“I Have a Story”

I published my first short story. Finally. I finally accepted the reality that you have to submit to get in print, and starting small isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I may get “the big book deal” some day, and I may not. But you have to start somewhere, and start I did.

I’m excited but scared. What if something happens? What if nothing happens? But seriously. I’m not going to “what if” myself into hiding under the bed.

What’s done is done, so I’ll exchange what IF for what IS.

I submitted this story on a whim to SPLIT Quarterly. I heard about this new journal, saw that they were accepting submission, and I clicked the link. I appreciate their mission statement, in particular that last statement:

SPLIT is an experiment in digital publishing designed to showcase emerging talent in the art of storytelling. We are focused on the advancement of the literary arts and seek to break the predictable trends of traditional publishing. It is said that in order to actualize change, a split from routine must be in order.

Right? Right.

The email from SPLIT arrived on a day that simply didn’t have any room in it for a rejection. I had about an hour before work and considered not opening it until I was back home, but knew I’d made it through long workdays smiling and mostly intact (see below re: pretending.) in the wake of bigger rejections and weightier upsets. I could do this, I reasoned, but I wasn’t sure. That day and week were altogether different; I was seriously worried I’d found my tipping point.

But that’s just not my style, so I said “what the hell?” and clicked on the email. The editor thanked me for the submission blah-blah-blah and after careful consideration blah-blah-blah. I read it three times before I figured out they wanted to publish the story. And just like that the day turned around.

The character in “I Have a Story” is doing something most readers can’t relate to, yet the emotions she feels are universal. But I don’t want to sum it up too much for you, why don’t you just let me know what you think. {please….} And tell your friends. {please…}

You can read the short story here: http://splitquarterly.com/