I’m thrilled to be here today, because “write an awards eligiblity post for your website” has been on my Big Dreams To-Do list for, oh, forever.
I had my two first ever short story sales this year, and I couldn’t be prouder of either of them. Short stories don’t come to me often, so these both felt like magic. I hope you enjoy them.
Upon Your Marriage to a Redcap, appears in Iridium Zine, March 2018
…and part of you will do the math, is always doing the math. Is this reasonable? What are you supposed to expect, really, in a marriage? Upon whose death do you part?
In the vein of old “Young Ladies’ Guides,” here is an instructional about how to proceed upon your marriage to a redcap (a fierce, castle-dwelling monster who must keep her cap damp with human blood in order to survive). This is an exploration of relationships, the compromises you make and the bodies you leave strewn behind your marriage. If anything was gonna scare my wife off, it would’ve been this.
You Inside Me, appears in Glittership, July 2018
If Aisling had been a boy, she would have been a teen heartthrob. She wore her hair long where it was slicked back and short (touchable, but hard to grab in a fight) everywhere else. She wore a leather jacket that spoke of a once-in-a-lifetime thrift store find, and over the warmth of her blood and her breath she smelled like bag balm. Sabella wanted to hide in her arms from a fire. She wanted to watch her drown trying to save her.
Sabella needs a liver; Ais is trying to seduce all the pretty girls in the greater Syracuse area. They meet on Suckr, the premier dating app for vampires and their fanciers.
I love this story, which was deeply personal and also a joy to write. I’m so happy it’s at Glittership, which is available in print and podcast format, and that Charles Payseur was so kind to it at Quick Sip Reviews.
That’s it for this year. Hope you’re staying warm and looking forward to awards season. (I know I am!)