Krampus Short story sold to Burial Books

My short story was sold and will be appearing in the Burial Day Books "Blue Book Six - Krampus Tales" which will be published and released on October 30th

I sent Burial Day my short about a year ago, and hadn't heard anything back from them other than the confirmation of reciept. So this one came out of left field. It's also, interestingly enough, the first paid piece I will have had, and the rights revert immediately back to me, so I can re-sell the story - who'd have thought? So we are now three for three - All the stories I have submitted have been accepted and have been, or will be published

Concept behind Krampus

From Burial day books:

"A single mention or setting that includes one of 2020’s Gothic Blue Book theme:

a) Krampus b) Christmas c) And more – see below ‘2020 Addition’

2020 Addition:

In addition to the above, the story or poem must instill fear using a supernatural element – ghosts, ghouls, monsters, myth, folklore or legend.

Extreme violence, sexual violence, derogatory language, hateful and harmful language of groups, people, or belief systems will not be considered.

For inspiration look to Ann Radcliffe, Edgar Allan Poe, Mary Shelley, Helen Oyeyemi, Jorge Luis Borges, Shirley Jackson, Emily Brontë, Daphne Du Maurier, Victor LaValle, Angela Carter, Neil Gaiman, Tananarive Due, Charles Dickens and more."

So it just so happened that my story fit that guideline perfectly. Total fluke, the story was already written - I'd entered a competition on Scribophile - which I won (mwah ha ha) with the piece, so when I saw this, I was over the moon. Zero effort required. I posted it and sent it off into the electrical ether. Then heard nothing for 3/4 of a year.

What a holiday!

We went to Corsica this year for two weeks, self isolating in a farmhouse and visited beaches -and stayed away from other people. On the last day (really) we were there, I recieved an email telling me the story was going to be published. Which made that day even more special. Everyone should check out Corsica - it's so beautiful - the city of Bonifacio - what a place! 80% of the inhabitants of the town live in the old town, the citadel on the top of the hill overlooking the harbour. What an amazing place.

Krampus

"But there was something out there. Something watching. Something that one day awoke. Like it had been listening all that time, listening to the data streams, and one day, it just all clicked into place.

One day, it understood"

The lesson?

I'd love to say "never give up on your writing", but that's not true in this instance. I'd given up on Krampus a long time ago - I thought that boat had sailed. But I believed in the piece, and had no problem submitting it. So I guess if I can take anything away from this it'd be that sometimes the world is screaming at you to do something, and you should do it - even if you don't see tangible results for a long time - do it. It's better regretting something you tried than not to try at all.

And sometimes you get paid to do it :D