That Short Story I had Published

Well I eventually got around to emailing the subscriptions manager of SpineOut Online Magazine last week, where my short story 'Walking to the Shop' was published in the March 2012 edition. I had decided it was time that I worked out how to access it, seeing as the link my school had provided me with wasn't working for me.

The link doesn't work because SpineOut only sells subscriptions to schools and libraries, so if your school or local library has a subscription, you might be able to view the full story via them! Although I'm pretty sure this is an Australian publication, so I'm not entirely sure if many schools or libraries outside of Australia will have a subscription.

The subscription manager, Bonnie Maher, was kind enough to attach a document of the page in the magazine where my short story was featured. I've zoomed in and print screened in the image below to make it a bit easier for you to read what it says:

All I can say is that I'm happy.  :)

- Bonnee.

Apparent Link and the Lucky 7 Game

First of all, this is the link I was given for my short story 'Walking to the Shop', which was recently published in an online magazine (see previous blog entry for more details):  http://digital.spineout.com.au/#folio=5

For some reason, the 5 keeps changing to a 1 when I open the link and I keep getting a message saying 'Undefined'. When I try accessing it through the spineout.com.au site, it comes up with a message saying 'Your session has expired. Please login.' I wouldn't mind so much if there was a login/create account page. If anyone can figure this out for me with some mad computer or hacking skills (or skillz, whichever you dawgs prefer) that would be great :) 

IN OTHER NEWS! I was just reading from Elizabeth Norris's blog where she talks about the Lucky 7 Game, which is apparently going around writer circles at the moment. I thought I'd try it out for myself :) 

What to do: 

1. Go to the seventh or seventy-seventh page of your WIP.
2. Count down seven lines.
3. Copy the seven sentences that follow and post them.
4. Tag seven other authors.  (I don't think there are 7 authors who come to this blog often enough for me to do this part, so whoever wants to try it can try it!) 

This excerpt is from page 7 of Evergreen: A Fallen Star, which I still consider a WIP because it's still being edited. Please note that this passage may be subject to change. 

It was warm inside the Training House. The room they stood in was large and had only a few tables lined up against one of the walls and some chairs stacked beside them. A stone fireplace crackled with life at the far end of the room. The three children walked into the changing rooms at the back of the building where they put their training gear on. Their uniforms were white, but Chihiro’s uniform had a golden insignia of an Evergreen Tree sewn into its back and on its breast, signifying that she was a Master of the Arts, just like Master Yuusan. Her siblings were still only students. The last part of their uniforms were their belts; all black. 

I'll admit now that this was originally one of the passages I liked least, and although I've done lots of work on it (it was a lot longer than this at first) I'm still not 100% satisfied with it. I'd love to hear your opinions here, any criticism is more than welcome. Just to show you what I'm talking about, here is the same passage from the first draft (yes, I still have the first draft which was completed in 2009. What of it?)

It was toasty inside the Training House. The room they stood in was large and had only a few tables lined up against one of the walls and some chairs folded up beside them. A fire place with a safety guard crackled with life at the far end of the room, keeping it warm. There was a door on either side of the back wall, leading into change-rooms. The teenagers and their little sister headed for those doors, Chihiro and Sakura to the left door and Zutto to the right, crossing the smooth wooden floor as they went.
Inside the change-rooms, they all went to their lockers. Chihiro was locker number four. Sakura had the twelfth locker and in the boys change room, Zutto had the ninth. A uniform for each of them was locked inside their locker, shirt and pants of orange with blue collars. Well, Sakura and Zutto had a blue collar, but Chihiro’s collar was golden. A gold collar symbolized that they were Master Students of the Training House – a Master of Kung Fu. Sakura and Zutto were not yet Masters. When they became Masters, they would be presented with a new shirt with a golden collar.
Quickly, the three of them got changed from their day clothes into their uniforms. The last thing they pulled out of their lockers was their belts – all black.

Your thoughts? Which version did YOU like better? What should I still be changing? Would you guys be interested in seeing some more old draft/current draft comparisons like this? Because I might be interested in doing it.

Once again, CRITIQUE PLEASE!

- Bonnee.

Walking to the Shop - PUBLISHED!

So the good news is, I AM OFFICIALLY PUBLISHED!

By this I mean that someone at SpineOut magazine decided that a short story I had submitted to them, 'Walking to the Shop' was good enough to go into the latest edition. I am so excited by this... and it still doesn't quite feel real.

The bad news is, I have been unable to access it. Why? SpineOut is an ONLINE magazine, right? Well...

Let's start at the start. When I went to submit this story, I had to fill out a form, and some of the required information was which school I am from. I submitted this short story some time in December, if my memory serves me right. I hadn't heard back so I'd accepted that it hadn't been good enough. Today - three months later - one of my school teachers walked past me during one of my study periods and said:

Miss D: Hey Bonnee, I just read that story you got published online.

Me: Yeah? Which one? (this is me thinking that she had found my FictionPress or Wattpad account...)

Miss D: Oh the one about the kites and the homeless man.

Me: Wait... WHAT?!

She showed me the email with the link, and opened the link up for me, and there was my name and my story on the latest online edition of SpineOut magazine. I jumped on a computer and tried to access it myself... which failed. I couldn't get to it. So my teacher sent me the link. And it's not working.

So here is the flood of emotions: Overjoyed, because, hey, I just got published, this is brilliant! I want to cry, because I cannot for the life of me access it! And I'll admit I'm a little confused... why didn't they email me to say that they were publishing me? What was the point of asking for my email address in the submission form if they weren't going to use it? I found out through a teacher; they emailed the school. I didn't give them the school's email, I gave them mine... they only had the school's name... hey, I'm not complaining by any means, I'm just confused... and so excited... my head hurts... gah...

If anyone knows how I can access this stuff, please let me know, I want to be able to share a link that works with the world!

Lots of love and I'll let you know if I find access to it myself.
- Bonnee.