Okay, more a winner. But really I'm thrilled thrilled thrilled. Today I received two emails to do with stories I'd sent out. One was from Virginia Quarterly Review saying that although my story had obvious merit it didn't suit their needs. The other was from editor Joe Maita of Jerry Jazz Musician, a funky site of all things jazz and some things not.
“I am writing to let you know that ‘Cipher’ has been chosen to be the winner of the Jerry Jazz Musician Short Fiction Contest. Congratulations! With this award comes a prize of $100.”
http://www.jerryjazzmusician.com/mainHTML.cfm?page=fiction.html It will be published on the site on Nov. 5th and beat out over 100 entrants. Wins and even nominations have been far and few between so it's very nice to feel like your top a heap, no matter how small. I've been selling erotica and poems this year, and this story is literary. So even though I'm not selling the speculative works, I'm still having my best year. It's a small bubble but I'm riding it for all it's worth. Whee!