Just under the wire, I got “Napoleon’s Tallest Teamster” through its final edit and submitted to Immortal Works’ Mormon steampunk anthology. This was unlike any story I had even contemplated writing in the past, so it made me stretch and learn a lot as a writer. It had four major versions before the final story came through, and I think its a solid one.
Now it’s up to the anthology editors to decide if it is what they want. Fingers crossed!
After a lot of research (coinage, horses, moon phases, types of carriages, types of rifles, types of pistols, street maps of Deauville, buildings and locations in Deauville (such as if they existed when the story was set), names of several historical figures, and so on), the first draft of “Napoleon’s Tallest Teamster” is complete. I have also made a first edit myself, and passed it along to a trusted editor to make a first not-me edit. This was a fun story to write, and a learned a lot about 1850s–1870s France. Current word count is about 5600, so significantly longer than any previous short I’ve completed.
I look forward to having people read it when it’s through all the edits and (hopefully) accepted for publication. It was written for a specific anthology. Here’s hoping it’s accepted!