I’ve been wanting to touch on submitting to anthologies, because I have done it enough times. Leave it to me to be the writer who gets featured in an anthology when she stops trying. haha

I’d been holding off on writing this post because I wanted to wait until I had actually made my way into an anthology, finally. Well, today’s the day!

I had spent a good deal of time looking into publishers and hoping to branch out into anthologies back when I was pumping out short stories like crazy. I’ve slowed down and been working on longer projects. I have a novella series and a novel coming out soon. With all of my recent success I put the idea of anthologies on the back burner.

Maybe they just weren’t for me. I love the idea of them. It’s a great way to work with a new publisher and gain some more credibility. If you’re working your way up like I have, it just seems to be the next step from getting published by magazines before you’re ready to write full length books.

In the past year I had a novelette and novella series picked up, and I just signed a deal for a novel, so my goals have changed a bit. My writing career has been a wild ride. I kind of fell into this, and I know some writers who are struggling may hate hearing that, but sometimes you just have to let the wind blow you in the right direction. I have been fortunate to have found series of gusts and gales that keep breezing me into publishing.

It’s been kind of a whirlwind. There have been some storms and I’m going through some rough stuff in my personal life right now, but all things lead somewhere if you get your bearings. I woke up with a notice that one of my stories has been chosen to be featured in Sunlight in the Sanctuary.

This anthology is out today, so I was really shocked and amazed. This was not the typical hey sign the contract, this was from a publication that had accepted a story of mine to be placed in their online magazine. When I agreed to that it was disclosed that sometimes they do a print volume of the magazine and once or twice a year they may opt to put together an anthology. I thought nothing of it.

I have grown so accustomed to expecting rejections that this kind of acceptance really keeps me going. There are days where I wonder if I’m wasting words, or my life trying to reach people with my crazy take on existence.

I needed this. All writers need these little rays of sunlight to offer sanctuary. (Like what I did there? haha)

The story in Sunlight in the Sanctuary is titled After the Eulogy and it follows a man after his wife’s funeral. We often read about people dying and grieving. I wanted this to be different. I’ve lost a lot of people close to me. I lost friends when I was in high school and it highly impacted me. I don’t want to say that I don’t fear death, but I’ve grown accustomed to it. I embrace it and I hope that this story helps other people to find peace with the inevitable.

Maybe I’ve said too much. I do that. But if I haven’t scared you off, check it out.

http://www.amazon.com/Sunlight-Sanctuary-Publications-poetry-anthology/dp/1518723314/ref=cm_wl_huc_item