We are in the midst of restructuring this website. For info on prose and poetry works authored by Betsy A. Riley, see BetsyARiley.com. For info on Betsy's
artwork and photography, see BetsyRiley.com. For editing and publishing, see BlueDragonPress.com.
Betsy has artwork published at The Western Online.
Betsy has been selected as poet of the week on the Verseland section of Writers Haven. Her poems "Mulch Memories" and "The Great Unknown" are featured.
Zombies Gone Wild! is up on Amazon. This anthology has "Cindy Lou, Who?" under Betsy's penname Cassandra Hex.
paperback
| Kindle
Betsy's flash fiction story "After the Plague" is published and up on
FictionAndVerse.com. This is the final round story from the 2012 NYC Midnight Short Story Challenge. Contestants had 24 hours to write a story in any genre that included "a long distance relationship" and "an orphan". Betsy won 4th place with this third and final round story after starting round one with over 600 other contestants. This story is published under Betsy's penname Cassandra Hex. She also has an author bio up on the site. One of Betsy's poems "Adrift" has also been posted.
Betsy won the Indies Unlimited weekly flash fiction contest for the week of 9/8/12. The contest provides a photo and title, authors have just a few days to write a story no longer than 250 words that fits the theme. The winner is decided by reader votes. Betsy's entry "Friend or Foe" was written in under twenty minutes (because she didn't find out about the contest until it was almost over). New challenges are posted on Saturdays.Weekly winners are published in an ebook anthology at year's end.
Cool Waters Media has two new anthologies up on Amazon, and Betsy has work in both.
Latitude on 2nd: 2012 Summer Poetry Anthology
contains Betsy's poem "Cerebral Hemorrhage" and has debuted at #83 on the poetry bestsellers list and #1 on the Hot New Releases list.
A Torn Page: 2012 Summer Short Fiction Anthology
has Betsy's short story "Exclusive Exposure", which was her first round entry in the 2012 NYC Midnight competition (which qualified her for the next round).
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.
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.
The anthology
That One Left Shoe is now available as a paperback through CreateSpace and Amazon,
and as an ebook 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 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.
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".
Read the Interview with Betsy on Self-Publishing Experts Friday
Author Interview Series (posted January 6, 2012).
 |
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.
