Submit-O-Rama May

I talked Khara into having a Re-Submit-O-Rama and so I have to participate.

The first week I was en fuego. I sent three stories to three new presses. Two were former rejects, the third a new submit.

Yesterday, in Boston — Rejected from Spry and Ardor; Submitted to Bloodstone Review

Compelled to Answer (formerly God Called) — rejected from Shadow Road; Submitted to The Rag

Casket Fresh — never before submitted, sent to S/tick

(Not to be confused with my other take on “Casket Fresh” that was published in the last issue of Sopphey Vance’s Enhance magazine. That story was a woman paralyzed by grief and fear and counting to calm herself down. This submission to S/tick was a woman monologuing to her daughter as she undergoes a chemo treatment. Very different takes on the same phrase.)

Then I lost momentum. I submitted nothing for the rest of the month.

But do not despair! I have found a new direction which is awesome and thanks almost entirely to Khara.

I’m still revising and resubmitting but the focus is a chapbook contest by Arcadia. They liked but rejected “Sunday School” after several rounds of consideration. So the plan is to send them the four stories that comprise Derecho:

• First Time — two teens plan a special moment on a mountainside when a storm interrupts their intentions
• Come Home — a mom and son wait for replacement dad to return from emergency duty since real dad didn’t return from combat
• Wedding March — resort manager organizes a wedding not knowing if the power will be restored
• Sunday School — a group of elderly churchgoers bear the heat of an outdoor class and unspoken truths

Wedding March is not yet finished and all of them will need revision to fit the contest guidelines. As with any submissions, there are rules to which I must adhere, so these stories are in for a trim. I emailed the editor to find out if it was okay to re-submit “Sunday School” as part of the four Derecho stories. We’ll see what he has to say.  **Update, he said that it’s fine to re-submit and that the maximum length was a guideline, not to let it interfere with the quality of the work.**

The deadline for that is August 15th so that’s a summer project. I expect to finish Wedding March this week and push revisions to July.

June is 10 X 30 or #10Stories30 in the Twitterverse. This is a chance to get hopping on the Canterbury Project to which I’ve alluded several times here. So this month I hope to knock out 10 new stories and end the month with drafts for the Canterbury Project. Stay tuned.