Take A Breath

I’m in this weird space where it feels like it’s been both a long time and no time at all since I last sat down to write a regular blog post for this blog.

Not that this is going to be regular as such. Anyway.

I was going to write a ‘Done, Doing, Dreaming’ post, but it didn’t feel quite right for this sort of catch up. I’m sitting in a strange place, mentally, and I really just want to do with the flow.

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Eight days after being admitted for emergency surgery to remove his ruptured and abscessed appendix, I was able to bring Wanderer home. The space inbetween was confronting, to say the least, with Wanderer’s complications both leaving us terrified that he might lose his life. (There were a lot of ‘we’re not sure what’s going wrong with him’ times.) The important thing is that he didn’t, and he’s okay. But neither of us want to pretend that it didn’t happen, so we’re taking the mentality adjustments slowly.

I want to give my heartfelt thanks to everyone who guest posted, liked guest posts, and/or sent best wishes in one way or another. I appreciate it more than words can say.

There is another guest zine review going up this week, and then I hope to get back into a regular schedule – at least so far as the reviews go – next week. I am very thankful to past Nyx (haha) for working so hard on the weekend calls for submissions so those stayed (and will stay) as normal. Regular posts should come back next week as well, but I don’t want to make any promises while we’re not fully settled.

To those who have asked, Wanderer is doing quite well now that he’s at home. When he made (and succeeded) in his third go at recovery, he quickly became eager to come home. He’s settled in quick and is already moving around a lot better than I thought he would be at this point.

Thank you everyone again. I look forward to getting back up to speed here and to applying the lessons learned about not having ‘spare’ emergency posts just in case…

Best wishes.

Guest Zine Review: The 5 Cent News #3 Reviewed by Bubble Puppy

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Ed Tillman’s delightful little photo zine “The 5 Cent News” will take you back to better times. Maybe better times never existed, but when you look at Ed’s zine you’ll believe they did. Ed’s photos somehow bring on a sense of satisfying nostalgia. From the really cool little band that slips over the contents, to the wonderful silence that permeates the photos, this zine will zap you into a childlike feeling of wonder. The zine just has a way of making you feel good.

edtillman.net

Call for Submissions: Strange and Beautiful

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Do you identify as queer or trans in some way shape or form? Do you make art of some kind? Most importantly, do you love Halloween? Then I want your submissions!

Give me your comics about sapphic witches, your short stories about genderfluid ghosts, your poetry about the full moon or true stories about adventures with talking boards. I want this zine to highlight artwork of LGBTQIA persons and celebrate the awesomeness of Halloween! You are more than welcome to use a pen name and I will gladly accept work that you already have.

All contributors will get a copy!

Email submissions to elliottjunkyard(@)gmail.com // deadline October 15th.

Call for Submissions: Crown, Leg, Tooth

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I’m always looking for poetry about staplers for our zine Crown, Leg, Tooth.

Folks can reach me at denveravepress@gmail.com or

Denver Avenue Press
1319 se MLK Blvd
Suite 214
Portland, OR 97214

Anybody whose poem we use will get twenty copies of C,L,T as a thank you.

Call for Calls for Submissions: Spread the Word About Your Zine!

Zine Calls for Submissions

Share your call for submissions, announce your newest zine, let people know you are crowdfunding… If you have an announcement to make that has to do with zines, do it here! Sea Green Zines wants to be your megaphone. Even better? It’s an automatic shout out on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr when you advertise here.

Big fuzzy love hearts to those who have a .jpg call for subs, but all are welcome. Get in touch by emailing theauthor[at]inkyblots.com or comment below.

Guest Zine Review!: Don’t Call Me Cupcake #5 Reviewed by Fishspit

Don't Call Me Cupcake Title

A Review of “Don’t Call Me Cupcake” #5 by Fishspit

Good golly Miss Molly! Cupcake has done it again! Giving us another fascinating glance into her bazaar persona in “Don’t Call Me Cupcake” #5! Let’s begin with her little ditty “The Night My Heart Broke.” Stories of a person’s dark night of the soul can often result in complete duds . . . boring us with their self-righteousness and self-importance . . . or . . . they can strike awe in our hearts with the unfathomableness of such an experience. From Byron to Beelzebub (as reported in Milton) I have searched out such stories all my life . . . and I’m here to report that Cupcake’s account is one of the finest I have read. From the destitution of her poor little soul, to her stand against her bedevilments (with resulting resilience) this story has got the suss! No candy-ass pussy-footing here! It’s an intense story . . . a tiny holocaust . . . much to be admired that it would be shared.

You will bounce like a ping pong ball through Cupcake’s extreme neuroticism (“the broccoli mountain” and “liar liar”) into her love of writing . . . into her being cheeky enough to let us know what her 30 year old self would tell her 20 year old self . . . then whappo (!) Back to more neuroticism. She’s funny, nihilistic, passionate, and completely cracked. I am not a reviewer . . . nor am I person who would associate with this sort of weirdo (it’s quite obvious that Cupcake is a bluestocking, and I’ve always found this kind of broad insufferable to be around) . . . so! So! When I say this zine is absolutely delightful (and a must read) you can trust me on this. I ain’t shy about telling when a zine is a snoozer

. . . when I tell you all that this zine is the smash . . . it ain’t to be taken lightly.

P.S. I hope that Cupcake will tell us in #6 why the 30 year old Nyx would tell the 20 year old Nyx to not introduce Wanderer (that’s her “bloke” as she calls him) to Facebook.

Call Out for Guest Zine Reviews + Guest Posts

If you’ve just popped in here, I won’t make you read past posts for context.

Wanderer, my husband, went to emergency on Monday and ended up getting surgery for a ruptured and abscessed appendix that night. The next morning, he was in great spirits. He was making great progress already drinking water and juice, and he was talking about getting out early.

Tuesday afternoon, things started taking a turn, and he had to go back on IV fluids. I won’t go into the other details, but they’re not sure what’s wrong, and a second surgery is a very real possibility. He’s in a lot of pain and is exhausted.

I was able to visit him a little earlier today, but this morning was very painful and terrifying for him. He doesn’t like me to sit there when he sleeps, so I respected his wishes and left so he could rest.

While I have the time – at the time I’m writing this – I simply do not have the mind for much of anything, let alone zine reviews. All I can seem to think about or write about is him. He could be in the hospital for weeks.

Here is my call out:

If you have a zine review or would like to write one, I will post it here. It doesn’t matter if you’re reviewing something I’ve already reviewed or if you’ve never reviewed before. I’m flexible with pretty much every aspect. But if you work well with parameters:

*100 – 400+ words
*An image of the zine you’re reviewing (you don’t have to have an image with guest post(s))
*If you want to share a guest post, just make sure it’s zine related. Even if you’re talking about how you found zines.
*Up to five posts, so you can do a multi-part series if you like
*Sign off with your name/pseudonym and any URLs you want to share
*Email the lot to theauthor(at)inkyblots.com
*I make no promises about email response times, but I will do my best

 

**Saturday and Sunday posts were already scheduled, so they will remain the same as always**

**You can still send calls for submissions, but please don’t be disappointed if they are urgent, and I don’t get to them in time.**