UPDATE 3/2025:
I am very happy to announce that this story has been selected for inclusion in the P’s and Q’s Publishing Weird West Anthology titled “Wyrd Werewolf Wrangler” to be published April 25, 2025. Since I have signed the contract, I am taking the story down from here during the agreed time period that the anthology will have exclusivity.
So if you’d like to read this story, please consider purchasing the volume!
This is the anthology announced and edited by Sarah Arnette.
UPDATE 12/24: I’m very grateful to have found that the list “Top in Fiction” has included this story in their week 22 roundup of best fiction on substack. They even gave me a nifty medallion as a keepsake! If you are interested in what they have gathered, the link can be found here:
Top In Fiction Volume 1 Issue 22 Nov 30 to Dec 6, 2024
I wrote this as a submission for a weird west anthology, but alas, it didn’t make the cut. I’ve poked around to see if it would work elsewhere but haven’t come up with a good fit for it, so I’ve decided to post it here for your enjoyment - I need more stories anyway!
Hope you enjoy it!
For those interested, I chose to use songs that would have been known in American in the 1870’s and spent a lot of time on Youtube trying to find just the right pieces. Here are links to the ones I chose:
Second Test: The Last Rose of Summer
First Competition Song: Boil Dem Cabbage Down
Second Competition: Ganglat Fran Mockfjard
Loved it!
This was so evocative!!