Works Published In 2012

Short Poems (1-49 lines):

• Orpheus Ascended From Hell, Eternal Haunted Summer, Winter Solstice 2012
• The Last Fate, Eternal Haunted Summer, Winter Solstice 2012
• The Light of Dreams, Mythic Delirium #27
• Scheherazade Tames the Desert, Space and Time Magazine #117 (Fall 2012)
• Hemera the Day, Eternal Haunted Summer, Autumn Equinox 2012
• Hemera's Honey, Eternal Haunted Summer, Autumn Equinox 2012
• A Metamorphosis of Dream, Ideomancer, September 2012
• The Forgotten God, The Pedestal Magazine
• The Apple Thief, Polu Texni, 2012
• Give Me Pluto,  Strange Horizon (ETA: Nominated for the Rhysling Award 2013 in the Short Poem category.)
• Feral Dream Orphanage, Jabberwocky 12, 2012
• The Slain, Polu Texni, 2012
• Kepler's Music, Strange Horizons
• A Hero's First Task, Kaleidotrope Summer 2012
  
• New Worlds, Abyss & Apex
• Anubis Whispers, Eternal Haunted Summer, 2012
• Hades, the Gatherer, Eternal Haunted Summer, 2012
• Errant Water, Star*Line35.2
• The Girl With Bees In Her Mouth, Star*Line 35.2
• The Golem on My Tongue, Goblin Fruit (Spring 2012)
• The Forest King,  Mythic Delirium #26 (The issue was reviewed by Brit Mandelo at Tor.com. Brit about The Forest King: "The call-and-response lyricism of the alternating stanzas between the forest king and the narrator is an effective vehicle for the potency of the poem, shaped as it is by traditions of myth and story-telling.")
• A Different Scheherazade, Mythic Delirium #26
• The Fall Queen, Bull Spec #7, 2012
• Binnorie, inkscrawl #3, 2012
• Cerberus, Seeking Lethe, Strange Horizons, 2012
• Becoming the Sea, NewMyths.com Issue 18, 2012
• This Desert In His Soul, Eternal Haunted Summer, Spring Equinox 2012
• Isis Conquers All, Eternal Haunted Summer, Spring Equinox 2012
• The Djinn's Wife and Her Mosaic of Wishes, Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine #53, 2012
• The Tally Of Forgotten Dreams Kept By Morpheus, Dreams & Nightmares #91, 2012

Short Stories:

• All the King's Horses, All the King's Men, Jabberwocky #16
  
• A Lie Written In Scarlet, Cabinet des Fées Scheherezade's Bequest #16, September 2012
• The Castle of Ashes, Red Penny Papers

Devil Rhymes

I found a little something in my Drawer of Things Unpublished; enjoy, Reader!

Devil Rhymes #1

By Alexandra Seidel

The devil, devil spoke to me, spoke to me, spoke to me

The devil, devil spoke to me ALL Sunday morning!

Hush you sinners, rabble, pigs, I'll dye you a scarlet Styx!

These crooked teeth, the crooked skin, your crooked smile--

Come let me in!

And fill your hands with berries sweet, berries sweet berries sweet

ALL Sunday morning!

(In the garden--quite contrary--

where DID that magpie go??)

How To Write A Cover Letter

This is not the first blog post ever written on cover letters, it probably won't be the last. Blame annoyed editors who are trying to channel their passive aggressive tendencies into something productive.

What is a cover letter supposed to do? Well, it accompanies your story or poem, and it is often the first thing an editor looks at. Mind you, the editor actually wants to see the story or poem, so a cover letter should not be distracting. Also, the editor is so curious to read said story or poem that they can't wait, so the cover letter should be brief.

Here I have to defer to Hal Duncan, because he did one better than this post and actually tweeted a professional cover letter:

"Dear X, pls find enclosed "Y" (ZK words) as a submission for Yr Mag. Thx 4 yr time & consideration. The end"

Like this, please.

If you are not sure who will read your submission, write "Dear Editor." If there is more than one editor (you can find stuff like that out by, you know, looking at the guidelines and browsing the zine's site for a couple of minutes), write "Dear Editors." If you know who will look at the sub, it is perfectly acceptable to address them by name (Dear Ms./Mr. X).

Do not ever address an editor with "Dear Sir or Madam." Just don't.

If it's a cover letter for a poem, you can include line and/or word count (with most sf/f markets, it is acceptable to omit this part altogether when you submit poetry as they will pay a fixed amount in case of acceptance.)

There is no need to give any sort of summary or background info. Say you have a poem or story that heavily relies on the myths and folklore of some small island somewhere. Interesting, but no need to mention it. The piece should always work on its own, your storytelling skills still need to be solid, no matter where your muse hails from. The editor will in most cases be able to tell that there is folklore or myth in there anyway, and if they have a specific question, they will get back to you. If you feel the editor won't be able to tell that folkloristic aspects are important to your writing, it might be better to consider another market altogether. (Reminder: stories and poems are supposed to work on their own merit.)