| Happy September I’m back in Barcelona after a wonderful two weeks in England. We were in a small town called Paignton. Ever heard of it? I told you it was small. We were caring for a golden Labrador with “separation anxiety,” and four cats with, “I need food now syndrome.” It’s a very common disease among cats, practically an epidemic! There’s also a picture of an adorable European Toad (Bufo Bufo) sitting in the shade of an artist conk mushroom. You can draw on these white polypores and it looks like a sepia drawing. If removed from the tree it’s permanent, or at least as permanent as most things. Drawings and conk below             I was fortunate to sell some stories while I was away: 1) I sold The Rewards of Hospitality to the 4LPH4NUM3R1C podcast, produced by Zoetic. It’s an old story I have always loved, but never sold. It’s about a squirrel who gets Alzheimers and wonders where the oak forest outside his tree has sprung from. It’s also a tale of speciesism. No squirrels were harmed while writing this story. 4LPH4NUM3R1C pieces are recorded by the Zoetic Press staff. I have worked with Zoetic before; they are fabulous and I love them! 2) From NUNUM Thank you for sending us your work. We love it, you popped our heads, and we would love to include it in our next Done in a Hundred anthology.This was the first time I sent out this story! A 100 word tale of selfies and the end of the world. It’s rare to sell a story the first time out, at least for me. (Although I sold our poetry book, An Illegal Feast, on the first try.) 3). I sold The Clean Conscience, to Crystal Lake Publishing and Memento Mori Ink Magazine, “I am honored to inform you that your been accepted for publication in our upcoming anthology Memento Mori: Book One.”The Clean Conscience, is about a woman who gets the Shroud of Turin back with her dry cleaning. And – not an acceptance, but the first step – a story I love but haven’t sold…Thank you for submitting “The Hungry Ghosts of Aipotu” to Khōréō magazine. Our First Readers enjoyed your story, and the editors would like to hold onto this piece for further consideration. The story was inspired by a trip to Tabuaeran, aka Fanning Island, an atoll that is part of the Line Islands of the central Pacific Ocean and part of the island nation of Kiribati. It’s a horror story about an immigrant, a young girl, transplanted to Minnesota from a small atoll in the Pacific. I visited Tabuaeran while aboard a cruise ship, where I was lecturing on island evolution, among other topics. The island had been completely cut off from the world until cruise ships began to visit. It’s in the Pacific, an atoll that is quickly sinking due to global warming and some have already been relocated.    “Our 2025 Wergle Flomp Humor Poetry Contest decisions have been made. While I regret you did not win a prize, you did reach the finalist stage and will receive a public commendation at https://winningwriters.com/our-contests/contest-archives/wergle-flomp-humor-poetry-contest-2025 Only 30 poets reached the finalist stage out of 5,060 contestants. Poets who place this well often return to win prizes in future contests. “ 30 out of 5,060! Here’s the poem. Published in Abyss & Apex in 2015 and nominated for a Rhysling Award (for horror and science fiction poetry. Kind of a niche market.:) The Science Fiction Writers Association (SFWA) has been very good to me. I will share some of their posts .  She’s the real author. I am just her amanuensis       Gods & Monsters SFWA is doing a “featured author interview,” with me about, “Gods & Monsters,” this month, but I will wait until next newsletter to include it! And from the Horror Writers Association,  Thank you SFWA, HWA and Cindy O’Quinn. I suggest you check out her novel, “Dark Cloud on Naked Creek.” Beautifully written and haunting, as her work always is. In other news: rehearsals have begun for, “Hand to God,” where I play a widowed Texas mum who is trying to start a “Christeteers,” sock puppet theater. My son’s puppet becomes possed by the devil. It’s dark and hilarious. I forgot how much work is involved in developing characters and relationships! A lot like life, but quicker. I will also be directing, “Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf,” opening this March. As to the answer, I am afraid of Virginia Woolf, very, very afraid. And, as always, please buy these books. Or if you’re feeling like listening, email me for a free audio book (eviekng@gmail.com. Gods & Monsters is in production and should be done soon. It’s a complex novel with many characters and Misty Davis is doing an incredible job! Here are the books to buy and or listen too: Dirk Quigby’s Guide to the Afterlife (all you need to Choose the right heaven)Available in English & Spanish, in both print and audio – possibly, probably the only book to have endorsements from Ray Bradbury & Margaret Cho. “Impish and delightful, a hilarious Zagat’s guide to heaven!” – Ray Bradbury “A fantastical, profound, hilarious and rollicking good ride through the heavens and hells of the Afterlife! A wonderful book.” —Margaret Cho The New York Journal of Books: “This is the most delightful book this reviewer has read in a while.” Gods & Monsters(I painted the cover. Due to AI, I filmed myself painting it so that people can see it’s “human made.”) “Combines the dark mythology of fantasy with the dangerous social commentary of Hunter S. Thompson into a masterpiece of the genre.”- Metastellar Magazine “ “This is a truly unique book. It’s like a beautiful tapestry. Stories pieced together, sewn with segments of history, biology, social commentary, and poetry..Some of the scenes will stay with me for a very long long time. It’s a fascinating combination of poetry history, horror and fantasy.. the book traverses time and place but mostly taking place in an alternate San Francisco in the 1980s. A master work.” -Jessica R, Reviewer “E.E. King has written an amazing book…The way King intertwines fantasy and mythology creates a magical read. Not an easy novel to put down. And an impossible one to forget. Highly recommend.”~ Cindy O’Quinn, Bram Stoker Award® recipient and author of Dark Cloud on Naked Creek. “E.E. King is a genius storyteller, blending and bending the twisted dark world of vampires with her wicked wit and profound observations about the human condition…Her signature style is economical yet packed with the explosive power of an atomic bomb. Gods & Monsters is pure magic, and it’ll stay with you long after you read the final page.”— Elizabeth Wong, playwright An Illegal Feast. by ADDISON, FLORES, GOYAN, KING & WONG. “A multicultural collection of poetic thoughts on love, nature, myth, human rights, and more, inspired by prompts from E. E. King given to four other talented poets, whose words are seamlessly stitched into a large poetic tapestry of light and darkness, empathy and truth. Recommended!”—G. O. Clark, author of “Mindscapes”. “A melange of masterful talent & sumptuous creativity, ‘An Illegal Feast’ will have you salivating over every piece in this collection, satisfied yet always craving more. I gorged myself in one sitting but returned for seconds & thirds, & I’m still licking sticky sweet poetry off my fingers.”—Jessica McHugh, 3x Bram Stoker Award® nominated author of “The Quiet Ways I Destroy You” And, if you just can’t get enough of my words, I have a few story anthologies too. They are all on Audible, and unlike books, I am happy to give out codes. It actually helps when people download it! In other publishing news: SFWA and other members of the Authors Coalition of America (ACA) have filed a lawsuit against Anthropic AI, which was trained on books downloaded from pirate websites. It’s a very mixed judgment, but some of the works were blatantly pirated, covers and bar codes ripped off. So, they will have to pay something for some books. When searching through the pages to see if my work had been used, I came up with this book.”Swallowed and inhaled dentures – what’s the problem?” Elizabeth King, Robert Jagger I’m not a dentist, but a few problems jump to mind. And, I can’t get the idea of inhaling dentures out of my mind… maybe she’s a horror writer too? Teeth are fairly creepy all by themselves. White, almost bone like protuberances, breaking through flesh. And what’s with the tooth fairy? What kind of fairy exchanges body parts for money? If you want to find out you can read my story, The Tooth Fairy, here, for free. Although if you want to send me a molar… And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! Weird Catalonian Customs. La Mercè (patron saint of Barcelona)  In 1687, Barcelona suffered a plague of locusts. The city (yes the entire city) prayed to the Virgin of La Mercè. When the locusts departed, the Council of the City credited La Mercè and named her the patron saint of Barcelona. The Pope did not ratify this decision until two centuries later.After Pope Pius IX declared the Virgin of La Mercè the patron saint of the city, Barcelona began to celebrate a festival in the month of September. La Mercè suffered many high and low points that extended through the Civil War and the years of Franco. Franco wasn’t much of a party kind of guy. Today it is a festival held in a large number of public places The most traditional activities of the Mercè Festival are a mix of popular culture from all over Catalonia.There is the Gironese Sardana (a folk dance) the human castles (with the tiniest child on top,. It’s really terrifying to watch.)  And, of course, dancing fire throwing devils, because the devil is a party guy.  The guest city of this year’s Mercè Festival is ManchesterThe bees, the symbol of Manchester, have flown in to the Festa Major for a visit and are already a buzz. At various moments during the traditional Mercè (such as the Parade and the Fire Beasts Procession), you’ll see two figures created especially for this year’s festival, crafted through a collaboration between local artisans and Catalan and English folk culture groups as part of These are the giant figure Bee and a mythical Bee creature. If there was one thing missing from La Mercè,it was giant bees!Bee there – or bee somewasp else. Sorry, I couldn’t resist. One more note on festivals… Our Wednesday rehersal was canceled. Why? “It’s a festival.” Me: What festival? A: I don’t know. Me: The start of La Mercè? H: No, that’s the end of September. Me: (To C.) Do you know? C: shakes head… in short, or perhaps long -A roomful of people, many residents of twenty or more years, a few natives, and no one knew what festival it was… It’s a bank holiday too! Must love a country with so many festivals even natives don’t know what they are. I had to look it up. In Barcelona, and throughout Catalonia, September 11 is the Diada de Catalunya. The National Day of Catalonia, or “La Diada”. It commemorates the day that Bourbon troops took the city after a long siege, putting an end to the Catalan resistance and consolidating the Spanish monarchy. So not a real upper of a holiday. The streets of Barcelona are filled with Catalan flags and thousands of people join in parades and demonstrations to express their desire for greater self-Catalonian self government. Kind of like if the Brits celebrated July 4th. Next month I will introduce you to the world’s biggest food fight. (Yes, it’s a festival.) Stay well and safe! Be kind. Enjoy everything! E |