Monday, January 31, 2011

Shootout Round 1 - Results

The results from the first round of the shootout are in...

I'm currently in 4th place!

Of 11! Now ask me am I chuffed about that?? You're damn right I am! I got some really great comments and also some helpful hints. The leader is at 8.5 points, my total is 8.125.

My lowest score was 6, but from there it was 7's, 8's and 9's the whole way! No full marks, but two 9.5's which I will gladly take thank you very much. Of course that called for a few glasses of red while I finished off my second entry - the prompt: 'There Was a Crooked House'.

Here's hoping it's as successful as the first. Regardless, the criticism from this competition can be taken to every story, and that's something that can't be bought. Whether I come in fourth or eleventh, it definitely won't be a waste of time... and I'll come out at then with four awesome stories that will be looking for a home!

Friday, January 28, 2011

Norgus Press Likes Me Too!

It's been a good week, first a poem, and now my I've just had my first story accepted by Norgus Press.

I'm real excited to be on board with them. They are a new press that are dedicated to showcasing new writers. They are currently in the process of publishing their first anthology and this one I'm in will be their second or third release.

The anthology is called 'Undertaker Tales' and my story entitled 'Dead Tired' is a little zombie number. My first... they grow up so fast!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

A Poet? Wha...?

Pardon me if I seem a little shocked. Just allow me to take a swig of this celebratory wine and dull my brain a little more. It now appears that I am also something of a poet!

I just got word that a poem I had written years ago, probably the first thing I ever wrote, was accepted to be published in a poetry anthology. Who would have thought it? I know I certainly didn't! It has been sitting on my computer, gathering pixel dust for years, when I spotted the submission call for the anthology. So, says I to myself, I'll dust her off and let her out for a run. And lo and behold...

Wonders never cease! So forgotten little things you done years ago can still make a difference in the future. It just goes to show that anything is possible if you keep dreaming! (Very philosophical of me - it must be the wine)

Friday, January 21, 2011

Shootout Update 2

So the deadline is upon us. The forum is filled with mass panic (not really), tensions have reached fever pitch (a little maybe but nothing to write home about!), competitors have resorted to dirty tactics to take out the opponent (not at all) and I'm unlivable-with (always).

My, how I love to exaggerate! When you step out of my overactive imagination you will find that it's all very friendly and civilised. A lot of moral boosting flying back and forth between the competitors and light hearted jibes. Has a competition ever been so laid back? Methinks not.

The story is complete, one final proof read over the weekend and Bob's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt. 'Tis all under control folks... of course we were kind of eased into it with an extra week for the story, to acclimatise the newbies amongst us. It's after Sunday that the s*@% really begins to hit the proverbial fan. It's then when paragraph 1 on this post may not be so far-fetched!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Learning

I'm tinkering away at this blog stuff, and it's actually beginning to look like a website! How cool is that? Everyone should have a blog. It's terrible exciting! As long as I don't start getting too worked up and add tabs to my new shoes and what not.

Memo to me: this is strictly a site 'about the author'... but doesn't the author wear shoes after all??? 

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Anthology Covers

A few little piccy's of the book covers my stories are / will be included in. Some of which are pretty AWESOME you must agree.

Available anthologies:

School Days - Tales with an Edge

Dark Romance - From the Far Side

Coming soon:

The Shadow People


Shadows Within Shadows
Serial Killers
The Fountain of Youth - The Down Side


Check back later for more. I'll add covers as soon as they are released :) 

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Another Day, Another Story!

So I dragged myself back from the powdery mountains to tell y'all about some exciting news I received last night. A story I've been working on for a while now, about a horrific serial killer, has been accepted for inclusion in the anthology 'Serial Killers' by Static Movement.

My story, entitled 'From Hell and Back', brazenly ran over 1000 words over the maximum word limit, but the editor accepted it anyway... phew! Thanks for that Chris!

I've always had a morbid fascination with serial killers so I'm really chuffed to be included in this. Can't wait to get my hands on it and see what the other dark minds have come up with.

Serial Killers

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Disclaimer






I  hereby wish to state that all the characters in all my stories are purely fictional characters and not based on any real-life individuals... apart from those that are. Any resemblances to actual persons are unintentional... except for where it was intentional.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Shootout Update

So the first prompt is out! A week early for those entrants (not mentioning any names, like Emma Ennis) who are new to the whole thing.

The prompt: 'The Rise of the Mummies'. It caused several seconds of blind panic, but I swiftly took myself into a corner and gave myself a stern talking to, after which I came up with an idea, though perchance not an amazing one, 'twill at least be passable!

Of course the idea and the writing of it are the easy parts... afterwards I've got to read what ten other, way more experienced writers thought of my story, all the while fighting the temptation to hang myself!

It's gonna be a long two months! I apologise in advance for the wretched being I'm about to become...

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Shootout!

And she has sold her soul...

Okay so maybe I should take my foot off the exaggerator for a little minute! Forgive my melodrama, but it stems from the well of intense excitement and fright that is right now bubbling in the pit of my stomach. You see last night I signed up for a writers 'shootout' over on Pill Hill Press. What the hell is that, I hear ye ask? Then let me explain my furry little friends.

It's a first come, first serve competition with an 8 to 12 maximum of competitors. Once full, the forum is locked with only the entrants having access. Then we sit around, chewing our fingers while waiting for a photo prompt, which can be anything, on any theme. Then it's lift off. Each competitor has one week to write a story based on the photo prompt. When the time is up we each get another week to read all the other entries and vote on them. It's completely anonymous (is it just me or is that the hardest word on this green earth to spell?), both the writing and the voting.

When that week is up it starts again and goes on for four rounds. In the end the votes from all rounds are tallied and the winner is found.

Now isn't that just the most exciting and scary thing you've ever heard of? Probably not, but it is to me! I've never attempted anything like this, probably because I never knew they existed. Why do I have a feeling I'm about to be chewed up and spit out?? gulp   

Friday, January 7, 2011

Coming Soon

The following stories are not in print yet, but have found their little places and are waiting to be brought to life. So here's a little taster to get you all riled up and ready!
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Dust and Bones by Emma Ennis
   Included in 'Best Left Buried', a Static Movement Anthology edited by Gregory 
   Miller
   What length would you go to to ensure you would never have to work again?
   Would you raid an ancient tomb despite the warnings? 


Dead Tired by Emma Ennis
   Included in the 'Undertaker Tales' anthology by Norgus Press.
   Ever wondered what happens to an undertaker when they close up for the 
   night? Well wonder no longer. You might want to rethink those further education 
   applications.
  
Night Watch by Emma Ennis
   A poem included in the anthology 'Static Poetry' by Static Movement.

From Hell and Back by Emma Ennis
   Included in 'Serial Killers', a Static Movement anthology.
   There's a killer on the loose, a brazen one who works out in the open, hacking
   his victims on the street. After a startling discovery, Detective Robert Coyle
   is working against the clock to catch a killer who loves to taunt them.

Come on In by Emma Ennis
   To be included in 'The Shadow People', an anthology from Static Movement.
   Lurking in the darkness of your mind are the shadow people. Who are they?
   What do they want? And do you give it to them?

A Life for Life by Emma Ennis
   Included in the anthology 'The Fountain of  Youth - The Downside'
   The Fountain of Youth, sought after for centuries but never found. If you found it,
   would you be so quick to drink? Think hard!

Inside Job by Emma Ennis
   Included (with below) in the Pill Hill Press anthology 'Daily Flash 2012', out
   roughly this coming November.
   A tiny little bite of flash fiction. To tell you much would tell the whole story! Let's
   just say it's set at the crime scene of a bloody murder.

The Lady of the Hills by Emma Ennis
   Will also appear in 'Daily Flash 2012'.
   A haunting little ghost story from times long past.

Frozen Outpost by Emma Ennis
   Recently accepted for the Static Movement anthology 'Shadows Within
   Shadows'.
   Set in the dwindling days of the wild west, before the last of the Indian tribes
   were run from their lands.With the first snow she comes, an evil Indian spirit, to
   plague and torment men. This time it's Ewart, an innocent outpost keeper, who
   she targets... but what does she want?

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Available Works

Here's a list of works that are available now to buy. All can be got from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk. Alternatively go to either of the Amazons (book sites that is!) and search for my name, Emma Ennis. A list of works will come up there too and you can buy all at once!!!!
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Chosen by Emma Ennis
   Included in the Static Movement anthology 'Dark Romance - From the Far Side'
   Ever wondered what 'imaginary friends' really are? And then, have you ever
   wondered what happens when your childhood imaginary friend grew a little too...
   amorous in your adulthood?


Revenge - A Sweet Addiction by Emma Ennis
   Included in the Static Movement anthology 'School Days - Tales with an Edge.
   A mean little thriller about the cruelty of life and love in school... with a twist.

Welcome

Being a newborn babe to the world of writing I thought it was high time I started one of these new-fangled blog things all the cool kids are talking about! I thought it would be a pretty nifty way to group all my info together, so any followers are kept up to date on new publications and what not. But first, a little about me...
I was born and reared (to some extent!) in County Wexford, Ireland but have been living in Norway for about a year and a half, in a snowy little town called Voss, oftentimes called the 'Extreme Sports Capital of the World', which suits me fine thank you very much!
I have a degree in computers, but swiftly fell out with the damn things during my four year course; we didn't always see eye-to-eye, me and computers. Since then I have studied many other subjects such as Interior Design and Floristry - eclectic I know - but the lifelong dream has always been to write. So, me being me, I had to give it a go.
Lo and behold, I tried my hand at a couple of novels, but soon grew disheartened trying to find a publisher. 'Tis a wicked world for a fledgling writer, the world of publishers and agents, and I soon hid from the wolves and haven't written for many years. However, towards the end of 2010 I seen a friend of mine and old school buddy, Lorraine Horrell, was taking the place by storm with her stories and it was she who put me on to Static Movement and Chris Bartholomew who accepted my first story for publication.
And so the demon in me was born. Since the 10th of November I've had 7 stories accepted into 6 different anthologies, two of which are now available for purchase at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk. Just search for my name on either of those sites and you'll get my author page with available books... if you're interested that is of course!
Cue the exit music for end of intro...