Anthologized

I’m not afraid of electronic publication.  Despite the fact that it could all be wiped out by a comet’s tail or power surge, it is clearly the way of the future.  Some of my earliest stories have, in fact, already disappeared as servers have shut down, reverting rights along with words.

My earliest pieces appeared in Danse Macabre, a literary journal that seems to get what I’m trying to do.  Certainly the vast majority of literary magazines don’t “get” me, as I’ve had a great deal of trouble finding editors who’ll give my tales a chance.  I was pleased, then, to see myself as a part of two anthologies by Hammer and Anvil Press.

Hammer and Anvil—a most appropriate name—is the book-publishing side of Danse Macabre’s Adam Henry Carrière, the first editor to take a chance on my fiction.  I discovered two of my stories in anthologies, and I am very pleased that they still have a little staying power.

Stories are memes that we cast out into the universe.  Those that are caught can spread, and, hopefully, get some notice.  If successful, they spread on to another generation.  Most of my memes lie in a deep meme pool on my laptop.  I hope there’s some life in them yet.

While awaiting a willing publisher for my first novel (actually novel number four, but the first one I’ve attempted to publish), I sometimes busy myself with short stories.  At least forty of them populate my hard drive.  Some want to escape very badly.  They are, however, sensitive to rejection.

Whenever I receive a rejection letter I assume the fault is my own, and I begin rewriting the story again.  It is the rare tale that makes it out twice without some kind of revision taking place in the meantime.

That’s what’s so satisfying about being in an anthology.  Someone liked the story enough the first time around to think that someone might even pay a little money to read it again.  I’m flattered, and unspeakably pleased to be anthologized.