First Story Publication! Luck Be a Lady

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First Story Publication! Luck Be a Lady

May 2, 2011 by Amy Sundberg

I have some news that I’m so excited about that I’m moving my regular Tuesday post to Monday so I can tell you sooner.First off, this is my one hundredth post on The Practical Free Spirit. Believe me, I am basking in my feeling of accomplishment.But not as much as I am basking in the feeling of being published! My short story “Luck Be a Lady” has gone live at Crossed Genres. Yes, you could read it right this very minute. And it’s free. I know, the excitement never ceases.

For those of you keeping track, yes, this story is actually my second sale, but due to the vagaries of publishing, it is my first story to be publicly available.

As those of you familiar with musical theater have already recognized, I got my title from the song “Luck Be a Lady” in the musical Guys and Dolls. And that’s where my idea for the story started too.

The theme this month in Crossed Genres is luck, and after immediately flashing on the song, I began to think about the popularity of personifying Luck. In western culture, the prevailing image is of a sexy woman, often with a long cigarette holder, a fur shrug, and/or wearing a tight and revealing red dress.

This reminded me of some Piers Anthony books I read in high school. I realize that perhaps I’m not supposed to admit to reading Anthony in a public forum, but his books took up at least a shelf at my local library, and the fourteen-year-old me really enjoyed his Incarnations of Immortality series. (I can’t have been the only one to read these books, right? Right?) The basic idea of the series was that all of these abstract concepts were personified by these beings (at least some of whom began as human) who had specific super powers. So you had the character of Death, and the characters of the three Fates, and an Earth Mother character, and I think maybe there was the character of War. You get the idea. So I combined the idea of the song with the idea of this series and created my seed idea of my protagonist, Lady Luck. And anyone with those sorts of powers, I figured, would be guaranteed to receive a certain number of complaints….

One of the other characters in the story is the personification of Diligence. She’s become the adoptive mother of Lady Luck. Why Diligence? I stumbled upon a quotation credited to Benjamin Franklin: “Diligence is the mother of good luck.” And I had to use it. Especially because the contrast of personalities between someone representing luck and someone representing diligence was sure to create some interesting interactions in the course of the story.

Anyway, I hope you have time to check it out, and I hope it entertains you as much as it did me while I was writing it.

Posted in Writing | Tagged Amy Sundberg, Crossed Genres, Frank Sinatra, Guys and Dolls, Luck Be a Lady, Piers Anthony, publication, sale, short story, story idea | 17 Comments

17 Responses

on May 2, 2011 at 9:45 am | Reply Amanda C. Davis

I…really liked Being a Green Mother.

*whew* It feels good to get that off my chest.
- on May 2, 2011 at 6:38 pm | Reply Amy Sundberg
  
  I’m so relieved I’m not the only one! 🙂
on May 2, 2011 at 9:45 am | Reply Griffin

Congratulations!
on May 2, 2011 at 9:47 am | Reply Kimberly Gould

Congrats! And what a great story idea. I’ve read Incarnations of Immortality too! I’ll admit it. I’ll admit I found them all, slowly, at second hand book stores and they’re on a shelf next to the Ender’s Game series. 😀
- on May 2, 2011 at 6:39 pm | Reply Amy Sundberg
  
  That is perfect shelf placement–I read both those series around the same time. 🙂
  
  I remember I thought having Death as a character was just the coolest thing ever.
on May 2, 2011 at 9:54 am | Reply mirandasuri

Congrats!
on May 2, 2011 at 10:53 am | Reply Isabella Louise Anderson

Congratulations! 🙂
on May 2, 2011 at 11:47 am | Reply Danielle

So awesome!! Congrats, Amy!
on May 2, 2011 at 6:40 pm | Reply Amy Sundberg

Thank you, everyone! It’s been a great start to May.
on May 3, 2011 at 12:44 am | Reply Amy Fonarow

Amy Sundberg, Congratulations!

Persistence and Diligence paid off. And perhaps Luck, too. . .

I liked your story, especially your snappy ending. And what a way to meet the family, right? Holy cow. . .which might be an interesting incarnation in itself . . . living in India, perhaps?

I read the Incarnations series. My favorite was the Incarnation of Time. I also read quite a bit of the Xanth series, and I loved their ridiculous puns.

Best of all things as your writing and publish-ments progress!
- on May 4, 2011 at 10:16 am | Reply Amy Sundberg
  
  Oh yeah, the Incarnation of Time! You’re right, that was a cool character. And I remember you devouring those Xanth books. 🙂
  
  Thank you!
on May 3, 2011 at 2:30 pm | Reply Richard Baldwin

Good story.

Incarnations is a really good series, despite the misogyny. I should re-read _On a Pale Horse_ someday soon . . .
- on May 4, 2011 at 10:14 am | Reply Amy Sundberg
  
  As a fourteen-year-old, I did not notice the misogyny. But I believe you that it’s there!
on May 4, 2011 at 2:16 am | Reply Marilag Lubag

Congratulations! I’ll check on it now.
on May 5, 2011 at 9:07 am | Reply Make Your Own Luck « The Practical Free Spirit

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on May 18, 2011 at 10:07 am | Reply Gigi Salem

Congrats! Also, there is no shame in loving Piers Anthony! Geeks, nerds, and dorks as we are sometimes called have taken over! So hold your head up high when you say you love Demons Don’t Dream (or any of the other books) and then remember to attach it back to your neck when done!
- on May 24, 2011 at 3:57 pm | Reply Amy Sundberg
  
  Holding head high now! After all, I got a story out of it that was very enjoyable to write. 🙂