Books & Pieces: weekly news round-up

Our weekly quick round-up of news and factoids, articles and more that struck our fancy, tickled our interest, and had us scratching our heads. For readers, writers, and genre fans of any form.

We open to unsolicited submissions next week! At which time we’ll start accepting queries for novel and novella length fiction and proposals for other projects. See our fiction and nonfiction guidelines before submitting. We also have a page on Duotrope now!

When considering if you’re ready to submit, check out this list of suggestions for your manuscript from The Knight Agency (literary agents) — because I always feel sad when I find an interesting story but can’t accept it because the writing needs too much work.

A dad makes awesome photographic illusions featuring such tales as Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel, and video games like Mario Brothers — oh, and they all feature his young daughters as ass-kicking heroines. Insane magical photos via io9.

Ever wonder about the appeal of the asshole hero (particularly in romance)? Shiloh Walker does a guest post on Thea Harrison’s blog that addresses just that question.

How to Dance Goth a funny instructional video found via Laughing Squid.

For more links to interesting articles and genre related cartoons, check out World Weaver Press’s Facebook page, updated daily.