I've got this idea for a novel that I'm hoping to write and shop around, and since I haven't published anything other than fanfic in like a decade, I thought I would try to round up some more recent publishing creds -- and publishing creds under my preferred name -- so a few weeks ago when I saw a call for submissions for an online lit mag I impulsively wrote up a little story for it, and made a new email and Duotrope account, and sent it out, and it felt so good to be taking some positive steps forward on this project.
But ME/CFS is such a fuck-ass disease, and those few hours of thinking thoughts and feeling feelings have caused such a massive, debilitating crash that I am still mired in two weeks later: dizziness and weakness and crushing fatigue and nausea and insomnia and my whole body thrumming with pain. It is so hard not to see this disease as some kind of cosmic punishment, and hard not to think of my hopes of writing and publishing a novel as hopeless.
But I just got word that my short story was accepted, so maybe it was kinda sorta worth it? And this crash can't last forever... right? RIGHT?? And maybe I can still make novel-writing work if I plan and pace better.
(link to the short story coming soon, whenever it's actually published)
By Sylvan Mirus
Here it is!

















