Rat on a Roundabout

In time for the next ebook, Ratty has been coaxed back into the picture, or onto the horse, at least. He's looking a little stiff and neither right nor left, but I feel sure that the rocking motion and jingle-jangle of the carousel will lighten him up and have him back on the job he was born for: seducing readers into buying Rosa Mira Books while having as much fun as possible.

The merry-go-round horse alludes to Rosa Mira Books' next publication, a collection of three short stories by Dunedin writer Sue Wootton. Sue is a poet and fiction writer of flair, precision, wit and depth, the author of three volumes of poetry, most recently By Birdlight. She was Robert Burns Fellow in creative writing at Otago University in 2008 and has won numerous awards and accolades for her work. Her collection, The Happiest Music on Earth, will inaugurate Rosa Mira's 10k series. The rat will give a few more hints about Sue's stories soon.

Meanwhile, it's great news that the New Zealand Post Book Awards are now accepting original ebooks to be judged alongside hard copy titles. It seems important to step up and enter Rosa Mira's one eligible title for this year.

As for the 10K series, if you're a writer, do consider making a submission, and thanks to those who've done so already. If you're a reader, follow the rat.

10,000-word submissions sought

The rat's gone AWOL. I tried to rustle him up the other night but the pen ran amok, creating flaccid ratoids with too-long limbs, bread-board faces and doorstop tails. So, for now, here's a cousin — Rat Ascendant who brought birthday wishes across the Tasman last week from my brother Hugh, creator of the Rosa Mira Books website.

This week has seen some happy work on Rosa Mira's next two books (a memoir and a short collection of short stories). Actually, the stories are the first of the slim ebooks (if 'slim' can be applied to digital texts) that I'll call the 10K series. I plan to publish writings of around 10,000 words, whether that be three or four short stories, a piece of fiction, memoir, or an essay.

I'd like to receive submissions. It might be a potent extract from a novel that would otherwise not see the light of day; it might be the writer working over some matter they feel strongly about; the story of a relationship, or a meditation on the contents of the top drawer. Really, the sky's the limit — but I'd love to see some terrific writing. In the first instance, I'll ask for three lines in synopsis and three pages of writing. If in doubt, send me a query. Use the email link under Submissions on this page.

Pass it on.

In my next blog, I'll tell you about the up-coming story collection.