23...probably

I learned of my 23rd acceptance of the year earlier today, but not from the editor who apparently accepted the story.

Last year I sold a story to an anthology and later heard from the editor that he needed more stories. I sent him two more and heard nothing.

Until yesterday.

A fellow writer who has a story in the same anthology mentioned that he'd received page proofs from the editor, and he congratulated me for having two stories in it.

Two? Which two?

He told me: The story for which I'd signed a contract and one of the other two stories I'd submitted.

I've tried to confirm this with the anthology editor--an editor to whom I've sold several stories in recent years--but I've heard nothing.*

No contract for the second story. No page proofs to check.

Sigh.

I have no reason to doubt the writer who told me about this so I'm counting this as my 23rd sale of the year.

Still, I'd like to receive confirmation from the editor.
____
*Less than 12 hours have passed since I emailed the editor, so it's a bit soon to actually fret about this

3/31/11 ADDENDUM: Sale confirmed overnight by the editor. Life is good.

Left Coast Crime 2011 addendum

Beth Groundwater posted a report and numerous photos from Left Coast Crime on her blog, including another photo of the short story panel. See everything here.

Left Coast Crime 2011

These might be the only photos you see of the "Short But Not Sweet: Short Stories" panel at Left Coast Crime 2011 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, because Rebecca (aka Plot Monkey) appeared to be the only person in the room with a camera.

From left to right: Moderator Jane Burfield, Stephen D. Rogers, Lance Zarimba, Patricia Morin, and Michael Bracken.

Published 2x

My sexually violent vampire story "Les Sperme Vampire" appears in D.O.A.: Extreme Horror Collection, edited by David C. Hayes and Jack Burton and just released by Blood Bound Books.

My erotic crime story "Making Room at the Top" appears in Homo Thugs, edited by Shane Allison and published by StarBooks Press. This was released a few months ago but I just received my copy.

22

I received my 22nd acceptance of the year today, this time for a 3,600-word confession submitted March 6.

21

I returned home from Left Coast Crime to find my 21st acceptance waiting in the mailbox, this time for a 4,500-word confession I submitted on March 15.

Reviewed

In a post at the Short Mystery Fiction Society's group, Victor J. Banis discussed three mystery short stories recently released by Untreed Reads. About "News Flash," he said:

"Michael Bracken's 'News Flash' was a noir delight, perfectly paced."

Get your own copy of "News Flash" from the publisher here or from Amazon here.

Sharing the creative spark

I'm one of eight Wacoans from multiple creative fields profiled in Carl Hoover's "Waco artists share how they find the creative spark for their work" (Waco Tribune-Herald, March 17, 2011).

The article's available here, but the newspaper requires you to log in.

Published

My short romance, "Second Chance," was published today by The Long and Short of It. Read it here.

Seventeen

I finished and am about to submit my seventeenth short story of the year this evening. This one's a 4,500-word confession I started writing October 12, 2007. I had completed 2,800 words of the story and, once I read what I had already written, I pretty much know how the story should end. So I finished it.

Interviewed

I was interviewed today for an article on creativity. The interview was brief, but I think that's mostly because several creative people (and not just writers) were to be interviewed for the article and I doubt any one of us will get more than a paragraph or two in the final piece.

But we'll see.

20

I received my 20th acceptance today, this time for a hardboiled crime story I wrote back in December 2008.

I submitted this ms. in January 2009 to an editor who has purchased many of my stories over the years. When I had not received a response by February of this year--several months beyond the longest length of time she's ever held a ms. without a response--I resubmitted it with a polite note that I was worried the ms. had been lost in the mail. Result: sale!

Sixteen

I completed and submitted my sixteenth short story of the year earlier today. This one's a 4,300-word confession I started writing March 3, 2008. I had completed the first 1,500 or so words at some point and picked it up again a few days ago.

19

I received my 19th acceptance of the year in today's mail, this time for a 4,600-word confession submitted January 17.

Published

My story "New Bonnets, New Love" appears in the just-published April True Story.

Published

"News Flash," a short story featuring P.I. Morris Ronald Boyette, has just be released in various electronic formats by Untreed Reads. Read an excerpt and order your copy here.

Fifteen

I finished and submitted my fifteenth short story of the year a few minutes ago. This one's a 4,900-word confession I started writing March 4, 2008. I had completed almost 2,000 words before I picked it up again.

18

I received my 18th acceptance of the year in today's mail. This one's for a Mother's Day confession I submitted on January 26.

Published

"Tagged on Easter" appears in the April True Romance.

Fourteen

I completed and submitted my fourteenth story of the year this evening. This one's a 3,600-word confession I started writing March 29, 2010. Back then I wrote about 700 words and made a few rough plot notes. I picked the story up again after finishing yesterday's story and wrote the balance of this one in spurts because I was working around other activities--a birthday party, a movie, etc.

17

The story I finished writing this afternoon was accepted this evening, making it my 17th acceptance of the year.

Thirteen

I finished writing my thirteenth short story of the year, a 2,700-word bit of erotic crime fiction set in the early 1930s. I started writing this story on March 2 and struggled to get the slang right.

The anthology editor this is intended for likes to see queries rather than full ms., so I e-mailed the query a few minutes ago.

14, 15, 16

I received three acceptances via e-mail this afternoon, my 14th, 15th, and 16th acceptances of the year. All three acceptances were for confessions.

The oldest story was written in early 2009 and found a home on its third submission. The other two--written in December 2010 and February 2011--found a home their first time out.

13

I received my 13th acceptance of the year this afternoon, for a Mother's Day confession I submitted December 21, 2010.

12

I received my 12th acceptance of the year this morning, for a short romance submitted August 1, 2010.