Lost and Found - Published June, 2023 in 'Mystery Murder' Lost and Found - Found at Last
Have you, dear writer, got a short story you’ve sweated over, toiled over, imbued with and lavished with love, cried over - and yet you can’t sell the darned thing? That favourite short story which you feel rises head-and-shoulders above the herd of other short stories in your archives, but which receives rejection after rejection after rejection?
Of course you have! Don’t lie!
I’ve got around half a dozen myself. Take The Island. Three thousand words of nail-biting horror as the survivors of a shipwreck discover the island they’re stranded on is populated with carnivorous plants. It’s every vegan’s nightmare! The ultimate betrayal! It’s Nature in reverse. Alas, no horror magazine or anthology has so far embraced my Nature bites back tour de force. Scaredy cats!
That said, with persistence these homeless gems can find a not inconspicuous abode. Thus my sci-fi classic, Fong Goo, a comic tale of first contact, initial worldwide optimism, trans-galactic misunderstanding and ultimately human annihilation, debuted in print after a decade of subbing in the Sunday People’s Love Sunday supplement.
And so to Lost and Found, a piece of crime fiction ‘based on true events’ as we like to say these days, though the true events it’s based on were rather more run-of-the-mill. In a nutshell, my best friend visited a London gym for a workout and returned to the changing rooms to discover his clothes had been stolen. Cue the less than sympathetic gym manager who furnished my friend with a mismatch of lost property clothing items to wear on the Tube train journey back home. Suffice to say, my BFF told me he looked and felt like a vagrant.
It’s here that the tale of my friend and Lost and Found’s protagonist, Geoffrey Dallow, diverge. In my story, on leaving the gym, Dallow disappears, seemingly without a trace, and it’s up to Detective Inspector Williamson, my go to, short story, low-key hero detective, to locate him… (spoilers end here!)
So how, you may wonder, did I manage to place this orphan story? Simple! Persistence!
Every now and again, like coppers reopening a cold case, I send stories out into the big wide internet ether, stories that I deem deserve a wider readership than just the wife and kids. That’s how I came across Mystery Magazine, a Canadian-based publisher of crime fiction. Their magazine is available monthly, either in print or digital format. I discovered them through websites that specialise in publicising magazines, anthologies and competitions that are putting out calls for short story and poetry submissions.
So I submitted, and Bob’s your uncle and Fanny’s your aunt, Lost and Found had found a home. The money’s now in the bank and the story has been unveiled to a potential global audience of seven billion plus readers - though expect in reality the number may end up being a bit less.
I’ve now managed to whittle down the list of short stories I feel deserve a first outing and an elusive home to just a few old favourites. In addition to The Island, these include a story about a ghostly bear eviscerating those who’ve inadvertently dissed him, a psychotic snowman out for vengeance, and a discontented biology teacher who has a deadly surprise for his students involving his nagging wife’s body parts.
What I’m trying to say, and I hope I have said it in an entertaining though long-winded way, is that you should never give up on a piece of writing you have faith in. No matter how atypical, nerdy or off the wall a short story may be, the markets and publication opportunities are out there.
So here’s to Lost and Found being found at last!
And if anyone out there can help me find a home for The Island, …
NOTE: Lost and Found is due for publication in Jun, 2023 - see cover Picture above
Below are links to my short-listed story for the National newspaper and for a couple of stories that appeared on the Every Day Fiction site - where you can leave a comment and a rating if you so desire. WARNING - Exodus Mortis is a bit disturbing:
http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness
https://everydayfiction.com/oh-christmas-tree-by-paul-a-freeman/
https://everydayfiction.com/exodus-mortis-by-paul-a-freeman/
Happy writing!
Have you, dear writer, got a short story you’ve sweated over, toiled over, imbued with and lavished with love, cried over - and yet you can’t sell the darned thing? That favourite short story which you feel rises head-and-shoulders above the herd of other short stories in your archives, but which receives rejection after rejection after rejection?
Of course you have! Don’t lie!
I’ve got around half a dozen myself. Take The Island. Three thousand words of nail-biting horror as the survivors of a shipwreck discover the island they’re stranded on is populated with carnivorous plants. It’s every vegan’s nightmare! The ultimate betrayal! It’s Nature in reverse. Alas, no horror magazine or anthology has so far embraced my Nature bites back tour de force. Scaredy cats!
That said, with persistence these homeless gems can find a not inconspicuous abode. Thus my sci-fi classic, Fong Goo, a comic tale of first contact, initial worldwide optimism, trans-galactic misunderstanding and ultimately human annihilation, debuted in print after a decade of subbing in the Sunday People’s Love Sunday supplement.
And so to Lost and Found, a piece of crime fiction ‘based on true events’ as we like to say these days, though the true events it’s based on were rather more run-of-the-mill. In a nutshell, my best friend visited a London gym for a workout and returned to the changing rooms to discover his clothes had been stolen. Cue the less than sympathetic gym manager who furnished my friend with a mismatch of lost property clothing items to wear on the Tube train journey back home. Suffice to say, my BFF told me he looked and felt like a vagrant.
It’s here that the tale of my friend and Lost and Found’s protagonist, Geoffrey Dallow, diverge. In my story, on leaving the gym, Dallow disappears, seemingly without a trace, and it’s up to Detective Inspector Williamson, my go to, short story, low-key hero detective, to locate him… (spoilers end here!)
So how, you may wonder, did I manage to place this orphan story? Simple! Persistence!
Every now and again, like coppers reopening a cold case, I send stories out into the big wide internet ether, stories that I deem deserve a wider readership than just the wife and kids. That’s how I came across Mystery Magazine, a Canadian-based publisher of crime fiction. Their magazine is available monthly, either in print or digital format. I discovered them through websites that specialise in publicising magazines, anthologies and competitions that are putting out calls for short story and poetry submissions.
So I submitted, and Bob’s your uncle and Fanny’s your aunt, Lost and Found had found a home. The money’s now in the bank and the story has been unveiled to a potential global audience of seven billion plus readers - though expect in reality the number may end up being a bit less.
I’ve now managed to whittle down the list of short stories I feel deserve a first outing and an elusive home to just a few old favourites. In addition to The Island, these include a story about a ghostly bear eviscerating those who’ve inadvertently dissed him, a psychotic snowman out for vengeance, and a discontented biology teacher who has a deadly surprise for his students involving his nagging wife’s body parts.
What I’m trying to say, and I hope I have said it in an entertaining though long-winded way, is that you should never give up on a piece of writing you have faith in. No matter how atypical, nerdy or off the wall a short story may be, the markets and publication opportunities are out there.
So here’s to Lost and Found being found at last!
And if anyone out there can help me find a home for The Island, …
NOTE: Lost and Found is due for publication in Jun, 2023 - see cover Picture above
Below are links to my short-listed story for the National newspaper and for a couple of stories that appeared on the Every Day Fiction site - where you can leave a comment and a rating if you so desire. WARNING - Exodus Mortis is a bit disturbing:
http://www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/short-story-a-day-for-decisiveness
https://everydayfiction.com/oh-christmas-tree-by-paul-a-freeman/
https://everydayfiction.com/exodus-mortis-by-paul-a-freeman/
Happy writing!
RSS Feed
