Okay, I don’t really write horror…do I?

Nevertheless, I’m pleased and honored to say that my story “Halfway Home” has been included in The Best Horror of the Year Volume Six, edited by Ellen Datlow.

“Halfway Home” was originally published in Nightmare Magazine, September 2013, edited by John Joseph Adams. Find it here.

I also want to say — again — that the only reason I wrote this story is because one of my most supportive readers chided me at the end of 2012 for not meeting my goal of writing four short stories during the year. He helpfully pointed out that I still had four days before the end of the year. Who could step back from a challenge like that? So I wrote the story.

Thanks, Willy!

Here’s a link to the full table of contents.

The September issue of Nightmare Magazine is just out, and it includes my newest story, “Halfway Home,” a dark fantasy with a here-and-now setting…or maybe it’s magic realism?

At any rate, it’s a story that wouldn’t have been written without the encouragement of one of my readers. Here’s a blog post on how it came to be.

You can purchase the September issue of Nightmare Magazine in ebook form for only $2.99 — I encourage you to do so, in support of short fiction!

But you can also read the story online at Nightmare Magazine‘s website. Find it here.

At the end of 2012, I posted an assessment of my writing goals for the year. I originally noted that I’d written only three short stories instead of the four I’d hoped to do. This is what happened:

3. Finish four pieces of short fiction.

Fail! I finished only three short stories, though I did get to sell all three to good markets.

Update, December 31: In the comments one of my most supportive readers, Willy B, took me to task for calling this a fail, and then pointed out I had four days to write another short story … so I did. I finished a solid draft last night, and even though I still have to read it over and (I’m sure) fix it up, it IS a finished story, so I’m switching this from “Fail” to “Done.” Thanks, Willy B!

I got some feedback on the story, titled “Halfway Home,” early in the month, and then shelved it for three weeks while frantically revising the forthcoming novel. But I finally sat down to work on the revision, and yesterday I sold “Halfway Home” — 🙂 — to editor John Joseph Adams for new online publication Nightmare Magazine by Creeping Hemlock Press.

Now, if you’d asked me last week if I write horror, I would have said “No!” That stuff is scary. I still wouldn’t call myself a horror writer. In my mind, “Halfway Home” is a dark fantasy with a here-and-now setting, or possibly it’s magic realism, or…well, it’s a short story, anyway. I’ll leave it to y’all to figure out the genre.

And an extra “Thank you!” to Willy B for encouraging me to write it!