Nineteen, twenty

I completed and submitted my nineteenth and twentieth short stories of the year this afternoon. Both are 800-word romances. I started one on the 28th and the other yesterday.

Eighteen

I completed and submitted my eighteenth short story of the year this morning. This one's a 5,300-word confession I started writing March 8, 2015.

16, 17

I received my 16th and 17th acceptances of the year this afternoon, both for confessions.

15

I received my 15th acceptance of the year this afternoon, this time for a 5,200-word confession.

Published

My story "Let Dead Dogs Lie" appears in the current issue of The Molotov Cocktail: https://themolotovcocktail.com/vol-7/vol-7-issue-2/let-dead-dogs-lie/

14

I received my 14th acceptance of the year this evening. This one's for a story that straddles the line between dark crime fiction and non-supernatural horror.

The bookwork is killing me

Keeping track of 1,100+ short stories that have been published or accepted and are awaiting publication is a time-consuming task. Unfortunately, things sometimes fall through the cracks.

For example, today I learned that two stories were reprinted in 2013. I'm unsure if I was unaware of it at the time or if I knew, forgot, and failed to record the information in my files.

Regardless, my stories "In Love With the Easter Bunny" and "Easter Magic" both appear in the anthology Enchanting Easter.

Seventeen

I completed and submitted my seventeenth short story of the year this afternoon. This one's an 800-word romance I started writing during a road trip yesterday.

Sixteen

I finished and submitted my sixteenth short story of the year this evening. This one's a 4,100-word confession I started writing March 14, 2013.

13

I received my 13th acceptance of the year this afternoon. This one's a bit of crime fiction I wrote by invitation back in 2014. Unfortunately, the periodical for which I wrote the story ceased publication before using it and I had to find a new home.

Published 3x

My story "Mother of the Year" appears in the May True Story, and my stories "Mom's Midlife Crisis" and "Windows" appear in the May True Confessions.

Fifteen

I completed and submitted my fifteenth short story of the year this evening. This one's an 800-word romance I started yesterday.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Today I learned that I am the recipient of a lifetime achievement award for my involvement with short mystery fiction. The Short Mystery Fiction Society honored me with the Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer.

To see a complete list of this year's Derringer Award recipients, visit: http://shortmystery.blogspot.com/2016/03/2016-derringer-award-results.html

Fourteen

I completed and submitted my fourteenth short story of the year this afternoon. This one's an 800-word romance I started yesterday.

12

I received my 12th acceptance of the year, this time for a private eye story, back in February. I didn't count it then because the acceptance letter wasn't explicit. Luckily, an email I received this morning confirmed that it was, in fact, an acceptance.

Thirteen

I completed my thirteenth short story of the year today, a 330-word bit of flash fiction I started June 26, 2015. I've not submitted it yet because I don't yet know of an appropriate market.

Twelve

I finished and submitted my twelfth short story of the year this afternoon. This one's a confession I started writing August 19, 2005.

Published

"To Live and Die in Texas," a noir bit of crime fiction, has just been published at Honeysuckle magazine's website: http://www.honeysucklemag.com/to-live-and-die-in-texas/

11

I received my 11th acceptance of the year a few minutes ago. This one's for a 4,800-word noir story, accepted by a new periodical that released its first issue last summer.

Eleven

I completed and submitted my eleventh short story of the year this afternoon. This one's a 5,200-word confession I started writing April 4, 2013.