Living the Fictional Dream

In 2007, I got serious about my writing. I began working on my short fiction and sending it out to various anthologies, magazines, and e-zines. I’d submitted short stories before, during high school and again during college, but those bursts of productivity were short lived. In 2007, I really devoted myself to it. I took a day off on my birthday in February and sent a Christian vampire story to an anthology that wanted gritty, realistic, Christian genre fiction. Sadly, that story got rejected, but I kept after it. The more stories you have out there, the more chances you have to get that elusive “yes.”

At first, all I got was form email rejections. But eventually, I started to get some personal notes that said things like, “This piece doesn’t fit our next issue, but please send us more work in the future.” Though still rejections, notes like that are encouraging to a writer, or at least to me. It’s nice to know that your story was good enough to make an editor stop and take notice.

And then, finally, in July 2007, I got the email I’d been waiting for — my first acceptance! My flash piece, “Mutiny,” would be published in a print anthology called Sporty Spec: Games of the Fantastic. I was so excited!

The Sporty Spec market was a tough one. Several other members of my writing group submitted stories and were rejected. I wasn’t even planning to submit to it, but then I had this flash of inspiration for a story about a living game — a strategy game, sort of like chess, but one where the player directs their pieces like a general directs his troops. I wrote it in one quick burst, polished it, and then figured that I might as well try Sporty Spec. The worst they could do was say no!

And, to my surprise, editor Karen Romanko said yes!

I can’t point you to a link to “Mutiny,” but I can point you to where you can purchase the anthology — it’s available on Amazon, and here is more info about the anthology at the Raven Electrick site (Ms. Romanko’s e-zine). Finally, this is the link to the Sporty Spec book trailer.

Even if you’re not a sports fan, I think you’ll enjoy this anthology. There are stories about different sports (track, horse racing, baseball), and stories about games, as well as a healthy dose of poetry. I definitely don’t consider myself a sports fan, but I enjoyed reading my contributor’s copy of the anthology.

If you pick up a copy, let me know what you think!