Publication Alert: The 3288 Review

Dear Reader,

Sorry to be posting so late this evening. To be honest, I hadn't planned on releasing anything today, but not for any wish to neglect you. As you might have seen on my Facebook announcement, I've been dealing with some rough things in my personal life, so I had fully intended to declare this a day of rest. However, happy news of another publication (my final one of a successful summer, it seems) changed those plans.

Just a hint of a key "character" in the story.

What prompted me to share this publication alert now is that it comes with a thrilling announcement: I've officially made my first earnings as a writer!!! (Can I get in enough exclamation points there?) My short story, "This Is How We Mourn," was published in the debut issue of The 3288 Review this month, a quarterly journal from Caffeinated Press, Inc. Both the publication and the paycheck came as a total surprise to me. Originally, I submitted "This Is How We Mourn" to another journal of Caffeinated Press; then, early last month, I received word from the editors that while they didn't have room for my story, they liked it so much that they decided to place it at The 3288 Review. Because the original journal didn't include compensation, I was pleasantly surprised to learn, a few weeks later, that I'd be receiving a small payment for this publication. So, I completely lucked out. It may not be enough to quit the day-job (figuratively speaking), but it nevertheless gives me an enormous sense of validation. For me, it's the culmination of my summer efforts to write and submit independently, and a milestone in my career that says, "I'm a writer. This isn't just a hobby. I'm in this for real."

You can purchase a copy of the issue in print here.

About the work:
"This Is How We Mourn" was the title story of a collection I wrote for my Fall 2014 Advanced Prose course at Westfield State University. The collection explored family death and its effects on the relationships between surviving family members. While that project was a fail as a unified, publishable manuscript, I did manage to get a few good stories out of it -- like this one. In fact, back in March I presented the unpublished version of "This Is How We Mourn" at the 2015 Sigma Tau Delta Convention in Albuquerque, NM to English students and faculty from around the country.

In other news, I spent part of my "day off" visiting SCSU campus, where I'll be starting the MFA grad program this Monday. (Oh, how the heart aches with nervous excitement.) With luck I'll have an update with my thoughts and feelings on this new adventure (pre- and post-start-day) within the next few days. Thank you again for your patience and support. Happy reading!

Grace and peace to you.