Niteblade

Archive for May, 2011

I’ve got some good news. We recently increased our pay rates 🙂

Yay!

We are now paying $5/poem and $10/story.

Alexa blogged a little bit about this change at The Tiger in the Matchstick Box.

You should definitely check it out. The point, though, when you get down to it is we want to publish your stuff. We can only do that if you send it to us 🙂 More good news? We’re open to fiction year-round now, that and the new submishmash system makes it even easier for you to submit.

 Today’s Niteblade Contributor interview is with Alexandra Seidel.  You may recognize her name – Rhonda announced last week she’s the new poetry co-editor of Niteblade.  This interview was planned before the announcement.  🙂

When did you first recognize yourself as a poet?

Even when I had my first few poems published, I wouldn’t have spoken of myself as a poet, not with any confidence in my talent as a poet at any rate. But at some point, I was able to write a good poem, know it to be a good poem and have it accepted by great markets right away. That was about the time when I would have told you that I’m a real poet, meaning every word of it.

What draws you to speculative poetry?

I have always loved reading spec fiction, but strangely, my first few publications are more literary/mainstream. I think in retrospect, I did that to actually get something published, I just had no idea what the real world of writing looks like. I gradually moved to spec fiction and poetry. I like the people who work in this field, so that is certainly one thing that draws me to it. Another is that spec writing is what interests me as a reader, and as a writer, I like the ostensibly limitless possibilities: I can create a world wherever/whenever, consisting of whatever. The whole thing still has to work, and it’s not like I never spent long hours doing research, but tailoring an entire universe, that is a challenge I cannot resist. I also like writing for people who choose to delve into something like that. But really, the first and foremost reason is that I love dreaming.

Is there a piece of writing advice you’ve never followed?

Probably, but since I didn’t follow it, you don’t seriously expect me to remember what it was, do you?

In the March 2010 issue of Niteblade, Rhonda chose to publish your poem, “The Note Found on the Person of the Dead Wizard Skewered From Above”.  Is there a story behind how the poem came about?

Well, I think I was tinkering with a story in which there are harpies. That played into the composition of the poem, but if there was anything else more concrete I, err, sort of forgot.

What have you been working on lately?

As far as poetry is concerned, I’m writing a lot of poems about a bunch of Greek/Roman gods that have to do with sleep and dreams, Hypnos, Morpheus, Nix and so on. They just appeal to me, and I thought it would be nice to explore them in verse, in a cycle of poems even. Who knows, I might even write a story or two.

Fiction-wise, there are a couple of things, and then there is life which somehow manages to get in the way more often than I like. I plan on doing some darker stuff soon.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with Niteblade’s readers?

Yes, promotional stuff. First, I’m a slush reader for Niteblade, I read poetry and I read stories, and I like doing this. I would love to read more wow-ingly great stuff, so send that. (My blog has one or two posts that might be interesting for people who want to submit; read: http://tigerinthematchstickbox.blogspot.com/)

Second, I just came on board as the new poetry editor for Fantastique Unfettered. It’s a great mag. Read it. If you write poetry, I want awesome (but note that Niteblade’s tastes are quite different from FU’s).

Third, thanks to anyone who ever read anything of mine! And to Amber, thanks for the interview!

Fireflies

Book review by Sarah Hayes

Linda had everything going for her: a loving boyfriend and a life that seemed perfect. That is, until the night a beautiful woman in the park seduces Linda and what would have been a sensual fling turns into a life shattering event as Linda is turned into a nymphomite. Reborn into something not human, Linda is forced to abandon her old life in order to live as a nymphomite, feeding off the energies of female humans’ blood during orgasm. As Linda masters her skills at literally sucking the pleasure from her targets, she becomes more aware of the fact that she will never be part of normal human society again.

To the newly nymphed Linda, every woman is a potential meal, another source of energy for survival – until she meets Jesse. Jesse is clever and funny and wants to create a portrait of Linda for her private collection. What was supposed to be a typical eat-and-run turns into something more when Linda decides to turn Jesse into a nymphomite just like her. But Jesse’s turning comes with a dark price; stripped of her humanity, Jesse becomes the creature Linda most fears to become and abandons her maker in her rage of becoming a nymphomite. Linda must track down Jesse in the city while also keeping herself alive, before someone else suffers the same fate as them.

Lacey Reah’s novella Fireflies is an erotic story of horror and humanity that puts a rather sexy yet terrifying spin on what it means to be human. Reah presents us with an interesting take on the basic vampire, only the blood they suck must be during orgasm or else it does not work. Instead of romanticizing Linda’s life as something strange and wonderful, the story quickly shows the reality of living solely off the blood of the aroused, carefully straddling the realms of horror and drama without becoming too gruesome. Fans of the unconventional bisexual vampire will delight in Reah’s debut into fiction.

I’ve got some great news. Alexa Seidel, who has been reading slush for us for quite some time, has agreed to wear a new title. She will be joining me as a poetry editor for Niteblade.

Alexa blogged back in March about her slush reading expirience (here and other places). One comment from that blog post that stuck out to me was “I only ever see stories, so my poetry slush experience is still non existent”. I thought ‘Huh, well, another set of eyes on these poems would not be a bad thing.’ so I started sending her poetry slush as well. The results have been completely positive and I look forward to working with her to make the poetry section of Niteblade shine even more than it already does.

Please welcome her aboard by sending us all your fantastic poetry to read and fill our pages with 🙂