Posting Wherein I Talk About…a Sale!

/sound of throat clearing/ Ah. Hrrmph. Yes.

Last night I got an acceptance email from (are you ready for this one?) Michael J. DeLuca, who is guest-editing the July edition of Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet. He officially accepted my story, “Putting Down Roots,” for that issue.

I am over the moon with joy about this. Yes, every sale is special. And wonderful. And utterly, utterly delightful. But with this one, it just felt like all the stars aligned and the weather cooperated and the apocalypse held itself at bay, all at the exact right moment. Let me explain.

You see, LCRW is an approximately twice-yearly print magazine put out by the editors of Small Beer Press. It’s a very literary and somewhat funky little magazine that I’ve admired for years. Normally, writers must submit their stories by postal mail for consideration, and then a reply may take 6 months or longer. And the competition is fierce, because this is a very highly regarded ‘zine. I’ve held off submitting for the longest time, more than a little intimidated by all the above.

And then, out of the blue, along came this special call. It’s the first time they’ve used a guest editor. He opened to email submissions, also a first, I believe. But Mr DeLuca requested a theme for submissions: humanity’s relationship with the earth. He was hoping for some optimism, he said. And what did I just happen to have, sitting on my computer? A little story, somewhat unique, dealing with just that. Not even out somewhere else, but waiting. As if it knew.

(Okay, really, neither the story nor I had any idea that this was coming up, or that we’d actually make the final cut. But the story is one I’m very proud of, and yes, I’m just so very, very pleased that it found such a nice home. And getting in on the “first” of anything, well, it feels historical to me, extra-special. This one has it covered twice. So there you have it, without the woo-woo bit.)

I’ll be sure to remind you in July when the magazine is released. Until then, I may be busy dancing on the moon. 🙂