Good news

Good news, no, great news: "The Troll by the Footbridge: A Study in Four Parts" has been accepted for publication in the 2012 anthology, titled THE GRUFF VARIATIONS. 


 There's a story behind this: The submission had to be related to the story of The Three Billygoats Gruff (which is now my very favorite, beating out Stone Soup and The Emperor's New Clothes). Some established authors were invited to submit to the anthology, but I answered the open submissions call and got invited, too. 


 I love folktales, so I gave this a lot of thought, and I loved writing the story. I was in Finland at the time, so I set the story there (Scandinavia has strong cultural ties to the folktale, and some trolls definitely have a Viking look about them), and two lovely Finnish women shared some memories about trolls from their childhood. I can still see one of the trolls (from a kids' weekly show) in his boat, on the lake, and the boat is slowly sinking . . . but we know he'll live to troll another day. Annamarie and Hanale, thank you for a memorable afternoon, and for lunch, too. 


 The story will be in print and someone will read it. That's validation. The pay? Nothing of the monetary kind. Proceeds from the book go to charity. I think I'm well-paid.  I have another goat story. For a future post. Meanwhile, "Trip trap! Trip trap. Trip trap! Trip trap!"