First Fiction Sale!

I am ecstatic to announce that I have just sold my first short story ever.  As in, paid, as in, I'm getting money for my story.  Someone wants to give me money for a story I wrote.  WHOA!  So I am proud to announce that my short story, The Rat in the Rabbit Cage, has just been accepted for Weirdbook 2017 Annual "Witches" by Wildside Press!

I originally wrote this story, as a challenge by Kyle, for the She Walks in Shadows by Innsmouth Free Press anthology.  Since then it has been rejected six more times.  I really liked this story and really wanted to make it work, so, at that point, I signed up to be mentored on short fiction through my local HWA Chapter group and was paired up with none other than Lisa Morton.  Upon reading it she said the greatest thing ever.  "...I think it's overall a very solid piece of work, very M. R. James-ian in the sense of danger always lurking just behind the events."  M. R. James-ian!!!  I wrote an  M. R. James-ian story!  What a compliment.

After working on the story back and forth with Lisa and finishing up the mentorship program, I sent it off to be rejected again.  The second time, however, hit home.  The editor of Weirdbook messaged me on Facebook and told me "I want this story very much," and just asked that I tweaked the ending a bit.  I sent it to him like 5 seconds later because I wanted to make sure I wasn't dreaming that he was taking my story, not my poetry, for this antho or that he changed his mind.

Anyway, I hope you all like my story; I shall wait in terror for your judgments and reviews.    

Table of Contents

Fiction
Thou Shall Not Suffer Matt Neil Hill
No Holds Bard Adrian Cole
Laying The Hairy Book Josh Reynolds
Here Is Where Your Proud Waves Halt Erica Ruppert
Vicious Circles Paul Dale Anderson
Assorted Shades Of Red Franklyn Searight
Strange Days In Old Yandrissa John R. Fultz
Fertility Rites Glynn Owen Barrass
The Witches Heart Rachel Bolton
Hag Race Andre Harewood
Best Friend Becky Wayne Faust
The Rat In The Rabbit Cage Ashley Dioses
Two Spells Neva Bryan
Pulled Over Paul Spears
The Witch Of Skur L. F. Falconer
Cat And Mouse Duane Pesice
Last Of Ashiptu Paul Lubaczewski
Firestorm Richard H. Durisen
The Witch Of Pender John Linwood Grant
The Nora Witch Brandon Jimison
The Broken Witch Scott Hutchison

Poetry
The Desert Rose Inn Maurits Zwankhuizen
Salty Lucy Snyder
The Ballad Of Blighted March David F. Daumit
The Witch Queen S. L. Edwards
A Witch's Work Is Never Done Lori R. Lopez
Oracle Bone Script Frederick J. Meyer
Halloween Witch K. A. Opperman
Remembering The Peculiar Effects From the
Sugar-Witch's Goblin-Brew Clay F. Johnson
Sea Witch Vonnie Winslow Crist
Little Youkai At The Witch House Chad Hensley
Mother Persephone Oliver Smith
A Warlock Slips Into My Dreams Darla Klein