Ready for an Anthology?

This is old news since my agent has posted it to Publishers Lunch, but I thought I’d let you know anyway.

Angela Benson’s SHOWERS OF BLESSINGS, in which an assistant pastor becomes a compulsive gambler and after winning a large sum, uses it to seed a church — but soon falls into temptation to gamble again, loses the money and everything else, ending up back where he started to Selena James at Dafina, by Natasha Kern at Natasha Kern Literary Agency (World).

Marilynn Griffith and Tia McCollors are the other two authors in the anthology. It’ll be out sometime next Spring. I’ll keep you posted.

While I’m excited about this opportunity, I’m also challenged. This is the first anthology I’ve been in since Holiday Cheer (Arabesque) was published in 1995! That’s a long time ago. Thanks to author Farrah Rochon and her tips on writing the novella, I was able to come up with a story idea that’s perfect for the short format.

The news behind the news. . .My agent approached Selena a couple of years ago when we were looking for a home for Up Pops the Devil, but the deal didn’t happen. At the time, Selena expressed interest in working with me in the future. True to her word, she contacted my agent about a month ago and asked if I was interested in doing an anthology with her. The takeaways from this story: 1) good agents keep the lines of communication open with editors, and 2) making a good impression on an editor on one submission can lead to a future sale even if the initial submission doesn’t pan out.

Do you like reading anthologies? What are your favorites? What about writing anthologies? Do you think they’re easier or more difficult than writing a full-length novel?