Newsletter
Vol 6, Issue 3 - August 2003
CONTENTS
Dear Readers:
Summertime. My favorite time of year in the Northeast, made more so here in NY by a spectacularly dreary and cold winter, and rainy spring. Summer may have taken its time arriving this year, but last night, eating dinner on my deck as the sun set and before the monster mosquitos started biting, it was as glorious an evening as we've had all year. "It doesn't get better than this," I told my husband and son. I hope all of YOU who are in summer have some sweet summer experiences. Hang out in a hammock, or turn up the a/c, sip some tea or lemonade and read something pleasurable. No matter what your climate, escape for a few moments at least, mentally if not physically. We've been working hard at getting our new site in order and hope that you tell your friends about us. Our readership continues to grow because of your "word of mouse" and we appreciate each new subscriber. If there's anything you'd like to see in The Rose & Thorn, or in this newsletter, feel free to write in and tell us. We'll be closing submissions soon, so do get those poetry and prose pieces in quickly if you want to be considered for our next issue! And if anyone is interested in helping us out and joining our volunteer ranks we do need you (especially poets!) so send me an email. We wish you good times, good health and good friends.
Barbara
HELP WANTED - POETRY & PROSE EDITORS
Would you like to be a part of an award-winning literary ezine? The Rose & Thorn is in need of some help. We're an all volunteer site of prose and poetry writers. If you'd like to be part of the effort, please send an email to B. A. Quinn detailing your writing experience. The Rose & Thorn needs YOU!
SUBMISSIONS OPEN
The Rose & Thorn is now open to submissions in all categories. We publish literary, mainstream and genre fiction of up to 2,000 words. We're also seeking creative essays, poetry, opinion, and author interviews for our next issue. We're open to literary and mainstream fiction submissions but we could still use some quality genre submissions in the categories of: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Horror and Humor as well as poetry of all types (limit 3 per submission please). Soon we will be closing for a bit, but will reopen once our new issue is up around Labor Day. We urge anyone planning to submit to please visit the website and read the content in both our current issue and past issues. You'll get a better feel for the kind of stories our editors seek and accept. You can view submissions guidelines at: http://www.theroseandthornezine.com/Submissions.html
The listings here are a service provided to, and for, subscribers. Always check sources carefully and ask for references when appropriate. The Rose & Thorn cannot assume responsibility for the sites and services mentioned below.
CLEVER
A general interest magazine featuring travel and personal essays, short fiction, poetry, film and book reviews, recipes, and advice. See guidelines for more information on specific submission needs.
URL: http://www.clevermag.com
GUIDELINES: http://www.clevermag.com/depts/guide2.htm
LAUGHTER LOAF
Laughter Loaf is seeking short stories, parodies, satire, poems, essays, cartoons, and humorous drawings. Short stories will receive preference in final selection. Writers should avoid obscenities, overt sexual content, and degrading situations. Manuscripts under 1,500 words are preferred. Longer works will be given serious consideration, but are at a disadvantage.
URL: http://molyworld.net/laughterloaf/indexa.htm
GUIDELINES: http://molyworld.net/laughterloaf/guides.htm
COLUMN
by Meredith Morgenstern
IN MEMORIAM: LEON URISThe writing world lost one of its greatest historical novelists this summer. Leon Uris died in Shelter Island, New York on Saturday, June 21 of natural causes. Uris was famous for his epic novels depicting some of modern history's biggest moments. Born in Baltimore, Maryland to Wolf William Uris, a Polish immigrant, and Anna Uris, a first-generation American, Leon Uris flunked English three times and dropped out of high school. In 1941 he joined the United States Marine Corps and served as a field radio operator at Guadalcanal and Tarawa, Japan. He was sent back to the United States with malaria and discharged in 1946. After the Marines, Uris began writing articles for magazines, and his first piece, "The All American Razzmatazz", was bought and published by Esquire. He then began work on his first novel, Battle Cry, based on his experiences in the Marine Corps. The novel was published in 1953 and turned into a movie. That same year Uris went to Hollywood and wrote a screenplay, Gunfight at the OK Corral, released in 1957 starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. For his 1958 novel Exodus, Uris traveled more than fifty thousand miles over two years and interviewed tens of dozens of people. Set to the backdrop of Israel's struggle for independence against overwhelming odds, the story follows several characters as they interact and fight, work and love, live and die for their cause. The novel has been translated into dozens of languages all over the world. In 1960, Exodus was turned into a movie starring Paul Newman and directed by Otto Preminger. Uris's next book, Mila 18, published in 1961, follows the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, as Polish Jews fought the Nazi war machine. That same year, author Joseph Heller had a book, an anti-war satire to be published. Because of Mila 18 Heller changed his book's title from Catch-18 to Catch-22. Alfred Hitchcock's 1969 movie Topaz is based on Uris's 1967 novel of the same name. In 1970, Uris published a novel called QBVII, based on his own trial in a British court of law. In 1964, Uris had been sued by Wladislaw Dering, a Polish doctor mentioned in Exodus as one of the concentration camp monsters who had committed medical experiments on Jews. The courts ruled in favor of Dering: one halfpenny. Dering was also ordered to pay the legal costs for both sides of the lawsuit. Trinity was published in 1976 and follows the struggle of another nation fighting for its independence: Ireland. The story follows the Larkin family from the 1840s to 1916, and continues in the 1995 novel, Redemption. In 2000 Uris published A God in Ruins, which takes place in the United States during the 2008 Presidential elections. O'Hara's Choice, Uris's last novel, will be published in August of 2003.
Leon Uris books on Amazon.com:
Exodus(1958) Mila 18 (1961) QB VII (1970) Trinity (1976) A God in Ruins (2000)
Meredith Morgenstern is a Prose Editor at The Rose and Thorn, and a Senior Editor at The Rose and Thorn Newsletter.
Submit an article on reading, writing or media related issues for the newsletter, E-mail Sandra Merz
Articles should be no longer than 600 words, although longer articles, if well written and informative, will be considered.
BOOK REVIEWS
by Sandra Merz and Meredith Morgenstern
Hospital
by Michael Medved
Reviewed by Sandra MerzThis is a page turning, well written book about the professional and personal lives of the staff who run a large modern hospital. In a series of interviews, each staff member is assessed by Michael Medved before every other staff member is asked their opinion of that person. Apparently, the only member of the hospital who is unanimously liked is custodian Willie May Porker, a very kind and loving woman. We read of doctors who are alcoholics and drug addicts, and others who have had brief psychotic breaks and then resumed work. There is a psychiatrist who loves to give ECT (electric shock treatment). This book is so riveting one stays up all night to finish it and devours every word. The horror of it all is that according to the author, this book is all true.
Ice Bound: A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole
by Dr. Jerri Nielsen
Reviewed by Meredith MorgensternIn 1999 Dr. Jerri Nielsen was the only doctor for forty-one people at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. The first half of her book brilliantly details life at the bottom of the world, where the climate is so extreme that skin wounds cannot heal and metal shatters if it falls to the ground. At the Pole everyone has permanent slight hypothermia and there is one sunset and one sunrise a year. Six months into her stay, Dr. Nielsen discovered a lump in her right breast. The second half of her book chronicles her fight for life with old medical equipment, limited communication with the outside world, and no way of getting off the Pole. Dr. Nielsen performed her own biopsy and trained fellow "Polies" to administer her chemotherapy with the emergency supplies dropped down to them in the dead of winter. Throughout her ordeal Dr. Nielsen never calls herself a hero nor takes credit for the brave choices she makes. She simply tells her story. We are privileged to be able to go along for the ride.
SANDRA MERZ is an Editor at The Rose & Thorn, and a Staff Editor at The Rose & Thorn Newsletter.
MEREDITH MORGENSTERN is a Prose Editor at The Rose & Thorn, and a Senior Editor at The Rose & Thorn Newsletter.
Readers should make sure to check sources carefully and inquire about references when appropriate. The Rose & Thorn cannot assume responsibility for the sites and services mentioned below.
QUANTUM MUSE
Quantum Muse is interested in stories and artwork. No poetry, please. Stories should fall into one of three general categories: Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Alternative. Alternative is defined as any story that does not fit easily into any one genre. Quantum Muse aims to provide the discriminating reader with the best of fantasy and science fiction literature and art. Payment is a flat rate of Ten American dollars ($10.00) per story, plus 50% of any fan donations given to your story.
URL: http://www.quantummuse.com
GUIDELINES: http://www.quantummuse.com/submissions.html
THE ABSINTHE LITERARY REVIEW
Preferences: Send transgressive works dealing with madness, sex, death, disease, and the like; the clash of archaic with modern day; archetype, symbolism, surrealism, philosophy, physics, existential and postmodern flavoring; experimental or flagrantly textured language; alternative poetry; intense crafting of language from the writer's writer. Payment is $2-10 for each accepted story/essay, and $1-10 for accepted poetry. Absinthe Editors' Prize: $25 for the best story or poetry published in Absinthe in each calendar year. Eros and Thanatos Prize: $25 for best story or poetry published in our annual Eros and Thanatos issue.
URL: http://www.absinthe-literary-review.com/
GUIDELINES: http://www.absinthe-literary-review.com/submit.htm
STRANGE HORIZONS
Strange Horizons (a weekly web-based magazine) is seeking speculative fiction under 5,000 words in length. Stories should be submitted via email to fiction@strangehorizons.com with FICTION SUB: <story title> as the subject line. Average response time is 1-2 months. Strange Horizons pays professional rates at 4 cents/word.
URL: http://www.strangehorizons.com
GUIDELINES: http://www.strangehorizons.com/guidelines/fiction/shtm
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER
Published by the National Geographic Society, National Geographic Traveler is currently seeking proposals for freelance articles. "Where the Journey Begins," Traveler tries to showcase traveling opportunities for its readership and provide them with information to enhance their experience. If accepted, feature articles should be 1,500 to 2,500 words in length. Payment varies according to department, but is nationally competitive. Credentials, relevant published clippings and a SASE must be included with the query.
All proposals must be sent to:
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC TRAVELER
Attn: Query Editor
1145 17th Street N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036-4688URL: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler
GUIDELINES: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/traveler/writer-guidelines.html
THE ONTARIO REVIEW
Founded in 1974, Ontario Review is one of the oldest literary journals published today. The Review is currently seeking fiction, poetry, and personal essays. Payment for work accepted is $20 per printed page, payable upon publication.
All manuscripts should be sent to:
The Editors
Ontario Review
9 Honey Brook Drive
Princeton, NJ 08540
Response time is within 6 weeks.URL: http://www.ontarioreviewpress.com/review/home/hm_index.html
GUIDELINES: http://www.ontarioreviewpress.com/review/about/submit.html
MOTHERING MAGAZINE
Mothering celebrates the experience of parenthood as worthy of one's best efforts and fosters awareness of the immense importance and value of parenthood and family life in the development of the full human potential. A bi-monthly publication with a current readership of 250,000 internationally, Mothering has six regular features containing philosophical inspiration and practical advice about family living. Mothering Magazine pays within the quarter of publication for one-time rights only. Upon publication, the rights to the printed article revert to the author.
URL: http://www.mothering.com/index.shtml
GUIDELINES: http://www.mothering.com/writers/writers-guidelines.shtml
THE DREXEL ONLINE JOURNAL
The DOJ is an online general interest publication for a broad audience with wide-ranging interests and tastes. DOJ publishes fiction and essays of varying length and type. The most important requirements are freshness of approach and quality of writing. DOJ publishes some poetry, as well as digital art and photography. DOJ publishes a main issue every two months. Between the main issues DOJ updates frequently with shorter and more current material. Payment is made one month after publication.
URL: http://www.drexel.edu/doj/index.asp
GUIDELINES:: http://www.drexel.edu/doj/aboutdoj.asp
THE READERS' MAILBAG
Your feedback is welcome!Letters to the editor should be sent to B. A. Quinn or Jason Fryer or THE BUZZ.
Keep up-to-date on the writing profession with announcements, tips, news, and everything else
"Am I Too Old to Start Writing?"
Copyright © 2003 by Leon Fletcher
That question -- "Am I too old to start writing?" -- is one of the most frequently asked questions I receive in my work as an AOL mentor for writersMy answer: "Not at all!"
Proof? Consider:
103-year-old Rose Nix Leo, in 1998, was still writing a weekly column for the Howard, Kansas newspaper.
At 102 years 8 months, Alice Pollock's first book, Portrait of My Victorian Youth, was published.
When 98 years old, Jessie Lee Brown Forevaux received a $1 million advance from the giant publisher Warner Books for her first book, Any Given Day, published in 1998.
At age 95, in 1998, Barbara Cartland was still writing several books a year and had more than 700 books published.
When 85, James A. Michener's published his 22nd book, his memoirs, The World Is My Home.
75-year-old Norman Mailer had his 31st book, The Time of Our Time, published in 1998.
Those are but a few examples of some mature writers; there are of course many others.
The fact is that publishers are not much interested in the age of writers -- except when their ages may be of significance to what they have written. For example:
At say, age 82, you might have just graduated from high school and now you want to write a book on how other mature people can do the same.
You've just had your 78th birthday and you have also just become a grandparent for, say, the 21st time, so you might author a book of tips for grandparents.
When you were 80 years old you came out of retirement and searched for and found a good paying job; now you are writing a book about jobs available to those older people.
Opportunities for mature writers abound. For starters, there are several magazines that focus on material for senior citizens, mostly written by senior citizens, including:
Modern Maturity -- one of the best paying markets and it reportedly has the greatest circulation of all magazines
Senior Living -- covers "active seniors in retirement" and is looking for articles with "[a] positive and upbeat attitude on aging, prime-of-life times."
Alive -- seeks "timely articles about Christian seniors."
More such publications are detailed in the annual reference book, Writer's Market.
But of course senior writers need not write only about senior topics. Virtually any topic is open to writers of just about any age -- travel, experience, hobbies, jobs, maturing, cultural information, education, parenting and grandparenting -- the list is nearly endless.
All told, there are more than 20,000 magazines and newspapers published in the United States alone -- and of course every one of them needs writers.
Then there are the online opportunities for mature writers. I just entered "older writers" as a topic in the search engine Google.com and it reported "about 843,000 sites" -- many of them seeking writers.
Other opportunities for writing including writing your own journal; doing a column for your church newsletter, writing tidbits about seniors in your area for your local newspaper, writing letters to friends and relatives -- and perhaps collecting them for a book about your associations; how-to and this-is-how-it-was books about your occupation or your life -- and on and on.
For more ideas and possibilities, explore the online bookstore Amazon.com. It reports it stocks 403 books on maturity and writing, including:
Aging and Gender in Literature: Studies in Creativity by Anne M. Wyatt-Brown, et al., editor.
The Art of Growing Older: Writers on Living and Aging edited by Wayne Boothe.
Writers Have No Age: Creative Writing With Older Adults by Lenore McComas.
Despite the impressive number of books by seniors and about seniors now on the market, there is of course always room for another one by you from another slant, different experiences, your views, or your knowledge.
In sum: Note the opinion of famed 19th century American physician, author and wit, Oliver Wendell Holmes:
"An older author is constantly rediscovering himself."
Leon Fletcher, author of this article, is:
An older writer; his most recent book was published in June 2003.
The most published author writing about speech since Dale Carnegie.
Author of 18 published books and more than 800 published articles.
Emeritus Professor of Speech, Monterey Peninsula College.
Online volunteer mentor for writers.
Online columnist. You can get to the online column of 50+ articles of tips for writers by clicking on Tips on Fiction & Nonfiction Writing from AOL.com. (Sorry: available to AOL users only) Topics include selling your manuscripts, formats, agents, copyright, working with editors, queries, proposals, self-publishing, critiques, and much more.
Have comments or questions you'd like to send the author?
Please e-mail Leon
When the staff at The Rose & Thorn aren't busy hunched over a corner desk gleefully searching and editing through piles of prose and poetry, you'll sometimes encounter them having their merry way with words.
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STAFF
B. A. Quinn -- Managing Editor and Publisher
Jason Fryer -- Content Producer and Newsletter Senior Editor
Meredith Morgenstern -- Editor and Newsletter Senior Editor
Sandra Merz -- Editor and Newsletter Editor
J. M. Cornwell -- Chief Webmistress and Prose Editor
S. Schafer -- Editor and Board Coordinator
L. Longstreet -- Editor and Webmistress
C. Garza -- Senior Editor - Poetry
W. Hough -- Editor and Newsletter Coordinator
Dianna Heinz -- Webmistress
Jerry McCarty -- Editor
Dave Murray -- Prose Editor
Kathleen Allen -- Poetry/Prose Editor
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