“Hands of Glass Upon Her Onyx Flesh”
by Eric Del Carlo
The teleprez psychoanalyst turned to pixelated vapor, leaving Iona alone in her ‘down with the reassuring words: It is safe to go outside.
Continue reading Microfiction: Hands of Glass Upon Her Onyx Flesh by Eric Del Carlo
Halloween at home. Curled up on the couch with the lights down low. Mini horror movie marathons. Sexting with your partner(s) instead of Netflix and chill. It’s all going to look a little different this year. Too early, you say? Never. Halloween is every day for this editor. So in the spirit of getting a jump on things – pun intended – I’m putting out the 2020 Circlet Press Halloween Microfictions call for submissions a little early this year.
The same rules apply with one little twist. Since everything is a hell fire this year let’s try and keep things positive. That means every submission needs to have either a HEA (Happily Ever After), or at least hint at an HEA. But they must still fit into the theme of Halloween/Autumn/October/Horror, and also be erotic as well as story/character driven. If you are unfamiliar with Circlet Press please have a look around our website to get a sense of what we do.
As always, I especially encourage marginalized voices to send a submission. BIPOC, disabled, neurodivergent, and LGBTQ+ folks especially, though all are welcome to submit.
Word count limit is 1,500. No fan fiction. No reprints. All characters must be of legal age to consent and consent must be clear within the story. Multiple submissions are okay. Please send as a Word doc or RTF (or in the body of the email) and follow standard manuscript formatting guidelines.
The deadline is September 30th. Payment will be $5 for stories under 1,000 words and $10 for stories 1,000 words to 1,500 words. Author retains all rights. Please include a short bio with your submission. Send submissions to jwsubs13@gmail.com
Pumpkin spice lattes. Autumn chills. Cemeteries by moonlight. Halloween season is nigh and that means it’s time for the annual Circlet Press Halloween microfictions. We want your best spooky and sexy flash fiction and microfictions. We strongly encourage diversity and would love to see that represented in both the stories and in our authors. Give us queer, non-binary, trans, aromantic/asexual, disability centered, neurodivergent, and people of color. Straight and cisgendered are welcome too, of course. Please don’t self-reject. We’re happy to read any story that fits within our guidelines.
So what are the guidelines? Glad you asked! Circlet Press publishes erotic science fiction, fantasy, and horror. For our Halloween microfictions we like to receive stories up to 1500 words. The Halloween theme is a loose interpretation. We want anything in the spectrum from hot monster sex to simple cozy curled up by the fire stories. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box. The stories do not have to be specific to Halloween but should at least fit in with the mood of autumn.
Horror stories and comedy are more than welcome but please make sure that consent between sexual partners is explicit. All characters engaging in sexual acts must be of legal age. A happy ending is not necessary however please note that I generally do not accept stories where one lover murders the other. Also, no fan fiction please. And no reprints.
The deadline for submissions is October 1st. Please include a short bio. Payment is $5 and the author retains all rights. You may send submissions to jwsubs13@gmail.com as either a Word doc or in the body of the email.
“Mirrorman”
by Eric Del Carlo
The saving grace of Syd’s dingy studio apartment in a dilapidated building, which stood in a hardscrabble neighborhood was this: the enormous mirror. One wall of the single room was his “kitchen”; his bed went in the only space where it would fit; and the big sliding door of his closet was opposite the bed.
Someone at some point had faced that entire door in mirroring glass. It was as high as the ceiling and covered the whole wall.
“Fathoms Untold”
by TS Porter
Pearl Gleam the Huntress led her pod on their yearly migration. She was one of the largest of the Sea Peoples, and where most decorated themselves with bright shells and pearls, she wore strange armor fashioned from the carapaces of giant abyssal crabs. She was as long as an oarfish, faster than a mako shark, and her notched fins and the many scars on her arms and down the length of her tail proved her prowess as a warrior. Her pod trusted her to protect them, and protect them she did on their long journey, more often breaking the current at the head of the pod than swimming in any easier position.
“Her Two Lovers”
by Lara Alsonso Corona
Rose caressed the newly formed scar across Del’s thigh, his finger making a gesture the equivalent of a deep sigh, gently prodding the new star in this familiar constellation to gauge the extent of the damage.
Continue reading Microfiction: Her Two Lovers by Lara Alonso Corona
“Black Hole-Bookshop Boy”
by A.C. Quill
It’s been a tough day, but I’m becoming a good counselor. I try to hang on to that optimism as I weave between the High Street shoppers: a kid who crackles with crimson anger; a businessman who’s bearing a radiant golden grudge.
I pause to peer through the window of my favourite bookshop. Inside, a young man is unboxing hardbacks, graceful and precise. The satin back of his waistcoat is straining. He’s tweedy, floppy-fringed, tempting. My beautiful black-hole bookshop boy.
Continue reading Microfiction: Black-Hole Bookshop Boy by A.C. Quill
It might be HOT, HOT, HOT outside but here at Circlet Press we’re already thinking autumn thoughts and you know what that means! It’s time to submit your spooky/sexy/scary October microfictions and flash fiction. As in years past, these microfictions will be posted on our website during the month of October leading up to Halloween. Payment is $5 and you retain all rights.
Details:
Stories can be any length up to 1500 words. No reprints. No excerpts from novels. Multiple submissions are okay.
All stories must be erotic and fit within the theme. All gender pairings are welcome and we strongly encourage marginalized writers to submit work to us. All stories must also be sex positive.
DO NOT:
Send stories where underage characters engage in sexual acts.
Send fan fiction with or without the serial numbers filed off.
Send stories where the consent is ambiguous or takes place after the act. Consent MUST be apparent BEFORE the sexual act.
Send demon summoning stories.
Send stories set at Halloween parties that focus on sexy costumes.
Send me stories longer than 1500 words.
Send me stories with no erotic content.
Send me stories where lovers kill each other.
Send stories where witches are evil monsters.
Send stories set inside haunted attractions.
DO:
Think outside the box. The theme here is pretty broad. We want stories that are erotic that also fit into horror/autumn/Halloween. Send us stories that celebrate the season in some way. Scare us while turning us on. Give us period pieces or pieces set in the far future. Make us think of leaves crunching underfoot, the smell of wood smoke carried on chill air, and harvest festivals in preparation for the dead of winter. Do this in a way that celebrates physical pleasure. A happy ending is not necessary though please bear in mind that I will not accept any stories where lovers murder each other in cold blood. Humorous stories are okay too so long as they fit with the theme.
Please send submissions to jwsubs13@gmail.com as either a Word doc or in the body of the email. Please also include a short bio. Deadline is October 1st.
“The Muse’s Music”
by Michael M. Jones
Ask Diana what her favorite instrument is, and the answer might surprise you. After a few thousand years, she’s heard them all, from the pan pipes to the theremin, from the harp to the saxophone. Mastered them, too. The one-time muse of music, the once-called Euterpe, who now owns a club named for her and plays at being human. But of all the many instruments she loves the piano most of all. The feel of the keys, the range of harmony, the energy. (Ask her about Billy Joel, about Liberace, about Chopin, about Thelonious Monk. Diana has enjoyed many identities over the years. Music calls to her, not specific bodies.)
Continue reading Microfiction: The Muse’s Music by Michael M. Jones
“A Trilling Song at Twilight”
by Natasha Leullier
A bird of steel grey alighted by the woman’s clenched fist. With deft claws it pried apart her delicate fingers and picked at the desiccated flowers within.
“Strange food for your journey,” said the bird.
Continue reading Microfiction: A Trilling Song at Twilight by Natasha Leullier