On April 9, Fantasy Magazine announced a contest to win a copy of John Marks’s new novel, Fangland, by writing a 750 word short story based on a classic text – basically, anything in the public domain.
I had several ideas – and since the rules allowed three entries per contestant, I did have some vague idea that I was going to write three stories – but, as usual, I put things off until the last minute. That’s okay, though, because…
Um…
I won.
When I saw the announcement yesterday, I had to read it several times to understand what it said. “Oh, cool!” I thought. “Candy Witch won! I loved that story. And Open Sesame, that one was fun, too. And Untitled (based on Frankenstein)? I don’t remember that one… Oh, shit. That one’s mine. Wait, I won?” I read it again. My heart started thumping. My hands started to shake. I wanted to scream, but I couldn’t (because I would have frightened the cat – not to mention the carpenter who’s currently stripping 50 years or more of paint off our lovely redwood door jambs), so I squeaked. Very quietly. And wondered if I was going to throw up.
I won.
And I still can’t quite believe it.




You totally desevered to win! I read your piece and it was one of those where I couldn’t figure out what it was based on until the end and when I finally got it, it was like this bolt of lightnening and I had to go back and re-read it so I could take in all the complexities. Loved it so much.
Thank you so much! That really means a lot – I thought both of your pieces were wonderful.
HOLY CRAP! Congratulations!!!
Thanks!
Hey, I just saw this. Congrats!
Thank you, E.J.!