Whole lot of somethin'!

A few days after I published the previous post, I got an acceptance letter for one of my favorite stories, "The (Zeroes and) Ones We Love." This story was previously a semi-finalist in the Writers of the Future contest and received a personal critique from NY Times best selling author, David Farland. Once I sign the contract, I'll post more details about the publisher and the potential release date.

On a related note, this marks my first big milestone in writing, my tenth sale! My sales stats, for those that keep track of such things, are as follows:

Token: 1
Semi-pro: 4
Pro: 5

Not bad for the new kid.

Whole lot of nothin'

I've hit a dry spell, with nothing of interest to report since April of this year. I've heard rumors of this stage in one's writing development. Where even though one can measure their improvement in miles, and the stories turn out more complex and interesting than ever before, the sales don't come. While I've hit numerous final stages in the submission process at some of the best markets in the industry--which I never could have done early on--the final answers all turn out to be, "no thanks."

It's humbling and depressing, to say the least. But in the end, I have to realize that progress is progress, even if it's unrewarded. The only valid downside is that all this rejection has led to a level of discouragement that makes me not want to write. I still love it, still believe it's a major part of my life, but the thought of investing all that time and energy into something that no one wants is an intimidating prospect. We'll just have to see what the future holds. I'm only two years into a ten year plan, after all.

WotF 3rd quarter, 2013

I just received word I got an honorable mention from Writers of the Future this quarter for a humorous sci-fi fantasy story. That makes two semi-finals and two HM's out of the last four quarters. Once I fix it up, it goes back out into the marketplace!

"Burning Men" Tangent review!

Tangent's Stevie Barry reviewed my story "Burning Men" today. Very happy that he enjoyed it so much! Click here to read the entire review, including his take on five other stories written in honor of sci-fi legend H. G. Wells.

"Smart Money" released today by Stupefying Stories Showcase

Rampant Loon has just launched a webzine called Stupefying Stories Showcase, and in its inaugural issue is my story "Smart Money." The best part? It's free to read online, just so you can have a taste of what Stupefying Stories is all about.

"Burning Men" released today by Penumbra eMag

My story "Burning Men" was released today in Penumbra's H. G. Wells themed issue. The story is a dystopian science fiction piece, clocking in at a modest 2,000 words. It's available for purchase for $3.99 in every e-book format here.

WotF, 1st quarter results posted on their blog

Check out my name, right there under the semi-finalists. Losing never felt so good! But seriously, though, it was nice to be in the elite company of only 19 other stories.