This is the big one, folks. And a strange one, too.
Today I received a letter from Cemetery Dance magazine saying they wanted to buy my short story "Inheritor." Uh… did I send you that story? I wondered. It turns out I did… last July. Then I started to remember… it was January of this year and, since I still hadn’t received a reply, I went to their website and found out that any stories sent to them before October 2005 were probably lost due to some post office snafu. Okay, I thought, and sent the story somewhere else. (I did send CD something else, but they rejected it. Ha!)
Well, it turns out they did receive the story and they want to buy it! Cemetery Dance! They’ve published Stephen King, Peter Straub, Douglas Clegg, Poppy Z. Brite, all of my favorites! The editor apologized for the lengthy reply but figured the good news would more than make up for it. Uh, yeah!
The really funny thing is that "Inheritor" is one of the very first stories I ever wrote, and if you asked me of all of the stories I currently have out right now which one had the least chance of being accepted, I would have had to say it was that one. And to have it accepted, and by the biggest horror magazine out there right now… well, it’s just staggering. I’m still in shock. I just remember Kathryn looking at me while I was holding the envelope and thinking This is awfully thick for a rejection slip.
Now I have an actual publishing contract to fill out and send back. The story itself will be published in early 2007, and I will be receiving professional pay rates which comes out to a couple of hundred bucks (US).
My third acceptance in the past month and my sixth in total. Number six with a bullet! Yowza!
Update: I had to send an e-mail to Insidious Reflections, the magazine currently considering "Inheritor," to let them know that it was accepted by Cemetery Dance. Well, I just got the reply, and it turns out they were ready to accept it, as well! I told them that it was a mix-up and that I never send out simultaneous submissions, and they understood. And they want another story. Crazy… absolutely crazy…
2nd Update: I was just sitting down to sign my contract and noticed the date on it: 06/06/06. Well, I’m a horror writer, so I guess that’s okay. Just call me Damien. Or Dame Ian… Uh no, stick with Damien.
- Currently reading: "Ring Around the Redhead," by John D. MacDonald