Tag Archives: call for submissions

Call For Submissions, Swashbuckling Cats

Swashbuckling Cats Open to Submissions

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Swashbuckling Cats: Nine Lives on the Seven Seas

If you think cats and water don’t mix, think again.

I’m putting together an anthology full of feisty felines on the high seas! I want pirate cats, and Viking cats. Submariner cats and explorer cats. This book is going to be filled with adventure-loving cats, puns and fun. I want it to be a wild, rollicking ride complete with sword fights, sea monsters, treasure hunting, discovering new worlds and lots and lots of kittehs.

Be careful not to get too caught up in the fun and forget to include a strong plot and detailed characters for your story, though.

I’m a sucker for a great setting, three-dimensional characters and high stakes. And if your story elicits real emotion from me–laughter, tears, anger or anything in between–you will have increased your chances of success significantly.

Rights and compensation: Payment: $50 CAD flat fee and a paperback copy of the anthology. In exchange we are seeking first world rights in English and exclusive right to publish in print and electronic format for six months after publication date, after which publisher retains nonexclusive right to continue to publish for the life of the anthology.

Open submission period: June 1, 2019 – July 31, 2019

Length: Under 9,000 words

Publisher: Tyche Books

No simultaneous or multiple submissions.

No reprints.

Canadian spelling, please.

Submission form –> https://niteblade.submittable.com/submit/141693/swashbuckling-cats-nine-lives-on-the-seven-seas

Edited to add an FAQ:

Q: What if I’m not good at Canadian spelling?

A: Do your best. I won’t be judging your story based on how well you nailed Canadian spelling and if it’s accepted myself or the copyeditor will catch and correct any words you missed. But try.

Q: Does Canadian spelling mean you are only open to submissions from Canadian authors?

A: Not at all. I am open to submissions from anyone, anywhere.

Call For Submissions, Earth: Giants

Earth Open to Submissions

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It’s today! Today is the day that Earth: Giants, Golems and Gargoyles opens to submissions! This will be the second volume in my elemental anthologies series and I’m really looking to build on the awesome that was Fire: Demons, Dragons and Djinns.

Call for Submissions: Earth: Giants, Golems and Gargoyles

Keep your feet on the ground. Sink in roots. Stay grounded. Mother Earth. We come from dust, and to dust we return…

Earth is steady. Solid. Reliable. It is the source of life and the thing which sustains it. But it’s not always serene and peaceful. It takes a lot to stir the earth but when it does, things get dramatic. Quakes swallow cities. Oceans rise. Mountains crumble. Earth is not weak, and it knows no pity.

In this, the second installment of the Elemental Anthology series, I want to explore the many facets of this often under-estimated element and the creatures associated with it so Earth: Giants, Golems and Gargoyles will be filled with stories about every kind of earthy creature you can imagine, not only those listed in the subtitle. I’m looking for trolls, dwarves, earth dragons, goblins, ogres, orcs, grotesques and earthen beasts no one has ever heard of before. And of course this anthology will not be complete without at least one giant, golem and gargoyle!

Rights and compensation: Payment: $50 CAD flat fee and a paperback copy of the anthology. In exchange we are seeking first world rights in English and exclusive right to publish in print and electronic format for six months after publication date, after which publisher retains nonexclusive right to continue to publish for the life of the anthology.

Open submission period: January 1, 2019 – February 28, 2019

Length: Under 7,500 words

Submit here: https://niteblade.submittable.com/submit/131075/earth-giants-golems-and-gargoyles

No simultaneous or multiple submissions.

No reprints.

Canadian spelling, please.

Swashbuckling Cats

Swashbucking Cats — Nine Lives on the Seven Seas

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And thus was an anthology conceived, contracted and scheduled.

Bad news: Submissions don’t open until next year.

Good news: That gives you lots of time to write something pawsome.

p.s. If we knock this one out of the park maybe we can talk the publisher into a Ninja Dogs follow-up 😉

 

Swashbuckling Cats: Nine Lives on the Seven Seas

If you think cats and water don’t mix, think again.

I’m putting together an anthology full of feisty felines on the high seas! I want pirate cats, and Viking cats. Submariner cats and explorer cats. This book is going to be filled with adventure-loving cats, puns and fun. I want it to be a wild, rollicking ride complete with sword fights, sea monsters, treasure hunting, discovering new worlds and lots and lots of kittehs.

Be careful not to get too caught up in the fun and forget to include a strong plot and detailed characters for your story, though.

I’m a sucker for a great setting, three-dimensional characters and high stakes and if your story elicits real emotion from me–laughter, tears or anything in between–you will have increased your chances of success significantly.

Rights and compensation: Payment: $50 CAD flat fee and a paperback copy of the anthology. In exchange we are seeking first world rights in English and exclusive right to publish in print and electronic format for six months after publication date, after which publisher retains nonexclusive right to continue to publish for the life of the anthology.

Open submission period: June 1, 2019 – July 31, 2019

Length: Under 9,000 words

Publisher: Tyche Books

No simultaneous or multiple submissions.

No reprints.

Canadian spelling, please.

 

 

 

 

 

Call For Submissions, Earth: Giants, Golems and Gargoyles

Earth: Giants, Golems and Gargoyles

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Earth: Giants, Golems and Gargoyles

Keep your feet on the ground. Sink in roots. Stay grounded. Mother Earth. We come from dust, and to dust we return…

Earth is steady. Solid. Reliable. It is the source of life and the thing which sustains it. But it’s not always serene and peaceful. It takes a lot to stir the earth but when it does, things get dramatic. Quakes swallow cities. Oceans rise. Mountains crumble. Earth is not weak, and it knows no pity.

In this, the second installment of the Elemental Anthology series, I want to explore the many facets of this often under-estimated element and the creatures associated with it so Earth: Giants, Golems and Gargoyles will be filled with stories about every kind of earthy creature you can imagine, not only those listed in the subtitle. I’m looking for trolls, dwarves, earth dragons, goblins, ogres, orcs, grotesques and earthen beasts no one has ever heard of before. And of course this anthology will not be complete without at least one giant, golem and gargoyle!

Rights and compensation: Payment: $50 CAD flat fee and a paperback copy of the anthology. In exchange we are seeking first world rights in English and exclusive right to publish in print and electronic format for six months after publication date, after which publisher retains nonexclusive right to continue to publish for the life of the anthology.

Open submission period: January 1, 2019 – February 28, 2019

Length: Under 7,500 words

Publisher: Tyche Books

No simultaneous or multiple submissions.

No reprints.

International submissions are welcomed but use Canadian spelling, please.

Grimm Grit and Gasoline

Announcing Grimm, Grit and Gasoline

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I am stoked to announce that World Weaver Press and I will be teaming up to publish a brand new series of anthologies! Whoot whoot!

The series name is named ‘Punked Up Fairy Tales’. As the name implies, each anthology in the series will be filled with twisted fairy tales. If all goes well there will be a steampunk fairy tales anthology, and a cyberpunk fairy tales anthology, and a solarpunk fairy tales anthology… you get the idea 🙂

The very first volume, Grimm, Grit and Gasoline, will be a dieselpunk and decopunk fairy tales anthology!

 

GRIMM, GRIT, AND GASOLINE: An anthology of Dieselpunk and Decopunk Fairy Tales

Open for Submissions: August 1, 2018 – September 30, 2018
Expected Publication: mid-2019
Story Length: up to 7,500 words
Payment: $50 per story*
*We may run a crowdfunding campaign to increase author payments. Watch for updates.

 

Dieselpunk and decopunk are alternative history reimaginings of the WWI and WWII eras beginning with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and ending before the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I’m looking for tales with the grit of roaring bombers, rumbling tanks, of ‘We Can Do It’, the Great Depression and old time gangsters or the glamour (real or imagined) of flappers, Hollywood starlets, smoky jazz, elegant cars and Radio City Music Hall.Plus fairy tales.

For example: a ‘mend and make do’ take on the Elves and the Shoemaker, a trench warfare version of The Emperor’s New Clothes, or Hansel and Gretel as Bonnie and Clyde. The possibilities are limitless.

Original fairy tales are welcome, as are retellings. If you choose to retell a familiar favourite, make sure your story offers something new and interesting. I’d rather see stories that reflect the long history of fairy tales as social commentary than those which simply tell the same story with a different setting.

And while dieselpunk tends to be focused on North America and Western Europe, this anthology needn’t be. I am open to stories set all over the world, and would love to see ‘Own Voices’ stories.

***

I’m super stoked but this one is going to require some patience — submissions won’t open until August, and the resulting anthology won’t be out until mid-2019.

On the plus side, if you’re an author that gives you lots of time to think up, write and polish your submission and if you’re a reader I have lots of other books coming out between now and then to keep you busy so the waiting isn’t too painful 😉

Fire: Demons, Dragons and Djinn, Just Stuff

Fire Wishlist

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I want to take a few minutes to talk about my wishlist for Fire: Demons, Dragons and Djinns, and yes, that is a rooster up there. I chose it specifically because it’s probably not what you’d expect to see at the top of a blog post about fire and fiery creatures.

And the number one thing I really want to see in the submissions to Fire is something completely appropriate and yet wholly unexpected.

Like a fiery rooster. Because why should phoenixes get to have all the fun? 😉

Fire is dramatic. It is bold. Ferocious. Powerful. Beautiful. Terrifying. It can consume everything in its path, or push back the darkness so you can see the terrors which loom all around you. It can purify or purge. Brand or bless.

Above all I want to see stories that embrace those first five descriptors:

  • Dramatic
  • Bold
  • Ferocious
  • Powerful
  • Beautiful

And any tale which captures the dichotomy of fire, the yin-yang of it (without smacking me in the face with it) will get serious bonus points.

Including those things doesn’t mean you need to exclude other things though. A story can be both dramatic and funny. You can write beautifully about ugly things. Meek characters can do bold things — or a bold prose style can make readers fall in love with a character for their weaknesses (or despite them).

I’m going to get a bit more specific here than I usually do on these wishlist-type posts because there are specific creatures named right there in the title of the anthology. Demons, dragons and djinns.

When you’re submitting to an anthology the smart tactic is to try and make your story stand out in a positive way. In this case that might mean choosing to write about the most obscure fire creature/magician/thing you can possibly think of–and don’t get me wrong, that’s not a bad strategy–but here’s the thing… I need some demons, dragons and djinns.

Ideally I would like about a quarter of the stories I accept to be dragon-y, a quarter to be demon-y and the last half to surprise me… but include at least two which are djinn-y.

I say ‘dragon-y’, ‘demon-y’ and ‘djinn-y’ because a dragon-y story doesn’t need to have the dragon as the main character, nor does it need to be all about the dragon. It just has to be dragon-y. It’s like truthiness, I suppose.

(Quick side note about dragons, specifically — it probably goes without saying but for this anthology I’m looking for fiery dragons. Save the water, air and earth dragons for those later anthologies :-p)

The point I was trying to make before I went off on that bit of a ramble is I really do need some dragons, demons and djinns in this anthology so if you have a great idea for a demon story and a good idea for a salamander story but you’re thinking, “Nah, everyone is going to be sending in demon stories and I don’t want to compete with them all — I’ll write this salamander story instead.” don’t. Go for the great idea.

Confession:

Djinns are mostly in the subtitle because I am an alliteration hound, I love djinns, and I could make an argument for them being fiery creatures. Alas, since I can also make an argument for them being born of air I don’t intend for them to take up as much of the Table of Contents as dragons and demons. Though you never know, if I get enough amazing djinn stories that could totally change.

I want an ifrit story (bonus points if it’s actually set within ifrit society and the ifrits are demonstrably different from humans!), and a salamander story. Someone please send me a story with a lava monster and, possibly related, a fire mage. No fire anthology would be complete without a phoenix story, and any story that includes a hellhound (especially one that’s misunderstood) will likely discover the path to my shortlist is… well, short.

But you don’t need me to give you a list of creatures associated with fire, do you? Google can do that better than I can.

And, because I’ve been asked, you don’t need fire-based creatures in your story, fire itself can fulfill the required fiery element for your tale.

Wildfires? Sure!

Michael Bay-type explosions? Why not?

Bombs dropping during The Blitz? Please!

Other things that will give you an advantage while submitting:

  • I am completely infatuated with WWI & WWII as a setting. Any story set during, between or shortly following them will definitely make my eyes light up when I begin reading.
  • A fiery solarpunk story? Think you can pull that off? I’d love to read it!
  • Anything that matches the aesthetic of artist Omar Gilani’s Pakistan+ series (plus fire!)
  • For this anthology I’ll be leaning further toward fantasy than science fiction or horror but fire in space? On a whole other planet?
  • Is fire sentient?
  • I’d like something that dates back to when humans first gained control over fire. Whether this takes the form of something set in prehistoric times or a take on more of a ‘How raven brought fire to the people’ or ‘How Prometheus stole fire from the gods’ type thing… well, that would be up to you.
    • Does man command fire, or does fire command man?
  • I like diverse characters and settings. And by diverse I mean in every way you can possibly imagine.
  • Have you got a fiery story that is set in the Arctic? *makes grabby hands*
  • Fiery fairy tale?
  • A story with absolutely no humans in it at all would be awesome.
  • Fire can transform. Got a fiery shapeshifter story to tell?

And if your story is nothing like anything I’ve described here — send it. Please send it. I love reading a great story about something I never could have imagined.

This anthology is the first volume in a brand new series. That means, to some extent, it is going to help define that series. Which means you get to help define that series. Is it going to be upbeat and fast-paced? Angsty and emotional? Fairy tales and folklore? Well, we’re going to find that out together 🙂

Finally, because it’s become an FAQ–probably the best way to get an idea of what I like is to read one of my other anthologies, but when in doubt–submit. The worst thing that can happen is I’ll say no. And I’m not a jerk about it, I promise.

Black Angel. Pretty girl-demon with black wings. An image for Halloween. Image of an old book of fairy tales. Fashionable toning
Rooster metal
Man and dragon
Dragon castle
phoenix bird flying up in the sky, painting graphic collage.
warrior and a dragon
Fiery stallion
Man walking through darkness

Call for Submissions:

The ability for people to control (to some extent at least) fire has long been held as one of the major events that contributed to human evolution, but when fire eludes or escapes our control it is also one of the most destructive forces on earth. Associated with passion, power, transformation and purification, fire is a ferocious element with an unquenchable appetite.

We want to explore the many facets of this beautifully furious element and the creatures associated with it so Fire: Demons, Dragons and Djinns will be filled with stories about every kind of fiery creature you can imagine, not only those listed in the subtitle. We’re looking for phoenixes, ifrits, salamanders, lava monsters and fiery beasts no one has ever heard of before. And of course this anthology will not be complete without at least one demon, dragon and djinn!

Rights and compensation: Payment: $50 CAD flat fee and a paperback copy of the anthology. In exchange we are seeking first world rights in English and exclusive right to publish in print and electronic format for six months after publication date, after which publisher retains nonexclusive right to continue to publish for the life of the anthology.

Open submission period: June 1, 2017 – August 31, 2017 (extended from August 15th)

Length: Under 7,500 words

No simultaneous or multiple submissions.

No reprints.

Submit here

(http://bit.ly/FireAntho)

Because I’ve been asked — though payment is in Canadian dollars you do not need to be Canadian to submit. Everyone is welcome.

Fire: Demons, Dragons and Djinn

Call for Submissions: Fire

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Yesterday submissions opened to an anthology that I’ve been looking forward to for over a year!

Fire: Demons, Dragons & Djinn

This is the first in a brand new series of element-based anthologies edited by myself and published by Tyche Books. I’ve included the call for submissions below and I’ll write up and share a ‘Fire Wishlist’ in the next couple weeks and share that here, too. In the meantime, if you’ve got a story about a fiery being I would really love to see it!

Call for Submissions:

The ability for people to control (to some extent at least) fire has long been held as one of the major events that contributed to human evolution, but when fire eludes or escapes our control it is also one of the most destructive forces on earth. Associated with passion, power, transformation and purification, fire is a ferocious element with an unquenchable appetite.

We want to explore the many facets of this beautifully furious element and the creatures associated with it so Fire: Demons, Dragons and Djinns will be filled with stories about every kind of fiery creature you can imagine, not only those listed in the subtitle. We’re looking for phoenixes, ifrits, salamanders, lava monsters and fiery beasts no one has ever heard of before. And of course this anthology will not be complete without at least one demon, dragon and djinn!

Rights and compensation: Payment: $50 CAD flat fee and a paperback copy of the anthology. In exchange we are seeking first world rights in English and exclusive right to publish in print and electronic format for six months after publication date, after which publisher retains nonexclusive right to continue to publish for the life of the anthology.

Open submission period: June 1, 2017 – August 31, 2017 (was originally August 15 but has been extended)

Length: Under 7,500 words

No simultaneous or multiple submissions.

No reprints.

Submit here

(http://bit.ly/FireAntho)

Mrs. Claus

CFS: Mrs. Claus

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Before my blog is completely taken over my dinosaur stuff I’d like to take a quick moment to announce this anthology I’ll be editing for World Weaver Press this year. Submissions will open in April which gives you a couple months to plot your tales before then.

Mrs. Claus

Mrs. Claus

For a long, long time Santa Claus has hogged the spotlight relegating his wife to the shadows, but no longer. Now it’s Mrs. Claus’ turn to shine!

We’re looking for stories that let Mrs. Claus (or is it Ms. Claus?) take centre stage. Whether she more closely resembles Michelle Obama, Betty White, Shohreh Aghdashlooor or Maggie Smith, Mrs. Claus must be a developed, independent character and not simply an extension of her husband. She can help and support him—of course she can—but there needs to be more to her than only that.

What’s her role on Christmas Eve? What about the other days of the year? Is she into sleek red snowmobiles or is she more of an old-fashioned magic sleigh kinda gal? Does she prefer baking cookies or kickboxing? Betting on the Reindeer Games or Avon parties with the elves?

And what is her first name, anyway?

Stories are encouraged to re-imagine the North Pole in new and interesting ways (steampunk? alien? magically relocated to the equator?) and to explore a variety of other settings both real and imagined. Stories set in Christmas in 1940 Poland, Mars in 2050 or a rediscovered Atlantis in 2017 would all be welcome in this anthology.

Note: This anthology is intended for an adult audience, please don’t submit children’s stories.

Rights and compensation: Payment: $10 and a paperback copy of the anthology from World Weaver Press. We are looking for previously unpublished works in English. Seeking first world rights in English and nonexclusive right to continue to publish for the life of the anthology.

Open submission period: April 1, 2017 – May 30, 2017

Length: Under 10,000 words

Submission method: Upload story as .doc or .rtf to niteblade.submittable.com/submit 

Simultaneous submissions = okay. Multiple submissions = no.

Expected Publication Date: Winter 2017

 

Fire: Demons, Dragons and Djinn

FIRE!

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You’ve probably seen this — I signal boosted the crap out of it all over social media when Tyche made the official announcement — but in case you haven’t, I am excited to share with you the official call for submissions for book one of my brand new elemental anthology series — Fire: Demons, Dragons and Djinns.

War with the dragon on castle

Fire: Elemental Anthologies #1

 

Tyche Books and Rhonda Parrish are proud to announce a brand new elemental anthology series, and to kick things off they are opening to submissions for the first anthology in the series—Fire: Demons, Dragons and Djinns.

The ability for people to control (to some extent at least) fire has long been held as one of the major events that contributed to human evolution, but when fire eludes or escapes our control it is also one of the most destructive forces on earth. Associated with passion, power, transformation and purification, fire is a ferocious element with an unquenchable appetite.

We want to explore the many facets of this beautifully furious element and the creatures associated with it so Fire: Demons, Dragons and Djinns will be filled with stories about every kind of fiery creature you can imagine, not only those listed in the subtitle. We’re looking for phoenixes, ifrits, salamanders, lava monsters and fiery beasts no one has ever heard of before. And of course this anthology will not be complete without at least one demon, dragon, and djinn!

Rights and compensation: Payment: Flat fee of $50.00 CAD and a paperback copy of the anthology. In exchange we are seeking first world rights in English and exclusive right to publish in print and electronic format for six months after publication date, after which publisher retains nonexclusive right to continue to publish for the life of the anthology.

Open submission period: June 1, 2017 – August 15, 2017

Length: Under 7,500 words

No simultaneous or multiple submissions.

Submission method: Submittable! You will be able to upload your story on the Fire Submission page.

Expected Publication Date: Summer 2018

Equus

Equus is Open

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Equus Submissions Banner

Yesterday I opened to submissions for Equus. Today I’d like to make sure that everyone knows how to submit and what happens once you do 🙂

To Submit to Equus:

  1. Click the button below or go here –> http://niteblade.submittable.com/submit
  2. Read the guidelines one last time just to make sure you haven’t missed anything.
  3. Click on the orange ‘Submit’ button at the bottom of the page.
  4. Fill in the form.
  5. Upload your story file (which does not have your name anywhere on it).
  6. Click submit.

What Happens After You Submit to Equus:

  1. You will be redirected to a confirmation page that says your submission has been successfully submitted.
  2. You will receive an email confirmation that your submission was received. This email will contain a link you can follow to check the status of your submission at any time.
  3. My amazing submissions wrangler will check your submission to make sure your name doesn’t appear anywhere on the story file.
    1. If your name is on the story file, they will reject your story and ask that you re-submit with an anonymous story file. If this happens please do resubmit! We understand mistakes happen and I really do want to read your story… but I want to read it blind.
    2. If your name is not on the story file, they will assign it to me to read.
  4. I will read your story blind and respond one of three ways — I will pass on the story, shortlist it or ask you to revise and resubmit
  5. And we will take it from there 🙂

 

This is going to be the final title in the Magical Menageries series and I want to go out with a bang! One of the keys to having a really awesome anthology is having a lot of really awesome stories to choose from, so please submit, and send me your best work.

If you have any questions or concerns, hit me up. It’s what I’m here for. Otherwise:
submit

Call For Submissions, Equus, Fae, Sirens

Equus

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I am incredibly excited and proud to announce the fifth and final installment to the Magical Menageries anthology series:

Equus

Horses, unicorns, Pegasus…

OMG right?

!!!

I can’t even begin to tell you how difficult it has been to sit on this announcement and not shout it from the rooftops… though I did enjoy answering ‘Nay’ when people asked if I’d give them a hint of what was coming next. Nay/neigh, get it? Ha! I kill me!**

Without further squealing on my part, here are the details:

Equus Submissions Banner

Magical Menageries #5: Equus

 

Horses are represented in mythology and folklore from Paleolithic right up to modern times. What is it about these magnificent creatures that fascinates us and captures our hearts? Is it their intelligence, their power, their beauty or something else that draw us to them? That is just one of the questions we’re going to explore in Equus.

I will be looking for stories about every kind of horse from the earthly to the mythological and though I’ll be placing a special emphasis on horses, unicorns and Pegasus, every kind of magical equine is welcome (and really, aren’t they all magical?). Stories with a strong sense of place will have an advantage, as will those which explore the connection (for better or for worse) between equines and humans.

 

Rights and compensation: Payment: $10 and a paperback copy of the anthology from World Weaver Press. We are looking for previously unpublished works in English. Seeking first world rights in English and exclusive right to publish in print and electronic format for six months after publication date, after which publisher retains nonexclusive right to continue to publish for the life of the anthology.

Publisher: World Weaver Press

Anthologist: C’est moi

Open submission period: September 1st – November 30, 2016

Length: Under 7,500 words

Simultaneous submissions = okay. Multiple submissions = no.

Expected Publication Date: Summer 2017
submit

But wait! There’s more! While I have you here allow me to update you on a couple other Magical Menageries details 🙂

First, for a limited time electronic versions of Fae are currently on sale now for only $0.99! That link will take you to Amazon but it is available at all the other usual suspects as well.

Second, don’t forget that you can enter to win an advance copy of Sirens or reserve your copy now.

…and I’m just gonna leave this banner here again because it’s just so damn pretty!

Equus Submissions Banner

*sighs happily*

**If you read this in Alf’s voice, you totally deserve a high five 🙂