Once Upon A Podcast

Three years ago I sent my first horror story to a fiction podcast, held my breath, and hoped...and...

Rejection.

Horror writing has become a fun side project, a break from the 3-book romance series that consumes most of my time. But writing horror shorts takes a surprisingly long time--mainly because I struggle with the "short" part. These monster-sized monster stories are a blast to write, and they are gaining traction. Usually I only share the wins. I just celebrated my 8th podcast production and am expecting the 9th any week. 

In total I have submitted 25 stories between the NoSleep and Creepy Podcasts. These are the stats:

NoSleep 

Accepts: 3

Rejects: 8

Awaiting response: 1

Withdrawal: 1 (accepted by Creepy Pod first)

Creepy

Accepts: 7

Rejects: 3

Awaiting Response: 2

Waiting to send: 1

In writing progress: 9

With 10 Accepts, 11 Rejects, and many more in the wings, can I really call this a side project anymore? Probably not. Podcast productions are (currently) the goal, but even the ones kicked back with a, “thanks, but no thanks,” email make it onto my website and potentially the subs of Reddit where anyone can read them for free. There is no downside to writing them.

And some…the really special ones…the ones I can’t quite shake…they just might ripen into something more. THE CARETAKER would make a good book. Perhaps my first official paranormal romance between an immortal being and the smitten henchman that does her bidding in exchange for the blood in her veins that he craves and exacting revenge on his enemies.

IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY, my first podcast rejection and the only horror short that doesn’t appear on my website (yet) was a beast of a script about a town where the worst of the worst are sent to disappear, has a few rough chapters in book form.

And THE WHITE ROOM…where do I begin? A “short” sequel? Before or after I finish LUCK, a tale of revenge at the push of a button? So. Many. Choices.

For now, I’m enjoying letting the beasts out of my brain and onto the page and seeing what kind of havoc they make.

Oh! And last night I got an email from NoSleep. One acceptance and one rejection and a personal note about the positive response to THE WHITE ROOM. I think I might have stumbled into something really, really good.