Hallowed Be Thy Beans

“The matte black bag arrived without a return address, vacuum-sealed and heavy enough to feel like lead. I had shelled out forty pounds for a boutique roast labelled ‘Espresso Self’, a name so pun-heavy I almost regretted the purchase before I’d even broken the seal. I had found the listing on a buried, text-only forum frequented by neuro-hackers and over-caffeinated data analysts. The transaction had required a cryptocurrency transfer and a digital liability waiver that I had assumed was a piece of edgy, immersive marketing.”

Feedback I got from Charlie to my submission.

“A guy makes a REALLY strong cup of coffee. Active writing, strong technical detail, fanciful idea. Good imagery. The writing is ambitious. Loved it.”

I initially wrote this as a 100-word drabble to send out to 100footcrow for their themed call “coffee” in February. After it was rejected, I decided to expand it to 395 words and send it to Paranoid Tree Press for their open zine call (March). Mid-March I saw a call by Air and Nothingness Press with a theme: Tea or Coffee, Stars and Gravity, and I felt the story was a perfect fit. So I reworked the piece and expanded it to 1330 words and sent it out to them before them. After I received a rejection from AANP, I waited 2 months from my initial micro-fiction submission to PTP, and then sent out the longer version to Fiction On The Web.

FOTW has been sharing short fiction for almost 3 decades now, and I’m very excited that this story got accepted.

This was my 2nd story that I sent to FOTW, and my first acceptance over there.

Go ahead! Read Hallowed Be Thy Beans now.