Drive to Indy- Submissions and Rejections

 I got CC to rehab this afternoon. She stalled until started raising my voice. Then she raised hers. We got there late thanks to the stalling.

On the way back, I went through Anderson. Just a quick drive-through. I saw some little changes and some larger ones. I cannot get a vibe for the city. It seems no worse for wear. 

Coming back, I went to the laundry. That was an hour out of my life. Then off to the grocery. The only thing is I do not have the balance in my bank account that I thought should be there. Even after treating CC and her friend John to a dinner last night that did quite blow my usual budget, there should be more money. I need to stop by the bank tomorrow before I leave for my polygraph exam.

The pizza from Chicago Pizza was worth the money.

Some rejections from last week that were not posted here:

Thank you for sharing your manuscript Road Tripping during Sarabande’s “July Open” submissions period. It’s a profound honor to be trusted with your work. At this time, we’ve filled all the publication spots in our upcoming 2026 seasons. As is always the case, our editors found enough worthy and brilliant projects to fill ten seasons and more. While we can’t offer you publication at this time, we want to express our gratitude for you and your work.

We remain committed to providing authors with direct access to our editorial team through our open submissions periods. Our next opportunities for full manuscripts will open in January 2025 with our annual prizes. 2025 prize winners will be selected by guest judges Diane Seuss (poetry), Ed Park (fiction), and Leslie Jamison (essay). In July 2025, we will reopen for full manuscripts in all genres and project proposals for literature in translation. 

Thank you for thinking of Sarabande for your manuscript and for being part of our literary community. 

Kind regards,

The Sarabande Team

***

“Blue Eyes Flashing Doom”:

Dear Receiver,

We hope that this email will be sent to every incredible, dedicated, and unique writer who submitted to our project Foxes Dancing Around. Many of you have waited a long time to hear back from us, and so we wish we had better news to give any of you, if not all of you. Long story short, we have updated our Facebook and website accordingly (we are currently having trouble getting into our Instagram and may not be able to recover it) with the news that the literary journal is not feasible at this time. You never know what could happen in the future, because we still believe in this idea, but as of now, this is official confirmation that your writing will have to find another home. We cannot express enough gratitude to everyone who decided that our fledgling idea was compelling enough to submit for, and a select few of you have been published elsewhere, so congratulations to all of you who have! For those who are still submitting... keep doing it. You never know where your work will be accepted, and we have faith in all of you as writers. Keep up the great work, and we hope to see you and other writers in the future.

Sincerely,

Foxes Dancing Around

 "No Ordinary Word":

I do apologize for the delay. Thank you so much for submitting your work for review. It is not quite right for SPANK the CARP so I've decided to pass at this time. 

 Ken, Editor

"Problem Solving":

Thank you for offering your creative work for consideration to Fiction. On behalf of Ignatian's editorial team, we regret to inform you that we do not have a place for your submission, "Problem Solving" at this time.

Please do not feel discouraged by this, or by any momentary setback. Thank you again for letting us see your work, and for your interest in our magazine.

Best wishes,

Ignatian staff

ignatianlitmag.com

I submitted "Problem Solving" (again, I revised the final paragraph) to Cool Beans Lit and One Story.

I do not have the slightest idea if rehab will finally cure CC. John told me that she planned on moving in with him. I did not tell him that she told me the same thing. She even agreed to leave Muncie. I told him that if they were going to live together, it needed to be somewhere far from Muncie. She will also have a halfway house after treatment. My plan is to leave Muncie as soon as I finish my business in Kokomo. My departure will be a solo flight. What strikes me right now is how little I care if I do leave here alone. My goal for life after prison was to not jump on any more hamster wheels. CC feels like such a wheel. Knowing she lied to me about two things, does not hurt in reaching this conclusion.

I finished Lupin earlier today. I went on to watch Glass Onion and now am on The Little things.

Bedtime

sch