Read the story here: https://flashfictionmagazine.com/blog/2026/04/19/shells-2/
Note: This behind-the-scenes includes a spoiler!
Almost a year ago to this date, I sat down at a coffeeshop with a black tea and wrote “Shells.” When I read it, I felt kind of trembly. My own stories rarely produce emotion in me. This felt like something special.
My family’s trip to Florida a few months prior provided instant setting and inspiration for “Shells.” My husband and I loved escaping in our rental minivan for sunrise shelling while leaving our sleeping kids back at the condo with Grandpa (Grandma had to stay back in Wisconsin). Searching for shells was an absolute highlight of the trip for me, but the incongruity of joyfully collecting the remains of dead things left me with something to ponder. I did so via flash.
When “Shells” was born, it was just under 500 words (the limit for The Cincinnati Review’s miCRo series). I submitted it there and then at Flash Fiction Magazine. Two no’s. Although I still loved it, my husband, JJ, really thought it needed to be longer, AND he felt like I had killed him off! Oops.
In my mind, the main characters were definitely not us. Yes, we have three kids and have driven to Florida, hunted for shells at sunrise, had a dad with us on our trip, and saw a dolphin remarkably close to shore . . . but the names, ages, and even genders of the kids were changed! And what’s more . . . no one in my family even swims in the ocean. And if anyone were to do it, it would be me. See? Definitely not us.
But, taking my husband’s sensibilities into view, I went into another edit. The story doubled in size. The characters became more fleshed out (and thus, were definitely not us)! To my delight, JJ ended up loving the story, and I very much liked where it went.
In the fall of 2025, I submitted “Shells” to Flash Fiction Magazine as a priority submission (their paid submission option–you receive a decision with editor feedback in the space of a week). I selected Andrew Cochrane to be the FFM editor to read “Shells,” having received helpful feedback from him to improve two past stories that didn’t make the cut for publication. He wrote me back: “This is the one!”
Even so, Andy had feedback and we worked together to polish this shell to its current state. It was really fun to work with a real editor and go back and forth a bit! I loved it! And Andrew Cochrane was a perfect mix of helpful and supportive. Thank you, Andy!
“Shells” is my 6th published story, but it was my 2nd story accepted by a literary journal/magazine. It’s interesting to note that published stories may not emerge into the world in the order they were written or the even order that they were accepted for publication. Some lit mags have a shorter turn-around time from acceptance to publication; and, for others, it can take months to go from “accepted” to “live” on a website. In this case, “Shells” was an October 2025 acceptance and an April 2026 publication. (Thanks for waiting 6 months to finally read this one, Mom!)
Motif (repeated images or themes) and symbolism are two of my favorite literary devices. I also love bringing things full circle. You’ll definitely find that in “Shells.” And, although it’s not advisable to titles stories with a lone word, I could think of nothing more appropriate. If you have any ideas though, give me a comment!
Enjoy!
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