One of my first in depth declinations, I was told that my story was depressing and why would I think they’d want to publish that type of thing in their magazine?
This press is known for dark stories, but I suppose I had gone beyond dark and horror into the realm of sad.
But sad stories need love too!
The truth was I’d received about 20 rejections for “Vile” and a few others after my very first submission “Ever-after” was accepted right away…
Thinking it was all easy street after, euphoric, I told my family and friends, since this was the first piece outside of a competition to be published but then only later to be really REALLY unable to land much of anything else for a long-long while.
Sniff sniff.
Then came “Snowed”, my first story in _UNHINGED_ . I wrote it and posted it in a small hothouse where we all reviewed eachother’s work and submitted. A writer on there, who I respected but who also hadn’t much to say about my stories, read this one and commented along the lines of “I couldn’t stop reading. I had to know what happened!”
Being my first short story over 5000 words and hearing that someone “couldn’t stop reading” I suddenly knew what was more important than denials and lectures about depression, this exactly: People have to not want to stop reading.
SOOOOoooo you are thinking.. I submitted it and got right in?
And you would be right! Jussstt kidding.
I tried thriller since it’s a mix of horror/thriller and they decided thriller didn’t quite fit their magazine but the guy said to me “Hey btw, we all read it here and were on the edge of our seats.”
Again. That’s important. And even then I knew it. I knew that stringing a reader along would be far more important than publications even if I felt like my skin was pealing back a bit at the rawness of it all.
Though it still stung, I packed my baby away and have been editing the story off and on for about five years…until this debut that is ;)D
Readers.
Readers are most important.
AND SO (drum roll please)
..with the release of my very first self-publication (a very special shout out to the people that helped below) (raises-glass) here is to the readers!
May we put them on the edge of their seats forever!
GET IT HERE FOR FREE >>>> UNHINGED NEW RELEASE
A very special thanks to a few people who helped make this possible!
Mike Coombes for helping me get started on my shorts and believing in me back in our hothouse days where I wrote most of these!
Alianne Donnelly for the cover and moral support of yet another side project!
Kimberly Grenfell for some super ninja edits!
J Matthew McKern for ARC and my first five stars!
And Jim Adams for a review I will NEVER forget that kicked me off with inspiration and a goal to make the next one even better!
Logan Keys Fiction 
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