"Io Saturnalia" is now available for purchase!

Emerald Tales, Vol. 1 No. 3 "Winter Solstice" issue is now available. This issue has my short story "Io Saturnalia" as well as twelve other short stories and poems. I'm so excited that the issue is finally out for people to buy. You can purchase either electronic or print versions, and either one is only $5.00. You can learn more about Emerald Tales at http://www.scribblersandinkspillers.com/emeraldtales.html. To purchase a copy of Emerald Tales' Winter Solstice issue, please go here: http://cart.scribblersandinkspillers.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1.

"Io Saturnalia" is my fourth short story accepted for publication, but my second short story to be available for purchase.

For more information on what "Io Saturnalia" is about as well as my other stories being published and written, please visit http://cheriereich.webs.com.

Acceptance and Rejection

Today I received a message from Diana Lyles, who is a multi-talented person, who runs Scribblers and Ink Spillers. My historical horror short story "Io Saturnalia" was accepted into the third issue of Emerald Tales, and it will be published on December 1, 2009. I am so excited that "Io Saturnalia" was accepted. For one, after receiving a rejection letter yesterday, it is always nice to receive an acceptance letter the next day. For two, I really loved writing "Io Saturnalia." It is most likely my best short story to date. For three, the "Winter Solstice" edition of Emerald Tales comes out on December 1 of this year. It means that people can buy and read one of my stories before 2010 when my ebook and YA fantasy short story are published. Here is the link to Emerald Tales: http://www.scribblersandinkspillers.com/emeraldtales.html. I'll put up another blog post and everything to remind people when it comes out. "Io Saturnalia" will be in print and electronic versions, and it'll only cost $5 for the magazine. It's definitely worth it!

Unfortunately, I had to mention my rejection letter. My horror story "Wishes" was rejected from the Dead Bells anthology. I had made it until the end of the final, final cuts. Here is what was said:

Good morning, Cherie,

I want to thank you again for your submission of "Wishes" to the Dead Bells Anthology, and for the work you put into the story. It has certainly been a hard decision making process for this anthology.

Unfortunately, we won't be including "Wishes" among the those in Dead Bells. The story was definitely close and I enjoyed reading it both times, but when it came down to it, it just didn't fit with what we are working towards.

Best of luck with your future endeavors.

Sincerely,
--
Jodi Lee
Belfire Press - http://www.belfirepress.com
The New Bedlam Project - http://www.newbedlam.com
Dead Bells - http://www.jodilee.ca/deadbells


I wasn't quite as disappointed as I originally thought I would be, and I wish the anthology success, even though my story wasn't accepted. "Wishes" is a great story though, and I hope to find another place for it elsewhere.

I currently only have a few stories out there that I'm waiting to hear back from, including the Eve anthology, Sorcerous Signals, and Abandoned Towers. I should have already heard back about "Hell Has No Fury" and "Eclipse," but the editor of the Eve anthology and Sorcerous Signals seems to have disappeared from the earth, since I've heard nothing from her since June. I need to send out my stories elsewhere, but it'll have to wait until after NaNoWriMo.

As for NaNoWriMo, I am still doing very well, I think. I am part way through finishing chapter nine, and I have around 21500 words written in nine days. I haven't done my writing for day 10 yet, but I'll keep everyone updated on the status of my novel.

Submission: IO SATURNALIA

I know I haven't written in my blog for a while. I would like to say that I've been busy, which I suppose I have. I was also too stressed out to write for a while, but things are better now. *smiles*

I finished writing an ancient Roman horror short story titled IO SATURNALIA on Friday. I sent it to my critique buddies, and they sent me edits and comments. I fixed the story up today and sent it off to Emerald Tales for their Winter Solstice volume. I had previously submitted SOUL SURVIVOR to the editor for their previous issue, and although she liked the story, she said it wasn't for her. I am hoping that IO SATURNALIA fares better. *crosses fingers*

Here is what the story is about:

IO SATURNALIA     3,929 words        (Historical Horror)
As a Greek slave for the Roman Lucius Valerius Corvinus, Hermes has always longed to be free. During the festival of Saturnalia, his master grants him his wish with a price. Hermes, a scribe, has to come up with 700 sestertii for his freedom. When the slave travels to the sigillaria or special market, he comes across an Etruscan fortuneteller. She guarantees his freedom, if he doesn't tempt the Fates. With magical knucklebones, the Greek scribe seeks out his destiny.

I do think that this story is one of my better stories. As a writer, I feel that I get better with each story, but I think that this is probably the same with all writers. At least, we all hope that we get better with each story!

I did not write much this month. With NEPTUNE'S TREASURE and now IO SATURNALIA, I only wrote 8,630 words. I hope that I'm saving up all the rest of my words for NaNoWriMo, which is less than a week away.(I'll be blogging a lot about NaNoWriMo later.)

I haven't submitted anything else lately or heard anything new from my submissions still out there. I'll be sure to keep everyone updated.

By the way, I'm getting a new laptop. I'm so excited! It's supposed to come in by November 6. *crosses fingers* The laptop is a Dell Inspiron 15 laptop, and it is purple. I'm hoping to get a lot of writing done at home once I get the laptop, including doing my rewrites/edits for THE PHOENIX PROPHETESS.