New Physical Copy and New Published Story

My endeavor of looking for more literary publications to get published in that held more prestige in order to bolster my resume has been quite successful! One of the publications that I found and got published in back in August was Adelaide Literary Magazine, and I was so happy about that one. It was available online, and they do print versions as well. And recently, I finally got my physical copies of the publication!

Holding it, having it, opening it up and smelling the pages (oh yes, I always do that), and finding my story within the pages... well, a wordsmith should never say they don't have the words. I have words, they just won't quite do it justice. But I'll try. Phenomenal.

It gives you a smile you can't wipe off, not for a while anyway. And I was quite pleased with many aspects of this publication, the artwork on the covers, the overall quality, just incredible stuff.

I kept going on with my journey of sending stories out to other publications, dealing them everywhere like I had a dozen poker players at my table. And then as it got closer to the end of the year, I got a notification from Adelaide Literary Magazine about the competition that they run at the end of the year for their Anthology. Oh yeah! I read a little bit about that.

It felt worth it, and I had another story that had been brewing in my mind. I hadn't yet started it, but this felt like the perfect opportunity to do so. I carved out some time, wrote the rough draft, gave myself some distance for a few days, returned, reread, edited... and submitted it.

The winners and finalists were picked, and I was a finalist, which means I would be published in the 2025 Adelaide Literary Magazine Award Anthology! And it just came out!

I didn't see it on their site, and I'm unsure if it will be, but for certain, they have the print versions. The entire set is a volume for poetry, a volume for nonfiction, and then two volumes for all the fiction. My story "Under the Umbrella of Success" is in one of those fiction volumes. Not certain which one yet, but once I know, I'll definitely share that.

Volume 1 of the Short Stories.

Volume 2 of the Short Stories.

The entire set.

I have both volume 1 and volume 2 coming to me, so, at some point I'll have yet another print issue of a publication with my story in it. I'm quite excited.

Looking back at these two stories that got published had me reflecting and thinking of how interesting it is as well. About a year and a half ago, after having gotten more work piled on my team at my job multiple times, after having gone through layoffs and been affected by the loss of other teams and coworkers, after having already been feeling unappreciated and overworked and also having felt the effects of inflation in so many areas of life... something else happened. My job cut my pay DRAMATICALLY. There's more detail to it, but to cut down to the simplest explanation, my pay was cut about 15%, and I got four days notice. As if all that stuff happening at work and in the world around me wasn't enough to have me stressed and upset... I then received this horrendous news.

Since then, nothing has been done to make me feel any better, any more appreciated, and our job has only gotten more difficult... and more has been expected of us. And I'm not the only one experiencing this, but everything just keeps getting more expensive out there in the world. All of this has been difficult to deal with, but I eventually found that I have an excellent outlet for it. Writing.

All of this has sparked so many ideas for me. These events, so far, have spurred on 6 short stories and 1 novella from me. It's an excellent source of inspiration, as the troubles of the character are my own, I have a connection to them, I bring them to life, they are relatable, and they are interesting. I have taken them all in different directions.

One of them was "Nuggets of Joy" which was published in the August edition of Adelaide Literary Magazine. It was less about the issue with work, and more about the issue of everything getting more and more expensive, the troubles of living in an apartment that is the best you can afford but not good enough, and the problem of trying to save for a house while throwing money away on renting. And another one of them was "Under the Umbrella of Success" which was the finalist I just mentioned, and now published as well. That one is about working a job and dealing with growing expectations, managing your own happiness, and how people define their own success.

It's made me realize that the pain I've dealt with over the past year and a half has spurred me on to create stories, great stories that others enjoy and can relate to. I don't mean to sound arrogant, I'm only using the word great, nothing any more extravagant. But I know the story is great if it is selected to be published. That's OK to say. But yes, my experience has given me fantastic material. It does help me to work through my annoyance, my anxiety, my anger... I finish one of these stories and I really do achieve a sense of closure. It keeps my stress levels, and my heart rate, down. And it allows me to create something that others connect with and enjoy.

When I was treated in this way by my job, when I was thought so little of that something like this could be done to me so casually and with so little notice, I vowed to prove them wrong. I vowed to not curl up in a ball and hide, but instead to stretch out all my limbs and put myself on full display. They may think so little of me, but they're wrong. I vowed to show them exactly who I am.

I'm doing that. This is the start of that. I'm not done yet.

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And then a moment to chill out after my little revenge speech... I truly am excited to have my stories published, no matter what others think of me. It's always an exciting thing. It's extra motivation in my current situation, and it's also extra inspiration. And it's a little teaching lesson for me as to some of the stories that intrigue audiences.