So much work has gone into this! I'm proud to present the final cover for The Midnight Diner 3 edited by yours truly.
What do you think?
Showing posts with label Coach's Midnight Diner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coach's Midnight Diner. Show all posts
Friday, August 6, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Neglected by Choice
Most of you out there in blogland also follow me on Twitter or Facebook so you probably already know why this blog has sat dorment for a month. The rest of you, maybe sponsors I've just started building relationships with or new readers should understand this isn't typical at all.
Here's the recap of the last month:
April 14th: I headed to Calvin Festival of Faith and Writing to represent Relief Journal and The Midnight Diner as the new president of the company that publishes them, ccPublishing.
On the way there, my sister called me concerned with my mom's health.
April 16th: My dad's birthday, mom was hospitalized. I was still at the conference.
April 20th: Doctors find a 5cm brain tumor in mom.
April 24th: My parent's 39th wedding anniversary, mom has brain surgery. Doctors diagnose her with Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma. (We canceled our trip to our grandson's first birthday party in Missouri to be at the hospital for mom's surgery.)
April 26: Phil's step-dad, the only dad he's known because his dad died in an auto accident when Phil was a year old, is diagnosed with lung cancer, has a large tumor in his lung and the cancer has wrapped around his spine and nearly severed a vertebrae.
April 29th: We leave for Missouri.
April 30th: Phil's step-dad has surgery to remove the lung tumor and part of the spinal cancer.
May 3rd: Phil's step-dad has surgery again, this time to put in an artificial vertebrae.
May 6th: Phil's daughter puts on a second-first birthday party for our grandson! :)
May 7th: Mom has an IV bubble put in her brain for chemo.
May 8th: Back to Indiana.
May 9th: Mother's Day, I spent the day with mom at the hospital.
May 10th: Mom's chemo started.
And here we are. I've been at a hospital nearly every single day since April 20th. Thank goodness for friends who are willing to help out with Popinjay (and will continue to help!) until things are a little less frantic around here. I've made some commitments to a couple sponsors and I'll be catching up on those posts soon as well as trying to participate in Popinjay. I might even get to post a blog or two with thought on this past month. You all know how much I loathe cancer for taking my best friend, Jill.
Amber said something when this all started, I can't remember when it was, but she said something about all this stuff hitting right after some very good things happened in my life regarding God. I can't help but think she's right. That's the idea I need to explore. Am I cursed or blessed? I've posted about that before with a lighter tone, but after several writer's conferenced and critique partners who've mentioned the fact that I might well be cursed--I might just believe it. LOL
Here's the recap of the last month:
April 14th: I headed to Calvin Festival of Faith and Writing to represent Relief Journal and The Midnight Diner as the new president of the company that publishes them, ccPublishing.
On the way there, my sister called me concerned with my mom's health.
April 16th: My dad's birthday, mom was hospitalized. I was still at the conference.
April 20th: Doctors find a 5cm brain tumor in mom.
April 24th: My parent's 39th wedding anniversary, mom has brain surgery. Doctors diagnose her with Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma. (We canceled our trip to our grandson's first birthday party in Missouri to be at the hospital for mom's surgery.)
April 26: Phil's step-dad, the only dad he's known because his dad died in an auto accident when Phil was a year old, is diagnosed with lung cancer, has a large tumor in his lung and the cancer has wrapped around his spine and nearly severed a vertebrae.
April 29th: We leave for Missouri.
April 30th: Phil's step-dad has surgery to remove the lung tumor and part of the spinal cancer.
May 3rd: Phil's step-dad has surgery again, this time to put in an artificial vertebrae.
May 6th: Phil's daughter puts on a second-first birthday party for our grandson! :)
May 7th: Mom has an IV bubble put in her brain for chemo.
May 8th: Back to Indiana.
May 9th: Mother's Day, I spent the day with mom at the hospital.
May 10th: Mom's chemo started.
And here we are. I've been at a hospital nearly every single day since April 20th. Thank goodness for friends who are willing to help out with Popinjay (and will continue to help!) until things are a little less frantic around here. I've made some commitments to a couple sponsors and I'll be catching up on those posts soon as well as trying to participate in Popinjay. I might even get to post a blog or two with thought on this past month. You all know how much I loathe cancer for taking my best friend, Jill.
Amber said something when this all started, I can't remember when it was, but she said something about all this stuff hitting right after some very good things happened in my life regarding God. I can't help but think she's right. That's the idea I need to explore. Am I cursed or blessed? I've posted about that before with a lighter tone, but after several writer's conferenced and critique partners who've mentioned the fact that I might well be cursed--I might just believe it. LOL
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
I'm Editor-in-Chief!!
Did you hear the good news?
You can watch it here (1:04 of 2:00 minutes) or I can just tell you...
I am now Editor-in-Chief of The Midnight Diner!!
If you're interested in submitting, read Relief Fiction Editor, Chris Fisher's, series: What Happens in This Story, I Know What Happens, but Who Really Cares, and Is This the Best I Can Do? If you're going to be lazy and read just one, then let it be the last one.
After you read Chris' superb advice--Follow the guidelines:
Third Edition of The Midnight Diner Submissions are Open!
The Midnight Diner is a hardboiled genre anthology with a Christian slant. No ABA restrictions on God, no CBA restrictions on reality. Didactic preachy works are dismissed unceremoniously; we're looking for high quality works that are uncompromising in craft, content, and quality.
Submissions for the third edition of The Midnight Diner are now open at the Relief Writer's Network. Here's what we're looking for; please read carefully. Submissions that are completely out of gamut will be subject to ridicule and immediate rejection.
1. Unpublished Short Fiction up to 10,000 words. Simultaneous submissions okay, but you need to pull your submission ASAP if it gets accepted elsewhere.
2. Submissions are only accepted via the Online Submission System at the Relief Writers Network. www.reliefjournal.com Absolutely NO email or snail mail read or even remotely considered unless your name is Stephen King and you wrote The Stand. Anne Rice, Neil Gaiman, and F. Paul Wilson are also exceptions. Everybody else, get with the program. There's a big button at the top of this website that says Submit Your Writing. If you email me asking where the link is, expect severe sarcasm.
3. Categories for Submisisons are:
Category Examples (for clarification only)
Horror - Stephen King, Anne Rice, Dean Koontz, Peter Straub
UFO/Aliens - X-Files, Fringe, Coast To Coast AM
Conspiracy Millennium - X-Files, Fringe, Coast To Coast AM
Hardboiled - Detective/Crime Raymond Chandler, Janet Evanovich, F. Paul Wilson
That One That Happens in Diner - All categories - just has to happen in a diner
Jesus Vs. Cthulhu - No posers. If you're submitting in this category, you had better be familiar with Lovecraft or Derleth's work, and the piece should reflect it.
Paranormal/Archetypal Exploration Neil Gaiman, C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton
Weird Western- Cowboys and Indians meet something weird
Weird War - In honor of all our soldiers in all branches of the armed forces
Monster Stories - Dracula, Frankenstein, Godzilla, Buffy - yes, you can submit your
Christian vampire story here
Adventure - Indiana Jones, Dan Brown
Shatner On A Plane - Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Night Gallery
Note: Combinations of Genres are encouraged. For example, a hardboiled detective investigating a paranormal crime, or a monster story that has a Twilight Zone twist. You may and probably should select multiple categories when submitting your work.
4. Compensation: Three Editor's Choice awards will be selected. Prize money for Editor's Choice is a hundred bucks. All categories are eligible. Everybody else gets their names up on Amazon, a contributor's copy, bragging rights, and the possibility of being on the Diner staff for the next edition. Approximately 21 stories will be selected for publication.
5. No hardcore sci-fi. I don't want to read stories that I have to learn a new vocabulary or solar system for. I don't want to read about what happened after the fourth war for Alpha Centuari, Beta Centauri, or any other Centauri. Besides, you can't fit a starship into a Diner. Other places are more suited for these genres, i.e. the incredible site at raygunrevivial.com for Sci-fi helmed by Diner-approved editor Johne Cook.
6. No sword-and-sorcery fantasy. Do you know what happens when you let ogres and trolls in Diners? You will be billed for any messes they make.
7. Know what we've published in the last edition. The Diner is available on Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, and of course on the Relief store.
8. Spiritual warfare is allowed, but should have an original twist. Absolutely no shining swords - you can poke somebody's eye with one of those in a diner, and we don't have the insurance for that sort of thing.
9. The Diner is not for children, or the faint of heart. Jesus dressed up as Thor, a whore who moonlights as an exorcist, a bouncer at a strip club, and more offbeat characters were regulars in the first edition of the Diner. This is not Guideposts or your Sunday School quarterly. Pansy sanitized work will be unceremoniously dismissed. Do not send me work where gangbangers say things like, "Golly gee, Beav, what ever are we going to do with this swell crack?"
10. Submissions will tentatively close December 1, 2009. Do not send queries. Submit your work.
11. Release Date for the third edition of Coach's Midnight Diner is April 2010. The Third Edition will be available in print, soft cover and perfect bound in a 7"ishx10"ish trim size at Amazon.com, BarnesAndNoble.com, and several other venues. It will also be available in Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader format.
Sit down, order some coffee, and let's see what you've got. Give me your best shot.
Your Midnight Waitress,
Michelle Pendergrass
Editor-In-Chief | Coach's Midnight Diner
You can watch it here (1:04 of 2:00 minutes) or I can just tell you...
I am now Editor-in-Chief of The Midnight Diner!!
If you're interested in submitting, read Relief Fiction Editor, Chris Fisher's, series: What Happens in This Story, I Know What Happens, but Who Really Cares, and Is This the Best I Can Do? If you're going to be lazy and read just one, then let it be the last one.
After you read Chris' superb advice--Follow the guidelines:
Third Edition of The Midnight Diner Submissions are Open!
The Midnight Diner is a hardboiled genre anthology with a Christian slant. No ABA restrictions on God, no CBA restrictions on reality. Didactic preachy works are dismissed unceremoniously; we're looking for high quality works that are uncompromising in craft, content, and quality.
Submissions for the third edition of The Midnight Diner are now open at the Relief Writer's Network. Here's what we're looking for; please read carefully. Submissions that are completely out of gamut will be subject to ridicule and immediate rejection.
1. Unpublished Short Fiction up to 10,000 words. Simultaneous submissions okay, but you need to pull your submission ASAP if it gets accepted elsewhere.
2. Submissions are only accepted via the Online Submission System at the Relief Writers Network. www.reliefjournal.com Absolutely NO email or snail mail read or even remotely considered unless your name is Stephen King and you wrote The Stand. Anne Rice, Neil Gaiman, and F. Paul Wilson are also exceptions. Everybody else, get with the program. There's a big button at the top of this website that says Submit Your Writing. If you email me asking where the link is, expect severe sarcasm.
3. Categories for Submisisons are:
Category Examples (for clarification only)
Horror - Stephen King, Anne Rice, Dean Koontz, Peter Straub
UFO/Aliens - X-Files, Fringe, Coast To Coast AM
Conspiracy Millennium - X-Files, Fringe, Coast To Coast AM
Hardboiled - Detective/Crime Raymond Chandler, Janet Evanovich, F. Paul Wilson
That One That Happens in Diner - All categories - just has to happen in a diner
Jesus Vs. Cthulhu - No posers. If you're submitting in this category, you had better be familiar with Lovecraft or Derleth's work, and the piece should reflect it.
Paranormal/Archetypal Exploration Neil Gaiman, C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton
Weird Western- Cowboys and Indians meet something weird
Weird War - In honor of all our soldiers in all branches of the armed forces
Monster Stories - Dracula, Frankenstein, Godzilla, Buffy - yes, you can submit your
Christian vampire story here
Adventure - Indiana Jones, Dan Brown
Shatner On A Plane - Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Night Gallery
Note: Combinations of Genres are encouraged. For example, a hardboiled detective investigating a paranormal crime, or a monster story that has a Twilight Zone twist. You may and probably should select multiple categories when submitting your work.
4. Compensation: Three Editor's Choice awards will be selected. Prize money for Editor's Choice is a hundred bucks. All categories are eligible. Everybody else gets their names up on Amazon, a contributor's copy, bragging rights, and the possibility of being on the Diner staff for the next edition. Approximately 21 stories will be selected for publication.
5. No hardcore sci-fi. I don't want to read stories that I have to learn a new vocabulary or solar system for. I don't want to read about what happened after the fourth war for Alpha Centuari, Beta Centauri, or any other Centauri. Besides, you can't fit a starship into a Diner. Other places are more suited for these genres, i.e. the incredible site at raygunrevivial.com for Sci-fi helmed by Diner-approved editor Johne Cook.
6. No sword-and-sorcery fantasy. Do you know what happens when you let ogres and trolls in Diners? You will be billed for any messes they make.
7. Know what we've published in the last edition. The Diner is available on Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, and of course on the Relief store.
8. Spiritual warfare is allowed, but should have an original twist. Absolutely no shining swords - you can poke somebody's eye with one of those in a diner, and we don't have the insurance for that sort of thing.
9. The Diner is not for children, or the faint of heart. Jesus dressed up as Thor, a whore who moonlights as an exorcist, a bouncer at a strip club, and more offbeat characters were regulars in the first edition of the Diner. This is not Guideposts or your Sunday School quarterly. Pansy sanitized work will be unceremoniously dismissed. Do not send me work where gangbangers say things like, "Golly gee, Beav, what ever are we going to do with this swell crack?"
10. Submissions will tentatively close December 1, 2009. Do not send queries. Submit your work.
11. Release Date for the third edition of Coach's Midnight Diner is April 2010. The Third Edition will be available in print, soft cover and perfect bound in a 7"ishx10"ish trim size at Amazon.com, BarnesAndNoble.com, and several other venues. It will also be available in Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader format.
Sit down, order some coffee, and let's see what you've got. Give me your best shot.
Your Midnight Waitress,
Michelle Pendergrass
Editor-In-Chief | Coach's Midnight Diner
Friday, June 6, 2008
Editor Stuff, Advice, Pet Peeves
This first go at Coach's Midnight Diner has been enlightening, to say the least. Submissions are closed for this round and now comes the hard part. Deciding.
Reading while submissions were open was not as difficult as deciding which stories I like enough to publish. The Diner is a team effort, but when my name is on something, I hold myself personally accountable for the content. Which means I've taken seriously the effort I've put forth. It'd be nice if authors gave me the same respect.
I'm developing pet peeves, too. Since I'm opinionated, that's probably scary. Not like I didn't have anything to complain about before today. But the list is growing.
This editing thing is a massive beast of self-esteem pointing right back to my own work. But there's fun to be had in the learning of these lessons.
Reading while submissions were open was not as difficult as deciding which stories I like enough to publish. The Diner is a team effort, but when my name is on something, I hold myself personally accountable for the content. Which means I've taken seriously the effort I've put forth. It'd be nice if authors gave me the same respect.
- For God's sake, read the damn guidelines. I don't care if you've submitted to The Diner or a hundred other publications. How can you call yourself an author if you're throwing your work around without proper study of the guidelines? In my brain, albeit small, you get moved from serious author to hack and if you submit again I refuse to take you seriously.
- I've read this before, but it has become obvious to me that it needs to be said again. (And wow. Really. Are you that stupid?) Learn how to format your document, okay?
I'm developing pet peeves, too. Since I'm opinionated, that's probably scary. Not like I didn't have anything to complain about before today. But the list is growing.
- Don't write "You see," Ever.Again. EVER.
- Quit saying "screams in protest." Floorboards scream in protest. Broken femur bones scream in protest. The two-by-four I'm metaphorically using that beats the author blue, however, is not screaming in protest. It rather enjoys its purpose.
- Open your story with a dream--I'm rejecting you. I won't even read any further.
- Same goes with your character waking up in the morning as an opening.
This editing thing is a massive beast of self-esteem pointing right back to my own work. But there's fun to be had in the learning of these lessons.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Coach's Midnight Diner--Submissions Extended
Coach just announced Diner submissions will be extended to May 31st!
The announcement at Relief says:
The announcement at Relief says:
Diner Subs Open Until May 31
Submisisons for Coach's Midnight Diner will remain open until May 31st. After receiving some harried emails from folks we met at Calvin ("I just found out about the Diner! My story is almost finished but not quite! Can I please have more time?!?!?") I decided to go ahead and leave it open. So go ahead and finish your Shatner on a Plane story and get it in!
Monday, April 21, 2008
I Wonder.
I wonder.
When God starts moving and I start really listening, I wonder what it is he's trying to say. I have my ideas, these grandiose versions of The Plan, these little dots splattered on the atlas of my life, but they really hardly ever lead where I envision.
I go to a place like Calvin for their Festival of Faith & Writing and know within seconds that I'm somewhere I totally don't belong. Please don't get me wrong. It was a great conference, and I met fabulous people. But I'm not all that.
I can't say for sure the exact reason I went. Coach said the Relief team was going and it'd be great if I came and represented The Diner. So I did.
My worst habit is that I find a million things that bug me. I do it all the time. I'm relentless and ruthless in my head. Sometimes out loud. Most of the time in my head though. Things that bug me about conferences like this are (in no particular order):
Maybe they don't because they're too busy putting on a smile and watching that prospective agent from across the room. They can't read the sarcasm in my remarks because they've stopped listening, they're reading the lips of the editor that's talking with that prospective agent. They laugh that fake laugh like they're paying attention to me because I laughed, but I said that my grandfather was my least favorite person because he was fake and they didn't even catch that I was cutting them down. They push me aside with a tart, "Excuse me," as the agent makes his way near us. They push out their hands, shake with enthusiasm the agent's hand while speaking of high brow literary bullshit. And it's always funny to watch the agent regard them in the same way they just did me while the agent jokes with me about writing horror.
Or something like that.
And then I wonder what God meant by that.
When God starts moving and I start really listening, I wonder what it is he's trying to say. I have my ideas, these grandiose versions of The Plan, these little dots splattered on the atlas of my life, but they really hardly ever lead where I envision.
I go to a place like Calvin for their Festival of Faith & Writing and know within seconds that I'm somewhere I totally don't belong. Please don't get me wrong. It was a great conference, and I met fabulous people. But I'm not all that.
I can't say for sure the exact reason I went. Coach said the Relief team was going and it'd be great if I came and represented The Diner. So I did.
My worst habit is that I find a million things that bug me. I do it all the time. I'm relentless and ruthless in my head. Sometimes out loud. Most of the time in my head though. Things that bug me about conferences like this are (in no particular order):
- People who are fake.
- People who pretend they're listening but aren't.
- People who won't tell the truth.
- People who are pretentious and pompous.
- People who act differently in front of different people.
Maybe they don't because they're too busy putting on a smile and watching that prospective agent from across the room. They can't read the sarcasm in my remarks because they've stopped listening, they're reading the lips of the editor that's talking with that prospective agent. They laugh that fake laugh like they're paying attention to me because I laughed, but I said that my grandfather was my least favorite person because he was fake and they didn't even catch that I was cutting them down. They push me aside with a tart, "Excuse me," as the agent makes his way near us. They push out their hands, shake with enthusiasm the agent's hand while speaking of high brow literary bullshit. And it's always funny to watch the agent regard them in the same way they just did me while the agent jokes with me about writing horror.
Or something like that.
And then I wonder what God meant by that.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Things I Meant to Blog About But Ran Out of Time, Energy, or Just Plain Forgot
- Jen reads Randy Ingermanson's blog and he talks highly of this (free) Simple.ology course. Jen's been following the course and I haven't. I had decided to give it a shot, started it, and never got past day one. So I started again today. Which leads me to the next bullet point.
I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.
It covers:
- The best blogging techniques.
- How to get traffic to your blog.
- How to turn your blog into money.
I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free.
- Stephen King will appear on NBC Today January 22. If you have questions for Mr. King, see this blog.
- The premiere issue of Mused: The Bella Online Literary Review is live! Heather, one of my crit partners, has a great story in it. Did I mention I'm on the fiction editing team? Submissions are open for the next issue. Hurry and get your story in!
- Submissions are also open for Coach's Midnight Diner. Did I mention I was on the editing team of this one, too? Surely I did. :)
- Did you read about my newest venture? Send me an email
if you're interesting in purchasing one for yourself or someone special. Remember, they're totally customizable. Project Lifebook:
Part I
Part II
- I think that's it. But y'never know. I might be back later with more.
Friday, November 30, 2007
It's official
And now I'm more humbled than I was before. Coach announced the Editorial Team today for the second edition of Coach's Midnight Diner.
All joking aside, I am humbled like you wouldn't believe to be asked to be invited to the Diner, to have coffee with these amazing people. In my head, I list the reasons I shouldn't be invovled. The main one is always the fact that I don't feel qualified. I doubt that I'll ever feel like I deserve to be given a chance such as this, but I have, and I'm more grateful than words could express.
Head over to the read the full announcement and then get to writing and submitting! There are some great new categories as well as fabulous returning ones.
Back when Moses was in charge of handling all the issues that the children of Israel were wrestling, his father-in-law Jethro told him, "What the hell do you think you're doing? You're wearing yourself out, man! Go get some help!" Ok, so that's an official Coach Culbertson paraphrase, but the intent is the same. Being a relatively smart man, I decided to take Jethro's advice and recruit from the Diner alumni some colleagues to help man the kitchen of this strange out-of-the-way place.Providing heart for the team, awwww man. That makes me all weepy and sappy. Although, it also feels a little like that famous quote from the writer I adore: "People think that I must be a very strange person. This is not correct. I have the heart of a small boy. It is in a glass jar on my desk."
Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to some new members of the Coach's Midnight Diner Editorial Team:
- Kevin Lucia - Author of "The Way Station" from the first edition of the Diner, providing wit and speed for the team- http://www.kevinlucia.net
- Mike Duran - Author of "Polly's Muse" from the first edition, solving for the experience and wisdom side of the Diner equation- http://www.mikeduran.com
- Michelle Pendergrass - Bloggerina from the Misfits and Nanowrimo Spring Training Veteran, providing heart for the team- http://zanesmilkmachine.blogspot.com
- Vennessa Ng- Editor Extraordinaire, back for a second round of keeping Coach in line - http://www.aotearoaeditorial.com/
- Melody Graves, Author of "The Looking Glass" from the first edition, will be stepping up as our new Layout Editor - http://www.melodygraves.com
- and of course, your friendly neighborhood fry cook, Coach Culbertson
All joking aside, I am humbled like you wouldn't believe to be asked to be invited to the Diner, to have coffee with these amazing people. In my head, I list the reasons I shouldn't be invovled. The main one is always the fact that I don't feel qualified. I doubt that I'll ever feel like I deserve to be given a chance such as this, but I have, and I'm more grateful than words could express.
Head over to the read the full announcement and then get to writing and submitting! There are some great new categories as well as fabulous returning ones.
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