HIRAETH PUBLISHING’S
SEPTEMBER 2023 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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There’s truth to the adage that “old age is not for the young.” In the past few weeks this has been brought home to me with alacrity. First there was the spill while donating food to a food pantry that gave me a badly sprained right wrist (no good deed, right?). For two weeks it was almost impossible to type anything that included more than QWERTY, etc. Healing took eight weeks. Then, over the past three weeks, an upper respirator virus settled in, reducing sleep to a couple hours a day. So argh.
Scifaikuest August has been mailed and paid. All remaining August orders will be shipped Monday. With luck, this newsletter will be posted 9/9/23. In the meantime, we plod on.
Moving right along…
SCIFAIKUEST AUGUST 2023 ONLINE EDITION
Edited by t.santitoro
This edition has now been posted 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
DIGITAL STORE:
We continue to expand our digital store. 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:
BOOKS2023
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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!
Drabbun Anthology
Hiraeth Publishing is still open for submissions to a new Drabbun anthology. We will be open until full===probably the end of September. For instructions on what to do and how this works, please read our guidelines, which are posted here: https://www.hiraethsffh.com/drabbun
New Anthology Call!
HERE THERE BE DRAGONS
Dragons are icons of fantasy and legends about them abound. Found in novels, poetry, and art, they stir the imagination as helpers, heroes, villains, and symbols of love, fear, and wealth. We are looking for renderings of dragons in writing and art that capture the essence of these fascinating creatures.
The anthology will be open for submissions from 1 October 2023 to 1 January 2024 or if filled before. Publication will be on or about 15 June 2024. Editor is H David Blalock. Read the guidelines carefully. This one should be a doozy!
Find the guidelines here.
Now, let’s see what we’ve been up to recently…
NEW RELEASES!
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ALIENS, MAGIC, AND MONSTERS BY LAUREN MCBRIDE
Fun to read. Fun to write. Aliens, Magic, and Monsters features poems set in the unlimited and imaginative realm of science fiction, fantasy, and horror. The poems were chosen to showcase over twenty poetic forms from acrostiku to zip, from strict rhyme to free verse, and much more in between. There are guidelines included on how to write each type of poem. Try a sci(na)ku. At only six words, it's sure to interest even the youngest readers.
Ordering Link: Print ($8.95), PDF & ePub ($2.99)
THE GIFTED BY TYREE CAMPBELL
DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF AND INSPIRED BY MELISSA MEAD
The year is 2045. Earth’s societies have fallen apart for various reasons—economic, social, political, disease. To live, people began to loot, kill each other, and generally get by from day to day. In the latter stages of this deterioration, fear of disease caused immunizations to be rushed into production without proper testing. Some parents soon discovered that the children born were deformed in some way: flippers for hands and/or feet, missing organs, scales for skin, etc.
In addition to flippered hands and feet, Wendy Meade was gifted with some psi abilities that enabled her to talk with animals and with people. Now an adult woman, she scrapes by in a woods above a bay on the coast of southern Oregon, where there is an abandoned town where food is still available in convenience stores. She supplements this with shellfish from the bay. Such is her life.
Until one day she discovers that she can telepath with animals and people. A small community begins to form around her. Now, if possible, she has to use her powers to protect them from marauders.
Ordering Link: Print ($14.95), PDF & ePub ($3.99)
PARABNORMAL MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2023 EDITED BY H. DAVID BLALOCK
parABnormal Magazine features stories that focus on the paranormal, including ghosts, spectres, witchcraft, the afterlife, and the occasional bit of dark magic.
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Stories
Bone Deep by Shannon Taft
Hello, It’s Patrick by Joseph Charles Walter
On a Quiet Street, In a Friendly Neighborhood by Jean Jentilet
Protective Shadow by DJ Tyrer
The Ghost on Coffin Street by Roxanne Dent
The Inner Eye Opening by Daniel R. Robichaud
Poems
From the Rim of the Quarry by John Grey
Me and My Ghost by Fariel Shafee
Winter Traveller by Sarah Cannavo
Hot Dog and Ectoplasm by Alicia Hilton
Alone by Alexis Child
House by Lynn White
Articles
Ghost Stories by Eric Esquivel and Ryan Cody
Severed Heads and Omens of Death: The Horror Origins of Halloween by Gary Davis
Psychedelics and the Paranormal by R. D. Hayes
Ordering Link: Print ($12.95), PDF & ePub ($3.99)
THE ILLUSION LARK BY TYREE CAMPBELL
Five hundred years into the future, Pevely Keiser is the capo of the criminal organization called Temmen. Temmen runs itself, for the most part, with only a few nudges from Pevely to keep people in line. Lately she has two things on her mind. She wants to do something good and useful with the funds that accrue to the gang. And she has a companion or two to help her…and to share her bed, for she well knows it’s lonely at the top.
An alien named Dorcas, who can project illusions designed to create joy or terror, has come to Pevely because a small group of her people have disappeared. Assisting Dorcas, Pevely finds herself up against the major corporate power in human trafficking--a power that dwarfs what her gang, Temmen, can muster. To salvage this one, she has to deal with a possible betrayal by someone she trusted completely, and rescue a family in distress, as well as see to a few strays she tends to accumulate during her activities. Along the way, she has to figure out why someone would abduct aliens who create illusions. As dangers gather like storm clouds, she is forced to rely on the one person she cannot trust: Dorcas the Illusian.
Ordering Link: Print ($13.95), PDF & ePub ($3.99)
COSMIC CRIME STORIES SEPTEMBER 2023
Crimes of some form will be with us as long as there are laws to break. Technology helps solve those crimes. But those solutions will always be found by the ones who get down and dirty—the detectives. Come see what the future holds for the dark side of law & order.
Short Stories
Hunters in the Maze by Mike Adamson
Acquisitiveness Can Kill by DJ Tyrer
Suttee by Tyree Campbell
Stolen Words by Iseult Murphy
Phil, Sleuthing on His Own by Debby Feo
Articles
A Monetary Free Society by Peter MacQuarrie
Ordering Link: Print ($13.95), PDF & ePub ($2.99)
ILLUMEN SUMMER 2023
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: Maureen Bowden
Plus: Lisa Timpf, Randall Andrews, Dawn McCormack, Sandy DeLuca, and many more!
Ordering Link: Print ($9.95), PDF & ePub ($2.99)
AND HELD OVER FOR ANOTHER MONTH
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DUTY AND HONOR BY D. L. R. FRASE
Although Aryk was born an Islander, he washes ashore at a young age in the Flatland Kingdom, the only survivor of a shipwreck. King Konr raises Aryk as his own son. Years later, after a severe summer and serious drought, Islanders are detected making unannounced landings in Flatlander territory. King Konr has no knowledge of the Islander military strength and can only assume the worst by such behavior. In an effort to discourage war, he secures the betrothal of the daughter of the Highland king and an alliance he believes will be strong enough that the Islanders would not dare attack.
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Aryk is given the duty of leading a party to the Highland Kingdom to escort Konr’s betrothed to the Flatland Kingdom, using a map provided by Konr’s couriers. As the journey becomes increasingly difficult, this map becomes more and more suspect and the couriers who provided it are assumed to be Islander spies attempting to stop the wedding and alliance.
Type: Novel, Viking, Sword, Adventure
Ordering Link: Print ($17.95): PDF & ePub ($4.99)
FUTURE TENSE: A story of Earth in 11,000 CE by Tyree Campbell
Lisa is the last survivor of six astronauts who were sent into space aboard the Laika to test the new faster-than-light drive and to explore other worlds. She was gone for 38 years, but time dilation makes her return 9,000 years later. The Earth is mostly a desert, and few humans have survived. She wants to find out why this happened. She is aided by Rachel, the Laika’s computer who has come to life, and by Elly, a reclusive Kentucky moonshiner who wants to learn more about her milieu.
They encounter a desolate land sparsely populated by disparate folk whose societies are based on what little commerce exists. There are isolated groups of religious fanatics who enslave others. Finally Lisa’s search winds up at the long-abandoned site of Area 51, where she and her companions learn the truth about the fall of Earth.
Type: Novella, science fiction, post-apocalyptic
Ordering Link: Print ($11.95): PDF & ePub ($3.99)
SCIFAIKUEST AUGUST 2023 EDITED BY T.SANTITORO
21ST ANNIVERSARY EDITION!!!!
Scifaikuest is a quarterly digest of minimalist poetry, including such forms as scifaiku, haiku, tanka, senryu, haibun, Fibonacci, diminuendo, cinquain, and empat perkataan, to name by a few. In this issue you will find:
Featured Poet: Stephen C. Curro
The Miguel O. Mitchell Page
The Tyler Kerby Page
The Alejandro Barrón Page
…and several other Pages!!
Articles: Dead Parrot Down by Robert E. Porter
…and of course lots more!
Type: Digest, minimalist poetry – science fiction, fantasy, speculative
Ordering Link: Print ($9.95): PDF & ePub ($2.99)
THE FIFTH DI… AUGUST 2023 EDITED BY TYREE CAMPBELL
The Fifth Di… presents science fiction, fantasy, and horror for your reading enjoyment. Come meet the difficulties and the characters who deal with them in The Fifth Di…
Features
The Astronaut Always Rings Twice Reviewed by Lisa Timpf
Short Stories
The Origin of Mirial by N. E. Matin
Moving with the Times by Rick Danforth
Daysider in Nighttown by Tom Howard
Flash Fiction
Physical Humor is a Dying Medium by Gustavo Bondoni
A Million Miles Away by Christian Riley
The Heart of the Island by Andrew Hughes
Poetry
The Greening by Bruce Boston
Population Attitudes by Roxanne Barbour
Historical Drift by Bruce Boston
Sneaky Spaceship Cats by Roxanne Barbour
Observed and Recorded by Bruce Boston
Life Sustaining by Roxanne Barbour
Illustrations
Sweet Gypsy Fortuneteller by Sandy DeLuca
Type: Anthology: Stories, poems, art, articles
Ordering Link: Print ($11.95): PDF & ePub ($3.99):
A WHIMSICAL COTTAGE BY K. S. HARDY
In this book you’ll learn: Why there are no more unicorns. The secret of Rapunzel’s hairdresser. How the Velociraptor Reservation developed, and what it means for humans. Why Sleeping Beauty wanted to be ugly. The decision Snow White had to make. How the pigs lost their wings. The adventures of a baloney sandwich. About what happened at the annual triceratops race. And so much more!
Type: Short Story and Poetry Collection – science fiction and fantasy
Ordering Link: Print ($10.95): PDF & ePub ($2.99)
SHELTER OF DAYLIGHT JULY 2023 EDITED BY TYREE CAMPBELL
Shelter of Daylight features positive and uplifting science fiction and fantasy. In this issue you’ll find a magical standing stone that swallows up a visitor; the call for a mermaid child to return to the ocean; the destroyer of a civilization, and its rebuilder; and much more.
Short Stories
Rainbow Ghosts by Maureen Bowden
Cymodoce by Joseph Carrabis
Fall of the Dark God by Mike Adamson
The Price of Remembering by Lisa Timpf
At the Edge of the Wood by Angelisa Fontaine-Wood
Rule of Threes by Rebecca Hardy
Poetry
Peace Is Possible by Guy Belleranti
A Life Well Spent by Peter MacQuarrie
Illustrations
Ink Woman by Sandy DeLuca
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Cover price: Print: $11.95; ePub & PDF: $3.99
MYSTERIOUS RIDER BY M. R. WILLIAMSON
Mysterious doings surround the old house that has caught the attention of Elmore Paranormal Investigations. Ghosts and rumors of ghosts abound. Certain events simply cannot be explained away. There’s a shapeshifter, a skinwalker, lurking about. What does it want? How can it be appeased? Can the Native American who is working with the Christopher family be of any assistance, with his knowledge of native folklore and mythology? Or is the ghost something the folks will simply have to live with for the rest of their lives?
Type: FH novella
Cover price: Print: $10.95; ePub & PDF: $3.99
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STARWINDERS: NOHANA’S HEART BY TYREE CAMPBELL
The scion of a corporate hierarch, Angrboda Vigdisdottir (Ayvy) wants to hijack a gold shipment to prevent an interstellar war. Disgraced security operative Pol Cahill is the ideal partner for her, given his skill set. Unfortunately, personalities clash. Finally, on a remote world, the two encounter one another in a tavern, and find that a young woman named Nohana, intensely educated and with a desire to travel among the stars, takes to the pair.
But the personalities continue to clash even as plans are laid to steal the gold. Nohana fills the power vacuum and becomes the so-called adult in the room. But Cahill is shot and wounded before they can carry out their plan. Nohana now has no choice but to try to save the day, despite her lack of experience. Meanwhile, the war awaits.
Type: Novel – SF
Cover price: Print: $15.95; PDF & ePub: $4.99
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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 October!
Tyree Campbell
Storyteller and Managing Editor
September 2023
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