The One I've All Been Waiting For!

This is it. This is the blog post I’ve been waiting to write since I started my writing journey all those years ago. In middle school, my English teacher chose me to read a short story in front of the class, citing it as the best example turned in. Since then, I’ve been hooked. That day I transitioned from Avid Reader to Aspiring Writer. The journey has been a long, bumpy road, full of plot twists, conflicts, and one Point-of-View character, but now I can finally scream this from the top of a mountain:

I am a published author!

I wish I could tell you how many words I’ve written to get here (easily over a million), or how many short stories I’ve written (so many lost in those early years). I wish I could tell you what it was about this particular story that got noticed, or if I’ll be able to do it again, but what I can tell you is that it feels damn good to be here.

The First Line Literary Journal. Summer issue 2024. Volume 26 Issue 2. My story is called Dating in the Asteroid Field Can Be Dangerous. Bryan Anderson is my real name with James Powell being a Pen Name I’ve created if there are too many Bryan Andersons at a writing convention I visit one day (That includes all you Brians too).

The Journal takes a preconceived First Line (mine was “Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today”) and seeing in how many different directions writers can go. The interesting premise is what led me to write this story and seeing the outcomes have truly been a treat.

So, if you want to pick up a copy of my very first published work, go to https://www.thefirstline.com/ and pick up a pdf version or order the print copy. I’ve been solely digital for the last few years, but something about the way the first line lines up with all the other stories in the print version is worth it.

I am confident that soon I will have a book out for us to read next. The rewrite of Virulent Venus is 85.19% done and I’ve been pretty happy with the way things fall in place. Also, I’ve got more short stories in various stages of completion.

Thanks for reading

Bryan Anderson (James Powell)