Hello Dear Readers!
I have a very exciting announcement. My southern gothic fantasy was accepted into FIYAH Lit Magazine. That burning fist has been my dream since I discovered their publications in early 2020.
Since then, I have been diligently working on my craft while attempting to create stories that resonate with my readers. After I read their current issue, Spacefaring Aunties, I felt like I could maybe possibly do it too. So I wrote. The story I came up with was actually intended for an indie anthology, but as soon as my writer friend read the first couple of pages, she told me to submit to FIYAH. Her words of encouragement propelled me to do the thing I was most afraid of. Get good people in your corner—people smarter than you, people more experienced than you, and people who believe you have what it takes to open the door of rooms you want to be in.
After a month of writing and editing, I submitted. My hand was trembling over the submit button. A little voice in the back of my head told me, “You won’t make it.
“You’re not good enough.”
Despite the doubt, I hit submit. Immediately after, I created an account on The Submission Grinder and refreshed my email about a dozen times. This is a really great site that helps track submissions and accumulate data for writers on the grind.
Twelve days later, I’m waiting in the pick-up line for my kid when I see the email come in. I thought I was dreaming. That any minute I would wake up and I’d laugh at myself for wishful thinking.
Well! It’s real. It’s real as hell and extremely scary to have my little story in a magazine with as much reach as FIYAH. I am super grateful and humbled that the editors chose my story out of the abundance of submissions and thought mine would be a good fit.
I hope you check out my latest publication, it will be released early January, and you can purchase a copy on FIYAH Lit Magazine’s website.
Until Next Time,
Tonja K. Johnson
P.S. There is some pretty art below.
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