Blue sign with white letters reading, "POISONOUS SNAKES AND INSECTS INHABIT THE AREA," followed by drawings of a scorpion and snake

I got a story accepted! Plus other news and a few local laughs (Weekend Coffee Share #17)

December 3, 2021 /

Good morning, happy Friday, and welcome to the Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer (whose pics are always gorgeous, but this week’s are *incredible*). I’m going to kick off this week’s post with:

Writing news

A couple of weeks ago, I was grousing about my lack of writing news. I had several pieces on submission plus a pending application to a writing retreat, and I was getting just a tad impatient (if you consider refreshing GMail every 1.3 seconds, “a tad impatient”). Well, I still have a bunch of things pending, but:

My Christmas horror story got accepted!

It will be published in the 2021 Deathlehem anthology, which should come out right around Christmas. Fear not, I’ll make an announcement here on the blog when it’s out (by which I mean, I’ll have a pinned post with a giant picture of the cover and at least three exclamation points in the headline and four or five more in the post. The word, “squee,” will also be used, almost certainly in all caps.)

In the meantime, if you like holiday horror, you might want to check out previous volumes. Great stuff!

I’m still waiting to hear about another short story, a short nonfiction piece, and my writing retreat application, so I’m still refreshing GMail every 1.3 seconds.

Life news

Last week I wrote about the return of my holiday spirit after a several-year, grief-induced hiatus. This week, I’m happy to report that my holiday spirit endureth. Our Christmas tree is up, and I have a bizarre urge to decorate anything that will stand still long enough. Long-Suffering Husband is afraid to fall asleep, lest he wake up covered in tinsel and twinkle lights.

I mean, look at all this holiday cheer! And yeah, the noir one might make a good illustration for Deathlehem. I’m pretty sure Krampus is right outside one of those windows.

The weekly funnies

For this week’s funnies, we have actual pictures of actual things seen here in actual Tucson. As Dave Barry says, I am not making these up.

First, someone decided to chalk the Pythagorean Theorem on a streetlight post in the Albertson’s parking lot. Someone is taking the slogan, “Keep Tucson Weird,” a little too literally.

Next up (and from the same Albertson’s parking lot, though on a different day), we have this gem on the back of a car window. I have to admit, I admire the sentiment.

Another back-of-window sentiment, this one for sale in a local hardware store:

This being Arizona, I’d expect to see it on the back of a white Ford F-150 pickup alongside an NRA sticker and a reference to cold, dead hands (If you aren’t from the USA and don’t understand this reference, add that fact to your daily prayers of thanksgiving/gratitude journal).

And finally, from Tucson’s WTF Department, I bring you this real, actual real estate sign we saw last weekend:

First, notice the “Not Haunted,” is in a Halloween-ish font–and it’s an actual sign, which suggests they use it regularly. Second, the sign was in front of a generic condo in a generic condo complex–not exactly the Amityville Horror house. I kind of want to email the agent to ask about it, but I can’t think of anything to put in the body of the message except, “WTF?”

And… that’s a wrap for this week. May your real estate be un-haunted and all your triangles merry and right.

What’s happening where you are?

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15 Comments

  • Lydia C. Lee

    December 3, 2021 at 1:49 pm

    That is so fantastic. I’m a little off the boil writing at the moment. I’m meant to do a story for a comp this weekend but I’m out most of the weekend and not sure I have the drive. Played around on the blog instead. I might still give it a shot. But congratulations on the acceptance. That must really give you a boost. #Weekendcoffeeshare

    • Janet Alcorn

      December 5, 2021 at 6:30 am

      Thanks! And I’m sorry your writing has stalled out. I’ve had that happen, and it’s rough. The acceptance definitely helped me.

  • Natalie

    December 3, 2021 at 6:31 pm

    Congratulations, Janet! That’s fantastic writing news right at the start of the holidays. Thank you for your humour and #weekendcoffeeshare.

  • Susanne

    December 4, 2021 at 2:08 am

    Congratulations on getting the story published! That is fantastic!
    I love the “can’t fix stupid” sign! ? My slogan these days is “I can’t handle stupid” – so I’m very hesitant to use social media. ? How lovely that you have the desire to do Christmas decorations – must be a sign of a good mood! Have a great week.

    • Janet Alcorn

      December 5, 2021 at 6:29 am

      Thanks! I hear you about social media. I’ve pulled back quite a bit in recent years to save my sanity.

  • leannelc

    December 5, 2021 at 1:12 am

    Hi Janet – great news about the published Christmas story and your Christmas tree photo made me realize the difference a little colour makes as to how we view something! Give me a coloured Christmas tree any day 🙂

    • Janet Alcorn

      December 5, 2021 at 6:28 am

      Yep. I love playing with the noir setting on my phone, because it can have such a big effect on the mood of a picture—from festive to creepy in this case.

      Thanks for stopping by!

  • Gary A Wilson

    December 5, 2021 at 8:23 am

    Hi Janet,

    Both thumbs up on your story being accepted, and a firm, but virtual, high 5 slap.
    I’m going to have to check the modes of my phone camera. When it was last time to upgrade, my current phone was advertised as having different modes, there are even multiple lenses on the back so I expect there is some kind of opportunity for getting creative with my blatant capture of innocent photons.

    You might know the answer to a question I have. If a story contains references to past murders and a hint that there may be an “on stage” fresh murder coming, but there is no mystery as to who might murder who – what would the genre of this story be? This is where my new, but not yet finished “darker” story has gone but I don’t see it fitting in any sorting of horror and since no one will miss who might commit the new murder is, it can’t be a mystery. Any thoughts?

    And about that NRA sticker. . . One of my favorite parts about visiting Tucson when my daughter was there for school was finally having the simple right of putting my 9mm on my belt and walking into any hotel, Starbucks, Walmart or Burger King I might pass on my way to a certain indoor shooting range in the southern part of town. No one even mentioned it except for one (most likely) out-of-town visitor who was behind me in the line for the hotel breakfast buffet – oh – and he seemed envious. . .

    Congrats again. Being recognized like this must be a great pre-Christmas feel-good.

    • Janet Alcorn

      December 5, 2021 at 10:51 am

      Thanks! The acceptance is definitely a great feel-good moment. Gotta hold onto those in this biz.

      If your story has murders but isn’t a mystery, it’s probably a thriller. The lines between mystery and thriller can be blurry to me, even in my own writing (I think my current novel in progress is a thriller, but it also has some elements of a mystery, since the real identity of the serial killer isn’t revealed till 3/4 of the way through the book). This post gives one of the better explanations I’ve seen, but there are lots of articles on the differences between mystery, thriller, and suspense. Some get into genre tropes and reader expectations, as well as pacing, all of which can help you understand what you have and what you’re shooting for. Good luck!