Perhaps something of a writing challenge here...

The next issue of Neonbeam has a science-fiction cartoon image for the cover. It has been contributed by Steve Cartwright. It works well as a stand-alone cover image. However, I thought it might be nice to have a short story or poem based around it, so that it relates more to some of the content. As it's Steve's work I don't want to post it here on MySpace, and the image is not in his online gallery, but if anyone is interested in writing some fiction or poetry based around it, please feel free to e-mail me at mailbox@neonbeam.org and I will send you the image for you to decipher how you wish.

Any successful contributions will be printed in the mag. The story/poem probably needs to have some element of science fiction - however minor - and as the image is a cartoon it would probably be fitting to have a slightly humorous piece to go along with it. However, interpretation is purely that of the author or poet!

If you have already submitted work to NB for Issue Four, you are still welcome to try your hand at this. It will be considered seperately to the regular NB submissions.

- Sammi

I'm thrilled with the amount, and quality, of submissions NB is getting for Issue 4. There are still 36 days before the current submission period closes, so plenty of time to send your fiction and poetry in! Remember, NB4 will be a PDF and Print issue. The author and poet chosen as Best of Issue will receive a free copy of the print issue, plus the relevant Best of Issue prize book ("Funky Chickens", by Benjamin Zephaniah for poetry / "Hybrids", by David Thorpe for fiction).

While NB will consider any genre and style of writing - and I am, most definitely, happy to receive all subs - it would be really wonderful to be sent some humorous, light-hearted, fantastical stories for Issue 4. Currently I have an awful lot of suicide fiction, which is all written well, but filling an entire issue with tales of people killing themselves concerns me slightly. This doesn't mean to say any subs will be rejected based on the subject matter, but it would be great to get a range of content. So, any cheerful contributions - along with any other subs, of course - will be gratefully received!

View the submission guidelines at www.neonbeam.org.

- Sammi

It has become necessary to mention the following points:

a) When submitting, please don't send any pictures of yourself wearing only underwear (unless you happen to be Angelina Jolie!). There are plenty of websites you can visit to see people in such a state of undress, but NB isn't one of them. This did happen once, and for that reason author photographs will now not be published with the submissions.

b) I like to believe that NB is a friendly and informal magazine. In your submission email, you can send as much or as little information as you like, so long as you include your work and a short bio. Cover letters are just as welcome as a simple "please find attached..." message. However, it would be nice not to receive emails ending, "thanks for giving a shit". A submission wouldn't necessarily be rejected because of that, but it doesn't seem at all polite or professional, and I have no doubt that more established magazines would decline you instantly because of it. So don't do it. Again, surprisingly to me, this has happened!

c) When the new submission guidelines are added to the website and this MySpace page, please take the time to read them. The guidelines for Issue 4 will be available on the 15th December and contain important information. They are simple and fairly short and will only take a minute or two to become familiar with! NB has been lenient towards people who don't follow the guidelines in previous issues, but as the submission volumes increase I will be forced to crack down on this and give preference to the majority who do follow them. I wouldn't want to reject good work just because it was clear the contributor had not even glanced at the guidelines.

d) If after acceptance, for any reason, I need more information from you, please try to get this to me as soon as possible. Chasing people up makes me feel very annoying, but the mag takes up a fair bit of time already, and delays mean more work and a headache! Also, if need be, I won't give in until I have hunted down the required info.

e) If, at any time, you decide to withdraw your work, please don't wait until I've accepted it before you let me know! Receipt emails are sent out for every submission, so all contributors will have a direct point of contact, plus there are multiple contact suggestions on the website. It really messes the issue up if a contributor withdraws their accepted piece, as all responses are sent out together, so an after-acceptance-withdrawal means a big-gaping-hole in the mag!

That's it for now, I think. Is NB still a friendly, informal mag, or has it become a sadistic dictator?! Hmm...

Issue Three will be available for download on December 15th 2007!

- Sammi

For Issue Three of NB, I intend to send out proofs to all successful contributors as a PDF before the e-zine is published. If you have submitted, you can expect to receive the proofs on, or shortly after, November 15th. This seems like a good idea, to make sure everyone's happy with the final piece and any of the small changes that are made, or to make changes of their own. There will probably be a two week deadline for making changes or confirming everything's ok. I'm going on holiday on the 1st December for a week, so would like all submissions to be finalised by then.

The issue will be available for download on December 15th; a nice little read before Christmas.

Submissions for Issue Three are still being accepted until November 15th.

- Sammi

After two emails to Freewebs Tech Support (who have yet to grasp the point of their job; supporting tech!) with no response, I gave up hoping that the host might help me get all my files back, and remade the website from scratch. 

www.neonbeam.org.

Hope it all works properly. I plan to save the files in three different places this time, to avoid any recurrence of this problem.

Really, as a premium member, I would at least expect to be able to contact Customer Services at Freewebs and get a prompt response. Personally, I think they should have sent out notification to their members that they were upgrading the servers and it was best not to update anything at that particular moment. Sadly not. If I hadn't already paid this year's annual subscription, I would seriously have considered moving elsewhere.

But it's done now, and hopefully here to stay, so I will stop whining about the website and get back to reading subs!

25 days to go until the end of the current reading period. Submit here!

- Sammi

PS - I have a personal MySpace page here, if you fancy saying hello.

My entire new design of my website has disappeared, and all of my old files and pages are back. I'm irate. This took me so long to make and was fine for two days, and now it's all gone. I have contacted tech support at Freewebs, and they had better be able to get all my new files back. No idea how it could even happen - I removed all the old files! - but I would strongly suggest that no-one use Freewebs at the moment!

- Sammi

As Neonbeam has existed for over 6 months now, I decided to spruce the website up a bit.

www.neonbeam.org

I think the new layout is much more user friendly, and looks more professional. I liked the old layout a lot, but it was a bit science fiction-ish, which I was worried might put some people off submitting, since we're not solely a sci-fi mag.

I've tried the new layout in IE and FireFox and haven't come across any problems, but if any browsers do seem incompatible with it, I'd be grateful if you'd let me know.

Of course, we're still accepting submissions until November 15th, so you have just over a month to get all contributions in to me!

- Sammi

Originally, the file size of NB2 was ever-so-slightly large and may have put some readers off downloading it. I've now reduced this greatly, to 995KB, which hopefully shouldn't be too slow for anyone to download (even on dial-up!). The website has been updated with the new compressed version.

Teething Problems! They happen. :o)

- Sammi

PS - Oh, and we have a guestbook now too. Let us know what you think of the issue!