Thursday, December 31, 2009

Happy New Year from The Western Online

I'm excited about what the new year holds for The Western Online. There are several new projects in the works that I'm very excited about, and I'm planning on adding several new features to the site that will make it more interactive for readers. I'm designing several different website polls in order to garner reader feedback and I'm considering adding a comments section that would allow readers to leave comments about the stories and artwork.

Submissions have started to pick up a little, so look for updates in the very near future.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Short Story Accepted

My short story, "Marked For Death," was accepted by Frontier Tales Magazine and will be published in the January 2010 issue. I'll be posting a link to it when its online.

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Updates at The Western Online

We published a new short story today by Kenneth Mark Hoover called "Three Wise Men." Its a great story any fan of Westerns will enjoy. It's another Haxan story told from the perspective of Marshal John T. Marwood.

I've created a website banner for the site that I've got on several of the pages, feel free to use the image as a link to The Western Online if you wish. I created the banner myself and I'm not as artistically inclined as others, (I prefer to paint my pictures with words).

Not much has been happening on our Forum page, so I added a few topics for discussion. Using our forum is simple, there is nothing to sign up for. The topics I added are Gunfighters, Western Movies, and Western Writers. Visitors can discuss any of those topics or start their thread for discussion, all we ask is that it deals with Westerns or the Old West.

We've also added a new "Add This" bookmarking tool on every page of the site so now visitors can easily add The Western Online to their bookmarks or send a link to the site to their friends on their favorite social network.

Stop by and check out our latest updates at www.thewesternonline.com


Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Weekly Update and NASCAR article

I've been pretty busy lately, working on the new novel that I just started. I spent most of the day yesterday working on the synopsis/plot summary that I use sort of as a road map, so that I'm writing toward a goal. A lot of times after I write the opening scene and plot summary, I'll write the climax/final scene too.

I'm glad to be working on a novel, I always find that I'm happier and in a better mood when I'm working on something, rather than bouncing from project to project, like I've been doing recently. I've cranked out a lot of short stories lately and its good to be working on a novel, because for me, the two different forms of fiction are completely different processes. Now while I'm working on my next novel, I'm going to spend some time to submitting as many short stories as possible. I've already got several markets lined out for submitting.

My NASCAR column for the week was published yesterday at Insider Racing News. This weeks article is: Earnhardt Looks Ahead to Next Season... Again. Check it out and let me know what you think. I always enjoy the feedback I get, regardless of whether my readers agree with my opinions or not.

Monday, October 26, 2009

New Story Published Today at The Western Online

Another great story by Kenneth Mark Hoover, he really cranks up the tension with this one. It is another Marshal John T. Marwood story that takes place in Hoover's fictional town of Haxan, New Mexico. The story is a suspenseful thriller that keeps the reader guessing until the end. Check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Here is the link: "In the Image of Our Maker" by Kenneth Mark Hoover.

Monday, October 19, 2009

NASCAR column online

My NASCAR column for the week went online today at Insider Racing News. This week I wrote about Juan Pablo Montoya. Not a lot of NASCAR fans know much about him, but I saw him in person at a CART race in Houston in the late '90s. This week my column is titled Is Montoya's Recent Success a Surprise?

Check it out and let me know what you think. I always enjoy getting feedback.

Monday, October 12, 2009

The Western Online - New Story Published

We have published a new short story today at The Western Online.

"Till Death Do Us Part" by Kenneth Mark Hoover. It is an excellent story and a very good read. Be sure to stop by and check it out.

My Writing Updates

My weekly NASCAR column is online today. Here is the link:
Kyle Busch: NASCAR's Official "First Loser"

I always enjoy the feedback I get from my column whether it's positive or negative, so be sure to let me know what you think about it.

I'm still working on a few short stories and I've got the makings of a novel bouncing around in my head. I'll probably start working on it today.

Friday, October 9, 2009

The Western Online Listed at Ralan.com

The Western Online has been listed at Ralan.com. Ralan only lists speculative fiction and humor markets. How did The Western Online get listed on such a site? Well, I recently decided to start publishing Westerns with supernatural elements, such as ghost stories.

The Western Online is still exclusively dedicated to Westerns, but the listing at Ralan.com exposes us to a wider audience, which means more quality submissions and more readers.

The Western Online is dedicated to everything Western. The type of story most likely to be published here is the traditional post-Civil War Western. However, we will consider any story that is connected with the early settling of America that takes place during the 1700s and early 1800s, from swashbuckling pirates to mountain men and the early pioneers. Since people who lived in the Old West tended to be somewhat superstitious and tales of ghosts often ran rampart, we will consider stories with supernatural elements (ghost stories, or stories dealing with regional folklore; some horror elements may even be okay, query first) as long as the story is clearly Western.

We won't publish stories with spaceships or aliens, no space westerns. If unsure of what type of story we publish, be sure to query: editor*at*thewesternonline*dot*com.

Be sure to read our complete guidelines before you submit.



Ralan.com

Monday, October 5, 2009

A New Take on Writing

I found a market that publishes Western stories with a science fiction element, so I'm working on a story to send to them.

Most of the time, I have ideas for stories bouncing around in my head, and I write them only to find they are too long to submit or they don't fit current publishers needs. So, I'm going to try finding the markets first, then create a story that fits their needs.

This market is pretty professional looking, they publish once a year in .pdf format, so I'm writing a story that should find a home with them if they choose to publish it.


Weekly Writing Updates

I got back from my civil war reenactment yesterday afternoon. I had a great time, even though it rained a lot. We got to fight Saturday; I know I shot at least half a dozen yankee's before I got "killed."

My weekly NASCAR column is online today: NASCAR is Still Feeling the Economic Crunch. Check it out and let me know what you think.

I submitted four short stories to various publishers today. One is a science fiction story set in the future but based on an alternate history, one is a historical fiction story set in Roman occupied England, and two are westerns.


Thursday, October 1, 2009

Stories Ready to Submit

I've spent the last several days getting some stories ready to submit and finding places to send them. I've got four prospective markets lined up and will be sending the stories in the next few days.

I've still got quite a few short stories and even an article or two that I need to find homes for. But since I'm on vacation, I'm taking a break for the next few days and will be at a civil war reenactment for the weekend.

Monday, September 28, 2009

The Western Online Facebook Page


The Western Online now has its own Facebook Fan Page. If you have a Facebook account, check out our new page and become a fan!

Writing Updates

My weekly NASCAR column is online today at Insider Racing News: Is This Mark Martin's Year? Be sure to send me your feedback.

I've got another article on Suite101.com: Myspace Mobsters Property: Secrets to Building a High Income. That makes five strategy guides I've written about different aspects of Mobsters and brings my total published article count on Suite101 to 45 articles.

I'm going to spend the day looking for short story markets.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Works in Progress

I'm working on a couple of new short stories right now that I plan on submitting in the very new future. I've got several short stories that I need to submit, I just have to find the right markets for them. I'm on vacation from work next week, so I'm going to be submitting as many as possible.

Something else that I'm working on is finding an agent for my novel, COMANCHE JUSTICE. I've recently received a rejection slip for it from Leisure Books. Since most of the publishing companies don't accept unsolicited submissions, I've decided to find an agent.

I'm also going to looking into the self-publishing option.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

New Artwork on The Western Online

I've got the new image on the artwork page of the site. We're still working on getting it re-sized to meet the specifications for the Duotrope Listing, but we have officially published our first piece of artwork on The Western Online.



Tuesday, September 22, 2009

The Western Online New Site Feature

I added a scrolling News ticker box on the front page of the site, its pretty cool. I also added it to my personal website.

Mike, the associate editor of The Western Online, has been working on some new art for the site that I'm going to be publishing soon, tomorrow I hope. I'm also going to use the image as cover art for our listing on Duotrope.

We are still working on getting readership built up, so help us spread the word about The Western Online. The stories we've published so far are excellent.

"Box Canyons" by Terry Sanville is the first accepted story that we published at The Western Online. It's a very good read.

"Working for the Pawnee Agency" by Oscar Case is based on the exploits of the writer's great-great grandfather during the 1830s and '40s.

Monday, September 21, 2009

My Weekly Writing Updates

My weekly NASCAR column was published today on Insider Racing News. Check it out and send me your feedback. Here is the link: Favorites for the 2009 Chase.


I also had another article published on Suite101.com. Here is the link: Swine Flu (H1N1) Vaccine.

Friday, September 18, 2009

THE WESTERN ONLINE NEEDS YOUR SUBMISSIONS!



Despite finally getting the site launched and updated with some new feedback features, The Western Online Forum and Guestbook, we still need submissions. And we're not picky either. We'll take submissions of any kind: short stories, non-fiction articles or artwork.

We've recently published two short stories and could use many more. View our submission guidelines and send us your work!

Thursday, September 17, 2009

The Western Online

Although the idea has been brewing in my head for quite some time, I recently launched a new website, The Western Online, a webzine that is dedicated to the Old West. It will publish Western short stories, non-fiction articles and Western themed artwork.

I launched the site with one of my own short stories, "The Lucky Drifter," but have since gotten a few submissions and published two more stories by some very fine authors. "Box Canyons" by Terry Sanville is the first accepted story that was published and "Working for the Pawnee and Oto Agency" by Oscar Case followed shortly after it.

David Cranmer, editor of the Beat to a Pulp webzine, has been very helpful in sending some readers to The Western Online as we try to build up readership and submissions.

Below is an excerpt from the site about what we publish at The Western Online:

The Western Online is dedicated to everything Western. We publish Western short stories and artwork. The type of story most likely to be published here is the traditional post-Civil War Western. However, we will consider any story that is connected with the early settling of America that takes place during the 1700s and early 1800s, from swashbuckling pirates to mountainmen and the early pioneers.

We also publish non-fiction articles on any subject dealing with the Old West.

At this time, The Western Online is a non-paying market and currently has an open-ended submission period. That means the submission period is always open with no deadline. Your work will be published upon acceptance.

So, stop by the site and enjoy our short stories. Visit our Forum or leave a message in the Guestbook.

Here is the link: www.thewesternonline.com

Introduction

I am new to the world of blogging so I figured the least I could do is introduce myself. My name is Matthew, and I'm a starving writer. Well, I don't starve, I have another job on the side that pays the bills for now, but I've known from an early age that I was going to be a writer.

I've had a few humble successes so far. Nine of my short stories have been published online and in print in some of the following publications: The Copperfield Review, The Storyteller, The Pink Chameleon Online, Perpetual Magazine, Long Story Short.

I write a weekly NASCAR column for InsiderRacingNews.com, and I enjoy the feedback I get from readers about some of my opinions relating to NASCAR. My column is published every Monday and can be found here.

I am also a contributing writer for Suite101.com. So far, I've published more than 40 non-fiction article on that site. I've written articles on topics ranging from historical biographies about some of my favorite gunfighters of the Old West, to World War 2 aircraft, to tips for playing Mobsters, the popular Myspace game. My articles on Suite101.com can be found here.

I've completed two novels and I'm currently seeking an agent to represent them for me. I received a rejection slip for my most recent novel, COMANCHE JUSTICE, from Leisure Books.

To find out anything else about me, visit my website:
matthew-pizzolato.com