Submission Announcement Looms...

Two more weeks until judgment day, that is, until I learn whether I won The Short Story Award for New Writers at a widely-read literary press (which shall remain nameless because I don't want to shoot myself in the foot). Winners will be announced within the first few days of January. I'll let you know.

Of course I didn't win—and no, I am not being grumpy or pessimistic, nor am I being defeatist in order to protect myself from the inevitable (I've already thought of that). It's just the simple fact that small literary presses seem to be the last in the literary world so far to figure out that real people actually want to read real stories, I mean stories that grip them and move them, and most of all, stories that show life as a kind of promising adventure.

I suppose I do stand an insignificant chance (which is better than no chance) of being listed as an Honorable Mention, mainly just because my hero is a woman and because it's a damn good story, I am inclined to think. Trouble is, she's also a businesswoman. Even worse, she's not just an egalitarian mystic in the guise of a businesswoman, but a tough-as-nuts hard-hitter who stands by her principles, the kind of woman who never thinks to check in with the pollsters before making a decision. She's one of my favorite characters. I really love her a lot. But I doubt the lefties at xxxxx Press will like her at all.

Honestly, I really suck at getting my stories out there. I guess I just haven't found a journal that prints anything that doesn't involve crack addicts, disaffected immigrants, prostitutes, or just plain nonsense a la Franz Kafka. The truth is, I really have my heart into writing longer novels. Short stories are fun, but they're just a means of getting to the meaty stuff.