2011 started off a little slow, publication wise.  I did put the finishing touches on a new story or two, which topped me out at about ten stories in submission, but acceptances were notably lacking.

May brought me my first publication of the year, that being “The Pale Farmer” in Every Day Fiction.  It was a favorite flash piece of mine, and one that seemed to enjoy gathering ‘so close’ responses from would be publishers.

Then August happened, and my oh my did things pick up.  Four publications in a three month time span, kick started by “Stranded (with Pork Chop)” in the August issue of Electric Spec.  From there it was “From Alexandra to Amberglow” in Ray Gun Revival, then “Prophecy Negotiations” in Space Squid, and finally “Other Sister” in Stupefying Stories.  Stranded, Prophecy Negotiations, and Other Sister all began life as flash fiction entries in the monthly SFFWorld contests.  And Amberglow?  Me and her go way back.

I consider Amberglow the first ‘real’ (ie, readable) short story I’ve ever written.  It was originally submitted to a PARSEC anthology with the theme ‘Dark Glass’ (2009?).  And, although it ultimately didn’t make the final cut, I received a lovely personalized letter for making the top 20 (out of 300ish submissions), with some valuable feedback.  Feedback that I took, and I reworked, and reworked, and… and then the story finally just, worked.

All and all a solid year, full of talking nonperishable goods, jackass farmboys, mustachioed men, advances in optometrics, and, of course, floating pork chops.  Although neither of my pro-sales saw print in 2011, that just means I have a great head start on 2012 (with the goal for this coming year to pick up that all important third pro sale).

So, you’ re a busy guy (or gal) you say?  Only have the time (or willpower) to experience ‘Rich Matrunick 2011′ once?  Tough to choose between my children, but, I’ll always have a soft spot for “From Alexandra to Amberglow.” Hop on over and check it out.  Hope you like it.

Rich

But it is so, my good man- Daily Science Fiction has bought my story ‘The Watchmaker’s Gift’, placing me at two of the required three short story sales I need for full SFWA membership (Bull Spec being the other sale, set to release in the spring).  I don’t believe (I’ve been wrong before) that any of my other completed stories are quite up to par with a pro sale, which means I really need to get cracking on some new stuff.

For the hordes out there who can’t wait to get a hold of my story, and want to know the minute it’s released, Daily Science Fiction offers a 100% free email subscription, so sign up today! (Is there a minimum number for a horde?  Or is it more about quality than quantity?  I’m sure there’s a ratio involved…)

For those who want to wait the extra week (after I finally remember to update my website), I will provide a link when it’s available.

Speaking of, I do have one rewrite request pending for my, oh let’s call it ‘blind monk’ story.  So far I’m 0 fer 3 in rewrite request sales (though two of them have gone on to sell elsewhere), but I have hopes for this one, as I’ve been communicating with the editor, so I have a pretty solid idea of what needs to change and the generic direction I should go.  In basic terms:  the ending is crap.

In other news, I just received notice of a story (my ‘steampunk turtle’ story) being placed on hold at a pro magazine.  Per their email, that gives me nearly a 50/50 shot at landing the sale.  Which, obviously, would be excellent.  I should know for sure in the next 2-4 weeks.

Finally, a new flash fiction story of mine, ‘Dead Weight’, killed at my writers group meetup last Tuesday.  I know flash is a hard sale at the pro ‘zines in general, but when the Bull Spec editor (Sam, who I had no clue was sitting behind me as I read) tells me to forget the other pro ‘zines and submit straight to the ‘big 3′ (F&SF, Asimovs, Analog)… well, I take that as a pretty good sign that I’ve written something worth reading.

That’s it for now.  Here’s to hoping…

In any case, Stupefying Stories is available:

Amazon:  Kindle Version

Barnes & Noble:  Nook Version

“From Alexandra to Amberglow”

Artwork (which has nothing to do with my story, just the badass cover art for Ray Gun Revival September) by Christian Hecker.

“Amberglow” goes way back for me:  I consider it (well, its original form, anyway) as my first real short story.  Sure, I had a few I wrote before (“A Courtyard’s Echoes” and “Maio’s Flight” are the only even remotely readable ones from that early batch), but this was my first real story.

“Amberglow” was written back in the spring of 2009 for a PARSEC anthology, with the theme ‘Dark Glass’.  At the time, I really had no knowledge of the short story market or search sites like Duotrope and Ralan, so I’m not quite sure how I ended up finding the PARSEC anthology (some google search, I imagine).  But I spent the better part of three months writing and tweaking and hammering and pasting until the thing… sorta shone.  And I stuffed it into a manila envelope and away she went to the submission queue.

While “Amberglow” didn’t make the top 5 for inclusion in the anthology, it did manage to get to the top 20 (out of 250ish?), all of which were in the final consideration for an anthology spot.  That top 20 came with a nice letter and a review of my story.  I held onto that review, but, again, not really knowing anything about the short story market, I didn’t know quite what to do with “Amberglow”, so it sat in my drawer for a good long while.

That takes me the whole way to fall of 2010.  I had just joined the Durham SF&F writing group and it was my turn to present a story in just two weeks.  Out of the drawer came “Amberglow”.

Now, in the interim between spring 2009 and fall of 2010 I had been writing… a lot (for me).  At least one flash fiction story a month, plus a short story here and there.  So, when I looked over my old short story, with my PARSEC review in hand, I could see how much my writing had improved, and I could also see exactly what those PARSEC guys were on about in their review.

I edited – ruthlessly.  And I added a new scene.  And when I brought it to my writers group… they liked it.  I got a few more tweaks to apply (mostly minor), but, for the large part, it was well received.  From there the story was eventually submitted to the Writer’s of the Future Contest, where I wasn’t expecting much, but managed to snag an Honorable Mention.  One or two stops in the submission queue at a few pro ‘zines (where I knew the story really didn’t fit), and I stumbled across Ray Gun Revival.

Phew.  It’s been a long road for “Amberglow”.  Hope you guys enjoy it when September rolls around.

Also, there promises to be an e-book edition in addition to the print version for volume #2, which is good news as far as accessibility is concerned.

That leaves me with just five stories floating out in submissions and another four (three short stories, one flash) in the final stages of completion.  There’s no reason why all four shouldn’t join them by the end of September (at the latest), which means I need to get cracking on some new stuff.

Just received word that the first of my pork-related sci-fi series – “Stranded (with Pork Chop)” – will be appearing in the August 2011 issue of Electric Spec.

(Joking about that ‘series’ bit)

(Although….)