Tag: #creativewriting

Gravelight Press on Kindle Vella | Read free!

WHAT IS KINDLE VELLA?

Kindle Vella (or KV, or Vella) is a new service from Amazon that allows anyone to go online and start reading a book IMMEDIATELY! The books are all serialized. They may release one chapter per week, or even a chapter daily. The first three chapters/episodes of any book are free.

USA-ONLY:

For now, Vella is only available to reader in the USA, while Amazon tries out this pilot program. DPP is in on it, and we are even beta-testers for the comments and polls functions. So, some of our stories have comments, and some have polls, and some have both.

FREE AND NOT FREE:

All series (books) being serialized have the first three episodes as free.

For episodes after that, you have to buy them.

You buy them by buying tokens. Most chapters/episodes average out at about six cents/episode.

You cannot currently give tokens as gifts, or buy tokens with gift cards, and you cannot buy someone a Vella story to read, like, “I’ll get this for my friend!” Nope, not now you won’t. But maybe in the future!
And hopefully in the future more countries will be able to get it too.

IS IT GREAT?

DPP’s jury is still out on this one. We’re trying it, and we like how we can put in notes for our readers, and get comments back. As authors it is nice to have connection with readers, because otherwise we never do, and we want to know what readers think. But, it so restricted at the moment with the USA-only tie that we’re not sure how we feel about it. Certainly since we have worked to edit people to are writing their entire novels on their phones, it is appealing to those of us who love our small hand-held devices.

ONE BENEFIT: the reviews a book gets there go with it when it goes into paperback.

ARE YOU THE BETA READER TYPE? ARE YOU JUST INTERESTED IN THE LATEST THING? DPP IS LOOKING FOR YOU!

We’d love to have some folks try out our Vellas and then take a survey on the experience so we can find out what readers think.

Contact us if you want to join in the fun and give us your honest feedback: editor@devilspartypress.com

What do we have on Vella currently?

PICK A READ! ANY READ!

THE PUMPKIN KING AND OTHER TALES OF TERROR

GRAVELIGHT PRESS PRESENTS:

Do you desire to make your spine tingle, your hair curl, and your blood run cold? If so, dare to partake of the dark sacrament of this forbidden tome. Within these arcane pages you will encounter an organist who can summon the dead, trade lives using the currency of the damned, meet a college professor with a very creepy teaching assistant, and experience a night of Trick-or-Treating like no other. Enter if you dare! This story is complete and heading to print Halloween 2023!

Written by master story tell R. David Fulcher

Follow David on Twitter!

JUST A HOUSECLEANER

When Patsy finds her friend and client has passed away in her living room, Patsy’s only thought is how to take care of her friend’s dog and estate, but someone in her friend’s life has other ideas. Can Patsy, still grieving the loss of her friend, help save her friend’s estate?

Written by Amy Willard, a real-life housecleaner!

CAPES AND MASKS:

David Yurkovich, acclaimed author/illustrator of the graphic novels LESS THAN HEROES, ALTERCATIONS, and DEATH BY CHOCOLATE presents a collection of short stories spotlighting the heroes and villains of Combustible. Featuring the tales, “The Vocalist,” “The Confectioneer,” “Mid-Life Crisis,” “…as a Mad Immortal Man,” “The Night it Rained Rembrandt,” and more, CAPES AND MASKS expands the realm of superhuman stories beyond the norm.

HIBERNACULUM:

HIBERNACULUM, an original sci-fi novel by Anthony Doyle set in the not-too-distant-future, will take you to a world where human hibernation has become a common occurrence. For the affluent: it’s the equivalent of a luxury holiday, or a way to sleep through cosmetic surgery. For the sick: it’s a place to rest and wait for a cure. For the activists: it’s a way to decrease their carbon footprint. For the rest it’s a means of surviving in a world that has grown too costly. Would you hibernate?

NEW SANTA/CRIMSON RED

Santa and Mrs. Claus are dead, both victims of tragic, but separate, accidents. Now, The Order of the Beard – a septet of immortals representing the seven continents – must appoint worthy successors. But not even The Order is perfect. They have no idea of the raw carnage that’s about to unfold as the Claus’ marriage begins to unravel. Will New Santa be the last of a long lineage? Award-winning author David Yurkovich presents an all-new black comedy for anti-Christmas enthusiasts everywhere.

SIMONA’S SON

Mob boss Filiberto “Bear” Zappia made his bones maiming his victims before killing them. Now, a squeal has emerged who can send Bear to prison. He needs his best hitman, Angel, known as Ice, to find and whack the squeal. Ice has special ways of torturing his victims. Bear wants Ice to send a message to the squeal and all future rats. But something is wrong… with Ice. His mother, Simona, made a deal with God to trick the mob and save Angel from Hell. But what happens when God changes the deal?

COMING SOON!

Those fantastic Vella titles will soon be joined by:

Noir collection: HARDBOILED And LOADED WITH SIN

Check this blog for links and announcements.

Thanks for all you do to help DPP keep-on keeping-on. We’re getting more late-bloomers published this year than ever before because you read our books!

WHAT IS OUR MOST POPULAR VELLA SO FAR?

Well, a mother never has favorites, but readers do. So far, in the number one spot for readers is NEW SANTA. I guess folks just love Christmas! (Or hate it!)

When you read a DPP book, it means everything!

The all-new, all-different Hawkshaw

As we move further into 2023, we realized it was time to redo the Hawkshaw Press site (home of our crime fiction novels and collections). The site has gotten a fresh makeover, and we’ll be updating Gravelight and Out of This World soon as well.

Meanwhile, please drop by Hawkshaw Press and meander a while, Flatfoot.

Guest designer | Halloween Party ’23

Piece of art by Juan Kantu _1Kan2_ a white skull on a black background with the words the end is my beginning
“The End is my beginning” by Juan Cantu

The moment I saw Juan Cantu’s art I knew I had to own some. Luckily his work is still affordable (but for how long people!), and I was able to grab this beauty you see above.

Because I was also lucky enough to meet him in person, this kind, gentle, and amazingly talented man, I was also able to get to know him a bit, and keep in touch, and I was so thrilled when he said he’d design the new Halloween Party anthology for us. If you visit Juan’s Instagram (_1kan2_) you will see how macabre, funny, dark, and philosophical his work is. If you like to collect art, I suggest you buy yourself an original while you still can. And, it may interest you to know, Juan is also a veteran. He served his country, and that informs his art, and he works to bring art opportunities to veterans like himself.

We did an interview with Juan, and we’ll be posting that in our newsletter in the coming months. Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out!

Halloween Party ’23 | Submissions glitch resolved


Apologies if you tried to submit to Duosuma and received a message indicating that the submissions quota was full.

Glitch is now fixed (has been tested) and is open ONLY until 11/30@ midnight, when it will close for good for this season.

Submit your work now, before it’s too late.

SUBMIT TO HP23

Good luck~

Why not you?

30 days remain

That means it’s not too late to get in on the next Gravelight anthology: HP ’23.

We work hard for our authors, and we’re selective, and we’d like to select you.

Every author you see listed here, in the Exhumed Anthology, was in a prior Devil’s Party Press anthology. We don’t forget our authors, and we put them first for all new opportunities. 

HP ’23 is curated by Jeffrey Keeten, and designed by Juan Cantu~ It’s going to be a gorgeous book!

Guest editor | Halloween Party ’23

by Jeffrey Keeten

Did you know that Jeffrey Keeten is one of the top reviewers on Goodreads? He became interested in DPP books a few years back, and has since partnered with us on many projects, including writing short stories for us, and introducing Halloween Party ’21.

For Halloween Party ’23 Jeffrey is acting as guest editor. He’s reviewing all the entries and picking those that will get published as well as curating the flow of the work within the book.

One thing that’s always captivated me about Jeffrey’s reviews is that they go well-beyond “I like it/I didn’t like it.” He often researches the author, and has read other works by the same writer, and will do a deep dive into the whole canon. Here’s a sample review from Keeten on The Spy Who Came in From the Cold.

Take one look at the in-depth review and you can see why we’re incredibly grateful to have this gifted reviewer and editor and author on the HP team. Thanks Jeffrey! We can’t wait to see what you do with HP ’23.

Get Jeffrey to review your work. Submit to HP ’23 today!

Want to join the Horror Writers Association?

Turns out, if you were accepted into HP2021, you can!

You weren’t? Well, there’s still time to submit to HP ’23!

One of the global changes we made to our company last year was to make a commitment to pay all authors we put on paper. With that check, you qualify for the HWA. A few of our most recently included authors have already been admitted, on the strength of that single payment.

We hope, as our fledgling publishing endeavor grows, we will be able to pay more writers, and pay those writers more. We are committed in using this company to help you achieve your writing goals.

So excited to know some wonderful and life-long horror writers with many many publications are finally being granted membership in a group they so deserve to belong to!

Before She’s Gone Forever

by Phil Giunta

Phil Giunta is one of the best short story writers producing today. This particular story is incredibly moving, and Phil reading it only adds to it. Enjoy this story on a melancholy fall evening with a glass of wine, and someone you love.

~It took the entire morning, but police divers found Eun-ji’s body in the bay—exactly where I said it would be. I wasn’t entirely forthcoming with them, of course. I didn’t tell them about the pictures. I simply informed them that Eun-ji had talked about exploring the peaks of Geoje Island to find a good spot for cliff jumping. Fearless and heavily influenced by western culture, Eun-ji was what the Americans call an “adrenaline junkie.” Hence the reason she had volunteered for civilian military training in the city of Gimpo last month. That’s where we met. 

As a photographer for the Korea Herald, I had been assigned to shoot the weeklong boot camp. My mandatory two years in the Army had just ended six months prior, so I was still able to keep up with the grueling regimen these college students faced. Nothing extraordinary had occurred during the assignment—other than meeting Eun-ji. Day or night, my camera loved her more than any of the others~

Buy the book, why don’tcha?

A game of hopscotch

“She felt something hold her hand, place the daisy firmly inside, and close her fingers around it.”

Author Bernie Brown is the author of two stories in HALLOWEEN PARTY ’21, one of which is “Hopscotch.” As its title implies, this tale focuses around an innocent game of hopscotch, but things aren’t quite what they seem.

If you don’t already own a copy of HP ’21, we strongly recommend purchasing the collection for yourself, which you can find at quality bookstores. Alternatively, and for more immediate gratification, simply click the link below to purchase from Amazon.

BUY NOW