Fail. But also, win!
3 Sep
Let me get the bad part out of the way. Ah, my #10bythen compatriots, I have failed you. I will now show you how badly I have failed you:
Those are all of my submissions for August. All–and there are only six. Not, as the terms of the bet stipulate, ten.
My humiliation is complete, your superiority is assured, and what you see before you is a groveling, apologetic husk of a writer. This, my friends, is abject mortification.
Please, forgive me!
Right, so there’s my letter of abject apology to everyone. It is absolute in its sincerity, but now I have to say thank you to them as well. The one submission that isn’t blotted out is “The Peacock and the Raven”, which went to Reflection’s Edge–already told you about that one, so no point playing coy. Thing is, I wrote this story over a year ago, Meghan had a good go at it, and Neuronaut Reenie and her mother helped me kick it into shape not long after that, because they are beyond awesome. And the next feedback I got was one of those: “Oh god, I don’t know how to fix that” moments.
So I sat on it. For like 5-6 months, I sat on it. Only when 10 By Then was declared did I finally open it up again, do some last minute tightening up, and ship it off. And so now I can proudly present to you my (only slightly anachronistic*), fluffy-for-all-its-darkness, historical fantasy:
Which actually went up on Wednesday, but, well, I was exclusively flogging RPP at the time. Priorities!
If you need convincing: this one has witches, lots of pretty feathers, an unconventional courtship, and a certain–hopefully charming–disregard for human life. I hope it will amuse you this weekend!
And so thank you, 10 By Then, for helping me finally put this little story out there. Happy ending!
*Slightly anachronistic, for anyone who minds, because I was inspired by Darwin’s quote about the peacock feather making him sick to his stomach. He said it because he couldn’t explain the adaptation to himself, as he had not yet come up with The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, not for the reason it’s used in the story–though I saw it misquoted that way once and it made me giggle. (People LOVE to misuse that one. I’m looking at you, anti-evolution types…) And, of course, all that happened 43 years after “Peacock” takes place.
But I can assure you that the stuff relating to the vicious Adams/Jackson election is accurate, anyhow, thanks to Lyn Parsons The Birth of American Politics: Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, and the Election of 1828. Which is an awesome book.
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Now playing: The National – Conversation 16
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I managed to submit one story in August. One lonely little story. Still, I guess it’s better than none.
I completely missed this write ten stories challenge. Sometimes I wonder how I dress myself in the morning!
Woo hoo! Hey, I call it a win. Congrats!
Win! =)
You’re always a winner in my book. Congrats on the story, I look forward to devouring it.
Congrats on the story.
I have submitted squat all year.
Love The Peacock and the Raven, especially the line about becoming an adventuress
Madge is an awesome heroine.
I don’t think I’ve submitted 6 stories all year, let alone in a month!
Danielle, that’s better than I normally do!
Nat, it’s amazing I get dressed, too. Probably why I spend most days in my pajamas.
Anthony, close enough, anyhow!
Kaolin, or so I can pretend, at least!
Cate, I dunno about being a winner, but thank you very much. You are too sweet!
Barry, I don’t think I would’ve if not for this. Seriously man, I will make excuses not to write short stories for months. And months.
Nat, thanks–I’m so happy she was entertaining! She’s some sort of Americanized Regency Romance archetype, which makes for sort of a cute witch, I guess. (But a bad adventuress
)
Six stories in a month, plus a fine acceptance? Win, for sure.
You’ve really created a world there in Liberty Tree. (and bonus points for using the word “vexed”–it was on our vocabulary list at school this week – )
I’d really like to bring “vexed” back into the common vernacular. It’s such a fun word, and I see it all the time in the primary source research for that particular era. Makes me happy!
Thanks, Aaron.
Ooh, that was a delicious slice of regency goodness and so very well plotted. Loved it.
Thank you, Cate! Sometimes it’s nice to pay homage to a genre that amuses me, you know? Figured creating a pseudo Georgette Heyer heroine would be a fun time!