Gargoyle Acceptance!

I'm pretty dang excited to announce that a story of mine, a circus tale called "Knockabout," has been accepted for publication by Gargoyle. 

"Knockabout" has a long history. I think I started in it the fall of 2009 in Jim Grimsley's Advanced Fiction class. He urged us to write a single, near-novella sized short story for the semester. "Knockabout" was initially  just shy of 30 pages (it's about 18 right now, but let's see if Gargoyle has any editing suggestions). It has three main characters and the story is told in a vignette style, each vignette from the perspective of a character (in a close third). At one point, faced with a narrative I felt I couldn't control, I remember at one point color coding each character's P.o.V., cutting them all out, and then taping all of each character's color-coded sections together in order to visually mark their "weight" in the piece. This is normal when you are desperate to make something work. Isn't it?

This was also the first time I engaged in research for a story. I read a few books on the history of circuses, and, since the story takes place on a specific day in Dustbowl era Oklahoma, I also read "The Worst Hard Time" by Timothy Egan. Turns out I still took plenty of liberties, even with all that research. 

So, in other words, with all the effort and revisions (over 20), to have the piece in a place like Gargoyle is an honor. I'm humbled. Look for it in the summer of 2013.