Out now! Exit Ghost, by Jennifer R. Donohue

 My debut novel, EXIT GHOST, is now out in the world! 

You can order it in ebook on nearly platform, in hardcover through Bookshop.org (this is an affiliate link) or Amazon or your local indie! You can request your local library order it, because your local library does want to know what its patrons want to read, and probably have a request/suggestion form right on their website!

However you read Exit Ghost, be it through your own purchase or a library borrow, please do rate and/or review it on Amazon, and Goodreads

Preorder my DEBUT NOVEL Exit Ghost

 That's right, you heard it here first (if you didn't see it on Twitter, or Instagram, or hear it from me in person), I'm releasing my debut novel, Exit Ghost, on March 7, 2023!

I queried this novel for 2 years, starting right before the pandemic really kicked up stateside. Not the best timing on my part, with what otherwise would've been great timing; witchy books are/have been in, and this is a witchy book!

So what is it about?  Here's the cover copy:

After her father is murdered and an attempt is made on her life, New Jersey heiress and witch Juliet Duncan is supposed to be concentrating on getting better and moving forward. Instead, Jules summons her father's ghost using her blood and tears and his old rotary phone to answer the question: who did it? He reveals it was Hector, her dad’s best friend and her mom’s new fiancé.

Certain her life is still in danger, Jules flees the family estate to the Asbury Park apartment she shares with her best friend and fellow witch, Ashes. When another friend joins them, all three women get caught up with a secret boyfriend who’s also big into magic, but in all the wrong ways, all while Jules wrestles with whether her father’s ghost was telling the truth. But what Jules does know is that power has its cost, and she is more than willing to pay the price in order to get her revenge.

Where can you get it? Pretty much everywhere! I'm doing the ebook in my typical way, with distribution far and wide, and the hardcover is through IngramSpark, which means that bookstores and libraries who order through Ingram can just order it with no special considerations necessary. Indeed, I would be thrilled if you'd request your local library order it. A handy link where you can choose whatever digital store you please (and some physical stores) is here:

https://books2read.com/ExitGhost

It is already listed on both Goodreads and Storygraph, and if you do read it, I encourage (beg) you to rate and/or review it there and on Amazon!

Awards Eligibility 2022, Jennifer R. Donohue

I have had seven original short stories published in 2022 

"Every Quivering Fold of Flesh" was published by The Future Fire

"One to Sit in Judgement" was published by Air and Nothingness Press in The Spirit Machine

"Boys of Summer" was published by Corvid Queen

"Mistempered Weapons" was published by Kaleidotrope 

"A Country of Eternal Light" was published by Apex Magazine

"On What Wings" was published by Fusion Fragment

"Into the Dark" is in Issue 86 of Fantasy Magazine

Additionally, my novella The Drowned Heir is eligible in that category, and is available on most digital platforms, and wherever you buy your hardcover books. 

Available to preorder! The Drowned Heir, by Jennifer R. Donohue

 Surprise, I have a new dark fantasy/horror novella coming out at the end of August! 

I am self publishing it. It is available for ebook preorder (with the hardcover to follow)

"When her uncle dies at sea, a third child with no place in society undergoes a ceremony to house his spirit and take his role, diminishing the family’s loss. But her uncle’s spirit hasn’t settled the way it’s supposed to, and will not content itself with shore-bound business. Her uncle’s spirit insists, angrily, that it was not just a storm that killed him and wrecked his ship, not a rogue wave; it was an unthinkably large monster.

Then his lover comes knocking with news of an adult son who has set sail along the same shipping lane, and dead uncle and living niece must work together to save a son neither of them knew existed."

AND I have a blurb:   "Profoundly poetic and infused with fascinating magic and myth, this book spoke to me deeply of the struggle between hereditary duty and the yearning for adventure. Hungry monsters and rogue waves lurk with ill intent below family secrets kept too long. I could taste the salt water in every line -- a triumph of nautical storytelling, as fascinatingly and carefully crafted as a swift ship." —Premee Mohamed, Nebula Award-winning author of And What Can We Offer You Tonight

Awards Eligibility 2021, Jennifer R. Donohue

 I have had five original short stories published this year!

"Sailing to Byzantium" is in Fusion Fragment #4. 

"How Do You Grow?" is in Hexagon 4

"All This Darkness" is in Apex 123

"The Mountain's Wife" is in The Future Fire

"I Am Tasting the Stars" is in Translunar Travelers Lounge

Available now, in The Future Fire: "The Mountain's Wife"

A few years ago, I read a couple of longform articles on Mt. Everest and the way that sometimes bodies became like landmarks to other climbers, and the subsequent recovery efforts that were made to get those deceased climbers down off the mountain. In the way of things, it left an impression, but kind of just got loaded into my subconscious. 

And that's where "The Mountains Wife" came from. It's a fantasy story, maybe a little bit of a horror story. There are dogs but (spoilers) the dogs are okay.  The narrator (and indeed, almost everybody in the story) is unnamed, another of my hallmarks.

The Future Fire does a great job when it comes to publishing (This is my second story with them; last year, they published "Know They Will Die, Under the Salt of It.") Their editing is smooth and reasonable, and stories have illustrations! What a luxury, as an author, to have an illustrated story.

Additionally, this is my 29th short story publication! This does count prints and reprints, but it is 29 times that somebody read my story, said "Yes, we want to publish this" and did! 

Stay tuned next month for number 30...

Get the latest! "How Do You Grow?"

 My latest short story is available to read in issue 4 of Hexagon magazine! 

It is called "How Do You Grow?" and is about symbiotic teeth, and growing up, and the things that adults tell children sometimes as they're growing up. The title is from the Anne Sexton poem "Little Girl, My String Bean, My Lovely Woman"

In his Quick Sip Review, Charles Payseur calls it "an unsettling but effective read," and I do tend to trust Charles' judgement. 

2020 Awards Eligibility Post, Jennifer R. Donohue

 I had five original stories published this year!

"For Thine is the Kingdom" appeared in Truancy magazine in January

"Black Market Cheerios" appeared in Lamplight volume 8, issue 2. 

"Nothing Left But Mud" was published as a standalone by Sword & Kettle Press in July.

"Defend Us in Battle" appears in the Hear Me Roar anthology, released in September

"Know They Will Die, Under the Salt of It" appeared in The Future Fire in October.

Additionally,  I released the third Run With the Hunted novella, Run With the Hunted 3 Standard Operating Procedure, in October

2019 Awards Eligibility!

2019 has been my best publishing year yet! I can only hope 2020  keeps the ball rolling.

I am eligible for the Campbell Award, and I am listed on the site as an eligible author.  It was also just renamed the Astounding Award, though the site doesn't reflect that yet.

My scifi short story, "For Whatever We Lose", was published in Luna Station Quarterly

My fantasy short story "The Pearls That Were His Eyes" was published in Andromeda Spaceways Magazine issue #75

My steampunk short story, "One Hundred Years", was published in the Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline anthology

My scifi short story "Fundamentals of Search and Rescue" was published in Dreamforge, issue #3.



The other short stories I had out were reprints (3! reprints!) or on my Patreon. The Patreon ones are eligible, and  if you are reading to nominate, I can make them available to you directly!

In total, I had 9 acceptances! One was in a dream market, Apex, that has sadly shuttered, or perhaps gone on hiatus. That story is traveling through slush piles again. I also had an anthology acceptance that will no longer be published, as that publisher has also shuttered. So hopefully 2020 is kinder to remaining and future markets!

Publication! "The Pearls That Were His Eyes" in Andromeda Spaceways Magazine

Greetings!

My short story "The Pearls That Were His Eyes" has been published in Andromeda Spaceways Magazine issue #75! They are based in Australia, and there is no physical edition of the magazine, though the ebook is a pretty reasonable $4.95.

"The Pearls That Were His Eyes" is a weird story, I'm not gonna lie. It fits into the same witchy world as "Sugar and Spice" (reprinted this year in The Overcast) and "Be Careful What You Wish For" (available on my patreon and in HML Writers Volume 1) and opens with a witch making a contract with a non witch who knows that they exist but that's about the extent of it. But, he needs a door opened, and mundane means aren't getting the job done.

(contains a dog!)  (yes, he is fine)

It is thematically on point with all of my witch stories, which I actually did-and-didn't do on purpose. Like, every one of these stories has been about power and curiosity and hubris, and the choices that people make, but it isn't like I make an outline (hah) with these bullet points (hah) to make sure that I cover everything. It's just the nature of the beat I suppose.

So, I do hope you check it out, and I do hope you enjoy it!

ALSO, I have two forthcoming publications in September! "Fundamentals of Search and Rescue" will be in DreamForge magazine on September 1, and "One Hundred Years" will be in Grimm, Grit, and Gasoline on September 3, so preorder today!  (both contain dogs) (yes, the dogs are fine)

Awards eligibility post 2018

Well, it's here. Awards season is upon us, or at least nominations season for the upcoming awards season.

As always, publishing as Jennifer R. Donohue. I am also now eligible for the John W. Campbell award.


My short stories:

"A Thing With Feathers" was published in Mythic Delirium

"Surveillance Fatigue" was published in Escape Pod

"Bread and Milk" was published in Under the Full Moon's Light

"The Glint of Light on Broken Glass" is in Truancy 5




My novella "Run With the Hunted" is available in paperback and on many digital platforms.

Strange Horizons annual fundraiser!

Strange Horizons is a very, very good online magazine that publishes scifi/fantasy/whatever short stories, poems, columns, and reviews. I've been reading them for years, and been submitting stories to them for years as well. No "yes" from them yet, but I have gotten some very good personal rejections from them as well, not just forms.

They've got 8 days and change left in the fundraiser, and are at about $7500 out of their baseline $15,000 goal. It would be really great to see them reach it! They've got some great things they want to do, like publish stories in translation, do interactive stories, that kind of thing.

If you haven't checked them out, go. Do so. Here are some things I've really liked recently that they've published:

Million-Year Elegies: Oviraptor, by Ada Hoffman

The Beef, by J.D. Moyer

Noise Pollution, by Alison Wilgus

little stomach, by Charlotte Geater


You can donate to them via Network for Good, PayPal, subscribe to them via Patreon, or even send in a physical payment.  Strange Horizons is a 501 (c) (3) not for profit organization and so in the United States, donations are tax deductible.

May 2016 goals roundup (And another acceptance!)

I'm very happy to say, I've had another story acceptance! My short story, currently titled "Sugar and Spice", will be in the Summer 2016 issue of Sockdolager magazine. This is my second story acceptance this year, and I don't think it will ever stop being thrilling.

I got a couple of very nice personalized rejections for my short stories this month. One of them has prompted me to get a few more sets of eyes on that particular story, and I'm chewing on the comments now. The other personal rejection was more "we really really liked this story, it just didn't fit with our magazine, please keep us in mind for something else." And while yes, that still means "no", it's the best possible "no" one can receive.

I wrote one short story in May, keeping me on track with my New Year's resolution. That makes 8 stories written this year. I don't intend to stop at 12, if I reach 12 before the end of December; even if I double up in a month, I still want to write new words every month. And it's nice to see my "packet" of stories grow. Some of the stories I've submitted, and still submit, were originally written in college. Regardless of their current states, as they've been edited and rewritten and what have you, I've put in a lot more writing time since college, and do think (hope?) that my writing, and sense of story, has improved since then. Hence, the need for new words, not just retreading old ground.

I do need to consider what I want to write in July, for Camp NaNoWriMo. My library writing workshop has June off, and will return in July for "camp". I don't hold them to writing a book, not least because everybody's goal is not to write a book, but I think some manner of goal setting dimension should come into play for July specifically (suggestions welcome).

Just Writer Things: Reading

So this week, I was invited to do my first reading under the auspices of being a Published Author. My local arts council has a writer's salon once monthly, with an open mic first, and a published author to round it out. This month's published author became ill and had to cancel, and they called me!

It was an interesting experience, and a positive one. The crowd was somewhat small, and seemed very receptive, overall. I read the entirety of "The Lion and the Dragonslayer" (published in Mosaics 2). I'm not sure how long it took me, but it was long enough that I could feel when I was rushing myself and try to slow it down. I stumbled over words sometimes, but so did everybody else, so whatever. I was also, once again, reminded of the value of reading one's work out loud as an editing tool. Mostly, there are a few words I would've cut just because of redundancy or clumsiness, and I left some of those words out in the writing.

I also really understand the value of WATER. About halfway through I became acutely aware of my thirst, but I had not previously grabbed a bottle of water and didn't want to interrupt myself so I soldiered on. The podium was also somewhat small, and I was already somewhat leaning on it (not the best approach) and also resting my paperback copy on it (this worked out better, but I really need to get contact lenses again. I kept having to reposition my glasses, and I know that little gestures like that when one is on stage seem like terrible fidgets).

There was a little Q&A afterwards (which I took a bottle of water for), which was interesting. I was able to confirm I have had more "The Lion" stories planned, actually. I'd only ever finished one other, but I should read it back ove and edit it, and finish others. Definitely something to look towards for information, as time goes on.

All in all, I was very happy to be invited to read, and very happy to do the reading. I thought it went well, and that everybody stayed engaged throughout my little adventure story.

30 Days of D&D Day 4: Favorite Gameworld

Favorite Gameworld is a tough one for me because a lot of play at my table, regardless of DM, has been what's referred to as "homebrew" worlds. Meaning, the games don't necessarily take place in a published Dungeons and Dragons setting. So, I'm going to have to have a couple of answers for this one, actually.

Favorite published gameworld is a split between two I've never really played in (a single game session or two each, not games that took off): Ravenloft, and Planescape.

My First Publication! "Adventuring", in Daily Science Fiction

I put off telling you guys about my acceptance, because I've been burned before.

But, it's really happening! Happened, rather. My fantasy flash fiction story, "Adventuring", is today's Daily Science Fiction story. Go read it. It'll be quick!

Daily Science Fiction, if you did not know, publishes scifi and fantasy every weekday. You can get the daily free story right in your email (as I do) or visit their site each day. My understanding is they have a monthly digest available for Kindle. A lot of people, when they read the story, do comment about it on their Facebook page. You can also follow them on Twitter. Daily Science Fiction is a Science Fiction Writers of America qualifying market.

"Adventuring" was one of my October submissions. I sent it in on October 29, and got the acceptance on December 7! Its inspiration came from a couple of places...playing Dungeons and Dragons, of course(5th edition is pretty fun so far, by the way). A Chuck Wendig prompt, I think, but I can't remember what one and did not, of course, record that bit of information.

Places I've been "published"

Well, okay, not really published. But put up publicly where total strangers can take in my work.

I already told you about Housekeeping, my science fiction short story that my good buddy Jacob narrated and put up on Soundcloud. If you like what you hear, you should follow him on Facebook. He'd probably like that.

Now I've got another "credit", wherein my buddy Dave, who we game with weekly if not more frequently, has shared my piece on his blog. He's been doing a character journal of our Dungeons and Dragons game, which is the adventure path titled "Age of Worms", published in Dungeon magazine from 2005-2006, and he's graciously opened his blog space up for other players to contribute. My character, Larkin, is the party's fighter.

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

A thing I run into quite frequently (read: daily) at the library is a fear of genre. It's okay to have your reading preferences; I certainly do. Myself, I don't read a whole lot of mysteries. It doesn't mean I won't, but rather they aren't the books getting my attention. We all are more than allowed to make those choices. But what really gets me is people making those decisions without having ever even put a toe outside their comfort zone, or people making those decisions even when it's an author they're familiar with.

For example, Dean Koontz has his Odd Thomas books, right? One of them came out at a graphic novel and only as a graphic novel. Patrons who reserved it by merit of it being Dean Koontz and Odd Thomas, like you do. An unmeasured percentage of them, once they saw it was a "comic book", said "Oh, I don't want that" with a particular wrinkling of the nose and returned it unopened. Didn't even leave the building with it.

John Grisham has a series based around Theodore Boone, a 13 year old lawyer. Across the libraries in my system, that might be shelved in Young Adult or might be shelved in Juvenile (what we call MG). People come in asking for the new Grisham, or for that Grisham in particular, and when they find out it's "for kids", there's that nose wrinkle again. By the way, J is where we shelve our Harry Potter and Y is where our Hunger Games are, and people will check those out, typically after they've seen the movie. Seeing that currently with the Veronica Roth Divergent books.

We actually have a display right now, of subgenres, inspired by a conversation I had with a patron who was taking out Boneshaker, by Cherie Priest, and had never heard of Steampunk. She didn't end up liking it, but I thought it was cool she was interested and willing to give it a try. There are people who come in looking for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and when they discover it's a mystery, some don't take it. There are people who come in looking for Ray Bradbury, or Ursula LeGuin, and are put off when those are in the Fantasy and Science Fiction section.

There are the people who think Fantasy and Science Fiction should be shelved separately, because they aren't the same thing. There are people who are confused (I'm in this camp) by the fact that we shelve vampires, zombies, and Neil Gaiman in the regular fiction.

We have limited space at my library, and the catalogers aren't all familiar with genre. But it genre an all or nothing prospect? I don't think so. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, say, doesn't necessarily belong in the Fantasy/SciFi section, but he could fit there. Ray Bradbury could be comfortably shelved with the "regular" (literary and commercial) fiction. The time travel romances (with or without highlanders, but really, why are there so many Scottish Highland time travel romances? When did that become a Thing?) aren't in the SciFi, nor is H.G. Wells, but we have one Lovecraft there and the other in regular fiction.

I kind of wish my library would actually just Dewey Decimilize the whole damn thing. Just assign each book its number and let people look for it by merit of that, not by the fast-and-loose genre categorizing we're currently doing. You want fiction? It's in the 800's, then look for the author's last name. Done.

A Conversation About What is "Real"

My fiancé and I were in the car, heading out to a day-after-Valentine's-Day lunch when we passed a NYSEG truck. The pair of cones the truck carried in its front...grille? Cone rack? Whatever. The cones in the front thing were racked point down, and I exclaimed "Vampire NYSEG truck, why??"  My fiancé gave me the side eye and said "Uh, what?"
"The cones in the front of the truck, they were point down so they looked like fangs."
He nodded, still looking at me kind of like that. "Oh."

Then, on our way home from our day-after-Valentine's-Day lunch, we passed another NYSEG truck, this one with the cones point up. "Look!" I exclaimed. "Orc NYSEG!"

My fiancé sighed and reached over to pat me on the head. "Honey," he said in a gentle, understanding voice. "That's a Boar NYSEG truck. Orcs aren't real like boars and vampires."

Writing outside your box

We all have a type of story we like.

I tend to write male protagonists, or female ones that lack feminine personality qualities. Mostly because I lack many of those qualities; girly girls irritate me, frequently, I don't get them in any kind of nuanced or detailed way.

But, occasionally, it's good to write something that you don't know. To step outside of the box or the cave or the secret fairy forest that you go to when you're in your creative space, trying to work your magic. Just out of college, I wrote a few short stories that were deliberate "chick in chain mail with big sword" fantasy, with a slightly hapless male sidekick. No romance involved, just hero --> problem --> solution style. Those didn't get me published either, of course, but they got me the first (and only, if I remember aright) personalized rejection I've had to date.

Now, with everybody in a frenzy over Fifty Shades of Grey and its sequels, I've wondered about why people latched onto it. In fact, my coworker and  I have a game we play. When one of the books comes across the desk (and no patrons are within earshot) we open it at random and read a couple of sentences aloud. Romance, you may have guessed, is not my genre. Erotica isn't either. However, I got the idea for a story that I could make fit into that genre.

The idea is kind of cheesy, has a mythology attachment, and will have a somewhat girly girl main character, her flamboyant gay friend, glitz and glamor and sex. I don't really write sex; we'll see how this goes. If it goes; it might still just be an amusing idea.

It's hard to think outside your box. Even when I wrote chick in chainmail fantasy, it was still writing that I tried to make as solid as possible. I tried to build something that I would want out of such a genre piece. Maybe that would be the key to breaking down this wall too, who knows?


Nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?