Tag Archives: Marked by Scorn

Two of Solarwyrm’s Books in Oakland Public Library

My apologies for the lack of updates over the last several months. I didn’t even announce when Marked by Scorn was officially released and available to buy online. It was officially released on July 31st, and you can buy both the ebook and paperback from Amazon. If you buy the paperback on Amazon, you can download the ebook for free through their matchbook program.

Dominica Malcolm with two of her books at Oakland Public Library, Cesar Chavez BranchI’ve been pretty busy primarily with improv over the past few months, with little time to dedicate to promoting Solarwyrm’s books. However, after spending a lot of time over the summer borrowing graphic novels from my local library, I was invited to suggest others for them to add to their collection. I ended up asking if they’d be interested in having my books in their collection, and since my local branch has an excellent focus on diversity, they were delighted to hear about my books.

As of yesterday, two of my books, Adrift and Marked by Scorn: An Anthology Featuring Non-Traditional Relationships are now featured new books at Oakland Public Library, in the Cesar Chavez Branch. The Branch Manager took a photograph of me with the books to share on Facebook. If you’re in Oakland, you can check them out in their catalogue system (Adrift and Marked by Scorn), or if you’re elsewhere in California near a library that uses the Link+ interlibrary borrowing system, you should also be able to look for them there.

Crowdfunding Marked by Scorn

The crowdfunding campaign for Marked by Scorn has been running for the last two weeks, and we’re already down to the final 10 days. I meant to announce it here sooner, but things have been busy.

If you’re not already aware of this book, the premise behind it was to put together a collection of stories and poetry that highlight a diverse array of characters in various non-traditional relationships. I have been making my mark highlighting the tales of the under-represented characters in mainstream media for years now. Focusing in particular on racial diversity, as with Amok: An Anthology of Asia-Pacific Speculative Fiction, and sexuality diversity, like with many of the female characters in my pirate time-travel novel, Adrift (which features 4 women who are not straight and fall in different places along the sexuality spectrum).

Marked by Scorn follows and expands on both of these diverse areas, with stories across 5 continents (Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America), more gender diversity (transgender, gender fluid, and intersex, as well as your more common cisgender characters), and a wider variety of gay, lesbian, and bisexual stories than what appeared in Amok. Many of the South East Asian stories explore what it’s like to have to hide your homosexuality in those cultures.

But these are all stories that transcend the labels, with universal experiences that everyone can relate to. Even if you fit the mainstream culture. As one reviewer put it:

“Altogether, the collection is uplifting, heart-wrenching, sexy, fun, wicked, but most of all, utterly important. Because the one thing that ties all of these stories of breakups and makeups and threesomes and violence and werewolves and partnerships and understanding together—is love. And what could possibly be more important than that?”

While we’re already 20% funded, we still have a way to go to reach the $2,500 goal. If you haven’t already seen the campaign, let me lay down a few basic details about what YOU get:

  • If we reach the goal, everyone who backed the campaign will get a free ebook of Solarwyrm’s first anthology, Fae Fatales: A Fantasy Noir Anthology. This will likely be the last time the book will be available with Solarwyrm, as the editor has moved on to another publishing business.
  • Backers will get their paperbacks at least a month prior to the publication date (July 31) – they’re ready to be sent out as soon as the campaign ends.
  • San Francisco Bay Area backers will be able to collect their paperbacks in person even earlier, if ordered early enough (there are about 20 available copies scheduled to arrive in Oakland in the next 48 hours, and 3 remaining available copies of Adrift, and 2 of Amok before more would need to be ordered).
  • DRM-free ebooks come with all paperback orders of the same book(s).
  • The ebooks will start to be sent out as of Friday May 27 to anyone who has already backed the campaign.
  • There are still a few ebooks available at the early backer price of $4!

Whilst the book is all ready to send out to people, the aim of the campaign is to raise enough funds to pay the 32 writers what is owed to them as per their contracts. Because Solarwyrm believes in paying our contributors.

So if this all sounds awesome to you, go check out the campaign, buy a book or three (the other books listed above are also listed as perks), and help us spread the word so you can get that bonus ebook.

Our Next Title: Marked by Scorn

Marked by Scorn coverAfter far too many delays due to other projects and life commitments, editor Dominica Malcolm is nearing the completion of her anticipated second anthology, Marked by Scorn: An Anthology Featuring Non-Traditional Relationships.

The cover (right), designed by Grace Jensen, depicts two of the relationships featured in the anthology itself, and showcases some of the racial and sexuality diversity that she was looking for.

The book features 8 poems and 25 prose stories. Genre varies throughout from contemporary fiction to romance to speculative fiction to memoir. It currently sits at around 96,000 words and 280 pages.

The crowdfunding campaign should be launched within the next couple of months, so be on the lookout for that. This will enable you to get your copy of the book prior to the official release date, which is not yet decided but likely won’t be until at least two months after the campaign ends.

I am looking for bloggers to write early reviews, so please email solarwyrm@gmail.com to request an advanced reading copy of the ebook. Include where you intend to post your review (blog, Goodreads, Amazon, etc).

The contents of the book is as follows:
Mirror Sunsets by Kelly Burke (South Africa)
Waking Dream by Jeremiah Murphy (USA)
Acceptance by DJ Tyrer (poetry)
Emergency Encounter by Cindy Stauffer (Haiti)
Breaking Point by Tara Calaby (Australia)
A Love on the Other Side of the World by Men Pechet (Cambodia)
The Way Love Goes by Dana L Stringer (poetry)
Alone Time by Viny (Denmark)
If it Ain’t Broke by Sara Dobie Bauer (USA)
Keeping Mum About Dad by Vanessa Ng (Singapore)
The Alleys of the Mind by Cathy Bryant (poetry)
Deer Hunting With the Prey by Tom Trumpinski (USA)
Holiday Mini-Series by Adan Ramie (USA)
Fragmented by DJ Tyrer (UK)
Lessons on Loving an Able-Bodied Man by Taylor Lyn Carmen (poetry)
The Kebaya King by Rumaizah Abu Bakar (Malaysia, Indonesia)
The Affair by Rebecca Freeman (Australia)
Spar by Baylea Jones (USA)
Draupadi Hallucinating by Rochelle Potkar (poetry, India)
Dominion Hotel by Mo Reynolds (Canada)
Churriye by Khadija Anderson (Senegal)
Flesh and Stone by Dominica Malcolm (Thailand, Malaysia)
Spiralling Home by Karen Sylvia Rockwell (poetry)
The Final Act by Tom Nolan (UK)
Love is in the Blood by Kawika Guillermo
Holi Colour by Shruti Sareen (India)
Penelope by Eve Kenneally (poetry)
Simplicity by Donnelle Belanger-Taylor
Roulez by GK Hansen (USA)
Under the Sycamores by Terry Sanville (USA)
On Being Loved by a White Boy by Kiki Nicole (poetry)
Partners by Jude Ortega (Philippines)
No Magical Vanilla by Jo Wu (USA)

Call for Submissions: Marked by Scorn

Solarwyrm Press is seeking submissions for a new anthology titled Marked by Scorn: An anthology featuring non-traditional relationships.

This anthology is open to fiction (any genre), non-fiction, and poetry. If you submit a memoir piece, and choose to use real names, please make sure you have permission from those mentioned before submitting.

In the context of this anthology, non-traditional relationships means any romantic/sexual in nature relationship that deviates from society’s stereotype of “normal.” Interracial couples, LGBT+, polyamorous and other open relationship styles, asexual, and so on. Relationships that have in the past and/or are presently deemed “unacceptable” to the majority of society, though that does not need to be the subject of the piece(s) you submit. We want all kinds of submissions about these relationships, both depressing and uplifting and anything in between, but will not publish submissions that clearly discriminate thematically against them.

As with the editor’s previous publication, diversity is important. The final submissions selected for publication will reflect that, and so it will hopefully include as many types of non-traditional relationships as possible. It would also be excellent to see submissions set all over the world. If possible, we would particularly like to include submissions written by people from/living in, or submissions set in locations within the continents of Africa, Asia, and South and Central America, but will not be limited to these regions.

Submissions should not include a lot of gratuitous sex (this is not an erotica anthology), but some sex is acceptable if it is relevant to the story.

A special note form the editor on submissions with interracial couples: whilst I am not against publishing stories where one half of the couple is a white man, I find it very hard to enjoy such a story if the white man is portrayed as some kind of a saviour to their partner.

The editor of this anthology previously published Amok: An Anthology of Asia-Pacific Speculative Fiction, if you would like to get an idea about the stories she has selected in the past.

Submission Guidelines

Please send your submissions by email directed to Dominica Malcolm at solarwyrm@gmail.com. You may submit up to 3 stories and/or 5 poems for consideration.

Your attached story should be a .doc, .odt, or .rtf file and must be formatted with double spacing. Times New Roman font is preferred.

The subject line should read “Marked by Scorn Anthology Submission/YOUR SURNAME/TITLE/WORD COUNT”

Within the body of your email, please also indicate: type of submission (poetry, fiction, non-fiction), and how you feel your submission fits the prompt.

Word count (prose): Between 1,000-8,000 words.
Line count (poetry): Not more than 150 lines.
Deadline: February 15th, 2015.

Submissions will not be read until AFTER the deadline, but we will endeavour to notify all writers accepted for the anthology by March 31st, 2015.

Rights and Remuneration

The author will retain copyright of the work. Solarwyrm Press requests first print and digital publication rights, exclusive for 3 months from publication. After that, the author is free to accept publication elsewhere, post the story to their blog, or anything else.

Submissions may be edited for minor spelling, grammar, or formatting issues. Submissions with major spelling and grammar issues will be rejected.

The author will receive 1 paperback copy of the anthology, and be paid at the rate of 1/2 a cent per word, which equates to a maximum of US$40.