Announcements

Circlet Press is now an imprint of Riverdale Avenue Books

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Well, folks, it took us a while to work out the details of the deal, but our much-talked about acquisition by Riverdale Avenue Books has taken place! You can find a nice article about it in Publishers Weekly (https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/82529-riverdale-avenue-books-acquires-circlet-press.html).

I couldn’t ask for a better partner in keeping the Circlet flame burning than Lori Perkins, whose vision of erotica as a liberating force matches mine. She founded Riverdale Avenue Books in 2012 when the landscape of publishing was changing drastically (again!) and RAB is the perfect home for Circlet’s catalog of titles. RAB is an award-winning, innovative hybrid publisher with 13 imprints, including Desire (erotica/erotic romance), Riverdale/Magnus the award-winning imprint of LGBT titles, SFF (science fiction/fantasy), and many others which are so very compatible with Circlet’s quality, values, and subject matter. They had published some new editions of some older Circlet material, like the Circlet Treasury of Erotic Alice in Wonderland (which combined two Circlet ebooks on the subject) and the Circlet Treasury of Erotic Steampunk (three ebooks in one). Now RAB will be the custodians of the entire backlist, as well as the publishers of new, forthcoming material.

The first title launching since the deal closed will be THE EIDOLON INITIATIVE, an erotic mad science graphic novel from the twisted mind of Vinnie Tesla (The Ontological Engine). Within the next few months readers can also expect a passionate tale of gay cyborg love and politics entitled CYGENIC from author Monique Poirier (This World Between) and a sequel to the consentacle space opera romp MONSTER WHISPERER from Nobilis Reed (Like a Whisper In Your Ear).

Stay tuned for more excellent erotic sf/fantasy in our future!

-Cecilia Tan
Founder, and still Editor

Microfictions

2019 Halloween Microfiction Roundup

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The candy’s been passed out. The costumes tucked away. Jack o’ lanterns sit on the porch, candles snuffed out and sagging from their long vigil. Maybe, like me, October is a really busy month for you and you just simply did not have time to read all of our wonderful 2019 Halloween microfictions. If that’s the case, here’s a handy dandy roundup of all the stories with links! Please do take a moment and reward yourself with one (or all!) of our spooky and sexy Halloween stories.

They are:

At the Burying Point by Melissa Hogle

Corn Silk by Julie Behrens

New Moon Night by AT Lander

In the Quick by Eric Del Carlo

Spellbound by Sonni De Soto

Sowing by Stanley B. Webb

A Convenient Exorcism by Aaron Emrys

I want to say a special thank you to all of our authors, not just from this year but from all of the Halloween microfictions in years past. It’s been a pleasure working with all of you and I thank you for sharing your talents with us here at Circlet Press.

And lastly, thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read all of our Halloween microfictions over the years. Writing is only half the equation. Without you, the readers, we wouldn’t exist. So thank you.

Blessings to you all in this new year.

Jennifer Williams
Assistant Editor
Circlet Press

Microfictions

Halloween Microfiction: A Convenient Exorcism by Aaron Emrys

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“A Convenient Exorcism”
by Aaron Emrys

The doorbell rang, summoning Ryan out from under his blanket. He peeked through the front window and smiled. He grabbed the smaller of the two baskets sitting on his coffee table before pulling open the door.

“Trick or treat!”

Continue reading Halloween Microfiction: A Convenient Exorcism by Aaron Emrys →

Microfictions

Halloween Microfiction: Sowing by Stanley B. Webb

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“Sowing”
by Stanley B. Webb

I chose her from my pumpkin patch, charmed by her flawless orange skin and her oval shell’s symmetrical ribs. I brought her inside, locked the door, and drew the curtains. She waited on a kitchen chair while I spread old newspapers on the table.

I found my paring knife, and contemplated her blank face.

Continue reading Halloween Microfiction: Sowing by Stanley B. Webb →

Microfictions

Halloween Microfiction: Spellbound by Sonni de Soto

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“Spellbound”
by Sonni de Soto

Mac Dunn watched San Merida fall back, sated, on her bed, her skin slick with sweat in the afternoon sun. “Not to sound ungrateful for the lunch break, but I should get back to the café soon.”

Mac pulled her closer to him, unwilling to let the moment go so quickly. “Isn’t one of the perks of being the boss being able to come and go as you please?”

With a chuckle, San swatted him playfully. “Only if you want to go out of business.”

Continue reading Halloween Microfiction: Spellbound by Sonni de Soto →

Microfictions

Halloween Microfiction: In the Quick by Eric Del Carlo

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“In the Quick”
by Eric Del Carlo

My eyes snap open to a midnight room as if a gunshot had sounded alongside my head on the soaked pillow. I am knotted muscle and cable-taut tendons. Crackles of energy dance invisibly on my bare skin. I am in the Quick; and I have dosed myself to keep me insensate; but I am nonetheless awake now in the night.

And I know suddenly that there is another of my kind out in the city’s never-dark. Nearby.

Continue reading Halloween Microfiction: In the Quick by Eric Del Carlo →

Microfictions

Halloween Microfiction: New Moon Night by AT Lander

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“New Moon Night”
by AT Lander

When Marni crawled into bed, Rick hissed at the chill she brought with her. It was cold, and late, well past midnight in the Vermont winter.

“Yeah,” Marni bit out through chattering teeth. “Heater’s well and truly busted. Need a proper mechanic…”

Continue reading Halloween Microfiction: New Moon Night by AT Lander →

Microfictions

Halloween Microfiction: Corn Silk by Julie Behrens

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“Corn Silk”
by Julie Behrens

The corn was overdue to come down. The ears hung heavy on their stalks, near bursting their husks with yellow-sweet chin-running juice, their gold-silk tassels turned brown. Soon, if I could get it done, that field would be stubble, like a man’s morning beard, and you could see all the way to the creek way far back and visible now only by the trees that marked it, to the road beyond the big house, and cows on either side. A big piece of land for a woman to manage alone. It was my first autumn on the farm since the rest of my family had died, and I was dangerously late in my work.

But I was glad the stalks had been left to grow high as I ran into the corn that night, the footsteps of large men in boots stomping after me like an oncoming train. I ran, because they had come to kill me, and the corn was the best refuge I had. My bare feet were hard as boots and quiet, and it was dark. The harvest moon was rising up above the fields like a gourd, and it made the fields look angry and dry. I ran blind, and the men behind me ran blind.

Continue reading Halloween Microfiction: Corn Silk by Julie Behrens →

Microfictions

Halloween Microfiction: At the Burying Point by Melissa Hogle

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“At the Burying Point”
by Melissa Hogle

He slipped through the Salem masses, letting their ebb and flow carry him across the center of celebration. Salty ocean and sticky-sweet caramel wafted above the countless costumed bodies. Street performers breathed fire while preachers fervently warned of the Devil. Samuel passed kiosks, headed down side streets. All he sensed was her and the closer he got, the more intense her presence became.

Strong hands pulled at his gut. …I’ve missed you… Her voice tempted across the waves. …Oh, how I’ve missed you…

“Ammon,” Always his last name, whispered as if he was the god.

Continue reading Halloween Microfiction: At the Burying Point by Melissa Hogle →

Announcements

Deadline Extended! Halloween Microfictions Re-Open Til Friday!

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Hello, Circlet Friends! In a first, I have decided to re-open the Halloween microfictions submissions. Scary, I know, but I need more stories. Not many. Just a few. So I’m taking submissions again until this coming Friday, October 18th, midnight EST.  All the same rules will apply which I will link below but here are some things to keep in mind:

No reprints
Please follow standard manuscript formatting and include a word count and short bio.
Stranger sex and ghost sex are a hard sell. I see a lot of these and they rarely work.
Stories must include explicit erotic content but please bear in mind that we publish literary erotica. So there should also be a strong focus on character and story.
Please do no resubmit work I have previously rejected.
Consent is of the utmost importance.
Don’t try to fit too much in. Flash fiction is more like a scene. Too much world building can drag the whole thing down.

Please also note that I already have vampire, werewolf, and witch stories. So I’d like something else if possible. There are LOTS of different types of monsters out there and lots of different Halloween tropes/myths.

Here’s the link for the full guidelines: 2019 Halloween Microfiction Guidelines

Erotica for Geeks