Sadly my anthology entry did not make it in. Here was my response:

"Thanks for showing this to me. I enjoyed reading it, but I’m afraid I’ll have to pass. While I definitely liked the clockwork eye, ultimately the story just didn’t have enough steampunk elements to really fit within the book. But since the deadline for submissions is about three weeks away, feel free to submit another story if you wish."

Why did I post it? D00d, this is the nicest rejection I have EVER gotten. It’s also the ONLY personalized one. This woman was so nice, she even considered my story for her other anthology and was generally encouraging in her emails. I was told by a very knowledgeable person what a rejection like this is the highest complement someone can give you short of "Thanks, we’ll take it. Here’s a check."

I am going back and forth between being crippled with depression and excited to come up with other ideas for her mystery anthology. Either way, tonight is my mental night off. I’m gonna relax, watch a movie or some anime, and eat taco popcorn. I need a night for myself.