It’s my fifth year in a row getting accepted into the Aberystwyth MA Anthology! This year’s theme was ‘crossroads’ and I really struggled to come up with a story for … Continue reading ACCEPTANCE: ‘Whitherward?’
Category: acceptance
ACCEPTANCE: ‘Little Trinkets’
Starting this year off nicely, I’m happy to report that my (very) short story, ‘Little Trinkets’ has been accepted for publication in a magazine!
‘Little Trinkets’ is a poetic 350-word short story, told from the perspective of three birds that discover a dead body dumped in a field. It explores the usefulness of the dead to nature. If you liked my story ‘Necrobiome Love Affair,’ then I think you might also like this!
This will be my second paid piece ever and it should be coming out later this year.
Watch this space for updates!
OUT NOW! Year of the Tarot: Blades
“Step into the shadowy realm where the Tarot’s Suit of Swords takes on a chilling twist.” With eleven short stories surrounding the theme of blades, this anthology has plenty talent … Continue reading OUT NOW! Year of the Tarot: Blades
UPDATE: ‘Bloodthirsty’ Edits Have Arrived!
Excited to say the edit suggestions for my story ‘Bloodthirsty’ landed in my email inbox yesterday! Very happy to see that most of them were just minor word or punctuation changes–just little things to enhance the prose.
There were also some language differences to address. Today, I learned that Canada/America prefer forward/backward over forwards/backwards! (It also turns out I use those words a lot, so bless the editor for going through and deleting all those rogue ‘s’ endings.) There is also grey vs. gray, which I did know about, I just sort of forgot to change…
I also learned a new concept, which my editor called ‘ The Independent Body Rule’. Turns out there were just a few times at the beginning of the story where my character’s body parts–specifically the eyes, it was always the eyes–seemed to be acting of their own accord. Eyes just snapping open or blinking of their volition. I’ve never really given it much thought before, so it was interesting to learn. Now I have a new writing rule to remember in the future: Body parts don’t have agency, characters do.
Anyway: one step closer to publication!
ACCEPTANCE: ‘Bloodthirsty’
I am pleased to announce that Eerie River Publishing has accepted my short story ‘Bloodthirsty’ as part of their Year of the Tarot horror series! This is my first ever paid publication! It will feature in their ‘Blades’ issue.
Inspired (vaguely) by the legendary Lady of the Lake and mythical sword Excalibur, ‘Bloodthirsty’ is a short horror story about violence and sacrifice. It’s a tragic tale of a scared teen and his encounter with a merciless and sadistic entity.
After discovering a penknife at the bottom of a lake, the bloodthirsty blade compels Flynn to commit violent acts against those who anger him. Unable to get rid of the cursed knife and scared for the safety of those around him, Flynn returns to the lake and resorts to the only solution he can think of…
ACCEPTANCE: ‘Untouched’
My short story ‘Untouched’ was accepted into an anthology!
I am pleased to announce that for a third year running, one of my stories has been accepted into Aberystwyth University’s MA Anthology.
Alongside other talented authors, ‘Untouched’ is now available to read–only 100 copies printed, so availability is limited! Purchases can be made from The Bookshop by the Sea in Aberystwyth.
Inspired by the phrase “take only memories, leave only footprints”, my story ‘Untouched’ uses the popular horror idea of a “zombie fungus”—as seen in books such as ‘What Moves the Dead’ by T. Kingfisher and video games such as ‘The Last of Us’—to explore human hubris and nature’s adaptation to the modern man-made world.
Following Kaija and Callum as they find themselves lost on a hike, the pair discover an abandoned cottage that has been reclaimed by nature–including a strange fungus springing from the ancient stone. Wandering inside for shelter from the rain, Kaija unwisely collects a sample of the unusual mushrooms…
ajsharpe.co.uk 