I have to admit that I thought I had this one in the bag. Perhaps things have been going too well for me, and I needed a humbling experience.

You may remember that in January, I submitted my short story “The Librarians” to a web site’s monthly fiction contest. It’s not an especially well-known or well-traveled web site, and by virtue of the fact that my story got ten times the votes that other stories got, I thought I was a shoo-in. But alas, the stories are not judged on votes alone. Whoever the final judges were, they obviously thought that this story was better than mine. And there’s nothing wrong with that story–it’s a fine story.

Second place is nothing to sneeze at (though the way I’m feeling today, I’m likely to projectile-cough flegm at it). I have a long history of coming in second place at things, and it’s a sore spot for me.

Anyway, c’est la vie. If you haven’t read “the Librarians” yet, check it out. The story will be on that site indefinitely.