That "Cat Litter In Space" Story

Posted 18 Jun 2022 anthology sale announcement speculative fiction short fiction science fiction 1

In 2018, I had a silly little idea for a story. Cats in space, their litter pans, and the crew members in charge of dealing with them. It came from the same to-do list item, here on earth, and the first line of the story apparating into being in my head while I scooped. That first line has never changed in the years since.

I don't remember what prompted me to sit down and write it, as I wasn't really a short fic author at the time, but I know that finishing it up and polishing it up was prompted by a music-themed submission call. The music in mine (for those of us who consider cat ululations "music") was maybe at the weakest level of argument one could make for the story, and it was no surprise when my story wasn't accepted into that anthology.

So I left it in the drawer for a while and went on with the rewrite of Salvage, which had been well and thoroughly torn apart under my new editor at Parvus Press.

When I eventually came up for air, I started submitting the story around to open markets. I submitted it to 22 more magazines, after that original anthology. When I tell you I was out of paid options, I was really out of options. I had long switched from markets that paid SFWA-qualifying rates to markets that paid anything at all. I was honestly about to put it in a trunk and hold onto it until I had a build-up of un-purchased stories and stories that had been published and were subsequently released from first rights clauses. I figured at that point I'd release a short story collection and then Gort, Cinder, and Sphinx (both the name of the story and the cast of cats in said story) would have a home.

Somehow I had the confidence over this story to avoid wondering if it was crap and if I should bury it in the bin. It was just a story that didn't have quite a good match for the options out there. These things happen. With my weird writing, these things happen pretty frequently.

But before I could set it aside (the last place I sent it never replied, so it technically was still in submission circulation), I happened to mention the story in a slack discussion among my writing peers. A few hours after mentioning it, I picked up my phone to see that I had a direct message from someone I considered a friend, but someone who I didn't frequently have private discussions with.

They were asking if they could read the "Cat Litter in Space" story (which was how I frequently referred to it in conversation—it did get your mind to the point a lot faster, after all). Of course! I would welcome their feedback, if they had any, I said, as I zipped off a word doc. I hoped maybe they'd catch on to the issue (aside from discussions of cat feces in zero G) that was getting this story the boot wherever it went.

I was not anticipating that they'd reply with a formal invitation to purchase the story for the anthology they were co-editing!

And just like that, almost 3 years after I wrote the story, it had a home. Of course, having a home depending on the anthology's Kickstarter funding, but that campaign met its goals with little trouble. It was official. "Gort, Cinder, and Sphinx" (aka "Cat Litter in Space") would be part of the Bridge to Elsewhere anthology. I participated in some twitter campaigns, a live video reading, and more. My crass story about a lesbian couple dealing with the unpleasant duties of cat-driven FTL navigation had a home. It had a home that felt like its home! And it had a home where the editor had snuck into my DMs and asked to read it! It wasn't just the first story that I wrote, but it was the first story that was an upgraded form of acceptance which felt like a real author career bingo card moment.

About 6 months later, I got an even more upgraded form of acceptance which was another bingo card moment, but that's a story for another time. Right now we're giving the cats their due attention, as all cat owners can tell you is important work. Bridge to Elsewhere has begun to arrive for sponsors of the Kickstarter campaign, and will hit shelves for everyone else on July 5 (the same day as Salvage's second edition!)

Sadly, despite the contempt I had for the duty that inspired this story, I am no longer a cat owner. But I will never forget my own space felines, Goblin and Alcatraz, and the messes they made—just for me—which inspired this uncouth tale.