Magic Boats and Bloody Jewels
Expanded Horizons, one of my favorite venues, has just reprinted my story, "Blood Amber." It's inspired by a Bengali folk tale that I first read when I was eleven, and was able to re-find on Amazon. I know Amazon has much to answer for, but it's given me this: All the books I read as a child, and didn't think to save, they're available somewhere in the world and I can track them down.
Blood Amber started out longish, expanded into a novella, threatened to become a novel. "Sorry, this is boring," said one editor I submitted it to, and even though his publication never actually took off, I knew he was right. I simplified and focused the plot, condensed the time-line, and heightened the action; it shrank it right back down into a short story, in fact, a very short story with a slightly Arabian Nights feel. Then I submitted it to an awesomely-named anthology, The Book of Tentacles, and it was accepted.
The upside was that the anthology was indeed a pretty awesome. The downside was that I don't know if it got around much.
Two years later, Tentacles no longer had an exclusive, and I immediately sent it off to EH. I like EH a lot. Its mission is cool (read its guidelines). It accepts reprints. It's the most author-friendly publication I know, buying only the non-exclusive rights to a story for what works out to semi-pro rates. It normally gives a remarkably fast turnaround, not just in a story-decision, but from acceptance to actual publication. It's online, so I can link to it.
So here's the story. Board the magic boat with Joya. It's a short ride, and you'll find out why there are jewels in the waves.
Blood Amber started out longish, expanded into a novella, threatened to become a novel. "Sorry, this is boring," said one editor I submitted it to, and even though his publication never actually took off, I knew he was right. I simplified and focused the plot, condensed the time-line, and heightened the action; it shrank it right back down into a short story, in fact, a very short story with a slightly Arabian Nights feel. Then I submitted it to an awesomely-named anthology, The Book of Tentacles, and it was accepted.
The upside was that the anthology was indeed a pretty awesome. The downside was that I don't know if it got around much.
Two years later, Tentacles no longer had an exclusive, and I immediately sent it off to EH. I like EH a lot. Its mission is cool (read its guidelines). It accepts reprints. It's the most author-friendly publication I know, buying only the non-exclusive rights to a story for what works out to semi-pro rates. It normally gives a remarkably fast turnaround, not just in a story-decision, but from acceptance to actual publication. It's online, so I can link to it.
So here's the story. Board the magic boat with Joya. It's a short ride, and you'll find out why there are jewels in the waves.