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Posted byJonNovember 14, 2020November 14, 2020Posted inUncategorizedTags:amwriting, Dark Owl Publishing, publishing, Short Stories, Smoking Pen Press, Writing
Ever try lifting a glass to get the last chunk of shake to slide into your gob, and it just won’t dislodge from the bottom of the cup? And so you shake the cup, hoping for a delicious bite of ice cream and chocolate goodness. Nothing happens. You shake the cup again.
And then an avalanche of all that is delicious in the world smashes you in the face and yes it is in your mouth and up your nose and streaming from your eyes and it’s so good but now you can’t breathe and then your family is laughing at you and
OK, maybe that was a little more than you needed to know about my childhood.
But I bet you can identify with that whole big chunk o’ goodness smashing into your face. Maybe it wasn’t a shake for you. Maybe it was a smoothie. Maybe it was curry. I don’t know how curry works. We don’t have it often here.
Anyway, my publishing has sort of taken on that aspect in the last couple weeks.
I’m legit excited for A Celebration of Storytelling. I’ve never had more than one story in the same anthology, and I’ve got four in this one! Seriously, go preorder it. It’s a chonk of stories, and I’m proud of all of mine here.
One of my first published stories, “A Dragon Bigger than My Stories,” has been reprinted in Mythic. This remains one of the favorite things I’ve ever written, and I’m glad it’s getting to see the light of day again. The story simply flowed. I love the concept of dragons eating stories, and the struggle of an introvert to choose to give up solitude for the good of others is something I continue to identify with.
“Coming Back for a Drink” in The Trouble with Time Travel marks the first time I’ve written a “sequel” to an already-published short story. You can read the first story, “Tempus Fugit,” here. (You’ll have to scroll down a bit.) I love the idea of a modern bar that every time traveler eventually finds themselves at. It’s a setting that begged for a second viewing.
Worth 1,000 Words will be printing my short story “Beating Myself Up.” I don’t often go the humor route – I just don’t think I’m overly talented at it – but every once in a while it works. I channeled Doofenschmirtz from Phineas and Ferb for this one!
Insurgence: A Fae Rebellion includes my story, “The Fae-Powered World.” This one feels so lived-in. I have the feeling the short story really could be the opening chapter to a novel. I want to return here. I mean, fae being enslaved to humans and used as living power plants in a steampunk setting? I think that’s pretty cool!
I’ve known about most of these for quite a while. The way publishing works, once a story is accepted from a publisher it could be anywhere from a week to a few years before the story can be announced. Sometimes the publisher is waiting on other slots to be filled, sometimes they’re waiting on cover art, sometimes their publishing roster is full until a year or two out. So I’ve been waiting a while… and now… a whole bunch of things are hitting at once!
And the ice cream has smashed against my face!
It’s fun to be able to announce all this at once. It makes it look like I’m far busier than I am. Yes, I’m still writing. Yes, I’m still submitting things here and there and everywhere. But when I make a series of announcements like this week, it’s just fun, you know?
Anyway, it’s been a fun couple weeks. If you’ve wanted to support my writing, there’s lots of options now! I hope you have fun with them. And in the meantime, go eat some ice cream!
Posted byJonNovember 14, 2020November 14, 2020Posted inUncategorizedTags:amwriting, Dark Owl Publishing, publishing, Short Stories, Smoking Pen Press, Writing
Jon lives in Kentucky with his wife and an insanity of children. (A group of children is called an insanity. Trust me.) View more posts