Great deals on haiku and horror for the holidays

Whether you're shopping for yourself or for someone else, there are many great deals to be had on short poetry and speculative fiction this holiday season.  Now is a good time to stock up on books that you might have had your eye on for a while but were too expensive.

Basho: The Complete Haiku is a much-heralded hardcover collection of haiku by one of the form's great masters, translated by Jane Reichhold.  This book typically lists for about $25, but Amazon currently offers it for $16.47, and it's eligible for free shipping if you spend at least $25.

Two less traditional voices from the haiku world are Jack Kerouac and Richard Wright.  Kerouac's Book of Haikus can be had on Amazon for $11.39, and Wright's Haiku is selling for $10.17.  Both are paperback books, and both are eligible for Amazon's free shipping policy.

Fans of author Charles Gramlich can get signed copies of many of his books for cheaper than the normal purchase price during the holiday season.  Books like Swords of Talera and Cold in the Light are being offered, signed by the author, for less than their standard retail price.  Check out the list of available books on Gramlich's blog.

There are many other holiday deals to be had, and I'll post more as I come across them.  I haven't read all of the books mentioned above, but I've read Book of Haikus and Cold in the Light, and I would highly recommend both of them.

Lilliput Review #186

If you've never read Lilliput Review, issue #186 (Summer 2012) is a great issue to start with.  Every issue of LR has great short poems, but this one seems like it's full of them.  Haiku fans will enjoy finding poems by familiar names like George Swede, Ellen Compton, and Ayaz Daryl Nielson, and there are two very good haiku by Charles Gramlich and Ed Markowski.  The issue ends with a somber (but good) poem by Noel Sloboda.

Single issues of LR can be obtained for just $1, and a 6-issue subscription is just $5.  If you like short poetry, give Lilliput a try.  More info can be found on the Lilliput Review website.

Two new books

Two promising books have just been released by two great writers. Charles Gramlich's latest book, In the Language of Scorpions, is a collection of horror stories and poems (some previously published, some brand new).  The book is 244 pages and sells for $14.99 on Amazon.  ($2.99 for the Kindle version.)  You can find out more information about the book as well as read part of one of the stories on Charles' blog.

Fellow speculative writer J.E. Stanley's new chapbook, Rapid Eye Movement, is available from Crisis Chronicles press for just $5 plus a dollar for shipping.  The chapbook contains 17 poems, and it's very nicely produced.

I'll be reading both of these soon and posting a review.  They both look to be very good.

5 novels I wish I'd written

Charles Gramlich made a post a while back in which he listed five novels he wished he'd written. Here are my five:

1. Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson
2. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
3. 1984, by George Orwell
4. War of the Worlds, by H.G. Wells
5. The Dharma Bums, by Jack Kerouac

If anyone still hasn't picked up a copy of Baseball Haiku, it's down to only $3.67 on Amazon. Not bad for a brand new hardcover book. (If you spend $25, you get free shipping.)

Write with Fire, Anomalous Appetites

Novelist, nonfiction writer, and poet Charles Gramlich has just published Write with Fire: Thoughts on the Craft of Writing. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but it looks to be an interesting read and a very helpful guide to writing. Gramlich has been writing for 20 years, and I'm sure he has quite a few pearls of wisdom to share. The book is currently available from Amazon (click on the link above) and Barnes & Noble.

In other book news, speculative poet and reviewer extraordinaire Tony Bernstein has written a very favorable review of Anomalous Appetites for an upcoming issue of Star*Line. The book is a giant collection of poems and artwork, and even if I wasn't one of the contributors I would highly recommend getting a copy.

For all of you who have already had enough of summer, here's a haiku by Patricia Benedict.

Review: Wanting the Mouth of a Lover by Charles Gramlich

Wanting the Mouth of a Lover is a chapbook of 23 dark haiku by Charles Gramlich, a name well-known by the many fans of his Talera novels. The poems in this collection tend toward the vampirific (if that's a word), but there are some other just plain creepy ones, like this little gem:

faint
laughters
clowns
in
the
dark

Gramlich seems quite at ease writing haiku. Each poem is given its own page, which might anger tree-huggers, but I happen to think it's the best way to present haiku. They are also written in the vertical Japanese style, which you don't see very much of these days. I can only think of one other poet who uses that style consistently.

The chapbook was originally available in a regular and deluxe edition, but the deluxe edition (which came signed, hand-numbered, and hand-stitched) sold out within a week. The regular edition is still available, and it contains an introduction by the author that touches on both the poems in the book and the haiku form itself.

black
soul
aches
in
the
night
she
comes

Gramlich is a skilled speculative poet. His poems have appeared in Dreams & Nightmares and The Shantytown Anomaly, among other magazines, but Wanting the Mouth of a Lover is his first collection of poetry. Hopefully there will be more.

Copies are available from Spec House of Poetry for $5 plus shipping.

Two contests, a market, and a story

It seems we're right in the middle of writing contest season. Here are a poetry contest and a short story contest you might find worth entering:

2008 San Francisco International Competition for Haiku, Senryu, Tanka, and Rengay - Sponsored by the Haiku Poets of Northern California, this contest pays $100 to the top poem in each of the four categories. In addition, for the haiku and rengay categories, there will be a second and third prize of $50 and $25, respectively. Entries are $5 per rengay or $1 for each entry in the other three categories. Get cracking, because the deadline for haiku, senryu, and tanka is October 31st. (November 30th for rengay.)

Oceanview Publishing's Short Story Contest - No entry fee for this one, and they're looking for stories that "might even be a little twisted." Submit unpublished stories (1000 to 5000 words) by email before the November 17th deadline. Prizes are $250 cash plus $150 in Oceanview books for the winner, and $100 plus $150 in Oceanview books for two finalists.

In market news, OG's Speculative Fiction has recently raised its pay rates: $35 for short stories and $10 for poems (on acceptance). Not bad at all.

For your reading pleasure, author Charles Gramlich has started something he calls "Halloween Horror October," and he has posted the first of what I hope will be many short horror stories on his blog, Razored Zen.

New vampire haiku chapbook

Charles Gramlich's long-awaited chapbook, Wanting the Mouth of a Lover, is now available in deluxe and regular editions from Spec House of Poetry. The book is a collection of vampire haiku, written in the vertical Japanese style.

The deluxe edition is signed and numbered, and both editions are $5.00, so get your copy before it sells out.

this & that

I have to get up in about six and a half hours to go to work, so this is gonna be a quick post. Just a few mentions:

The new issue of bear creek haiku is out, full of great poems as always. A couple of gems by Mark Arvid White and Christopher E. Ellington.

There's a new horror anthology opening for submissions August 1st. Catastrophia will be a collection of catastrophe/disaster stories, 2000-6000 words, to be published summer of 2010. It is a paying market, but the guidelines don't specify how much.

Twisted Tongue is also open to submissions, this time for its Christmas-themed winter issue. I believe non-themed submissions will still be accepted, but check the guidelines for details.

Barnes & Noble is having a clearance sale, online and in stores. Find all the clearance books here, for 50-80% off. The sale ends August 3rd.

Last thing to mention... I just finished two good but very different books: Cold in the Light by Charles Gramlich, and Dusk Lingers, a collection of haiku by Issa, translated by Dennis Maloney. Both were superb books. Cold in the Light is available at any large bookstore; Dusk Lingers is available from Modern Proposal Chapbooks (an imprint of Lilliput Review). I hope to post reviews of both books some time soon.

A couple of good poems

Here are two poems I've read recently that really stuck with me. Both of them are technically excellent and evoke strong images.

- "April Again" by Charles Gramlich

- "When Again I Feel My Hands" by Marge Simon (scroll down past Tony Bernstein's article and the other poets)

Also, the official list of 2008 Rhysling nominations is online, if anyone hasn't seen it yet. I'm honored to have my name on the list, among so many larger-than-life poets, including David C. Kopaska-Merkel, Kendall Evans, J. Bruce Fuller, Marcie Lynn Tentchoff, Mike Allen, and Marge Simon.

Lastly, if anyone is looking for gifts for a fellow writer (or maybe for yourself), feel free to take a look at my Out to Lunch Cartoons gift shop. I've just lowered the prices on all the products, so now's a great time to buy something. If you're looking for a specific cartoon on a specific item that you don't see, just ask.

An Interesting Contest

Here's a new take on a contest (at least, new to me). Professional novelist Charles Gramlich is sponsoring a web-based "pay it forward" contest regarding your favorite title for a story or poem. Read all the contest details here. It closes on April 6th and it's free to enter, so get thinking.

Another looming contest is sponsored by the Southern Illinois Writers Guild. There are three categories -- fiction, nonfiction, and poetry -- and prizes of $100, $50, and $25 in each category. Entries must be mailed, along with a $5 entry fee (per entry) by May 1st.

In case you haven't checked out the new horror mag The Ashen Eye yet, now's a good time to do so. The editors are in the process of compiling their first issue, and for some reason they chose to include one of my poems. (In spite of that, it looks to be a good first issue.) You can read another of my poems, "Bats," on their website, along with poems and excerpts from the other contributors, including Alexis Child and David Byron.

I'm also proud to report I've got a few more acceptances recently, including Modern Haiku, Hummingbird, and New York Quarterly (who even gave me my own web page).

Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to try to remember my favorite story or poem title.

Niteblade #3

Editor Rhonda Parrish has just published issue #3 of Niteblade, and you need to check it out. It's got fiction by well-known writers Eric S. Brown and Lee Moan, among many others, and poetry by many of the genre's top names -- Terrie Leigh Relf, Stephen M. Wilson, Charles Gramlich, Tony Bernstein, and Kristine Ong Muslim to name a few. "County Hospital, 4am" by Christopher Hivner is an especially chilling one. I count myself lucky to have a poem in the same issue as these fine folks.

You can read the stories and poems from the website, but for just $2 you can buy a PDF ad-free copy of the magazine and help support a small but growing genre mag.

Aurore Australe

Aurore Australe is a brochure of poetry by three of Louisiana's (and also America's) finest speculative poets -- J. Bruce Fuller, Charles Gramlich, and Robin Mayhall. Pick up a copy over at Spec House Distro. (At just a penny, I think you can afford it.) While you're there, check out the other great books, magazines, and broadsides available. More titles are being added all the time. Be on the lookout for upcoming projects from Charles Gramlich and Greg Beatty.