New Story Day (About A Week Late)!
I’m just jumping in here real quick to say a new story of mine has been released into the wild! (Also, I wanted to share my latest sketch, which is Pedro Pascal at the most recent SAG Awards, because he was so completely adorable, and I really loved how this drawing came out. Anyway . . .)
Last May, I attended one of my favorite local conventions for writers and creatives, called Mo*Con. It’s run by a truly amazing writer, teacher, and community organizer, Maurice Broaddus, and he always puts together an incredible lineup of writers and artists for panels or just to chat with informally. He also finds way to have the best food ever served up at meal times. During Mo*Con 2023, he had a little Flash Fiction Contest and encouraged the writers in attendance to write a flash story based on one of the paintings on display. The artwork at the con was by a talented Indianapolis artist, Rae Parker, and one of their pieces really spoke to me. It was a painting of two Black women wearing vintage dresses and hats, and one of them was holding a bouquet of flowers. I wrote up a little time travel story about those two women and submitted it to the contest.
Some time over the summer, Maurice informed me that my story was voted runner up in the contest, and he was hoping to get it published alongside the winning story on Apex Magazine’s blog, a professional speculative fiction magazine that he also guest edits. And lo and behold, that story is now out in the world!
It’s called “I Left My Heart in the Timeline,” and you can read it at Apex’s blog here just under the winning story, “Ready for Battle,” by Madisen Ray. I’m really happy with this little piece of mine, and I’m so grateful to Maurice for providing the unique opportunity of getting it published in a pro magazine.
That’s all I have for now. My kids’ Spring Break is next week, and I’m looking forward to traveling for a few days, and then, the end of the school year will be here before we know it. And then, my spouse and I will finally be celebrating our 20th anniversary (almost 3 years late) in London and Paris at the end of May. I cannot wait.
As always, thanks for reading.
A. Cook
