My Story “The Ghul of Yazd” Now on Kindle

My Historical-Horror novella, The Ghul of Yazd is out now on the Amazon Kindle store. The story was first published in Issue 0 of Strangelet Journal in September 2014. It happens to be a companion piece to The Number Thief and features the same protagonist, Yusuf ibn Yaqzan – but more on that later.

The “Ghul” also features some great new cover art from Die Welle Design:

I’m also doing a giveaway to celebrate its release! It’s free today and the next few of days (August 14-17) on the Kindle store.

Here’s a blurb of the story to pique your interest:

For decades, rumors circulated in the souqs and hammams of Yazd about an unclean spirit, a ghul, haunting the Parsi burial ground on the edge of town. To finally quash the rumors, Parsi priest Dastur hires the Arab philosopher and adventurer, Yusuf ibn Yaqzan, to investigate.

For a fee, Yusuf agrees and on a moonlight night, heads up the hill with a child’s body on a funeral bier to the abandoned burial ground. As the ancient, oaken doors of the Parsi dakhma groan open, Yusuf and his men grasp the bier tightly and take their first steps across the dark threshold.

IMPORTANT NOTE: You do NOT need a Kindle device to read the story. All you need is the Kindle App downloaded onto your PC, Mac, or phone (or even onto your Kindle, if you have one!) If you have an Internet connection and a device, you should be able to download and read this story anywhere in the world.

And if you do get it, please, please, please leave a short review (good, bad or indifferent) when you’re done with it on Amazon or Goodreads!

Thanks and see you next time!

Darius

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Additional note: I tracked the submission history of this story on the “Unrejectionable Ghul” section of this website.

I have now decided to retire that page and post it below. So, if you’re interested in the submission history of this piece, here it is. The object lesson for writers: get ready for rejection and know that persistence pays off. Here it is:

UnRejectionable Ghoul

As an experiment of sorts, I’m posting the submission history of my story: “The Ghul of Yazd.” Think of this as a submission tracker for just one story. The reason for doing this is to share the experience of submitting stories with my readers. And in doing so, to help new writers realize that their darling stories (and this one is a cherished piece of mine) will get rejected many times.

Here are the ground rules for this little game:

• I’m NOT going to share which magazines I’ve sent the story to or rejection letters.
• I will share with you when it gets submitted, rejected and/or accepted on this page.
• I’m going to keep sending out the manuscript until it’s accepted…
• …or I figure out a proper home for it.

Here’s the submission history of the story so far:

• Submitted: Sept. 21, 2013.
• Rejected: Oct. 24 (33-day rejection).
• Submitted: Oct. 30.
• Rejected: Dec. 5 (36-day rejection).
• Submitted: Dec. 20
• Rejected: Jan. 5, 2014.
• Submitted: Jan. 6.
• Rejected: Jan. 15.
• Submitted: Jan. 19.
• Rejected: Feb. 1.
• Submitted: Feb. 3.
• Rejected: Feb. 26.
• Submitted: Feb. 26. (Simultaneous Submission). Mar. 30 (Sim Sub. 2) Mar. 30 (Sim Sub. 3)
• Rejection: April 25. (Sim Sub. 1).
• Submitted: June 8 (Sim Sub. 4).
• Rewrite request: July 3 (95-day)
• Acceptance: July 25, 2014 (117-day).
• Author withdrawal: August 1, Sim Sub 3 and Sim Sub 4.

[UPDATE (Feb. 26, 2014): I’m starting to realize this is going to take awhile…Keep checking back for more.]

[UPDATE (Aug. 3, 2014): Captured final acceptance. Bottom line: 7 rejections, over 10 months from 1st submission to final acceptance.]

[UPDATE (Sept. 16, 2014): “The Ghul of Yazd” is now available from Strangelet Journal! Nice.]

2 thoughts on “UnRejectionable Ghoul”

Kimberly Hernandez February 26, 2015 — 1:43 am

I read your piece in Strangelet and completely fell in love. I was curious if you would be revisiting the character. He seems too brilliant and dynamic to only have one adventure.

1. (Post author) dariusjones February 26, 2015 — 4:10 pm Wow. Thanks! That comment really made my day. As for the story, I assume you mean Yusuf, the protagonist? And yes, I’ve been toying around with putting Yusuf and some new companions into two new pieces. Comments like this have definitely got me thinking I need to move those stories up in the queue. Thanks again for your kind words!