I have newsssssssssss!
Not long after Night Picnic decided to publish “Tower to Foundation,” I heard back from another publication. Turns out, Leading Edge was interested in publishing “Spectacle,” the short story I submitted about nine months before this point! You can imagine my excitement.
Needless to say, I was definitely not expecting to hear back from anyone so long after submitting. I had already put the story through several newer revisions since sending it out to be considered for publication. But that actually worked in my favor because the Leading Edge editors had several ideas and notes on the story that improved it tenfold, and they liked the changes I made to the story as well!
Originally, I was going to title this post “Another New Short Story Coming Soon!”, but I took a break through the month of April; on top of that, I’ve been sick for the past week, so the release date kind of snuck up on me. But yeah! You can now read my brand-new, shiny short story, “Spectacle,” in Issue 80 of Leading Edge magazine!
Tired of reading your short stories online? Grab it on Kindle! Tired of reading from a screen? Get the paperback! I got my copy in the mail just this week, and I’m so happy to physically hold it in my own two hands! There are only a handful of my short stories actually made into a physical book, and I put it on my very special shelf.
“Spectacle” is about a boy with big dreams: he wants to become a magical ribbon dancer, with the help of his fiery “spark.” He’s a diligent student, a hard worker, and one heck of a hopeful guy — but the prestigious magical dancing school, Alarison, is far more intense than he first realized. He’ll have to go above and beyond to achieve his dream.
I’m so grateful to Leading Edge for presenting this story to the world. I’m actually very proud of it! “Spectacle” is one of the first stories I wrote during my time at RWW. I was in my first year, and though the rough draft was very — VERY — rough, I finally got the story to a place I’m happy with.
Also, it’s so cool for “Spectacle” to be featured along with two other beautiful stories: “Snare a Moon” by Annie Borelli and “Market Day” by Grace Taber. I feel like I’m in good company, and I couldn’t be happier.
This issue also includes gorgeous illustrations, especially the ones by Hope Christofferson. The beautiful images that accompany “Spectacle” are nothing short of perfection (I still squeal when I see the characters dancing on those pages). The front cover for Issue 80 features an image taken right from a moment in “Spectacle”: I love, love, love these fiery ribbons!
I’m just an all-around happy clam right now when it comes to publication; and since finishing my MFA thesis, I have several other stories to polish and send out when the time is right.
Anyway, definitely check out Leading Edge‘s 80th issue (I’m in it, after all!) and the other issues too! Just browsing all this gorgeous cover art makes me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. Huge thank-you to the editors at Leading Edge and to everyone actually reading and enjoying the stuff that I write, whether that’s fiction or just posts like this. You make my day!
I hope to have more new stuff for you soon. April hiatus: OVER!
Photo by Erwan Hesry on Unsplash
Rachel Sandell 