
THE SAINT AND THE DEMON by t.santitoro
In the not-to-distant future, a young reporter reluctantly agrees to interview a senile old man in the heart of the Florida Everglades. In the humid, swampy environment, the reporter is sure that there can be no story of substance here, but the old man reveals that, in the past, his love was so strong and so passionate for a woman that he stopped at nothing to get her back when the forces of war tore them apart. He became a hero and a coward, a lover and a fighter . . . a saint and a devil. In his quest to rescue the woman he loved, he became something that she could no longer love.
Into the middle of this personal ordeal tumbles Cutter, a man from another world, sent to Earth to establish a breeding mission for his endangered race. He falls in love with an Earth woman, and must defend not only her, but also the future of his own people. The object of his alien affections, an innocent young woman named Angel, finds herself suddenly thrust into a world of aliens and intrigue, and of a love that has far more dangerous consequences than she could possibly have imagined.
Ordering links: Print: $13.95; ePub & PDF: $4.99
SHELTER OF DAYLIGHT – JANUARY 2024
Shelter of Daylight features positive and uplifting science fiction and fantasy. In this issue you’ll find a woman swallowed up by a forest; a reunion after death; the disadvantages of team spirit; a mad and costly escape from a prison colony; a dragonslayer with second thoughts; and much more.
Ordering links: Print: $12.95; ePub & PDF: $3.99
ILLUMEN – WINTER 2024
Illumen is a quarterly digest of science fiction and fantasy poetry, including minimalist forms such as haiku, haibun, empat perkataan, cinquains, and other forms, as well as more traditional formats for poetry.
Featured Poet: Alexis Child
Plus: n a spencer, Iuliia Vereta, John Philip Johnson and many more!
Ordering links: Print: $10.95; ePub & PDF: $2.99
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 May!
Tyree Campbell
Storyteller and Managing Editor
April 2024