As you may have heard, my story “Night Without End” was recently published in the July 2021 issue of Mystery Weekly. You can read an excerpt of the story here, and you can buy it here. For my recent published stories, I’ve promoted them by making blog posts of fun facts. DVD’s and Blu-Rays have their BTS for films, this is my BTS for my story. Now, onto the fun facts!
I wrote “Night Without End” in a week and a half. A story of this length can take up to two weeks to write, depending on what is going on in my life. I write the first draft and then revise it a few times before it is complete.
When it was finished, I didn’t think it was on par with my other stories and figured it would never be published. Ironically, it took only four weeks for it to find a home with Mystery Weekly. This was the shortest submission/acceptance process I’ve ever had for a story. Usually, it takes anywhere from six months up to two or three years for me to find a place for a story. Needless to say, I was stunned.
Another surprise I had was when Mystery Weekly selected it as their feature story. I can’t get over how the artist, Robert Grenville Evans, perfectly captured the setting and the mood of “Night Without End” on the cover. This is the first time a story of mine was ever selected as a feature story.
With all of my stories, I picture specific actors and actresses for my characters. In “Night Without End,” I envisioned Ania as Abby Ross. Abby Ross portrayed young Emma Swan on “Once Upon a Time.”
Not to give anything away, but I envisioned Hannah Taylor Gordon as another character in the story. Twenty years ago, she portrayed Anne Frank in “Anne Frank: The Whole Story,” and she received an Emmy nomination for her work. She previously acted with the late, great Robin Williams in “Jakob the Liar,” another Holocaust film.
Various landmarks mentioned in the story are places in Krakow I visited back in 2015 while on my trip to Poland. The Main Market Square, St. Mary’s Bascilica, Planty Park…The events of the story are also centered around historic events.
“Night Without End,” was not my first story based in Poland. It’s actually my fifth published one. And that’s not counting the novel I hope to publish someday.
Until next time!
Veronica Leigh 