The time from Easter of this year to April 14 was filled with events — and not tax events. During this space of time, I heard back from editor after editor with acceptances, and when the dust cleared, I had sold five stories in three weeks. That’s a new professional best for me. Those sales in order are:
“Between Two Heartbeats” on March 27, Easter morning — this science fiction story is going to the Third Flatiron Anthology themed “hyperpowers.” This is the fourth story I’ve sold to Third Flatiron over the last several years.
“Lady Trap” on April 3 — this fantasy story was picked up by Farstrider Magazine for their second issue. The editor commented how complete the world felt, probably because I’ve used the setting and main character extensively in two of my novels.
“Whisper” on April 5 — the first version of this science fiction story was expanded and revised at the editor’s request, and the changes were accepted for Visions IV: Space Between Stars, which was released today. Very fast runaround from Lillicat Publishers. (For more on “Whisper.” see my previous post.)
“Scow of Destiny” on April 10 — I submitted this science fiction story to INvective INk’s “mistaken identity” issue, but it was accepted for their later “end of the world” June issue. When this was critiqued in my writing group, it came to light that not everyone knows what a scow is, but when you read this story, you’ll understand.
“Lab Rat” on April 14 — This is a mad scientist story that will appear in Lit Select’s anthology Legendary Stories: What Went Wrong. With a mad scientist story, you can safely assume that everything goes wrong.
So five acceptances in three weeks – huzzah! And already they’ve started appearing in print.