Hi. It’s been awhile, but I haven’t been entirely slacking. Back in August I got some crazy news, news I never thought I’d get. I’d made a professional writing sale. My story, “A Bird, a Broad, and a Mess of Kyodatsu,” was sold to Mothership Zeta, the new online magazine by Escape Artists, Inc. This is a story I put a lot of research and time into. It combines elements from several things I love: dieselpunk, Japanese folklore, noir, and history. And I’ve been a fan of Mur Lafferty for years. To have her not just read my story, but think it was good enough to publish. . . well, I kinda freaked out the night I got the acceptance letter.
My first instinct was to blast the news everywhere, but then fear grabbed a hold of me. The story had been rejected before. What if the acceptance letter was a mistake? I had actual nightmares of receiving apologies in the mail and of Escape Artists cancelling the magazine. I fussed over what the professional thing to do was. So I sat on the news. Only my wife and closest friends knew. Several weeks later after the contract was signed I let my parents and the other writers in my critique group know. And now that the story has been published, I’m letting you know.
If you haven’t already, please check out Mothership Zeta. And I hope you enjoy the story.