We specially welcome our newest writers:
Joanne Anderton, Tomara Armstrong, Alan Baxter, Jessica Bell, Tom Dullemond, Wenke Gillner, LisaMarie Lamb, Len Lambert, Clive Martyn, Andrew McKiernan (who is also the anthology’s cover artist), Theresa Milstein, Jennifer Muirhead, Melanie Saward and Daniel Wynne.

Without further ado in alphabetical order (along with their song prompts) the cast and their lines for Tiny Dancer:

Sam Adamson  (UK) Lay me down in sheets of linen
Joanne Anderton (AUS) Ballerina, you must have seen her
Tomara Armstrong (USA) The boulevard is not that bad
Cath Barton (UK) Seamstress for the band
Alan Baxter (AUS) Jesus freaks, out in the street
Jessica Bell (GRC) LA Lady
Janette Dalgliesh (AUS) Turning back, she laughs
Rebecca Dobbie (AUS) Dancing in the sand
Josh Donellan (AUS) Hold me closer tiny dancer
Tom Dullemond (AUS) When I say, softly slowly
Laura Eno (USA) And now she’s in me, always with me
Wenke Gillner (GER) You’ve had a busy day today
Emma Kerry (UK) Pretty eyed, pirate smile
LisaMarie Lamb (UK) You’ll marry the music man
Len Lambert (UK) The tune she hums
Stacey Larner (AUS) Lying here with no one near
Monica Marier (USA) Tiny Dancer in my hand
Clive Martyn (UK) And now she’s in me, always with me
Andrew McKiernan (AUS) Piano man, he makes his stand
Laura Meyer (AUS) Only you and you can hear me
Theresa Milstein (USA) Looking on, she sings the songs
Jennifer Muirhead (AUS) The words she knows
Melanie Saward (AUS) Handing tickets ouf for God
Graham Storrs (AUS) But oh, how it feels real
Devin Watson (USA) In the auditorium
Daniel Wynne (AUS) Count the headlights on the highway

Editors
Tanya Bell (AUS) and Jodi Cleghorn (AUS)  Blue jean baby

… writing begins NOW!

The anthology, edited by Jodi Cleghorn and Tanya Bell, is slated for free web release 1^st October 2011 (available for sale as an eBook and paperback on the 3^rd October).

Tiny Dancer: Shadows at the Stage Door will explore the darker side of stepping into the limelight, using Elton John’s song “Tiny Dancer” to traverse the entertainment industry: past, present and future. Through the speculative-fiction lens the reader will be given front row seats to the stories of a cast, not exclusive to, ballerinas, concert pianists, street preachers, opera singers, performance poets, comedians, rock bands, bards, vaudeville acts, groupies and any other entertainment professionals our twenty-six writers invite to take centre stage.

The Specifics

• All stories must be in one of the genres, or sub-genres collected under the broader speculative fiction grouping.
• Stories must be inspired, influenced or shaped by the nominated song lyric.
• Stories to be 1500 words +/- 5%
• Writing begins 17^th July for three weeks (18/07 – 07/08)
• Editing begins 8^th August for three weeks (08/08 – 28/08)
• Nominations for song lyrics must be turned in within 24 hours of official notification of a place in the anthology. (Each writer may nominate in order of preference three lyrics).
• remuneration is a flat $15.00 payment & contributor copy (or paperback copies in lieu of cash payment)

The Song Lyrics

1. Blue jean baby
2. L.A. lady
3. Seamstress for the band
4. Pretty eyed, pirate smile,
5. you’ll marry a music man
6. Ballerina, you must have seen her
7. Dancing in the sand
8. And now she’s in me, always with me,
9. Tiny dancer in my hand
10. Jesus freaks out in the street
11. Handing tickets out for God
12. Turning back she just laughs
13. The boulevard is not that bad
14. Piano man he makes his stand
15. In the auditorium
16. Looking on she sings the songs
17. The words she knows
18. The tune she hums
19. But oh how it feels so real
20. Lying here with no one near
21. Only you and you can hear me
22. When I say, softly slowly
23. Hold me closer tiny dancer
24. Count the headlights on the highway
25. Lay me down in sheets of linen
26. You had a busy day today

Tanya’s ‘no stone left unturned’ approach to editing, coupled with her skills as a story teller and empathy for the writing process made her the logical choice for the position of Associate Editor.

A self-professed ‘book addict’, Tanya is a graduate of Literature Composition at Griffith University and has worked as a freelance manuscript appraiser. In January this year she was one of the twenty strong team of volunteer readers for 100 Stories for Queensland.

Deck the Halls is Tanya’s first editing brief, preparing the original Literary Mix Tapes’ stories for publication in paperback. Tanya will be joint editor with Jodi Cleghorn on Tiny Dancer, Deck the Halls II and Hotel California (2012).

Literary Mix Tapes’ third anthology for 2011 Tiny Dancer will open its doors next week for the crowd-sourced portion of the writer line up. Ten places are available for writers near and far. The nomination post will go live Tuesday 12th July 9am (AEST) and the first ten writers to leave a comment expressing their interest in being involved will be welcomed into the fold.

Tiny Dancer: Shadows at the Stage Door will explore the darker side of stepping into the limelight, using Elton John’s song “Tiny Dancer” to traverse the entertainment industry: past, present and future. Through the speculative-fiction lens the reader will be given front row seats to the stories of a cast, not exclusive to, ballerinas, concert pianists, street preachers, opera singers, performance poets, comedians, rock bands, bards, vaudeville acts, groupies and any other entertainment professionals  our  twenty-six writers invite to take centre stage.

Writers will be given a three week period to write a 1500 word story in (beginning Monday 17th July), with an additional three week editing period.

Tiny Dancer: Shadows at the Stage Door is slated for release on the 1st October and will feature a front cover by Australian writer and illustrator Andrew McKiernan.

The anthology remained in the top 100 for a month in Sci-Fi and Fantasy Anthologies categories in both the UK and Canada.

Thank you to everyone who supported the Grantham Flood Support Fund and a group of incredibly talented emerging writers by purchasing the anthology before, during and after the chart rush on the 17th May. We have raised over $1000 (between the sale of eBooks and paperbacks) which is incredible for a little known anthology!

For those of you who have not got your hands on a copy… here’s the run down on where you can buy paperbacks online. In early July we’ll take possession of our first stock of books and you’ll be able to buy your signed paperback direct through this site (and have it bundled with the eCopy for free!) Until then purchase online via:

Amazon UK

Amazon USA

Amazon CA

Book Depository

Fishpond

Waterstones

Barnes & Nobel

I only discovered several hours ago that there is a major formatting error between the third and fourth stories in Nothing But Flowers. All the text is there… its just leaped from one story into the next (the kind of collaboration I’m not so keen on).

I had hoped the books hadn’t printed yet – but it appears LSI (our awesome printer) was right off the mark in the US and the books ordered on Tuesday have printed and shipped already. I’m unsure about those ordered through the UK. It will definitely involve any purchases made BEFORE the chart rush on Tuesday.

The upshot is… I will replace, free of charge all the books with the defect in them, for any of the purchasers who wish to have a replacement copy. I have no idea how many books this affects.

To obtain the replacement copy you will need to:

a) produce proof of purchase (you are welcome to take a scan or photo of your shipping invoice)

b) provide me with a shipping address for your replacement copy

You can email me your details directly on editor[at]emergent-publishing[dot]com

*update*

Other alternatives are:

You may cancel your order (if possible) until the new books are available

Or

I can email a PDF of the two pages in question.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

For the next couple of days the book won’t be available for ordering as the revised file is reviewed and processed at LSI.

What’s a Chart Rush?

Readers are invited to purchase a book on Amazon, in a nominated 24-hour period, with the intent to capitalise on the volume of sales to move the book up the Amazon best seller list. The higher up the chart it is (we’re aiming for a spot in the top 100) the more visible it becomes to other readers who may go on to purchase it. It’s all about exposure and helping new readers find our books.

Tomorrow (Tuesday)

Tuesday eMergent Publishing (the parent publishing compay of Literary Mix Tapes) will release 100 Stories for Queensland and Nothing But Flowers via an Amazon Chart Rush. We’re inviting readers to purchase one or both books  on that day with the aim of getting them into the top 100 selling books for the day (and beyond!)

By releasing both charity anthologies concurrently we’re hoping people will add one extra book to their cart on the day,  whether that be someone stumbling onto 100 Stories… or Nothing But Flowers for the first time.

If  you can’t buy on the day, you can add it to your wishlist. Every little bit counts to rocket the books up the chart.

You can find both books on Amazon, Amazon UK and Amazon Canada.

Nothing But Flowers retails at US$17.99 or ₤5.99 (US links)

100 Stories for Queensland retails at US$19.99 or ₤9.99 (US Links)

What’s 100 Stories for Queensland

Literary Mix Tapes’ founder Jodi Cleghorn headed up the team of volunteers at 100 Stories and was working on the two projects concurrently through January, February and March. Many of the names you see published in LMT anthologies were involved behind the scenes including Trevor Belshaw – who started it all off with a simple status update, Jen Brubacher, Annie Evett, Chia Evers, Rebecca Emin, Rebecca Dobbie, Susan May James, P.J Kaiser, Dan Powell, Tanya Bell and Jason Coggins read and voted; Stacey Larner and Paul Servini were on the editing team, and authors, such as Sam Adamson, Jo Hart,  Devin Watson, Josh Donellan, Monica Marier and Cath Barton, who had stories which made the final cut.

100 Stories for Queensland is a charity anthology of flash fiction from authors across the globe. Proceeds donated to The Queensland Premier’s Flood Appeal.

From the back cover:

“One hundred beautiful stories. Our stories. When so much was lost or destroyed, this was created. That’s something that can never recede or wash away.”

Kate Eltham – CEO of The Queensland Writers Centre

100 STORIES FOR QUEENSLAND has something for everyone, from slice of life to science fiction, fantasy to romance, paranormal to literary fiction. Heart-warming, quirky, inspiring and funny, the stories between these covers will lift readers to higher ground.

Please consider adding both to your shopping cart tomorrow… and as always, share with a friend or two. All money from both anthologies is donated to charity (sales of Nothing But Flowers donated to the Grantham Flood Support Fund).

It was inevitable, playing with music and words, that from words would come music.

We’re incredibly lucky here to have the creative genius and momentum of Jim Bronyaur – who was the second person to throw weight and stories behind Literary Mix Tapes back in December.

Jim’s recorded The Cure’s Lovesong - his story prompt – including a sneak preview of his story in the opening sections of the song.

Willing to put his music where his mouth is – Jim’s willing to record another song.

So we’re turning it over to you folks. What would you like to hear recorded*? Leave a comment below and on Saturday I will tally up the comments and send the winning song over to Jim.

Summerland (King’s X)
What Good Am I? (Bob Dylan)
I Drove All Night (Cindi Lauper)
Lovesong (The Cure)
Lay Your Hands on Me (Bon Jovi)
Don’t Ask Me Why (Eurythmics)
Stand (REM)
Electric Youth (Debbie Gibson)
Love in an Elevator (Aerosmith)
Love Shack (B52s)
Cap in Hand (The Proclaimers)
Funky Cold Medina (Tone Loc)
Read Gone Kid (Deacon Blue)
Rock On (Michael Damian)
18 & Life (Skid Row)
Head On (Jesus and Mary Chain)
Tin Machine (Tin Machine)
Fascination Street (The Cure)
We Didn’t Start the Fire (Billy Joel)
Toy Soldiers (Martika)
Higher Ground (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)
Right Here Waiting For You (Richard Marx)
30 Years in the Bathroom (The Wonderstuff)
Sewing the Seeds of Love (Tears for Fears)
Poison (Alice Cooper)
If I Could Turn Back Time (Cher)

*There’s not formal poll – getting twenty six songs into one would be a nightmare!

Paul Anderson Summerland (King’s X)
Cath Barton What Good Am I? (Bob Dylan)
Tanya Bell I Drove All Night (Cindi Lauper)
Jim Bronyaur Lovesong (The Cure)
Adam Byatt Lay Your Hands on Me (Bon Jovi)
Dale Challener Roe Don’t Ask Me Why (Eurythmics)
Jodi Cleghorn Stand (REM)
Carrie Clevenger Electric Youth (Debbie Gibson)
Jason Coggins Love in an Elevator (Aerosmith)
Jonathan Crossfield Love Shack (B52s)
John de Jordy Cap in Hand (The Proclaimers)
Rob Diaz Funky Cold Medina (Tone Loc)
Rebecca Dobbie Read Gone Kid (Deacon Blue)
Kaolin Fire Rock On (Michael Damian)
Jo Hart 18 & Life (Skid Row)
Susan May James Head On (Jesus and Mary Chain)
Maria Kelly Tin Machine (Tin Machine)
Stacey Larner Fascination Street (The Cure)
Monica Marier We Didn’t Start the Fire (Billy Joel)
Laura Meyer Toy Soldiers (Martika)
Lily Mulholland Higher Ground (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)
Emma Newman Right Here Waiting For You (Richard Marx)
Icy Sedgwick 30 Years in the Bathroom (The Wonderstuff)
Benjamin Solah Sewing the Seeds of Love (Tears for Fears)
Devin Watson Poison (Alice Cooper)
Alison Wells If I Could Turn Back Time (Cher)

Eighty-Nine features ten shiny new faces: Paul Anderson, Cath Barton, Tanya Bell, Kaolin Fire, Jo Hart, John de Jordy, Monica Mariner, Laura Meyer, Devin Watson and Alison Wells.

The complete line up is as follows…

Paul Anderson
Cath Barton
Tanya Bell
Jim Bronyaur
Adam Byatt
Dale Challener Roe
Jodi Cleghorn
Carrie Clevenger
Jason Coggins
Jonathan Crossfield
John de Jordy
Rob Diaz
Rebecca Dobbie
Kaolin Fire
Jo Hart
Susan May James
Maria Kelly
Stacey Larner
Monica Mariner
Laura Meyer
Lily Mulholland
Emma Newman
Icy Sedgwick
Benjamin Solah
Devin Watson
Alison Wells

Eighty-Nine goes live for 48 hours on June, 21^st and will be available for purchase from June 23^rd as an eBook and paperback.