Good news!

On December 6th, my short story “Charlie” was published by Emerge Literary Journal in their sixteenth issue. I am grateful to have been included with so many other excellent writers.

“Charlie” originated from a Writer’s Digest photo prompt. I never ended up submitting my story to the magazine (missed the deadline, oops), but I used the prompt as a starting point for what would ultimately become “Charlie”. The photo depicted a young boy in a field of sunflowers, a smile stretching wide across his face. I studied the picture for several minutes before a thought struck me: This is the last time anyone ever saw this child. Thus, Charlie was born into my imagination.

The story captures one of my greatest fears, and probably that of every parent: losing a child. The manner in which how Charlie becomes lost leaves my stomach in knots, but I knew there wasn’t any way around it. Not for this story, at least.

I’m happy the editors at Emerge Literary Journal agreed.

See for yourself! Give “Charlie” a read here.

Take care, everyone. I hope your writing ventures are going well.

– Justin