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For those of you who aren't electronically challenged Weird Tales Magazine has opened up what they call One Minute Weird Tales. Micro-stories of 20 to 150 words presented in one-screen chunks. They explain it much better here and with a video sample of what they're looking for http://weirdtales.net/wordpress/2009/03/27/submissions-update-one-minute-weird-tales/ They're paying $25 for video/online publication rights. They're also open to regular submissions as of Memorial Day http://weirdtales.net/wordpress/contact/submission-guidelines/

There's a month left to get a submission into Shroud Magazine. June 30 is the deadline and the next open submission period isn't until next February. Url to the left in the print column.

Are you into fantasy? Black Gate Magazine is open for submissions until June 30. They're looking for epic fantasy fiction of all lengths with pay 3 to 6 cents a word and 3 cents for non-fiction. Pay close attention to their guidelines as they've taken the time to set down a list of what exactly they're looking for and what gets a submission rejected. http://www.blackgate.com/submission-guidelines/

I'm a big fan of country music and there's a song I've heard recently called "People Are Crazy" by Billy Currington that always makes me smile and think what a great story you could get from these lyrics - "God is great, beer is good, and people are crazy." That line just begs to be part of a story.

So when I clicked over to The Dead Mule and found that their May issue was up I was pleased to find this story by Douglas Campbell called "A Big Ole Train" with lyrics from another country song singing through the story. http://www.deadmule.com/fiction/2009/01/a-big-ole-train-by-douglas-campbell It's not a crime story, but it warmed this country girl's heart this morning.