A.E. Decker Editor's Notes
Listed by date, most recent first
Issue No. 75, Winter 2024
Hey-ho, my readers, and welcome to the start of a fresh new year! Amazing how quickly time spins its dial, isn’t it?
To begin our first issue of 2024, I have some exciting news to announce; namely that our 2024 short story competition is now open to submissions. If you’d like to see your work potentially published in a BWG anthology or here in the Roundtable, please refer to the contest section of the BWG Roundtable and read the guidelines carefully. The theme is holidays from Thanksgiving to New Year’s. Good luck! We’re eager to read your work.
Two of the stories featured in this very issue were entries in last year’s competition. I trust you still retain enough of the holiday spirit to enjoy “On the Road to Bethlehem” by Janice Rodgers and “The Holiday Princess Vs. the Big Chicken” by Pat Remick. Congratulations to Janice and Pat for penning such delightful tales.
Of course, not all the authors we publish enter their work via a competition. I am very pleased that the main part of the stories and poems featured in this issue were discovered through our rolling submission periods, open twice yearly. Our featured story by Marie Anderson, “Are You All There, Pretty Angel?,” details a mother’s fears, while our featured poem, “Midnight Skating,” by Sofia Jarski, exalts in a young girl’s daring. Poem “Jammed,” by John Grey, and short stories “Good Things Happen in the Hood,” by Maureen Mancini Amaturo, and “The Day My Father Died,” by Alex Silberstein, round out our offerings. Plus, as always, we bring you Betty’s Tips to suggest help for writers, and Literary Learnings, where an editor discusses a work of literature dear to their hearts. This issue’s choice is dear to mine as well, as editor Dianna Sinovic has focused her attention on Martha Wells’ delightful Murderbot series.
Finally, but certainly not least, our celebrity interviewee this issue is Marlo Berliner, the most talented author of the bestselling The Ghost Chronicles series. Marlo will also act as our celebrity judge for our 2024 short story contestants. The BWG extends its gratitude to Marlo.
We hope you readers enjoyed your holiday season and are, like us, looking forward to the future and all the creativity it can offer.
Issue No. 72, Spring 2023
Hello, readers!
It’s spring again, and fish are on the wing again—
Whoops. I’ll start again. I have fish on the brain right now. You’ll understand why after reading this issue of The Bethlehem Writers Roundtable. It’s a real treat for you this time, because over the winter, we members of the BWG have put our collective minds together to write a group story. Group writing is one of the most fun and interesting challenges available to authors; a real lesson about creativity, about give and take. We think we’ve created a real whale of a story here! So, enjoy the first part of our collaborative tale, A Fish Out of Water. Part two will be available in our fall issue.
Watery humor aside, we also confront some serious subjects in this issue. First up is celebrity interviewee Carla Damron who spoke to us about her latest novel, The Orchid Tattoo. Ms. Damron is a social worker whose advocacy for the oppressed influences her work. The Orchid Tattoo is a mature mystery dealing with the cruel reality of trafficking. Then, for this issue’s Literary Learnings, the BWG’s own Carol L. Wright tackles the subject of rewriting classic literature to reflect contemporary mores.
All this, plus you get to learn some facts about octopuses, the coolest critters in the sea!
Couldn’t hold off the sea humor long, could I?
We’ll be back in the summer with an issue featuring work by authors across the country. It’s always a deep pleasure to discover new writers, so I hope you’re looking forward to reading their work as much as I am to publishing it. Until that time, sit back and enjoy A Fish Out of Water. Happy reading!
Issue No. 70, Autumn 2022
Welcome to fall, and the coming onslaught of the holiday season. Generally, I think of spring as the season of change, but as chief editor it is my duty—and my honor!—to inform you that big changes are coming to the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable.
The Roundtable was originally founded to both showcase the talents of the Bethlehem Writers Group and to reach out and discover other new writers around the world. I have been pleased with our efforts thus far. Now, it’s time to step up our game. We will be increasing our author payments from $20 for our featured story, to $50. Stories accepted for our &More section, which used to be paid $10, shall now receive $20, and the payment for poems shall go from $5 to $10.
We are also increasing the maximum word count for stories from 2,000 words to 2,500 words.
Please read our submission form carefully for details, as we will also be changing our submission process. Until now, the Roundtable has always relied on year-round open submissions to acquire new work. We will be switching to two three-month submission periods from now on. Our first limited submission period will begin on November 1, 2022, and run until January 31, 2023. The second will start June 1, 2023, and end August 31, 2023.
We are looking forward to seeing your work, but also eager to offer our own. Starting in 2023, the members of the BWG will be writing one collective story a year to publish in the fall issue of the Roundtable. We hope our readers will enjoy these collaborative efforts as much as we enjoy writing them. In addition, we will continue to offer our writing tips, celebrity interviews, and literary musings.
I’ve written enough about the future of the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable. Let’s get on to the current one. For this issue, we bring you a featured story about family and love from the BWG’s own Kidd Wadsworth. Authors Albert N. Katz and Wayne Faust offer quiet stories on paths chosen and paths rejected, while Jerome McFadden’s tale will likely make you laugh. Peggy Schimmelman and Caroline Reddy bring on the lyrical musings with their respective poems. Our celebrity interviewee is Tim Waggoner, writing professor and author of over a staggering fifty dark fantasy novels. For lovers of lighter fantasy, featured author Kidd Wadsworth offers her perspective on J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. There should be plenty here to curl up with and enjoy as the weather grows colder!
As ever, we thank our readers for their time and attention. Happy holidays to all, and we’ll be back in 2023 with out new format.
Issue No. 67, Winter 2022
Happy Holidays, Season’s Greetings, and a Merry Yuletide to All! Welcome to 2022 and the winter issue of The Bethlehem Writers Roundtable. Longtime followers of the BWG will realize that a new year heralds the opening on the BWG’s annual short story writing competition. That’s right (write) people—it’s time to polish up those short mystery stories and send them in. First prize includes publication in the BWG’s next anthology, An Element of Mystery, due out in autumn 2022. See our competition page for details.
Of course, an exciting competition requires an equally thrilling judge to decide the winner, and as usual, the BWG has come up with a truly class act. Our celebrity judge, and this issue’s interviewee, is none other than Kate Carlise, the New York Times bestselling author of the Bibliophile Mysteries. We are so happy Ms. Carlise took the time to answer some of our questions, and hope you enjoy reading her thoughtful replies.
We have more contest delight for you this issue in the form of our two front-page authors, R. L. Blake and Kevin Sandefur, who won second and third places, respectively, in last year’s competition with their sly and clever stories “Blessed are the Meek Wily,” and “The Magic of Giving.” Claire A. Murray, author of the thoughtful and mysterious “Nanoni and shish-Ka-toomi,” also participated in last year’s competition. The BWG is proud to be publishing all three of these fine stories.
On the poetry side, we have Kieran Bellville’s “Classroom Exercise” and Anureet Watta’s “Aftertaste” to stir your hearts and provoke your mental muscles. The BWG receives many fine poetry submissions and these are two of the best we’ve come across in recent months.
In this issue, the BWG has decided to feature the talents of some of its own members. Marianne Donley, treasurer of the BWG, favors us with her story of belated revenge; aptly titled for this issue “Best Served Cold.” A. E. Decker, yours truly, has on offer a short tale called “Pieces” whose ending may just surprise you. Meanwhile, Dianna Sinovic brings you this issue’s Literary Learnings and her musings on author Louise Erdrich. Finally, there’s our old friend Betty Wryte-Goode to assist writers with her insights and helpful writing links.
That’s all for the winter issue, and what a banquet it is! I hope you didn’t overeat during the holiday season, readers, because we’re heaping more on your plates here. Enjoy our offerings, and don’t forget to send in those mystery stories. Maybe next year I’ll be mentioning your name and wonderful story in my editor’s note!
Issue No. 64, Spring 2021
Greetings, readers!
As I type these words, the sun has been shining for the past three days. By the time they go into print, I have every hope that the sun will be shining and the white and lavender crocuses will be pushing up along my walkway. All this is a long-winded way of saying that spring has finally arrived, and with it, a fresh issue of The Bethlehem Writers Roundtable. Thank you for reading, and I hope you too are enjoying a sense of renewal.
The theme of our spring issue is “Thoughts of Love.” Too often—
That break was deliberate. Just as I was about to expound on my own thoughts of love, my cat, Bucky, jumped onto my lap, purring his head off and kneading my leg with his claws. And, although I wanted to finish this column, I hesitated before shooing him away—then let him stay. Because love takes many forms. Too often our thoughts instantly go to romantic love, but there’s also the love between parents and children, between siblings, friends, or even the love one has for an occasionally pesty black-and-white cat. Above all, the editors hope our love of reading and writing is evident in this issue.
Our featured story is Matt McHugh’s “Anti-daughter,” featuring a woman with an extraordinary and off-kilter mind detailing her love for her parents. Justin Neff’s “The Storm” also explores the love between parent and child, while Marie Anderson’s “The Right Wedding” gets a little more romantic with it. BWG member Pete Barbour’s tale, “Her Beautiful View,” is a study in love for one’s home, while Christine Eskilson’s “The Neighbor Next Door” is a darker tale depicting what can happen when love grows twisted and obsessed. Finally, “Capturing Beauty,” by our featured poet, Mir-Yashar D. Seyedbagheri, explores the contrast between the hard world of numbers and the soft one revealed by moonlight and poetry.
In addition to our stories and poetry, I am also proud to announce that our interviewee for this issue is none other than BWG member Christopher D. Ochs. Chris has recently published a dark YA fantasy novel titled My Friend Jackson about a poor girl from a rough neighborhood who is befriended by a chameleon with otherworldly powers. Jackson, which has been getting excellent reviews, is thrilling, a little scary, and thought-provoking, and we at the BWG are all extremely proud of Chris. I hope you enjoy reading about his process in writing My Friend Jackson.
Finally, we have our usual Betty column with helpful links for writers, and guest editor Janet Robertson explaining how she uses the technique of redaction on poems to inspire her writing. It’s a lovely issue, and we hope you love it.
I may be using “love” too much. But, then, I’m thinking about it.
Happy reading.
Issue No. 61, Summer 2020
Crazy times.
There’s really no other way to put it, is there? Meaning no disrespect to those who struggle with mental illnesses, the year 2020 has thus far been one wild ride. I hope you and yours are well, readers, even as I know that all of us are not. At the time I’m writing this editor’s note, the USA has lost over 110,000 lives to COVID-19. There’s been rioting in our streets as a system of injustice has (finally!) come under scrutiny.
I hope you are well. But beyond that, I hope we all come out of these crazy times better. Stronger. More compassionate. More thoughtful. More just.
In times of trouble, people turn to the arts, not only for a distraction, but also in search of answers and inspiration. Here at the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, we and our featured authors are proud to offer our craft toward those ends. May reading these stories and poems bring you pleasure and comfort in these crazy times.
And yes, I realize it’s a little on-the-nose that this issue’s theme is Lazy, Hazy, Crazy. I assure you we didn’t plan it that way!
Our featured story in this issue is “Tiger by the Tail,” by Matias F. Travieso-Diaz, which spins a tale of jealousy and the misuse of power that resonates in these times, while James Thurgood’s featured poem, “To a Teacher in Kangwon Province,” details a friendship created despite cultural differences. Other stories include Don Noel’s “Rescue,” Heather M. Browne’s “Splitting,” and Peter DiChellis’s “Hidden.”
As usual, we also have our usual Betty’s tips to help the writers among us perfect their craft, and our Literary Learnings column, penned this month by editor Jerome McFadden, who is also our guest interviewee.
We also have two exciting announcements to make. We have the winners for our 2020 short story competition. Check the heading for the names, and congratulations to all who participated. Second, in 2021, we hope to begin a column where we review the works of independently published authors. If you’ve written a novel or memoir and are seeking a little publicity, please consider submitting your work for our review. Details are given in this issue’s Readers Review column.
That’s it for this month’s editor’s note. Stay safe, and happy reading!
Issue No. 59, Winter 2020
Welcome to our first issue of 2020! We here at The Bethlehem Writers Roundtable hope all our readers will have a most happy and prosperous new year. And if you’re a writer, there is special reason to be joyous, because the BWG’s annual short story competition is now open. We’re looking for animal story up to 2,000 words in length. In addition to a cash prize, the winner will receive publication in our upcoming anthology, Fur, Feathers, and Scales.
To make matter even more exciting, the finalists in our competition will be judged by the New York Times best-selling author of the delightful Chet and Bernie mystery series, Spencer Quinn, aka Peter Abrahams. In addition to being our celebrity judge, Mr. Abrahams has also graciously agreed to answer a few questions for our interview section in this issue of The Bethlehem Writers Roundtable.
Our first issue of the year kicks off with “A Hollow Place Between Mountains,” a bone-chilling tale by our featured author, Zachary Kellian. Two of our runners-up from last year’s short story competition have also won a place in this issue. Bill White’s “Stanley the Cat” is guaranteed to make you smile, while Phil Giunta’s “Take a Cue From the Canine” might raise a tear. We also have no less than three wonderful poems, including our featured poem, “The Baptism,” by Jennifer Judge. For our Literary Learnings feature, BWG editor Dianna Sinovic dives into the dark realm of Edgar Allan Poe.
As I look over this list of authors we are honored to publish in this issue, I realize that the greatest gift that comes from being an editor is discovering new talent. What makes it even better is that you are then able to go on and share your discovery with the world. Readers, the stories in this issue are the BWG’s gift to you. I hope some of you will be inspired to send us your work and continue this wonderful cycle of giving and receiving.
Happy reading!
Issue 57, Summer 2019
Welcome, Roundtable readers!
My name is A. E. Decker. I’ve been a member of the Bethlehem Writers Group since late 2010—going on ten years now. I write primarily fantasy, and have several published novels and short stories under my belt. But just right now, I am very excited to be making my debut as the chief editor of the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable with this, our “ants at the picnic” issue. My predecessor, Carol Wright, deserves all the praise in the world for heading this task since 2011. She’s still working behind the scenes, along with my amazing assistant, Dianna Sinovic, Jerry McFadden, our tech guru, and other editors and hard-working folk who make running this e-zine possible.
Our annual short story competition is closed for the year. The next contest will open on January 1, 2020. Check our contest tab above for updates. You can read the names of the winners of the 2019 contest in the banner above. Congratulations to all! For next year’s contest, we will again be looking for stories featuring animals. Of course, this magazine, The Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, is always open for both poetry and short story submissions. See our Submissions & Contact page for further instructions. We are a paying market.
The Bethlehem Writers Roundtableis also pleased to be debut a new column in this issue, titled Literary Learnings. In this section of the e-zine, a member of the Bethlehem Writers Group will offer an in-depth look at one of their favorite writers or books, taking a historical, literary, or whimsical approach. Often, learning how authors created their work proves just as inspiring as the stories they produce.
Curiously enough, when I was assembling this issue, I was frequently visited by a large, black ant. They frequently appear inside my house when the weather warms, amble about for a week or so, and then vanish, apparently deciding they prefer the outdoors after all. This particular ant liked to show up every morning around eleven o’clock and wander across my desk. She’d frequently pause beside my mousepad and groom herself, much as a cat would. Perhaps some people would’ve squashed her, or at least evicted her to the outside, but I came to enjoy her daily visits. I’d pause in my work to watch her stop beside my mousepad and groom herself, much as a cat would, before continuing onwards. She’s gone now, vanished with other spring visitors, and I rather miss her.
We did no harm to each other. If there’s a wish that I have for you, readers, as these warm summer months unfold, it’s that no harm is done to you, and you do no harm to others. Enjoy the sunshine and fresh produce, splashing in pools, and lazy summer picnics. And if a few ants show up at your picnic…why not throw them some crumbs?
In this issue: Our featured story this issue is “Nothing to Hide” by Salvador DiFalco. We’re very glad this particular tale didn’t remain hidden! Our featured poem, by Laurie Kolp, examines the discrepancies between what we wish for our children and what they decide for themselves. Other work included poetry from authors Lituo Huang, Amos J. Hunt, and Rebecca Suzan Watts, and a work of short fiction by J. R. Nichols. BWG member Diane Sismour interviews Val Mathews, the Acquisitions Editor of Wild Rose Press, and Founder of Exit 271 Studio, an editing and coaching service. Betty Wryte-Goode is here, as always, offering her opinion on the summer months. Lastly, enjoy our first Literary Learning column; a musing on Kafka’s Metamorphosis, written by your truly.
That’s it for this issue, folks! The theme of our next issue, to be published in October 2019, is Family Functions or Disfunctions. I hope you’ll be back for more stories, poems and interviews. Until then, enjoy the warm weather, be kind to one another, and happy reading!