When Spam Isn't

Saturday, I was waiting for responses to several e-mails I had sent earlier in the day, so when my computer played that chord that indicates “I’ve got mail,” I pulled up my chair to check it out.

I didn’t recognize the address of the incoming mail. My first thought was “darned spam.” But with my finger hovering over the delete button, I read the body of the message. It stated that Mysterical-E magazine will be publishing my story “A Signature in Blood” in their Winter Issue due out in December.

My second thought was, “alright, who’s playing a demented joke on me?”

I grabbed my submissions folder and, sure enough, I had submitted that story to Mysterical-E and the editor’s name matched the name of the e-mail’s sender.

My third thought was, “Oh, my God! I’ve had a piece of fiction accepted for publication!”

Then I nearly broke my chair jumping up and down in it.

Yes, I have finally cracked the fiction market. I’ve only had non-fiction articles published previously, but my dream, my first love, is fiction.

I guess I’d better get busy and re-submit those stories that I’ve been too busy to send back out after their latest rejection. “Signature” had been making the rounds for a year and a half before finding a home. Persistence pays off!

As for the Word Watchers Challenge, I’m still plodding my way through re-write Hell. Yes, it’s my shitty first draft, but I learned that some of what I’ve been writing is inaccurate and I want to shore up my foundation before I build any more on top of it. And I’m pleased with the progress I’m making.