The good news is one of my short stories, Bernie, was accepted by Gary Lovisi's "Hardboiled" Magazine and will be published in a future issue! Gary sent me a handwritten acceptance letter (and who does that anymore?) and informed me I would receive $15.00 plus two contributor copies. "Hardboiled" has been in publication for the past 20 years and Gary publishes it about twice a year. He also runs a big mystery writer/classic paperback collector's show in Brooklyn, New York every year. I'm looking forward to finally seeing a piece of fiction in print!
Since August of 2013, I've written six short stories that I'm currently submitting (or plan to submit) to different fiction magazines. All of them are hardboiled crime stories, since that's the genre Bernie was written in, and all of them take place in different areas, such as my hometown of Smithfield, Pennsylvania, and its neighbor, the city of Pittsburgh; Ocean City, Maryland, a place my family visited when I was in high school; and some areas of California, such as Palm Springs and Twentynine Palms.
I've submitted some of these stories to Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine (who continues to reject my work without even a form letter), Big Pulp Magazine, Plots With Guns, and Spinetingler. One of my stories is currently in the first month of that 3-month submission process at Thug Lit Magazine, and I think their magazine is a good match to my current style and attitude, so we'll see what happens there. I'm also waiting to hear back from Gary on another story I sent him back in late October, but considering how hectic the holidays were, I decided to wait a standard three months before I e-mailed him about its status. If I don't hear anything by February 1st, then I'll be knocking on Gary's inbox.
So, that's the good news and bad news, punks. I hope you all had a merry Christmas and a great New Year and made some achievable resolutions (not just the classic "I want to lose some weight"). Let's see what kind of trouble we can get into this year!
Justin A. Swartz
