Whispering Spirits Blog

Blog being absorbed by another...

2009-07-02T07:04:00.000-07:00

My publication blogs are now combined into one blog at http://dchdesign.wordpress.com/

Go there to get Whispering Spirits Digital Magazine updates from now on.

Thanks!
Diana Cacy Hawkins

Help Preditors and Editors

2009-01-04T13:10:00.001-08:00

Preditors and Editors is an excellent watchdog group for writers. They do a wonderful service. Naturally, those who wish to take advantage of unsuspecting writers out there don't like it and are suing them. Help them raise fund for their defense.

http://anotherealm.com/prededitors/

2009 Schedule Update

2008-12-30T16:05:00.001-08:00

Son is found. That and other family situation "stuff" is upsetting my routine right now. The magazine will not have any more update issues until the summer.

All stories and poems already received for the first regular issue of 2009 will be held for it, which will happen in the summer.

There will be one flash fiction contest and one poetry contest in 2009. Both will also happen during the summer.

In the fall, we will have a regular issue and a special Halloween issue. I still have to talk to my staff about the Halloween issue to see if we can contribute to it ourselves or if I need to open it up for submissions.

Will try to have actual dates and guidelines posted by the end of January. There are a few participants I'm waiting to hear back about this yet.

son update...

2008-12-03T15:10:00.000-08:00

After we created the website and started passing out the six hundred fliers, we got a call of a possible sighting of our son in Lincoln Nebraska. http://sites.google.com/site/findmikehawkins/ Still don't have this confirmed. Also, not confirmed is that he is heading back to family in our home state of Iowa. Something we were trying to work on making happen for him in the spring. Not sure why he felt as if he couldn't wait.

We truly hope it was him. At least if it's him, he's alive.

The local sheriff is doing a great job, but we're in a small community and they are limited. State patrol said all we could do is wait, basically, and that he doesn't qualify for the Amber-alert system.

Luckily our pastor made that call for us - or I would have said a thing or two. I'm getting pretty punchy and already barked at someone who was being nice to me when she said, "Did the sheriff say we should do this?" I said, "We're saying you should do this!" Hubby said he's never heard me do that before.

Some of the media has been notified so far. Can't get him on the one Lincoln channel unless it's the police calling them. Another had a voicemail. We have more media to call and get him on if this sighting does not lead to him.

Help Us Find Our Son

2008-12-03T08:38:00.001-08:00

http://sites.google.com/site/findmikehawkins/

Web host down period

2008-12-01T19:50:00.000-08:00

Working on a situation with hosting service. Websites may be down until Thursday or Friday.

My Apologies...

2008-11-30T20:01:00.000-08:00

I misspelled Jenifer McNamara's name in several places for the latest issue - Issue 19. My sincere apologies.

I also found a few things I missed within the page codes and fixed those.

If anyone else sees anything missed or in error, please let me know at the magazine's email whisperingspirits (at) gmail (dot) com and I will fix them as soon as I can.

Breaking News....

2008-11-18T08:04:00.000-08:00

I have some major crap coming down in my life right now, and it will affect Whispering Spirits Digital Magazine. Don't worry. I'm keeping it. This just means I have to clear up a wide space of time to get some domestic issues sorted out.

It means that I will be giving the magazine time off after this issue is posted until next summer.

Everything for the first half of 2009 will happen during the summer. In the summer, there will be two contests and one issue presented. The fall issue should happen as usual on schedule.

I will over the next few weeks send notices to those who have submitted items already and let them know about the schedule change. Also, I will create a special schedule page for 2009, listing all the contests and publications and guidelines for the website.

And I will keep posting updates here during the time off. And I am willing to still do some book reviews and post those also for authors.

Progressing Forward

2008-11-17T08:37:00.000-08:00

There's a lot going on, and I'm making slow progress. We're implementing some changes as we work to attract more readers who are not necessarily authors to the website.

We've kicked up the social networking for Whispering Spirits Digital Magazine. We're now on Twitter, and we have a fan page on FaceBook. I believe Susie has begun working on a MySpace for us too, but that won't be finished for a bit yet as she's dealing with some computer issues right now. As our sites around the cyber space are set up, I'll add them to WSDM sites in the sidebar here. Please join us in any or all of them!

Would love to hear from anyone as to if there are other social sites worth putting the Magazine on. If the social site is really growing and well-maintained, I'm definitely interested.

Other changes are we are now going to show the top story and top poem from each issue on an online issue page. The rest of the stories and poems, and most of the extras will only be available in the pdf download.

I'm working on the classifieds section. This is a good area for self-published authors to show their work. Ad space is super cheap right now, and if you're stuck and have a way to promote us in exchange, we're willing to consider that instead of payment. If you're published with a small press publisher and they agree to it, you or they can purchase an ad space also. Please check this issue when it posts this week - due by the end of the day CST Thursday, November 20th.

Note on classifieds: Having an ad in Whispering Spirits Digital Magazine does not necessarily mean that Whispering Spirits Digital Magazine supports that author. Each author must state through email that the work being advertised is original and not plagiarizing any other author's copyrighted work. (Quick version of Ads statement - may tweak it some more.)

I hope to get to finishing some of the webpages. One I still haven't gotten to is authors wanting their books reviewed. In the meantime, if you have a book you would like reviewed by either Susie Hawes or I, please query. Susie can usually take pdf issues, but I need to have a physical copy of the actual book. Please no 'handmade' author copies. Publisher produced ARC's are welcome.

We have outlets for Science Fiction and Fantasy book reviews also, so please query if you are interested.

In other news, if you haven't been contacted yet and you submitted a story or poem for the November issue, we are not publishing your submission. I've weeded through some of the emails, but have many more to go yet.

After I'm finished with the November issue, I will send a progress email to those who submitted for the next issue with their status. There's already quite a build-up of submissions.

Help others this holiday season....

2008-11-13T17:15:00.000-08:00

Published authors and reviewers with books...

Follow this link to see how you can help bring happiness to others this holiday season.

http://jimhines.livejournal.com/407987.html

Schedule update...

2008-11-07T13:19:00.000-08:00

Been dealing with an illness for the past week, and playing catch up. All authors who submitted for November 20th issue should have notices next week, and we will have the editing done also. The issue is already coming together well.

Done ...

2008-10-25T17:36:00.000-07:00

Since we had the delay and a computer breakdown, I whipped together one of the collages I make for the cover instead. It's not a fantastic one, but I hope it works. I chose a pen line sketch of a favorite street/alley from the Ripper story and inserted Jack over his victim. For the framing of it, I took strips of the letter that he sent to the police station.

There was another poem and article of mine I was going to put into this, but we ended up with 24 pages of content without them. So, I'll save those for another issue.

As I can, I will work on adding to the website. Not sure if it'll be right away. We're still in process of reading stories for the November 20th issue.

Enjoy! Sorry it was a day late.

Whispering Spirits Digital Magazine

Halloween Issue

2008-10-24T15:37:00.000-07:00

I'm working on it now. Delayed due to some issues of my own fault. And the computer *grin*. I am hoping to post by midnight tonight - otherwise it will be this weekend. Really trying for tonight, since my daughter has her baby shower tomorrow and that takes some time away from me.

Sorry!

Help a friend in the writing community ...

2008-10-24T11:36:00.001-07:00

Whispering Spirits Forum

2008-10-10T08:33:00.000-07:00

I've posted some statements from me, about me and the magazine, to the forum at http://ghostwhisper.proboards29.com/index.cgi. Feel free to drop by and read what I put up.

Sorry, I haven't played on the board. I'll try to make sure and drop in every now and then to be involved.

Please enjoy yourselves on the board. Just have fun, and forget about the real world for a bit there.

Yes, there will be a Halloween Issue...

2008-10-08T11:38:00.000-07:00

My staff and I have met with some setbacks this year, so we're not doing an all-staff generated issue. Instead, there will be a special issue, featuring a story by Lawrence R. Dagstine. Today, I'm attempting to determine exactly how much the issue will have in it and when I can have it all together and posted for download.

Edited to take out uneccessary information - will post an update soon.

Sharon Partington Book Available now!

2008-10-07T09:53:00.001-07:00

Available now in paperback!

The Assassin Journals: Hunter by S.L. Partington

Those of you in OWW , Dreaming in Ink, and WoW may remember critting this book.

Get it today from My Book Store and More

Barnes and Noble

Or

Amazon.com

Great book! I highly recommend that you turn off the TV - take a break from the depressing, confusing, and scary with this terrific read. Now ... Your sanity level depends on it!

Progress update

2008-10-03T13:48:00.000-07:00

We're getting the slushpile reading done for Issue 19, which posts on November 20th. The poetry submissions are read through and I'll be able to contact the poets who will be published soon. I expect the story readings to be completed the last week of the month.

We're not able to do a special staff-contributed Halloween issue this year, but I do have an idea for a special issue. As soon as I hear from two contacts, I'll be able to know if I can publish something.

Note: If you've sent any submissions to us after September 30th, they will be kept for consideration in the next regular issue that's due to post May 20, 2009. If you wish for it to be pulled, please feel free to let me know. We will not read for that issue until April.

Remember again ....

2008-09-11T20:30:00.000-07:00

Click on a candle in the water
http://www.worldtradecenter.com/

Remember ....

2008-09-11T07:58:00.001-07:00

A great tribute:
The USS New York

2002 Time Issue:
Time.com September 11, 2002

BBC News:
BBC - September 11, 2008

Business Break

2008-09-03T07:52:00.000-07:00

We're still taking submissions for the November issue for both stories and poetry. If you have some articles on ghosts or writing, feel free to send those for consideration in the free area of the issue.

The office is shut down until October due to some conflicts. Any correspondence will be checked in the middle of September and important items dealt with then.

The submissions will be read from October 1st through October 30th. Authors will be notified by November 10th, and the issue will post on November 20th.

There is nothing wrong, just too much going on right now and a possible relocation of the office being planned. Trying to make sure we get everything done properly without interrupting the issues.

There may or may not be a Halloween issue this year, depending on the workload for the next issue.

The message board at http://ghostwhisper.proboards29.com will be maintained during this time by Susie Hawes, complete with the new author's interviews, and she is working on making our presence known in various places now.

The new issue is really up ....

2008-08-15T16:26:00.000-07:00

I'm having issues with my url links showing my updates. Trying to see now if it's an issue with my host or if I linked them up wrong. But I promise - it's done.

For now, here's the direct link to the pdf download
Of The Flash Fiction Contest Issue.

I hope to have our main url at http://www.whisperingghosts.com pointed to the updated homepage shortly.

Flash Fiction Issue

2008-08-15T08:36:00.000-07:00

I'm working on the pdf download and trying to get it ready. I'm still waiting on one author's input, but the issue will post even if that author doesn't get back with us right away.

Here's a link to take a sneak peak at the cover http://whisperingspirits.dragynspice.com/08flashcoversmall.png.

I'm also trying to get all the mail out to the authors and see about getting the prizes to them quickly.

Transcriptase

2008-08-01T05:37:00.000-07:00

In light of this year's incident with a sf/f editor's bigotry coming out in official magazine correspondence with an author, I feel compelled to assure my readers, and authors, of a few things.

I do not care what color you are or where you are from or your religion or cultural life. I care about your story. We remove all author identifiers before reading each story.

We do not judge the story based on what culture it represents - we judge the story. And cultural differences within ourselves NEVER make it into our analysis of the story, even amongst ourselves (the staff).

I do not dare speak for my staff, as they are their own people, but I do not carry any biases against others. And if I did, I would NOT allow them into my editorial comments.

OK, I lie. Sometimes a favored author does submit a story or poem to me, and that does influence me. I am the one who removes the author identity before sending it on to the editors.

The internet itself is a huge world, and people of all nationalities and all cultures and all lifestyles free mix together within it. I'm friends with many who live lifestyles and cultures I don't agree with, but I respect their choices and their freedom. I do my best to make sure my magazine(s) respect the rights of others also, even the rights of a character in a story.

Google the blogs for Helix, if you're unfamiliar with this situation. Or go to Transcriptase and read the intro, along with the author statements.

I suggest everyone visits Transcriptase, by the way. It's a good lesson in how to be professional, why you should be, and how others will hold you accountable if you are not. And how writers should stand up together against those who refuse to respect others.

Summertime Trials....

2008-07-28T12:46:00.000-07:00

Seems that maybe scheduling a lot of work amongst different people isn't that smart to do during the busy season of the year. Due to a few editor schedules not meeting, and author's schedules, plus the fact I may have to be unexpectedly absent all of next week, I've decided to make the publication date on August 15th to accommodate everyone's schedules.

The full list of winners are:
First Prize ($20 and 1yr subscription of Flash Me Magazine)
- The Ox-cart Man by Aaron A. Polson
Second Prize ($15 and 1 yr subscription of Flash Me Magazine)
- Unrest by Joshua Scribner
Third Prize ($10 and 1 yr subscription of Flash Me Magazine)
- The Horns of Elfland by Valerie Frankel
Fourth Prize (1 yr subscription of Flash Me Magazine)
- Presonic Man by Ahmed A. Khan
Fifth Prize (1 yr subscription of Flash Me Magazine )
- It Came With The House by Joshua Scribner
Sixth Prize (publication in special pdf download)
- My Love Is Like by Mari Mitchell
Seventh Prize (publication in special pdf download)
- Silver As The Night by Lyn CA Gardner
Eighth Prize (publication in special pdf download)
- Bridge of No Return by Randall A. Martin

I'll be working on getting all the prizes taken care of end of this week and into next week while dealing with a family situation. Publication date is then on August 15th.

If anyone has sent anything to the regular issue email for the November Issue, we will open those emails and begin going through them towards the end of August, as the schedule is planned now.

Still Waiting ....

2008-07-21T07:14:00.001-07:00

Well, we've had one author and one editor drop out of contact. Sure hope nothing's wrong. I don't know the author very well, but he lives in the midwest where there may be flooding. And the editor, was very consistent until "poof!" and she's gone.

So, I've had to replace one story. I waited for as long as I dared to keep on schedule with things that are going on right now. That author can talk to me if there's a problem out of his control and we'll see what we can come up with.

As soon as my replacement story author contacts me, I'll give the full announcement and give the publication date. It'll either be up to a week earlier or later than I planned ... seems we have some situations to travel for in taking care of our domestic life and family.

Notified Authors for Flash Fiction Contest

2008-07-11T09:51:00.000-07:00

All authors should have notification of their submissions. I was delayed in starting the notifications because there was a reporting problem from one of our editors that had to be sorted out. So that work got moved to this week's workday instead.

This is the really sucky day where I notify all those who didn't place. That's the part of the job I don't like. Especially when there's some good stories that didn't make it.

I can't give the official notification of the full winning list because I'm still waiting on a few authors to verify that they are available for publication. I can give you the top four prize winners for now though:

First prize goes to Aaron A. Polson for "The Ox-Cart Man"
Second prize goes to Joshua Scribner for "Unrest"
Third prize goes to Valerie Frankel for "The Horns of Elfland"
Fourth prize goes to Ahmed A. Khan for "The Presonic Man"

I will announce fifth through eighth as soon as I have the final OK's in from the two authors I'm waiting on.

The next regular issue is in November. We will read during September and October. We're accepting submissions for that issue. Please follow the guidelines at http://www.whisperingghosts.com

.

2008 Flash Fiction Contest is closed

2008-07-01T08:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the last day to get your flash fiction entries in for the contest. All entries have been passed on to the readers.

There are a group of stories that we know will not place in the contest. I will attempt to get those authors notified this week yet.

There are a lot of entries to get through and very little time. Please forgive me if you get a form letter instead of a personal one.

Counting down ....

2008-06-26T18:44:00.000-07:00

This coming Monday is the final day for getting your submissions in for the Flash Fiction Contest. The editors have the bulk of the submissions and are reading them. On Tuesday I start scooping up the rest and getting those out for the last of the readings also.

I'm going to try to have all the submitting authors notified July 15th through the 18th so no one has to wait until the last minute to find out.

http://www.whisperingghosts.com

While I'm busy ...

2008-06-17T15:13:00.001-07:00

I'm busy with a huge project right now, so here's an important off-topic post for everyone, thanks to an email from my aunt and uncle.

Everyone needs to read the story and hear the tribute to our veterans of WWII and the Korean war. These veteran's are dying at the rate of 1000 to 2000 per day. It's time to pay them a tribute "Before You Go"

Read the story and then click on the left menu to listen to and watch the tribute video of "Before You Go".

BEFORE YOU GO

Flash Fiction Contest

2008-06-16T08:55:00.001-07:00

The readings have started for the Flash Fiction Contest. There's still plenty of time to get your flash fiction story to us though.

Just please read the guidelines before you send it to us. They are there for a reason.

Gathering Flash Submissions

2008-05-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

I am putting together the reading list for the editors. The first of the contest entries will not be read until June still. June submissions will be read in July.

We still have plenty of room for more. Submissions are slow still, but good. Only 15 are in.

The following list shows the ones I have in now - Initials of Author and number of submissions only.

AK - 1
MM - 5
JH - 4
MM - 1
JH - 1
BS - 1
VF - 1
KM - 1

If you sent one, but think I missed it on this list, feel free to query.

May Work

2008-05-13T08:16:00.000-07:00

We're still taking submissions for both the flash fiction contest and I'm allowing submissions for the next issue. Usually I try not to overlap submission periods, but I didn't publicize the schedule. I don't think it'll hurt anything, since I use different emails for each.

Just, please make sure to check our site at http://www.whisperingghosts.com and follow the guidelines for whichever area you want your submission to be considered for. Both the next issue and flash fiction contest are doing well.

Submissions will probably not be read during May. Feel free to send a query to me if you want verification that your submission was received.

During May, the magazine time will be taken up with compiling the magazine's history.

Paperwork is done ...

2008-04-30T06:35:00.000-07:00

The paperwork is finally done for Issue 18. All things out in the mail. And hopefully the last electronic payment can be sent today. Taking a little longer for the funds to transfer than I expected.

Yay!

One reader and author has been gracious enough to give me tips on our website. Also found where the code wasn't coming through right for his browsers. If something seems missing or not right, please feel free to let me know. I have a new course in webdesign, and it will take awhile to get through it.

2008 Flash Fiction Contes

2008-04-21T11:50:00.000-07:00

2008 Flash Fiction Contest is open for submissions now!

This contest closes on June 30, 2008. Winners will be announced July 31, 2008, and the winning entries will be available as a pdf download on August 1, 2008.

All flash fiction must be under 1000 words. Stories from any genre are welcome. Fitting your flash story into Whispering Spirits Digital Magazine's theme is a plus, however.

Submissions for the flash fiction contest need to be sent to whisperingspirits(at)gmail.com as RTF (Rich Text Format) attachments. Please do not send in html format or within the body of the e-mail.

When submitting, please use the following as a guide for the subject line: "Flash Fiction Contest"

Please provide the following in both the e-mail body:

Your Name

Title of Submission

Word Count

Your e-mail address

A short bio
We welcome e-mails that serve as cover letters introducing us to you and your submission.

Please only include the title on the first page of your submission file, with no other information. All submissions are presented to the editors without any author information.

We do not have an auto-responder. Updates will post on the managing editor's weblog. If no update is posted, feel free to send a query e-mail to whisperingspirits(at)gmail.com - use the subject title "query" so we do not mistake it for spam.

Follow the formatting requirements:

Block paragraphs with double line breaks.
Title should be centered and in bold.
We only need the title on your submission, but if you must use headers, please use the header feature. Often, just typing the information in will come through wrong.
Our text detail requests are: Underline words to indicate italics, for underlining use _underscores_, and bold words can be bold

Edit your stories for errors, typos, grammar, and punctuation. A clean manuscript is easier to read and less stressful. If you stress us out by not appearing to care how well your manuscript is presented, we may not even read beyond the first few paragraphs of your story. We strongly suggest joining a workshop and revising your story before presenting it to us.
Prizes:

First Place Winner: One Year subscription to Flash Me Magazine, $20.00
Second Place Winner:One Year Subscription to Flash Me Magazine, $15.00
Third Place Winner: One Year Subscription to Flash Me Magazine, $10.00
Fourth Place Winner: One Year Subscription to Flash Me Magazine
Fifth PLace Winner: One Year Subscription to Flash Me Magazine
Sixth through Eighth Place: Publication of Flash Story

Flash Me Magazine is published quarterly, both online and in a PDF format that is available only by subscription. Issues are published on Jan 31, April 30, July 31, and Oct 31.

April Issue Update

2008-04-07T08:01:00.000-07:00

All authors who submitted to us should have a notice sent to them over the weekend. We accepted one story, a request for another is currently being considered and five poems for the April Issue. The story and poems will be available online for this issue. The special pdf issue will have various reviews and extras in it though. The pdf download will be free. This is our first year using them and will offer them as free downloads for the entire year.

Fundraiser contest is not getting any attention. May replace that with a different type of contest. This decision will be announced with the April Issue. Stay tuned to Whispering Spirits Digital Magazine's website!

Notifications

2008-04-01T07:51:00.000-07:00

The notifications to the submitting writers about acceptances and passes on stories and poetry will go out this week.

Along with announcements on the website updates.

Editing

2008-03-19T13:48:00.000-07:00

I strongly suggest that authors work at presenting the cleanest manuscript they can to publications. Choosing the stories to publish this time is going to be tough. In fact, depending on what the editors' readings say, I could cut down the number of stories this time. We want good quality stories. We want clean manuscripts.

I know. I know. This is my fault. We've been exceptionally easy, and we haven't done any editing.

While we don't pay pro rates, it doesn't mean we have to settle for choppy writing and bad grammar and typos.

I realize that sometimes there are reasons, medical and experience-wise. I know of some in this batch. We want to help those individuals and will. For this reason, I'm also going to start editing the stories before they're posted.

All stories will be edited by one of our editors and all edits must be approved by the author. In most cases, if an author doesn't want to accept a particular revision, that's ok. We would only push it if the story's editing problems interfered with the story itself or the reading of it. We are a team of writers too, and so are very gentle with this.

We adopted this for our anthology, and the authors seemed to be all right with it. So we'll give it a go for our regular issues and see how it works.

Issue 18

2008-03-15T16:58:00.000-07:00

Readings for Issue 18 have begun. My editors have ten days to get the readings back to me.

Our status:

Story submissions are slower than usual. I hope they pick up for the next issue. Poetry submissions are very strong though.

Issue 18 does post in April. I'm going to keep the posting schedule to the 15th of the month. That will give me time to organize the special pdf version of the issue. And we are able to commit more time to making sure the stories are clean before publishing, so it gives us time to work with the authors on touching their stories up.

Website is going through the final touches of its overhaul. I have the new homepage almost finished. Hope everyone loves our more professional attitude with it. I want to be more professional, but not so much so that we lose our "homemade" appeal. Too often when you get into being professional, you also get a bit stuffy.

Two more online magazines are in the works ... I hope to have those planned out in time for a first issue in January, 2009.

Get a free ebook from Tor

2008-03-07T13:10:00.001-08:00

New Assistant Fiction Editor

2008-03-03T07:35:00.000-08:00

Sharon Black has accepted one of the editor positions with us.

Welcome to our staff!

About Ezines and the money "they bring in"

2008-02-21T07:48:00.000-08:00

Ezines don't make money as a rule. Whispering Spirits Digitial Magazine may have outgrown what I understand to be the ezine definition, but the finances are the same. I pay a measly amount to the writers, a fraction of what their stories and poems are really worth. I do that to guarantee I can fund it out of my own pocket, even during the bad financial times, and the magazine won't die. But I want to do more ... I want to offer more. Which is why I will continue to explore different avenues of generating money with the magazine's website.

There will be some affiliates. I will try to present items that will help a writer be more successful or provide a knowledge our reader base wants. If you're in the market for anything, please keep an eye on our site and use the links. It helps the magazine grow.

And the fundraising contests. I hope they will work. The current one is not getting a huge response yet. At least not as much as I hoped it would. Still time yet. Still some advertising going out there.

And there will be special subscriptions forthcoming. The April issue will be a test with a free pdf download. If I'm satisfied with it, I will offer the pdfs as a subscription feature. I'm toying with the layout for print issues also.

Simon Owen blogged awhile back on ezines and money. It's a very good read, along with a few other posts after it.
You can find it here.

Still working at it ...

2008-02-21T07:40:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of website work going on, but not to Whispering Spirits Digital Magazine's site yet. Seems that the others took all the time.

I am collecting more information though for posting to the website, we're getting ready to read the first pile of slush for the April Issue, and I am planning the main page design now. Might take a bit because I have to make up my mind about a few layouts. Whichever one I use, I want it to be the permanent one. Incorporate all the links available, with some outside links and also show the cover page for the current issue.

Also, the paypal features will be updated. I'm studying up on the merchant tools available. Still a little confusing to me, but I'll get it.

Website Work

2008-02-12T14:21:00.000-08:00

The website updates are the main jobs this week. I have to clean up as much as I can of the pages we have built, remake a few of them. I doubt I'll redo the main page yet. That will take a bit longer to do. Although, I do have some things that need to be posted, so maybe I can make it in yet.

Have three websites to work on this week though, and two days are taken from me, so not sure if I'll get that far.

The April issue is doing well for getting submissions in. The fundraiser contest is not doing so well yet, so get the word out! I realize it's a themed contest and that takes more work. Maybe more than some want to do. But I wanted it to be different and I did give a choice of three themes. It does get some extra advertising this month, so we could have a rush of submissions yet.

Keeping an eye on Gmail

2008-01-16T05:52:00.000-08:00

For the last few days now, off and on, gmail seems to not work well for me. It won't let it load. I hope it gets fixed soon, because I also use it for some very important personal connections.

Anyway, if you're following guidelines that use whisperingspirits (at) gmail (dot) com, and it's something that should result in a quick answer for me, be aware of this problem. As soon as I'm in my email I should see it and will answer.

April's Issue and Fundraising Contest and Anthology

2008-01-14T14:30:00.000-08:00

This should really be a reminder instead of a notice, but I failed to post here when I updated our information at Ralan.com and on the website.

We are taking submissions now for the April issue. Follow the website to the general guidelines in writer's area for details.

We are also accepting submissions for our fundraising contest. The fees are only $5.00 per story and I've tried to break it up so that the magazine gets half of the fee profits and the winners get half. See the guideline page on our website for the complete breakdown.

It's time for me to decide what to do about the anthology: Orphans of the Storm. It's taken down for now. I want to offer the authors another deal in order to keep it, but I'm not happy with the progress I had with Lulu.com last week. The problem is on my end, not theirs. And I have to schedule a day where I have enough time to get through the process and form the book right. I'm attempting to offer print copies, but need to learn the process better. May have to talk to Ron about the cover art too. The price jump between black & white and color is insane. I'll post more here when I get a whole afternoon to work this out.

New Fiction Editor

2008-01-14T14:11:00.000-08:00

Please welcome Ilanna Mandel to our staff as a fiction editor!

Staff pages are not updated yet. I am not sure when the next day I'll have to do website updates. Hopefully not too long away.

Dealing with Rejections

2008-01-09T14:55:00.000-08:00

My update for today is to refer everyone to today's post on my general blog: Mount Nebo, about positive thinking through rejections. It gives insight to how we choose stories at our magazine.

January 4, 2008

2008-01-04T10:54:00.001-08:00

So, once again, I'm playing catch up with the magazine. Due to life circumstances and my failure to recruit enough help, my work is behind.

But .... the pages needed for submitting to the magazine are updated now. The bills are taken care of as of today. And I've created an employment page for the magazine.

Once again, all I can do is apologise and hope everyone forgives me!

I will still be working on the website for awhile. There are many pages that need updating, and I need to convert the homepage to a better format. It will have a more business style of formatting. I also will be starting an advertising page for the magazine.

Thank you everyone!

December 13, 2007

2007-12-13T14:28:00.001-08:00

Life screwed me up once again ... I'm getting things caught up though and will try to have everything done by the end of this month. We're still around and will be posting soon for new issues and contests. Stay tuned!

As a side note: Things should start getting better. I'm working full time from home now and I will be looking for helpers with the magazine. No pay, but lots of gratitude! Stay tuned to the website for a new section called 'employment opportunities' in January.

Fall Updates in Progress

2007-10-10T13:13:00.000-07:00

I'm currently updating all my websites right now. If a site doesn't work for you, please be patient and try again later. I hope to have updates finalized for Whispering Spirits Digital Magazine midnight October 16th. There will be a Halloween issue and a new regular issue both.

Please feel free to email me if you see any problems with the site
whisperingspirits (at) gmail (dot com)

July 14, 2007

2007-07-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

Well, I have been offline, as far as magazine and journal work for the last few months. I get back into it to find out that my email hasn't been working, due to an error on my end. That means I'm contacting all contributors for issue 16 and submitters for issue 17 to let them know of the problem. Very sorry for the inconvenience to everyone during this time.

I'm currently using email whisperingspirits(at)gmail.com

Things in my life are progressing forward - positive at times and at other times not so positive. I am confident that nothing is going to happen to interfere with my plans for next year. The magazine will still grow and I've got a few ideas for branching out.

No submissions accepted until the end of the year - dates can be found on the website. http://clik.to/whisperingspirits

Thank you to everyone!

March 20, 2007

2007-03-20T11:38:00.000-07:00

I find myself in a position needing to apologize profusely and ask for everyone’s forgiveness. Due to unforeseen family situations and illness, I am way behind on work this year for the magazine. Please forgive me. I’m still dealing with the illness situation, but have found someone to help me catch up and keep the work going. This wonderful person chooses to remain anonymous. I apologize for not planning ahead and already having this person in place.

The mailings to all authors for the 2007 Anthology, Orphans of the Storm, went out today (March 20th), and I’ve left a message with helper to send email notices to everyone for me. The anthology file is built and in process of being sent out as I type this.

Issue 16 submitting authors have all been notified, and the line up chosen for that issue. We would like to see it posted on the first week of April, but we need to see how far we make it into the process next week before we know for sure.

We are taking submissions for Issue 17 through the month of May (posts in October). We have two story slots and two or three poetry spots open for that issue now.

A full schedule will be posted for the year in April. We have decided to do two issues, one contest, and one anthology a year.

Thanks so much for everyone’s support and well wishes.

January 27, 2007

2007-01-27T07:31:00.000-08:00

A million apologies to those waiting for the anthology! I'm proving to be terrible at making the deadlines with illness, work and family. I've had the payments for awhile to mail out to contributors and haven't made it yet. I'm attempting to get all the work done this weekend, so I can start setting things up Monday. And get the website away from Geocities.

I've learned a great lesson from this. I am getting a local person to assist me with the next anthology. At least then if these other things crop up at that time, there will be another pair of hands to make sure the jobs are done on time.

I'm sorry - I promise the wait is going to be worth it!!!

Note for people new to how Whispering Spirits Digital Magazine works: It is manned and funded solely by me. No outside monies have come into to it to finance it. I do have a few editors on board and they are wonderful to fit this publication into their busy schedules and call it home. Usually, I like to have four editors judging each piece. At this time, we're down to two that are available for judging the next issue.

Added note: First of all I want to say that http://www.absolutewrite.com is a wonderful site for writers that I dearly love. They are for serious authors who seriously want to break into the publishing markets. Go to them and support their site for all their hard work.

In today's mailing from them, they have a review for Lyrica webzine at http://clik.to/lyrica Sharon Partington runs that ezine - I was the poetry editor for it until this last year, when I could no longer keep up with it. It is a lower level publication like absolute write says ... but Sharon loves the authors who submit to her and is an author herself ... soon to have her book come out in November!... so if you're looking for a home for that romantic story or poem you will not be disappointed in giving Sharon's publication a try. She recently was able to move it from a non-paying publication to a paying one, with a lot of potential for growth.

Absolute Write does a wonderful job reviewing publications. They did a very good job on this publication's review. I just have the inside knowledge of the managing editor that they were not privy to and felt I could add insight to their review here.

midnight, January 15, 2007

2007-01-15T21:49:00.000-08:00

Well, we got dumped on by a lot of snow, but that's it. Other than the cold. It's been below zero much of the time. Tonight's low is ten below, with a wind chill of twenty below. Burr!

I've been cringing at the coming utility bill, but after hearing about the people who have been without power nearby since the New Year's storm, I haven't been worrying so much. Rather, I've felt thankful that that's all I have to worry about. At least we have heat! And there's one man who stated he got a generator hooked up to his house. Only costing him $30 a day in gas ... yikes! I'll take that massive utility bill gladly now.

Well, we'll see how the weather fairs for us now. I feel for those around around us and in other parts of the world dealing with the damaging ice storms. Hang in there!

Sickness is running through here for the season in a bad way. It's really got a hold of my house. Other than the major sinus headaches from it, I'm hanging in there. As long as I don't get the other parts that hubby and daughter have, I'll be fine.

Whispering Spirits News: Waiting for the edits back from one author and then I'm ready to proceed. As long as his schedule allows it, and things hold together here, we should still see the anthology in a week. (crossing fingers and toes for luck!)

January 11, 2007

2007-01-11T09:57:00.000-08:00

I thought I should hurry and get an update posted here before the next storm system goes through. Friends who do not connect with me on messenger could be wondering if we’re out of power. A good portion of the area an hour west of us is from those Dec 31/Jan 1 storms still are without power. But we didn’t get hit with any disastrous weather from either. Both times we got downpours of rain and few days of really cold weather, but mostly it stayed warm here. Tonight the next storm front is moving in - and once again, we’re right on the line. Well, circle really. We have expectations of nothing, rain, and snow with nasty consequences surrounding us. In other words, we have no clue what we will get. Other than the temperature dropping like crazy - that we do know for sure.

We are battling a nasty flu season here. Sinus infections are going around like crazy. My family has been getting it too. And it’s caused a bit of a money situation here. See, our insurance carried changed at the first of the year. But the sick season hit a short time before the information went into the computer systems. Which means, we have to pay outright for everything and then get it covered by insurance. Which, in turn means, some of my plans have been delayed.

I’m also dealing with computer delays. Not breakdowns- at least, not more than I have already. I have two computers at home, but the one I can do my building and such on is the one waiting on a part that I hope to be able to order after next week. I have two offices at my disposal. The one is set, but time constraints on the building being used have not allowed me to be able to use it for my own use in the last few weeks. The other one is going through re-arranging of all the areas and that computer won’t be hooked back up for me to use for a little bit.

What does this mean? Unfortunately, I can’t get my online work or commitments out for another week. Really frustrates me because I had it organized so well until these snaffus came.

Whispering Spirits Digital Magazine News: The anthology is delayed for another week. I need to get the access to the computers I can use for it, in order to build it. And I refuse to offer it before the authors are paid - and I have to delay the pay outs until next week’s check because of the insurance situation. There should not be another delay. I should have both computers available and the insurance info has officially made it into the computer systems and we will be able to get our cards today or tomorrow for the insurance. I will be trying to e-mail everyone with the notice and an apology as soon as I can - as this weather system and illness allows. Please accept my apologies in this matter!!

December 27, 2006

2006-12-27T09:37:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a fantastic holiday time!!

We’re still progressing on the e-anthology. Only had one problem with corresponding with the author, but hopefully that’s fixed now. We do have four stories to be edited yet and I’m attempting to get those going sometime this week. I plan on mailing things out to the authors next week sometime and want to get the e-anthology ready for download January 15th at the latest. Still have a lot of codework and graphics to go through for the website rebuilding yet.

By the way, really could use more poetry for the next issue. Get your submissions in by January 15th to us!

November 7, 2006 - Blog moved!

2006-11-07T13:31:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the move again, folks. But I just bought a webhost with Bravenet.com. This is a site I’ve been with for many years and love their services. But for the second time, something went wrong and my account got suspended, right after I paid for the hosting. Frustrating - yes! But the people at Bravenet.com are quick and had me up again within a short time.

Still, I’m not thrilled about it and need to take precautions while also sending an official letter to the IT department manager about it. Who had better read it. I don’t appreciate being ignored. I asked pointed questions and stated plainly that I hadn’t done anything. But I get a form ticket back by technical support, who was obviously an “assistant” and not an IT professional. I’m married to one, so I know what I’m talking about.

Anyway, one of the precautions is to move my editor’s blog. Something that needs to be away from Bravenet.com so that if the site goes down again, I can post here to let all the readers know. I will also continue to keep a back up site on Geocities that the url will direct to should the paying site go down. I have two shortened urls posted on Ralan.com just in case one goes down.

The website is not transferred over yet, but will be before the first of the year. I have a subdomain of http://www.whisperingspirits.dragynspice.com designated for it. I will let you know once it is active.

I have plans on trying something to fix the problem on my end. If I end up having a problem with Bravenet.com’s emails again, I will update Whispering Spirits Digital Magazine through Geocities, just without the pesky yahoo ad bars.

The good thing is that this move is not only more professional, but it’s also actually necessary. The magazine is outgrowing the allowances for a free website. Partly because I’m also including actual photographs on the pages, and partly because increased readership. So, it’s really a good thing…!

On anthology front - still going. If anyone is having uneasiness about the status of their story in the anthology, feel free to drop me a line. Just be sure to put anthology query in the subject line or I may think it is spam - I do try to keep an eye on the email addresses though.

For those whose stories are being edited by Ron Leming … there will be a delay in your stories. He has had his computer crash and isn’t back online yet. We will give him time to fix the problem. We all understand - I have one in the process of preparing to give up its life right now - thankfully, I have two though so I won’t disappear.

Submissions are currently open for the next issue, due to post February 20th, 2006. The writer pages, including the schedule page, are updated at http://clik.to/whisperingspirits. This includes poetry! Articles and reviews for the non-paying sections open all year long.