So this happened Monday:

That’s a pretty pair of rat smashers, isn’t it? Two great, big volumes of story goodness, all for me! There are 47 stories, to be exact.  Over 540 pages, too. This is definitely the beginning of a new adventure. Good timing, too. It’s been snowing outside with a forecast for more (in South Carolina, no less!) and I need something to do.

My tools are ready too…see?

I may have gotten a little excited and started reading. For the most part, I’m liking what I’m seeing. I’ve read six stories thus far and two are high on the list. They rest are very well-written. I absolutely love one of them, though from a paranormal romance perspective, I’m not entirely certain they qualify as  “romance”.

The first story is my favorite so far, but it falls into that questionable category. It’s a good way to start too, since it immediately hits on the biggest fear I’ve had for this anthology – is it romance?

While for this anthology a story doesn’t necessarily have to have to have a traditional happy ending, it does have to be romantic in nature. This particular story…it’s beautiful, heartfelt, loving…and has what could be considered a bittersweet ending (in other words, everything a romantic story should be), except it bypasses the very idea of romance. There’s very little about the relationship between the two characters. It makes me sad to think I would have to reject this story, as I love it so much. However, it isn’t romance. It doesn’t fit the call.

This is the hard part… falling in love with something and then not being able to keep it. Or on the contrary, loving a story up until the point when the ending ruins it. That’s happened on one so far too. I won’t get into details, but suffice it to say the idea of such a cruel ending broke my heart.

So let’s do this… before we get much farther into this process I want to provide any information seekers with the list of things which will immediately get you banned from my selection process:

– Rape/abuse for pleasure
– Incest
– Infidelity between main characters
– Anything that leaves me wondering where the story might have wander off to

That’s pretty much my rejection criteria right there. I don’t yet know about my co-editor’s choices (she may tell me to sit down and shut up), so we’ll see how it goes.

I’ll be back when I’ve read a little more.

On the iTunes: “Adagio for Strings” – Blackburner
Mood: Partially frozen, but mostly chipper