Editor Interview: Eternal Haunted Summer

Pagan-themed literature

(Books) Artesia, The Balance of the Two Lands: Writings in Greco-Egyptian Polytheism, Faith and Magick in the Armed Forces: A Handbook for Pagans in the Military, Introduction to Pagan Studies, Kharis: Hellenic Polytheism Explored, Northern Tradition for the Solitary Practitioner, Ogam: Weaving Word Wisdom, The Phillupic Hymns, Whisper of Stone: Natib Qadish, A World Full of Gods: An Inquiry into Polytheism; (Blogs/Sites) Henadology, Pagan+Politics, No Unsacred Place, The Wild Hunt; (Periodicals) Goblin Fruit, Hex, Minerva, Mythic Delirium, witches&pagans, Yes!; (Publishers) Archaia, Asphodel Press, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Dark Horse, Image, New Page, O Books, Vertigo, Villard

Poets: Callimachus, Janine Canan, Andrew Gyll, Seamus Heaney, Hesiod, Galina Krasskova, P Sufenas Virius Lupus, Lykeia, Robert McDowell, Ovid, Robert Pinsky, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Jane Yolen; Prose Authors: Lloyd Alexander, Christine de Pizan, Diane Duane, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Kazu Kibuishi, Robin McKinley, Alan Moore, CL Moore, Henry David Thoreau, Jane Yolen

To my knowledge, there are *no* other publications like Eternal Haunted Summer. There are print and online publications which focus on Pagan-themed nonfiction, such as witches&pagans and The Wild Hunt. And there are print and online publications which focus on a particular tradition within the Pagan umbrella, such as Hex (Heathen-oriented) and SageWoman (Goddess Spirituality). But EHS is the *only* ezine that accepts poetry, short fiction, essays, reviews and interviews from *any* Pagan tradition.

Spellcheck, spellcheck, spellcheck, spellcheck. Then hand it over to a beta-reader, and take their suggestions seriously; no written work is perfect on the first try. Then spellcheck again, this time visually; the computer doesn't know the difference between "lightning" and "lightening." Finally, make sure that your work meets the submissions criteria; if you send me something that I can't publish, I'll just be irked.

My ideal submission has one particular quality: sincerity. I am looking for ecstatic poems about Thor. Tales of awe-inspiring encounters with Athena. Heart-felt haikus about Asherah. Urban fantasy about Isis. The genre and form don't matter; the tone of the piece *does.*

They send submissions in the form of .doc or .docx attachments. Those are difficult for me to open. I much prefer .rtf or .txt attachments, or submissions in the body of the email.

That is entirely up to the submittee. Nom de plumes are fine. I also like to include brief author biographies, though, so authors can link back to their blogs, sites, et cetera, or list their previous publications.

I read the entire piece. Sometimes I like the submission, but will send it back with editing notes, and only publish it after improvements have been made.

Standard proofing to correct any typographical or grammatical errors. If there are more serious problems -- such as dangling plot threads -- I will send it back to the author with notes on what needs fixing. Once the corrections are made (or the author makes a really good argument for leaving it as is), I'll accept the submission.

My day: working my Real Job (tm); coming home to comb through email submissions; sending out acceptance or rejection emails; prepping the new issue; breaking for chocolate; starting all over again.