EEKsclamations
The Official Newsletter of Karen L. Newman
Volume 1, Number 6


EEK OF THE WEEK

Squandering your opportunities. Like Peter Griffin said on Family Guy, that really grinds my gears. A recent example of a writer doing this is Kaavya Viswanathan. According to a PBS news program, she used her connections with Little, Brown to get her novel How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life noticed. The publisher released the book, not knowing that later she would admit to borrowing phrases from two of Megan F. McCafferty’s novels. Little, Brown pulled the book. Maybe now the publisher will check each submission using anti-plagiarism software such as TurnItIn and MyDropBox.com.

Kaavya had what every writer dreams of having – an in with a major book publisher. She squandered her opportunity simply, in my opinion, because she was too lazy to come up with original material. Writing talent, I’m sure, was not an issue since she was a sophomore at Harvard and I don’t think that Little, Brown would have accepted a poorly written manuscript. Will she get another opportunity? Maybe. Maybe not. Opportunity is like a balloon filled with helium. It’s full of promise and rides high, but over time it sinks to the ground and shrivels up. If you have a wonderful opportunity like Kaavya, take advantage of it. Don’t squander it. It may never return.


RECENT SIGHTINGS

My work has appeared recently in several places, both online and in print. Please check me out at

Sinfully Twisted where two of my poems “Mr. Pumpkin Head” and “Young Zombies” appears in print. You can purchase a copy at lulu.com. This magazine is for adults only.

Afterburn SF where my short story “Black to the Bone” appears online at http://afterburnsf.com/black_to_the_bone.htm

Cthulhu Sex Magazine where my poem “Acid Man” appears in print. Please go to http://www.cthulhusex.com to find a store in your area. This is a horror erotica magazine.

The Independent, a newspaper, where my poem “The Prisoner” was reprinted on May 21, 2006

The BSFAN, the souvenir book of Balticon 40, where my poem “The Missing Link” appears in print

Aoife’s Kiss where my poem “The Great Rain” appears in print. You can purchase a copy at http://www.genremall.com or http://www.projectpulp.com.


INTERVIEW

I was interviewed by Lee Ward of The Independent, my local newspaper with a circulation of about 21,000. The article appeared on May 21, 2006 and included my poem “The Prisoner”. Check it out at http://www.dailyindependent.com/Lifestyles/local_story_138091810.html?keyword=topstory.


NEWS

I read my poetry at the 2nd Annual Flatwoods Poetry & Art Festival on April 22, 2006. I read four haiku from my poetry collection EEKU and my poems “Unspoken”, “Absolute Zero”, “A Survivor of the Titanic Remembers”, “The Electrocuted’s Return”, “Living Dead Girl”, “Ode to the Old Oakview”, and “Such Are the Lives of Football Fans”.

I signed and sold copies of my poetry collection EEKU at the Ohio River Festival of Books in the Big Sandy Superstore Arena on April 29, 2006 in Booth 29 A from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.

My poem “The Missing Link” won third place in the Balticon 40 Poetry Contest. It was published in the convention’s souvenir book, The BSFAN.


MARKETS

Afterburn SF is looking for high quality action stories in the horror, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Go to http://afterburnsf.com/Submit.htm for further details.

Appalling Limericks is still open for submissions. We want limericks that follow the form, i.e. stressed and unstressed syllables. The limericks must also be funny without being crude and be in the horror, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Go to http://www.samsdotpublishing.com for further details.


FINAL REACTION

Laziness + Arrogance yields Lost Opportunities + Unhappiness