Remember last week when I said that I’d given up on a submission for an anthology? Yeah, well, I take it back.

I’m pleased to announce that my story “Cladistics” has just sold and will be included in The Book of the Exodi, the inaugural anthology from Eposic. It is currently planned for a Spring 2009 release.

Now, as I’d said in my earlier post, the original idea I’d been trying for the anthology just wasn’t working. After I withdrew from consideration a very nice e-mail from the editor convinced me to take another shot by the deadline.

Having given up on my original idea, and seeing no way of rescuing it, I turned to my idea bank–the files of story ideas I’ve had but not yet written–to look for some fresh inspiration. Sure enough I had the vague outlines of what eventually became “Cladistics”, with a little modification to make it fit the theme of planetary exodus. Funny thing was that the idea didn’t really click for me until I added the element of an exodus. I think that’s what Tim Powers calls “laminating” ideas together.

Unlike the abandoned idea, I got very excited about this story and excited to tell it. I knew I had to write fast so taking a page out of what I learned at the Writers of the Future workshop, with the idea and a few characters in my head I sat down, turned off my internal editor (for the most part), and banged the story out in three days. I had one of my brothers and a few friends read it, and revised the whole day it was due. Not quite as hectic a pace as at WOTF, but it did keep me up until 230am a couple of nights.

Like the other stories I’ve sold, I felt like I had to push at the edge of my ability to write this one; it felt like I was trying new things and telling the story in a way I hadn’t done before. And I think that’s necessary for me to do my best work.

In any case, I’m very pleased with the story and even more pleased that it sold.

Now, on to wondering when my next sale will be… 😉

– S.