This week I submitted a short story to Alfred Hitchcock Mystery magazine. Justice for Thee is a compilation of scenes from my unpublished novel, Playing for Blood, (Book 2, Kelly Reed series).

AHMM loves publishing new authors. I should hear from them in October, maybe November. Hopefully they’ll jump on my submission and publish. It may not be exactly what they typically publish, but we’ll see…

Writing short stories for magazines is a good way of getting exposure and displaying your prose for readers you want to build a fan base around. If I can hook a few fans with my short stories, hopefully I’ll generate some word-of-mouth advertising as I wait to have my novels published.

Although I’ve written four novels ranging from 65-108,000 words, and three novellas ranging 30-35,000 words, I was surprised at how challenging it was to write shorts of only 5-10,000 words.

With a little luck, AHMM will accept my submission this fall. If not, I may post it here on my website.

Are you a fan of short stories? Do you subscribe to Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine?