I'll be leaving this at the top of my journal until she's found and brought home.

This is my friends niece Alyssa and she's missing.

So I have been doing many things. Ahem.

p>Where I present, my very first collection ever.

Click the image to buy.

Here's the lowdown.

Short collection of prose and poetry by author Shannon Barber. Each work is presented to the reader with a short introduction about how the piece came about, all stories and poems are presented unedited and in the original state they were written.

My intention with this collection is to push back a little of the curtain between idea and what most readers get to see. I'm giving you a chunk of my writing raw and how it came out of my head. A few of the pieces are very old, written in my early 20's.

Each piece comes with a little bit about the writing of it. In some cases what I was going after and how I felt about it. I want this to be pleasurable for both average readers and for other writers.

Now it costs 4$ and honestly I don't suggest purchasing the plain text. Download the PDF or the ereader versions.

If you can't afford to buy a copy right now there are a million other ways you can support my little adventure.

If you're on Goodreads come be my friend at my brand spanking new shiny author page here.

You can like my Amazon author page, ask me questions and pass it along to your friends.

You can pass the smashwords link along to your friends. If you'd like to use my promo image in your blog or somewhere let me know and I'll write you some code. The image is hosted by me so don't worry about that.

Thank you very much friends. I've been

So that's what I've been doing.

Essays are awaiting the fine touch of my editor.

Now if y'all will excuse me I am hungover and sleepy and cranky.

Things are happening y'all.

So first the issue of the Battered Suitcase that has my riotgrrl essay is out now. You can read it free on the internets or pay 3$ for it. Find that here.

I put together a small 40 page collection of homeless writings. I also included a little intro to each piece about how or why I wrote it. In some cases when. I am trying something out and presenting this collection unedited and raw. I say why I did that in the afterward. That launches tomorrow. Ebook formats for 4$.

My essay collection is finished. It is awaiting editing by my friend. After that I'm putting it out via Lulu for I'm hoping about 8$. I want to keep the price low in order to keep it accessible.

I also have an author page at Amazon now thanks to Children Churches and Daddies. I'd forgotten that they immediately picked the piece of mine they ran as one to be included in the Autumn print issue. Go get it here.

What else?

OH the famous and fabulous fat blogger/artist Natalie Perkins did a portrait of me and I love it so much. That was one of the things on my bucket list. Look at how awesome it is.



I love it so much y'all don't even know. I wanted to cry I love it so much. I have always wanted to be a cartoon.

Uh..OH wait my first piece of non fiction sex writing is going to be published soon in Specter and I am so proud of this piece. So proud.

feeling kind of overwhelmed so I'm going to finish up my last few writing business tasks then write some literature fetish related porn because I need to calm down.

It also occurred to me last night that suddenly I feel like Indie Princess Barbie right now.

Pic dump coming soon. I have pictures of things to share.

Holy. Fucking. Shit. Y'all.

I have poetry in the Bellaonline Lit mag called Mused. http://www.bellaonline.com/review/issues/fall2011/p024.html

Also last night I proofed my essay that's in the next Battered Suitcase. This is an official Big. Deal. It's an essay about how much I felt out of place in Riotgrrl culture here in Seattle.

The editing on my essay was super light and seamlessly beautiful.

Uh.

I have been crocheting like a demon. I will post a picture dump next week when I get Uniballer to take pics. My wingspans on my shawls are too big for me to do it myself.

Um. yeah that's all.

I have new horror up at Death Head Grin. I'm quite pleased with that piece. It came from a non fiction prompt about telling the truth about your imperfections.

I am releasing a little collection of homeless words next week via smashwords.

I will be in the last issue of The Battered Suitcase. That feels weird but okay.

I'm listening to a shit load of darkwave. Heavy on the Lacrimonsa and Sopor Aeturnus.

I am about finished with one of the sadder stories I've ever written.

I have decided to keep track of my rejections for 1 year. Then this time next year put a list of them in my writing blog. I'm also going to be a bit more adventurous about submitting. More poetry, more non fiction.

Last week I got 4 rapid fire rejections. A couple very nice ones. I think that's all. I think I'm getting an ear infection because my ear is itching like a son of a bitch. Ugh.

My acceptance rate is slowly dying. Back down to 25%.

Pending responses for last 12 months: 9
Submissions sent last 12 months: 47
Submissions sent this month: 3
Acceptance ratio for the past 12 months: 25.00 %
Congratulations! Your overall acceptance ratio is higher than the average for users who have submitted to the same markets.

Current stats minute two pieces of non fiction-
Note: These statistics only include fiction and poetry submissions sent within the last 12 months.
Pending responses for last 12 months: 8
Submissions sent last 12 months: 45
Submissions sent this month: 1
Acceptance ratio for the past 12 months: 25.64 %
Congratulations! Your overall acceptance ratio is higher than the average for users who have submitted to the same markets.

Four slam bam rejections this week.

Two very complimentary. The Oshun story got rejected AGAIN and I decided I'm going to stop fucking around with my not story stories and put them out on smashwords as small collections of homeless prose.

Uh.

I'm going to have experimental cerebral (read no monsters) horror in Death Head Grin this month. Then there's the Riot Grrl essay that will be in some issue of The Battered Suitcase.

I'm kind of really fucking tired of giving people love who don't give it back. Not actual like romantic/friendship love but hey none of us are famous let's help each other out love.

I'm also really fucking tired of authors I used to talk to who only market to me now.

OH I also got poetry accepted LOLS. The Solstice issue of Bellaonline's lit mag Mused will have my senryu duet in it.

Um.

I made an editor uncomfortable with my lust and murder themed poems. They got rejected.

Uh.

Does anyone remember when I was in Open Wide Magazine? 01? 02?

If one more person recommends -wait someone who has actually read my work and knows me- that I write things I just don't do someone is getting shanked.

I'm bleeding like my uterus is trying to kill me and um yeah.

I think that's all. OH wait I'm also going to sell some affordable crocheted shawls. I'm obsessed with making shawls and I can't keep them all.

So yeah I'm going to eat some meat. Chase that with cheese and cranky.

I do. Watch me.


1. If you could live in any fictional world, which one would you choose and why?
Uh, right now I kinda think it would be Dune. I would be a rogue Bene Gesserit. Fo. Sho. Or I'd have to be a crazy mother fucker of a Fremen.

2. Humanity moves out of houses and back into the trees. How will you decorate your tree?
My tree will have lots of silky things inside. Bright pillows and bean bags and places to curl up. Many blankets. At least one room dedicated to crazy hard wood hand crafted sex toys. Bookshelves. You know the usual.


3. Assuming that cost was not a factor, what TV character would you hire to be Arie and Éiden's nanny?
Um..they are not my babies so I will say that I would gladly have a playdate with them. We could paint our nails dance and possibly engage in some noisy behavior.

4. When you were in elementary school, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a Burlesque queen, lawyer, Egyptologist, musician writer. Yes all of those things WITH a horde of adopted children, a farm and three husbands and two wives. No seriously I wrote it down pretty much just like that.

5. What should I eat for dinner?
Cupcakes. The answer is always cupcakes.

In other news all of my current pieces are still out. I still have the one weird maybe from a magazine that may or may not be closing.

So yeah. I see to have forgotten anything else I was going to say. I am so fucking tired right now. So tired.

I updated my author website. I added some new links. One to my Poets and Writers profile, one to Google+ uh..some other things.

I was partially trolled last week. some dudebro with an unfortunate hard on read ALL of my smut, no seriously all of it and got offended. I broke it down for him at wordpress.

I'm the featured author of the month at Freaky Fountain press. I am so happy they took that story I was thinking it was one of my too weird for anyone but me to like it. You do need a log in but they do not spam at all or anything.

Um..I probably mentioned this but I think after the essay project is done and out I'm going to shop an erotica collection to Freaky Fountain. Catherine did an honestly magnificent job editing Bite. I'm not going to think about a collection for right now though. I have shit to do.

I think that's all. I also have my acceptance rate just above 25% for a hot second and that's nice.

Life in the Shannonverse continues to be weird and stressful. I'm keeping my shit together as best I can and while no I'm not skipping and pooping glitter I'm doing all right. Most of the time. There are breaks for bitchnuts freakouts.

So yeah that.

No I haven't turned into Professor Farnsworth...yet.

I got a stellar acceptance from Freaky Fountain press. I'm going to be their featured piece this month. I'm very proud of the piece. It is a little bit of differently presented fem dom. It also involves biting and frottage.

And it's looking like once I wrap up the essay project I'm going to be shopping my first erotica collection to them.

The editor likes it raw and I like giving it to everyone raw.

Um...

I made my 40 submissions for the year goal. Will surpass it. I think I'm going for another 20 or so before I take my annual break.

Uh.

I've still not actually submitted any of my fantasy attempts anywhere. I have refinements to make. I'm still honestly not sure how my mythology remixing will go over with people.

I'm still stretching my ears. I'm pausing at 10 because I had a flaily accident and tore my left lobe a tiny bit so I'm going to wait for that to heal up before I move along to 8.

Uh.

The list of words I want tattooed on me is ever growing. Phersu is happening in March in Vegas. I'm extra flaily today and keep feeling like I'm punching my mouse into things. Don't ask.

Finger tattoos also need to happen. Both forefingers. Not sure when.

I want to get my nose pierced. Probably both nostrils.

That's all I think I'm so tired and I have work to do.

Bye y'all.

Back in January I believe I set myself a goal to submit more than twenty times this year.

As of about an hour ago I've made 40 submissions this year. A personal best.

Duotrope says this:
Submissions sent last 12 months: 40
Submissions sent this month: 6
Acceptance ratio for the past 12 months: 25.71 %
Congratulations! Your overall acceptance ratio is higher than the average for users who have submitted to the same markets.

And after digging through my email for some stuff, that number should be more like 46 submissions with a slightly lower acceptance rate. There are non fiction things going on too.

I also joined my first professional writing thing.

http://www.pw.org/content/shannon_barber I'm listed in Poets and Writers directory of writers.

What else?

Um. I am in the process of applying to the Erotic Authors Association and I may or may not join PEN.

My sleeping issues grow ever worse. Broken sleep=crazier shannon.

The essay book has been pushed back. I made the harder decision to include some raw hard things. Essays about my first memories of experiencing racism, being assaulted by some random girl when I was 13. Some other major things. Writing about them has been really hard but worth it.

Some of it is stuff I have never told another soul in all my life. It feels good.

Uh.

I think that's kind of all right now. I'm spent ad am working on a music related smutty story.

OH wait. wait wait. There is lots o free smut over in my wordpress blog now. http://shannonsdreams.wordpress.com/ and I had an erotic flasher featured at the erotic writers blog. http://eroticwriter.wordpress.com/2011/07/15/guest-post-his-first-by-shannon/

Holy fuckballs I'm fucking tired. That's really all.

I have two things coming out next month. Horror and non fiction.