E.S. Raye

Do you ever get those days where you find it hard to do the things you know you have to do?

I’ll be honest. I’m having one of those days right now, and the thing I’m struggling to do is write this blog. I couldn’t find a topic idea I liked, and it’s later in the day than I prefer to start.

Excuses.

So, this week, I think I’ll share some potentially good – if vague – news!

I’ll start with a quote:

“By the time I was fourteen the nail in my wall would no longer support the weight of the rejection slips impaled upon it. I replaced the nail with a spike and went on writing.”

Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

I haven’t been writing and submitting stories since before I was thirteen, but it has been a year or two now. Some written for contests, others for myself – all rejected by every publication they were submitted to.

Perhaps, until now.

I’ll need to be vague here because I don’t know the etiquette when it comes to this sort of thing, and I don’t want to mess anything up before it becomes real, but…

I submitted a short horror story to a publication for publishing and possible inclusion in an anthology. I have heard back and they want to publish it in early 2024! I’ll actually be published and can justify having this website (haha)!

They, as expected, want to see some edits, and although I have not seen their notes yet, they assure me none are story-altering. I’m not concerned. Now that I have some experience with film producers and directors and the sorts of changes they want made, I’m sure these changes to a 1,000-word story will be minimal.

I wish I could say more at this time, but the truth is, I don’t know much more yet. But rest assured, there will be announcements when the time is right!