Hello Friends,
I have news. October is rolling in, and with it, two of my latest publications.
On October 1st, Bards and Sages Quarterly will be publishing one of my early favorites, Fading Light. (A link to the specific issue will be available next week – I’ll update you then.) It was heavily influenced by my husband’s grandmother, Joan Marshall, who had been diagnosted with cancer. She welcomed me into this family as much as anyone, and we shared a creative spark together. I have at least three of her paintings in my house. I didn’t know her for long, but she’ll always have a special place in my heart.
My next story coming out later in the month, will be in Nature’s Futures and will be my first professional sale. It’s a quirky little piece, one I had fun writing and springing on family who don’t expect humor from my writing. The story, How Cherry Coke Saved My Life, was inspired by my own Cherry Coke addiction. I was drinking way too much of it then, a few cans a day easily. I knew I was overindulging. A fleeting thought occurred to me one day, the title, and I wondered what I could do with it. I wrote it down on a post it note and stuck it to the side of my monitor at work. (Hey, that’s where the idea hit me. This was the fertilizer.) I had an image of two characters, but I didn’t know who they were or what was wrong. Only that they didn’t know each other. The story came to me a few months after that. I can’t wait to share it. I’ll update you guys in late October when I’ve got a link to the story. (I’m also working out where the journal is available for purchase).
I am so excited about these stories. Nature and Bards and Sages are respectable publications and the editors have been fantastic to work with. It isn’t just the awesome professionalism and writerly things like galley proofs and artwork. It’s a unique experience of some reading something you wrote and loving it so much they’re willing to show it to the world.
Thanks for listening all these years. My hard work is starting to pay off. For those of you who have critiqued these stories, I especially thank you. I hope you all enjoy the stories. And by the way, the cola addiction is down to 1 – 2 a week.
Dawn
DAWN BONANNO 
I have never seen Nature at a newsstand, bookstore, or other general place to buy. I suppose big cities might have a big news place with magazines and the like that would carry it, but I don’t remember seeing it even in Berkeley or SF. The best bet for anyone who wants to read it is to go to their closest academic library (university or college) to find it.
And congrats again on both sales!
Thanks, Erin.
As far as purchasing, my brother’s going to check at one of the supermega newstand places in NYC. I wanted to try and get copies for my mom and my in-laws if I could.
Next time (I’m sure there will be a next time), ask for extra copies in the contract! 🙂
Fantastic idea! 🙂
My contributor copy came with a “reorder” form. So it seems there is a way to obtain additional copies.
w00t! But do you have to pay for them?
Eh more than I thought at first glance. 🙂
Super awesome!
As for where to buy Nature: it’s a scholarly science journal, so you probably won’t find it in bookstores. You probably wouldn’t want to, either, since the cost would be high and 99% of it would be meaningless unless you’re a practicing scientist or university professor.
The good news is that they make the “Futures” section available online for free, so you don’t actually need to buy the magazine to read the stories: http://www.nature.com/nature/focus/arts/futures/
Thanks, Stewart!
Congratulations Dawn! Super happy for you and I can’t wait to read your stories. 😀
Thanks, Arun. And thank you for the market recommendation. You recommended another story of mine, but it ended up running too long for Nature’s guidelines. But I liked what I saw and tried them with this story.
Fantastic news! Congrats on your first pro sale!
Thanks, Gary!
Conga rats!
Thanks, Joe!
I couldn’t refrain from commenting. Very well written!
Thank you – I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂