Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Cougars on the Prowl Deadline Extended

Good news for procrastinating writers--ahem, that would be me.

Yesterday I received an e-mail from Linda Fisher, publisher of Mozark Press, a small press located in Central Missouri.

Last year one of my short stories ("Criminal Minds") was included in Shaker of Margaritas: Hot Flash Mommas, published by Mozark Press. It's a lovely anthology, and from the publisher's reports, it sold better than expected.

With the success of that anthology, a few months ago Linda put out a call for Cougars on the Prowl. Here's the good news from Linda:

"We have extended the Cougars on the Prowl submissions deadline to March 31. Although we've received some excellent entries, we do not have enough to make selections for the anthology. It is important that only the judges' top picks will be published in the book."

Payment for selected short fiction stories between 1,500 and 3,000 words set in modern times is $20 and one contributor copy. Contributors also may purchase additional books at a substantial discount.

Here is a link to the guidelines. Be sure to read the guidelines because they are quite specific, especially for the main character.

To be honest, because of the title I wasn't going to submit. I let the original deadline pass. I'm not a prude, but I'm not the "cougar on the prowl" type either.

But, after carefully reading the guidelines I've decided the content in this "cougar" publication is tamer than I originally tought. So I'm going to get busy and try to come up with an acceptable story by the end of the month.

It definitely will be a work of fiction!

13 comments:

  1. Hey Donna! I hadn't heard about the extension, although, I'm like you....I hadn't really considered submitting to this, either!! Good luck with your story!

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  2. Hi Donna - I scrambled to finish my submission and then discovered the extension last night. I'm glad, as it will give me time to let the story sit. I wish I had known earlier, though, because I stayed up late the night before working on the story. Ah, well. At least it is 98% finished. :)

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  3. Hi Becky,
    Thanks. It's still in the what-can-I-change-to fit-the-guidelines stage.

    Hi Lisa,
    Yay! You're 98% finished. That's about 95% further along than I am.

    Donna

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  4. Call me a smartypants, but I had my story done and sent. I don't know how good it was; I'd say it was mostly catty. :-)

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  5. Thanks, Donna. I am not hot enough to lure any young man into my cougar's den, so I dismissed the call for submissions but like you, I might be able to work on something. Thanks for telling us about the extension.

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  6. Hi Cathy,
    Or should I say smartypants. And I bet yours was one of the excellent submissions.

    Hi Sioux,
    You're welcome. Mine will definitely be a work of fiction.

    Donna

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  7. Thanks for the info, I didn't know about the call for submissions. Don't know if I can write one or not, it would also be a stretch for me.

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  8. Is there such a thing as a "tame" cougar? =]

    Hey, congrats on reaching your February W1S1 goal!

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  9. I submitted my story by the original deadline. Fortunately(?) for me, I had some awful dating experiences to weave into a tale.

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  10. I look forward to reading your submissions. I received one good story (from a man, no less), that pushed my guidelines. I think I'll ask him to tame it down during the extension. After all, we boomers love a good story and don't need a how-to. :) I considered the other book PG and that's where I want this one to be.

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  11. Hi Janet,
    I know the feeling.

    Hi Milo,
    Thanks, and thanks for your encouragement by sponsoring the W1/S1 contest.

    Hi June,
    Awww. At least you're getting some mileage out of those bad experiences.

    Hi Linda,
    Thanks for stopping by and letting my visitors know about the PG rating. I bet that will get some folks to pick up their pens or start hammering out stories on their keyboards--like me.

    Donna

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  12. It's good for you to stretch your writing muscles outside of their comfort zone. That's how they grow. Good luck!

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