A.J. Flowers

Great news to share today! My first paid publication is now out in the world and I couldn’t be more proud!

Bards and Sages Quarterly release a bi-monthly flash fiction magazine described as:

The Bards and Sages Quarterly features original short speculative fiction from both new and established authors.  Our writers include first-time authors, Pushcart Prize nominees, and Nebula award winners.  With each issue, our goal is to bring readers the most inclusive collection of speculative fiction available.

If you purchase this July’s Issue, you will see the very first story is “The Drowned Prince by A.J. Flowers!” It’s only one page long, so it’s not much. But I’m still proud to be the first story!

My inspiration for this story was a desire to make a super short retelling of The Little Mermaid. The original fairytale is quite dark and I feel that people forget what fairytales used to be like. Why? Because they were meant to provide a moral lesson and warning with a memorable tale. This tale aims to do the same, that the world is a deceptive, frightening place and you must think before you act or suffer the consequences.

I want to mention I’ve written far more lighthearted and warm-fuzzy-feeling tales, but none of them have been accepted as of yet for traditional publication. I’m still learning what literary magazines are looking for and surprised by what I find!

I have already been paid for the publication so I don’t get royalties, but if you are interested in checking it out, this July’s Issue is 2.99$ for eBook and $10.49 for Paperback. Click the image below to be redirected to Amazon, or click here to be redirected to the publisher’s website for other purchase options.

See you next time!