Aeryn’s Archives: Cowtown
Today’s installment of Aeryn’s Archives continues a trend of firsts. My comedy/horror story “Cowtown” was the first story I published with The Arcanist and the first story they published after launching. In the ensuing two years and change, The Arcanist has become one of the best damn flash fiction markets in the industry. Now, here’s a cow.
So a little about how this story came to be and how it ended up at The Arcanist. Like the vast majority of my published flash fiction “Cowtown” started out as a one-hour flash fiction contest/writing exercise. I honestly don’t even remember what the prompt was, but I do remember it reminded me of my hometown of Modesto, California, which has a ton of dairy farms. In fact, my uncle owned a small one, and I spent no few summers bucking hay and trying not to get cow shit on my shoes. Anyway, the myth of the chupacabra is one of my favorites, and I thought it would be fun to do a “mistaken identity” story with that particular beastie.
How did the story end up at The Arcanist? Back in 2017 I was perusing the “Fiction Markets Added” section at Duotrope, as I often do, when I saw a new and interesting publisher. A couple of things caught my attention immediately. One, they were a flash fiction market. (Hey, I write flash fiction.) Two, they published fantasy, sci-fi, and horror. (What do you know; I write all three.) And, finally, three, they paid. (I like money.) So off I went to read The Arcanist’s guidelines. I found a professional and well-organized site with clear (and fair) guidelines, and I had just finished a slightly cooky flash piece I thought might be a good fit. My only hesitation with sending “Cowtown” was it’s comedic element. Now everything in publishing is subjective, but I find humor is VERY subjective. Luckily, the folks at The Arcanist share my (warped) sense of humor, and “Cowtown” ended up being the first of three horror/comedy pieces I published with them. (The other two are “Do Me a Favor” and “Small Evil”.)
Again, it was an honor to be the first story at The Arcanist, and it’s been great watching them grow and watching so many of my writer friends get published there too.
Anyway, you can read “Cowtown” by clicking the links scattered throughout this post, the big one in red below, or, if you prefer, the giant cow above. 🙂
10 Comments on “Aeryn’s Archives: Cowtown”
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The prompts were garlic, cow, and defeat. I had to look it up. I thought they were garlic and milk and I couldn’t remember the third.
Wel, all of that certainly applies to Modesto, California. 🙂
Still love this story 😁
Thanks!
Oh yeah, this is Rose (not sure why it marked me anonymous)
I blocked you. 😉
My guess is that you’re looking at my site from your phone or another device and you’re not logged in. WordPress does that to me on occasion.
Blocked me?! Ha! You’d better not…
And yeah, I was looking at the site on my phone. Weird, since it let me ‘like’ your post without signing in :shrug:
I liked this story, so we must have similar senses of humor. I’m hoping to land a story in this market one day. I’m batting 0 for 14 at the moment.
Thanks. I’ve had good luck with them with stories that have some comedic element. Have you tried anything like that?
Several with humor and several with a more satirical element. I’m polishing a couple more stories that will make the rounds there soon. Got to keep trying.