After getting knocked out by a mob of rejections this year, a short story of mine got published. It'll be in print and sold through Amazon in the September issue of Adelaide Literary Magazine. I posted it up for critiques in the workshop a few months back and after subtle edits and trimming, I started submitting it again. Glad it is finally published and I can check that one off! Below is a link directly to the digital version of the story so you can read it for free... If you'd like to, of course https://adelaidemagazine.org/f_alex_encomienda28.html
Okay, so I read it and I don't really know what to think. It was well written. The prose was fine. Read well. The characters were kind of interesting, if not a bit cliche. You got Gene, the basically weak minded religious man who seems to have no conviction of spirit and Phil. The typical smart alec unbeliever making his 'profound' realist/humanist remarks and poking fun at the Christian guy with a moral quandary. The characterizations bothered me some but they were well written. I like the little sparkle of compassion Phil had at the end when he gave the spiritual man actual spiritual advice. Then the ending just took any sense of deeper meaning of friendship despite differences, or overcoming temptaiton away with the smutty joke. I don't know what it is, but the past few published short stories I've read had no resolution to speak of. They just end. And this ones 'ending' left a taste like vinegar in my mouth. I can see that it was written well, just isn't one for me. Wish you well with future stories and publications.
