Betsy's poem "Tears of the Nereid" appears in the May 2012: Sea Monsters issue
of EMG-zine, a fantasy publication.
NEW WEBSITE FEATURE: We've added a Gallery link on the right navbar. This page has a sampling of Betsy's artwork. It includes acrylic paintings, colored pencil drawings, digital photography, and mixed media.
Betsy's short story
"Uncle Bud and the UFO" took 2nd place in the early April flash fiction contest at LinkedIn's Aspiring Writers Group. The genre was open, theme: April Fool, focus: Uncle Bud and a silver flashlight.
Betsy has made it to the finals of the NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge. Her story
"I'm a Believer" placed first in her heat. Now she is one of 25 finalists who got their
challenge topic at one minute to midnight on Friday the 13th and had 24 hours to write a 1,000 word story.
Guest Blogs: Betsy was invited to do guest blogs on two different sites on the same day.
On Self-Publishing Experts, "You Are More Successful Than You Think" talks about Amazon rankings.
On The Dante Chronicles, "Lizzie and Clara Shop for Tattoos" gives a look inside the tattoo
subculture.
Betsy's poem "Guardian Angle" and short-short fairy tale "Raffaiela" are in the
Spring 2012 issue of Pen in Hand, the quarterly newsletter of the Maryland
Writers' Association.
The anthology
That One Left Shoe is now available as a paperback through CreateSpace and Amazon,
and on Kindle
. Betsy has several stories and poems in the volume, along with other members of the Eldersburg Critique group and the Carroll County chapter of MWA. Blue Dragon Press is donating the proceeds to that organization.
Front cover photo is by Debra Eloise and back cover photograph by Alisa Piotrowski.
Betsy's poem "Sleeping People" is up in the April/May Dark Poetry section of SNM Horror Magazine. Be aware there are R-rated images on their website.
Betsy's short story "Second Opinion"
placed 3rd in the SNM Horror Magazine April/May Issue 1, themed Alter Egos. (Note: this website is not for
the faint of heart! Somewhat explicit graphics) This story is published under the pen name Desdemona Pike.
Betsy's short story "The Green Monster" won Third place in the early March flash contest at LinkedIn's Aspiring Writers Group. The competition genre was mystery, theme was buying an old house in the country, focus was a worn handwritten letter found in a safe hidden behind a picture. The winning stories will be published in an anthology.
Betsy's Pen Names: Betsy writes under several pen names. A short story, "Cindy Lou, Who?" written
as Cassandra Hex, will appear in the anthology Zombies Gone Wild!. Another short story, "Second Opinion" (written as Desdemona Pike) is in the April (Alter Egos) issue of SNM Horror Magazine, and will be in the print anthology Bonded by Blood V. The anthology That One Left Shoe includes "The Hand-Painted Croc" by Desdemona Pike and from Delfina Hex, "Slot Canyon Rules," "The Kudzu Conspiracy," and "Glass Slipper Arrangement."
Latitude on 2nd, a poetry anthology published by Cool Waters Media (producers of Empirical Magazine) is now available on Amazon in
paperback
and Kindle 
versions.
Betsy has three poems in this volume:
"All Fall Down", "Laundry of the Mind", and "The Thinker Sleeps". An
interview with Betsy about her poetry is posted on The Dan O'Brien Project blog, and includes a short video clip.
If you like those poems, you can read more of Betsy's poetry in Street People Tales.
Sylvia Browder, founder of the Women on the Rise community, has posted an
interview
of Betsy on her Blog for Women Entrepreneurs.
Betsy has made it to round two of the NYC Midnight 2012 Short Story contest. She is one of 125 contestants remaining that will have three days to write a 1500 word story on a genre, theme, and character to be announced at midnight on March 8. In round one, Betsy made the top five in heat 19 with "Exclusive Exposure" (genre: horror, theme: bullying, character: photographer). For round two, she is in heat 5 with "I'm a Believer" (genre: fantasy, theme: luck, character: a lead singer).
Betsy's poem "Belief Systems" is in the premier issue (dated May 2012) of Empirical Magazine. The magazine goes monthly in June. It is a current events/literary journal. Online preview (of magazine--does not show the poem). If you liked "Belief Systems", read more of Betsy's poetry in Street People Tales.
Betsy's short story "X-file #227: Last Words" won First place in the early February flash contest at LinkedIn's Aspiring Writers Group. The competition genre was fantasy, theme was paranormal encounter at a ski resort, with the highlight a cellphone.
The anthology containing the winning entries from the 2011 Aspiring Writers Short Story Competition is now out on Smashwords (click on image) thanks to Dan Marvin, with a paperback version available from CreateSpace. Betsy has three stories in this illustrated book: "Games", "Father's Day at the Beach", and "Curiosity Kills".
The original publishing company folded, so Blue Dragon Press stepped up to make the volume happen. Visit BDP to check out other books in the pipeline.
Betsy's short story "Initial Success" won Third place in the early January flash contest at LinkedIn's Aspiring Writers Group. The competition genre was suspense, theme was first day on a new job, with the highlight "an email received in error".
Read the Interview with Betsy on Self-Publishing Experts Friday
Author Interview Series (posted January 6, 2012).
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Nook and Kindle Versions Available Betsy's latest book, Street People Tales is a collection of narrative poetry --
the stories Betsy imagines behind the faces on the street. The story-poems are complimented by black and white
illustrations scattered throughout the volume. You'll enjoy meeting Aggie, Crazy Willie, Tiny Kim, Lady Mary, One-eyed Jack, and so many more.
Street People Tales is available in print versions from
CreateSpace, and
Amazon, and as ebooks for
Nook and
Kindle (file conversion
by Amit Dey).
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The Book Reviews section of BRWS.com is now launched, with reviews of The Interpreter by Shah Wali Fazli, and Lily of the Nile and
Song of the Nile by Stephanie Dray.
See the interview with Betsy "Exploring the Writing World of Betsy Riley" on Sylvia Ramsey's Thoughtful Reflections blog.
More archival content has been restored (see righthand "Features" bar). Latest is
"Adventures of Lizzie and Clara" -- short pieces about encounters with various subcultures. Current adventures include a tattoo show, Las Vegas, and a psychic fair.
Betsy's blog now has a couple of new categories. The "Nuts and Bolts" category contains a new series of "Tips for Newbies", with useful information for new authors. "Strange But True" has a series of short pieces detailing odd events that just go to show that truth IS stranger than fiction. "Flash Fiction" contains winning contest entries.
The Comet is now available as an epub version for the Nook Color or the Nook for PC emulator.
Betsy's first book was released in April 2011 by Blue Dragon Press. The Comet is an illustrated fable about relationships, using the cosmos as a metaphor. It is a story of spiritual growth and hope, with the message that being alone doesn't have to mean that you must be lonely. This large-print paperback is rich with full color illustrations.
Selected images from the book are available on merchandise or as framed prints.
Amazon now offers a look inside the book.
Betsy's blog, "Just One Thing . . ." covers subjects ranging from the nuts and bolts of writing, to pop culture, to philosophy. Check it out.
Betsy is on twitter with daily JOTs and other remarks
The Merchandise link has Betsy's artwork available as prints, t-shirts, mugs, etc. As a bonus, two versions of a comet bookmark are available for free download. Get yours today!
The Events link tells where Betsy will be signing books and exhibiting her artwork.
