Six years ago, I had two publishing dreams come true right around the same time: I had stories accepted to Apex Magazine and to Cemetery Dance Magazine. Bucket list stuff. Here’s where I shared the news back in 2017:
Plus, can I get a heeeeell yeah for two exciting new short story acceptances? I most recently announced that “So Sings the Siren” will be appearing in the October Issue of Apex Magazine! AND that “White Paint” will be published in Cemetery Dance Magazine! (Issue TBA.) That’s two dreams come true right there. ♥♥ Both stories are literary horror – and they’re two of my best. I’m so pumped to share them with you.
“So Sings the Siren” went on to be a Bram Stoker Award finalist—an even bigger dream come true. It has since been reprinted, audio produced, translated, taught in literature classes, reviewed, nominated, honorably mentioned, recommended, anthologized, and highly praised. I’ve had readers tell me it’s an all-time favorite story. If I have one piece of published work that is beloved and might outlive me, it’s surely this one. (All of that after 17 different publications rejected this story. Never give up on something you believe in!)
Now the other piece of that double acceptance, “White Paint,” took over five years to be published. So although they were accepted back-to-back and were equally favorites of mine, one of them has had six years of doing its thing while the other one was… just… waiting. Waiting to be published. Waiting to be read. Waiting to be reviewed and noticed and thought about at all.
Isn’t it wild how differently things can play out? (Just for the record, I’m not throwing shade at the publisher of “White Paint.” Along with many publications, Cemetery Dance had some struggles during the pandemic with printing and production. It’s been an unusual five years.)
Skip to this spring, Cemetery Dance Issue #78 was finally printed and mailed. I opened the envelope with awe, celebrated, displayed it… and gradually realized that it might not reach that many folks. A five-year hiatus is no joke, and print magazines are at a disadvantage when it comes to reaching large numbers of readers anyway. Despite the big name and my complete pride in this story, I haven’t come across a single review or even mention of “White Paint” since its release. Wha-wha.
So. The publisher has kindly provided me with a PDF copy of my story to give to voting members of relevant award organizations. (Horror Writers Associations members reading for Stoker consideration, etc.) If that’s you, please send an email to annieneugebauer@gmail.com and let me know, and I’ll be happy to send you a free copy to read “White Paint.” It’s eligible for the 2023 publication year in the short fiction categories of horror, dark fantasy, and literary awards.
This short story is hard to describe without spoilers. It’s impossible to give trigger warnings without spoilers. (But it is very, very dark and intensely distrubing.) Here’s the opening excerpt:
He’d been painting his new apartment, so of course at first he thought it was paint. Just white. Davey liked white. Clean, neutral, fresh like this new start. The label called it “blank slate.” Davey liked that. He wasn’t opposed to some heavy-handed symbolism in his life. His therapist told him ascribing meaning to things was part of human nature – part of people’s desire to exert control over their existence. His therapist thought exerting control over Davey’s existence was a good thing. Said he needed to do that more.
So Davey painted.
If you would like to order a copy of the magazine, you can buy Issue 78 here. It comes with other wonderful stories, interviews, and articles, plus gorgeous, perfect artwork for my story by Erin Wells.
Otherwise, leave a comment below and I’ll enter you to win your very own signed print copy. For continental US shipping only. Closes when I decide to close it. Number of winners TBD. Does anyone open blogs anymore?
Happy spooky season, friends. Let’s see where this winding road takes us.
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