I’ve written numerous stories over the years that I haven’t been able to get published. I spent a lot of time on these pieces and they hold a special place in my heart, so I still want to share them. I wrote these before my romance era and they’re mostly quiety, literary stories. I’ll be publishing these periodically throughout the year. Stay tuned for more.
Waterlogged
This short story focuses on Shannon, a woman in her mid-twenties who’s just lost her younger sister to a terrible accident. In the wake of Mia’s death, Shannon struggles to function as she develops acute anxiety about her own mortality and all the ways she might die simply by leaving her apartment.
This story was part of my MFA thesis. It’s a little more experimental for me, not necessarily adhering to a straightfoward chronology, playing with lyricism and imagery. I actually really love this story, and it might be my favorite I’ve ever written. It went through many iterations, and when I finally landed on the current draft, I was confident I’d get it published. Instead, I got upwards of 20 rejections, though several were personal, telling me it came close. That kept my hope alive for a while, but eventually, I had to move on.
The Rate of Exchange
This story is about an eighteen-year-old girl stuck working at a coffee shop after high school. She dreams of going to college and escaping her hometown, but doesn’t think she can’t afford it. Her life gets entangled with one of her regular customers, a man who’s at least 15 years older, when he continues to bring her gifts from the pawn shop he runs.
I wrote this story during my MFA in Fiction at the University of San Francisco and included a version of it in my thesis. I wrote roughly 15 drafts of this story, and submitted it upwards of 27 times to various literary journals. Although I received a couple of personal rejections, most were form. Still, there’s something about this story that feels deeply personal and continues to resonate with me years later.
Melissa Rose 