A few years back, I joined a Discord server for a short story writing community. I knew a few of the writers’ works through the Books of Valor anthologies, and they let me know about upcoming anthologies, most of which are through Raconteur Press. With my head down in Civil Blood‘s world this year, I haven’t submitted much, but one anthology stood out.
It was a charity anthology — a writer, Lori Janeski, was badly injured in a car accident, and her friends and family put together an anthology where the proceeds would go toward hospital bills. The editor, Amanda Montandon, wanted stories themed around survival and hope.
Now, I’m trying to minimize the time I spend on writing that’s not Civil Blood-related, and I had a story that already fit the bill. “The 10:40 Appointment at the NYC Department of Superhero Registration” was right there, with its reprint rights available and everything, so I sent it in.
I didn’t hear back for months. What I didn’t know is that Amanda was struggling with her own health, having been diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer. This was all the more poignant, because “The 10:40 Appointment’s” ending hinges around oncology, that is, the medical specialty of dealing with cancers.
But Amanda never gave up. Now, almost a year later, the anthology has been published.
“Hairballs, Hiccups, and Hope” collects 13 short stories, about cats, brownies (the fae kind), kissing frogs, Alzheimer’s patients’ brains uploaded to spaceships, and of course, a hapless regenerating superhero who wants to be called Doctor Awesome. He does not get everything he wants.
It is available through Amazon for Kindles and paperback here.