A New Beginning

"This will be the time."

I tell myself this often; trying new web builders or newsletter platforms time and again. I even tried going back to Tumblr at one point but couldn't bring myself to stay. And here I am, trying one more platform because I feel too much guilt to stay on Substack despite the wide community there, and I'm too tired to try and make a Wordpress look nice.

So here I am, with my simple little website and simple little blog. But this time, I own the domain. Surely, the fact that I am now paying for this means I will keep up with it, right?

Right?

Maybe I will be lucky, and this will be the time I finally discipline myself. Perhaps, I already have. Over the last year, I've pushed myself to send my writing out to more lit mags and publishers. I've taken the time to write whenever and wherever I can. While I'm not where I wanted to be when I was getting ready to graduate with my MFA just over a year ago, I should still celebrate what I have accomplished.

How do you sign a short story in an anthology?

Just under a year ago, I submitted a short story to NECKSNAP Magazine, a local horror-focused lit mag. My short story "Am I The Actual Devil?" was then published in their 2nd issue! The formatting of that story came out so beautifully, truly appearing like the forum post it's meant to appear as.

Next month, I have two stories being published. One of which is in Bloodletter Magazine, a Brooklyn-based horror lit mag for women, trans, and non-binary artists. "A Stuck Little Piggy" is one of my favorite stories I wrote in graduate school, and I feel so honored that it will be in Bloodletter! This story was also one of the last pieces I wrote at VCFA and has a very special place in my heart. In that way, this story shows how much growth I've had over just the last few years alone.

Then there's my story "Plan B," a piece of flash fiction I wrote at my second graduate residency. This short, weighty little story shows me that my talent has been there, waiting to be unleashed when I am in the right space with other creatives. Now, "Plan B" is being published in Understory Volume 2, from Loblolly Press. I love Loblolly titles and I am ridiculously excited for my name to be in any way related to them! My coworkers are probably just as excited for me that this issue will be distributed to our store. They've been encouraging me to sign the book and hand-sell my own writing. How cool is that? Of course, this leads to the question:

How do you sign a short story that's in an anthology? In the table of contents? The title page? A contributor page in the back of the book? On the story itself? Also, this means I need to develop my author signature, and I can only hope it won't just be a mess of squiggles.

What's Next?

  • I plan on keeping up with this blog.

  • I plan on writing more, truly disciplining myself.

  • I plan on attending more bookish events (unrelated to my job)

  • I plan on reading my work more often at local lit readings.

  • I plan on connecting more with other writers, especially now that I'm a member of the Horror Writers Association and my local Carolinas chapter.

  • I plan on accepting a recent offer to be an artist-in-residence in 2027.

    I suppose we'll see how well I manage all this. Fingers crossed!