Warm season’s greetings, friends! Welcome to my last blogpost of 2021!

Deviating from the craft essays I’m having such fun writing and blogging, I take this opportunity to thank my editors for the love and kindness they’ve extended to my work. With all honestly, I’m overwhelmed! My work was not only offered space in print/online/University/Art/literary magazines worldwide, but also highly commended, and nominated for the year-end honors.

The year began with promise: a poem in Prime Number Magazine on New Year’s Day, closely followed by another in West Trestle Review and a short-story in October Hill Magazine. Before January was over, work appeared in Variant Literary (print), Variety Pack, Briefly Zine, Analogies and Allegories Lit, and Reflex Fiction.

Dream Journal ushered in February with a creepy dark flash. My first commissioned work, a CNF, appeared in New Flash Fiction Review. A quirky, flash CNF appeared next in Bending Genres. Other publications included my second-time publishing with Cabinet of Heed, plus Commuterlit and Re-Side Zine. I also had the honor of appearing in the inaugural (print) issue of Opia Lit.

March 1 saw my first historical flash published, thanks to FlashBack Fiction. “Epicaricacy”, a short-story, appeared next in Five South. Grateful for a couple of flash stories in Flash Boulevard and poems in Thimble Magazine and Not Very Quiet.

April 1 was the publication day of my Pushcart-nominated CNF in Timber Journal. Grateful for another University Journal publication on April 19: a Hybrid piece in Miracle Monocle. The same day 50wordstories published a piece. The second double publication day was on April 26: a poem in Eclectica Magazine and a lyrical flash in EllipsisZine. I also wrote a tweet story for Mythic Picnic. Finally, I had the honor of a story published in Atlas and Alice Magazine, that has now been nominated for Best Microfictions.

May 1 was reserved for a flash in SoFloPoJo, a poetry journal that had just introduced fiction. My likeness was on the cover, which was a big thing for this kid! Next came, prose pieces in Sledgehammer, and Ninshar Arts, and a poem in Commuterlit. Also, DASH Journal published my hybrid piece, “Carbon, Stranded, Makes a Stone” in print, which had earlier received Honorable Mention in the CRAFT FF Contest 2020.

June 1 was publication day for my micro in BlinkInk, followed by micros in FlashFlood, and FiveMinutesLit. My micro placed 3rd in its category in the Versification Contest. Poetry found homes on the pages of The Shore, Not Deer Mag and The Fourth River. Finally, my story “Brooding” opened the Alternative Stories Podcast celebrating stories from the pandemic.

July 1 saw another speculative poem in Not Deer Mag. Next, the Best Microfictions-nominated story “Porcellanidae” appeared in Reckon Review. Incredibly, I returned to both 50wordstories and Analogies &Allegories Magazine later in the month.

August 1 marked the publication of my fantasy story in Farther Trees Than These. Later in the month, Feral Poetry, Full House Literary and Bangor Literary, kindly published my work. My story also earned Honorable Mention in Litro Magazine’s Summer Contest (published Aug 13).

September was the month when my first spec-fiction digital Microchap appeared via Ghost City Press. Microfictions found homes with Birdseed Blog, Re_Side Zine and Insignia Drabbles. Emerge Journal published a flashfiction. Poem for Farther Trees Pop-Up Issue appeared, hugely grateful that it went on to be nominated for the Pushcart! My second commissioned work, for New Flash Fiction Review’s Urban Legends Issue, was also published this month. Finally, Fudoki Magazine welcomed a ombromanie-themed short piece.

October marked publications in Bacopa Literary (print, short-story), Gone Lawn (online) and Global Youth Review (print and online). Nunum(CA) kindly published my flash story, “Unknot”, and later, to my huge surprise and gratitude, nominated it for the Pushcart. My poem also appeared in the “Around the World: Cityscapes and Landscapes: 200 poets” anthology.

November 1 was publication day for a flash CNF piece in Epoch Press’s Transitions Issue. Next week, I was part of an eclectic author list in EllipsisZine TEN with a micro. Also, Flash Frontier gave my Salt-themed micro a home. Finally, Orca published a hermit-crab flash this month, that was both dark and dangerous, for which I’m most grateful.

December 1, true to trend of first-day publications this year, kept up with the publication of a flash story by Bright Literary. My comedy flash was longlisted for Smokelong Contest the same day. The second week saw a flurry of publications, in EllipsisZine, two flash CNF pieces in Hypertext Magazine and my second-placed CNF micro in The Antonym. I also had my first pro horror sale published in Lamplight Magazine. To wrap the year, LimeonCello published a micro.

Today is December 19. Since my blogposts are fortnightly, this will go live later today, but I will keep adding here because there’s more to come before new year!

Lastly, as with all creators, this list blankets the hard work and tears. There’s the untold story of submissions, rejections, and strange coincidences, and of course, pots of luck. Not easy at all! To those reading this, enjoy the process! This blogpost might read as too much, or even unabashed bragging, but trust me, it is neither. I hope to motivate and inspire and cheer you on!