Sometimes the Past Comes Back in Really Unexpected Ways (aka, You Get Published!) · 2:36am Sep 28th, 2015

This is a blog post that I have been waiting months to write, and no it's not about a new story from me finally. (Though Wargame, Wave Blaster, that will probably be my next one).

This is about why leaving old stories hanging around the internet can sometimes lead to some really cool things happening.

Now, last August, when I started posting here, I mentioned that I used to write short stories for the furry community in the shared story universe of Metamor Keep. This was around the early 2000s. As you can see by the link, they're still kicking around. I'm proud of the work I did there at the time and the contributions and influence I had over the universe, but haven't really heard much about it aside from friends who are still active in that universe.

Then February 2015 rolls around and I get a nice email, the gist of which is:

We at FurPlanet Productions would like to pay you for the permission to republish one of your stories.

To which my reaction was pretty much:

You want to publish one of my stories?! And pay me money?!

Suffice it to say, in the end I said yes.

The final result is the dead-tree anthology collection An Anthropomorphic Century will feature my story Daylight Fading from 2003. The anthology debuted this weekend at Rainfurrest 2015 and is up for pre-order on furplanet. It was supposed to come out at Anthrocon, but due to foot-dragging around story rights issues (apparently caused by the professional publishers, not the amateurs) it was delayed till now. Thankfully Furplanet was able to get it all sorted on their end, and thus I'm able to bring you this blog. Finally.

The story itself occurs some time after my personal character Rickkter has arrived at Metamor Keep and been transformed into an anthropomorphic raccoon. His love interest, Kayla, and him have been dancing around each other over the course of several stories prior. I've always believed in infatuation at first sight, not love. Their romance was a slow burn. This is the story where they finally come together and admit things to each other. I wrote it with a particular scene in mind, one that happens towards the very end. The question Rick asks of Kayla is a very logical one (to me) that rarely gets addressed in that type of fiction.

Now, I never got into writing with the goal of getting published, or making money, or anything like that. I got into it because I found it fun, I found I had a talent for it, and I found I could make some great friends along the way. So to have something like this happen is just absolutely, positively mind-blowing for me. To get an email from the editor of the anthology back in February and have him tell me that he still remembers that story and considers it good enough for solicitation and inclusion in a work like this was just such a heart warming occurrence.

Getting to see the final full list of 20 authors is also a real treat for me. I knew about two other authors (Bill Kieffer's story was mentioned, and I'm friends with Phil Geusz) but some of the other names are a bit of a surprise (How the F did I get published alongside Peter S. Beagle, Michael H. Payne [our very own AugieDog/Baal Bunny] and Philip K. Dick?! Holy sh!). It's a shame Skywriter (aka Channing, aka Jeffrey Channing Wells) didn't make the list given some of his contributions to the fandom that I've read over the years.

And so there we go. I have been waiting since July, when An Anthropomorphic Century was supposed to debut, to write this blog post. It feels absolutely amazing to say that I am now a published author. (I don't care if it's fandom and not mainstream, it's still amazing!) For those reading this, just take it as a reminder that... well, you never really do know what may happen in the future.

Take care, and if all goes well I should have something like a new story of my own in a few weeks for you.

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