Eeeeep!!! I am so excited! If you’re a regular reader, you know it has been a long, dusty road on the publishing trail for me. I can (and have) bored you with the blow by blow before, but a recap: easy first agent and first sale, years of writing other stuff that my old agent didn’t send out on submission, parting ways with said agent, writing yet another new book, finding a new agent, going out on submission.
Not easy for a girl with no patience!
A wise writing friend told me that she writes short stories to make it through the long dry spells between getting novels published. I think that most people who are not in the industry just don’t know how slow the business is. For example, if you sold a book today, that book would not see print until Spring, 2021. Yes, two years! Sure, we’ve all seen that political book that gets put out in three months… that’s the exception, not the rule.
So, short stories. I hadn’t written one since just after my college days. I’m just too wordy. But! Some time back I found information about this fun, innovative anthology being put together, and I decided to give it a shot.
The premise is the thing that grabbed me. The editor created a fictional hotel: the Hotel Stormcove. She wrote a bullet-point history of it from the 1920s to 2084 and beyond. The only requirements were you had to set your story at some point in time at the Hotel Stormcove… and that the story had to take place over a span of no more than five minutes. The anthology’s title? Five Minutes at the Hotel Stormcove.
I gave some thought to what I could bring to this idea. I considered tying it into the world of a fantasy novel I’m working on. But, as I read the guidelines, it became obvious that I had something unique I could do to slot into the lore of this seaside hotel. I got to writing. Shortly after submitting my story, I heard from the editor asking some sensitivity questions (I can’t say more without giving too much away!). I hadn’t been chosen yet, as submissions were still open, but it was an encouraging sign. Then, after submissions closed… I got the news! My little story had been chosen.
No one has read this piece, and I’m so excited for you all to see it. What’s more, I’m really stoked to see what other writers have done with this interesting, challenging premise. The subtitle of the anthology is “A legendary hotel, five minutes at a time.” I can’t wait to see the finished product.
I’ll be bugging you to buy and, of course, spread the word, but for now, let’s just celebrate, shall we? Oh, and, PS, another announcement on a separate project could come as soon as this week! Life’s looking good. I am so very grateful for you.
Read more about Five Minutes at the Hotel Stormcove from Atthis Arts: click here.
