If That Cowbird Don't Sing

 My story If That Cowbird Don't Sing is now available in Penumbric!

It's about being autistic and magical, growing up knowing you don't belong, and realizing the one person you're supposed to rely on is unreliable.

And from the time I thought of the idea until I submitted the final story, it was less than 12 hours.

It was for an anthology originally, although the project was canceled. On the day submissions closed, I had a story mostly finished. And then I realized it was supposed to be a horror story and my story… was not.

So I figured I wouldn't have a story to submit.

… and then around noon, I had an idea. I wrote nonstop, I had coffee with dinner so I could stay awake to finish it. And even though the anthology was it actually canceled, they did originally want my story. That will always be a huge accomplishment for me, going from blank page to finished and publishable in less than 12 hours.

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The story itself is based on brood parasitism—in which birds trick other species into raising their offspring (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brood_parasite)—, the Carly Simon song Mockingbird, and my experiences growing up with an abusive mother who did not understand my autism.