New Challenge - 11 Word Story

We really want to challenge you this time. Write us a story, something haunting, creepy, scary, spooky, slithering. But you can only use 11 words. Do not distress! You can do this.

The girl tried to stand, but her leg wasn't there anymore.
Being invisible was the best thing of all, until it wasn't.
While eating the pages, Tex didn't see the 'T' with teeth.


Guidelines

The story must be 11 words in length, no more, no fewer. Not eleventy, not eleventeen, 11 words. ELEVEN!!!

Please send your entries to junipertreelit@gmail.com and put "11 Word Story" in the subject line or else your email will be eaten by the Spamster and never found again.

Deadline for submissions is Saturday, August 20. The winner will be announced on Monday, August 22.

For the name of your document please put your story/artwork name, underscore and your name. Ex: ToesForEating_MarjorieMerle.doc

You can submit your work as a Word document or stick it directly in the email to junipertreelit@gmail.com and please forgive us in advance if we don't write back to you immediately. Tex is fairly anal about reading and viewing everything we get. With your submission please tell us a little bit about yourself and please send us your website if you have one. If you don't have one, get one. They are free, you know.

For the rest of the guidelines and what should not be submitted, go to our Submissions & Guidelines page.

Be our fiendish friend on Facebook 

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Get down with the goods on Google+ 

Don't forget to check out our August Issue

August Issue

Hello everyone! It's been a flurry of activity getting everyone's pieces clothed, brushed, fed and shoved into  our August issue but we did it. Thank you to all the lovely people who put all their sweat and mostly blood into this issue. Thank you again to our Murder of Editors for taking their time to dissect each word. Thanks Tex for restraining of scaring off any contributors with your unappetizing diet.

My pleasure, darling.

Drum roll please!

Drrrrrrrummm roooollllllllllll

The August issue!

Open publication - Free publishing - More dark

UPDATE: To download a PDF of the issue, visit our bookshelf at http://issuu.com/underneaththejunipertree. Open the publication and underneath the issue is an option to download or print the issue. 

Be our fiendish friend on Facebook 

Follow our terribly terrific tête-à-tête on Twitter 

Get down with the goods on Google+ 

August Issue Sneak Peek: The Cover

Friends. We are twitching with excitement over here at Underneath The Juniper Tree. Tex hasn't eaten a toe in days, he's so antsy.

It all tastes of bogweed, mind, when something so thrilling is on its way.


I wholeheartedly agree. So far, each monthly issue has surpassed the last. Yes, we've only had two issues, but that just proves my point. The August issue will certainly be a blast of delight. Sound the trumpets, all!

Here is a sneaky peeky at the cover for the August issue illustrated by Ken Lamug. Would you like to illustrate our next cover? Send us some examples of your work to junipertreelit@gmail.com and tell us a little bit about yourself. Don't be shy, Tex only bites what moves.

Keep sending in the general submissions, friends, our September issue is already a quarter full!

Need to something to keep you busy while you await the August issue? Check out our July issue!

Be our fiendish friend on Facebook 

Follow our terribly terrific tête-à-tête on Twitter 

Zombiemart - JL Martin

Zombiemart

Written by JL Martin 

Would you like to see your limerick, poem or short story up on Underneath The Juniper Tree? Email it to us at junipertreelit@gmail.com and put "General Submission" in the subject line. You can also check out our Submissions & Guidelines page for more information.

Be our fiendish friend on Facebook 

Follow our terribly terrific tête-à-tête on Twitter 

Don't forget to check out our July issue

The Mailbox Monster - Ken Lamug

Little Annalise did not like to go get the daily mail. She begged her brothers to go for her. She saved her allowance to pay the neighbor to go. She pretended to go and came back saying Oh, there wasn't any mail today, Papa.

Truth be told, Annalise knew something no one else knew: the mailbox was alive.

Don't be ridiculous, her father laughed, and don't come back until you get the mail! and slammed the door at her heels. Poor Annalise didn't know what to do.

"If I get the mail," she mumbled to herself through bitten nails, "I will surely be eaten!" She looked back at the house only to see her brother's sneering at her from the window. Annalise's eyebrows dove into a frown, "I will go. I will show those brothers of mine how brave I can be."

She walked down the street and around the corner.

"I will go. I am brave."

 She climbed through the forest and down a long, steep hill.

"I will go. I am brave."

She wound her way up the next hill and found herself face to face with the mailbox.

"I am brave. I am brave. I am brave."

The mailbox stood tall and regal on top of the hill, gleaming in the afternoon sun. From this distance, it looked like an ordinary mailbox. Annalise crept closer. The crisp, metal edges of the mailbox flashed a glint of sunshine in her eyes, blinding her momentarily.

When the red spots faded from her eyelids she noticed the mailbox had changed.

"I am brave," she said again with less enthusiasm.

"I am..."

But as she spoke this time, the sharp corners of the mailbox pulled back to reveal row after row of gruesome teeth sharp and jagged as broken glass. Two black, evil eyes snapped open.

"...br-br-br..."

Now, glowering over her, so close to her face she could see bits of envelopes stuck in its teeth, was the Mailbox Monster. She knew it was real, not just a figment of her imagination! But the victory of being right was short lived as the Mailbox Monster's rancid breath was breathing down into her face; strings of drool dangled from its mouth.

Quick as a whistle Annalise grabbed what mail she could see in its jaws and darted away down the winding hill. She snuck a look over her shoulder to see if the Mailbox Monster was behind her. Close on her heels was the metalic horror that haunted her. Harder and harder she pushed her legs nearly tripping over her own feet.

She reached the bottom of the hill and started up the second hill. Her legs burned! She could hear the snarling growl of the Mailbox Monster chasing her. Faster! she chanted to herself. Faster!

She thought her lungs were going to explode when she finally made it to the top of the hill. The forest wavered in front of her eyes as ink blots formed in her sight. She pushed on.

Through the forest she dodged around trees hoping to lose the Mailbox Monster. She looked over her shoulder again and it was a little further away. A seed of hope blossomed. Twigs scratched at Annalise's legs and stung her face but she pushed on.

She was back on the sidewalk and heard the Mailbox Monster close behind her again. Just a little further, she thought. It was so hard to hold the mail while running for her life. A few envelopes slithered from her fingers and fluttered away behind her. The Mailbox Monster stopped to eat them up. Yes! she cheered and let go of another envelope to distract the monster.

Annalise flew around the corner and saw her house in sight. The Mailbox Monster was gaining on her and she only had one envelope left. She couldn't come home without any mail. She had to keep this one. She could feel the hot breath of the monster on her neck. She thought her legs would give out any minute. If only she could just make it up the steps to the house. But the door! The Mailbox Monster would surely eat her as she tried to open the door!

Good fortune shined on Annalise that day. As she zoomed up the front steps, one of her brothers opened the door. Annalise dove into her brother, grabbing the knob behind her and pulling the door shut. She stood up panting but victorious.

Her Papa walked in and looked at Annalise with a frown. Between heaving breaths she held up the envelope and said, "Papa! I....I got...the mail!"

Still frowning, his eyes wandered to the window where surely he must see the Mailbox Monster.

"Yes, but you forgot the newspaper."

The Mailbox Monster
Written by Martin Shorn
Illustrated by Ken Lamug

You can see more of this duo in the upcoming August issue where they take on The Unforgiving Tree. Don't miss it!

Be our fiendish friend on Facebook 

Follow our terribly terrific tête-à-tête on Twitter 

Don't forget to check out our July issue

In The Street - Dorothy Livesay & Evan Heasman

In rainy weather

Who can tell

Whether we weep

Or not?

I dread the sun

For his fierce honesty.

In The Street

Written by Dorothy Livesay

Illustrated by Evan Heasman

Don't forget to check out our July issue

The Man in Galloway Bay - Dawn Pisturino

A man lost in Galloway Bay,

Cried out in a very loud bray,

"Please come rescue me, 

hungry sharks can't agree,

Am I breakfast or dinner entree?"

The Man in Galloway Bay

Written by Dawn Pisturino 

Don't forget to check out our July issue.

Beware Sleeping Kittens - Cheryl Coville

Innocent kittens

Asleep in their cots

Helpless and harmless

How peaceful their thoughts.

But from the depths of

Their slumber, they dream

Murderous scenes filled

With ear-piercing screams.

Visions of slaughter

Of blood and of gore

Torment and terror.

Ferocious! They roar!

They hunger for prey

They catch on the sly.

Crunchy bird dinners

Snatched down from the sky.

They pounce on goldfish

And throw up the bones.

Then tease the dog who’s

Tied up at his home.

Animal ambush.

Mousey mass murder.

Kings of the jungle

Stalk the intruder.

They snarl and they slash.

They flash their fierce fangs.

Merciless mayhem

Is all that remains.

Such are the dreams of

The average kitten.

Better not wake him

Lest you get bitten.

Beware Sleeping Kittens

Written and illustrated by Cheryl Coville 

To see more of this calibre or macabre, check out our July Issue.
Would you like to see your limerick or poem up on Sunday Poetry? Email it to us at junipertreelit@gmail.com and put "Sunday Poetry" in the subject line.

Monthly Contest - Time Travel

Here at UTJT, we not only sneak into dark forests and romp in swamps, we also slip through space in our marvelously metal time machine!

This month's contest is all about time travel. Perhaps your characters glide through time with a jet pack not unlike this image to the left here. Or maybe they use giant, glossy baubles? Or maybe they don't need a time machine at all, instead flying through time by entering a cave guarded by savage crocodile beasts with scales so sharp they cut through bone with the slightest bit of pressure.

Guidelines
Stories and drawings/paintings/doodles must be about time travel. However you think time travel should be done, let us know in short story form (2000 words or fewer) or an image (one image per artist). It must also fit our guidelines in our Submit Work page. Submissions that do not adhere to the requirements will not be considered so read carefully!!!!! If you aren't sure as to what we accept, thumb through our June and July issues or scan the site to see what we're all about.

Only the most curious and imaginative pieces will be chosen and featured in the August issue of Underneath The Juniper Tree. If your pieces doesn't win but we're terribly keen on it (and Tex is in a good mood that day), we'll feature it on the site. The winning images will also be featured in Featured Artists located on the right sidebar.

When emailing us, please put "Time Travel" in the subject line.

With your submission, please include a short bio (50 - 75 words) about yourself written in third person with your name (or alias) and your website if you have one.

Email your story or artistic rendering to junipertreelit@gmail.com
Submission deadline: July 25, 2011
The winners will be announced in the August 2011 online issue which is free for all eager eyes to nom on.

We look forward to reading all your submissions and potentially eating a few. Good luck to everyone!


Don't forget to check out our July issue.

The Boogeyman's Rhyme - Laura Garrison

My parents are shadows that lurk in your closet;

My very first word was an old man's last breath.

I watched from the wings on the night you were frightened

By blood on the white hands of Lady Macbeth.

My laugh is the scuttle of leaves on the sidewalk;

The weeds on your grandmother's grave are my hair.

My friends are the slime-trails that slugs leave behind them,

And I can freeze toads or melt stones with my stare.

My sigh is the hot wind that withers the foxglove;

My heart is the black rat that drowned in your well.

That dust layer under your bed is my dandruff;

The drain in your shower is ripe with my smell.

I might slip a fat spider into your slipper

Or give you an itch in a place you can't scratch.

While you're off at school, I leave lumps in your pillow

(In three or four days they'll be ready to hatch).

I chew on your boogers and old toenail clippings

At bedtime, when serpents and centipedes creep.

Next time you're alone in the darkness, remember:

My children are nightmares that poison your sleep.

The Boogeyman's Rhyme

Laura Garrison

Come back later today to learn about our contest for this month!

'ime'! 'ravel'!

Exactly, Tex. Good show!


Don't forget to check out our July issue.

Friendly Reminder - Edward Gorey Chapter II PLUS winner of Tex's book!

Just a friendly reminder that your Edward Gorey Chapter II submission deadline is TOMORROW!!!

The horror.

Quite. SO! You have until midnight tomorrow night to send them in.

junipertreelit@gmail.com


Now, to more important things: who won Tex's book?


Whose toes did I find the tastiest?


Tex! You didn't tell me you were taking bribes! You bad armadillian. Now, for the winners of the free books...


I drool at the thought...


Tex, they are your books! And the winners are...


Raych and Amanda are our glorious winners of this giveaway! Congratulations on your free books! Email to collect your book booty!


Thanks everyone for helping out and referring your friends and strangers to Underneath The Juniper Tree. And feel free to continue to refer your friends and family and writer friends and friends that doodle. We are always looking for new, great work!


And come back tomorrow for our monthly contest announcement. I'll give you a clue on what it's about–


Toes!


No.


Fingers!


No!


Brains?


It begins with 't' and ends with 'ime' 'ravel'. Until tomorrow!




Don't forget to check out our July issue.

Sunday Poetry: The Fairy Gothmother - Jenn Preston Chushcoff

The Fairy Gothmother haunts children’s dark dreams.

She tends closet monsters that delight at their screams.

She’s queen of the creepies that hide under beds,

commander of crawlies that little ones dread.

She summons her ravens, beasts and black bats

to trouble bad children, like bullies and brats.

If you’re on The Good List there’s nothing to fear,

but if you’re on the Bad you’d better stay clear

of alleys, old mansions and dank moldy cellars,

since that’s where she keeps her shadowy dwellers.

She’s even made pacts with the kind fairy folk.

They get their flowers while she dons poison oak.

You’ll find her brooding with hands on her hips

in forgotten graveyards and sinking old ships.

Call her by name and she’ll help get you through.

You’ll see she’s not mean, just moody and blue.

But don’t ask for a carriage made from a gourd,

life-threatening shoes or a magical sword.

The Fairy Gothmother stirs grief for your foes.

They trip on their shoes and shoot milk through their nose.

She conjures strange sounds with odd bumps in the night,

seeds minds with bleak nightmares to give them a fright.

So if you’re in a jam and a tyrant’s the cause,

call on your FG and she’ll lay down her laws.

She’ll call upon Justice to even the score

since crooked wrongdoers is what she abhors.

There’s just one more thing I think I should say.

“Justice” is her pet and he brings Judgment Day!

Fairy Gothmother 

Written by Jenn Preston Chushcoff

Illustrated by M. Stagi

To see more of this calibre or macabre, check out our July Issue!


Would you like to see your limerick or poem up on Sunday Poetry? Email it to us at junipertreelit@gmail.com and put "Sunday Poetry" in the subject line.

Blast from the Past - Fox Edition Winners!

The entries were nothing short of horribly creative and terrifying terrific! Thank you to everyone who entered. Your creativity and constant rhythm of words never fails to amaze us.

The toe bribes help as well.

Oh, too true, Tex, too true.

Now – the winner of the Fox Edition is......

Jenn Preston Chushchoff with her piece Now He Has None. The piece will be featured in the August issue of Underneath The Juniper Tree.

I hate waiting, you know.

Don't we all Tex, don't we all! So below is her lovely written ditty with a sea shanty tune we can all sing along to in our minds while we toil away at the day. Let it begin, Jenn!

Charles and Victoria booed and hissed as Johnny sang a favorite sea chantey. The song was in poor taste considering the prior evening’s event. 

     Away, away, get the anchor aweigh!

    Our ship must set sail on the bonny sea.

    Goodbye, farewell. Give a heave, get it done.

    We’re homeward bound, we’re leaving.

    If you don’t pull, you’ll walk the plank

    or have your head nailed to one.

To be fair, Charles had a weak upper body. 

Now he has none.

And just a friendly reminder that your Edward Gorey - Chapter II submission deadline is on Tuesday!

The horror.

Quite. SO! Stop procrastinating and get it done and sent it in. You'll feel better about it in the morning.
junipertreelit@gmail.com 

July Issue

Yes! Another issue has arrived for your grabby little hands to twist and turn. Gobble up the words with your eyes, devour the images.

So much to nibble on, so little time. 

Thank you to all our contributors and our Murder of Editors for working so diligently on this masterpiece of musings.

We are currently working on a collection of bios and websites of our contributors so stay tuned to find out more about the insanity and genius that is the melting pot of Underneath The Juniper Tree.

Now, before Tex eats his own hands, I present to you the July Issue!

July Issue



Would you like to contribute to the unbearably beautiful work that graces the pages of Underneath The Juniper Tree? Check out our Contests, Challenges & Giveaways page. Or head over to our Submissions page to see what we accept. If you're feeling particularly bold–

That I always am.

Then send your work directly to junipertreelit@gmail.com and we'll tell you if it fits in our boat of monsters.

The Zoo - Tanya Andrious (sneak peek)

      She looked up at the sky. In all her time living in England, Elizabeth could not recall the sky ever looking like Hell was about to break loose. The once slightly moody sky gave way to an intense concoction of red and black. 

     The wind steadily picked up speed and the rain turned to a wall of sleet causing the temperature to drop significantly. Elizabeth considered herself grown up; she thought she was mature for her age, what with being 13 and all. Still, slithers of fear began to creep across her body. Then a drumming of hail pelted the path and for the first time Elizabeth conceded the notion that she might never leave the London Zoo.

The Zoo
Tanya Andrious
lifesdenouement.blogspot.com


For the rest of The Zoo plus many more exciting and horrifying tales and art, come back tomorrow for the July issue! 


And don't forget to enter our contest  by telling a friend about Underneath The Juniper Tree. You could win one of Tex's favourite books! 

July Issue - Sneak Peek

In next month's issue I will be touching on something very near and dear to me.

Me?

The Beast. Most of you don't know about the animal that haunts the shadows in my house. Find out in the July Issue. Come back July 1st for the whole tale as I dive into the story that has become legend of The Beast and I.

The Beast and I – Part I:

I watched him gallop around, exploring the world with his teeth. Laying down, he was already as tall as I was standing up.

It wasn’t long before they were after us. Get that monster out of here, they hissed. 

Now you can keep up to date with our weekly challenges, monthly contests and giveaways! They are all on the right side of the screen.

And don't forget about our Friendly Contest! We want to give you free books. It's easy to enter and anyone can enter as many times (as many friends) as they have/want! Please pay attention to what you have to do or else you won't be entered and we want you to win. So.

Good luck!

Welcome to Underneath The Juniper Tree

Hello Friends. Oh my, you are looking sparkly today. Welcome to the first day of Underneath The Juniper Tree. As Geraldine McCaughrean of The White Darkness would say for Titus Oates, 'Warm, isn't it.'

Yes, darling.

Yes, thank you Tex. Introductions are always sticky, aren't they. For records and notes and Keepers of Minutes Or Things Such As That, I'm Marjorie and you can read about how I came to be The Keeper Of The Stories in the About page. Tex is my faithful companion who sleeps in The Attic with The Stories so they don't run off and get lost.

To make a long introduction short, Underneath The Juniper Tree is an online magazine dedicated with it's whole soul to children's literature and artwork; particularly the creepy, prickly, what's-that-noise kind. The pricklier and more creative the better. If you are looking for something soft like warm pudding you've come through the wrong door little poppet. Hurry back, now.

Before the wolves come out.

Quite. For the rest of you, we welcome you with open arms. You will like this place, I'm sure.

Each week we'll gather on the stairs to share some of the spine-tingling stories we've found up in The Attic and with them delicious pieces of artwork for your eyes to feast on.

Each month there will be a contest for both writers and artists. You can enter one piece of work only for each contest and if yours is selected, it will be in the next month's issue. Artists, if you work is selected it will be displayed in our lovely Featured Artists space in the right side bar as well as the monthly issue. You can see the contests and their deadlines/requirements by clicking on the Contests tab. Please read carefully for fear that you may not be chosen if you don't follow the guidelines properly. The contest beginning today is the Sinister Summer Stories contest. Please remember that anyone can enter, but all work shown on Underneath The Juniper Tree is for children nine years old up to ninety-nine years old.

I'm a centenarian.

Then to nine hundred ninety-nine, how abouts? There will always be chances to submit work beyond just the monthly contests so please come back often and see what perks your monster under the bed.

There is also an opportunity to help out Underneath The Juniper Tree by becoming one of our editors. The Attic is stacked full, my darlings, and there is much to do. We also are accepting book reviews for any children's books that you think should be lifted up and shown to the world.

So welcome. Stay for awhile. And always come back. We miss you already.