My story, Stari most, has been accepted in an online journal

Stari most, MostarI just received the good news that one of my short stories, Stari most, has been accepted by Milk Sugar: A Literary Journal. I enjoy reading the stories in this online journal, so I was very pleased to learn that my story was accepted for publication in its October/November 2013 edition.

Much of my inspiration for my short stories comes when I travel, and this story is no exception. ‘Stari most’  is Bosnian for Old Bridge, the name of the stunning 16th century Ottoman bridge spanning the Neretva River in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

I was in beautiful Mostar last May and wrote a travel post  about the town and its impressive bridge. The bridge, built in 1566, was destroyed by tank fire during the Bosnian siege  in 1993, and reconstructed with the original stones, in 2004.

Visiting reconstructed Bosnia-Herzegovina last spring meant a lot to me. During the years of the siege, I was living in Prague and Vienna, and I worked with Bosnian refugees in the Czech Republic and Austria, in addition to supporting relief and humanitarian efforts.

View from the Koski Mosque minaret, Mostar, Stari mostBut my story isn’t really about the war years, and only touches on that period  briefly. Instead it follows the contemporary story of Victoria, an intelligent, talented young woman at the pinnacle of career success, who travels to Bosnia-Herzegovina while working in neighboring Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Although Victoria is confident in her work, her inability to commit herself emotionally causes her to flee romantic entanglements. During her travels, Victoria comes to realizations about past mistakes, and the role she’s played in distancing herself from life.

I had a great time writing this story, and I am very pleased it’s been picked up by Milk Sugar for its fall issue. As soon as it’s published on-line, I’ll be sure to link in. If you are interested in reading other short stories I’ve written, they can be found here.

15 Comments

  1. Catherine on March 22, 2013 at 8:33 am

    Congratulations! There is nothing better than some good news like this! Looking forward to reading this piece. Ciao Xcat

    • kimberlysullivan on March 22, 2013 at 5:13 pm

      Thanks, Catherine! Always nice when short stories find a home… : )

  2. Julia on March 22, 2013 at 1:24 pm

    I can’t wait to read this story, Kimberly. Congratulations!

    • kimberlysullivan on March 22, 2013 at 5:14 pm

      Thanks so much, Julia! It will be on-line, so I’ll be sure to include the link as soon as it’s released.

  3. Faye North on March 22, 2013 at 10:17 pm

    Congrats from me too, Kimberly. I look forward to reading your story when the link becomes available. Time to celebrate!

  4. kimberlysullivan on March 22, 2013 at 10:25 pm

    Thanks so much, Faye! Since I know how much you love travel, too, I’m guessing travel serves as inspiration for your work, too. Or is that just a patheic excuse all travelohlics use? : )

  5. Celeste on March 25, 2013 at 12:41 pm

    Coingratulations, Kimberly! I’m looking forwart to reading it, ciao

  6. wordfoolery on March 25, 2013 at 2:02 pm

    Congrats Kimberly!

    • kimberlysullivan on March 25, 2013 at 10:10 pm

      Thanks, Grace! Congrats from the Irish-Italian support group always means a lot to me. : )

  7. Claire 'Word by Word' on April 3, 2013 at 7:51 am

    I love reading these posts, thank you for sharing the success, it’s almost as exciting to read about your achievement as if it were us! I’m going to start sending out stories this year, time for a new objective 🙂

    • kimberlysullivan on April 3, 2013 at 4:36 pm

      Thanks so much, Clare. So happy to hear you’ll start submitting short stories this year, too! Hope you’ll link to them from your site. I’m always happy to read short stories my writer friends are publishing.

  8. chris on April 9, 2013 at 1:49 am

    Fantastic! So looking forward to reading it. Both the backdrop and the plot sound great. I wasn’t familiar with Milk Sugar, but have taken a look at it and liked what I saw. Can’t wait to read Stari Most there.

    • kimberlysullivan on April 9, 2013 at 7:05 am

      Thanks, Chris! Glad you took a look at ‘Milk Sugar’. I often read the short stories there.

Leave a Comment