1st place winner for June's Pic 1 K....

...is Rebecca Besser and her poem THE TRAVELER.

What was the inspiration for your poem? And don't say the picture! Besides that...


Hmmm... I guess it would have to be that inside we are all travelers, as we seek our way through life. We are always looking for a path, safety, and the things we need to make it to the next day. The Traveler is all of us.


Okay, what's going on over at Living Dead Press these days?

Lots! There are a couple anthologies open. They are actively seeking children's halloween stories and Extreme Aquatic stories. Check out their submissions page for details.

End of Days 4 will be available really soon! Which we are BOTH in!

Also, LDP's first children's antho will be available soon. Which I'm in and edited. ;)


I read you have a submission goal for this year? What is it? How's it going?

Well, my goal this year was a submissions number. I wanted to submit at least 150 times this year. The more submissions you get out there, the more chances you have for a yes. So far this year I've been published a bunch! It seems to be working. ;) I'm currently at 110, and it's only half way through the year.

Unofficial goals were to get into an antho and get a novel done. I've been in a few anthos, so I made that one. Now I just have to work on the novel!


Do you think the world will end in 2012?

Nope. Just because we expect it to. :p


If you could meet one person - alive or dead - who would it be?

That was really easy for me, since I'm a Christian...... Jesus. Would love to meet him face to face. Can you ever imagine how AWESOME that would be? (Although, being a Christian, I've already meet him. hehehe)


Tell everyone again (in case they didn't read last month's interview) - where else can people find you?

Most of my info is on my website: http://www.rebeccabesser.com/

I'm also on Facebook!

AND... here's a teaser of the winning poem:

The vacant pinnacle stands erect on the horizon.



A sign of hope to the traveler.


Unused ground, decaying buildings in a row.


A sign of yesterday to the traveler.

To read Becca's winning poem check out the FREE Issue Six of Soft Whispers - check it out!

2nd place winner for June's Pic 1 K....

...is Michelle Dennis Evans with her story BUILDING.

Besides the picture, what was the inspiration for the story?

Wow, there were so many things that inspired this story. One was that my husband and I just annulled a business agreement with a partner. Another piece of inspiration was that my brother has taken over a family business but still has our father and uncle working with him. So I have been thinking about businesses that work and businesses that fail and all the businesses in between.

How long did it take you to write?

I wrote it over two sessions. I wasn’t happy with the flow so I had to leave it for a few days and re-write parts. It would have taken around one to one and a half hours all up.


What's your favorite food?

Chocolate!


Where can Soft Whispers readers find you on the internet?

 (site, Twitter, etc.) Ah haaa free promotion – Love it! Readers can find me on Twitter @MichelleDEvans , Facebook @ Michelle Dennis Evans and my blog is http://michelledevans.blogspot.com



Where else have you been published?

So far I’ve been published in, 12 Days of Christmas Anthology, Eclectic Flash and Write Online. I’m soon to be published in, The best of Friday Flash 2009 Anthology and Daily Flash: 365 Days of Flash Fiction.



What's your favorite song?

I listen to a lot of music and I love love love heaps of songs but can’t think of one that stands out as a favourite.


What are you plans for 2010?
 
In January I declared that this was the year of getting published. Now that I have been published, I hope to get paid for what I love to do. Outside of my writing my husband and I are just setting up our new Real Estate business ‘Finesse’ Of course we expect nothing but success for the rest of the year.
 
How about a little teaser of the story?
 
Des, do you remember when we were in the building phase?' Joe asked. 'And we thought nothing would come in our way, and we were as tall in chest as anyone had ever seen.'



'Sure, I remember,' said Des, 'some 40 years ago now.'

Read the rest of Michelle's winning story in the FREE Issue Six of Soft Whispers - check it out!

1st Place Pic 1 k winner is... Kelly Stapleton

, pi

This is the first time I've read her work... and wow, what a great story!  Here is the interview with Kelly:

Besides the picture, what was the inspiration for the story?
Every silly boy I tried to impress when I was young and stupid.

How long did it take you to write?
The first draft took a couple of hours. I did revisions on and off for two weeks. I'm a compulsive story tweaker -- I never think the story is good enough, and I only stop revising when I get sick of looking at it.

Where else have you been published?
Tattoo Highway, Fiction at Work, Colored Chalk, and Tomlit Quarterly.

Where can Soft Whispers readers find you on the internet? (site, Twitter, etc.)
I'm on Twitter @kelly_stapleton. I blog at http://www.kellystapleton.blogspot.com/ and I promise to start updating it more often!

What's your favorite kind of ice cream?
Chocolate chip cookie dough.

What's your favorite pizza topping?
Tomatoes and spinach.

What are you plans for 2010?
I plan to work on more flash fiction and finish the novel I started during NaNoWriMo 2009.

What was your first story you ever wrote?
It was called Pillows, but my creative writing teacher made me change the title because she thought the word pillows gave the ending away. It was about a girl whose mother puts a hit out on her. Worst story ever. I live in fear of someone resurrecting it just to embarrass me if I ever become famous.

When?

My senior year of high school.

To read Kelly's winning story, THE BARN DOOR, click to read Issue Five of Soft Whispers!

2nd Place Pic 1 k winner is... REBECCA BESSER!

And as promised, here is the interview with the lovely Rebecca Besser:

What was the inspiration for your story? And don't say the picture! Besides that...

I wanted to do something different. We've all heard love stories that involve young women falling in love with stable hands, etc. So, I knew I wanted something dark and unexpected. This story just kinda came out when I started writing.

Since I'm in the antho, I'm going to mention it... tell us about Living Dead Press and the anthology you're editing...

Yeah, I have to mention it because it involves me too! I was in Night of the Wolf: A Werewolf anthology, and End of Days 3: An Apocalyptic Anthology, and kind fell into doing some editing for them. They were impressed with how well my submissions were edited. It really does pay to make your writing the best you can BEFORE you send it out.

Right now I'm editing End of Day 4: An Apocalytic Anthology, and another one (it's a secret, you'll see when it comes out). Watch the Living Dead Press' site on the Children's page in the next month, hint, hint.

I'll be editing another antho when I get EoD4 done. So, if you are interesting in writing some dark adventures, especially about zombies, keep your eyes on Living Dead Press.

Where else have you been published?

I've been published in the Coshocton Tribune (local newspaper), Irish Story Playhouse, Spaceports & Spidersilk, joyful!, Illuminata, Living Dead Press, and Common Threads (The Ohio Poetry Associations Literary Journal!).

I've also had the story that was in the Illuminata e-zine accepted as a reprint for Golden Visions Magazine's online July issue. They're also considering a couple more of my stories.

It's 11pm on a Saturday night, where are you?

Hmmm, probably sleeping. Unless we have a movie to watch that we consider too grown up (you know, swearing, violence, etc. We love action movies!) for our 5 year old. Then I would be sitting in front of the TV having a mini-date with the hubby.

But, if it's a REAL date night (Yes, we still have those). I might not even be home. Especially during the summer. Us country folk tend to find friends and stand around outside talking until the early morning hours.

What are your favorite things to watch on TV?

We love to watch Bones, NCIS, and Warehouse 13 (new season starts June 6 on SyFy, I'm soooooo excited!).

I also watch a good bit of the History and Discovery Channel.

Where else can readers find you besides Soft Whispers? (site, Twitter, etc.)

Facebook and I have my own domain: www.rebeccabesser.com

On my site I have a funny story posted, with a wav of me reading the end of it. I also have links to where my writing has appeared, and I keep my submissions count and upcoming appearances in publications as updated as possible.

I have a blog too: blog.rebeccabesser.com

There isn't much there at the moment, as I'm not much of a blogger. I might be holding some contests on my blog in a month or so. I plan to give away a couple of the anthos I've edited. I'll be sure to let you know when that is going on, so you can post something. Wouldn't want anyone to miss out on a free book, now would we? Who knows, maybe I'll spot one to you to give out as a prize for something on Soft Whispers. That would be really cool!

What was the last book you read?

Last book I read was Rise of the Dead by Anthony Giangregorio.

My fav authors are Jean M. Auel and Linda Rios Brook.

What are your plans for 2010?

Plans. . . that could be anything. Writing goals. . . I wanted to do 150 submissions this year. I'm up to 96. I've also been dreaming of being in an anthology, and now I'm in multiple anthos!

I have a couple book projects brewing. Hoping to get something done before the end of the year, which is HIGHLY doable! Should be able to do quite a bit with half the year still to come!

Life plans. Spending time with my fam, fishing, enjoying other summer things, etc. Should be fun.

To read Becca's winning story, FATHER'S REVENGE, click here to read Issue Five of Soft Whispers!

Interview with April's Pic 1 k winner - CYNTHIA SCHUERR!

*What inspired the story (other than the picture)?* I love the romance of covered bridges, always have. The true inspiration, however, was the movie, The Bridges of Madison County, starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood. I have always had a soft spot for lovers who were meant to be, but just couldn't seem to make it work. In my story, The Bridge of Dreams and Choices, my characters do make it work. Maybe, I am finally maturing. :-) *How long did it take to write?* I wrote it longhand, in roughly an hour. It wasn't until the next morning that I typed it up and gave it a final edit. *Have you had anything else published? If so, where?* Yes, I have a short story published in The Twelve Days of Christmas 2009 Anthology, a short story called, To Catch A Glimpse and many poems within the first four issues of Soft Whispers. I also have my Haiku published in the Soft Whispers Haiku Anthology. *Do you have a site? Facebook? Twitter? How can people follow you?* I do, Jim, thanks for asking! You can find me at http://www.theheartofwriting.blogspot.com/. I am also on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/cindyschuerr and twitter http://www.twitter.com/cswriter59. *What are your plans for 2010?* My plans are to keep writing. I have a trilogy that I am working on called, A Sentimental Journey. I am planning to have Book One published in the fall of this year. Wish me luck!:-)

You can read Cindy's winning story, The Bridge of Dreams and Choices here!

Interview with the February Pic 1 k winner, Laura Eno!

What was your inspiration for your Pic 1 k story, Seaweed? (Other than the picture!) Laughing – it really was the picture. I am often inspired by water so when I saw the sand and water I just knew that I had to write a story. The empty shoes spoke to me of yearning and loss. They seemed abandoned. How long did it take to write? Not very long, under an hour. Stories like that seem to write themselves. What are your favorite stories that you have written and where can we read them? My favorite story is always the next one that I'm going to write! I participate in #fridayflash, so you can find a new flash fiction story on my blog every Friday at http://lauraeno.blogspot.com/ Do you have anything being published in 2010? I have stories in several anthologies coming out this year from Pill Hill Press and Lame Goat Press. I am also involved in a thrilling collaborative work called Chinese Whisperings – The Yin Book, coming out in Oct 2010. You can read more about it at http://chinesewhisperings.com/ Where can we read more of your work? The easiest way to track my work is in the bar on the right side of my blog. It has a list of stories that are in both print and online editions, along with their links. I am thrilled to be chosen for this interview for Soft Whispers, Jim. Thank you for providing this wonderful venue for writers to showcase their work and for all of the effort that you put into it! Read SEAWEED in Issue Two of Soft Whispers along with all the other great stories, poetry, and pictures/art. And in case you didn't know, Soft Whispers is FREE! Issue Two

Interview with Maria Kelly

January's Pic 1 k winner! I will start this by saying THANK YOU to the those who sent in stories for Pic 1 k last month. I received 6 stories which was more than I had expected for such a new program. I'm hoping that as more people see what those 6 writers came up wtih, they will participate. . . BUT on to January's winner, Maria Kelly. Her story, Archangel of Downward Spiral, was chosen as the Pic 1 k winner and as her prize, here is our interview with her: What was your inspiration for your Pic 1 k story, The Archangel of Downward Spiral? As soon as I saw the picture, I knew she was an angel. And not just an angel, but one of the most powerful: an Archangel. Her torn wings said to me "she is an angel that guards the way to hell and tries to rescue those who she can. How long did it take you to write? It took me one day to write this story. It took me considerably longer to edit it. Have you any other published works that readers can check out? This is my first real fiction publication. Woohoo! I have self-published some other poetry and science fiction drabbles (100 word stories) on my blog: Identified Flying Lenticulars. I am also currently publishing a serial fantasy story on the site based on the "The Frog Prince" fairy tale but from the frog's point of view. So what are your plans for 2010? Anything going on? I just enrolled in college to start pursuing my BA in English. Getting a late start on this, but better late than never. I am doing NaNoWriMo for the first time this year and am furiously planning my November masterpiece. My NaNo writer name is waning_gibbous, in honor of H.P. Lovecraft. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=name&id=654521789 http://twitter.com/mkelly317 http://identifiedflyinglenticulars.blogspot.com/

What the heck is "Pic 1 k"?????

I once read that one of my idols, Jim Morrison, used to conduct self interviews. I read some of them and it seems interesting. I’m going to do the same here but not to figure out my life’s purpose or to have a record of what it’s like to trip on LSD or something, but rather to explain the entire back story to Soft Whispers and the new programs. Those who have followed Soft Whispers since it started almost a year ago have seen some wild changes. Those who have followed me or know me know that I think fast, act fast, and always go big. With that said, I realize that sometimes my ideas always don’t convey out the way I want them to because I’m already working on the next project. Is it a flaw? Sure. Am I working on it? Sure. So let’s get down to business. When you jump over to the submissions page, you see a whole list of fun stuff. . . but my oh my, where to start? Well, first, the list is crazy because I want this publication to be different. I want it to be fun, exciting, and maybe a little challenging for those who submit to it. I personally believe the best creativity is the one you don’t expect to happen and my best example with that is Friday Flash. . . the phemon that occurs every Friday. Write a flash story and post it, Tweet it, and read ‘em all. It’s creativity at its best and stirs everything up. . . I couldn’t imagine my life without it. AND I have had some of my Friday Flash stories published which is an even better feeling! Let’s look at the program called Pic 1 k: What is it? The simple way to explain it: A picture is posted on the 1st of the month. You write a story 1,000 words or less about the picture and submit it by the 20th of the month. Where did the idea come from? It came from the old saying “A picture is worth a thousand words”. . . my challenge? PROVE IT! You look at a picture and think of the story behind it. How cool is that? Not to mention the fact that different people will see different things and write about different things. How many stories will you publish each month? The top four stories will be published on the blog. The top two will be published in the issue. AND the top story will receive an interview with the author. It may not be much, but come on, it’s something! :) How should someone submit? Send the story to softwhisperssubmissions@gmail.com with Pic 1 k in the subject line. PLEASE throw in a SHORT bio and we will respond as quick as we can. So why should someone bother with this? Because I said so! J But in reality, it’s just a fun little program to participate in and is another chance to get something out there – to get something seen – to get something published. . . and it’s just a little more practice for your writing. Final thoughts? Check out the picture for this month’s Pic 1 k and see what happens. If you get an idea, run with it. If not, check back next month. Ultimately I would like to have my inbox swimming with stories. . . and then I’ll probably add more published ones to the site and the publication because I hate to send something away. Oh, and finally, if you have a question about this or anything that we’re doing on Soft Whispers. . . email us at softwhisperssubmissions@gmail.com!