Very Small Rocks

One day, two rejections. Alas.

The first story has quite a history. The first recorded date I have for "The Monkey Skin Cloak" is that I sent it to Horror Garage on January 24, 2002. It was, of course, rejected. In total, this story has been rejected 13 times, including today, from Interzone. Quick response, that Interzone, only 19 days from the day I sent it to today's rejection. My records show that Fantastic Stories kept it for 6 months before sending a form rejection, while Wicked Gluttony never responded at all. The record turnaround goes to Darkness Rising, clocking in at a speedy 8 days from sending to receiving the bad news.

But never fear, I just sent it to Son and Foe. Never give up, never surrender. It's a good story, although a bit long at just over 14,000 words, which tends to limit the number of places where I can send it.

The other story, "A Bent Nail," was also rejected today by StorySouth. Frankly, I don't remember even sending it to StorySouth, it's been that long, but they included my original cover email, so I suppose I really did send it. The best part is that it was a form rejection, and after such a ridiculously long turnaround, too! Good thing they rejected it, because I sent it to Triquarterly on December 28th and I don't know how they feel about simultaneous submissions.

If you're wondering where I find all these places to send my stories, I found many of them at Ralan.com. Go. Fight. Win!

UPDATE: 17 stories out now.