Pulp

According to my friend the Internet, "pulp fiction" (when it's not referring to a Tarantino film) is described as "fiction dealing with lurid or sensational subjects" and "escapist entertainment." Authors such as Dashiell Hammett, Robert Heinein, and H.P. Lovecraft started their careers as pulp writers and went on to make names for themselves. I'm hoping to follow in their footsteps with recent sales to Pulp Empire, The Red Penny Papers, and—this week—Big Pulp.

Thanks to Big Pulp editor Bill Olver, my story "Mercer's Ghost" will appear in their June 2012 issue, and while it will be some time before I see this tale in print, it's cool knowing I already have something scheduled for publication next year. (As long as it's not the end of the world or anything...)

This story was my Write1Sub1 for Week#13, and by the title you can probably tell it's another Mercer tale. He made his first appearance in Flash Me Magazine last December. In "Mercer's Ghost," the setting shifts from urban noir to the late 1800's for one heck of a weird western. How old is Mercer? Well, some of his backstory will come out this July in "The Second Option" (appearing in Bards and Sages Quarterly), but suffice it to say that Mercer's age hasn’t mattered to him for quite some time.

In other writing news, despite eight rejections this week, I managed to finish "Pearls Before Swine" at 10K (my longest story this year) and send it off to Criminal Element. And regarding my Shimmer submission "Soulless in His Sight," I received the following email: "I really enjoyed your story, and have forwarded it on to the full board for further consideration." I should know better, but I’m holding my breath.