Sword & Sorcery: "An earthier sort of fantasy" discussion

Grimdark Magazine's Battle-Off competition has begun (Aug 2015), and excerpts are rolling in. Please support your fellow Grimdark authors!

<1000word entries of epic grim fantasy await your feedback and voting! Please support me and other grimdark authors. The list of entries is just being populated now (Aug 16th):
http://grimdarkmagazine.com/pages/the...

Lords of Dyscrasia's excerpt is there: "Lysis carved into their ranks with Ferrus Eviscamir, its blade slicing only their bones, invisible to metal and flesh and incapable of being parried or blocked...."

I wanted to give this a try, until I found out it was for published works only. Oh well, just gotta get published, I guess! This is a very cool idea, and a great way for readers to get a taste of various writers they have not yet tried.

S.Wagenaar, I hope you finish your WIP. For others interested, the submission time is still open for a few weeks. I copy the key bits from the URL below:
http://grimdarkmagazine.com/pages/the...

Sounds awesome! How will the Battle-Off work?

Send your 1,000-word entry to competitions@grimdarkmagazine.com between 00:01 AEST 15-Aug-2015 and 23:59 AEST 14-Sep-2015 (Australian Eastern Standard Time). Entries sent outside of this timeframe, or to one of our other addresses, won't be accepted. Depending on the amount of entries received, a cap may be introduced at our own discretion.

A voting system will be set up on our website and readers encouraged to read and vote on pieces. The leaderboard will be updated as votes come in. Each piece will have its own page and cover image. Our affiliate links to your Amazon/Apple/etc sale sites will be posted beneath each work should readers decided to find out more or purchase your book.

Once the author window is completed, the voting will remain open until 15-Oct-2015.

Our judging panel will make a decision on the top 3 by early November, 2015

The winners will be announced and prizes awarded in November, 2015.

Anything else I need to know before entering?

There are a few last items that are hard-and-fast rules
-The author must be a self-published or published by a small-publisher and have their books up for sale on, at a minimum, Amazon.com, or iBooks, or Kobo.
-The author must provide an excerpt and cover image to be placed on Grimdark Magazine's website free of charge. Novellas and short stories published on the aforementioned platforms are fine. WIPs aren't accepted.
-The excerpt must not exceed one thousand (1,000) words, exclusive of the title, author name, associate links, etc.
-The excerpt must be submitted to competitions@grimdarkmagazine.com in either doc or docx. No other formats will be accepted. Entries provided in other formats will be rejected without being read.
-The excerpt must portray a battle (e.g. two substantial forces engaging in conflict - not 1 vs 1 or squad vs squad). This can include fleets (ocean-based and space-based), planes, jetbikes, dinosaur mounts, etc.
-The excerpt must have a fantasy or sci-fi setting.
Our voting system has a cheat prevention system. If it overdoes it and blocks your vote, please contact me on adrian@grimdarkmagazine.com.

In the case of a tie for a prize, the judging panel will be expanded by one member to provide a resolution. We will source this panel member when and if they are required.
Good to go?

At 00:01 on the 15-AUG-2015 AEST, the submissions email address will open. We're looking forward to seeing your submission!

Note that there are a dozen authors, some of which are members here. Read and vote on them ALL: http://grimdarkmagazine.com/pages/the...

A few highlights:

Excerpt from Lawyers in Hell, story by Scott Oden: Vote: http://grimdarkmagazine.com/pages/gri...

Excerpt of The Shadow Cycles by Philip Emery: http://grimdarkmagazine.com/pages/gri...

Excerpt from Lords of Dyscrasia by S.E. Lindberg :
Vote: http://grimdarkmagazine.com/pages/gri...

I would have submitted something but kept putting it off. Maybe next time...

Peter wrote: "I would have submitted something but kept putting it off. Maybe next time..."

Hey Peter, I had hopes one of us would get through phase one of Mark Lawrence's "Great Self-published Fantasy Blog-off!" held this year. Your Black River and my Spawn of Dyscrasia were in the same bracket, and both dismissed (after months of neglect) because of an apparently random "no sequels" rule applied for our section. Ugh/whatever. I had some hopes for some feedback at least; the concept of the event is rather cool regardless. Lots of other dark fiction writers being identified.

Seth, I wish the blogger would have picked books he would have at least considered. But he may not have had a choice. I continue to appreciate the opportunities that Mark Lawrence makes available to promote other authors.