Holy guacamole, what a week...
Somewhere around June 10th, I received notification from the editors of two—yes, two—print publications informing me that my short stories have been accepted for their upcoming anthologies. They are:
- "Real Red Blood" to be published in PROUD TO BE: VOL 10, through Southeast Missouri State University Press, and...
"A Sleeping Peace" to be published in ALTERNATIVE WAR by B Cubed Press.Actually ended up not working out...
What a week!
This is a big step, I feel like. Not only will I receive a commission (I think that's what you call it), in other words, get paid for my writing, but I'll also continue to be considered for the Proud to Be: Writing by American Warriors contest, which awards a $250 first prize for Short Fiction.I'm still processing it.
More and more, I feel like I'm starting to come into my own as a writer. The feedback from editors, beta-readers, friends and family is strong, encouraging, pointing out mistakes and takeaways but they're easy-to-fix, some might even say minor, errors. Overall, the stories are coming out well-liked, distinctly voiced, powerful, oozing atmosphere—to use a few of the comments readers are giving. I really enjoyed this, they say.
But it's no time to pat myself on the back . I was listening to Jay Z's Black Album yesterday and one of the songs quotes the Notorious B.I.G. You hear the recording of his voice, spliced into the track, and he says (paraphrasing) that you have to stay busy, stay working—stay hungry, y'know.
Yes, I just dated the hell out of myself.
Jay Z's just one of those artists I listen to time and time again. (My favorite album of his will always be Reasonable Doubt which came out in 1996—damn, I'm old!)
Back to the point: I realize that I now have to work even harder, even smarter. Now's the time not to slow down but to step on the accelerator. One success just builds on another, and on a whole lotta failures. To keep going, you have to keep going. I feel like this is something I'll always have to remind myself. It can be all too easy to sit on your laurels and call it a day. Some may do that, but I can't.
Anyways, what a week it's been. I'll be posting perhaps my last Perhaps Monthly Pandemic Periodical coming up, so stay tuned for that, or subscribe so you never miss an update.
In the meantime, stay hungry.