well, drat.

Made it to the final cut for Sword & Sorceress, but not through it. I had so very much hoped to sell "Kingspeaker" on its first trip out the door -- that would have rocked.

<woeful sigh>

I'm rather bummed about this one, I must admit. It's easier to deal with rejections that aren't near misses: you send the story, they don't like it, you move on. Being told that they almost bought your story is spectacularly frustrating.