A THRILLING Contest in Collaboration with Literary Asylum and Walden Pond Press!

Ahh, my lovely, fleshy, ripe for the taking friends...


Marjorie is taking a nap so I snuck down from the attic to try this blogging thing for myself. Nom Nom! I like it so far!


So you want something exciting? Something more exciting than we've already given you over the past few months? You greedy toe suckers! That's alright. I'm right there with you. So here you go:


Our devilish friend D.M. Cunningham over at Literary Asylum, in cahoots with Walden Pond Press and yours truly, is hosting a thrilling contest to die for!


Here's the low down: In celebration of the upcoming release of Walden Pond Press' Guys Read: THRILLER (Aug 2011), we want YOU to give us your best opening paragraph (or two) of the most thrilling, terrifying, spooky, creepy, and crazy MG/YA story you can muster.

Contest Rules

1) Submit your best work up to two paragraphs. Anything beyond that will not be read and taken out of the running.

2) Send your submissions in the BODY of the email, not attachments (they will not be opened) to the following emails (either or - no need to do both) LiteraryAsylum@hotmail.com OR junipertreelit@gmail.com.

3) Be sure to put THRILLER contest submission in the RE: Line or it may get overlooked.

4) Deadline is OCTOBER 13th (why? because we like that number) at MIDNIGHT

5) Follow our blogs (links above) and join us on Twitter

@WaldenPondPress
@UndertheJuniper
@JuniperTreeLit
@LiteraryAsylum

6) Most of all, have fun and keep the kids in mind. Let's give them stories that will keep them reading late at night!


Prizes? You ask? Greedy...I like it!


The top writer will receive a copy of GR:THRILLER signed by the ambassador of Children's Lit himself Jon Scieszka. And, your paragraph(s) will appear in an upcoming issue of UTJT. 


WAIT, there is more! The winning writer will be interviewed on the Literary Asylum blog to celebrate your thrilling job well done. Now those are some gruesome prizes!


So hop to it. 


Tex? What are you doing on my computer?


Ummm... researching... exploding brains? OOPS GOTTA GO!

Be our fiendish friend on Facebook 

Follow our terribly terrific tête-à-tête on Twitter 

Don't forget to check out our July issue

August Issue Sneak Peek: The Unforgiving Tree

Don't miss our tragic take on Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree. It will sadden you, yes, but it will also throw you from your chair and pull a cry of victory from your mouth. Join us on August 1st to read this tantalizing tale of turmoil and triumph!

The tree was so angry!

The tree was distraught!

The little boy ought to be caught!

And then tied into a granny knot.

Be our fiendish friend on Facebook 

Follow our terribly terrific tête-à-tête on Twitter 

Don't forget to check out our July issue

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 

Suppen Kaspar - Martin Thoburn

Jason Smith recently sent us a few tales to read from the book Struwwelpeter. We were partial to the naughty boy Augustus who would not eat his soup. Things do not end well for August. Children, eat your soup, mind.


I shall have mine with toes upon crumpets.


So you shall. Enjoy.





Suppen Kaspar
Created by Martin Thoburn

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.

The Crooked Man: Animated Short - Dries Bastiaensen

Our lovely friend and contributor Ken Lamug revealed this gem to us the other day and we wanted to share it with you. It was all I could do to get it out of Tex's greedy little grabby hands.

My eyes saw it first. I was only going to add it to my...selection of...delectables.

We hope you enjoy this animated short before Tex eats it all up.






The Crooked Man
Animation by Dries Bastiaensen


Don't forget to check out our July issue.

Edward Gorey Challenge Chapter 2 Winner! And a new Challenge: Choose Your Own Mystery

The winner of our Edward Gorey challenge is.....

*Druummmmmm*

Madeline Daniel! Madeline was able to fit a barrage of imagery and thought into three incredible sentences. Below is just a hint of what's in store for the August issue where you get to read Madeline's full piece:

“Oh, that is terrible,” said the oak tree sympathetically.  

Thank you to everyone who submitted work! It was one of our best turn-outs yet. If you'd like to keep up to date with our challenges, contests and giveaways, just subscribe to Underneath The Juniper Tree on the right side of the screen. Now for our next challenge...

Choose Your Own Mystery

This week's challenge is an array of amusements. We will give you character, place and action options and you will create the story. You must choose one character, one place and one action from the list on which to base your story or artwork. So you will have chosen three options altogether. Capiche? Remember that choosing obvious choices will not get you anywhere. Please choose as creatively as possible, as random as possible, as unheard of as possible! Here are your choices:

Character 

1) Wendigo

2) Ghost of an angry child

3) Cockroaches 

Place

1) Decaying castle in Wales

2) Backwoods of Kentucky

3) Deserted hospital 

Action

1) Whispering the words "we all fall down"

2) Eating flesh

3) Head spinning 360 degrees

Guidelines

With your submission please put in the subject line "Choose Your Own Mystery Challenge".

Artists

Only One image can be submitted per person. Please check the Submit Work page under "Dimensions" to see how you should submit your image. With your submission please tell us a little bit about yourself.

Writers

Your piece must be under 500 words and containing your three choices. Be as creative as possible with what you've picked. When submitting your piece, please list your three choices. If you don't, I will be emailing you back and telling you that you are terrible at reading guidelines. And then you will probably not win. You can submit your work as a word document or paste 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.

Deadline for submissions has changed. We are now giving you TWO WEEKS to submit your piece so they better be good!

Deadline for submission: Saturday, July 23. The winners will be announced Monday, July 25.

For the rest of the guidelines and what should not be submitted, go to our Submit Work page.

Don't forget to check out our July issue.

The Wait - Wyatt Willis & Evan Heasman

Adèle sat in the highest bough of the red eucalyptus tree with her tiny, white hands folded in her lap. Below sat the Wolf running its tongue along its pearly, sharp teeth that glinted in the moonlight every time Adèle looked down. The Wolf’s lips curled back into a wicked grin.

I can wait, child. For years I can wait. You will grow weary and I will be here.

Adèle found herself slouching from exhaustion and pulled her back up straight to help keep alert. How long had it been, now? Three hours? Three days? Time cannot not be measured when the moon never moves and the sun never returns. She rubbed her toes that were beginning to tingle from the lack of blood.

She lay back into the rustling leaves of the tree. They gave off a red glow on her skin. Like blood, she thought. She looked up into the black sky that seemed so near for all its darkness. She had to put a hand in front of her face to remind her that her eyes were still open.

“I cannot fall asleep,” she thought, “or I will fall through these thin branches and be eaten, surely.” But her lids were heavy like stones and with each blink her body said, yes, yes it is nice to sleep, isn’t it?

Whether it was a sound or a movement that woke her, Adèle sat up with a start. She was already slipping through the arms of the tree.

Do not worry, precious gem, the Wolf hissed below, I am still here when you fall.

Not ‘if’ but ‘when’. Adèle shivered at the sweetness of the Wolf’s call. She would not close her eyes again.

She looked out over the land that was dotted with murky figures; forests spread out in clumps. She could only imagine what sort of horrors lived in those trees when something so terrible as the Wolf lived out in the open. She could barely distinguish the land from the sky; the varying black shapes seeped into each other. Off in the distance, little dots of light winked. She couldn’t tell if they were a village or the stars.

Adèle looked up into the velvety sky trying to get the image of the Wolf out of her mind but all she could see was its razorback fur and its haunting red eyes. She squeezed her eyes shut but could not get rid of the image. She rolled over and rested her head against the leaves.

“I’ll only lay here a moment and then,” her mouth stretched into a yawn, “I’ll figure out what to do.”

I will be here, child.

It wasn’t long after Adèle drifted off that she realized there were two red eyes looking directly at her. And then four eyes. And then hundreds of red eyes glowed around her. Every way she turned there were red eyes bearing down into hers.

“No!” She screamed. “No! NO NO NO-NO-NO!”

But it was too late.

Adèle’s tiny body slipped through the sparse twigs of the red eucalyptus tree and fell down, down, down into darkness and pearly, sharp teeth.

The Wait

Written by Wyatt Willis

Illustrated by Evan Heasman 

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.

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 

Alliteration Obliteration Winner!

And the winner is –

NOM-yom-yom-yom...YOM-nom-nom...

Tex, please. Chew more quietly.

Nim-nim-nim-nim...

Thank you. And the winner is...

Sam McKenzie! Congratulations on a job well done. Sam submitted a limerick to us that was not only filled with astonishing alliteration but it rhymed! No small feat, Sam.

Good show.

Thank you to everyone who entered! And please remember there is still time to submit your piece for the Blast from the Past - Fox Edition challenge!! Don't be late or I'll send Tex out to hunt you down and chew on your fingernails. Now, without further ado, here is Sam McKenzie's piece for the Alliteration Obliteration challenge:

How the War Began

I tramped through the trees in Tramine

And tore off the twigs the whole time

My dress made of tulle

Was was ate by the stool

As revenge for my troublin' crime.

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.