| |
I came across a submission call in late 2015, which was a zombie story that required some kind of romance plot, given that the LGBTQ publisher specialized in romance. I wondered how on Earth I would pull off such a thing. Granted, no zombie was required to be the protagonist or love interest, but I'd never written a zombie story before and had only watched a couple of zombie films, so it was all new to me. I had a couple of months to work on something—anything—and I waited until the last minute to start the crux of the story, to know its premise and where it would lead. I'd already known I didn't want a typical apocalypse or a zombie trying to attack the protagonist. In fact, I wanted something different for a change, something that either hadn't been done before or had rarely been done. (Don’t we all?) Once I started writing the story, I knew I'd reach that goal quite easily with the way my creative and strange mind worked. Sadly, the call couldn’t surpass 20,000 words, so I had to do the best I could with such a limitation after tons of ideas flooded my brain. I managed to reach 15,000 words and called it a novelette before having my editor friend, Kianna McDowell, work her magic to improve my chances on my story being accepted. I submitted it giddily and nervously, and along came the wait period, which was about five weeks. Then, the answer: rejected! Okay, so the email was at least generically sympathetic, but it was still a thorn on the side. I was devastated because I'd truly thought I'd be accepted with such an original story, given that the publisher preferred originality. Even the epilogue made me feel so proud of having written it. It wasn't that I was arrogant, since I'm typically anything but, but I'd chosen to think positively and believe in myself. Even Kianna was initially shocked, but she eventually realized and made me realize that the publisher simply had different expectations for which submission they'd select. (Or, of course, they might have just not cared for it at all.) Oh, well. I still thanked the publisher for their time and consideration, and I didn't have any ill feelings toward the staff. You see, after three consecutive rejections, each a different story, I began to wonder if I'd ever make it in the literary world, until I remembered that even writers of a higher caliber than me had been rejected more times than a measly three, and for just one story alone. Kianna continually told me that I simply couldn't give up, that I'd face even more rejections, but that I had to keep trying and improving. She was right. I had to get over the devastation, quit wallowing in self-pity, and lift myself up and be ready to be knocked back down numerous times until I'd make it all the way, just where I needed to be. (Thanks, Kianna!)
The point, dear readers, is that I believed in this story and still do. I can't explain why I chose this story as my first to publish professionally, but I edited it quite heavily and finally did it. Zombie and romance aren't exactly a popular blend, especially when the kind of zombie I created isn't quite the common one you'd expect. I'm still proud of the epilogue, and it makes me smile each time I read it because of the effort I put into it, because of having poured my heart into it to make it as emotional and genuine as it reads, despite such young characters. I didn't want a contrived or perfect Hollywood version of a HEA or HFN. So, thank you for giving my story a chance. I hope you enjoyed the novelette as much as I enjoyed writing it because it’s highly unlikely I’ll ever revisit zombies in future works.
Other creatures, though? Most definitely!