Cover for FISH anthology from Dagan Books

Previously, I mentioned my goal of getting stories into three anthologies this year. Since my work-year runs sort of August to July in my head (just go with it) I think I’m ahead of the game with it 2/3 completed already.

I’m still undecided on where to focus for number three. My Roanoke story absolutely did not want to come out on paper. I started three different times, and in the end, Mr. Miracle had better ideas for it. I handed it over, along with some of my research, and he’s going to give it a go from a completely different angle. Rather than feel guilty for giving up, I felt kind of empowered. Know when a story isn’t gelling, and give yourself permission to let it go. I have nine months to complete my self-imposed goal, so this is not a set back.

The other two stories went to fabulous homes.

A little over a week ago, I announced an announcement that couldn’t be properly announced yet. Then I went away before I could give details. Now I can tell you my story “Kisses in the Snow” was accepted by Dagan Books for their anthology FISH, to be released next February.

Carrie Cuinn and K. V. Taylor are hard at work getting the stories edited and finalizing the order. Until then, the alphabetized list of authors and stories can be found here. See? There’s me!

I’m especially proud of this one. I had no stories with fish in them, so I researched the hell out of what Carrie was looking for and wrote it especially for this anthology. Risky, I guess, but it paid off, because she bought it. Without giving too much away, I will say it’s based on a fairy tale, but unless you’re a hardcore fairy tale lover, you probably won’t recognize it. There are no fish in the original, nor did it take place in a turn-of-the-century mining town.

Cover of Dark Highlands Vol. 3

A little over a month ago, I also told you I sold “Pollen Count” to Dark Highlands.

The editor, J. R. Tschopp is setting up a premiere event in Illinois to give it a good send off, and plans to release Dark Highlands Vol. 3 toward the end of this month. The list of stories and authors is here.

This is a bit darker than my usual fare. I really didn’t know if I’d be able to find a home for it. It’s horror, sort of, but there’s no screaming or zombies or ghosts. (Okay, a little screaming at the end.) It’s more of a science-gone-haywire type of story. It defied classification for me, so when I saw this anthology looking for all sorts of dark fiction, I sent it off and hoped for the best.

At some point, I thought he was done making his choices, so I figured it was a “no response means no” pass and forgot about it. I was shocked months later to get the offer. So, yay!

“Pollen Count” was written a few years ago as an assignment, which explains why it’s a bit different from my other work. A friend of mine was teaching an online class on women horror writers, so I took it. I thought it would be interesting (it was), and I wanted to be supportive. For the final, he gave the option of writing a short story instead of a paper, but it had to be horror, with feminist principles.

The resulting story, I’ve been told, is quite disturbing, and men especially are a little skeeved out by the ending. I’m concerned about how my dad will look at me once he reads it.

So, there’s the back up of news and where to find my stuff out in the world. Both books will be available on Amazon, and I’ll post links to them as they become available.

Progress is being made!