Midlist Writer: I got a short story accepted!

Friday, 26 June 2009

I got a short story accepted!

The new horror publisher Damnation Books has accepted one of my short stories for publication. It's a story set during the Dano-Prussian War of 1864 (coincidentally the same year my horror novel is set in) and is titled "Dannevirke" after the old Viking ramparts the Danes tried to defend against the invading Prussians. I liked the idea of a 1,000 year-old fortification being used in a more modern battle, and that set my mind to thinking.

I'm very happy because this story only garnered three rejections before landing an acceptance. I've sent them another story, of course, but I won't hear back from them for a while.

What's interesting with Damnation Books is that while they only publish short stories in electronic format, they actually pay a semipro rate of three cents a word for them. I know of no other electronic publisher who does this. Even many print magazines pay less. This must be getting them an avalanche of submissions, which is good for them because they can pick the best (ahem). I'm not sure when my story will be published but I'll be sure to mention it here.

4 comments:

Minnette Meador said...: Congrats, Sean - They just simply recognize the very best, that's all. Let us know when it's coming out...:); 26 June 2009 at 07:13
Donna Volkenannt said...: Hi Sean,
Congratulations!
That's wonderful news. Please send a link after it's published.
Donna; 29 June 2009 at 15:39
Perry P. Perkins said...: Sean, congrats!

I have a story coming out with DB as well! Which title will yours be in?

-Perry; 30 June 2009 at 10:33
Sean McLachlan said...: Hi Perry. It will be a stand alone short story, but hopefully there will be a DB anthology for those too.; 1 July 2009 at 14:20

The Case of the Purloined Pyramid

The Last Hotel Room

He came to Tangier to die, but life isn’t done with him yet. Tom Miller has lost his job, his wife, and his dreams. Broke and alone, he ends up in a flophouse in Morocco, ready to end it all. But soon he finds himself tangled in a web of danger and duty as he’s pulled into scamming tourists for a crooked cop while trying to help a Syrian refugee boy survive life on the streets. Can a lifelong loser do something good for a change? A portion of my royalties will go to a charity for Syrian refugees.

Warpath into Sonora

Arizona 1846: Nantan, a young Apache warrior, is building a name for himself by leading raids against Mexican ranches to impress his war chief, and the chief’s lovely daughter. But there is one thing he and all other Apaches fear—a ruthless band of Mexican scalp hunters who slaughter entire villages. Nantan and his friends have sworn to fight back, but they are inexperienced, and led by a war chief driven mad with a thirst for revenge. Can they track their tribe’s worst enemy into unknown territory and defeat them?

Radio Hope

In a world shattered by war, pollution and disease. . . A gunslinging mother longs to find a safe refuge for her son. A frustrated revolutionary delivers water to villagers living on a toxic waste dump. The assistant mayor of humanity's last city hopes he will never have to take command. One thing gives them the promise of a better future--Radio Hope, a mysterious station that broadcasts vital information about surviving in a blighted world. But when a mad prophet and his army of fanatics march out of the wildlands on a crusade to purify the land with blood and fire, all three will find their lives intertwining, and changing forever.

Refugees from the Righteous Horde (Toxic World Book 2)

When you only have one shot, you better aim true. In a ravaged world, civilization’s last outpost is reeling after fighting off the fanatical warriors of the Righteous Horde. Sheriff Annette Cruz becomes New City’s long arm of vengeance as she sets off across the wildlands to take out the cult’s leader. All she has is a sniper’s rifle with one bullet and a former cultist with his own agenda. Meanwhile, one of the cult’s escaped slaves makes a discovery that could tear New City apart. . . Refugees from the Righteous Horde continues the Toxic World series started in Radio Hope, an ongoing narrative of humanity’s struggle to rebuild the world it ruined.

The Scavenger

In a world shattered by war, pollution, and disease, a lone scavenger discovers a priceless relic from the Old Times. The problem is, it's stuck in the middle of the worst wasteland he knows--a contaminated city inhabited by insane chem addicts and vengeful villagers. Only his wits, his gun, and an unlikely ally can get him out alive. Set in the Toxic World series introduced in the novel Radio Hope, this 10,000-word story explores more of the dangers and personalities that make up a post-apocalyptic world that's all too possible.

Trench Raiders

September 1914: The British Expeditionary Force has the Germans on the run, or so they think. After a month of bitter fighting, the British are battered, exhausted, and down to half their strength, yet they’ve helped save Paris and are pushing toward Berlin. Then the retreating Germans decide to make a stand. Holding a steep slope beside the River Aisne, the entrenched Germans mow down the advancing British with machine gun fire. Soon the British dig in too, and it looks like the war might grind down into deadly stalemate. Searching through No-Man’s Land in the darkness, Private Timothy Crawford of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry finds a chink in the German armor. But can this lowly private, who spends as much time in the battalion guardhouse as he does on the parade ground, convince his commanding officer to risk everything for a chance to break through?

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Friday, 26 June 2009

I got a short story accepted!

4 comments: