Feeling nostalgic this week, so thought I would turn back the clock and talk about my first story sale - though it wasn't my first published story, the way the timeline worked out.
I had been writing and submitting short stories for a while, with some encouraging responses. Then I saw the submissions calls for Fantasist Enterprises' Bash Down The Door And Slice Open The Badguy - humorous stories of sword and sorcery. I had never attempted to write a story for a specific theme before and the deadline was already near, but I had an old story entitled "But Before I Kill You ..." that I had written years ago with the Evil Overlord list for inspiration. The core of the story would remain, but I rewrote extensively, finished it swiftly, and edited it in time to hurry it off in the mail.
A little less than two months later, I received a reply. I opened it, expecting another rejection letter, and promptly cut my finger on the side of the page. I read the contents in shock. At the time, I was still living at home; my mother came in and asked me what was going on because I was white as a sheet. I stammered out an explanation.
And that was how "But Before I Kill You ..." found a home.
Check it out here: Bash Down The Door And Slice Open The Badguy
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