Gate of Souls Book Review live!

Hi All,

I just found out that The Chris Chat Reviews has posted a review of Gate of Souls, A Familiar's Tale Book One online. Great review! Go check it out!

Sincerely,

Joe :-)

Hi All,

I hope this announcement finds everyone well. Recently, Aberrant Dreams has hit a spot of bad luck with many different factors. Not too long ago, we were infected by a Trojan virus which occurred because our web host was compromised, and a text document containing numerous FTP passwords was stolen, our being among the list. Though I have fixed the problem, relapses have been occurring from time to time. Additionally, our email has been functional only intermitted at best, which has made direct communication very difficult. There have been many other issues to arise, but I won’t go into them here.

For all the headaches and frustrations this has caused, I apologize, and now make this announcement publically, in an effort, albeit a bit late in the game, to at least explain where things are with Aberrant Dreams.

Because of all of the problems we have been experiencing, I am in the process of re-designing the site from the ground up and moving to a new hest host. This should resolve the recurring virus attacks we have been experiencing. The new site design will also allow for easier updates and reduce the lag time between content additions. The re-launch of Aberrant Dreams will be in December 2009.

All of that being said, I am sure the first question that comes to mind is in regards to stories and poems already accepted and in queue for publication. For these cases, please feel free to send these along to other publications, and once things return to normal at Aberrant Dreams, I will contact the authors to inquire as to the continued availability of their works.

The only exceptions to this are for those stories to be included in the Aberrant Dreams I, The Awakening anthology. The work on the anthology is continuing, and though delayed several times due to various reasons, it is slated for late 2009 or early 2010 release. I will be in direct contact with those authors involved soon in regards to this with galleys, once the final proofread is completed, and additional details.

Again, I apologize for the frustrations, and I hope that all of you will continue to have patients with us as we get things back in order.

More details will be made available soon.

Sincerely,

Joe Dickerson
Aberrant Dreams

New Aberrant Dreams Content Available - April 2009, Part 1 of 2

Hi All,

New content is available on Aberrant Dreams.  For details see below:

Fiction

• Children of the Fire, by Melissa Mead
  
• Dione, by Jess Kaan (Translated by Sheryl Curtis)
  
• Gilding the Dandelion, by Marissa K. Lingen
  

Additional content to be posted over the course of the next week.

Sincerely,

Joe

Down but Not Out

Hi All,

Just wanted to take a moment to explain that the Aberrant Dreams site is down, but it is only a temporary thing!  Our web host has come under a virus attack that they seem to be unable to resolve.  The outage has lasted since Monday (2/23/2009) evening, so I truly hope it is nearing an end.

I will keep you posted as things change.

Sincerely,

Joe :-)

P.S.  Incidentially, our email is currently still working so if anyone has a question, feel free to drop me a line 

Recent News from the Bookshelf

Greetings everyone! Wow, it has been a while since the last update of Aberrant Dreams. Well, that is about to change. I am currently working on a large, really large, content update that will be going up as soon as it is ready. Look for it over the next couple of weeks.

As to the reason for the delay, those who visit our forums will notice that there has been some landmark activity from us. Namely, we have released our first published novel, Gate of Souls, A Familiar's Tale, Book One, by Verna McKinnon. You can see the cover below:

This title is for sale in our store...

Skull on a Shelf $23.00

...as well as all of the following sites:

Barnes and Noble $28.76
Borders $35.95
Books A Million $25.16
Amazon $23.73

Up next, we are currently working on the first Aberrant Dreams Anthology as well as a new dark urban fantasy novel. Details on the new novel will be available as it arrises.

The last thing I need to mention is in regards to submissions for Aberrant Dreams. We are behind in responding because of the needed attention for other projects, but we are starting to make a little head way on them. For those waiting, please try to be patient as we trudge through them. I hope to get caught up soon.

Sincerely,

Joe

The Store Is Now Online!

Great news, everyone! The HD-Image store, Skull on a Shelf, is now online for everyone to use. There is still a need for minor tweaking throughout, but the merchandise that is on the store is available for purchase. Go check it out!

You can find it at the following link:

http://www.hd-image.com/store

Those interested in preordering Aberrant Dreams I, the Awakening can do so by going here.

Thanks again for the suppport with everything, and for the great assortment of names for the store. Now the job falls to Lonny, Ernie, and me to fill it with stuff people will want to buy :-)

Joe :-)

Aberrant Dreams I, the Awakening Normal Version Front Cover

All right guys and gals, below you'll see the final version of the front cover for normal hardcover and paperback version of the first anthology. Click on the image to see a slightly bigger/cleaner version.

Joe :-)

You Like Us! You Really, Really Like us!

Well, so far the feedback on the new web site design has been very positive, and that is a load off my (and I'm sure, Lonny's) shoulders. It's funny that when you get ideas in your head and you're not sure how well they will be received, it's kind of like a little gremlin gnawing on the base of your skull with an almost ravenous zeal. But we have been fortunate so far and there has been no negative feedback sent. Yet, there are more things waiting in the wings, as it were--more changes and more content to be uploaded as it is completed. I'm sure the fans out there will enjoy it--hell, I enjoy creating it--yet still the little gremlin nibbles away. Hmm...I may need to seek professional help for that :-)

If there is indeed anything negative at all about the new format is that we have had to suspend unsolicited poetry and artwork submissions (hopefully that will change in the future). Also, there is no longer have a recognizable structure to the individual issues on a less that annual scale. That fact has complicated magazine reviews of Aberrant Dreams a bit, and this is particularly perplexing since the reviews are a source of additional exposure. Over the past two, going on three, years, we have found that exposure has by-and-large been the single hardest obstacle to overcome (well, that and making enough money to support Aberrant Dreams, but I digress).

I had an email discussion about this just yesterday, and it was decided that the reviews would be best derived from the annual anthologies which will be towards the end of 2007. The reasoning for this decision is because the anthology will be a much more completed package for the reviewers, with stories and other content not posted on the web. I look forward to holding one of these anthologies, but alas that's still many months away (*grumble, grumble*).

New Merchandise Available

We have set up a shop on www.spreadshirt.com that contains original t-shirts for Aberrant Dreams, HD-IMAGE, and Slip of the Pen. If you like what we do, feel free to help support our efforts by purchasing one through our merchandise link on left menu bar.

Submissions are Closed!

Fiction and artwork submissions are closed until January 1, 2007 while we revised many aspects of Aberrant Dreams.

The Woes of Printing

Well, the new issue is nearing completion, but we still have not received our printed copies of the previous issue. This baffles the mind and frustrates us to no end. We originally placed our order for a proof copy on April 28th, and re-ordered mid-June once the proof copy had arrived. Now, here it is July 23rd, and we have had a devil of a time even getting the printer to return our email inquiries. Grrrrrrrr!! The bounds of one’s patients are far from infinite. The main quandry is that the quality for the magazines are really good–the best we’ve seen so far. Unfortunately, this fact is not enough for us to use these same printers again. We’ll keep you posted as to the status.

Chattacon

Some of our editors will be in attendance at Chattacon this year. For additional information, you can visit their website at http://www.chattacon.org. If you are in the areas, come on out an see us at Chattacon.

Oxford Comics and Games Signing

Well, the final details of the Oxford Comics & Games Signing have been finalized. The event will take place on Saturday, February 4th, 2006 from 4:00 PM to 7:30 PM at Oxford Comics & Games in Atlanta, GA. See the flyer below for additional information. If you’re in the Atlanta area, please come out and see us.

Address: Oxford Comics & Games
2855 Piedmont Rd NE
Atlanta, GA 30305-2767
(404) 233-8682

Update to the Website

A big update to the site today. Where to begin? I added the details for the new annual Dreamscapes & Madness Writing Contest. Next, I have begun adding merchandise for sale (this page will be updated frequently). Additionally, I added ways for those who have enjoyed what we do to support us. And lastly, Aberrant Dreams is now accepting advertising for both the website and the printed magazine.

Network Outage?!?

Well, we’re back. We are not too sure what exactly happened, but there was apparently a problem at our web host. It looks like things are back to normal. Let us hope, anyway.

HD-IMAGE Accepting Novel Submissions

Yes, you read that correctly. HD-IMAGE is now accepting novel submissions. If you are interested, please check out our submission guidelines. Our editorial staff is looking forward to receiving your stories. Good Luck!

DragonCon Review Forthcoming

DragonCon 2004 has come and gone. Our editors were in attendance, scouting out upcoming events and networking with writers and editors in the industry. In the next few weeks, we’ll be posting our experiences for you to enjoy, but for now, it’s time to rest.

Website Update

The HD-Image webpage has received a drastic appearance overhaul as we continually prepare for the Aberrant Dreams launch date–still five months away.

Website Launch!

The HD-Image website has been launched. Be sure to check back regularly as further updates occur.