"I'll give it a try," I say.

Last Thursday, Matthew Louis invited me to submit a story to Out of the Gutter, a proposed anthology of extreme, edgy crime fiction and more, having read my story, "The Observer" in Bryon Quertermous's Demolition.

"The Observer" was probably the edgiest thing I'd written up to then, but I decided to take the chance. I began brainstorming in my memo pad early Friday morning, and by noon I had a first draft. I went through four drafts between Friday night and this morning, finally deciding the story needed to be written in first-person present.

Thanks to Brian Thornton, Sarah Weinman, and Dave White, who read the drafts. And to Ray Banks and Ken Bruen, who were with me in spirit.

UPDATE (09/27/06): My submission was rejected, but I take several positives from the experience. Nothing beats the feeling of running with an idea from brainstorm to full form, knowing none of it would have happened if I hadn't taken the chance.