Image found at compellingreads.co.uk – no attribution given
I still don’t have word from the publisher about when I can start talking about this short story and the anthology in which it will appear. I did get an email update yesterday to which I have already responded:
Good evening!
First of all, a million thanks on behalf of XXXX Books for working with us to produce a terrifyingly fun anthology! We are working hard on producing cover art befitting this masterpiece – we will circulate it as soon as it’s ready!
If you could please give your story a read-through and get back to us by November 6th 2019 with any tweaks our editors may have missed (page#, line#, edit) that would be awesome! If we don’t hear from you, we will assume all is perfect.
Once again, thank you for being part of the XXXX family!
Yes, I did and no corrections were needed. I’ll keep you posted as to developments. In the meantime, I’m trying to meet deadlines for two short stories both due in about ten days.
poweredbyrobots.com 
While I appreciate that your stories are being published, I can’t help wondering if your talents are being wasted. Now for full disclosure, I find nothing “terrifyingly fun” about this genre. Maybe that has something to do with the very real terrorism that surrounds us here in Israel, and increasingly around Jews everywhere. Terror is not a commodity that we lack, in any degree. Fictional terror or horror, therefore, holds no interest. Nonetheless, it seems to me that your strongest storytelling was demonstrated by your children’s stories, particularly the dragon series, though I much enjoyed your serialized homage to Andre Norton. One drawback to these short stories is that you never get to develop and improve your skills and disciplines for mapping out a longer story arc, especially a serialized one. And I wonder if you are developing a resume that would discourage any publisher of children’s fiction from considering your authorship because of all the darkness you’ve expressed. I suspect that the Grimm brothers’ dark approach to fairy tales isn’t as popular or saleable as once it was. On the other hand, Rowlings’ Harry Potter world isn’t exactly sweetness and light, and no one would doubt its success.
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At this stage of the game, year one, a lot of my map is drawn by opportunity and who will buy what story. I’m pitching one now that’s set in the 1930s and is a homage to the old school SciFi alien invasion stories, so although it has its dark elements, it’s not pitch black. As far as serialized pieces, I’ve got one in the back of my mind that’s up to about 20,000 words, but it’s just getting the time to develop it.
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ProclaimLiberty,
I’m really glad you said something.
I am very concerned about what I’m seeing.
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James,
I mentioned, at some point, that I had hoped you would get a story per month (on average) published. But, while that seems to be what you’re getting, things have been looking more and more morbid. “Erotic horror” is quite extreme.
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Don’t worry, Marleen. I just got an email this morning telling me another one of my stories has been accepted. I can’t release details yet, but it’s more uplifting and fanciful with not a hint of horror or eroticism.
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