21

I received my 21st acceptance of the year last evening, this for a 4,600-word bit of crime fiction written for an invitation-only anthology.

19 & 20

Two more acceptances this afternoon, my 19th and 20th of the year. This time it's reprint rights to two crime fiction short stories.

17 & 18

I received two acceptances today, both for crime fiction. These are a bit of a cheat as they will appear in anthologies I'm co-editing.

Fourteen

I completed and submitted my fourteenth story of the year this morning. This one's a 4,500-word mystery/police procedural written for an invitation-only anthology. 

16

I received my 16th acceptance of the year this morning, this time for a 5,000-word PI story.

14 & 15

I received my 14th acceptance of the year few days—for a heartwarming Christmas story—and forgot to record it.

I received my 15th acceptance of the year this afternoon, this time for a short piece of crime fiction.

Thirteen

I finished and submitted my thirteenth story of the year this evening. This one's a 5,000-word PI story. 

Twelve

I completed and submitted my twelfth story of the year this morning. This one's a 3,300-word bit of crime fiction for an invitation-only anthology.

Eleven

I finished and submitted my eleventh short story of the year this morning. This one's a 2,500-word bit of crime fiction I began writing on July 5, 2020.

Ten

I finished and submitted my tenth short story of the year. This one—my sixth collaboration with Sandra Murphy—is a 4,200-word bit of crime fiction. Our previous five collaborations all sold on first or second submission, so I have my fingers crossed for this one.

13

I received my 13th acceptance of the year this morning, this time for a 4,800-word bit of crime fiction inspired by a Genesis song.

Nine

I finished and submitted my ninth story of the year this morning, a 2,900-word bit of crime fiction for an "inspired by" anthology.

12

I received my 12th acceptance of the year this morning, a 6,400-word bit of crime fiction submitted 15 months ago.

11

Though I first learned of it while attending Bouchercon, I can now confirm my 11th acceptance of the year, a crime fiction reprint. 

9, 10

I received my 9th acceptance of the year on August 15 and my 10th acceptance of the year August 31, while I was at Bouchercon. Both are short crime fiction stories.

Eight

I finished and submitted my eighth short story of the year this morning. It's a 3,500-word bit of crime fiction written for an invitation-only anthology.

Seven

I finished and submitted my seventh short story of the year. This one's a 3,100-word bit of crime fiction intended for an open-call themed anthology. 

Six

I completed and submitted my sixth short story of the year this evening, a 4,800-word bit of crime fiction. This one's for an invitation-only anthology of stories inspired by the songs of a well-known rock group.

Five

I completed and submitted my fifth story of the year. This one's a 5,900-word bit of crime fiction inspired by an incident at an Italian restaurant.

8

The story I submitted this morning has already been accepted, making it my 8th acceptance of the year.

Four

I completed and submitted my fourth short story of the year, this one a 2,000-word bit of crime fiction written for an invitation-only anthology.

6, 7

Earlier this month I received my 6th acceptance of the year (for an essay,) and today I received my 7th acceptance (for a reprint).

Three

I finished and submitted my third short story of the year. This one's a 3,600-word bit of crime fiction I began writing on May 28, 2017.

5

I received my 5th acceptance of the year this morning, this for a reprint of a story first published in 2012.

Two

I finished and submitted my second story of the year this afternoon, this one a 5,700-word bit of crime fiction I began writing November 16, 2020.

4

I received my 4th acceptance of the year this evening, this for a 4,900-word mystery.

3

I received my 3rd acceptance of the year this evening, this time for a bit of crime fiction written by invitation for a crime-stories-inspired-by-the-songs-of anthology.

One

I submitted my first new story of the year this evening. It's a 5,100-word bit of crime fiction written in the style of now-defunct confession magazines such as True Story, True Confessions, True Love, and others. I don't know when I started writing the story—maybe as far back as the 1980s—and a few months ago I found the almost-finished ms. on my hard drive when I was looking for something else. I added an ending and tinkered with the rest of it repeatedly until I finally decided to push it out of the nest to see if it could fly.

2

I received my second acceptance of the year, this time for a 4,600-word PI story. Two sales year-to-date, both PI stories. Am I sensing a trend? 

1

I received my first acceptance of the year yesterday, this for a 14,100-word private eye story.