So now I have some news that is near and dear to my heart. Another piece of my short fiction has been accepted to an anthology. This time, it’s my story “The Wagon.” It has been selected for publication in Space Ace.

Space Ace is an anthology put out by Farlands Fiction meant to center asexual and aromantic characters and connect to the theme of space.

So cool, right? Well, I thought so too, when I saw the submissions call. But as I’ve said in my first post about “The Wagon,” I had a story that fit that theme but I already sold it. (That one’s coming out in an aromantic-specific anthology, Common Bonds 3.) And I was annoyed that I didn’t have a piece to contribute when the subject was something I like so much!

So, I did what made sense. I wrote one.

With the word count cap up at 10,000 words, I figured I’d be safe from my usual issues, but that turned out to not be true. The first draft was over 13,000 words and I had to hack it down. I didn’t want to consider doing otherwise, because truthfully I wrote this for them. It’s pretty specific to the call and it doesn’t just tack either of the required elements on; it makes space and the asexual/aromantic identity of the protagonist integral.

And then I got kind of stressed out about whether I would get in. I watched some of the stats and started trying to guess if people getting rejected who’d submitted after me meant my story was being held. I theorized about what competition I had. I got invested in a way that I typically don’t about submissions. I guess that’s all a sign of how much I really wanted to be a part of the project.

And I got my wish.

It’s especially awesome that it’s NOT a quick little shot-off story–it’s a substantial piece that I cared a lot about while knocking it out, and I really wanted people to be able to experience it. I love when a lovingly written piece for a specific place leads to a story with no rejections, never made to be anywhere else.

I’ll give details about “The Wagon’s” publication as soon as I have anything to release. Until then, here’s the short pitch:

“The Wagon” involves six friends–Aimee, Lora, Juana, Sadie, Gerry, and Tuan–who became an inseparable group during their college years. They have significantly altered their lives so they could happily live and work on the same space station. But when one of them disappears without warning on a mission to pursue a cure for a deadly illness in a dangerous corner of the galaxy, the rest have to track her down with few clues in case she’s in over her head. And in the midst of losing a groupmate who’s closer than family, Lora dodges the poorly conceived romantic attentions of her coworker Richie, who is determined to marry her because she is the only woman who’s ever beaten him at chess.